Amanda and Matty left the hospital and went home. She traded cars with Phillip so they got into Vetty. If only Phillip could keep his room as clean as he kept this car. There was so much she needed to do to prepare the house for her husband's return later that day.
Gosh she hoped that Jamie had remembered to get the groceries. Well, if Jamie had forgotten to get groceries. They could just order pizzas for tonight. When the boys got home later she would send them out if it wasn't too late. She also needed to talk to Mother about Lee. She had promised her unless something was classified, she would never lie to Mother again.
They pulled into the driveway at the Maplewood house. They got out of Vetty and went inside. The house was very welcoming. It smelled like chocolate chip cookies and fresh flowers when they walked in. At least they could go in through the front door this time and she did not have to sneak her son in again.
"Mother! Leann! Are you home?" Amanda yelled as they walked in the door. Mother yelled back that she was in the kitchen.
Mother was pulling a cookie sheet out of the oven. "Amanda dear, you are home and you brought my sweet angel back home with you."
Mother walked over to Matty and hugged him. Her youngest son seemed happy to see her. Soon her husband would be home too and her four children were going to be under the same roof for the first time ever tonight.
"Did Jamie get the groceries?" Amanda asked her.
Mother smiled, "No, I did the shopping. I got enough for two armies with all four kids in the house. It is going to be so nice having all four of them together."
Amanda smiled, "I know. Jamie will have to make sure to take lots of pictures. I am a little disappointed that I missed out on Leann and Matty meeting each other for the first time."
Mother laughed, "They got along very well. I mean we do need to talk to her again about being polite when she meets new people. That girl's mouth is going to get her in trouble one day but Matty didn't seem to mind. I think he liked her."
Matty smiled and nodded yes. Mother grabbed Matty and put her arm around him. Amanda felt a little pang of jealousy of Mother having him. But Amanda had spent a couple of days with him downstairs. Mother just got a couple of hours with him. There would be time later for her to bond more with her youngest son. Except Lee would be coming home soon. Her youngest son had always gravitated to his father. There was a good chance that Leann would too as soon as she met him. She would have to get used to sharing her children again.
For someone who constantly told her how awful he was with children. Children seemed to love him especially her children. She knew it was because he was just a big kid himself. Lee tended to genuinely enjoy doing whatever the kids were doing because he never really got to do the things himself when he was a child.
Leann was going to love him. Amanda was just going to have to get used to sharing her children again. It had been an adjustment for her when they first brought Matty home as a baby. To actually have help with the baby. Her first two she had done most everything on her own. Especially with Phillip. She had been by herself when he was a baby. Mother hadn't lived with her back then. Joe was never home and when he was never helped with either of her older boys. Amanda had barely slept the first year of Phillip's life.
When Phillip was about two months old. Her parents had come to visit, and they saw how burned out she was. She had gone to stay with her parents for a few days. Her daddy had wanted her to leave Joe back then. She almost had and she was probably should have but then she never would have had Jamie. She couldn't imagine her life without her two oldest boys. She really would go through all of that again for her oldest boys. They were worth everything.
Mother interrupted her train of thought, "Matty, I need help with these cookies. I need someone to test them to see if they taste alright."
Matty smiled. He reached for the cookies she had just taken out of the oven.
"No sweet angel. Those need to cool. Check that batch for me." She pointed to a tray on the counter.
"Once you finish testing that batch. You can test the newest batch for me. It should have cooled enough by then." She ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head.
Amanda wanted to see her daughter. She hadn't even talked to her poor daughter in a couple of days. She missed her. "Where's Leean?"
Mother smiled. "Oh well Edna Gilstrap's granddaughter Jessie is visiting. She noticed that we had come home. You know how she watches the comings and goings of the whole neighborhood. Anyway, she called and asked if Leann would come over so that Jessie would have someone to play with. Leann will be home before dinner."
Amanda was disappointed but kind of glad Leann wasn't home. It would be easier to talk to Mother alone. Well Matty was with them but it didn't matter. He knew everything anyway.
Amanda grabbed a cookie and started eating it, "Jessie's a nice little girl. That's good she's not home right now because mother before you put the next batch of cookies in the oven. I need to talk to you about some things."
They both walked to the living room. Matty followed them while testing the cookies and Mother grabbed him and pulled him to her lap. Amanda watched as her son ate the cookies. The way he ate was exactly the same as she remembered. He would smile a little every time he took a bite. She could tell he wasn't faking liking the cookies. She was going to have to make a couple of poppy seed cakes as well. That was both Lee and Matty's favorite baked good.
Mother looked her up and down, "I think I have it all figured everything out. You got arrested by the Agency for taking Matty last night. That's why Phillip was being so secretive and you're the client that Joe met last night. That awful Agency, the way they are treating you after everything you have done and given up for them. Then they go and hurt my grandson. All because Mr. Melrose has death threats against him. Right now, I can see why. I'm about to issue my own death threat against him."
Amanda sighed. "Mother, Billy is a very nice man. I thought you liked him now. It's all worked out with the Agency for now for the most part. I most likely don't work there anymore but according to Joe I should not be in any legal trouble. They could be in a lot more trouble for the interrogation they put him through. And yes, I was the person Joe went to see last night. But it's not what you think."
"Well dear. I'm listening. I don't like Mr. Melrose when my grandson gets hurt because of him or when he is going to fire my daughter for taking her son home."
Amanda sighed, "Mother, it's not him. He tried to help me. Joe says he's still trying to help. If Matty had actually made it to Billy. I think things would have turned out differently. It's Doctor Smyth who caused all the ruckus. He's the one that blew everything out of proportion."
Mother huffed, "Don't even get me started on that man."
Amanda decided to change the subject. There wasn't a lot of time before they came home and she needed to prepare Mother that Lee was coming home.
She decided to tell Mother the fake story first. See how she reacted and then tell her the truth. That seemed the best course of action.
"The man who has been taking care of Matty all this time. His name is Michael Winthrope. He is Lee's grandfather's son. So, Lee's uncle."
Mother made a face. "Lee has another uncle? Joe told me a little about that but I didn't really get the whole story."
Amanda nodded, "Yes, except he is younger than Lee. His grandfather had an affair with a Canadian hippie woman in the early 60s. Michael Winthrope went missing when he 17 years old in Vancouver, Canada. I remember Lee investigating him a while back. He must have connected with him. He became part of Lee's Barnstorm network. Lee had him stashed somewhere when we went on the warehouse raid in case anything went wrong. Well then, the warehouse exploded, and Michael thought Lee & I were both killed. So, he took Alex to his father in London for help. Lee's grandfather. Matty & Michael have been living there ever since."
His grandmother raised her eyebrow." Lee's Missing Canadian Uncle who is the illegitimate child of Lee's grandfather and a Canadian Hippie? Amanda dear, that sounds like its straight out of Hospital Romance"
His mother sighed "Well that's the true part of the story actually. But does the rest of it sound good?"
His grandmother looked confused. "You made that up. I knew some of it already from Joe and Jamie."
His mother smiled a little "I only made up part of it up. Lee's grandfather really did have a child with a Canadian Hippie, and his uncle did go missing in the woods of Vancouver when he was seventeen. They were caught up in a drug ring in the 70s. The real Michael Winthrope is most likely dead. I just wanted to see how it went over with you before I told you the real story."
"Michael Winthrope the awful man that kept this sweet child away from us all that time?"
Amanda smiled, "He's not awful at all Mother. I'm pretty sure you are going to like him very much when Phillip & Jamie bring him home from the hospital in a couple of hours."
Mother looked shocked "In a couple of hours, you are bringing him here? With the children?"
Amanda nodded, "Yes, Mother. Matty adores him. And I know Leann is going to love him. I can guarantee you will as well."
Mother looked worried. "Amanda dear, are you feeling alright? I know you have been under a lot of pressure lately."
"Mother look I'm fine. I'm more than fine. I feel better than I have in 5 years, actually. Look just listen. Ok? What I am about to tell you. Only, Phillip, Jamie, Joe, Matty & I know. Nobody and I mean nobody else can find out. I am including Leann as one of the nobody else's. She is too little to keep a secret this big."
Mother got even more concerned and gripped Matty tighter. "I promise, dear. I know you don't trust me, but I've kept all your other secrets all these years."
Amanda felt guilty. "I trust you, Mother. I promised you that I wouldn't lie to you again unless something was classified. Michael Winthrope is Lee. Lee's not dead."
Mother's jaw dropped. "But there was a body?"
"It wasn't Lee's body. Lee killed one of the men who hurt Matty. He put his own identification on the man. He was trying to buy a little time to escape out of the country. He didn't expect his death to stick according to him."
Mother's eyes filled with tears. "But how could he do that to you of all people? Lee would never leave you Amanda. He would never hurt you like that. You barely left the house for months after Lee died."
"He thought I was dead too Mother. I mean you all did for about 3 days until they found me in the sub basement under the wreckage. Lee had already fled the country when I was found."
Mother reached over and touched Amanda's face gently. "Thank God they did, dear. If we had lost you too. I can't even think about those three days. Those were the worst 3 days of my life. Thinking I had lost my only daughter. Not to mention Lee supposedly dying and the blasted Agency recovering every other missing child but ours."
Amanda sighed. "Well Lee & Matty have been living with Lee's grandfather. The one that died last year. I met him once. He was the living embodiment of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Was absolutely horrible to Lee called him Jenny's bastard even though Lee's parents were married but his daughter had married a lowly American. His grandfather has a title. He was Lord Jonathon Winslow Hamilton. I guess that title would have passed to Lee except since for all sakes and purposes Matty must be Lord Alexander Matthew Stetson now. Gosh if Lee had used Hamilton instead of Winthrope when they disappeared. Matty's fake name would be Matthew Alexander Hamilton.
Anyway, I'm getting off topic. He disowned his daughter when she married Matthew Stetson. He thought Lee's father was beneath his daughter. Lee had never even met his grandfather until his parents' funeral. But financially his grandfather never cut Lee or his mother off. He had told Lee at the funeral if he was ever in serious trouble that he could reach out to him. That is the only contact they really had. Lee had only ever really met him one other time when he was a teenager and had gotten thrown out of a Swiss boarding school. His grandfather made that go away for him. When the warehouse exploded, Lee did not want to use Barnstorm to disappear. Lee thought it would be safer to use his grandfather's network. Especially because he barely had a relationship with that man. He never expected his grandfather to be nice to him and Matty. To let them stay. Nobody would ever think of looking for Lee there. Not even me."
Mother looked at her "Wow, I can't believe that awful man took them in."
Matty looked like he was getting upset and nodded no. He was trying to say something. He looked a little frustrated that he couldn't communicate something. Then Amanda looked at him. They were calling his great grandfather awful. From what Lee had told her in the hospital Lee's grandfather had been good to Lee & Matty. Matty was just a little boy. His great grandfather would have been the only other family he knew.
Amanda felt bad, "You don't like that we called your great grandfather awful. Do you? I'm sorry. He just was not very nice to your father and I when I met him. We just didn't know him like you did."
Matty nodded yes. He made an okay sign with his hand. She could tell he wanted to say something but didn't know how. She could tell that not being able to communicate was stressing him out a little bit.
She put her arm around him and pulled him into her. "You have a lot you want to say. Don't you, sweet boy? When your daddy comes home later. You can tell me all about your great grandfather. I'd love to hear it. You are also going to have to start teaching me that tapping thing you and he do. It may take a few weeks but you and I will be talking in no time. I'll sign up to learn sign language too. I guess we all will need to learn that. Gosh we are going to have to figure out school and things like that for you as well."
Matty's got a look of fear on his face for a second. Oh gosh she shouldn't have said that. Not yet. Lee had said he didn't think Matty realized he was staying there forever yet. Amanda could tell it was dawning on him. She kissed the top of his head.
"This is your home now, sweet boy. Well it always was. You were always supposed to be here with us. You understand that, right?"
Matty looked like he wanted to say something but he just nodded yes.
She was going to do whatever she could to make him feel at home, "I know this is a new country for you. We are new people even though we aren't. It's a little scary, isn't it?"
Matty looked down at his feet and nodded yes.
"Well, we all love you very much. You are safe here and you have a home now full of people that all love you very much. Almost as much as I do."
Matty smiled a little at her and tapped I love you on her forehead.
She tapped it back on his forehead. "I love you so much, sweet boy. It is all going to be alright. We can talk more later. I just need to get the basement ready for your Daddy. Look you stay with your Grandma right now. Help her make the cookies, while I go downstairs and get everything all set up."
Matty smiled and nodded then he went back and sat next to Mother. When Jamie came home. He was going to need to take a lot of pictures. She would have to ask Lee if he had any pictures of Matty in England. She was guessing probably not a whole lot if any since they were in hiding. But if there were any she wanted to see them. She had missed almost five years of her youngest son's life.
Just then she heard a car pull into the driveway. "Oh shoot. I thought I would have more time. I need to go change the sheets on the bed downstairs. I need to get some of Lee's clothes that I have up in the attic and wash them too."
Mother got up off the couch and walked to the door and opened it. "Amanda dear. There is nobody in the driveway anymore. But there's a package here for Phillip. Must be another car part."
Mother picked it up and put it on the counter. "Well dear, before you go downstairs and the house is full of people. I just want to say one thing when you marry Lee again. You should not take his fake last name."
Not her too, "Mother I am not going to marry him again. I can't be with him like that anymore. We were too close. Lee and I are just going to be friends."
Mother started laughing, patted her and said, "Whatever you say, dear."
Then Mother grabbed Matty's arm and they both got up from the couch. " C'mon angel, let's go finish making the cookies. While your mother gets everything ready."
Amanda went up to the attic really quickly and grabbed a box labeled Lee's casual clothes. She was thankful that she never actually got around to donating his clothes. She was going to but it had been too hard. She just boxed them up and put them in the attic. She took that box down into the basement.
As she disappeared down the stairs she heard Mother say to Matty. "It will be so nice having your Daddy home again. This family's luck is changing for the better. And don't you worry. I know my daughter. I give them 2-3 weeks tops of being ridiculous before they come to their senses. It's too intense, unbelievable . You can't just turn those type of feelings on and off. Well, my stories are on. Would you like to watch with me while we wait for the next batch of cookies and your daddy to come home?"
Amanda knew Mother was right about her feelings. Amanda guessed her and Lee would have some slip ups but she could do it. The more time went on and they all settled it should get easier to not be with him. She just needed to be strong.
She started sorting through the box she grabbed from the attic and found some pajamas, t-shirts, blue boxers and sweats for him. He was recuperating. He wouldn't need a suit. She had his suits boxed up in the attic. She had donated the others. She would have to go clothes shopping for him and Matty during the week. Especially Matty she didn't have much for him.
She went and put fresh sheets on the bed. She ran upstairs really quick and grabbed some flowers and stuck it in the Tibetan's Ram Horn. Lee would like that.
She just finished putting everything in the wash when she heard Mother yell. "Amanda, I think they are home for real this time!"
Shoot! She thought she was going to have more time. Oh well. She would just have to wing it. Lee was already wearing high waters. He would just have to wear some of Phillip's things until these clothes were clean and dry. Phillip was at least taller than whomever's pants he had been wearing when he came home.
She went up the stairs. Lee was leaning on Jamie as they came in the front door. Matty went over and attached himself to Lee's leg. Lee smiled as he looked at his son. You really could see how much love he had for their son in his eyes. Matty lit up when he saw Lee. Amanda knew she could never compete with Lee for her son's affections. She just hoped that one day her son would look at her the way that he used to.
Her son was warming to her. Spending a couple of days of uninterrupted time with him had been good but Amanda knew she needed to bond with her youngest son some more. Let him know that he could really trust her. The fact that she probably didn't have a job anymore was good. At least she could spend some real quality time getting to know him again. The Morse code would be the quickest to learn. She would call Beaman see if she could get some training manuals.
She spoke to her boys and Lee, "Bring him downstairs. I got the bed ready for him down there."
They all went downstairs, the stairs were painful part for Lee. It hurt watching Lee go down them but Phillip and Jamie helped him down. Lee went in the bedroom sat on the bed and took his shoes off. Then he lied back on the bed. "God it's nice to be out of that godforsaken hell hole. This room looks almost exactly the same. It's nice to be home."
Amanda rolled her eyes at his Lee. "Gallilee is not a godforsaken hell hole.I have some of your old clothes in the wash right now. Phillip, go grab one of your t-shirts for him. So, he doesn't have to keep wearing that bloody shirt until his own clothes are dry."
Phillip nodded and disappeared out of the room. Matty was just standing in the corner of the room next to Mother who had her arm around him. She was holding him to her. Amanda knew the second she let go. Matty was going to jump in the bed right next Lee. They needed to get him settled first.
Phillip came back in the room with a tie dyed Grateful Dead shirt. "It will complete the whole hippie professor look you have going on, dude"
Lee looked at the shirt in disgust and then turned towards Amanda, "Amanda, the clothes you have for me will be dry soon, right?"
Lee started to take his shirt off. He groaned in pain. Amanda went over and helped him with the shirt. Gosh, he was still really fit. Amanda felt warm all over. Thank god she wasn't alone with him. Not being with him again was going to be hard. Really hard. She helped him put his shirt on. She tried really hard not to touch his skin but her fingers grazed it a little. Lee made a little noise that could be mistaken for pain. But she knew it was from her fingers touching him. She knew that noise. She used to like making him make that noise. Yeah this was going to be really hard. Maybe they could be what did Phillip and Jamie call it? Maybe be friends with benefits? No, that was too dangerous.
Phillip's voice thankfully interrupted her thoughts "Actually, that shirt makes you look cooler. Less like a professor and more like an aging rock star."
Lee just ignored Phillip's comments, and he turned to look at Mother.
Lee smiled at her gently, "Hi Dottie."
Amanda grabbed Matty from Mother to keep holding him back from going to Lee. Mother and Lee needed their moment. Her and Matty went over to where Jamie was standing and she put her other arm around Jamie. Phillip came over to the corner and stood with them as well.
Mother's eyes started tearing up. "It really is you under all that hair. Isn't it?"
Lee smiled gently at her. "Yeah, its me."
Mother hugged him. "We missed you so much. Never do that again. Alright?"
Lee's eye's dropped guiltily and he said, "I already promised Jamie that if I ever have to disappear like that again. I will let you all know if I'm actually okay. I should have this time. I know. I just wasn't really in my right mind after Amanda died. I wanted to reach out a hundred times. I told the boys that when Matty was a little older. I would have tricked them into coming to the Hamilton estate somehow."
Mother started petting Lee's hair gently and touched the side of his face. "Well, I hope you were planning to trick me into coming as well."
Lee smiled. "Yes of course."
She hugged him again. "Oh, it's so wonderful to have you both home. The whole family is finally back together."
Lee turned towards Amanda, "Someone is still missing. Amanda, our daughter, where is she? I'd like to meet her."
Amanda knew he wasn't going to like her answer, "She is at Edna Gilstrap's house"
Lee made a face. "You think me letting Matty drink coffee is bad? But you let one of our children go to the witch's den by herself?"
Amanda laughed a little. God she had missed him. "Edna Gilstrap is not a witch, Lee."
Then Mother piped in "Well..."
Amanda cut her off. "Mother, don't encourage him. No, Leann is not there for Edna. Edna has a granddaughter named Jessie who is about the same age as Leann. They are friends. She'll be back before dinner which is good because I haven't seen her in almost a week now too. I'm looking forward to seeing her."
She looked around the room and saw her three boys, Mother, and Lee. Everyone besides her daughter was home where they belonged and her daughter would be home in a couple of hours. Mother was right things really were looking up for her family.
Notes:
Oh Amanda, like I'm going to make it easier for you not to be with Lee in this story. LOL
Next chapter - Lee meets his daughter for the first time.