Chapter 13
The alarm blared loudly for the second time Saturday morning. Lee woke up and slapped at it, haphazardly, trying to silence the annoying sound. He yawned, ran his hand through his hair to wake himself up before rolling over to face Amanda, still curled up on her side, sound asleep. He touched her face gently and spoke softly, "Hey, it's time to get up. Leatherneck's gonna be here in about an hour."
"Hmmm," Amanda murmured as she rubbed her head and settled down deeper in her pillow.
Lee grinned then leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. Amanda responded by hooking her foot around his leg, pulling him closer. She tipped her chin upward, catching his lips once more. This time, she parted her lips and her tongue teased his bottom lip. Lee's hand immediately cupped Amanda's rounded bottom, pressing her hips close to his. When the kiss ended, they lay forehead to forehead, slightly breathless. The alarm blared once again, and Lee groaned loudly as he reached over and smacked the machine once more.
Amanda sighed and opened her eyes slowly, "I guess we should get moving. I'll get the boys up while you shower."
Lee tossed the comforter aside and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his head once more. "I'll make it fast. After all, I'm just going to get dirty all day anyhow." He stood and immediately turned back to straighten the bed, giving Amanda the opportunity to head into the bathroom first. Lee finished making the bed, grabbed an older pair of jeans and a sweatshirt from his closet. Amanda emerged and stopped him with a brief kiss once more before she tightened her robe and headed down the stairs. Lee could hear her knocking on the boys' bedroom doors as he stepped into the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, Lee and Amanda were sipping coffee at the kitchen island when the boys appeared, both wearing outfits similar to Lee's. "Leatherneck will be here soon, and he promised to bring pastries for breakfast," Lee announced. Philip and Jamie's heads shot up at the mention of pastries. Amanda poured a glass of juice for each of them and kissed her sons on the head before leaving the kitchen to get changed.
Lee was just pouring his second cup of coffee when he heard Dotty calling him. "Lee? I think your friend is here already." She was standing by the front door, peering out.
Lee crossed the house, passing Dotty on her way to the kitchen and opened the front door catching Leatherneck with his hand raised, ready to knock. "You're early," Lee commented. "Come on in."
"Well, I figured we had to make a run to the store to get supplies as well, so why not come a few minutes early. I'm not too early, am I?" Leatherneck asked as he stepped inside carrying several pastry boxes.
"Never too early. Good morning, Leatherneck," Amanda called as she descended the stairs.
"Good morning, Mrs. Stetson," Leatherneck replied politely. He handed her the pastry boxes as he said, "Breakfast is here. I hope the boys like chocolate croissants."
"Leatherneck, call me Amanda, please," she insisted. "Follow me. The coffee's waiting in the kitchen. How do you take it?" she asked with a smile.
"Just black, please," Leatherneck replied. He looked around as they walked to the kitchen, "Wow, Ace, I can't believe this is your house."
Lee chuckled, "What do you mean, you can't believe it. What were you expecting?"
Leatherneck looked around once more and shook his head, "Not this. Good morning, Mrs. West."
Dotty was pouring coffee for everyone when they reached the kitchen. She handed Leatherneck a mug and greeted him, "Good morning, Leatherneck. You did say you liked your coffee black, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am. Black is just fine. As long as it isn't that swill they try to pass off in the Shoot..." Leatherneck began but when he saw Amanda's eyes widen, he trailed off and quickly added, "in my department. You never know how those guys make coffee."
Amanda released the breath she had inhaled and smiled again. She opened the pastry boxes and pulled out a few dishes from the cabinet. "How about after we eat, Lee, you can give Leatherneck the grand tour of the house? I'd like to get some laundry started and while you boys work, Mother and I can go to the store and pick up the groceries."
"We'll need to go to the lumber yard as well as the masonry supply store to get the stuff we need for your project," Leatherneck explained as he placed a cheese danish on a small plate.
"Can we go with you?" Philip asked. He reached over and took a fruit tart and a chocolate croissant. "We can help carry everything."
"Yeah, after moving, we're pretty good at carrying things without dropping them," Jamie inserted. "Mom, may I have a danish?" he asked, holding his dish. Amanda placed both a lemon danish and a chocolate croissant on the plate and handed him a napkin as well.
"I brought the pickup and it might be a tight squeeze for all of us in the truck," Leatherneck said.
"Well, if I take Amanda's car, and Amanda and Dotty take the loaner we should have plenty of room for everything. We can drop the back seat down, load it up," Lee suggested.
"Can I ride with Leatherneck?" Philip asked at the same time Jamie asked, "Can I ride with you, Lee?" Both boys looked at each other and laughed.
"Well, I guess that's settled. Let's finish up so we can get this going," Lee announced.
Leatherneck finished his breakfast, politely placing his dish in the sink, much to Amanda's surprise. While Lee showed him around the house, Leatherneck sipped his coffee. When they got to the office, Lee explained their plan to add a second phone line and a soundproof door. Leatherneck even went as far as to suggest additional soundproofing material on the walls as well. "I've seen some new variations now. Looks just like regular wall panels only it's got a layer in between," he explained.
"Good, then no one will suspect a thing. We're trying to keep as much 'work' out of the house as possible, but if we do need to bring something home, we need a safe place to keep it out of sight from prying eyes," Lee stated.
They left the office and Lee showed him the bedrooms, the family and laundry rooms in the lower level, followed by a quick tour of the garage. Once outside, they surveyed the backyard and decided the best spot for both the firepit and the raised fort for Jamie's telescope.
Jamie and Philip joined them when they returned to the garage, both boys ready to go. Lee got his keys and wallet from the bedroom, said goodbye to Dotty and Amanda and the group left in the two vehicles.
The day passed quickly, Amanda and Dotty working inside the house on laundry and their regular weekly cleaning chores, while the boys, Lee and Leatherneck outside, diligently working on the firepit and the start of the raised fort.
They began by outlining the area of the pit with a can of spray paint and while the boys dug the hole out, Lee and Leatherneck began framing the fort. Once the boys finished, Leatherneck instructed everyone on how to use the bags of sand to line the hole, then sorting through the rocks they already dug up, they reinforced the bottom of the hole. They had purchased retaining wall blocks for the chimney of the firepit so carefully, they took turns placing each block in the next spot. Jamie was charged with the task of checking to be sure each block was level and spaced evenly as the circle slowly grew. Once the first two levels were completed, Amanda interrupted them with a tray of sandwiches and soft drinks and the announcement she and Dotty would be leaving to go grocery shopping.
"Boys, make sure you listen to Lee and Leatherneck and remember, no fighting," she reminded them.
"We know, Mom," the boys groaned. Amanda and Dotty left several minutes later, leaving the guys outside to finish their lunch.
Philip swallowed the remaining liquid in the can and belched loudly before crushing the can in his hand. "Yeah, that felt good!" he exclaimed. He looked up and saw Lee staring at him, his arms crossed, waiting. "Excuse me," Philip muttered looking down at the ground. He took his trash and began to walk back to the house. On his way by, he picked up the large plastic bags the sand had come in. He shoved everything into a barrel and returned to the small group with a sigh.
"Leatherneck, how many more layers do you think we're going to need to finish this?" Jamie asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose with the back of his hand.
Leatherneck stood next to the growing firepit and indicated a height just below his knee. "I would say this should be good enough. High enough to protect anyone sitting around it but low enough to still give off enough heat too," he explained.
Jamie looked at the blocks and then tried to calculate the height, "So five or six more layers?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
Lee nodded, "I would say that might do it. You're doing a pretty good job there keeping everything even."
"Thanks. It's just math. I mean once we got the circumference down, it was a matter of calculating how many blocks we need to fit on each layer and then keeping the consistent number of spaces between them, adding the extra two inches every five blocks for airflow, like Leatherneck said," Jamie rambled. He lifted the small level once more to adjust the last block.
"Hey, Lee, do you think we could split up? I mean, Wormbrain over there has already figured out what needs to be done, so what if two of us worked on the fort and the other two on finishing that?" Philip shook his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the pile of wood they had stacked for the fort.
Lee nodded but pressed his lips together tightly before he said, "Yeah, but what have we said about calling your brother names? Or maybe you don't want to help finish this up?"
"I only called him-" Philip began but stopped immediately when Lee raised his hand and glared at him. "Well, can we? I mean we can get more done if we divide and conquer, right?"
Jamie couldn't help get his own dig in on Philip so he quickly responded, "Divide and conquer? Those are big words for you. Did your new girlfriend teach you that?"
Philip took a step toward his brother, his hands tensing into fists when Lee stepped between them and placed his hand on Philip's chest. "I think it might be a good idea to split up. And you're right, Philip, we might get more done. So how about I stay here with Jamie and you and Leatherneck get started on the platform."
Philip let his hands drop to his side, groaned and said, "Yeah, Junior can't swing a hammer anyway. He might hit his thumb or something." He turned his back and shuffled off to the other corner of the yard, leaving Leatherneck standing alone, completely confused.
"Enough!" Lee shouted causing both boys to jump. Both boys muttered an insincere apology but didn't say anything else after. Instead, they both concentrated on the tasks at hand. Lee looked at Leatherneck, "Sorry about that. Sometimes they get a little carried away."
"No need," Leatherneck stated. "I have a younger brother too so I know what that's like. I just can't believe you just handled that like a pro."
Lee chuckled, "Well, I can't shoot them, can I? Amanda might have something to say about that."
Leatherneck laughed, "No, you can't do that. I'll go help young Ace out over there. We'll get most of this done before it gets dark and then tomorrow if we all work together, we can get it up and the ladder built."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Lee stated before he turned back to a sulking Jamie who was focused on placing the next block.