Chapter 15

"What the hell? This fit yesterday!" Lee muttered under his breath as he tried to shift one of the car seats to the middle of the backseat of the Wagoneer.

"Mr. Stetson, would you like some help?" the nurse standing behind Amanda's wheelchair offered.

Lee waved her off as he grumbled, "No, I got it. I mean, I think I do."

Amanda looked down at the two sleeping bundles in her arms before she offered, "Sweetheart, why don't you move the seat back where it was?"

Lee glanced over his shoulder and groaned, "But I thought you'd want to sit back here with them?"

Amanda shook her head, "It's only a short ride back to the house. I'm sure they will be fine. They've got full bellies and clean diapers, and they're both sound asleep. I bet they won't even know the difference."

Lee looked down at the lopsided car seat in his hands and groaned, "I should have left it alone, huh?"

"It's okay. I'm sure you were just doing what you thought was best," Amanda smiled at him.

Lee sighed heavily, "Dad fail number one… can't get their car seats in correctly to bring them home from the hospital." He shifted the seat back to its original position and easily buckled it in.

The nurse behind Amanda laughed, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Mr. Stetson. At least you've managed to pull up to the curb with the car seats in the car. I've seen many dads leave them at home."

Lee shot her a daggered look before putting his hands out to Amanda to take one of the twins from her. "At least I know how to buckle her in," he admitted. Silently he was thankful Amanda made a point for everyone in the house to practice with a teddy bear, buckling and unbuckling the straps. He gently slipped the sleeping newborn into the cradled car seat and carefully tucked the straps around her shoulders before he snapped the buckle tightly between her feet. He leaned close and dropped a sweet kiss on her forehead before he touched her chest with his hand. He turned back to Amanda and reached for the other sleeping baby.

"Since you have them under control, how about I help Mrs. Stetson into the front seat?" the nurse offered with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Sue. It was awful nice of you to wait out here while we figured this out," Amanda stated appreciatively.

Nurse Sue patted her shoulder, "It was my pleasure. And it's such a beautiful day out today; I don't mind one bit. A little extra vitamin D never hurt anyone; I always say." Amanda pushed herself out of the wheelchair and gingerly straightened herself up. "You doing okay?" Nurse Sue questioned.

"I forgot how sore you are for the first few days. It's been so long," Amanda admitted. She carefully climbed into the front seat and sighed.

"No, you didn't forget. Your mind tricked you into not remembering. If we did, we probably wouldn't ever have any more babies after the first one," Nurse Sue assured her with a laugh. Lee was just finishing strapping in the second sleeping infant when Nurse Sue called to him. "Mr. Stetson, you did an excellent job. Now, please make sure your wife gets some rest. She doesn't need to overdo things the first day or two home. And she shouldn't be lifting anything heavier than those babies," she reminded him. "No laundry baskets or grocery bags until she sees her doctor for her six-week checkup."

"Don't you worry about that. Between her mother, her two older boys, and me, she's got plenty of help," Lee gave her his best, dimpled smile. He climbed into the drivers' seat and added, "Thank you again for all your help."

"Enjoy those beautiful babies of yours," Nurse Sue smiled back. "Oh, and Mr. Stetson…" she called to him just before he pulled away from the curb. "Happy Father's Day," she added.

Lee smiled wider, "Thank you very much." He nodded once and slowly steered the car through the parking lot to the street. Twenty minutes later, Lee pulled into the driveway. He noticed the pink and white balloons adorning the mailbox and basketball hoop and smiled again. "We're home," he announced happily. He stopped just outside the garage where his Corvette and Dotty's car were parked.

"Finally," Amanda teased. "I think Mother drives faster than you just did."

"Well, I wanted to make sure we got home safely, that's all," Lee defended.

Amanda nodded with a smile and added, "Well, you certainly did that. Now, let's get everyone inside and settled." She released her seatbelt and reached for the door handle with a small groan.

"How about we get you inside first, and I'll bring the girls in after, along with all the gifts we got? I can't believe how many people stopped by yesterday. I thought the nurses were going to get angry until your mother brought that batch of cookies for them," Lee laughed.

"Well, it just shows you how many people care, that's all," Amanda explained. She winced loudly as she stood slowly.

Lee immediately ran around the front of the car and reached out for her, "Are you okay? Do we need to go back to the hospital?"

Amanda shook her head, "I'll be fine. It's going to take a while for all these aches and pains to go away, that's all."

Before Lee could reply, the interior door opened, and Dotty rushed into the garage, yelling, "Well, it's about time you two got here! I was beginning to get worried."

"Sorry, Mother. Lee was nervous driving, so he went extra slow," Amanda laughed.

"Nervous driving? Lee, you're a very good driver. I mean, you drive a little fast sometimes, but you're a good, safe driver, so there's nothing to be nervous about," Dotty reprimanded him with a furrowed brow.

Lee closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wasn't nervous. Let's get Amanda inside, and I'll bring the girls in after. Then I'll come back and get all the gifts we got."

"Speaking of gifts, you got another one this morning. It must be from one of your friends from work because it has that funny nickname of yours on the package," Dotty explained. She reached out and began to help Amanda up the three steps into the house.

"A package? What do you mean a package?" Lee immediately froze.

Dotty nodded, "A package was delivered this morning. Well, I think it was delivered. It was left on the front steps. I only found it when I went out to get the paper."

"Where is the package now?" Lee demanded.

"It's in the foyer on the table beside the door… Lee, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Dotty questioned.

Lee sidestepped Dotty and Amanda and rushed into the house. "Dotty, you didn't try to open it, did you?" he asked nervously.

"Lee Stetson, what kind of person do you think I am? It wasn't my gift to open," Dotty snapped.

Lee found the brown paper wrapped package exactly where Dotty said it was and a sick feeling immediately developed in the pit of his stomach. He grabbed the box and headed into the kitchen, where he picked up the portable phone and headed back into the garage.

"Lee? What's going on?" Amanda questioned from the couch.

"It's just… it's a silly gift that's going to make a big mess if we open it inside… I'm just going to put it out here before I get the girls, so we don't have to deal with it just yet," Lee stammered before he closed the door. He noticed the metal trash can and lid in the corner of the garage and sighed heavily. "It's not going to do much," he muttered before he gingerly placed the package inside, and he dialed Billy's number. "Billy, it's Scarecrow. We've got a problem."