by Carrie Carr
“Ah, Lex.” Amanda broke the kiss long enough to breathe. “You’re getting my shirt, ummm,” a warm mouth attached itself to her throat. “Lex. My shirt,” she moaned. “Aaaack!” Amanda soon found herself in Lex’s lap. In the tub. Fully clothed. “I can’t believe,” she began, until her lips were again captured by her now heavily breathing lover. Shaking hands began to unbutton her shirt, and Amanda gasped as the cool air hit her wet, bare skin. Giving up the battle that she didn’t seem to be all that interested in fighting, she kicked off her shoes as those roaming hands unsnapped her jeans. “Guess a bath couldn’t hurt.”
Lex helped Amanda slip out of the rest of her clothes and then pulled her farther into the tub. “You got that right.”
“SO, HOW ARE we supposed to dress for dinner?” Lex was sprawled out on the bed, still wrapped in a towel.
Amanda stepped out of the bathroom. She had just finished drying her hair, and was now brushing it until it shined. She noticed the relaxed form on the bed, and her libido tapped her on the shoulder. Again. “In clothes, preferably.” She was clad only in her bra and underwear, after sneaking across the hallway to grab dry clothes while wearing only a towel.
Lex suddenly appeared behind her, handing Amanda her towel. “Smartass.” She kissed the back of her lover’s neck. “I thought I’d just go like I am. What do you think?”
“I think that if you don’t get something on, we may never make it downstairs for dinner.” Amanda turned around and placed a kiss on Lex’s throat. “Thankfully, my parents don’t insist on anything formal for dinner, so it’s really not that big a deal.” She gave Lex’s belly a light pat. “Come on, let’s get dressed. Sophia will probably be coming for us soon.”
“Who’s Sophia?” Lex rummaged through her suitcase. She hated traveling anywhere because it was always a pain trying to find what she needed. “Where did you put my—oh, here they are.” She grabbed her socks and underwear and then tossed them on the bed.
Amanda finished donning a multi-patterned casual skirt with a pale cotton top. “Sophia is the maid for this floor. Beverly said she’d come for us when dinner is ready.”
Lex turned around, her neatly pressed jeans on, but unbuttoned. “Should I wear a tee shirt, or one of my button downs?” She walked over to the closet to find a suitable shirt. “Just how casual is dinner in this place? Will I have to wade through ten different types of forks before I find the right one?” She grabbed a light blue oxford shirt and held it up to her body. “How’s this?”
Walking over to obviously nervous friend, Amanda took the shirt from her and removed it from the hanger. “It’s perfect.” She draped the fabric over Lex’s shoulders, helping her put it on. “Don’t worry so much. It’s just a simple dinner. You have eaten in public before, haven’t you?” She hoped that her attempt at humor would get Lex to calm down.
Lex watched Amanda’s hands button the shirt for her. “Yeah, of course I have. It’s just that, well, they’re…I just want to make a good impression, that’s all.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t want your family to think I’m some sort of backwoods hick who eats with her hands.”
“Honey, they’re not going to think that. Just because you own a ranch, that doesn’t mean you don’t have any manners. Martha raised you much better than that.” Amanda wrapped her arms around Lex’s waist and pulled her close. “And if for some reason their little snooty brains think that way, no matter how wrong it is, I don’t give a damn. I love you, so they’ll just have to love you, too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Amanda nodded into Lex’s chest. “Damn right.”
A knock at the door interrupted them, and a soft, lightly accented Spanish accent interrupted their play. “Miss Amanda, are you there?”
“Come in, Sophia.” Amanda only took one step away from Lex, who finished tucking in her shirt and buttoned her jeans closed.
Not looking them in the eye, the short, heavyset woman spoke softly. “I’m sorry to be disturbing you, Miss Amanda, but Mrs. Cauble asked that you and your guest join them in the drawing room before dinner.”
“Thank you, Sophia. Let me introduce you. This is Lexington Walters. Lex, this is Sophia, who spent a lot of time chasing me up and down these halls when I was a child.” Her words brought a smile to the maid’s face, and the woman finally lifted her head and smiled.
Lex stepped forward and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Sophia. You can call me Lex.”
The maid was somewhat at a loss, looking up into the friendly face. She wasn’t used to being treated as an equal, except by Amanda. “Thank you, Miss Lex. It’s a real pleasure to meet you.” She released Lex’s hand. Still nervous from the encounter, Sophia curtsied to them both, and started to leave the room. “I’ll let Mrs. Cauble know you’ll be down soon.”
Amanda stared at the quickly closed door. “You seem to have enchanted our entire household staff.” She turned and looked at Lex, who was now sitting on the bed slipping on her socks.
“Oh yeah. I think I’m more of an oddity. They act like they’ve never seen someone wearing scruffy boots before.” She pulled on one of the talked about pieces of footwear.
“That’s not it at all, honey.” Amanda sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “It’s because they’re not used to houseguests treating them like people. I don’t think my mother knows anyone’s name except Beverly’s, and she only knows hers because Beverly is in charge of the staff.”
Lex leaned her head over until it touched Amanda’s. “That’s a real shame. They’re all really nice folks.” She stood up, and then held her arms out away from her body. “Do I look okay?”
Amanda scratched her chin, apparently deep in thought. “Hmm.” She pursed her lips. “No, you don’t look okay.” When her comment brought an upset look to Lex’s face, she hurriedly continued, “You look much better than okay, you look great.” Amanda stood up and grabbed her partner’s hand. “Now that we’re both presentable, let’s go face the inquisition.”
It wasn’t long before they were outside the closed doors to the sitting room. Amanda attempted to gather her courage, then she glanced at her companion. Her own worry was beginning to affect Lex, so she mentally shook head and pasted a smile onto her face. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Conversation stopped and all heads in the room turned to face the door as Amanda and Lex entered. An auburn-haired young woman, who looked like a slightly older version of Amanda, stepped forward. “Mandy, it’s so good to see you again.” She hugged her sister, then pulled back and tugged on the end of Amanda’s hair. “What did you do to your hair?”
“I cut it to make it easier to take care of.” She unconsciously brushed the shoulder-length strands away from her face. “Between taking care of Grandpa and working at the office, I just didn’t have time to mess with long hair.” When she lived in California, Amanda bowed to her mother’s wishes and kept her dishwater blonde hair longer than she wanted. But, once away from home, Amanda felt more comfortable doing what she really wanted to do.
“It makes you look older,” her mother commented. She was enthroned on an expensive Queen Anne chair and wasn’t about to stand, especially for her wayward daughter. Her own hair was fashioned in a shorter style, impeccably bleached a light blonde, with a few soft strands strategically framing her thin face. In deference to her commanding presence, not one hair dared shift out of place. She lifted a hand in the air. “Are you going to stand there all evening, or are you going to come tell me hello?”
Amanda traded looks with her sister. They had been holding court with their mother for as long as they could remember. Although, as of late, her demands were getting more and more bizarre, and they joked that one day, she’d be wearing a crown and brandishing a scepter. “Hello, Mother. You’re looking well.”
Elizabeth Cauble stood and placed her hands on Amanda’s shoulders, then leaned forward to place a light kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “T
hank you, dear.” She stepped back and patted her short hair with one hand. “I had Antoine make it a little lighter this time. I keep telling you that you’d seem so much better light, instead of the natural dingy color you insist on wearing.” She glanced over her youngest daughter carefully. “You do appear a little washed out, dear. Showing strange people dirty houses all day is not something a lady should be doing.” She said the words as if work were a disease. “Have you been working too hard?”
“No, I haven’t. Actually, I’ve been on vacation for the past couple of weeks, and it’s been raining too much to get any sun.” Not to mention that most of my “activities” lately, have been indoors. “And I really don’t want to have another argument about my job right now.” Tired of fighting with her mother, Amanda turned back to the doorway, where Lex quietly stood. “Lex, could you come over here, please?” She waited until her partner stood beside her, then took Lex’s hand. “Mother, this is Lexington Walters. She’s the woman I told you about over the phone. Lex, this is my mother, Elizabeth Cauble.”
Lex held out her free hand to the older woman, who took it with slight disdain. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cauble.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Elizabeth removed her hand quickly, wiping it not so discreetly with a handkerchief and giving the woman an icy glare.
Amanda missed the look her mother gave Lex as she grabbed the rancher’s arm and directed her over to where her sister and a tall, handsome man stood. “Jeannie, Frank, this is Lex, the love of my life.” She turned back in time to see Lex’s face flush slightly. “Lex, this is my sister Jeannie, and my best friend Frank Rivers, who just happens to be married to her.”
Frank shook Lex’s hand with enthusiasm. His dark hair was cute short, and his deep brown eyes sparkled with merriment. “So, you’re the mysterious rancher our Mandy has been raving about.” He pulled her into a hug, and whispered into her ear. “Welcome to the family, Lex. Just don’t let the old battle-ax get to you.” Frank released the somewhat flustered woman, who gave him a shaky smile.
“Thanks, Frank. It’s really good to meet you.” Lex cut her eyes over to Amanda. “Although Amanda hasn’t told me much about her family, I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you before we leave. I’m sure you have some interesting stories to tell.” Then she turned to Jeannie and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jeannie.”
Amanda’s sister took her hand cautiously. “Lex. It seems that we owe you our thanks for saving my sister’s life.” She didn’t really understand Amanda’s lifestyle, but knew from listening to her mother’s ravings that this woman was her ‘girlfriend’. Well, I’ll give my little sister one thing, she certainly has great taste. This woman is gorgeous and doesn’t look like the money-hungry demon Mother described, either.
Lex gave Jeannie an embarrassed look. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that’s all.” She was saved from any further comments by a clear voice from the doorway.
Beverly gave Elizabeth a slight curtsy. “Excuse me, but dinner is ready, Mrs. Cauble.”
Elizabeth held out her hand for Michael to take. “Very well. Shall we all continue our conversations in the dining room?” she asked the others, as she and her husband took the lead and stepped from the room.
Frank winked at Lex and Amanda. “Guess that’s our cue to follow.” He allowed Jeannie to take his arm, then followed the older couple out of the sitting room.
Lex waited until the others left, then turned and bowed to Amanda, holding out her arm. “Shall we, my dear?”
Amanda swatted the offered arm and then wrapped her arms around Lex tightly. “God, I love you,” she murmured into the taller woman’s chest. “Do you think they’d miss us if we just stayed right here, like this?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m afraid they would.” Lex looked over Amanda’s head and saw Elizabeth’s angry glare from the doorway, before the older woman turned on her heel and fled the scene. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go impress your family with my table manners. I promise to use my fork instead of my fingers.”
“Don’t even joke about that. But it would be fun to see my mother’s face if you did.” Amanda lifted her head up and gave Lex a quick kiss. “Now, let’s go watch my mother display her queenly abilities at the dining room table.” She pulled Lex out of the sitting room and down the hall.
They stepped into a lavish dining room with a heavy cherry table that could easily seat twenty people. Michael Cauble sat at the head of the table, with his wife to the right of him, and his eldest daughter to the left. Frank stood next to Jeannie’s chair, waiting for the other women to take their seats. There was a place setting next to Elizabeth, and another on the other side of Frank. Before Amanda could complain about the seating arrangements, Lex nudged her toward the chair next to her mother, while the rancher took her place next to Frank.
He pulled Lex’s chair out for her, getting an upraised eyebrow in response. “Thanks.”
“Now that we’re all finally seated,” Elizabeth gave Lex an annoyed look, “you may have dinner brought in, Beverly.”
Everyone was completely silent as the servers brought in the meal, waiting until they left the room to begin speaking. Michael was bound and determined to show how unworldly Amanda’s choice in suitors was. In a smug voice, he said, “So, Lex. Is this the first time you’ve ever been to Los Angeles?”
“Yes it is, Mr. Cauble. I don’t usually take the time to travel from the ranch, but since Amanda decided she needed to come with her, wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” Lex gave her lover a smile across the table.
Frank decided that Lex could use an ally. “What exactly do you raise on your ranch? Cattle, horses—”
“Cattle, mostly. But I’m trying to turn it into more of a horse ranch. What is it that you do, Frank?”
The big man cleared his throat. “I played professional football for a couple of years, until I blew out my knee. Now I’m in the public relations business.”
“You’re that Frank Rivers?” Lex exclaimed. “I used to curse you when the Cowboys would play the Rams. You were one of the best defensive backs I’ve ever seen play the game.”
“Such a barbaric game, grown men trying to hurt each other.” Elizabeth daintily wiped her lips with her napkin, then returned it to her lap. “But I suppose you’d be interested in that sort of thing, wouldn’t you, Ms. Walters?”
Amanda hated where the conversation was going and didn’t want to see her lover attacked by her family. “I don’t think—”
Lex, even though she appreciated Amanda’s attempt at protecting her, felt she could hold her own with the society matron. “I enjoy watching the game, but I’d just as soon be out riding than sitting in front of a television or stuck inside with a desk job.”
The matriarch fussed with her napkin. “Most desk jobs, as you put it, are very good ways of making a living. At least it’s steady income.”
“I agree, Mrs. Cauble. I just can’t ever see myself locked in that sort of position. But folks that do have my complete respect.” Lex noticed the red flush rising on the older woman’s face, and inwardly grinned. Not going to get me to lose my temper over something that trivial, lady.
Since the only person losing control of their temper seemed to be his normally calm wife, Michael changed the subject. “Amanda, have you thought any more about my offer? You could have the office right down the hall from me, and of course you’d be making ten times what you could at that puny real estate office.” The look of shock on the rancher’s face brought him a note of satisfaction.
Amanda looked across the table to Lex, whose face had turned quite pale. She turned to her father. “Um, I thought we were going to discuss this tomorrow?”
Elizabeth beamed and then placed a hand on her younger daughter’s arm. “You are? Amanda, dear, that would be wonderful. You’ve always wanted to work with your father. We could have all of your things brought back out of storage in the morning.” She gave the quiet woman across
the table a triumphant look.
Lex felt her whole world collapse. She dropped her fork to her barely touched plate and swallowed the lump in her throat. “If you’d please excuse me, I need to make a few phone calls.” She promptly stood up and left the room.
Michael watched her leave, and a satisfied smirk crossed his face. “Well, Amanda, I guess we should talk about your salary.”
Elizabeth cut in before her younger daughter could speak. “Michael, you know we don’t discuss money or politics while we are eating. It’s bad for the digestion.” She turned to Amanda. “We really must do something about your wardrobe, dear. I think you’ve spent too much time in the company of that woman. You look like a migrant worker or something equally distasteful.”
Amanda tossed her napkin on the table in disgust. “These are the same damn clothes I wore when I lived here.” She rose and was about to leave, but Elizabeth’s grip on her shirt stopped her.
Michael stood up, his face an ugly shade of red. “Watch your language, young lady. Apologize to your mother this instant.” He pushed his chair out of the way, prepared to go around the table to get to his youngest daughter.
“Daddy, let’s all calm down, here.” Jeannie reached for her father’s arm, and pulled it to her. “It’s been a really long day, and we’re all tired.” She gave a nervous smile as Michael sat back in his chair. Turning to her sister, she asked, “Amanda? Come on, why don’t you sit back down and we can finish dinner like civilized adults?”
“I’m really not that hungry. If you will all excuse me, I’m going to check on my friend. Amanda pushed her chair back to the table and left the room.
Waiting until the young woman closed the door behind her, Michael faced his wife. “Dammit, Elizabeth. You just had to start on her clothes.” He pointed to his oldest daughter. “And I don’t want to hear anything out of you.”
