by Freda, Paula
He pulled out a dinette chair from the table and plunked down, legs stretched out before him. I suppose I was an idiot to think I was good enough for someone as well bred as Lexie, he chuckled. But I love her so much. Disregarding the emotional ache her memory caused, he brought her image alive in his mind's eye. Her hair, chestnut brown, soft and wavy. The different ways she'd worn it over the years, sometimes long and flowing, other times, short and billowy, as she did at this time. Her face, skin so soft and fragrant. And her nose that she liked to turn up when she didn't agree. Her lips that could pout so prettily. And her chin, that could rise so haughtily, but soften the moment you reasoned with her. Her eyes were her best feature, clear light blue like blue tinted crystal. How he yearned to feel the warmth of that gaze upon him, when it was filled with caring and affection, before she stopped loving him, before she took away his right to hold her captivating form in his arms; how soft she felt. He never held her for too long. His desire for her would flame, and like her, he was from the old school. Exchange of vows and promised fidelity first. God's blessing along with that of his and her parents and loved ones. Marriage first, then all the love and mental and physical pleasures two people can give to each other. The joys and the sorrows, the ups and downs, the good times and the bad times, and the in-betweens. All hope gone!
"Enough!" Chris shook his head. He hurtled to his feet. I'm tired, he thought. He ran a hand across the prickly fuzz growing on his jaw. And I need a shave— And a cold shower to boot," he muttered, erasing Lexie's image from his thoughts.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lexie woke to a beautiful, brisk, cold morning. It snowed last night. Winter had come early to the Montana landscape beyond her bedroom window. She stretched lazily, the first time in two years that she slept through the night. No sounds of vehicular traffic outside her window to jolt her awake, or car beams flashing by, spotlighting her window, and filtering through the blinds, creating white streaks across the walls. Just the occasional baying of wolfs in the hills, or the hooting of an owl perched on a tree limb. Even the horses in the stable remained quiet.
A tantalizing aroma tingled her nose. Something smelled great. Coffee, Bacon, Eggs smothered in thick rich cream, homemade biscuits baking. Mom cooking. Lexie sprang out of bed.
An hour later, Lexie leaned back in her chair, a satiated grin on her face. "Mother, that was the best breakfast I ever had."
"I've made the same breakfast many times."
"Yes, but it never tasted this good!"
"Two years is a long time to go without a decent breakfast," Leatrice remarked.
Seth inquired, "Well, what exactly did you eat while you were in New York?"
"Cereal, burned toast. Sometimes I skipped breakfast altogether when I was late for work."
Seth shook his head. "That was the dumbest decision you ever made, to move to New York."
"No it wasn't," Lexie retorted, pert chin rising. "It just wasn't the smartest one, for me, that is."
Leatrice interjected before a battle of wills ensued, "New York State is a lovely and fascinating place. I came from there, remember. Lived in Manhattan for a while. Lots of folks move there from other parts of the U.S. I think it depends on the individual and what exactly they want to accomplish."
Lexie sighed, avoiding her father's eyes. "I thought I knew, until I realized...." She left the rest unsaid. He might not understand as her mother did.
"Before I forget," Leatrice said, again attempting to regain the jovial mood, she'd spent the whole morning cooking to achieve, "Your friend Jessica called. Now that you're back, several of your friends are anxious to see you. Jessica said they'd like you to join them this evening at Jay's Grill House to welcome you back. She left her number, in case you lost it, or forgot it. It's on the pad by the phone on the kitchen counter."
This information did not elicit the expected enthusiasm.
"I'm not that keen on seeing the old crowd this soon," Lexie said.
Seth warned, "Girl, if you think you gonna sit home and pout, so you can take off for parts unknown again, you better think again."
"Been there, done that, Dad," Lexie told him, flippantly.
"Then get crackin' on what you haven't done!" he growled.
Blast that Driscoll pride! Leatrice blanched. "Seth, please — Easy."
"Easy is what got her into this mess! She had a man — a darn good man. He'd have followed you anywhere, no matter what the cost to himself. And you threw him away, like a tiresome toy."
"Seth..." Leatrice pleaded. Those soft blue eyes castigating, while at the same time understanding his frustration with his daughter, and commiserating with his anger, lowered his temper enough to allow him to read the despair on Lexie's face, and the tears of self-recrimination welling up in her eyes. She knew well the mistake she made.
Seth stood up, the chair scraping tile, as he pushed it back and went to his daughter. And ignoring her momentary apprehension that she might have pushed him one notch too far, he pulled his little girl into his arms. "Sweetheart, baby, I'm sorry," he said, his gravelly voice cracking with emotion. His heavy plaid shirt absorbed her tears and muffled her plaintive "Daddy."
Leatrice smiled tenderly, reminding herself once again why twenty-five years ago she schemed and fought like a she-devil to win this man's heart.
On his way exiting the back door, to start his day running the two ranches, Leatrice stopped him and wrapped her arms about him, lambskin shearling coat and all.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, tipping back his battered Stetson and studying her face.
"I love you so much, dearest," Leatrice said.
Seth chuckled, and kissed her tenderly. "Same here, dear lady," he told her, tapping her nose playfully.
On a serious note, he asked, "Lee, try to get her to join her friends tonight. I have it from some of our cowhands — they heard their kids talking — Chris might be there tonight with Macey. Maybe if sees Lexie alongside Macey, he'll chance taking her back."
"I promise I'll do my best." Leatrice said. "And you know what I'm like when I set my mind to something. Besides, when he wasn't aware I was watching, I saw the way he looked at her. He's still in love with her."
Seth pulled away a little. "Lee, there's something I haven't told you. I was afraid you might say something to Lexie. Last night, I called Chris when he arrived home. I asked him, man-to-man, point blank, if he still loved her and thought he might get back with her. He told me honestly that he'll never stop loving her, but neither will he ever trust her again not to break his heart."
"Oh, God, Seth, what are we going to do? She wants him back. She told me so."
"We, dear lady, can't do anything, except, without being too obvious, throw them in each other's path. The rest is up to them."
Leatrice said, "Lexie is a Driscoll and a Meredith. She'll get him back. Macey is not for him. Morally and at heart, she's a decent girl, but she's a flirt, however innocently. Chris is a puppy at heart."
Seth gasped, "A puppy?" he asked,
Well you know what I mean. Yes, he's the strong silent type, but his core is marshmallow soft and sweet."
"Where do you women get these ideas?" Seth shook his head, chuckling. "I better go, I'm late. We'll finish this conversation tonight — under the sheets," he winked. He pulled down his Stetson, muttering as he went out the door, "...Puppies and marshmallows, for lands sake!"
It took a lot of convincing, but Leatrice finally managed it. And to make sure that Lexie did go, she decided to join her. Seth wouldn't be home until late. He and the ranch hands were herding the Bar LB cattle from their high summer pastures and driving them back down to the valley for the winter.
At her daughter's wide-eyed, "You're coming with me?"
"Only as far as two steps past the entrance, and I'll make myself invisible. There's always one or two friends of your dad and me having dinner or a beer, that I can visit with. Not to worry, dear, I won't embarrass you. You have enough on your plate," Leatrice reassured h
er.
"I'm going because of you and Dad, you understand that."
"Of course, dear."
"Besides," Lexie shrugged, resigned, "I have to come to grips with the truth. I might as well start getting used to running into Chris with Macey. She's had a crush on him for years."
Leatrice laughed. "She's had crushes on several boys over the years. But none of them ever took the bait."
"Well, yes, but Chris is on the rebound. Sooner or later she'll reel him in."
"Maybe," Leatrice said. "But you have a better line, and can throw it a lot further than she."
"Mother!"
"Never mind, sweetheart. Chris might not even be there," she lied. "Just clear your mind. Like Yoda said to Luke Skywalker," she quipped. "Just concentrate on having a good time with Jessica and your old friends."
Silently, Leatrice prayed, Okay, Lord, you worked a miracle for me twenty-five years ago. Think you could work one for Lexie?
Upstairs in her bedroom as she prepared to join her mother, Lexie gazed out the window that faced the snow-capped mountains. Leatrice often said they reminded her of snowcap candy, small dark chocolate discs sprinkled with white nonpareils, especially the mint-flavored ones. Her mother always kept a bowl-full on the living room buffet. "Okay," she sighed, humming an old song. "Let's face the music and dance."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Hey, she's back!" Clay, shouted from the corner booth, noticing Lexie and Leatrice, casually dressed in jacket and denims, the normal attire for patrons of Jay's Grill.
"Over here," Jessica waved.
"See you later," Leatrice whispered behind her. "I see Tanner at the counter."
When Leatrice and Seth first met, Macey's parents worked for the Triple R — Tanner as foreman and Linda as cook for the ranch hands. Linda and Seth were dating until Leatrice entered the scene and stole Seth's heart. No one blamed Leatrice for stealing his heart. She did not know Seth and Linda were an item until after her unorthodox bargain with him. Leatrice was not a prospective home-wrecker. And Seth was attracted to her from the first day they met. It was common gossip at the time, that Seth would eventually marry Leatrice. They referred to her as Driscoll's Lady, because she was a foreigner in Seth's eyes. Lexie often recalled what her mother told her about their first year together —
"Despite his initial attraction to me, he thought I was too tall for a woman, too broad of shoulder, too intelligent and shrewd, too rich and used to getting my own way, too presumptuous and arrogant for a female according to his book. A usurper, a schemer, an Easterner not knowing a heifer from a steer, or a stallion from a gelding."
"Go on sweetheart, go join your friends," her mother whispered.
Lexie scanned the room. Chris and Macey were nowhere in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay, Mom."
It took a while, but under the camaraderie of her jovial high school mates Jessica and Clay, and Delia and Jeffrey, Lexie's nerves calmed, and she began to enjoy herself. Their respective families were friends as well, and though each of her companions attended separate colleges, they always spent holidays and vacations together. Immersed in so much sharing and catching up, she failed to see Chris and Macey enter the eatery until the room quieted for a moment. Jay's Grill was a local hangout and practically everyone knew everyone. One by one her companions grew silent and all eyes in the room turned on the couple sliding into an empty booth.
Gazes moved slowly from Lexie to Chris to Macey. Macey was busy talking about something or other; Chris wasn't listening to her chattering, but he heard the sudden tense silence in the room. He looked around and his gaze met Lexie's. He paled some, but reasserted his calm, and waved his hand in a friendly greeting to Lexie and her companions, who were his friends as well, especially in his teens when they all double-dated and hung out together.
Macey never frequented their company. She was part of another clique. And at separate times she'd developed unrequited crushes on other boys including both Clay and Jeffrey. She was fortunate the groups she hung with were kind-hearted and decent. No one regarded her seriously, or took advantage of her vulnerability. But Chris was on the rebound, and just maybe, Macey finally stood a chance — the very thoughts passing through Lexie's mind as Macey became aware that Chris was not paying attention to her, but gazing elsewhere. Macey was pretty, blonde, slender, with attractive curves. But she distanced prospective suitors with her over anxiousness to form a relationship the moment she met someone who fit her idea of the perfect hero and offered her a friendly smile. The few who fell for her first, but did not fit her view of the perfect physical specimen, she steered away from, or with the utmost kindness, firmly rejected them.
Lexie returned Chris' greeting and waved to Macey as well. The girl eyed her with suspicion and bit her lip nervously.
Two more couples, entered the room and joined Chris and Macey. Lexie recognized Gary among them. Trouble usually followed wherever Gary went.
Lexie's misgivings proved right when Gary's party paid their bill and filed from the booth toward the door. Chris hung back, and Lexie heard him warn the others, "You can't go there. It's not deemed safe, yet. They've had cave-ins." No one heeded his warning. Only Macey responded with, "Oh, come on, Chris. Don't be a scaredy cat. Live a little. Beside, Gary went in there, just a few days ago." She motioned to the tallest member of her group. "It's perfectly safe." She started after the others.
"Macey—" Chris called uselessly. He shook his head in exasperation, threw a money bill on the table and hurried after Macey."
"What's going on?" Clay asked, noticing Lexie's attention riveted on Chris, hurrying out the entrance."
"Those idiots!" Lexie cried. She stood abruptly. "They're going to get Chris hurt!"
Jessica grabbed Lexie's arm. "Girl, Chris is not stupid. He'll lose those idiots way before they get to the cave."
"No, he won't," Lexie said, pulling her arm free. "He's a gentleman. He won't leave Macey behind. Whenever he took me out, he always felt responsible for me. He'd never abandon me. He won't leave her. He'll go in with her. I have to stop him!" Lexie left the table and ran out the door.
Macey had followed the others into Gary's Jeep. With no other choice besides leaving her, Chris climbed in next to her.
Gary revved the engine to its limit. Lexie cried out Chris' name, but her voice drowned in the loud jarring noise. Gary pressed down hard on the accelerator and the tires screeched as the jeep tore across the pavement. The jeep raced up the road toward the hills.
Before moving to New York, Lexie sold her compact Ford, to add to her meager savings. Her mother drove her to Jay's Grill. She turned around intent on re-entering the restaurant to ask for her mother's car keys, but Leatrice and Tanner anticipated her need for their help.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Leatrice asked worriedly.
"Mom, I need to use your car. Please." She was frantic.
"For what?" Leatrice asked.
"I've got to stop him. That girl will get Chris hurt."
"Lexie, don't you think you're being overdramatic. Chris is lot smarter than those imbeciles out for a thrill."
"Mother, do you remember in my teens when I decided, against Dad's orders, and yours, that I was old enough to ride farther out into the hills, than I'd ever ridden."
"Yes, I remember. Seth grounded you for a month. And you got Chris into trouble as well."
"That's right. He tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. So he came with me, because I was his responsibility. Macey's his date and his current responsibility. That's how he sees it. Don't you see that's why I fell in love him. Because of the kind of person he is. That's what I failed to see; why I made my mistake and left the only man I'll ever be able to love with all my heart and soul. Please Mom, give me the car keys."
Leatrice glanced askance at Tanner. Tanner nodded. "She's your daughter, Lee, and Driscoll's. What do you expect?"
Leatrice took a deep breath. "Don't go in the cave!" she warned. She dug into the pocket of her d
enims and gave Lexie the car keys.
"Thank you, Mother." Lexie said. She turned to Tanner. "See that my mother gets home safe."
He nodded. "Be careful," he said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As Lexie sped from the parking lot in Leatrice's car, she passed Chris' compact Ford. At the time he purchased this car, shortly after his eighteenth birthday, he asked her to come with him. He wanted her advice and opinion, as he planned she'd be his steady companion in the car. She helped him choose the vehicle and went everywhere with him her parents would allow.
Lexie turned into the highway. She knew the location of the cave Macey's friends were headed, as well as a short cut across the plains. Despite her desire to get to the cave before they entered, she forced herself to maintain the required speed. An accident or the Sheriff stopping her would not help her reach Chris in time. When she veered off the main road to cut across, the landscape's natural bumps and small rocks played havoc with the car's alignment system and the engine. She offered a silent apology to her mother, promising to take the car in the morning to the repair shop and pay for the repairs herself.
At last she saw the hill where the limestone cave with thousands year-old paintings and carvings on its walls was recently discovered. She brought the car to a halt a short ways from the cave's opening, but far enough not to be seen immediately. Chris might yet convince them not to enter the cave and to go home after all.
