Chapter 2

         It was Belinda who had the clearest view of the window, so she was the one who
     rolled her eyes first. "Trevor! You scared us half to death!"
         The others caught their breath, as Hayley motioned for him to come inside.
     "Janet-- your gifts!" Erica whispered, trying to snatch the negligees from her chair
     before Trevor could see them. Janet heard her, and sat back down just in time
     rather than run to Trevor's embrace.
         "So is this shower moving through the Pine Valley metro area at a good pace?" he
     asked the women.
         "The best!" Hayley said with a hug as Belinda joined Erica in trying to shuttle
     Janet's gifts out of sight.
         "Oh yeah? Is that why does my gorgeous bride-to-be and her friends there look
     like the felines that swallowed the proverbial canary, huh?"
         Janet glanced over her shoulder. "Can I get up now?" She got the all clear from
     Erica, then rose to greet her man. "That's what happen when you show up at a
     private party unannounced," she beamed.
         "I'm not crashing the bash! Tink, what time did I say I was swinging by to get a few
     moments with the fiancee here?"
         "9:30. Oh-- wow, I had no idea it was so late!" Hayley headed over to the kitchen.
     "Your ice cream cones will be ready in a jiffy!"
         "Ice cream cones?" Janet inquired as Erica and Belinda started placing bags of
     shower gifts at her feet. "Between this and the cake they just gave me, I'm gonna
     need to be ROLLED down the aisle in a few weeks!"
         "I knew you'd say something like that," Trevor smiled, lacing his fingers behind her
     back and pulling her close. "That's why we're getting--"
         "The best low fat frozen yogurt in town!" Hayley sang, emerging with treats for both
     Janet and Trevor. "Caramel Swirl for the lady; chocolate for the gentleman." She
     handed them over. "Now go for your walk... we've got your packages right here
     and we'll put them in the trunk of Janet's car."
         "Hey, can I get a sneak preview?" Trevor asked, trying to poke his way into one of
     the bags.
         "NO!" all four women snapped at him.
         "Testy, testy!" He took Janet's hand and kissed it. "Ready to take a hike, Babe?"
         "Where are we going, anyway?"
         "Just a little stroll.. trust me!"

 
        Back at the Dillon House, Tim was downstairs surfing the Net when Amanda
     padded down the stairs. "Did Daddy say when he'd be home?" she asked him.
         "Amanda, you're supposed to be asleep!"
         "I know, but I want to ask him something about the wedding."
         "Well, you can ask him tomorrow." He stopped typing and turned to his
     pajama clad sister. "You're pretty excited about this, aren't ya?"
         She nodded. "Uh-huh. Now that yucky Mr. Green is gone, everything's going to be
     perfect!"
         "Between this and your birthday coming up-- no wonder you can't sleep," Tim
     chucked. "Come on, kiddo, back upstairs. I'll be up in a few minutes to read you
     another story."
         "Ok but if I hear Daddy come in I'm back down here."
         Once she was gone, Tim gave a thought or two to Axel Green. He'd heard the
     story about an actor playing the part, even though Amanda was still oblivious. He
     couldn't help wondering a little where the real Axel was. Going to an address
     search engine, he looked up Axel's name. "Can't be too many guys with that
     name, anyway," he said to himself. He was right. There was only one-- in
     Harrisburg, PA. With an E-mail address to boot.
         "Ooh-- a little TOO close to home, if you ask me." His research was interrupted by
     Harold's barking in the kitchen.
         "OK, Harold, I'm coming to let you out, don't worry." Tim headed out the back
     door with the dog. Having heard the door close, Amanda came back down
     shortly thereafter.
         "Daddy?"
         Seeing no one around, she figured out where Tim had gone and decided to go
     back up-- but not before checking out what was on the computer. "Axel Green?"
     she said to herself, reading the name at the top of the e-mail form.
 
 
 
 
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