Chapter 17

Jamie woke up as the first rays of sunlight were shining throughout the room. He took a deep breath and yawned loudly, stretched his arms above his head then glanced over at his brother who was still sleeping beside him. Jamie looked over at Dotty's bed, and she was still sleeping soundly, her sleeping mask pushed halfway off her eyes. He rubbed his face then headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

A few minutes later he returned to the room but no one had budged. He knocked lightly on the door separating the two rooms, and although he didn't hear an answer, he pushed the door open slowly. He leaned in far enough to see Amanda's back curled up on her side facing Lee. He couldn't see Lee but he could hear them talking quietly.

"Good morning, Mrs. Stetson. It's time to wake up if we're going to have time for breakfast with the boys," Lee whispered as he gently stroked Amanda's cheek. She sighed happily as she opened her eyes.

Amanda reached up and touched his cheek before she replied, "Good morning to you too, Mr. Stetson. Did you sleep well?"

Lee leaned forward to kiss her when out of the corner of his eye he saw the door open. Instinct immediately took over and he sat up quick and yelled, "Hey!" startling Jamie, who's automatic reply was a very frightened, "I'm sorry!" Jamie darted back into the room, slamming the door behind him.

Lee looked at a confused Amanda, then quickly got out of bed and crossed the room. He opened the connecting door and asked, "Jamie, is everything ok?" He found Jamie sitting on the bed, his head down on his bent knees. When he didn't get a reply, Lee put his hand on Jamie's shoulder and asked again, "You okay, Chief?"

Jamie looked up, scared, as he answered Lee, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you and Mom. I was just trying to see if you guys were awake."

Lee narrowed his eyes and tried to figure out what Jamie was talking about. "You didn't interrupt anything. I was just trying to wake your mother up, that's all," Lee stated quietly.

"But you and Mom…" he inhaled sharply, "I interrupted… I should have knocked louder... " he exhaled loudly, "or waited longer or…." Jamie stuttered then trailed off as he took a deep breath and dropped his head back onto his knees.

Lee looked over at Dotty and Philip, who were both still asleep, then lifted Jamie's chin with one finger. He indicated he wanted Jamie to follow him back to the other room with a nod of his head. Jamie reluctantly followed him and once in the adjoining room, he studied the pattern on the rug when Lee sat on the bed facing him. Amanda was sitting on the bed watching, unsure what was going on. "Jamie, listen, you didn't interrupt anything," Lee explained and reached out to touch Jamie's elbow to get his attention.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to interrupt. I know you told us we have to knock and wait when the door is closed, but I did knock. I didn't hear you so I thought maybe you were still sleeping and I just thought I would try to come in to see if you were awake and-" Jamie rambled but Amanda cut him off.

"Jamie, just slow down. It's okay," Amanda assured him as she climbed off the bed and crossed the room to sit beside Lee. Lee looked at her, trying to figure out why Jamie was so upset. Amanda, as if she could read his mind, shrugged her shoulders and shook her head lightly. "What's going on, Jamie? Are you still upset about yesterday?" she asked.

"No… Lee, why did you call Mom, Mrs. Stetson?" Jamie asked pointedly. He was staring at Lee, blinking, waiting for an answer.

Lee looked nervously at Amanda when it dawned on him. "Jamie, I was… just practicing… you know for when your mom and I get married next weekend," he stuttered.

"That's all it was, Sweetheart, Lee was just practicing. After all, once we get married, I will be Mrs. Stetson," Amanda jumped in to help Lee.

"You're changing your name?" Jamie asked, stunned.

"Why wouldn't I?" Amanda asked. "When I married your daddy, I changed my name from West to King. Why wouldn't I take Lee's name to honor him?"

Jamie shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "I don't know… I just thought you'd keep it because of us," he muttered quietly.

Amanda stood and put her arms around Jamie as she said, "Jamie, I love you and your brother more than anything, but I'm marrying Lee because I love him too. It's a different kind of love, but its still love. And one way I can show him I love him is to take his name when we get married." She looked at Lee then back at Jamie and asked, "Do you understand, Jamie?"

"Yeah, yeah I understand," he muttered. With a sideways glance, he looked at Lee and said, "I'm sorry, Lee. I just… I don't know…" Jamie shrugged his shoulders as he rubbed his barefoot on the floor.

"Jamie, I love your mom and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her or you and your brother. I hope you know that" Lee tried to explain. "I've never been a part of a family like I am now. And I know I'm going to make some mistakes, so maybe when I do, you can help me out?"

Jamie looked up at Lee, his hazel eyes blinking rapidly. "I know you love Mom. I can see it everytime you two are together. She never looked at my dad the way she looks at you," he said honestly. "I'm not used to someone else being around like you are. I'm happy Mom's happy so I guess..." Jamie paused before he finished, "Next time I'll knock and wait for you to respond before I open the door."

Lee reached out and touched his shoulder as he said, "It's okay, Chief, really. Now let's get your brother and your grandmother awake so we can get some breakfast." Lee smiled at Jamie and exhaled when Jamie smiled back. Jamie gave Amanda a quick hug before he darted into the other room. They heard a thump and Philip groan from the other room before Jamie shouted, "Time for breakfast!"

Lee slipped his arm around Amanda's waist and kissed her cheek as he whispered, "We're going to have to do a better job of locking doors I think. I didn't even hear him knock this morning. If he 'd been a few minutes later, he may have gotten another kind of lesson." Lee winked at Amanda and grinned when she blushed.

"We should go get everyone moving," she replied. Amanda ran her hand down his chest before she followed Jamie into the other room. "Good morning, Mother, did you sleep well?" she said loudly.

Dotty was standing and stretching when Amanda greeted her. "I slept wonderfully. It must be all that fresh air from yesterday," Dotty exclaimed with a smile.

"I'm starving," Philip announced as he stood and headed for the bathroom.

Lee laughed. "Is there ever a time you're not hungry?" he teased. Without waiting for an answer, he stated, "The longer it takes you to get ready, the longer it will be before breakfast."

Jamie gave Lee a smile as he pulled clothes out of his overnight bag. Philip exited the bathroom and copied his brother, quickly finding clean clothes. He started pulling his pajama shirt off when Amanda said, "Remember to put everything back in your bags. It will help after breakfast to get the car packed. Lee and I are going to get ready, too."

Together they returned to the adjoining room and dressed quickly, Amanda in a pink blouse and tan colored long shorts and sneakers. Lee pulled on a light blue polo shirt and white shorts with a pair of brown leather loafers. Amanda sized him up and stated, "You should wear that more often."

Lee pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose as he teased, "I think if I did, from the look on your face, we wouldn't leave the house."

Amanda blushed and concentrated on packing her suitcase. She zipped it up and dropped it onto the other bed then turned to help Lee with his. Within ten minutes they had everything packed and zipped. Amanda even went as far as to strip both beds and bundle the linens together for housekeeping. She took their bags into the other room and surveyed the progress. Philip was jamming his pajamas into his bag while Jamie was neatly tucking everything back in. Dotty just finished her shower and exited the bathroom to drop her toiletries bag into her open suitcase.

"Well, it looks like we are in good shape. So after breakfast, Lee and I will meet with Mrs. White and Philip," Amanda looked at her son to address him, "you, Jamie and your grandmother will pack the car. Then we can head down to the beach and Lee and Grandma are going for a walk. We'll use the showers down by the pool to clean off before we head home. How does that sound?"

Philip nodded and asked, "What's for lunch?"

Lee stepped into the room laughing as he said, "Let's tackle breakfast first, Ace. You guys ready to go?" He held the door for everyone but stopped Dotty before she stepped into the hallway. "Did you remember your key this time?" he teased.

Dotty patted his cheek and dangled the room key from her fingertips. "I wouldn't forget a second time," she replied. Lee offered his arm to Dotty to escort her down the hall, where Amanda was already waiting at the elevator with the boys.