by Carrie Carr
"LOOK AT THIS, honey." Amanda handed Lex a small photograph that looked as if it had been taken at a zoo. There was a young girl about three years old being held in front of some sort of fenced-off pit. The gentleman holding her appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties and was smiling broadly. They looked very much alike, with their dark hair and light-colored eyes. "I think this may be you with your grandfather."
Lex accepted the photograph gingerly. She turned it over and saw in neat writing, Lexie and Travis 1975. "You're right." She turned the picture back over and studied it carefully. A small frown crept onto her face. "I wish I could remember him."
Amanda rubbed her hand across Lex's back in a comforting motion. "I know." She scooted out of the way the small box that lay opened between them on the bed, and moved closer to Lex. She had been awakened with gentle kisses by Lex earlier, and then Amanda tiptoed downstairs to get the mysterious box that Lester had left behind.
"It's just so strange," Lex murmured, still looking at the photograph. She also had a letter that Travis had written around that same time. "Would you mind?" Lex handed the letter to Amanda to read.
"Sure." Amanda accepted it and read out loud.
"My friend, I hope that things are going well for you at the ranch. Melanie and I finally talked Victoria into allowing us to take little Lexie overnight back to Dallas. We had promised her a trip to the zoo, and as the enclosed picture suggests, we made good on that promise. What a wonderful child she is! Smart and beautiful just like her mother, although I can see a streak of stubbornness that could only come from Rawson. As you know, there are no such personality quirks like that on our side of the family.
Have I properly thanked you for taking that position at the ranch? We are forever in your debt, my longtime friend, for giving us some peace of mind while our little girl is marooned out there in the middle of nowhere. She did promise not to give you away to Rawson, but more out of respect for your position than anything else. I did let it slip that since you had been injured in that accident in the oil fields, you needed the stability of the job you now had. Please forgive an old man for a minor untruth, if you will. Victoria thinks of you as an uncle, as she should. You have always been a brother to me, ever since we were five and chasing the little girls together.
I'm sorry to cut this note so short, but Melanie came in with exciting news. Our little Victoria called, and she is expecting another child! God forgive me for saying so, but I hope this next child has Lexie's personality, and not Hubert's. That boy is so much his father's son. It's a shame, too. We've tried to get him to warm to us, but he is quite hateful toward us both. I can handle it, but I don't like to subject my dear Melanie to his childish tirades. Well, I'll sign off for now. It seems our daughter wants us to visit the ranch next weekend, to share in her happy news. So I will see you then, my good friend.
Sincerely, Travis."
Lex continued to study the photograph as Amanda's voice trailed off quietly. "This must have been one of the last times I actually saw my grandparents." She closed her eyes as she tried to remember the past.
"Honey?" Amanda put down the letter and touched Lex's cheek. She waited until Lex's eyes opened and tracked to hers. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Do you think he would mind a phone call from me sometime?"
Amanda hugged Lex tight. "I think he'd love it, Lex. Just like I know he loves you."
"I hope so. But I at least want him to know that he's welcome here, no matter what my father or brother may have told him at the time." Amanda's arms squeezed around her tightly.
"He'll know, honey. And I'm sure he will be thrilled to finally get to know his granddaughter again after all these years." Amanda leaned back slightly so that she could look into Lex's eyes. A strong gust of wind blew against the house, whistling shrilly. "But, do you think we can stay up here for a while and snuggle? It's still early, and I don't want to get out of this warm bed yet." Amanda shivered as she heard the sound of sleet beating against the windows.
"I dunno. What's in it for me?" Lex teased. She really had no desire to get out of bed either, but the opportunity to taunt her lover was just too tempting to resist. "There's probably a lot to do around here, with the weather being bad and all," she remarked dryly.
Amanda snorted. "Yeah, right. I can tell by the look on your face that you're just as comfortable here as I am." She reached up under Lex's shirt and tickled her warm stomach.
Lex squirmed. "Hey!" She started to reciprocate, but changed her mind and wrapped her arms tightly around Amanda instead. "Okay, okay, you win." She scooted down until she was flat on her back with Amanda draped across her chest. "We'll lie around until Martha drags us out of bed, deal?"
"Deal." Amanda raised and kissed Lex passionately, until the world faded around them.
Chapter Thirteen
"MORNING, MARTHA. CHARLIE." Lex breezed in to the kitchen sporting a wide smile. She kissed the housekeeper on the head and squeezed the sheriff's shoulder before joining them both at the kitchen table. Sometime during the early morning someone had slipped in the extra leaf to the table, which allowed six chairs to circle the oblong wooden structure. "Isn't it a beautiful morning?"
Charlie looked quizzically at his fiancée, and they both turned slightly to look outside. The heavy clouds darkened the morning sky, and driving sleet still beat against the windows. "Uh, well," the lawman scratched his chin, "I suppose it's a beautiful day somewhere."
Lex followed their gaze and grinned ruefully. "I didn't even notice the weather." She was about to say more when Amanda entered the room. Anna Leigh and Jacob followed her, and all three were laughing.
Amanda was saying, "You should have seen the look on Frank's face. It was priceless. Of course, mine probably looked just as shocked. Oh. Good morning, everyone," she said cheerfully and she walked over and sat in Lex's lap, leaving more than enough room for her grandparents at the table.
Anna Leigh sat next to Lex and patted her on the arm. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Pretty good, thanks for asking. Care for some coffee?" Lex poured three more cups of coffee from the nearby carafe while Martha walked over to the stove.
"Thank you, Lexington." Anna Leigh accepted the offering gratefully. "What are your plans for today?"
Lex looked down at her coffee mug, then back up to the faces around the table. "Well, I've got to take a quick run to the barn and take care of the horses. After that, my day is pretty much free."
"Do you need any help?" Jacob offered. "I'm sure there are more than enough of us around here to give you a hand. No sense in you having to do all the work alone."
Amanda nodded. "Grandpa's right. A couple of us could go with you, and it wouldn't take very long at all." Another blast of cold wind rattled the kitchen windows. "Whoa." She shivered involuntarily.
Lex squeezed Amanda's waist. "I really appreciate the offer, but there's no reason for anyone else to be out in that weather." When Amanda began to argue, Lex covered her mouth with one hand. "Shhh. I'm the only one who has the proper gear to be out in that mess, and you know it."
"I guess," Amanda sighed, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it." She looked up to see the rest of the table smiling at her. "What?"
Jacob chuckled. "I'm sorry, but you just look so darned cute when you pout like that." He exchanged knowing smiles with Lex. "Okay, Lex, you win this one. How long will it take you?"
"Probably less than fifteen minutes, I'd guess. I should be back before breakfast is ready. Why?"
Anna Leigh rubbed her hands together and laughed. "I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of Mandy's childhood, so I brought several picture albums with us." She saw the horrified look on her granddaughter's face. "Don't worry. I didn't bring any nudes."
"Gramma," Amanda huffed while Lex laughed. "I would hope not." She slapped her lover's shoulder. "Hush."
"I'm sorry," Lex continued to laugh, "but I had my heart set on some cheesecake pictures." She had to wipe tears of mirth from
her eyes. "Maybe on a bearskin rug or something?"
Anna Leigh considered for a moment. "Hmm, not with this particular set of albums, I don't think." She took pity on the blushing woman and sighed. "No, I'm afraid not, Lexington. But I'll see what I can dig up for Christmas."
Amanda buried her face in Lex's shoulder. "Oh, God. Just kill me now."
Lex rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's okay. I'm sure Martha has already shown you all of my embarrassing photos." She felt Amanda chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes."
Martha spoke up from her position on the other side of the room. "Well, of course I did. We had to have something to do when you were out gallivanting around the ranch." She poured batter on the griddle that covered half the stovetop. "I hope everyone likes pancakes. I thought it would be the easiest thing to fix."
"Sounds great, Martha." Jacob stood and walked over to the stove. Would you mind if I help you out there? I can flip the pancakes while you handle the bacon and sausage."
"Thank you, Jacob. I'd appreciate that." Martha moved over and allowed the tall man access to the griddle.
Charlie looked at the two people working at the stove, then back to Anna Leigh. "He cooks?"
"Goodness, yes," Anna Leigh exclaimed. "Jacob was actually accepted to a culinary school overseas. He's just so fond of carpentry, he only cooks for fun."
"And I can tell you from experience, the man is a wizard in the kitchen," Lex said to the astonished lawman.
The housekeeper snorted from beside the stove, trying to contain her laughter. "Oh, honey. Nothing against Jacob here, but to you, anyone that can boil water is a master chef." She shared a smile with Jacob. "The poor girl never could find her way around in a kitchen," she shared conspiratorially.
"Gee, thanks." Lex helped Amanda off of her lap. "I think I'll escape to the barn before she starts in with the embarrassing stories." She continued to hold Amanda's hand as she walked to the doorway. "Would you like to help me find my hat?"
Amanda grinned. "Sure." As she left, she waved and said, "I'll be back in a second, everyone." She followed Lex to the back door, where the heavy duster hung next to the battered hat. As Lex pulled on the dark coat, Amanda reached over to button it up. "Are you sure you don't want my help? It won't take me but a minute to change."
Lex smiled down at the hands that worked the buttons on the heavy material. "No, sweetheart. Stay inside and visit with your family. I'll only be gone for a few minutes. You won't even miss me."
"Want to bet?" Amanda lifted the black hat from its hook and placed it on her companion's head. "I miss you when I close my eyes and can't see you." She felt a light touch on her face and looked up. "But then I just think of you and can see you in my mind and everything's okay again."
"That's beautiful." Lex leaned down and covered Amanda's lips with her own. She continued to kiss Amanda for several moments until they both had to break away breathlessly. "Wow."
Amanda leaned her head against Lex's chest. "Yeah. Wow." She squeezed Lex close and sighed. "I love you so much."
Lex buried her face in Amanda's hair and breathed in deeply. "I love you, too." She pulled back and straightened her hat on her head. "Now, go visit. I'll be back in a flash." She reached into a pocket to pull out a pair of thick leather work gloves, then slipped them onto her hands.
"All right. Be careful, though. That weather sounds awful." Amanda moved away from her lover regretfully. "I'll keep your chair warm for you."
"Sounds great." Lex opened the back door and gasped as a blast of cold air nearly took her breath away. "Damn." She looked back at Amanda, who wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep warm. "Make that ten minutes. It's too damned cold out there to goof off." She winked and hurried out, quickly closing the door behind her.
Amanda moved to the door to look out through the glass panes. She watched with a small smile as the tall form jogged to the barn, holding the hat in place with one hand. "Hurry back. I miss you already," she murmured to the retreating figure.
LEX ALLOWED THE heavy door to slam behind her as she made her way into the darkened barn. It's too warm in here. Somebody left the thermostat on too high when they were in here last. Wait a minute. I was the last one in here, I think. Lex pulled her hat from her head and shook the excess water from it, as she moved to the wall where the control was. Before she could reach for it, the lights came on and partially blinded her. "What--"
"Leave it alone," a deep voice commanded from behind her, near the door.
Lex spun around quickly. "Who the hell are you?"
A man stood by the closed door holding a pitchfork pointed at Lex. "Ain't this my lucky day?" he laughed. "I was trying to figure out how to get to you, and you came to me instead."
"Do I know you?" Lex began to step forward cautiously. "Wait, you're--" She stopped when the man jabbed at her with the pointed tool.
"Stay back." He relaxed a bit when she put her hat back on her head and held her hands out from her sides. "That's better. Now back up a little, closer to the wall."
Lex did as he asked. "Okay. Just take it easy." She leaned up against the wall, took a steadying breath and tried to think. Stall, dammit. There's got to be a way out of this.
AMANDA WAS ON her way to the kitchen when she saw Jeannie and Frank descending the stairs. "It's about time you two got down here," she teased as she grabbed each one by the arm and dragged the two of them into the kitchen. "Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence."
"Good morning, kids." Anna Leigh walked to the cabinet and refilled the carafe from the fresh pot of coffee. "Have a seat.
Martha and Jacob are about to please our palates with a combined effort."
Frank sat next to Charlie and shook his head. "What did she say?" he grumbled as Amanda sat a cup of coffee down in front of him. The big man rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"She said that--" Charlie started, but was interrupted when the phone rang.
"I'll get it." Amanda raced over and grabbed the phone. "Walters' residence, Amanda speaking." She listened for a moment, then turned solemn. "Okay, sure. Hold on just a minute, please." She waved the receiver at the still seated sheriff. "Charlie? It's for you."
The lawman rose. "Thank you." He took the phone and leaned up against the cabinet. "This is Sheriff Bristol."
Everyone in the room quieted. Martha noticed how his grip tightened on the phone until his knuckles turned white. "Charlie?"
"You what?" Charlie ground out between gritted teeth. He didn't even flinch when Martha walked over to him and rubbed his arm. "How could you lose track of him?" His entire body trembled slightly from the strain of controlling his temper. "Dammit, Jeremy! Just how incompetent are you? I thought you had him under surveillance."
Martha was beginning to worry about her intended. The lawman was a very unhealthy shade of red, and she had never heard him utter a curse word in all the years that she'd known him. "Charlie? Honey, please calm down. You're scaring me." She watched as his eyes slowly tracked to hers, and noticed a look of dread on his face. "What?"
Charlie placed a fingertip gently on the housekeeper's lips to silence her. "All right. I want you to get every available man on this right now. Send a couple out here to the ranch. I want that son of a bitch found yesterday, you got that?" He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. "I'll be expecting your full report on my desk by the time I get back to town." The sheriff slowly placed the phone back on its cradle and faced the rest of the room. "I've got some good news and some bad news, folks."
Amanda looked down at her trembling hands. Why are my hands shaking? She waited until Martha guided the lawman over to the table and sat next to them. "What's wrong, Charlie?"
"I now know who was behind Lex's accident last week." Charlie scrubbed his hands over his face. "He just recently got out on bail, but I had my best deputy on him every second of every day. And I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to try anything, so--"
"Who?" Martha asked, rubbing her hand across the
weary man's shoulders. "Out on bail?" She paled. "You don't mean--"
"MATT STERLING?" LEX shook her head with a disgusted sigh. "So, someone actually posted your bond?" She reached to unbutton her coat. Damn, it's hot in here. He must have cranked the blasted thermostat up to eighty degrees.
The man limped forward slightly. "Hold it!" He jabbed his makeshift weapon at Lex again. "What do you think you're doing?"
Lex sighed. "I'm unbuttoning my coat, since it feels like the damn tropics in here." She raised an eyebrow at him in question. Forget it, asshole. I'm not afraid. I've had steaks tougher than you.
"Go ahead, slowly." Matt watched as Lex slowly opened her coat. "Might as well take it off, you're not going anywhere for a while." He considered for a moment. "At least until I can figure out what I want to do with you."
"Okay." Lex removed the coat and dropped it carefully to the ground. She backed up to the wall again and gestured to the thermostat. "Mind if I turn that thing down? You're going to make my horses sick if they get too warm." She waited until he nodded before she adjusted the temperature. "Thanks."
Matt leaned back against the door and shrugged. "Yeah. I was getting kind of hot, myself." He thought about her earlier question. "For your information, Miss High and Mighty rancher, I'm an important guy. My new boss paid my bail and even found me a place to stay."
Lex nodded. Keep him talking, and maybe he'll relax enough for me to take that pitchfork away from him. "Really? And just who is your boss?"
"Oh, yeah. Like I'm stupid enough to tell you." He waved the tool in her direction again. "But then again, who are you going to tell?" He laughed. "So, how are you feeling after your little jump from that drop-off? I loved the sound your head made when I whacked you with that log, you know."
"It was you?" Damn. He's a head case. Got to keep him talking. "Why did you do it?" Lex absentmindedly reached behind her head and felt the healed wound. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Amanda to remove her stitches the other night, instead of making a special trip into town. Lex noticed that he was still limping. "How's the leg?" She knew it was probably dangerous, but she wanted to keep Matt's attention on her, and not on the fact that there was a house full of people nearby. Especially the local sheriff.
