Beyond Always (Lex and Amanda Series)

by Carrie Carr

  Anna Leigh looked around the area to make sure there were no brothers or sisters lurking, before she continued along on her walk. "You must have gotten washed away from your home. I'm not quite certain what to do with you."

  The more she talked, the calmer the kitten became, until it began to purr. "Aren't you a little heart breaker?"

  She stepped around to the front of the building in time to see a familiar vehicle pull up in the yard.

  Two women jumped out of the maroon Expedition and started for the main entrance of the VFW hall.

  Amanda was the first to notice Anna Leigh, and she jogged to where her grandmother stood. "Gramma! I'm so glad you're all right!" She was about to embrace the older woman until she noticed what she held.

  Jeannie followed her sister and stopped. "Gramma, what is that?"

  "A kitten, of course." Anna Leigh shifted the animal and hugged Amanda with her free arm. "I'm so glad to see you. Is everything all right at the ranch?"

  "Our roof was slightly damaged, but other than that, yes. We're all fine."

  Jeannie got in a quick hug as well. "Where did you get a kitten?"

  "I found it outside." Anna Leigh stroked the kitten with her thumb as she held it. "What are you two doing here?"

  Amanda gently scratched the kitten's head. "Since the phones are out, we came to make sure everyone was okay. Have you seen Lex or Lorrie?"

  "I just finished speaking with the sheriff, before I stepped outside."

  The stress of the day had caught up with Anna Leigh and she wavered.

  Jeannie put her arm around Anna Leigh. "What's the matter, Gramma?"

  "Amanda, dearest, I'm afraid--"

  "No." Amanda took a step back.

  "Lexington will be fine," Anna Leigh said quickly. "I spoke to the sheriff a short time ago."

  Amanda stopped. "What happened?"

  "The sheriff told me that Lexington was in an accident, but she should be all right."

  "What about Lorrie?"

  Anna Leigh continued to pet the kitten. "Lexington told him she's with Shelby Fisher. So I'm certain she's fine. But he said that they've taken Lexington to the hospital in Parkdale."

  "When?"

  "Just a short while ago. He's inside, trying to keep everyone updated."

  When Amanda turned and headed for the door, Anna Leigh turned to Jeannie. "I'm sure Lorrie is perfectly safe."

  "I'm sure she is, Gramma. Let's get you and your little friend inside, so we can find out more about Lex."

  THE WHITE TILE ceiling still held no answers for the woman who had been forced to stare at it for the past half hour. Lex had given up finding patterns in the dots on the tile. She was still immobilized on the backboard, waiting to be seen by a doctor. "This is total bullshit," she said aloud.

  "They told me a woman was being unreasonable in here. I should have known it was you." Rodney stepped into the examination room.

  Lex tried to turn her head, but she was strapped down too tightly. "Rodney? What are you doing here?" Her voice was soft as she tried to keep from breathing too deeply.

  "Isn't that my line?" he asked as he stood beside her head. "I was here with a patient when the storm hit Somerville. Since they got bombarded with casualties, I stuck around and helped in the emergency room." He read her chart as he spoke. "Why did you hit a tree, Lex?"

  "Don't give up your day job. You'll never make it as a comedian." The friendly banter with her brother-in-law helped ease Lex's nerves, at least a little. "And for your information, the damned tree hit me."

  He took out a penlight and shined it in her eyes. "Hmm."

  "What?"

  Rodney ignored her and studied her x-rays. "Are you in much pain?"

  "I can handle it."

  He rolled his eyes and switched out the film. "Let me try again. Are you in any pain?"

  Lex muttered something.

  "I'm sorry, what was that?"

  "Okay, yes. I've got a god damned headache, my wrist is killing me, my back hurts and I think I've got some bruised ribs. Happy?"

  Rodney lightly patted her shoulder. "Not happy, no. Are you claustrophobic?"

  "Why?"

  "Because we're going to need some better images of your head, torso and back, just to be safe."

  "MRI?"

  "Yes, I'm afraid so. Are you okay with that?"

  Lex sighed. "Do I have much of a choice?"

  He put the chart down and leaned above her, so that they could see eye-to-eye. "Of course you do. But, do you want to be the one who tells Amanda we didn't give you a thorough exam?"

  "Are you afraid of my wife, Rodney?"

  "Aren't you?" he asked as he laughed.

  Her answer was unintelligible.

  Rodney studied Lex's nose. "You're going to need that set, unless you want to go through the rest of your life looking like a boxer."

  "Yeah, I figured. Hurts like hell. Speaking of Amanda, has anyone tried to contact her? I don't want her freaking out about this."

  "I've tried a couple of times, but the lines are still down. Don't worry, I'll be the one to talk to her, so she's not given the wrong information."

  Lex closed her eyes against the bright light of the room. Her headache was making her sick to her stomach. "I need to find out about Lorrie, too."

  "What about her?"

  "She's with Shelby at her place. It's west of town, which is the direction that damned storm came from." Lex clenched her fists. "I need to get out of here so I can find her."

  The door opened and an orderly started inside. Rodney held up his hand to keep the orderly quiet. "Lex, I promise I'll do what I can to find Lorrie. But right now, I need you to relax and let us take care of you, okay?"

  "Yeah. Oh, hey. How's Weldon?"

  Rodney moved out of the way so the orderly could get to the stretcher. "He's going to be fine. He had a clean break. From what I understand, you both were very lucky."

  "Be sure and tell my wife that, will you?" Lex asked as the orderly pushed her out of the room.

  "DO WE HAVE to go in there?" Lorrie asked Shelby. "I just want to find my mom."

  Shelby parked the car. "Yeah, we do. Your arm ain't gonna fix itself, and neither is my shoulder."

  Lorrie got out of the car at the same time as Shelby. "Does that mean you're not going to leave me here by myself?"

  "Of course not." Shelby could feel her last reserves ebb away as they walked to the doors of the emergency room. "I promise you, we're in this together. At least until your folks show up, all right?"

  "Okay." Lorrie followed her through the doors. "Wow."

  Shelby almost went back outside as they were assailed by dozens of voices, crying children and the blare of the hospital loud speaker. She gritted her teeth and continued to the admittance desk, where a lone woman struggled to answer the phone and enter data into the computer. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

  "Take a number and take a seat, and we'll call you when we can," the woman answered, without bothering to look up.

  "Yeah, but--"

  "Take a number and take a seat," the woman repeated. She raised her head and gasped. "Oh, my. I'm sorry." She picked up a clipboard and handed it to Shelby. "Are you able to fill out these forms?"

  Shelby took the clipboard. "Yes'm, I can do that." She tore a number from the machine. "Thanks." She looked around the waiting area, but didn't see any empty chairs. "How about we stand by the doors? At least it'll be less noisy there."

  "Good. The noise hurts my head."

  "Mine too, buddy." Shelby leaned against the wall and tried not to grin at Lorrie's attempt to mimic her. She looked at the clipboard and began to write when the bay doors opened, and a stretcher was brought in. "Watch out, Lorrie. We need to--" her mind went blank when she recognized the woman on the stretcher. "Rebecca?"

  The stretcher rolled by Shelby, but not before Rebecca heard her name called. "Shelby?"

  "Damn it! Lorrie, stay here, I'll be right back." Shelby dropped the clipboard and chased after them. "Hey,
hold up!"

  "Shelby!" Rebecca cried.

  "For the love of God, will you guys stop?" Shelby yelled. Half of the people in the emergency area stopped and turned to look at her. She was still covered in mud, blood and everything else and was a frightful sight. "Please, wait."

  They paused at the defeated tone in her voice. One of the attendants turned and saw Shelby for the first time. "Um, ma'am?"

  Shelby moved past him and looked down at her lover. "What happened, darlin'?"

  "Oh, God, Shelby," Rebecca cried. She tried to reach for her, but the straps kept her immobile. "Damn it."

  "Easy, there." Shelby put her hand on Rebecca's. "You're gonna be okay."

  Rebecca started to argue, but noticed Shelby's appearance. "What happened to you?"

  "Just a little accident, nothin' major. You just worry about yourself, all right?" Shelby looked up at the men who brought her into the emergency room. "Can we go with you?"

  "Are you family?"

  Lorrie overheard them as she walked up. "They're my aunts."

  "All right. But try to stay out of the doctor's way. They may have to send you back here, if they send Miss Starrett for tests."

  Shelby didn't remove her hand as they left the noise of the waiting area behind. She kept her eyes on Rebecca's face. "See? It's--"

  "Momma!" Lorrie broke away from them and ran down the hall, to where an orderly was pushing a stretcher. She skidded into the stretcher and hung onto the rail with her good hand. "Momma, what happened?"

  "Hey, lil' bit. Damn, I'm glad to see you. How did you get here?" Lex asked.

  "Shelby brought me. She's with Ms. Rebecca. What happened to you?" All of Lorrie's words came out in a rush. "Did you get hurt in the storm?"

  "Whoa, sweetheart. Listen, your Uncle Rodney is in the room I just left. Go see him and let him know you're here, okay? I have to get some tests done, but I'll be back in a little while."

  Lorrie started to cry. "I don't want you to go, Momma."

  "It's okay, really. Your uncle is worried too, and needs to see you. Can you do that for me?"

  Lorrie tried to stop crying. "I'm sorry, Momma."

  "Hey, it's all right. Just go see Uncle Rodney. He'll bring you to me when I'm done, I promise."

  "Okay." Lorrie let go of the stretcher, then chased after it again. "I love you, Momma!" she cried as Lex was wheeled into an elevator.

  "I love you too, sweetheart," Lex answered, as the elevator doors closed.

  Lorrie turned around and saw Rodney standing in the hall. She stumbled past Rebecca and Shelby and fell into her uncle's arms.

  RODNEY TURNED AWAY from the x-rays and put his hand on his niece's shoulder. Lorrie was seated on the exam table, dressed in a clean hospital gown. "Looks like you and your momma will be twins for a while. But the good news is it's a clean fracture. You should be able to play softball in the fall."

  "Will Momma be okay? She's been gone a long time."

  "I haven't seen her film yet, but I think she'll be fine." He caught her as she swayed. "Why don't you lie back and close your eyes? I'll try to find out how much longer she'll be."

  Lorrie yawned and allowed herself to be guided onto the pillow. "I'm not tired," she argued weakly as Rodney covered her with a thin blanket.

  "I know." He watched as she fell asleep almost instantly. Her exhaustion, along with the light pain medication he had given her, worked quickly to relax her. Once he was certain she was out, Rodney stepped outside the room and carefully closed the door.

  A harried young nurse met him in the hall. "Dr. Crews, there's two women in the lobby looking for you."

  Rodney sighed and headed for the lobby. "All right, thanks." He stopped and turned around. "My niece is in room six. She's suffering from exhaustion and a fractured wrist, and I needed someplace for her to stay while her mother is having an MRI upstairs."

  "I'll check in on her, Doctor."

  "Thank you, I'd really appreciate it." When Rodney stepped through the doors that separated the waiting area from the examination rooms, he was surprised to see his wife and her sister walking toward him. "Jeannie? Are the boys all right?"

  Jeannie hugged him as tightly as she could. "I'm so glad to see you. I was afraid..." her voice trailed off. "The boys are fine. They're with Martha and Charlie."

  He finally pulled away from his wife and turned to Amanda. "I think I know why you're here. Lex is upstairs and Lorrie's in one of the exam rooms. Come on, I'll take you both back and try to fill you in."

  AMANDA SLOWLY OPENED the door and stepped into the small room. She stood next to Lorrie and shook her head. "Just like your momma," she whispered as she lightly brushed her hand against her daughter's mud-stained forehead.

  Lorrie opened her eyes and blinked several times, as if to clear her vision. "Mom?"

  "I'm here, honey."

  "Mom!" Lorrie rose and was quickly wrapped in Amanda's arms. She rested her cheek against Amanda's shirt.

  Amanda sat on the table and tugged Lorrie into her lap. Lorrie was almost her height, but stretched until she fit comfortably. "Shh. It's going to be okay."

  Jeannie lightly knocked on the open door and came inside. "Rodney told me that Lex is finished with the tests and is on her way to a room."

  "Thanks."

  Lorrie sat up and wiped her face. "Does that mean that she's gonna be okay?"

  "They're pretty sure she will be," Jeannie answered. She sat next to Amanda and rubbed Lorrie's back. "How are you doing?"

  "I'm hungry." She fought off a yawn.

  Jeannie laughed and winked at her sister. "Let me see if I can find some scrubs that'll fit you, then we can run down to the cafeteria. Unless you'd rather wear that."

  "Eww. No, I don't like dresses. And this one has a big hole in the back." Lorrie scooted off Amanda. "Can we go see Momma?"

  "As soon as she's settled, I promise."

  THE SOFT SNORE from Rebecca was the only sound in the hospital room. Shelby sat inches away and watched as her chest rose and fell. After the long series of x-rays and an MRI, it was determined that Rebecca had a spinal contusion. The doctors wanted to wait for the swelling to go down before they started treatment. She also had a nasty knot on the back of her head that they wanted to keep an eye on, so she was admitted and placed in a room.

  Shelby scratched at the collar of the green scrubs that Rodney had found for her. They had to cut off her shirt to check her shoulder, which turned out to be a Type I separation and the nurse had made her throw away her filthy jeans, as well.

  She leaned back in the plastic chair and sighed. The pain medication that Rodney had given her took the edge off her shoulder ache, but did nothing to slow down the barrage of thoughts that raced through her mind.

  "I should have never left you alone today," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, darlin'."

  "Shelby?" Rebecca rasped.

  "Hold on." Shelby poured a small amount of water into a plastic cup and held the straw up to Rebecca's lips. "Easy, now."

  Rebecca took a few sips. "Thanks." She studied Shelby's face. "You look terrible."

  "Yeah?" Shelby leaned and lightly kissed Rebecca's lips. "You look wonderful."

  "That bandage on your head must have affected your vision. Is it serious?"

  Shelby touched the bandage on her left temple. It had taken eight stitches to close the gash, which she had completely forgotten about until now. She was thankful that she didn't have a concussion. "You know how I am. Hard-headed."

  "That's true." Rebecca wriggled her fingers, which were immediately caught by Shelby. "I was afraid I'd never see you again."

  "You can't get rid of me that easily," Shelby assured her. "All I could think about today was getting back to you to make sure you were okay. I did a pretty shitty job of that, though."

  Rebecca frowned. "Are you kidding me? You're here, that's all that matters to me." She squeezed Shelby's hand. "When I was stuck under that stuff, and it was dark, wet and scary, I just pictured us snuggled on the couch
together in front of a warm fire."

  "Yeah?"

  "Yeah."

  Shelby scooted her chair as close as she could and kissed Rebecca again. "As soon as you're out of here, we'll do that. I love you, darlin'."

  "Love you, too." Rebecca closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm so tired."

  "Get some rest. I ain't goin' nowhere."

  Shelby was content to hold Rebecca's hand and watch her sleep.

  LEX WAS UPRIGHT in bed when there was a light knock on her door. "Come on in."

  She grinned as the door opened and Lorrie hurried inside, followed by Amanda. "Hey, there."

  Lorrie stopped short of the bed, until Lex patted the space beside her.

  "Are you sure it's okay?" she asked.

  "Yep." Lex held out her good hand and helped Lorrie up. The movement jarred her ribs, and she sucked in a short breath to keep from groaning. "See? Plenty of room."

  She patted the opposite side. "How about you, Mom?"

  Amanda laughed and sat on the edge. "This will do, thanks." She sobered and touched Lex's swollen face. "Broke your nose again?"

  "Yeah. Not sure if it was the airbag, or the tree."

  "Tree?"

  Lex bit her lip. "Um, anyway, how's everyone at home?"

  Amanda kissed her. "Good try. I'll let it go, for now. Everyone at home is fine." She moved back and touched the splint on Lex's arm. "How'd this happen?"

  "Not too sure. But it's a clean break, so it should heal quickly." Lex looked at Lorrie's arm. "You too, huh?"

  Lorrie shrugged. "Uncle Rodney said the same thing about mine. He also said that Shelby did a good job splinting it, which is why it'll be okay."

  "She did? What happened to you two, anyway?" Lex asked.

  Lorrie yawned. "The wind blew her truck into a ditch and flipped it." She leaned against Lex and closed her eyes. "Can I stay here with you, tonight?"

  Amanda was about to argue, when Lex shook her head and said, "Sure, sweetheart. You can keep me company."

  "Thanks, Momma." Lorrie turned until she was more comfortably snuggled against Lex's side. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

  "Are you sure?" Amanda asked.

  "Positive." After all the trouble she had been through recently with Lorrie, Lex wasn't about to throw away this gift. "Everyone else okay?"