by Carrie Carr
“Very well. But you’d better be ready to beg for forgiveness from this woman if she finds out.” The small smile she bestowed on Michael was anything but friendly. “Because money isn’t the only thing that you would lose if she destroys you, dear.” Elizabeth patted her husband on the cheek, then stood and left the room, feeling his eyes on her as she closed the door.
Chapter Fourteen
BRIGHT, EARLY MORNING sunlight beamed down on the silent figure placing bags in the trunk of the red convertible. Lex gave the last bag a shove, wondering how in the hell they were able to get them in there to begin with. I thought she sent most of her things back with the movers. We didn’t have this much stuff before, did we?
“Everything about loaded up? Frank and Jeannie should be out to say goodbye in a few minutes.” Amanda came up behind Lex and circled her arms about her lover’s waist.
Lex turned around and linked her hands behind Amanda’s back. “Yep, that was the last of it. Although we may have to pay freight charges for all the luggage.” She leaned down and placed a light kiss on Amanda’s lips, careful of her own sore mouth. The two of them sported similar bruises on their faces, and Lex could just imagine how they looked to others. “Did you run a final check for any missing underwear?” she teased, seeing her lover blush.
“How was I supposed to know that you threw them behind the chair? I swear Sophia giggled for hours after finding them.” Amanda continued to blush after she thought about the note from Beverly that stated she needed to keep better track of her ‘unmentionables’ so as not to distract the rest of the household staff. Looking up, she saw Lex trying not to smile. “You’re going to make your lip start bleeding again.” She raised one hand and ran her thumb lightly across Lex’s bruised lip. “Maybe you need a stitch or two.”
Kissing the thumb offered to her, Lex shook her head. “Nah, it’ll be okay.” She was about to prove her point when a voice echoed through the cool, still morning.
Jeannie walked through the front door, Frank close behind her. “You two never seem to get enough, do you? I guess it’ll just be us seeing you off. Mother is upstairs with a migraine, and Father is on an overseas call.”
Amanda stepped away from Lex to embrace her sister. She felt a twinge of sadness at leaving. “It’s probably for the best, anyway. Thanks for everything, Jeannie. I really appreciate how you’ve accepted Lex.”
The auburn-haired woman held her sister tightly. “I’m just glad you finally found the person you’ve been looking for, Mandy.” When she realized that this was probably the last time she’d see her little sister for quite a while, she murmured, “I know you probably won’t be coming back to this house any time soon.” If ever. “But Frank and I have plenty of room, if you two would like to come and visit.”
“Thanks.” Amanda pulled back a bit and glanced over her shoulder. Seeing Lex’s nod, she gave them an invitation of their own. “The next vacation you two get, why don’t you come out to our ranch and stay with us.” Our ranch. I think I really like the sound of that.
Lex moved closer to the women. “That’s a great idea. We’ve got quite a bit of room ourselves, and I won’t even make you muck out any stalls.” The last part of her statement was aimed at Frank.
The big man stepped forward and pulled Amanda into a fierce embrace. “Take care, Mandy. We’ll try to stop by and see you two real soon, okay?”
Amanda felt her heart surge with love for her brother-in-law and dear friend. “That would be great.”
“What are your plans for Christmas?” Lex asked, shaking hands with Frank. Seeing the happy look on Amanda’s face, she mentally patted herself on the back. Good one, Lexington. You just might figure all of this out yet.
Frank looked over at his wife, who shrugged. “Well, I was planning on hiding.” The holiday parties Elizabeth threw were almost as dull as her dinner parties, and the food actually seemed worse. “Why do you ask?”
Lex put her arm around Frank and escorted him over to the two sisters. “Well, since it’s going to be Amanda’s first Christmas out at the ranch, I thought maybe you two would like to join us. I’m hoping to have a houseful.”
“A houseful, huh?” Amanda stepped away from Jeannie and nearly flew into the Lex’s arms. “Anyone I know?”
“Well, you, me, Martha and Charlie, your grandparents, the Wades.” Lex glanced over at the other couple. “And of course Frank and Jeannie, if they’re willing.”
Jeannie laughed, then pulled her sister away from Lex. “I don’t know about Frank, but I’d love to be there!” Feeling Lex pull her close, she whispered into her ear, “Thank you, Lex. I’ve never seen my sister so happy.” She pulled back a bit, then kissed a very embarrassed Lex on the cheek. “Welcome to the family, Slim.”
Lex sighed, then grinned mischievously. Why not? She kissed Jeannie full on the mouth. “Thanks, sis.” Lex almost laughed out loud at the deep flush covering the woman’s face.
Frank laughed so hard he had to hold on to Amanda to keep from falling down. “Damn, Lex, are you trying to kill me?” His wife stalked toward him, and he raised his hands ineffectually against her attack. “Honey, wait!” he pleaded, as Jeannie slapped at him.
“Sorry, Frank. But any woman who pinches my butt gets a kiss.” Lex took Amanda into her arms, and then led her to the car. “I hate to kiss and run, but our plane leaves in less than two hours.” Before she climbed into the vehicle, Lex turned around. “We’ll make up an extra spot in the barn at Christmas for y’all, okay?” She ducked the shoe that Jeannie tossed at her, then got in the passenger seat and closed the door behind her.
LEX TOOK A panicked breath as she boarded the plane, and a cold chill ran down her spine. Come on, Lexington, you can do this. It’s no different than the last time. She let Amanda take the seat by the window, which enabled Lex to stretch her long legs out in the aisle of the plane. Sitting down, she felt a hand grasp hers and hold on tightly.
“Are you doing all right?”
“No problem.” Lex gave a tiny smile, then took a deep breath as the flight attendant closed the door on the plane. Breathe, dammit. She listened as the air conditioner pumped oxygen into the plane. See? You’re not gonna suffocate, so just get over it, idiot!
Amanda brought one of Lex’s hands closer, until she was able to cradle it against her chest. Kissing the knuckles, she whispered, “It’s okay, Lex. Look at me, honey.” She waited until Lex complied. “Listen to my voice, okay? It’s just you and me.” Amanda felt the plane taxi down the runway, but Lex was totally transfixed on her. “Have I told you about the time I accidentally locked Jeannie in the trunk of the limousine? Mother nearly had a cow.” She told her partner about the tale of two young girls, playing hide and seek, and of the complete embarrassment of a well-to-do woman who had sent her driver to meet an important artist at the airport only to have the artist greeted by a crying girl in the trunk of the expensive limousine.
The story took up almost half of the flight, with Amanda embellishing it several times to make it last. When she noticed Lex’s eyes droop, she finally snuggled up against her lover and closed her eyes.
Lex couldn’t help but smile at the top of Amanda’s head. Poor thing. This week has been real rough for her. Maybe I can do something to make up for that. She didn’t even realize when her head dropped and she fell asleep.
“Ma’am? The plane has landed.” The lovely young flight attendant gently jostled Lex’s shoulder, trying to wake her up.
Opening her eyes and seeing the empty plane, Lex gave the woman an embarrassed smile. “Thanks. We’ll be out of here in just a second.”
“There’s no real hurry. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have another flight to catch.” The attendant folded up a blanket from a nearby seat before moving down the aisle. “If you need anything, just let me know.” Then she passed along a look that promised more than just good customer service.
Oh, boy. It’s a good thing Amanda slept through that. Lex returned her attention to the wo
man still sleeping next to her. “Sweetheart? Amanda, we’ve landed.” She kissed the head snuggled against her and used her free hand to brush the hair away from Amanda’s eyes.
“Mmm.” Amanda leaned up and placed a kiss on Lex’s mouth. As she stretched, she realized where they were. “Oops. Did you say we’ve landed?” She looked around, very glad that they appeared to be the only ones left on the plane. “I was having the most incredible dream.” She released Lex’s hand and rubbed her face.
“Obviously.” Lex stood up and raised her arms over her head and leaned backward, which caused her back to crack several times. “I hate sitting for that long.” She noticed her appreciative audience as Amanda’s eyes followed her every move. “See something you like, ma’am?”
Amanda stood up and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. “You could say that.”
She caught the look that the flight attendant was still giving Lex. “And I don’t think I’m the only one, either.” Not caring where they were, Amanda hugged her lover. “But she’ll just have to be content to enjoy you from a distance, because I’m not sharing.”
Lex chuckled. “Fine by me.” She returned the hug. “I love you, Amanda.”
“I love you, too.” Amanda ran her hands up and down Lex’s back, before taking a step away. “Let’s go home. Um, would you mind too much—”
“If we went to see your grandparents first? I was just going to suggest that.” Lex carefully guided her lover down the narrow aisles and out of the plane. “We can let them know you survived, and then tell them you’re going to be moving in at the ranch.” As they walked through the jet way, Lex turned back to Amanda, who was about half a step behind her. “I enjoyed your story, by the way. Made me forget all about the plane.”
Amanda hitched her purse up on her shoulder, then took an extra step to be directly next to her lover. “Really? Thanks. I’m sorry I fell asleep on you, though.” She looked up to see an amused look on Lex’s face. “What?”
“Don’t feel bad. I fell asleep, too. The flight attendant had to wake me up after the plane was already empty.” Lex looked around, trying to read the signs. “Where the hell do we pick up the damn luggage?” She spotted a map of the airport and walked over to check it out. When she found her destination, she shook her head. “You’ve flown quite a bit, right?” Lex asked her partner, as they made their way to the baggage claim area.
“Yes, although the last time I was so worried about Grandpa Jake, I don’t remember much of the flight. Jeannie and Frank had my car shipped up to me.” Amanda followed the long legged rancher, struggling to keep up. “Why do you ask? Hey, honey, do you want to slow it down to at least a reasonable jog?”
Lex stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry. I keep forgetting that not everyone can cover as much distance as I can.” She waited for a moment until Amanda caught her breath. “Anyway, I was just wondering, why do they seem to make you walk all the way to the other side of the damn airport to pick up your luggage? Especially since they won’t let you carry much of it with you? Seems rather ridiculous to me.”
Amanda laughed. “I think travelers have been asking that same question since the first commercial flight.” She wrapped her hand around Lex’s upper arm to lead her through the milling crowds. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
“MANDY, YOU’RE BACK early,” Jacob exclaimed as the two women stepped into his kitchen. He had barely opened his arms before his granddaughter practically knocked him down in her exuberance. “Hey, there. Easy, honey.” He hugged her tightly, looking at Lex over her head. Seeing the bruise on her mouth, Jacob frowned. “Are you two okay?”
Amanda moved back in order to look into her grandfather’s concerned eyes. “We’re fine, Grandpa. It was pretty exciting, actually.” She felt his callused hand gently trace the bruise on her face, and decided to try for a change of subject. “Where’s Gramma?”
“Right here, dearest.” Anna Leigh stood in the doorway, where she had an arm around Lex. “You two look like you’ve been in a fight.” She led Lex over to where Amanda and Jacob were standing. “You are going to tell us why you look like this, right?”
“Sure.” Amanda rubbed her jaw. “It’s really quite a good story, too.” She winked at Lex. “But do you mind if we raid the refrigerator first? Lex’s stomach growled all the way back from the airport, and I couldn’t even hear the radio half the time.” Amanda stepped away from her grandfather and pulled Anna Leigh into a hug. “I really missed you, Gramma.”
The older woman held her granddaughter tight. “We missed you too, Mandy.” She looked over Amanda’s head to met Lex’s gaze. “And while you’re at it, you can also tell us what kind of trouble you got into.”
“Don’t blame me. Trouble just seems to find her.” Lex pointed at her lover, and then started backing up as Amanda stalked toward her. “Well, it’s true.” She held her hands out in front of her, trying to ward off the pending attack.
“Just you wait, Slim. I’ll take care of you later, when you least expect it.” Amanda loved the light blush that the nickname brought to Lex’s face.
Jacob pulled several items from the refrigerator. “I hope a sandwich sounds okay.”
“Let me help you with that, Mister, um, Jacob,” Lex offered, maneuvering quickly around her amused friend. She took some of the things from his hands and placed them on the table.
“AND THEN LEX ropes the guy with a kid’s jump rope,” Amanda related, waving a potato chip around in circles to emphasize her point. “The police officers said she looked just like John Wayne. Then she sat on him, and the two cops had to pull her off.”
Anna Leigh put a hand on Lex’s arm. “Goodness, Lexington. That was a very brave thing to do. Is that how you got hurt?” She was surprised when Lex looked down at the table.
“Uh, no. He didn’t touch me.” Lex looked up at the older woman. “And it was pretty stupid, actually. I just didn’t think. But I tend to have that problem around your granddaughter.”
Amanda chuckled, then realized what had been said. “Hey, wait a minute. What did I do?”
Jacob loved watching the teasing that went back and forth between the two younger women. “Okay, so now you’ve explained how Mandy ended up looking like she does. But what happened to you, Lex?” He didn’t miss the exchange of guilty glances between them. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad, can it?” Then a thought occurred to him. “Mandy, you didn’t do it, did you?” He knew his granddaughter had a fiery temper and had been known to explode quite easily when angered.
“No, sir, she didn’t. Her father did.” Hearing Anna Leigh’s shocked gasp, Lex turned to face her. “It was pretty much my own fault. I kind of pushed him into it.”
“That’s the biggest load of bunk I’ve ever heard. There’s never an excuse to hit a lady.” Jacob looked ready to do battle in Lex’s behalf, and if his son were anywhere nearby, he might do just that.
“I’m no lady, Jacob. And I really did keep at him until he lost control.”
Amanda put her hand on her grandfather’s arm to try and calm him, but looked at Lex. “You did no such thing, Lex. You were just trying to protect me.”
“Protect you?” Anna Leigh was still in shock over the revelation that her son could strike a woman. “Dear heavens, don’t tell me he was going to hit you, Mandy.”
Lex took a deep breath. “No ma’am. I went into his office last night to find out why he was so hostile toward our relationship.” She looked at her lover with sad eyes. “She never said anything, but I could tell it was tearing Amanda up inside.” Turning back to Anna Leigh, Lex swallowed hard. “Anyway, I asked him if it was because I was a woman, and he said no, that he was pretty much used to the idea that Amanda…” and here she paused. I really don’t need to bring that part of the conversation out, do I? “Well, that she was gay. So then, I asked if it was because I worked for a living. That kind of set him off. He thinks I’m after Amanda’s money.”
Jacob looked at her quizzically. “You? After
Mandy’s money?” He burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s too funny!”
“Did you enlighten him, dear?” Anna Leigh covered Lex’s hand with her own.
“No, ma’am. I didn’t think it would do any good, because he’d probably think I was lying. But I did tell him I loved Amanda, and no amount of money could change that, and I couldn’t help myself—I got right up in his face and stood over him.” She touched her mouth with her free hand. “That’s when he lost it and grabbed me.”
Amanda picked up the story. “I opened the door to the office and saw Daddy grab Lex and push her back against the bar. He hit her before I could stop him.” She exchanged a tender look with Lex. “I’m glad we decided we were going to leave this morning, instead of tomorrow, because I don’t think either one of us could have handled another day there.”
Jacob sighed. “I thought we raised him better than that. I really want to turn that boy over my knee.” He looked at Lex. “I’m sorry about his behavior, child. I hate the fact that you were hurt by someone from our family.”
“I don’t blame you, or your family, Jacob.” Lex looked at the older man with respect. “Amanda and I talked about it last night. Even though he’s her father, you and Anna Leigh are a whole lot more of a family to her than they are.” Smiling at Amanda, she continued, “And speaking of families, that reminds me of something we need to tell you, right, Amanda?”
“Hmm?” Amanda asked, then her face lit up when she realized what Lex meant. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Umm…well…Lex asked, and…I…” She began to stammer. “You see…it’s—”
Feeling sorry for the tongue-tied woman, Lex stood and circled the table until she was standing directly behind Amanda, then placed her hands on her shoulders. “What my friend here is so eloquently trying to say is that I asked her to move into the ranch house with me, and she accepted.”
