2. The Cabin

The boys had been unusually quiet but by the time they were almost at their destination, Philip piped up.

"Mom?"

"Yes Philip."

"Why did you tell us to bring all of our school things along?"

"Well, we don't know how long we will have to stay at the cabin, and I don't want you to fall behind with your school work."

"Will we be going to school there?" Jamie asked.

Amanda looked at Lee. She hadn't really thought that far ahead, simply planning to homeschool the boys for the time being. But what if they couldn't go back home for an extended period of time?

The look Lee gave her didn't give her much answers and Amanda simply told the boys the truth, that she didn't know that yet.

"Until we know who is behind the threats and how many KGB groups are involved, we can't be sure," Lee told them curtly.

Amanda reached behind her to squeeze Jamie's knee. She knew Lee didn't mean to be insensitive; he simply wasn't used to talking to children.

"Honey, our team is all over this. I'm sure they'll get it all sorted out quickly," she said with much more confidence than she was feeling. "Meanwhile, we'll be keeping up with your schoolwork and have a little vacation while we're at the cabin. We can even do some exploring. I brought all your stuff from the Junior Trailblazers with me."

"Cool!" both boys said, and Lee couldn't help but smile. Amanda really was a great mother.

Meanwhile, Dotty just seemed to be studying her daughter and the handsome man in the driver's seat silently.

The final part of their drive was very bumpy. The road they were on could barely be called a road, and the van clearly wasn't built for such rough terrain. Lee's jaw was clenched and Amanda could see the muscles in his arms strain from the effort underneath his shirt. They were all quiet now, not wanting to distract him. By the time they reached a clearing in the woods and spotted the cabin, they had slowed down to a crawl. Amanda was relieved to see that the extra car they would have at their disposal, was a Jeep.

Lee breathed a sigh of relief when he could finally stop the van, parking it next to the Jeep. His neck and shoulders were killing him after driving for almost three hours straight. The last part of the trip had slowed them down much more than he had anticipated and it was already past 10pm.

They all got out of the van and decided to check out the cabin first before unloading their luggage. The women made a run for the bathroom and Lee chuckled when he found a very impatient Dotty tapping her foot in front of the bathroom door. Amanda had won. The boys were checking out the bedrooms and Philip quickly called dibs on one of the two single beds in one of the bedrooms. The other bedroom held a Queen-sized bed and they were not going to share a bed, Philp declared.

Lee went in search of the light switches in the kitchen and decided to make everyone some coffee. Well, the adults. What should he offer the boys? He wasn't used to children at all. He was relieved when Amanda came out of the bathroom and joined him. She immediately started opening the refrigerator and all the cupboards to see what was in them and Lee observed her with an amused smile. When she caught him smiling, she explained,

"I gotta know what I need to get in town in the morning."

"Of course. We only have a few basic things here, provided by the agency. Listen, Amanda. I was going to make us some coffee before we start unpacking but I'm guessing the boys don't drink coffee?"

Amanda chuckled.

"No, I doubt they'd like that. And even if they did, I wouldn't give them any at this hour. They'd never go to sleep. Better find some tea or milk for them."

"Gotcha."

Amanda wandered off to the bedrooms and chatted with the boys for a while. They wanted to get their suitcases and she helped them lug them into their room. They would have to share the built-in closet but for now, she just told them to dig out their toothbrushes and pajamas. They would sort everything out in the morning. Then, she walked into the master bedroom. There was one bed in there and it suddenly dawned on her that they were one bedroom short. She walked back to the kitchen and Lee proudly held out a cup of coffee.

"Here you go."

"Thanks," she said, taking the cup from him.

She took the coffee with her and sat down on the comfortable couch, and finally took in her surroundings. The cabin was of a decent size and the sitting area and the dining area were actually in the same space. The kitchen counter as well as the couch formed natural dividers between the two areas and the living room had a fireplace. There was a dining table with six chairs in the dining area, as well as an antique bookcase against the wall. A hallway in the middle of the cabin, across from the front door, led to the bathroom on the right behind the kitchen, and a laundry room on the left behind the living room. The two bedrooms were next to each other across the hallway. Amanda thought that the veranda wrapped around the entire cabin, but she would have to check in the morning. It was too dark now to see anything outside.

Dotty joined her daughter on the couch and gave Lee a tired smile when he handed her a cup of coffee too. He sat down as well, choosing one of the two large armchairs in the room, which were across from each other, close to the fireplace. Amanda couldn't help thinking that that was indeed the place to sit for the man in the house. The boys came bounding into the room in their pajamas and Amanda looked expectantly at Lee. Wasn't he going to fix them something to drink?

"Ah, boys. There's some milk for you in the kitchen," Lee said.

"You haven't brushed your teeth yet, have you?" Amanda checked.

"No mom. We couldn't find any toothpaste," Philip answered.

"Oh, that's right. I put it in my suitcase," Amanda remembered. "Just drink up first, and I'll get it for you in a minute."

The boys each grabbed a glass of milk and joined their mother and grandmother on the couch. The adults waited patiently until the children were ready to go to bed. The boys were too tired to ask them any more questions, and after Lee had helped the women get their luggage inside so Amanda could find the toothpaste, they finally went to bed. Amanda knew they might have a restless night so she left their door ajar, just in case. When she returned to the living room, her mother was sitting up straight and she knew that she and Lee had a lot to answer for. She glanced at Lee, who raised his eyebrows and then gave her a half smile and a shrug. There was no way around this conversation so they'd better do it right away.

...

By the time they had finished explaining everything, Dotty bowed her head in acceptance.

"So you never really had a pet and plant service?" she asked Amanda without looking up.

"No mother."

"And IFF is a cover company for secret agents."

"For our agency, yes, Mrs. West."

She looked up then, at her daughter's coworker.

"Oh please, Lee. Call me Dotty. We're going to be stuck with each other for a while anyway so let's not keep it so formal."

"Alright. Dotty. I'm sorry we had to keep all of this from you, but it was for your own safely."

"Well, that's pretty obvious now. I'll try to understand."

She looked at Amanda and sighed again.

"I knew something was going on with you, but I never could have guessed this."

She turned her attention back to Lee and continued,

"Do you know that all this time, I was actually thinking that my daughter …"

"Mother! Let's not go into all your wild theories right now, shall we?" Amanda interrupted quickly. She had an idea what her mother was going to say next, and she didn't want Lee to hear it.

"Oh no. Please, I'm interested," Lee said, and when Amanda glared at him, he just gave her a charming smile. "We can learn from this, Amanda. How to better protect our covers."

"That's ridiculous Lee," Amanda huffed. "My mother always has the wildest theories. All you'll learn from those is what a wild imagination she has."

Amanda saw her mother make a reassuring gesture at Lee and she knew that Dotty was still planning on telling him that she thought at one point that they were having an affair. She didn't want that awkwardness between her and Lee again. He wasn't interested in a woman like her and she wasn't going to throw herself at him. They were partners and friends and that would have to be enough.

Lee stood up and both women followed him with their eyes when he walked back to the kitchen.

"Nice buns," Dotty whispered and Amanda punched her mother in the arm.

"Oh shush mother!" Amanda hissed. "He could be your son!"

"Or my son-in-law," Dotty said pointedly, making Amanda ball her hands into fists and scrunch up her face in annoyance.

"Amanda, did you spot any other drinks in the cupboards. Some wine maybe?" Lee asked her from the kitchen.

"No. No, I don't think so."

Amanda jumped up, happy to get away from her mother for a bit, and joined Lee in the kitchen. They checked the fridge together and found a six-pack of beers. It would have to do for now, but wine was added to tomorrow's grocery list.

"Lee?" Amanda asked softly while they grabbed a few glasses.

"Yeah."

"There's not enough beds in this cabin for all of us."

They both glanced at Dotty, but her back was still turned to the kitchen and she didn't seem to be listening.

"You and your mother will take the master bedroom and I'll sleep on the couch," Lee said, equally softly.

"I thought the senior agent always got the bed," Amanda quipped, still keeping her voice down.

Lee chuckled.

"You're suggesting we put your mother on the couch?"

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Amanda slapped his chest.

"Oh shut up."

"Seriously Amanda. I'll take the couch. The living room is a good place to keep watch anyway. It's not a problem."

"Are you sure?" Amanda questioned one more time.

Her eyes widened when Lee told her,

"Well, if it's not comfortable, I can always trade places with Dotty."

Amanda's mouth dropped open but no sound came out, and Lee laughed out loud at her obvious shock. She knew he was joking but still. To even bring up the possibility - twice… she hadn't expected it.

Lee walked back over to Dotty and offered her a can of beer and a glass. The older woman thanked him and took it from him but complained that there wasn't anything stronger in the house. She needed it to deal with all these shocking revelations. When Lee promised her they'd get a selection of fine wine and other alcoholic beverages into the cabin soon, she patted him on the arm and thanked him again.

After they had all finished their beers, the women got ready to go to bed while Lee finally retrieved his own luggage from the van and locked the cabin up for the night. He would use the laundry room to store his belongings and would ask Amanda in the morning if the one suit and dress shirt he'd brought along could hang in the closet in the master bedroom. He spotted an ironing board in the corner of the laundry room and smiled. As long as Amanda was around, he wouldn't have to worry about walking around in wrinkled clothes. Not that he couldn't iron his own clothes, but he just knew she would want to do it for him. That was just the kind of woman she was and despite the circumstances and the threat, he was glad to be here with her. Billy must have noticed that he hadn't put up much of a fight when he had ordered him to leave for the cabin along with the family. He wanted to keep them safe, that was his first priority. But keeping them close was a very close second.

…

Waking up in a strange place had a different effect on all of them. Lee was in full agent mode while Amanda was mostly concerned with giving her sons as much normalcy as possible under the circumstances. The boys were still tired but accepted their usual morning routine without question. The only one who wasn't her normal self, was Dotty. Lee and Amanda didn't blame her. Over the years, they had both become used to unexpected changes and had learned to adapt. They had woken up in much weirder places than a cabin in the woods of West-Virginia. The boys weren't aware enough yet of the situation but Dotty was, and despite the explanations they had given her, Amanda suspected that she still felt deceived.

She wanted to drive to town with her mother so they could talk some more privately, but Lee insisted that he and Amanda should be the ones to check out the town first. They were agents after all. Those words filled her with a sense of pride. Lee didn't often refer to her as an agent but it had been his idea to bring her on board officially, so he must think she had what it took after all. By the time they were ready to leave, Dotty had composed an extensive grocery list.

"Who's going to pay for all of this?" Amanda asked Lee as they got into the Jeep.

"The agency of course. They provided us with a debit card as well as a credit card under our cover names."

"Cover names? So who are we?" Amanda asked.

"I am Lee Dunkirk, and you are my wife Amanda," Lee said casually as he turned the Jeep so they could get going.

"Dunkirk?"

Amanda was surprised. Not Samson or Steadman or anything resembling Stetson this time?

"Yeah. In case the new identity isn't as temporary as we hope."

"What?"

Lee tried to keep sounding casual but he knew it was unnerving to think about the possibility that they might never be able to return to their old lives.

"We just can't be sure, Amanda. So the agency prepared this move the same way they arrange a complete relocation in the witness protection program."

Amanda was speechless, if only for a few minutes, and Lee suspected it had to do with the rough terrain they were on now as much as what he'd said. They had to hold on tight or they'd bounce all around the car. It would give Amanda some time to let his words sink in. After a few minutes, her oddly logical mind had finished processing the information, and out came her conclusion.

"So I could be posing as your wife indefinitely."

He chuckled and shook his head. That was the first thing she'd think of? Not that it hadn't crossed his mind, of course. His dating days would definitely be over. Then again, he hadn't really been dating that much over the past year anyway. He'd been too busy, he told himself. Yeah, that was it. Because what else could it be, right?

"I thought that the first thing you'd bring up was missing your old life. You know, friends, school, your volunteer work," Lee remarked, glancing at his companion.

He saw a sweet smile light up her face and although she wasn't looking at him, he could imagine the soft look in her eyes when she told him,

"Oh no. That's alright. I have everyone I love right here with me. Everything else can be replaced."

When Lee didn't respond to her words right away, Amanda realized what she'd just said, as well as how it could be interpreted. She turned her head to look at Lee, but he was concentrating on the bumpy road that would soon lead them to the South Branch River Road. It had been true though, that everyone she truly cared about was with her here at the cabin. Her family and Lee. She couldn't believe Billy had ordered his relocation along with theirs. Agents knew the risks and never fled.

"Lee?"

"Hmm?"

Lee steered the Jeep onto the road and finally leaned back into his seat. Driving would be much easier from here on.

"Why did Billy send you along with us?"

"For protection," Lee answered without missing a beat.

"But nobody knows who we are and why we're here."

"Just the same, he wasn't going to send you off on your own."

"And you don't mind? I mean, you're being pulled out of your normal routine too. There's not much spy work for you to do here in the woods or in Romney."

Lee smiled. She was right of course.

"I'm going to turn into a normal person at last," he joked and Amanda slapped his shoulder playfully.

"You're gonna be bored out of your skull."

"Ah, I don't know. If I do get bored, we'll just have to think of ways to spice things up a little then, won't we?"

Lee turned his head to wink at her and Amanda felt her cheeks flush instantly.

"Well, whatever you're insinuating, you can just put it out of your head, Mister!" she huffed.

"That's no way to talk to your husband, darling," Lee joked and he laughed to himself when he heard her let out a very annoyed, muffled "oooow," before turning away from him to look out of the side window of the Jeep.

…

To be continued