Unforeseen Path

Chapter 12

Amanda looked at Lee as he held the elevator door and kept it from closing. She saw something in his eyes that she'd never seen before. She wordlessly got out and walked back with him and he let them back into the apartment.

Taking her hand he led them back to the couch and took her purse from her and put it in the adjacent chair and they sat down. Swallowing hard he said, " I thought we could look at the sketchbooks together."

Opening the box in front of them on the coffee table Lee then reached for the envelope that was addressed to Amanda and she said, "Gosh, I'm sorry. I forgot to take that out. You don't have to-."

Lee said quietly, "Hey. You don't want to share it with me? Why not? "

Amanda gulped and shrugged saying, "It's n-not that but you're already hurting enough today and-."

Lee squeezed her hand and kissed it lightly. "I'm okay. Besides, we're in this loss of Emily together, right? "

Amanda smiled contritely and nodded. "Right. Go ahead."

Lee cleared his throat and read the letter and when he was done he chuckled saying, "Th-That Emily was one of a kind for sure. Gee, I'm sorry you didn't get to be on more cases with her. What a blast we had! "

They both held on to each other as Lee looked at the first book and Amanda looked lost for a moment as he glanced at her at one point.

Looking concernedly at her he said, "You okay? "

Amanda shrugged. "Sure. By the way, can we keep these here? I didn't want Mother to ask a lot of questions."

Lee teased, "Oh, I can't imagine her asking anything about this. She usually keeps out of your business, right? "

It was Amanda's turn now to go look out the window. Lee sighed. Shaking his head he said, "I'm sorry. I was kidding. "

When she didn't respond or move Lee got up to stand behind her and gently touched her shoulder. "Hey, what is it? "

Amanda sighed. " Do you think it'll be like that for us? That we're alone when it happens? "

Lee said," I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean? "

Amanda swallowed hard and said softly, "That when we leave this earth, that we're alone like they were? "

Putting his arms around her slowly, he said, " I can't say for sure, but I can tell you that Emily chose not to marry again for her career and because she already had someone very special and it was enough for her. As for the Colonel? Well, he wasn't exactly alone. He had his career and he did date on occasion but he was fine with never marrying. It just wasn't something he wanted to do you know? Why did you ask about you and I being alone? "

Amanda said wistfully,"Well, I think about the job we have and sometimes I worry that one of us won't get back from a mission alive and it-it scares me a little."

Lee nodded and said, " I don't blame you for worrying as things do happen but we do the best we can to prepare ourselves and our families. I always wondered if you thought about this with your family situation and the fact that you can't tell them anything."

Amanda looked at him puzzled. "Now I'm not following. What-? "

Lee said simply, " I always wondered if it was a smart idea to bring you on board with us. I mean it was only supposed to be that one time but you impressed Billy enough that you were given a position as my-."

Amanda sighed. "Oh, boy! Here it comes!" Pulling away from him she went back to the couch and sat down fuming. " As a typist? File clerk? Oh, and as an added bonus, I make lunches that you do not appreciate. Then you use my driveway as a dropoff for an RV rest stop. An RV that nearly gets us killed! Oh, and how about the time you whisked me off on Christmas Eve and we were in a cabin with a man I was trying to fool into thinking I was his daughter and you nearly died with those Russian men?!"

Lee shook his head as he came back to the couch and sat down quickly saying, "Stop! We got out of those messes luckily because you are resourceful and have a lot of ingenuity and foresight. Really. You-You called a truce of all things on Christmas Eve. I still don't know how the hell that happened. All I'm trying to say here is that I would care if something were to happen to you and I couldn't prevent it. Have you ever thought about maybe getting a safer job? "

Amanda chuckled remembering something and Lee said, "What? "

Amanda said, "If it wasn't for your interruption that day at Honeycutt Typewriters, I would have been working for a real creep! So I thank you. "

Lee gazed at her slitting his eyes. "What do you mean, creep? Did he do something to you before I got there?! "

Amanda shook her head. "No. It's what he said that got to me-."

Lee said, "Tell me what that creep said and I'll go pound him one! "

Amanda laughed and said putting up her hand. "Whoa, Tarzan! It-It's fine! It's been almost two years now. I think he's harassing someone else or has gotten fired. It doesn't matter. It was just something about the color of my top and I should wear it often because I would look "delicious" in it! Ugh!"

Lee thought for a moment and shook his head. "Wow! He's lucky he's still alive! Francine would've flattened him with that comment! Why did you let him get away with that?"

Amanda said, "Hey! I was nervous at the interview and at the time I wasn't sure if that was actually what he said but thinking back just now, it was."

Lee said, "Okay, maybe it's better that you do stay at the Agency. The only reason I was thinking otherwise is because I don't know what we'd tell your family if something did happen. "

Amanda nodded and said, "I think about telling them if we ever had to leave and get relocated and start our life over somewhere else. Have you ever thought about it? "

Lee nodded. "When that ex-agent wanted to write that book! God, Harriman was a piece of work!"

Amanda sighed. "Yeah. Do you know I actually asked Mother about moving? She looked at me and thought I lost my mind because it was in the middle of the school year. "

Lee said, "So you have thought about it? "

Amanda said, "Yeah, but it would be awful hard leaving the only home I've ever known- I was brought up there, went to school, got married, had my boys-."

Lee said, "Got divorced, met that Dave-."

Amanda said, "Dean! "

Lee said, "Right! Dean. I still can't believe you're with him though. I just-."

Amanda interrupted him saying, " I'm not any more. We broke up recently..."

Lee looked bewilderedly at her. "Wait a minute...what?!"

TBC