Closure

Amanda sat in her home reading for the evening after the long day with her children. She felt lighter and free. She knew talking with the kids would help them in their own pain and begin to open and heal, but she never understood how deep her own healing was needed. She didn't realize how selfish she had been with her memories. She smiled as she recalled the phone calls from both Carly and Ashlyn thanking her for the day. Phillip and Jamie both went home finally able to confide in them the importance and impact Lee had made in their lives. Both women confided that it was the first time that either man had done more than give them a passing thought on their feelings for Lee. The thought made her smile that both of her men could now open up and feel comfortable with their feelings.

"Now see Lee they needed that. Now if only we could get that daughter of ours to heal." Amanda said.

"Maybe you don't have to wait so long." Victoria said walking into the living room from the kitchen, scaring Amanda.

"Damn, Victoria, don't do that. I never liked it when your father did that and I don't like it when you do…" Amanda stopped her rant when she saw that her daughter was not alone but with a very handsome man.

He stood about six feet tall with light hair and the bluest eyes Amanda had ever seen. He was muscular and when he smiled his dimples shown as bright as her late husband.

"Oh, hello, how are you? Who are you?" Amanda asked.

"Hello, Mrs. Stetson. My name is Jackson Fletcher." He held his hand out and waited for Amanda to accept it; he didn't wait long.

"Mom, Jackson is my partner. We've worked together for six years."

"I can imagine what that has been like for you, Mr. Fletcher." Amanda stated as she watched the two closely.

"Please call me Jack." It didn't go unnoticed as he held Victoria's hand.

After a few minutes Amanda broke the silence in the room, "Well, what bring you by and sneaking in on me?"

Victoria looked to Jackson and said, "Mom, Jackson and I have been seeing each other for a while. I tried to deny how I felt for him because I was afraid that with our jobs I would lose him. I have known for so long now that I loved him. That is what has been so upsetting. I have fought my feelings because I never wanted to love another man as much as I did Daddy. I never wanted to feel that kind of loss."

"Oh, Sweetheart, I am so sorry that you have had the hardest time healing."

"I am," looking toward Jackson, "this morning, the reason I was late, well, Jackson asked me to marry him and I panicked and I told him to go to hell."

Amanda sat listening to her daughter ramble like her yet at the same time sound so much like Lee.

"I really listened to you today. When I was done cleaning up afterward I went and walked around the house. I had so many memories of growing up there. The pictures were the same, you never took them here. The rooms still the same as we left them. You still have your wedding dress and Dad's tux in your closet in your room. It took me awhile to try and figure out why you didn't take him with you when you moved. You left him there along with all of us. You left our family in our house."

The tears were flowing down Amanda's face as she listened to Victoria explain without judgement in her voice, there was only an understanding. She did leave her family in that house.

"Victoria I want you to understand, I had to leave those things, but I still brought your Dad with me. He has never left me. I just needed to let you three know that you still had a safe place to return to if you ever needed to. That is why the house in all three of your names."

"I get that and I have a plan for that as well but I want you to know that I get what you were doing today. I decided that I would rather risk losing him than never having one minute of what you and Daddy had. I told Jackson I would marry him."

Amanda cheered with laughter and then out of the blue said, "See Stetson, I told you she was your daughter inside and out."

Jackson gave Victoria a side way glance as Victoria explained, "Oh, she talks to Dad all the time this is normal."

Three weeks later Victoria, Jackson, Phillip, Carly and Amanda all sat in the backyard of the house in Arlington waiting for Jamie and Ashlyn to arrive. When Amanda heard the truck she rolled her eyes and said, "I guess Ashlyn is getting as many trips in that thing while she can still get in and out of it."

"Hello, is anyone here?" Jamie asked as they came around the corner into the yard.

"All back here, Wormbrain."

"Don't call your brother Wormbrain, you bloody bull." Carly chastised him.

"I knew I liked you for a reason." Amanda said.

"Mom whose side are you on?" Phillip asked.

"What is this get together all about?" Jamie asked as he helped Ashlyn into her seat before sitting down next to her.

"Vic, do you want to tell him or do you want me to?" Phillip asked.

"I want to tell him it was after all my brilliant idea." Victoria announced.

"What was your brilliant idea and how much is it going to cost?" Jamie asked.

"I will ignore that thank you so very much. I went over to talk to Phillip the other day and we both agreed that since neither one of us is in the need for a larger living establishment that you and Ashlyn should have the house."

Victoria handed Jamie the deed and paper work that Phillip filed to list the house as legally owned by James King.

Ashlyn and Jamie looked from one to the other and then back at the title. "How is this possible? I didn't sign anything agreeing to it."

"As it turns out you don't have to unless you decide to sell the place, all this states is that Victoria and I give up our legal rights to the house and you as the sole owner on the title can now do as you please with the place. Like have a decent room for your kid to sleep in that doesn't double as a dark room. You have a built in tree house that you might need to make some minor repairs to. This place is perfect for you."

"Victoria, I would think you would want it given the fact that you are getting married here shortly."

"True, I did lay claim to the backyard for my wedding, but we can always move the wedding to Rock Creek Park. That was where Jackson suggested in the first place."

"No, you will still get married here, just like Jamie and I plan to do."

"Count us in on using this yard as well." Carly chimed in.

Amanda sat and listened as her three children and their intended spouses discussed whose wedding would be first. She smiled looking over at them and in the background she noticed a faint rainbow in the close distance.

"I love you too Sweetheart." She whispered to herself and then turned her attention back to the matters at hand.

The End