6. Mother

"So, how did it go with the boys?"

Dotty spoke up before Lee could answer Amanda.

"If you ask me, he let them do whatever they wanted. Granted, they did make a brave attempt at cleaning up but I can tell, you know."

Dotty raised an eyebrow as she looked at Lee but he could tell that she wasn't annoyed in any way. She was amused.

"We made sandwiches," he said by way of explanation.

"Oh, well. That explains everything," Amanda said with a laugh.

Lee grinned at her and had to make an effort to tear his eyes away from her sparkling eyes. He really was happy that they were back home.

"Did you get everything you needed in town?" he inquired, relieved that Amanda was letting go of their little argument so easily. Then again, she wasn't one to dwell on negativity. It was one of the things he liked about her. She was honest to a fault and never minced words, but she could let go of something unpleasant in a heartbeat and move on as if nothing had ever happened. He always knew where he stood with her and that was a good feeling. It felt secure and he felt like he could tell her anything.

Well … almost anything.

There was one area in his life - in their lives - where he felt anything but secure. Maybe that was because he wasn't sure of his own position. Or because he was trying desperately not to let her into that particular area of his life for fear of … of what, exactly? Of being turned down? Or maybe he was afraid of the opposite. Because what on earth was he supposed to expect if he really stepped into the world of Amanda King, to become part of it? He felt like maybe he was getting a preview of family life with her here at the cabin, but it still wasn't a life with her. They basically still lived as coworkers - and friends - who had their own lives, even if their daily routines had merged together in some mysterious way.

Lee had already known how to cook but he was discovering more of his own domestic side, taking responsibility for parts of their little household. Some chores were done together, like cleaning up after dinner. Other things rotated, like cooking and getting the table ready. And other things were clearly either his job or not his job. Dotty was in charge of the laundry room, Amanda of the boys' school work and tidying up inside the cabin and Lee was in charge of the logs for the fire, cleaning out the fireplace, garbage disposal and anything else they needed from outside or from the storage room.

He must have been staring because he suddenly heard Dotty say,

"Earth to Stetson!"

"Hm?"

He looked at Dotty and then and Amanda, who was grinning.

"He hasn't heard a word we said, mother," she chuckled.

"Sure I did … you were talking about what you got in town."

"Yes. And what did we get?"

He had no idea and Dotty shook her head but didn't say anything.

"Well, I just hope you'll enjoy the newspapers we got you," Amanda said.

"She insisted on getting you three different ones," Dotty chimed in again and Lee smiled at Amanda.

"Thank you."

"That's what friends are for," Amanda said quietly.

She was suddenly extremely interested in the remainder of her coffee, swirling it around in her cup.

"Oh, and don't forget the photographer," Dotty said.

"What photographer?" Lee asked, instantly alert.

Amanda quickly told him about the man at the parking lot and how they'd handled it. Lee agreed that they couldn't be too careful at this point. However, he thought it was very unlikely that the Russians would have found their way to Romney already.

"But just in case, the next run into town should be you and me again, Amanda."

Amanda nodded, glancing at her mother and then back at him. She almost seemed a little shy and he never knew what she was thinking when she made that particular face. It was the exact same face she had made that time he had told her she would be Mrs. Lee Stetson for a weekend at the Cumberland. Before he could wonder any further about it, the boys came back in the room, arguing loudly about Philip's plans for the treehouse.

"Nobody's going to come and play with us anyway, meat head!" Jamie spat.

"You don't know that! There's gotta be other kids around here somewhere!" Philip countered.

The older boy flopped down on the couch and crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowning.

"Boys, please," Amanda said, getting up to walk over to Philip. "Now what has gotten into you two?"

She sat down next to Philip and gestured at Jamie to come join them. When the younger boy approached her, she pulled him into her lap.

Lee watched her calm her boys down, speaking sternly to them at first, and lovingly once she had their full attention. She was an amazing mother and somehow, he pictured his own mother just like her. It saddened him that he had so few real memories of her anymore after losing his parents when he was only seven. Amanda gave each boy just as much attention as the other one and the children clearly accepted her authority, while also sensing how much she loved them. Once the boys were calm again, she suggested finding a tree very close to the lake, so they might even do some fishing from the treehouse once it was finished.

"Yeah. And it shouldn't be too close to the cabin, so we could hide out there if we had to," Philip said.

Lee wasn't sure if Philip was truly aware of the danger they would be in if they were ever recognized, but he had to agree with the boy that it couldn't hurt to have an extra hideout in the woods. He glanced at Dotty to get an idea where she stood, and found the older woman watching him. She smiled when they made eye contact and Lee quickly smiled back before responding to Philip's remark.

"That's actually a great idea, Philip. Good thinking."

Philip nodded and then checked with his mother, who gave him a wide smile.

"Absolutely. You're already beginning to think like a spy."

Philip's face lit up and he nodded again.

"Right. So how about it Jamie? You wanna go scout for a tree?"

Lee saw Amanda give her youngest a quiet nudge and Jamie finally gave in.

"Alright then. As long as it's close to the lake."

Amanda released him when he slid off her lap, and Jamie smiled at Lee.

"You can come up there to fish too once it's ready," Jamie told him.

Lee smiled.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Jamie. And let me know if you guys need a hand."

"Will do!"

And then they were off again.

…

Amanda let the boys play outside for the rest of the day. Their school work would still be there tomorrow, she reasoned, and they couldn't do any tests from here anyway. Lee was reading one of the newspapers, and she was glad she had thought of bringing them for him. She was engrossed in the final chapter of her medieval novel when Lee suddenly said from behind his newspaper,

"Looks like the weather is going to improve quite a bit this week."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We're looking at a 20 degree temperature jump in two days."

"Oh. So it's going to be really warm."

Lee nodded and looked at her, an unspoken question in his eyes.

"What?" Amanda asked.

She had no idea what Lee was thinking.

"Maybe we can go out on a field trip to one of the camp sites in the area Wednesday. Even this time of year, there have to be other kids around that the boys can play with."

"Oh Lee, that's so considerate of you," she gushed, and she really meant it. It meant a lot to her that Lee was making such an effort for the boys. "Let's have a family meeting about it over dinner."

Lee grinned and focused on his newspaper again. Then Amanda heard him mumble,

"Family meeting. I like it."

Dotty walked in from the laundry room, humming a tune so exaggeratedly that Amanda just knew she had heard their little exchange and was drawing her own conclusions. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on her book again, feeling a small sense of relief that her annoyance at her mother kept her from thinking too deeply about Lee now being part of a family meeting.

The boys were very happy with the prospect of a change of scenery and after dinner they were studying the ad in the newspaper that had given Lee the idea for their little trip. Lee and Amanda were doing the dishes and Dotty just looked around their little household contently. It was still strange to be out here in the middle of nowhere but they were all doing pretty well, considering. Even Lee was beginning to fit in and Philip seemed to make an effort not to be too grumpy at the man. Taking the boys to a campsite where they would be able to do all kinds of fun things was a great way to worm his way into their hearts and the older woman could see how happy it made her daughter, too. And the look in those beautiful, hazel eyes, that seemed to follow Amanda wherever she went … she wondered why Amanda didn't see it. Dotty sighed. It was time to do something about it, if those two couldn't get there on their own.

Once they were all in bed that night, Amanda was just trying to get comfortable for the night when her mother spoke up.

"Amanda?"

"Yes mother."

"Remember before all of this happened, when I said that it would be good for Lee to find some stability?"

"Yes mother, I remember."

Amanda rolled on her back and looked up at the ceiling of their darkened bedroom.

"Well, little did I know what kind of an unstable life he was actually leading. And you too! I mean, on the outside you lookes like a regular suburban woman with kids but you actually have this exciting and dangerous double life going on that nobody knows about! And so does Lee."

"You weren't supposed to know about it, mother."

"Let's not get into that again, shall we? It's bad enough that I never caught on."

Amanda smiled and reached for her mother's hand on top of the covers.

"And here you were, wanting me to get out more," she chuckled.

"Yes! And all this time, you were out there. With Lee."

Amanda sighed.

"I was out there with Lee but I'm not with Lee, mother."

"Hmmm."

Amanda could practically hear the wheels turning in her mother's head and tried to predict what she would say next. But she could not have predicted her mother's quiet observation. Not this time.

"He's in love with you, you know."

"What?"

Amanda couldn't help chuckling nervously. Now where would her mother have gotten that idea? Lee wasn't in love with her! Until recently he had always muttered when he had to work with her, and emphasized how small her role for the agency was; almost as if he would rather not have her there at all. She knew he did like her and that part of his annoyance was an act. She also knew that he always played it close to the vest and wouldn't show his heart to anyone easily. But to say that his grumpy attitude was masking any romantic feelings for her … that was taking it a bit far.

Still, she instantly thought back to their moment in the swamp. It had been more than just trying to keep warm for her, and she had truly felt that it had been more for him too, even if he had denied it the next morning. She still wondered what would have happened if they had actually kissed before they were interrupted. Part of her knew it would have been more than just a peck on the lips and her stomach clenched at the thought.

"I can see it in his eyes, you know," her mother continued.

Amanda did love his eyes and smiled in the dark. He could render her weak in the knees just by looking at her sometimes.

"Oh, I don't know mother. He's never said or done anything to suggest …"

"Maybe he thinks you wouldn't be interested."

Amanda let out a breath slowly. Not interested? She had tried very hard not to let her mind go there because she thought he wouldn't be interested.

"Amanda?" her mother said, and Amanda realized she was fishing to find out if her daughter would be interested if Lee was.

"I … mother, I think you're wrong about him. He's … we're so different. Our lives are so different. I don't think it would work at all."

"But would you be interested?" Dotty pressed. "I mean, on a scale from one to ten, you have to admit he's an eleven!"

"Mother!" Amanda hissed, feeling almost embarrassed that her own mother would talk about a man that way, even if nobody could hear them.

"Well, it's true and you know it. I know you like him, dear. And I know he likes you too. So why not go for it?"

Her mother always made it sound so easy. She flirted with men, and if things didn't work out, she just happily dashed off to the next man. But Amanda took these things very seriously. She wasn't a flirt at heart. On top of that, she would never ever want to jeopardize her friendship with Lee unless ... Unless what? Unless there was something real in the cards for them? Did that mean she was interested? Who was she kidding? She was interested. She just didn't think they wanted the same things out of life and so she tried to be content with having him as a partner and friend.

"I don't know, mother," she finally said. "I don't think I'm what he's looking for."

"Amanda, take it from me: most men don't know what they're looking for themselves," Dotty stated with her usual certainty. "They need us to show it to them."

Amanda smiled despite the unnerving subject of their conversation.

"I don't know if I'm ready to show Lee anything, mother," she admitted quietly.

Dotty squeezed her hand.

"Just think about what I said, darling."

"I will, mother."

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, mother."

Amanda turned on her side again and tried to relax. But her mother's words kept repeating in her head and she wondered if she would get any sleep now. Lee couldn't be in love with her ... could he?

…

To be continued