Beyond Always (Lex and Amanda Series)

by Carrie Carr

  "No. Apparently, it's looked this way for quite some time. I suppose the living room in the other house was large enough that we didn't notice."

  Michael sat on the far cushion. "Has it always been this uncomfortable? I don't remember."

  She joined him and shifted a few times. "I never noticed it, before. I'm certain it wasn't this lumpy when your father and I sat on it."

  "Like you would have even noticed. It folds out into a bed, doesn't it?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  He shrugged. "Well, if you do plan on getting a new one, I could use this in my office. Just in case Lois makes good on her threat to kick me out of the house."

  "Why on earth did she say that?"

  "Probably because I was arguing with Jeannie at the time. I know I've been a complete ass through all of this, but I don't mean to be. I only want to help."

  Anna Leigh touched his arm. "I know. But you must understand something. Although I depended on your father for many things, it wasn't because I had to. But because I wanted to. And there's no need for you to rush in and try to take his place. It's not only unnecessary, but horribly wrong."

  "I realize that, Mom. Really. And I didn't come here this morning to start a fight, but to tell you that Lois and I are going out of town for a few days. Her Aunt Susan is in the hospital in Dallas, and she wants to be there for her. But you can reach me on my cell phone."

  "Oh, dear. I'm terribly sorry to hear that. Please give my best to Lois. Is there anything I can do?"

  He climbed off the sunken cushion and stood. "Not that I know of. But I'll check with Lois. Thanks. She's home packing, so we should hopefully be on the road in an hour."

  Anna Leigh embraced her son, and allowed all the past hurts to fade. "Please keep me updated, dearest. I'll be at the VFW until around four, but should be home after that."

  "I will." Michael kissed her cheek. "Save me a plate of barbecue?"

  "Of course."

  "YOU DIDN'T HAVE to drive me to work, Shelby. I know you've got things to do at home." Rebecca stared out her window at the passing scenery. "I'm sorry about taking the hours today. Especially since we had planned on spending the day together."

  Shelby glanced at her before returning her attention to the road. "Darlin', I'm the last person who'd complain about workin' extra hours. Don't worry about it. Besides, you'll get off work at two. That's more than enough time for us to goof off at the craft fair."

  "Still, you could be checking the fence right now, instead of driving me to work."

  "Maybe I like spendin' the time with you. Ever think of that?"

  Rebecca couldn't argue with that logic. "You win."

  Shelby pushed Rebecca's purse closer to her. "Better write that one down. I don't win many."

  "Smartass." After Shelby parked in front of the feed store, Rebecca reached across the seat and squeezed her arm. "Thanks for the ride."

  "Anytime, beautiful. Call me if you get off earlier."

  Rebecca got out of the truck. "I will. Love you."

  "I love you too, darlin'." Shelby waited until Rebecca was inside before she drove away. She was curious about how the set up for the craft fair was going, so she changed her route.

  As she came upon the town square, she saw a group of women carrying covered dishes into the VFW building. In the adjacent parking lot, several men stood around a huge iron grill on a trailer. The grill belched dark, mesquite-scented smoke.

  "Wonder how many it'll take to cook everything? Probably all of "˜em," she mused aloud.

  Shelby slowed the truck and looked toward the grassy square, where the gazebo was decked out in bright green banners and with signs made by the high school students. Next to the gazebo, people had set up canopies for the craft booths.

  "Well, what do we have here?" She parked as close as she could to the open area and got out of the truck. "That doesn't look straight," she yelled.

  The person hammering the canopy stake into the ground dropped her hammer and turned. "Like you know what straight looks like," Lex snapped back. She laughed and held out her hand, which Shelby gripped and shook. "You here to be put to work?"

  "Not hardly." Shelby tucked her hands in her back pockets. "How'd they wrangle you into this?"

  Lex removed her baseball cap and wiped her forehead. "My wife volunteered me."

  Lorrie arrived with a bottle of water. "Here, Momma. Oh, Mr. Page said when you're done, he wants you to meet him at the high school. Something about hauling more tables."

  "Okay, thanks." Lex drank half the bottle before she set it on the ground by her feet. "So, Shelby. If you're not here to help, what brings you to town?"

  "Rebecca has to work until around two. After that, I promised to take her to the craft fair, so I didn't see any sense in us having two vehicles in town. I'm almost finished checking my fence, so I should be done long before I need to be back in town."

  Lorrie kicked at a clump of grass that had just begun to turn green. "You're lucky. There's nothing to do around here."

  "I thought Allie was supposed to be coming," Lex asked. They had checked with Allie's mother, Wanda, who had decided not to ground her for the school prank.

  "After lunch. If she gets all her chores done." Lorrie sighed. "I went to see if they needed any help in the kitchen, but Mrs. Sparks made me leave. She thought I was trying to steal cookies." She met Lex's gaze. "I wasn't, I swear."

  Lex took off her leather gloves and rested her hand on Lorrie's shoulder. "I believe you, sweetheart. It's my fault. I used to swipe cookies from the party tables when I was your age. She got you confused with me."

  "Oh." Lorrie giggled. "Did you get into trouble?"

  "All the time."

  Shelby stood by quietly, enjoying the interaction between the two. She could see how someone, especially a woman who had to be in her eighties, got the two mixed up. Lorrie was the spitting image of Lex, right down to the way she stood. But where Lex wore boots and western shirts, Lorrie dressed in sneakers and colorful girl's T-shirts.

  "Hey, Lex. Do you think you could do without Lorrie for a while?" Shelby asked.

  "I guess. Why?"

  "I reckon two sets of eyes could check my fence a lot faster." Shelby turned to Lorrie. "That is, if you want to."

  Lorrie's face brightened. "Really? Can I, Momma? Please?"

  Lex rubbed her chin and appeared to think about it. "Well, I don't know. I've got three more canopies to set up, and you promised to help." She looked above Lorrie's head to Shelby, who covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing aloud. "What?"

  "Nothin'."

  "Uh huh." Lex put her hands on her hips. "All right. Just listen to Shelby, and do what she asks, okay?"

  Lorrie enthusiastically nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She gave Lex a quick hug. "Thanks, Momma."

  "Be good."

  "I will."

  Lex winked at her. "I was talking to Shelby."

  "Smartass," Shelby muttered. "Come on, kid. We've got better things to do than goof off around here, unlike some people."

  Lorrie appeared worried until she heard Lex laughing. "Okay. Bye, Momma."

  WHEN SHE CROSSED the threshold into the house, Martha heard Eddie's cries. She headed toward the living room, where she found Amanda seated on the sofa, trying to calm him. "Gracious! What's the matter?"

  "I thought maybe he was teething, but he keeps pulling at his ears."

  Martha sat beside them and held out her hands. "Come here, sweetie."

  Eddie slowed his crying and crawled into her lap.

  "Poor little tyke. Have you called the doctor?"

  Amanda leaned back and exhaled heavily. "I didn't even bother with the pediatrician, since it's the weekend. But Rodney called in something for him and Jeannie's bringing it out."

  "You should have called me, I would have been glad to run in and get it for you." Martha held Eddie to her chest and hummed softly as she rocked back and forth.

  "No, that's all right, Martha. Jeannie was coming out today, anyway.
Teddy's spending the day with Rodney and she didn't feel like going to the craft fair by herself."

  Martha's eyes lit up. "She's bringing Hunter?"

  "Yes, Mada, you'll have another little one to spoil today." Amanda shook her head as Eddie quieted. "You've still got that magic."

  When both girls were babies, Martha's magic would calm them when nothing else worked. "Melanie's upstairs cleaning her room before it's condemned. What's Charlie up to?"

  "He's sacked out in front of the TV. I swear, men are more trouble than children, when they're bored."

  Amanda heard a car in the driveway. "That's probably Jeannie. I'll run get her so she doesn't ring the doorbell."

  She lightly brushed her hand across Eddie's hair before she left the room.

  THE BLINDS WERE drawn and the curtain was closed, which kept the mid-morning sun from reaching the occupants of the queen-sized bed. Kyle, who was spooned behind Ellie, opened one eye and glanced at the alarm clock. "Crap."

  "What?" Ellie mumbled, mostly asleep. She scooted back into her lover's warm body. "Mmm."

  "Baby, it's almost eleven."

  "Don't care."

  Kyle moved Ellie's hair and kissed the back of her neck. "I thought you were looking forward to the craft fair."

  "Rather stay in bed with you." Ellie rolled until she faced Kyle. "Oh, wait. The car smash. Do you have to be there?"

  Now able to look into Ellie's eyes, Kyle kissed her on the lips. "Nope. I was in charge of getting the old heap. Someone else has to hand out the sledgehammers."

  She stroked the soft skin along Ellie's back. "Of course, now we're both awake. I guess we might as well go to the fair, since there's nothing else to do."

  "I can think of a lot better things to do." Ellie pushed Kyle onto her back and straddled her waist. "Can't you?"

  "You know, now that you mention it, I can." Kyle rested her hands on Ellie's hips. Ellie was a very loving partner but she rarely initiated their lovemaking. Kyle was almost afraid to ask, but her curiosity begged for an answer. "You sure are frisky this morning."

  Ellie paused and her face turned a deep shade of red. "I'm sorry, I didn't--"

  "No, don't apologize." Kyle held her in place. "Believe me, sweetheart, I'm not complaining. Not at all." When Ellie's eyes filled with tears, Kyle tugged her down to lay across her body. "What's wrong?"

  "You must think I've lost my mind." Ellie shifted so that she was lying beside Kyle, but put her head on her partner's chest. She took a deep breath and looked at her left hand, which lay on Kyle's bare stomach. "For the past year, I've been waiting for you to come to your senses and leave. But then you proposed."

  She turned her head to stare into Kyle's face. Her voice was almost too soft to hear. "I never thought I'd find someone who loved me."

  Kyle's heart ached at the tone in Ellie's voice. "Oh, baby."

  "I know I'm no great beauty. Even my mother always said so."

  "You're shittin' me, right?" Kyle asked, using her hand to raise Ellie's face so that she could see her eyes. "You're an incredibly beautiful woman, Eleanor Gordon." She gently kissed her. "I can't believe you looked past the grease under my fingernails and allowed me a chance to love you."

  Ellie blinked away the tears and raised one of Kyle's hands to her cheek. "I love your hands. They're so strong, but I feel completely safe with them." She kissed Kyle's fingertips. "And with you."

  "I'd never hurt you," Kyle whispered. She brought up her other hand and cupped Ellie's face. "I'd rather die than touch you in anger."

  "That's why I know I'm safe." Ellie raised her head and kissed Kyle.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  A SUSTAINED RUMBLE, followed by excited barking caused Jeannie to raise her eyes to the ceiling. She and Amanda were in the living room, catching up. "Whose turn is it?" she asked.

  "Mine, I think." Amanda glanced at Eddie, who slept peacefully on the loveseat.

  "I'll watch him." Jeannie had been relieved of her son, Hunter, the moment she stepped inside the house. Martha had gleefully taken him to her home, in the pretense that he might disturb Eddie's rest.

  As the noise continued, Amanda trudged up the stairs. She grimaced at the high-pitched bark that greeted her at the open toddler gate. "Freckles, stop."

  The little dog dropped down so that her rear was in the air. She barked again, jumped one-hundred eighty degrees and pranced toward Melanie's room.

  Melanie's door opened. "You can't catch me," Melanie shouted before she galloped toward Amanda, only to come to a screeching halt at her mother's glare. "Um, hi, Mommy."

  "Here I come!" Teddy ran hard with Freckles right beside him. His eyes grew large as he stopped behind Melanie. "Mel started it."

  Amanda held up one hand to forestall Melanie's argument. "I don't care who started it. We've told you several times to quit running and yelling in the house. It sounds like thunder downstairs."

  "I'm sorry, Mommy." Melanie tried her best adorable smile. It quickly faded away when she didn't get the desired result.

  "Either go outside to play, or find something quiet to do in your room. Because if I have to come up here again, neither one of you will be going to the craft fair this afternoon."

  Melanie sidled up against her mother. "We'll go outside."

  Teddy stood on the other side of Amanda. "Can we go to the barn?"

  "No, sweetie. You have to stay in the yard." Amanda lightly rested her hand on Melanie's head. "And keep Freckles with you. It's a lot warmer now and you know how the snakes like to come out and sun on the walkways."

  The rat terrier was great at warning them whenever a snake was in the vicinity, and would keep it occupied until an adult came to take care of the situation.

  "Okey dokey." Melanie started toward the stairs. "Come on, Teddy. We'll see who can go higher on the swings."

  Amanda followed them down and returned to the living room. "Did I thank you for bringing Teddy? He's certainly helping keep Mel occupied today."

  "Hey, don't blame me. Rodney was all set to spend the day with him, until one of his patients ended up at the hospital in Parkdale."

  "I'm not blaming anyone." Amanda sat beside her, stretched an arm across the back of the sofa and twisted so that they were facing one another. "I'm honestly glad he's here. Since Melanie wouldn't get up in time to go with Lex and Lorrie, she's been driving me crazy. We planned on going to town later, but that was before Eddie came down with his ear infection."

  Jeannie giggled and mirrored her posture. "I had every intention of going to the fair this morning, but Teddy is just getting over his cold and I saw on the news that we have a slight chance for rain. To tell the truth, I was surprised that you let Lex out on her own."

  "Yeah, well. I'm in no hurry to see Lex, especially after she gets through helping with the set up in town."

  "Is everything all right between you two?"

  Amanda laughed. "We're great. But I'm sure by now that she's a little pissed at me. I kind of volunteered her truck and services without telling her."

  "Ouch. And we all know how much Slim enjoys running errands."

  "She doesn't mind, really. And I had every intention of telling her, but it totally slipped my mind. And by the time I remembered, it was too late."

  Amanda leaned back and relaxed. "I'm sure she's done with the hard stuff and is having a good time."

  AT THE VFW, two women were arguing about the placement of two tables. The main hall had been cleared earlier, and they couldn't decide which direction the tables should face.

  "Honestly, Kathleen. If we do it your way, how on earth will people be able to get to the buffet line?" the oldest one asked.

  Her posture was permanently stooped, yet her eighty year-old eyes were sharp beneath her thick glasses. What little hair she had on her head was dyed a deep, chocolate brown and her gnarled hands gestured wildly to punctuate her point.

  "We can get more tables set up, if you do it my way," Kathleen argued. Her brown hair was streaked with gray an
d cascaded in waves just past her shoulders. "Grandma, I'm sure Lex has better things to do than stand around and wait for us to make up our minds."

  Kathleen had gone to school with Lex, although she had been a freshman when Lex graduated. She looked at Lex. "Isn't that right?"

  Lex shook her head. "I'm not getting in the middle of this. But I have another truckload of tables I need to bring over. If y'all will just tell me where you want the first batch, I'll get out of your way."

  Kathleen pointed to a wall nearest the back door. "How about stacking them there? The high school boys should be here soon, and we'll sucker them into setting them up for us."

  "Sounds good." Lex touched the brim of her cap. "Mrs. Snyder. I'll be back in a short while with the rest."

  She hurried away before the older woman could talk her into running more errands. As she stepped out into the mid-morning sun, she could feel the humidity weigh her down.

  "I hope the rain holds off until after the barbecue, or at least until Shelby and Lorrie get back," she muttered.

  SWEAT ROLLED DOWN Lorrie's cheek as she held the power pull steady while Shelby knotted the wire to the fence post. The hand-held winch made tightening the wire strands a lot easier, but it was still hard work.

  It hadn't taken them long to find the break in the fence on the westernmost part of Shelby and Rebecca's property. An old tree had blown down and bent one of the steel posts.

  "Shelby?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Where do you think those horses came from? I mean, we can tell they came through the fence here, but where were they before that?"

  Shelby tucked the bullnose pliers into her back pocket and looked up. "Well, if you look right there, you can see where someone parked alongside the road. They most likely figured to dump the horses off and be long-gone before anyone found "˜em."

  "Oh." Lorrie glanced at churned dirt and grass on the other side of the fence. "So, they saw the fence messed up and just left? Why would they do that?"

  "Times are a mite tough for some folks right now. Horses are expensive to keep, you know that."

  Lorrie nodded. "Momma always talks about it, too. She said if it wasn't for the cattle she sells, she couldn't afford all the horses we have. But she also says that they're the best way to get around on the ranch."