Chapter 7 4 страница

Lex nodded. "Sure. But you’re welcome to use my office, if you want." She smiled as Amanda walked into the den, carrying a tray with coffee and mugs.

"I may, a bit later. But for now, I’m going to work on your books at odd hours, and there’s no sense in disturbing you. Once I get everything figured out, I’ll put it on a disk and load it on your computer, okay?" Janna smiled at Amanda, who handed her a cup of coffee. "Thank you."

Amanda returned the smile and sat down next to her partner. "You’re welcome. Why will you be working odd hours? Is everything all right?"

Janna laughed. "Oh, sure. Everything’s fine. I just tend to be a bit of a night owl. All this peace and quiet tends to feed my insomnia, and I work better at home." She stretched out her denim-covered legs with a contented sigh. "You’ve really got a beautiful home, Lex. I’m trying to get Granddad to do something with that old house of his. We’re lucky to have indoor plumbing."

"Heh. Thanks. I’m going to redo the outside this spring, though. I’ve never liked stucco." The rancher propped her feet on the coffee table, dropping them almost immediately when Amanda pinched her leg. "Ow!"

The blonde glared at her lover. "That’ll teach you to act uncivilized," she whispered. Turning her attention back to their guest, Amanda smiled again. "I’m afraid I haven’t met your father, Janna. Do you enjoy working with him?" She caught the hand that was sneaking across her thigh and held it tightly.

"He’s pretty easy to work with, but I want to get out on my own, again. Working with him makes me feel like a little girl, you know?" Janna leaned forward. "I’ll probably be looking for office space soon. You wouldn’t happen to know of anything available, would you?" She had talked with Amanda for almost an hour while they waited for Lex to return from the bunkhouse, and learned most of the history between the two women.

"Not right off the top of my head, but I’ll check when I get into the office in the morning." Amanda had postponed going back to work this morning at Lex’s request. The rancher had wanted her opinion on the new bookkeeper, and trusted her partner’s instincts about people. "If you’re in town tomorrow, maybe I can show you something then."

Janna drained the rest of her coffee and stood up. "That sounds great." She picked up a heavy briefcase that was on the floor next to her chair. "Lex, I’ll call you if I have any questions. I helped balance the books at a dairy farm up north, so at least I’m familiar with your type of business."

"At least you know about bulls," Lex teased, as she walked their guest to the front door. "And believe me, I’m very glad you do. Your ‘pet’ nearly scared ten years off my life."

"He’s just an overgrown baby," Janna joked. "But I do appreciate you bringing him home. I’m going to hire someone this week to rebuild his pen." She sighed. "I should have named him Houdini instead of BJ." She held out her hand to the dark-haired woman. "Thanks for giving me this opportunity, Lex. I’ll do my best for you."

Lex shook the hand offered to her. "Thank you. Umm…since I’m not really doing much this week, how about if I come over and look at that pen for you? Maybe we can work out a bit of a trade."

The older woman nodded. "Sure. That sounds great to me, if it’s not too much trouble. I know BJ would love to see you again," she teased. "Seriously, come on over any time. I’ll let Granddad know to expect you." Janna stepped off the porch and waved as she climbed into a battered old truck. She had explained to them earlier that her car was in the shop, and her grandfather had kindly loaned her his old Ford F-150. The battered old vehicle was several different shades, due to minor wrecks that he had throughout the years. The elder Braxton would go to the junkyard and get a new part, not bothering to have it painted to match. Anyone looking at the truck would be hard pressed to decide what its original color was.

"She’s sweet." Amanda commented, walking up behind Lex and wrapping her arms around the rancher. She buried her face in the taller woman’s back, inhaling deeply. "Mmm…"

Lex turned around and hugged her lover. "Uh-huh," she murmured, sinking her nose in the blonde’s hair. "We’ve got an hour or so to kill until lunch…wanna go fool around?"

Amanda bent her head to grant Lex easier access to her neck, where the taller woman was placing gentle kisses. "Mmm…ahh…we really shouldn’t." She felt her knees weaken when Lex sucked on her earlobe. "Umm…well, maybe if we just go into the den, and…oooh…"

"Heh. Thought that was a convincing argument," Lex chuckled, as she scooped Amanda up in her arms and carried the smaller woman into the den, without losing contact with her throat.

***************

Michael Cauble stepped into his darkened shop and locked the door behind him. He had spent the morning at his parents’ house looking through old photograph albums, and realized with shame how few of the family pictures he was actually in. I was always too busy to spend time with my children while they were growing up he sighed to himself. As he headed up the stairs towards his loft apartment, he noticed the light on in the room in the back that he used for an office. I don’t remember leaving that light on. At the doorway he gasped in shock. "What the hell are YOU doing here?"

"I’m hurt, Michael. I thought you’d be more happy to see me, dear." Elizabeth Cauble uncrossed her well-defined legs and stood up. She had a new tan, and her blonde hair had a decidedly lighter tint to it from the last time he had seen her. The expensive business suit had been tailor made for her body, and it showed. "I’ve been waiting all morning for you. Where on earth have you been?" She started towards her husband with a disarming smile on her face.

He continued to step back away from the grinning woman. "Get away from me! You’re crazy!"

The smile dropped from her face and a cold stare replaced it. Elizabeth stopped and shook her head. "Stop your sniveling, Michael. You’re acting foolish." She reached out and tapped him on the chest. "I’m not crazy at all. There’s nothing wrong with a woman wanting to see her family, is there? I just can’t understand what you’re doing in this little hick town, playing with those ridiculous cameras. You know there’s no money in it."

"For the first time in almost thirty years, I’m doing something I can be proud of. But I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?" Michael brushed her hand away from him and started for the front door. "I want you out of here, Elizabeth. Now."

She laughed. "I’m sure your mother had something to do with this, didn’t she? She never did appreciate how hard you worked to build up the company. Although you would have never made it had my father not helped you to get started."

"You leave my family out of this." He spun around and stalked back over to his wife. "Go back to California, with your gigolo’s and pool boys. You’re not welcome here."

SLAP!

"You pathetic little worm. Had you been more of a man, I wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere for…" she smiled knowingly. "Satisfaction." Elizabeth shook her right hand gingerly. He always did have a hard head. "I’ve come to this rotten little town to talk some sense into our youngest daughter. From what I’ve heard, she’s still living with that…woman."

Michael rubbed his face where she had slapped him. "That ‘woman’ has a name. Lex has been better for Amanda than I could have hoped for. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was wrong about her – why can’t you?" He shook his head. "Go home, Elizabeth. Before the police realize that you’re back in the country, and have you locked up."

"Fool. The police don’t want me. All of that trouble was Mark Garrett’s idea, not mine. Because of his untimely demise, they’ve closed the case. Although, if he’d done his job right, our daughter would be home with me, where she belongs." She brushed by him and started for the front door. "Besides," Elizabeth opened the door and inhaled the cold air with a smile, "If they wanted someone to blame, they’d probably look to his employer. You." She waved a hand in his direction. "Goodbye, Michael. I’ll drop back by before I leave…with Amanda. One way or another, I’ll get her out of that pervert’s filthy clutches."

"Crazy bitch." He muttered, as his soon-to-be ex-wife strolled away. "I think I’d better make a phone call." Michael walked into his office and sank into the rickety leather chair. He shakily picked up the phone and began to dial.

***************

Anna Leigh hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. "No good is going to come from this, I just know it," she murmured quietly. She looked around the cheerful kitchen and shook her head. And things were going so well, too. The sound of soft footfalls behind her caused a small smile to cross her face.

"What’s that, sweetheart?" Jacob curled his arms around his wife and nuzzled her neck. "Did I hear the phone ring, earlier?" He had been out in the shop behind the house, working on a wedding present for Charlie and Martha. Lex had told him what she wanted for the couple, and he had happily agreed to build it. Not even his wife knew about it, yet.

"I’m afraid so, dear." She turned around and buried her face in his shirt. "Michael called."

Jacob pulled his wife closer. "Is everything okay?" He was beginning to get a bad feeling about this.

She shook her head. "No, it’s not. Elizabeth is in town."

"WHAT?!" He pulled back suddenly. "Why is that crazy woman here?"

"She told him that she’s come to take Mandy home with her," Anna Leigh reported. "He said that Elizabeth was waiting for him inside his studio when he got home."

He sat down in a nearby chair and pulled his wife with him. "Take Amanda with her? Has she completely lost her mind?" Jacob began to gently run his fingers through her hair, trying to relax her.

Anna Leigh sat on Jacob’s lap and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Michael seems to think so. She acted like nothing had happened between them – and she said that the police have closed the case against her." She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed again. "I’m frightened, Jacob. Do you think that she’d do something to Lexington, trying to get Mandy away from her?"

"I don’t know, love. But I think we’d better inform Charlie about all of this." Jacob kissed her on top of the head and closed his eyes. "Was Michael going to call the ranch?" I swear to God above, I’m not a violent man. But if that woman so much as goes near those girls, I’ll wring her scrawny little neck myself!

"Yes, he was going to call as soon as he got off the phone with me. What are we going to do?" She took a deep breath and enjoyed her husband’s cologne. "Poor Mandy. This is just going to devastate her."

Jacob gently combed his fingers through Anna Leigh’s hair. "I know. But she’s a strong young woman, and we’ll be there to support them both. I’m sure Elizabeth will make some sort of token appearance, but there’s not much she can do. Let’s just wait and see, all right?"

"You’re right, my love. I’m certain everything will be just fine. There’s nothing our Mandy can’t handle."

***************

"Aaaaahhh!! Stop it! I can’t take anymore!" Amanda gasped, fighting for air. The large body on top of her shifted slightly. "No! Please!!"

Lex rolled off the slender body beneath her, and flopped onto her back gracelessly into the thick hay. "Told ya I could make you scream for mercy," she teased. "Teach you to dare me."

"Okay, okay…I give up." Amanda rolled over as well, propping her head up on one hand and leaning over the grinning rancher. "You are so merciless!" She blinked and ran a fingertip down her lover’s face, fighting the losing battle to keep from becoming lost in Lex’s blue eyes.

"And don’t you forget it, Blondie," Lex chuckled. She stopped smiling and concentrated on the beautiful woman above her. "Aaaah!" A cold hand wormed its way beneath her shirt and caressed her bare stomach.

Amanda laughed. "Watch it who you’re calling Blondie, Slim. Two can play at that game, you know." She looked down into the smiling face beneath her and smiled tenderly. "God, you’re beautiful." She forgot the game and leaned down to kiss the rancher gently.

"Mmm…" Lex allowed her own hand to work its way under the sweater that Amanda wore, finding soft skin to caress. "I love you, Amanda." She ran her hand up the smaller woman’s back, feeling the body above her tremble from her touch.

"I love you, too." The blonde began to unbutton the denim shirt slowly. "I never knew that loading hay could be so much fun," she murmured.

Lex chuckled. "Me either." She gasped as Amanda began to blaze a trail of kisses down her chest. "God, baby…that feels so…"

"IS ANYONE HERE?" Kevin’s deep voiced boomed, causing both women to sit up suddenly.

"Shit!" Lex quickly yanked her hand out of its warm spot and fought the buttons on her shirt. She watched in amusement as Amanda brushed the hay out of her blonde hair and stood up.

The younger woman pulled her sweater down and peeked over the bales of hay. "We’re over here, Kevin. What’s up?" She offered her hand to her lover and pulled Lex up.

"We’ve been looking all over for you two," Kevin chastised as he walked closer. The two were only visible from the waist up, because of the bales of hay that were stacked in front of them. "What exactly were you up to?" He noticed with some amusement that they were both covered in bits of straw. Probably the same thing Morris and I were up to the other day. I’m almost ashamed to have disturbed them.

"Umm…we were just…" Amanda blushed.

"Fooling around in the hay," Lex offered dryly. "What’s going on?"

It was Kevin’s turn to blush. Does she have to be so damned matter-of-fact about everything? "Uh, yeah. Well, your father called a little bit ago, Amanda. He and Martha talked for a while, and then she sent Morris and me out to look for you."

Amanda stepped around the bale. "Did she say what was wrong? Is he okay?" She felt Lex’s comforting presence step behind her, which caused her body to relax.

"No, she didn’t say. But from what I could gather from the conversation, your father is fine, just a little worried." The big man shook his head as the young woman gathered up her coat and raced from the barn. "I didn’t mean to upset her," he apologized to Lex, who was slipping on her heavy duster.

Lex slapped the old cowboy hat against her thigh and pulled it on her head. "I know, Kevin. Don’t worry about it." She walked over and opened the barn door. "Let’s go see what’s going on, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sorry that I disturbed you."

"No problem." Lex slapped him on the shoulder gently. "C’mon…my curiosity is about to get the best of me." She hurried out into the cold, Kevin rushing to keep up with her long strides.

Amanda stormed into the kitchen out of breath. "Martha, what happened? Is my father okay?"

"Oh, honey. He’s just fine," the housekeeper directed the younger woman to a chair and pushed her down gently. "Sit down and catch your breath. Do you want some coffee?"

"No, thank you." Amanda squirmed out of her coat and draped it behind her on the chair. "Kevin said he called?" She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

Martha poured a cup anyway, and sat it down in front of the anxious young woman. "Yes, he did. Seems like he had a visitor at his studio today." She looked up as Lex and Kevin bustled into the room.

"Lexie…hang up your coats and have a seat. I was just telling Amanda about the call from her father today."

"Yes, ma’am." Lex grabbed Amanda’s coat and quickly hung them up by the back door. She walked back into the kitchen and sat down next to her lover. "Hey there. You okay?" She grasped one of Amanda’s cold hands and began to chafe it between her own.

"I’m fine. Just waiting for Martha to finish her story," Amanda hinted towards the housekeeper.

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that, honey." The older woman bustled over towards the table and sat down, coffee cup in hand. "Well, there’s no real easy way to say this. It seems that your mother is in town."

Lex jumped up from the table. "WHAT? Has she lost her mind? What in the hell does she want in Somerville? Hasn’t she caused Amanda enough grief? That crazy old…" Her pacing was stopped when a small hand grasped her arm.

"Sit down, honey. Let Martha finish." Amanda pulled the rancher back down, not releasing the iron grip she held on the larger woman’s hand.

The housekeeper smiled inwardly. She’s sure got Lexie’s number, all right. Never seen anyone calm that girl down so quickly. "Ah, yes. Where was I?" She nodded at Kevin, who had indicated with a wave of his hand that he was going back out to get his partner. "He said that she was waiting for him inside his studio, although how she got in is anyone’s guess." Martha shook her head. "I’m afraid she’s out to cause you some trouble, honey."

Amanda frowned. "What kind of trouble?" She felt Lex tense beside her.

"She’s determined to take you back to California with her," Martha answered quietly, afraid to look at the young women. She looked down and studied the coffee in her cup.

"WHAT?!?" Lex jumped up again. "What the hell…"

"Honey, please." Amanda pulled Lex’s hand, trying to calm her down.

The rancher could not be quieted. "I’m sorry, Amanda. But your mother is dangerous. We’ve got to do something about her." She tried to pull her hand away, with no success.

"Nothing has been proven…" Amanda tried to reason with Lex.

"That’s bullshit! We all know she was behind you almost DYING! Good God, Amanda… how much more does she have to do to you before something is done?" Lex ranted, waving her arms frantically. She started for the doorway. "I’m going into town and find her! There’s no way I’m standing by while that crazy woman plots lord-knows-what against you."

Amanda jumped up from the table and grabbed the back of Lex’s shirt. "Stop it! Please!" Once the rancher stood still, she wrapped her arms around Lex and held on tightly. "Please…"

Lex took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Good job, Lexington…calling her mother crazy, AND threatening her. Looks like you haven’t changed that much, after all. She slowly turned around and wrapped her arms around Amanda. "I’m sorry, love. I shouldn’t have said all of that."

"No, don’t apologize." Amanda giggled nervously. "She IS crazy. I just don’t want you getting into any trouble on her account. She’s just not worth it." She looked up and saw the disgusted look on her lover’s face. "Stop it. You’ve done nothing wrong." Amanda leaned up and kissed Lex lightly on the chin. "Thanks for trying to protect me."

"Yeah, for all the good it’s done," Lex grumbled, still upset with herself. A gentle hand on her cheek caused her to look down.

"Shhh…no more beating yourself up, all right? If I wasn’t afraid of what she’d do, I’d be glad to see you confront my mother. But she scares me, especially after what my father told me about her." She remembered the look on her father’s face when he related the confrontation with Elizabeth.

Michael was sitting on the edge of Amanda’s bed, holding her hand. She and Lex had agreed to spend the night at Jacob and Anna Leigh’s house, and the rancher was downstairs with the family to give him some time alone with his daughter. He continued to fight his feelings of guilt over Amanda’s illness, thinking that if he’d been a better father to her, none of the recent events would have happened. Unable to look her in the eye, he watched as his thumb gently stroked her knuckles.

"Daddy?" Amanda reached over with her bandaged hand and held his still. "What’s wrong?"

He shook his head, ashamed. "I’m so sorry, sweetheart," Michael whispered. "I had no idea she would go this far."

Amanda struggled to sit up in bed. "What do you mean? It’s not your fault." She leaned back against the pillows and sighed. "I can’t believe she’d do something like that, though…hiring someone to hurt Lex, just because I love her." Tears began to slide quietly down her cheeks.

"No, baby…" Michael forgot all about his self-pity and pulled his daughter into his arms. "This had nothing to do with you, not really." He began to gently rub her back. "She’s unbalanced. Actually has been for quite some time. The night that I left, she seemed like two different people. She ranted and raved one minute, even going so far as to slap me. The next minute, she was all sweetness and concern, telling me that we had to keep our family together. To tell you the truth, she scared the hell out of me."

"What do you mean?" She burrowed her face into his chest, the cologne he wore bringing back happier memories.

Michael sighed. "For the past couple of years, your mother had become more…distant, I guess. We rarely spoke to each other, and could go weeks without even seeing one another. I knew that she had begun seeing other men, but I ignored it."

She leaned back slightly to look into his face. "Really? If things had gotten that bad, why were you two still together? Did you still love her?"

"I don’t know if I really did ever love her, Amanda. It’s hard to explain, but I suppose I wanted the power and prestige that came along with her family. Elizabeth’s father only had one son, and he’d been a disappointment to the old man. When I came along, he took me under his wing and helped me build my firm almost overnight." Michael shook his head. "I knew then that something was wrong with your mother. I told myself it was just a mean streak, and that I could overlook it, if it meant staying in good with her family."

"You married Mother for her money?" she asked quietly.

He looked down at the quilt on the bed, unable to meet her gaze. "Pretty much." Michael swallowed hard. "My parents never had a lot of money, Amanda. At least not as much as I thought I needed. Mother’s family was wealthy, but she refused to have anything to do with them, since they were so against her marrying my father in the first place. I would get a taste of that wealth when I’d go spend a week every summer with them, but all it did was make me want more."

Amanda reached up and touched her father’s cheek. "Well, that’s a relief."

"Huh?" He blinked, unsure of what she had said.

"It’s good to know that you didn’t marry Mother for her personality." Amanda grinned at her father. "I was afraid that you just had terrible taste in women."

Michael laughed, then pulled her close to him again.

Amanda caressed the rancher’s cheek, feeling the body in front of hers began to relax. "I’m afraid of what my mother might do, Lex. Please stay away from her."

Martha was afraid to upset either woman any more, but she wanted to ease their minds. "I called Charlie while I was waiting for the two of you to return," she offered, seeing both of them relax a bit. "He’s got a man keeping an eye on her." No sense in telling them that she spotted poor Jeremy, and waved at him. Charlie’s still angry about that.

Amanda nodded. "Good. That means that we can put all this aside, and not worry about her tonight." She looked up into Lex’s eyes. "C’mon, love. Let it go for now, please?"

"Okay." Lex leaned down and kissed Amanda’s forehead. "But I swear to you, if she steps one foot on this ranch, I’m gonna…" Her words were halted when soft lips claimed hers. "Mmm…what was I saying?" she asked when they finally broke apart.

"You were saying that you’d go on to bed, and worry about all this in the morning," Martha added with a smile. She walked over and pulled a few strands of straw out of Lex’s dark hair. "You might want to take a shower while you’re at it. Seems you brought half the barn in here with you."

The rancher blushed and ducked her head. "Umm…yeah. We’ll take care of that. Thanks." She stepped away from Amanda for a moment and embraced Martha. "Thanks, Mada. I love you," Lex whispered, kissing the stunned woman on the top of her head. "See you in the morning." She walked away and grabbed Amanda, moving out of the kitchen before the housekeeper could say a word.

"That little turd," Martha remarked out loud. I swear she does that just to throw me off guard. She shook her head and turned off the kitchen light, realizing with a smile that Charlie would be at her cottage within the half-hour to watch a movie. "I’ll get her back some other time."

***************

Muted conversations could be heard throughout the restaurant, which was the best place to eat in Somerville. No one paid any attention to the couple sitting at a partially hidden table in the back, as the room was filled with families trying to get away for an evening. The woman’s expensive business suit was a bit out of place, but the handsome younger man across from her looked right at home in the upscale steak house. He was dressed in dark slacks and a crisply pressed blue shirt, and his silk tie had been loosened for comfort.

"Can I get you anything else, Ma’am?" the young waitress asked. She was almost afraid to ask, since the woman had already proven to be a difficult customer. She had sent her steak back twice, before finally giving up and complaining that she’d just have to settle for a poor dinner.

Elizabeth waved an elegant hand. "No…not at the moment. You can leave us, now," she quickly dismissed the woman, eager to get back to the conversation at hand. She looked back across the table at her companion. "Well? I’ve told you everything I know – now tell me what can be done about it. There’s no way I’m going to allow that bitch to keep influencing my daughter. I don’t care what has to be done, I just want Amanda back where she belongs."

"Ms. Cauble…Elizabeth," he corrected himself after she gave him a look. "I can see that you have some problems here, and I think that I can help you resolve them. It’s just going to take a little time." He reached across the linen-covered table and took her hand in his. "Believe me, I’m very good at what I do. You will get results."

A shiver of excitement raced down her spine as his dark eyes gleamed. "Excellent. My daughter has spent far too much time already with that…woman. The sooner we get her out of that perverted household, the better off she’ll be. My sources tell me that she’s actually ‘engaged’ to that worthless cowhand." Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at that idea. "Can you believe that? It’s not like they can really get married, anyway. Ridiculous."

The man patted her hand. "Yes, it is. I’m sure once we get her back to California, away from all these negative influences, she’ll be just fine." He leaned forward so that no one else could overhear the conversation. "I do have your permission to proceed by any means necessary, correct? I don’t want to plan something out, only to be told by you later to back down."

"Of course. All I ask is that my daughter not be hurt. I really don’t care what happens to anyone else. Especially that rancher." She squeezed his hand and then released it. "And…I don’t want to know any details. The less I know, the better."

"You can count on me, Elizabeth. Discretion is one of my best qualities," he assured her. "I’ve never had any complaints, yet."

Elizabeth smiled seductively at him. "I hope that’s not your only good quality. I’d really like to continue this discussion somewhere more…private."

He stood up and dropped a wad of bills on the table. "I don’t normally mix business with pleasure, Elizabeth…but I do see the need for a more quiet setting to umm, discuss our options."

She allowed him to help her out of her chair. "My point exactly. Let’s go back to my hotel room – I believe I may have a bottle of brandy for a nightcap." It’s a good thing that I lost ‘Barney Fife’ before I checked into the hotel – I knew staying in Parkdale was a much better idea. I can’t allow those hicks in on our plans. No, that won’t do at all. Elizabeth smiled as he escorted them out of the restaurant. I just love surprises.