by Carrie Carr
Worried about the pale woman in her arms, Amanda implored, "Please, let me go and get some help." She brushed the damp hair off Lex’s face and smoothed it back.
"It won’t do any good. Only person at the house is Martha. My brother doesn’t live there anymore, and the ranch hands are gone to the big livestock show this weekend. Thought I could handle things until they got back on Sunday."
"I’m sure you could have, if I hadn’t needed you to rescue me."
"I’m sure it was worth it." Lex reached up with her right hand. "Wanna give me a hand up? I’m really getting tired of this damned rain."
Chapter Two
FINALLY, THE LIGHTS from the big ranch house came into view.
"Wow." Amanda's eyes widened. "It’s enormous." Even in the rain and darkness, she could tell the home was impressive. Two-story, with a wraparound porch and a balcony on the second floor, the stucco structure would be equally at home in the high rent district of Somerville.
Lex led her around to a side entrance. "We’ll go in through the mud room." She opened a plain-looking door and led Amanda inside. "No sense tracking in half the ranch through the house." She closed the door behind them and flipped on a light switch.
The soft light was almost blinding after being in the rain and darkness, and it took Amanda a moment to adjust. The ten-byten-foot-square room was plain, yet clean, with a bench along one wall and hooks by the door for hanging items.
Unable to stand any longer, Lex wearily lowered herself to the bench.
"Well, it sure feels great to finally be out of the rain." Amanda brushed dripping hair out of her eyes as she dropped beside Lex. She noticed her companion was leaning back against the wall with her eyes closed.
"Oh, yeah. Gimme a second, and I’ll get you something dry to change into." Lex’s eyes never opened.
In the decent light, Amanda took the opportunity to study the quiet woman sitting next to her. Even covered in mud, Amanda could tell Lex was a strikingly beautiful woman. Her long dark hair was still gathered in a loose ponytail. She already knew that her rescuer was tall, but now she could see Lex’s broad shoulders and muscular build. That tee shirt can’t disguise a body like that. Then Amanda noticed something else. The drenched tee shirt had a dark stain starting just below her breasts and spreading down her right side.
"Lex?"
Tired blue eyes, so dark they were almost violet, slowly opened, and Lex turned her head to focus on the other woman. "What’s the matter? The weariness and pain made her voice sound low and raspy.
"I…I…think you’re bleeding." Amanda reached for the shirt, but pulled back at the last moment. She wanted to do something, but wasn't certain what. "Why didn’t you say something earlier?" Amanda’s casual observance now turned to near panic.
Lex groggily looked down at her chest. "Didn’t know. Must not be too bad." She blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her head. "C’mon. Let’s get the mud off our feet and go find Martha. She’ll get you something dry to wear." Lex was about to reach down and remove her boots when Amanda slid off the bench to kneel on the floor below her.
"Here, let me." Amanda tugged the muddy boots and socks from Lex's feet, then pulled off her own mud-encrusted shoes and drenched socks as well. "Yuck." Finally warm, she stood and removed the heavy coat and hung it by the door. "That thing must weigh fifty pounds now." She helped Lex to her feet. "Did you say something about dry clothes?"
Lex allowed Amanda to help her to the door on the other side of the room. "Oh, I think that can be arranged. And we’ll get you some hot food, too. Let me warn you, though. Martha will probably stuff you like a prize heifer, so I hope you're hungry." Her housekeeper's answer for anything was food, no matter what the circumstances. Lex considered herself lucky that she was so busy around the ranch; otherwise, she would weigh as much as one of her horses.
They walked through the door and into the kitchen. Across the room, a short, heavyset woman was talking on the phone, obviously very upset.
"No, Mr. Hubert, she’s not back yet, and I’m really beginning to get worried. It’s been several hours since she left." Martha turned around and stifled a gasp. "Oh, my Lord! Lexie, what have you done to yourself?" She hung up the phone abruptly and rushed over to the two women who were dripping enough muddy water to make puddles in her kitchen.
Lex still leaned heavily against Amanda. "Hey, Martha. This is Amanda. Do you think you could find her some dry clothes?"
Amanda gave Martha a friendly smile and held out her hand. "Hi, Lex rescued me out of the creek today when my car got tossed in." Amanda looked at Lex with the kind of pride that showed Martha that the tall rancher had achieved hero status on this rainy afternoon.
"Yeah. Then she followed me home. Can I keep her?" Lex joked.
Martha laughed in relief. "My goodness Lexie, you always did have a habit of bringing in strays." She quickly closed the distance between them and shook Amanda’s hand, releasing it after a long moment. "You both look like you could use a warm bath and a cup of hot coffee." She gently cradled Lex's cheek. "Do you think you could take your friend upstairs, while I fix you something warm to drink?"
"Sure, Martha." Lex clasped Amanda’s hand and led her through the kitchen and into the hallway. "C’mon, let’s go. After you’ve had a hot shower, I’ll find you something to change into." Amanda placed her arm around Lexington to help steady her as they ascended the oak staircase. Halfway up, Lex stumbled. She would have fallen except for the tight grip Amanda had on her waist.
"Okay, that’s it." Amanda forced Lex to sit down on one of the steps. "Now you sit right here and don’t move. I’m going to go get Martha so she can help me with you." When she saw Lex open her mouth to protest, she gave her a look that caused the injured woman to snap her mouth shut. "Please don’t try to argue with me." She patted the seated woman on the head and turned to go back down the stairs. Nearly whispering, she said, "Good girl. I’ll be right back." Amanda hurried back down the stairs and disappeared into the kitchen.
Lex slumped to the side against the wall, her eyes following the lithe body. Is it my imagination, or are there now two women in my life who can tell me what to do? This one’s quite a little spitfire, eh? She closed her eyes and struggled to fight off the pain.
AMANDA BURST BACK into the kitchen and grabbed the housekeeper’s arm. Martha spun around from where she was stirring something on the stove. "What’s the matter, dear? Did you get lost?"
"No, nothing like that." She pulled her out of the kitchen. "Lex is hurt, and I need some help with her. She practically collapsed on me."
At the foot of the stairs, Martha looked up. When she saw Lex, she ran up the steps until she could kneel beside her. "Lexie? Can you hear me?" She gently turned the quiet woman's face toward her.
"Hmm?" Lex and rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Guess I'm a little tired." She tried to sit up, but the pain in her chest pushed her back down. "I suppose a little help would be good." She looked at Amanda, who was standing in front of her looking worried, and thought to divert some of the attention away from herself. "And I bet you could use some aspirin, right?"
Amanda blinked in surprise. Lex was on the verge of completely collapsing, but here she was, concerned about her. "Yeah, for some reason I seem to have the darndest headache." She reached to help as Lex allowed Martha to pull her to her feet. The housekeeper wrapped an arm around her, and Amanda moved to support her other side. The three of them climbed the remaining stairs slowly.
Martha led them down the hallway and into the master bedroom. Amanda couldn’t help but glance around in awe. The room was impressive—a large fireplace framed in rocks took up one entire corner, and there were two comfortable stuffed chairs in front of it. A fire was already blazing, which made the whole area look cozy and inviting. The wall opposite the door held a bay window, complete with a padded window seat. The front of the room had French doors that opened up to the balcony she had seen from outside. But the thing that most caught Amanda’s attentio
n was the enormous king-sized bed that almost took up a quarter of the room. It was a four-poster oak bed with a massive carved headboard, and it seemed to her that an entire family could sleep on it.
Lex noticed where her companion's attention was. "It was my mother’s. Dad had it made for her as a wedding present." She stifled a groan when her two ‘nurses’ placed her on the object in question. It didn't take but a few seconds for Lex to lie back and close her eyes.
Amanda sat down on the foot of the bed. She turned so that she could keep an eye on Lex. Martha noticed the bloodstained shirt for the first time. "What happened here?"
"I’m not real sure." Amanda's eyes took in the exhausted woman. "I was driving across this beautiful wooden bridge when all of a sudden something hit it and sent my car crashing into the creek. I must have hit my head, because the next thing I remember is being tied to her back and pulled across the water." Her hand caressed the damp denim leg next to her. "She told me she had gotten hit by some debris, but I never did find out exactly what that was."
The housekeeper rolled her eyes. "Some things never change. I swear I’ve spent half my life patching this girl up." She looked down at the woman who was obviously asleep. Then, to Amanda she said, "Let’s get you some dry clothes, and you can help me with her." She walked over to a large oak dresser, which, by the design, appeared to have been by the same person who made the bed. Opening the bottom drawer, Martha dug around until she pulled out a pair of maroon sweat pants with matching sweatshirt, each sporting a Texas A & M University logo. "Here. Go hop in the shower and then put these on. Lexie hasn’t worn them in years, but she never could manage to get rid of them. Just leave your wet clothes on the floor, and I’ll get ’em washed up for you." Amanda was about to protest when Martha shook her finger at her. "Now, don’t you be giving me any lip. I do the cooking and the washing around here." She gently pushed Amanda in the direction of the bathroom. "Hurry up. I’ll probably need all the help I can get with little Lexie. She hates when I fuss over her."
Little Lexie? That’s sweet. "I’ll be right back." Amanda walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Good grief! It’s almost as big as my bedroom at home. She walked past the large dressing area complete with a long gray marble counter with two separate sinks, one at each end. One corner of the bathing area had a jetted garden tub and a very large freestanding clear glass shower with a built-in bench. Another door showed her a hidden lavatory. She opened the shower door and her eyes widened. Wow! Two people could shower in here. Amanda shook her head, trying to snap out of it, when she realized she was mentally picturing that second person. Good grief, Amanda! You’re covered in mud, cold to the bone, with a headache that would fell a moose, and all you can think about is showering with tall, dark, and unconscious in the other room? Get a grip! She turned on the water, quickly removed her soggy clothing, and piled it by the door as neatly as possible.
Stepping into the steaming water, Amanda couldn’t help but moan. Never thought that standing under more water would feel so good. Although she was tempted to spend the rest of her life standing there, feeling the hot water sooth the muscles in her back, she finished her shower and dried off. When she pulled on the sweats, the sleeves fell several inches below her fingertips, and the pants promptly fell to her knees. Amanda chuckled, then tugged the pants back up to her waist. She tightened the drawstring and tied it into a bow, and then rolled the shirtsleeves up a few turns until she could see her hands. After she ran a comb through her hair, Amanda walked back into the bedroom, where she saw Martha trying to peel Lex’s jeans from her legs.
"Am I ever glad to see you." Martha stood up and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "I’m having the hardest time with these blasted jeans. They normally fit her like a second skin, and now that they’re wet, well…" She shook her graying head. "Lexie was trying to help, but it got to hurting her so bad that she passed out again."
Amanda stepped up beside her. "I think that between the two of us, we should be able to handle it." She grabbed the bottom of the jeans. "I’ll pull from here, and you try to work them from her hips."
It took them several minutes to rid the unconscious woman of her jeans. Martha brushed the drying hair off Lex's forehead once they were finished. "Poor thing. We might as well go for what’s left of this shirt." She began to peel the damp shirt off, but stopped when she saw that it was stuck to Lex’s skin. There's no telling what we're going to find. Martha glanced at the woman standing beside her. Fearful that Amanda's pale complexion meant she might faint at any moment, especially if Lex’s wound was as bad as it looked, she decided it was time for a distraction. "Amanda, honey, could you bring me a few warm washcloths from the bathroom?"
Amanda had been staring intently at the prone woman, worrying more and more about her condition. But when Martha asked for her assistance, she looked up eagerly. "Sure." She rushed into the bathroom, wanting to do whatever she could to bring aid to the woman who had saved her life.
A few moments later, Amanda returned with a pair of damp washcloths. Martha stood over Lex with a clinical air. She had removed Lex's shirt and covered her legs with a colorful quilt, leaving her torso exposed. A white cotton bra clung to the unconscious woman's breasts, which rose and fell in a slow rhythm. Blood, both drying and fresh, coated the area over Lex’s ribs. And the mud that coated her everywhere made the rancher look like she’d been beaten within an inch of her life.
Martha accepted one of the clean cloths from Amanda. "Thanks. It looks a lot worse than it actually is, I believe." She cleaned the area around the wound, relieved to see the limited extent of the damage. The long, paper-thin slice started just below Lex's breasts and edged down her ribcage. The beginnings of a very large bruise surrounded it. "Just scraped up a little, but I don't think her ribs are broken." Martha gestured to the other washcloth Amanda was still holding. "Why don’t you wash her face and arms while I go get something to put on this?" Not waiting for an answer, Martha stood up and left the room.
Amanda stood for a moment looking down at her rescuer. As she wiped off the evidence of their harrowing afternoon from Lexington’s face, her heart moved her to whisper, "You jumped into the creek for someone that you didn’t even know. You nearly got your beautiful self killed, too." Amanda paused for a moment as she fought back tears. "Thank you." She smoothed a lock of Lex’s hair and lay it gently against her pillow. Then she resumed washing the dirt from Lex's face, unaware that she was still speaking words of comfort and gratitude out loud.
The housekeeper slipped back into the room. She was touched to see the tender care Amanda was giving Lex. Ah, she’s a sweet one, that girl. I wonder what business she had that brought her to us. "I told you I wouldn’t be long." Martha stepped over to the bed carrying a jar and several strips of cloth.
"What's that?"
"Just some homemade salve that I've used on her since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. And since I didn’t have enough gauze on hand, I cut up an old sheet instead." Martha sat next to Lex and gently dabbed the ointment onto the bleeding wound. "Could you climb up on the bed on her other side, and help me sit her up?" She waited until Amanda was in position. "Let’s lift her forward, slowly now." Lex moaned, but didn’t waken. Amanda sat behind her and held her upright while the housekeeper wrapped the strips of sheet around her torso. "This should keep the wound clean and give her a little relief from those ribs." After they laid Lex back against the pillows, Martha used the quilt on her legs to cover her up completely.
Amanda eased herself off the bed. "You do act like you’ve done this before." I don't think I could stay that calm, especially if I were as close as they seem to be.
Martha sighed. "Oh, goodness, yes. That little mite was always coming home with some sort of scrape or bruise." She eyed Amanda carefully and then tugged on her arm. "Now, you come on in the bathroom and I’ll check out that bump on your head."
"Oh." Amanda reached up to touch the spot. "I’d forgotten all about it." She followe
d Martha into the adjoining room. "It hardly hurts at all now."
"Hop up there," Martha ordered, assisting her guest onto the wide bathroom counter. She looked Amanda in the eye. "Don’t worry, dear. This won’t hurt a bit."
Put at ease by Martha's soothing manner, Amanda braced her hands on either side of her legs and leaned forward. "I know."
The housekeeper gently cleansed the area around the small cut, put some of her homemade salve on it, and then covered it with a large adhesive bandage. "That should keep it from getting infected." Martha reached behind her and grabbed a bottle and glass. She poured out two white tablets from the bottle, then filled up the glass with water. "Here, these should help with your headache."
After taking the medication, Amanda jumped down from the counter and turned in a circle. "I feel like a little kid playing dress up in her clothes." She pulled the material away from herself, showing how baggy they were.
Martha chuckled. "Don’t you be worrying about it, dear. You look just fine." She went into the bathing area and returned with the wet clothes. "Now I’ll just go take care of these and Lexie’s wet things."
Amanda held out her hands. "No, really. I can take care of those. Just point me in the direction of the laundry room."
Martha moved around her. "Nope, I’ll take care of this. You just go lie down and rest." When Amanda began to argue again, Martha placed a hand on her shoulder. "You could help me by keeping an eye on Lexie. Watch to see if she develops a fever. I’ll just get these started and then bring you both something to eat."
"Okay, I’ll do that. But shouldn’t we get her to a doctor?"
Martha shook her head. "That bridge that you came over on is the only way on or off this ranch. And until this weather lets up, they can't even bring a helicopter in."
Amanda froze. "You mean, we’re trapped here? What if she’s hurt worse than you think? What can we do? What—"