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same again, they could be replaced with things that were equally as
joyous.
    For the first time Amanda
opened herself up to the possibility that she might one day be whole again.

Chapter 4
    "Manda Bear?" came
a deep and rumbling voice from the front door of Amanda's house later that
afternoon, "Are you here?"
    Amanda called, "In the
living room, Uncle Henry!"
    Geoffrey huffed
disapprovingly down at Amanda. "Really, it's hardly appropriate for your
attorney to address you so informally, Amanda. You really must speak to him
about it. And honestly, if he's in jeans and cowboy boots..."
    Karina snorted. "Oh,
stuff it, Go Free. He's her Godfather. I think the lawyer-client rules of
decorum are generally suspended when the lawyer used to change the client's
diapers."
    Amanda blushed and
exclaimed, "Karina!" just as Henry entered the living room, in full
rancher regalia.
    He warmly greeted the four
women, and mumbled an annoyed hello to Geoffrey. Henry had never made any
secret of the fact that he couldn't stand Amanda's boyfriend.
    "Well, there are my
girls!" He thundered. "I haven't seen you all in month of Sundays.
It's so good to see you all together again, the way you belong. What did you
used to call yourselves? The Fantastic Four?"
    Samantha laughed, "I
can't believe you remember that! It's the Fabulous Four, though. The Fantastic
Four are superheroes."
    "Well," Henry
enthused, "It seems to me that anyone who can make my sweet Manda Bear
smile with all she's going through qualifies for that title. I for one think
you all are super human." He cut a sideways glance at Geoffrey and
grumbled, "Or at least human."
    Geoffrey rolled his eyes and
intoned tightly, "Yes, well, why don't we just get started?"
    Henry pretended not to hear
him. "Manda girl, I sure am thirsty after that drive out from my place.
You think you could bring me some of your good old sweet tea?"
    Amanda was up and bustling
into the kitchen before Henry had even finished his sentence. She returned a
several moments later carrying a tray containing several small mason jars with
colorful straws poking out from the top, filled with golden iced tea, ice
cubes, and sprigs of mint resting near the straws.
    "Good Lord!" cried
Geoffrey, "We're drinking out of jars now. Are we in Mayberry?"
    "They're
decorative!" Karina defended fiercely, seeing Amanda's wounded look,
"I think they're adorable. And if you don't agree, you can feel free to GO
FREE!"
    With that, the girls and
Henry started forward to claim their jars of sweet tea, but Geoffrey stopped
the procession again with a huff. "Is the refreshment really that
critical? Can we please just get started with what we came here to do
today?"
    Henry gave Geoffrey an
exasperated clap on the shoulder, which Geoffrey attempted to duck but was
unable to. "Son," Henry intoned, "I don't know why you're so all
fired eager to get this show on the road, seeing as how you don't even have a
horse in this race, but the truth is, we need to wait for everybody to get
here."
    Geoffrey was taken aback.
Looking pointedly at Karina, Samantha and Lauren, he said, "Who in bloody
hell else is coming to this will reading now?"
    "Well, I guess that
would be me," a dry voice intoned from the archway leading into the living
room.
    Amanda looked up and froze.
She couldn't believe it. Was she imagining this? Had grief rendered her brain
so addled that she was suffering from hallucinations?
    She took in the figure
before her. At six feet and two inches tall, he towered over her by almost a
foot. His dark brown hair was wind-ruffled and disheveled, and his skin and
hands were work roughened. Both of those things only added to his rugged
handsomeness, which was solidified by his wide shoulders and muscular arms.
This was clearly someone who didn't shy away from hard, physical labor – and it
looked good on him.
    "Hi, Amanda," she
heard the handsome figure say, softly, hesitantly, as he looked into her
stricken blue eyes with his warm brown ones. Then