Tuesday night…
 

The table in the back of Randy’s bar, an agent hangout, had a cheerful crowd.  The conversations were lively, the jokes funny, and the stories often a bit far-fetched, but there was certainly a lot of laughter.  The steaks were long gone and the mugs of beer nearly empty as Lee, Amanda, their friends and family celebrated his release.

“It really happened,” Lee swore for the umpteenth time, but he was having difficulty getting anyone at the table to believe his tall tale.

“I don’t believe a word of it,” Amanda chuckled, shaking her head.

Lee put his arm around his wife’s shoulder, and pulled her closer, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” Amanda asked.

“Just because I love you,” he answered as his hand caressed her face.

“OK, if you two are going to start with the mushy stuff, it’s time for me to take off,” Jamie replied, rolling his eyes, teasing them.

“Already?” Amanda questioned disappointedly.

Jamie got up out of his chair, and came over to say goodbye to his mother and stepfather.  “Yeah, Mom, I’ve got a long ride home.  Cindy will be worried as it is.”  He bent down, kissed his mother’s cheek, and gave Lee a hug.  “I’m glad this whole mess is finally over, Lee.”

“Me too,” he concurred.  “I miss my grandkids.”

“They missed you, too.  We’ll be up this weekend with them, I promise,” Jamie answered.  “You won’t believe how big the baby has grown.”

Lee smiled happily.  “I’m looking forward to seeing them both.”

“I think it’s time for us to go, too,” Jeannie Melrose announced as she and her daughter got up to leave.

“Jeannie, thanks for coming.  It was really great to see you,” Lee said getting up.  He gave her a big hug and a kiss.  “Janet, thanks for keeping those files of your dad’s and for testifying.  Without your help, I don’t think we’d be having this celebration tonight.”

“It was my pleasure,” Janet answered, with a bright smile.  “Thanks for dinner.”

“We’ll talk to you soon,” Amanda said to Jeannie before they left.

“I think I better get going, too,” Phillip announced soon after Jamie left.  “Grandma, did you want to spend a few days with your great grandchildren before school starts?  Meagan would love to show off her new school clothes and Joey is really stoked about riding the bus to kindergarten.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Dotty said with a big grin.  “We need to stop at the house for a minute so I can pack a bag and grab a few other things.”

Lee got up, and gave Dotty a big hug.  “Thanks for everything, Dotty.”

“Don’t thank me, dear, I didn’t do anything.”

“You were there for Amanda, and I can’t thank you enough for that,” Lee whispered into her ear, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

She winked at him.  “I’ll see you both in a couple of days.”

“Phillip, you’re coming this weekend for the barbeque – right!?”  Lee asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

“We’ll all be there.  I’ll bring grandma home then, too.  It’ll give you and Mom a few days to have the house all to yourself.”

“I don’t get in the way,” Dotty retorted, giving her grandson a reproving glare.

“I didn’t mean…” Phillip tried to explain, but Dotty interrupted him.

“I know you didn’t, sweetheart, now let’s get going,” she replied, patting his arm.  “I’ve got a special surprise for Meagan and Joey.”

“Oh yeah,” Phillip asked helping his grandmother to her feet, “What’s that?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, young man!” Dotty warned her grandson jovially.

Amanda hugged her mother next and whispered curiously, “What’s the surprise?”

“Now, sweetheart, you know perfectly well what the surprise is!” Dotty chuckled as Phillip led her towards the door.

“Oh my gosh!” Amanda laughed when she realized what her mother’s surprise was.

“What’s so funny?” Lee asked his wife.

“I’ll tell you later,” she promised, calling out to her mother and son before they left the bar.  “Night Mother, Phillip, drive careful.  Love you both.”

“Amanda, there’s something that’s been driving me crazy,” Francine called out to her from across the now half-empty table.

“What’s that, Francine?”

“I spent most of the night going through box after box of Harry Thornton files, not having a clue as to where to find the file that would exonerate Lee.  I faxed a list of file names to Jacob late last night for you to look at,” Francine started to explain, shaking her head in disbelief.  She leaned her elbows onto the table, resting her head on her hands and continued.  “There were an awful lot of files to go through, even after I narrowed it down.  I figured Jacob would have to ask for a continuance to stall for more time, but nooooo!  At eight AM this morning, Jacob calls me, to tell me to look in the ‘IKE’ file.  I figured it was a guess on your part, but I’d check there anyway.  I trudge over to the State Department during that downpour this morning, getting totally drenched and ruining my new Louis Vuitton heels.  I thought for sure, I was on a wild goose chase, but I pull out that file and sure enough, you were right on the money.  Now, tell me, how in the world did you know?”

Amanda laughed.  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Leatherneck nodded.  “Come on, Amanda, it can’t be any less believable than Scarecrow’s last tale.”

Lee glanced over at his wife, curious as well.  “Yeah, honey, how did you figure it out?  There had to be thousands of files.”

“I told you, you won’t believe me,” she answered again, shaking her head.

“Try us,” Lee encouraged.

“All right,” Amanda said, letting out a long breath.  “You remember Harry had a big fluffy orange cat?”

“Yeah,” Lee nodded, tapping his finger on the table, “wasn’t his name…”

“Ike!” Francine shouted with a perplexed look on her face.  “How in the hell did you figure out that the file’s name was Ike?”

With a shrug, she answered plainly, “Harry told me.”

“Harry told you?” Lee and Francine chimed in together.

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Amanda replied.

“A-man-da…” Lee replied, losing patience and giving her a look.  “Spill it.”

“OK, but I warned you, you’re not going to believe me,” Amanda downed the last of her beer before leaning back in her chair.  “To be honest, I went through those files last night and was totally stumped.  At some point, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until there was a loud clap of thunder this morning.”  She glanced over at Francine, “You know; when that storm front came through.  My mother was in the kitchen making breakfast and I took a quick shower and got dressed.  I planned on taking another crack at the list after I ate.”

Lee, Francine, and Leatherneck were listening intently, waiting for Amanda’s long-winded story to make sense.

“Go on…” Lee encouraged.

“Mother insisted I eat a hot breakfast.  We sat down together in the nook and the thunderstorm raged with a vengeance.  A few minutes after the rain started, I heard crying…”

“Crying?” Francine repeated skeptically.

“Uh huh,” Amanda nodded.  “At first, I didn’t know what it was, and then I went to the door and looked outside.”

“And the ghost of Harry Thornton appeared to you?” Leatherneck joked.

Amanda shook her head.  “No, but huddled up against the house trying to get out of the rain, was a soggy little kitten.”

“Let me guess – it was orange,” Lee surmised, shaking his head at the irony.

“Yup,” Amanda nodded.  “I don’t have a clue as to where the little fellow came from, but there he was.  I dried him off and he was as fluffy as…”

“Harry’s cat, Ike,” Lee finished her sentence for her.

“I don’t believe it,” Francine remarked incredulously.  “You find a stray kitten and that makes you think of Harry’s pet cat and you instantly know which file to look in?”

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“I think I’ve heard all the tall tales I can stand for one night,” Leatherneck announced as he got up from his chair and shook Lee’s hand, before giving him a hug.  “Francine, can I walk you to your car?”

“That would be great,” Francine answered and got up from the table.

Lee stood up as well, and went over to his two true friends.  “Francine, what can I say other than thank you?  I owe you my freedom.”

“You’ve watched my back for years, Scarecrow.  I’m glad I could return the favor,” Francine replied, giving him a hug and a kiss.

Leatherneck reached out his hand, “Scarecrow, sorry it took so long, but I’m glad things worked out in the end.”

Lee shook his hand, but then pulled him into a bear hug.  “I’m lucky to have such remarkable friends.”

“You get back what you give out, my friend,” Leatherneck replied, patting Lee on the back.  Then he leaned over and kissed Amanda on the cheek.  “Goodnight, Amanda, try to keep him out of trouble.”

“I’ll try,” Amanda laughed, “Goodnight, Leatherneck, Francine, and thanks again for all your support.  It means the world to us both.”

Lee and Amanda watched their friends head out of the bar.  “I’m a lucky man.”

“I’ll say,” Amanda agreed.  “For a while, I thought you were going to be spending the rest of your life behind bars.”

“Thanks to you, that’s not going to happen.  I don’t think I’ve thanked you personally for that have I?”

Amanda grinned.  “I was hoping you’d thank me personally later tonight.”

“That can certainly be arranged,” Lee replied, taking his wife’s face in his hands and stroking it gently.  Then he leaned in and kissed her, a long and intense kiss.

Amanda pulled away.  “You know, I should still be mad at you for lying under oath last week.  You did state, for the record, that you didn’t love me.”

“You would have every reason to be angry with me,” he answered, kissing her lips tenderly.  With his eyes twinkling brightly only inches from her face, he asked. “So how come I’m getting off so easy?”

Glancing around the still crowded bar, she smiled.  “Because I kind of like where this is going Mr. Stetson.  I guess I’ll have to forgive you.”

“You will, huh?” he teased, kissing her again.  “I promise to make it up to you.”

“Mmm, I like that proposition,” she whispered, gently caressing his face.  She glanced around the darkened bar.  “As wonderful as dinner was here at Randy’s, you’re a free man, Mr. Stetson.  What do you say we go home and finish this… conversation there?”

Lee’s lips captured his wife’s lips once again, eliciting yet another enticing kiss.  When he pulled away, he whispered, “That’s one offer I won’t refuse, Mrs. Stetson, and I promise to make amends.”

Standing up, Lee held out his hand for his wife.  Then he wrapped his armed protectively around her body, and together they strolled out of the bar into the warm night…
 

***
 

Later that night

Amanda lit the lilac scented candle, blew out the match, and walked over to the switch.  She clicked off the bedroom light and the candlelight cascaded around the room, creating a romantic ambiance.  Pausing for a moment, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, wishing she had bought a new negligee for Lee’s first night back home.

“This will have to do,” she remarked, lost in her thoughts.

“Is something wrong?” Lee asked, leaning down to kiss the nape of her neck.

She jumped, startled by her husband’s voice.  “Oh my gosh!”

“It’s just me,” he reassured her with his tender touch.

“It’s been a while since you’ve snuck up on me.  I didn’t hear you come in.”

 Leaning his head against her cheek, he asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really.”  She glanced in the mirror one more time, and their eyes locked on each other.  Amanda blushed, but in the darkened room, she realized her husband wouldn’t be able to notice.  Then glancing back in the mirror, she shrugged at her reflection, fingering the delicate strap to her negligee, almost disappointed.  “If I had known you were coming home tonight, I would have bought something… new.”

Lee smiled, and surveyed his wife’s willowy body.  In a voice filled with desire, and apparently reading her mind, he answered, “Is that all?  Mrs. Stetson, I can honestly say that I’m delighted with what I see.”

“Oh, Lee…” she whispered, leaning back against his body.

Turning his wife to face him, his hand reached up and stroked her face tenderly.  “You’re beautiful, Amanda.  I missed you more than I can tell you.  These past four months were a living nightmare, but the worst thing was not being able to spend time with you – touch you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.  I can’t believe you’re actually back home, in our bedroom,” she whispered, a broad smile on her face.  “There were times I didn’t think this would ever happen.”

“Shhh,” he whispered, as he pulled his wife to him protectively, his hands exploring her body slowly, reacquainting himself with her delicate curves.  His lips sought out and captured hers; he began a deep and impassioned kiss.  When Lee broke it off, he promised, “I’ll never take for granted the magnificent feeling I get when I hold you in my arms.”

“You know what I missed?” she asked him.

He shook his head, “No, tell me.”

She kissed his lips, lingering for a few moments, nuzzling his face before confiding in him.  “I miss how wonderful you smell after a shower, and,” her hand glided across his freshly shaved cheek and chin, “the sexy smell of your aftershave lotion.”

“My aftershave, huh?” he teased, chuckling.  He kissed her yet again.  “I love you, Amanda, and I can’t thank you enough for standing behind me these past few months.”

“I’d follow you through a blizzard at midnight, Lee,” she whispered.

“Hey, that’s my line,” he grumbled, pulling back the comforter on the bed.  Then he tugged gently on the tie, holding his robe closed, and in an agile motion, shrugged it from his shoulders and let it slip to the floor.

“Wow,” Amanda sighed once again, her eyes scanning her husband’s firm body.  In a voice filled with desire, she responded, “You certainly are an incredibly… handsome man, Mr. Stetson.  I love you so much, sweetheart.”

Lee pulled her into his waiting arms.  His hands gently explored her body, running freely over the thin negligee.  His lips capturing hers again, his tongue exploring her mouth, as her body molded into his.  In a swift, but tender motion, he scooped her up into his arms, and carefully placed her on the center of the bed.  His eyes swept down across her body appreciative of the slender form eager for his touch.

“It’s good to be home, Mrs. Stetson, it’s really good to be home…” he whispered, as he lay down next to her on the bed and captured her lips yet again.

End Part Eight
 

Go to:  Part Nine
 

Go to:  Robin's Stories
 

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