Page 28 of Two Hearts' Christmas Homecoming

After they left the attic, Amy figured that they just might as well head over to the garage and look at the other furniture she thought Lex should have.

When they stepped outside, Peanuts came running up to Amy to greet her.

Bending down, she gave Peanuts a hug as he began frantically licking her face.

“Hi, Amy,” Caleb said. “We’ve been putting lots of boxes of stuff away on shelves.”

“Did you get everything sorted—I hope?” Amy grinned.

“Yes. There’s nothing left that you guys will have to do,” Izzy answered dryly. “What have the two of you been up to?”

“I’ve been showing Lex his room,” Amy replied.

Izzy grinned at Lex. “What do you think of our choice? We all decided that you needed some space of your own. We noticed that you were having a hard time trying to concentrate on all of the books that Dad’s been asking you to look over with all the racket we’ve been making.”

“And then there’s me, who’s making music all the time,” Zane muttered. “It’ll be great, Lex. My room is right across the hall from yours.”

Lex nodded, admitting, “It’s really nice. Amy’s been helping me pick out furniture to use since the room is so big.”

“Want to go upstairs and check out the garage apartment with us?” Amy asked. “Mom thought that Lex should have a larger bed in his room, and she told me the bigger headboards are stored up there if I wanted to show Lex.”

“Why don’t you two go ahead?” Izzy suggested. “I’ll go help Mom with lunch, so you can have more time for Lex to pick out what he really likes. There’s an awful lot of stuff packed in that apartment. Maybe you should grab a few lamps and stuff like that too while you’re up there.”

“That’s a good idea,” Amy agreed, looking down at Peanuts and motioning with her hand. “You’d better go along with Millie and Lily.”

Zane seemed surprised when the dog obeyed. “She wouldn’t listen to me at all earlier.”

“It’s just a fluke. She doesn’t always listen to me either,” Amy agreed, grimacing.

Zane laughed.

“Where’s Harry?” she asked.

“He drove Dad to school today after breakfast,” Izzy answered. “He was going to head back into town and pick up a few things that we needed before going back to fetch Dad from the college.”

“Can we play some video games, Amy?” Caleb asked.

“Not until after dinner, Caleb,” Amy replied. “Dad and Mom have rules for us in the summer. If it’s nice outside, we should be out here. There’s always plenty of work for all of us to do.”

“Okay.” Caleb didn’t seem to mind, probably because that meant he’d get to hang around with everyone during the rest of the day.

“We’ll see you in a little while,” Izzy said, turning back to the house.

And where Izzy went, everyone besides Amy and Lex followed.

“Has she always been so bossy?” Lex asked as Amy started leading him into the garage.

Becoming thoughtful while pursing her lips, Amy paused, finally answering, “Yep.”

Lex laughed.

* * *

“It’s like a furniture store up there,” Lex muttered about an hour later after they’d returned to his room. “I really like these lamps. They make me feel like I want to learn about the past.”

Amy studied the rustic lamps, their metal bases etched with groupings of soldiers. “I think they’re pretty old. Mom said that a lot of these things might have been in the house for at least a hundred years. When the family had to sell the house, Dad said he wondered why they didn’t auction off the furniture to keep the house in the family. They might have raised enough money.”

“So why didn’t they?” Lex asked.

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