by Carrie Carr
Martha sat down next to her and held her hands, trying to warm them up. "Okay. You say someone is stealing our stock?" Amanda nodded, still trying to catch her breath. "And we need to call the sheriff?" Another nod. "Where is Lexie?"
"She’s still out there, keeping her eye on them," Amanda got out, her breathing almost under control. "She said to tell the sheriff they were in the back clearing." She paused, "And she was afraid that they were getting ready to leave." Amanda’s panic could be seen in her eyes. "She said she was going to teach them not to steal. You don’t think she’d do anything rash, do you?"
Martha released her hands and moved over to the phone. After she dialed, she looked back to Amanda. "That’s exactly what I’m afraid of." She listened to the phone. "Yes, I need to speak to Sheriff Bristol. This is Martha Rollins." She listened again. "Yes, I’ll hold."
LEX WATCHED AMANDA ride away through the trees until she disappeared into the dense foliage. "Now let’s go have some fun." She jogged back to the clearing while her mind formulated several plans.
As she sat in the tangled underbrush, Lex had a very good view of the entire clearing. A dark shadow passed over her, causing her to jump slightly. She looked up sheepishly. Just a damn cloud. A welcome thought occurred to her. Cloud? Hmm. Looks like rain again. If I can just keep these fools busy for a while, maybe they’ll be stuck until Amanda can get the sheriff out here.
While she kept watch and waited for help to arrive, Lex reflected on how lucky she was to have such a good friend as Somerville’s sheriff.
Charlie Bristol had been the sheriff for longer than Lex could remember. He had a knack for always being around when she needed him, especially after her father left. The sheriff showed up for breakfast at least once a week for several years, ostensibly to make sure everything was okay. But only Charlie and Lex knew the main reason – Martha Rollins.
The tall and lanky man was several years older than the heavyset housekeeper, but he followed her around like a little boy with his first crush. He’d bring her flowers, ask her out to the movies on Saturday night, and plead with the sweet woman to marry him at least once a month. She turned him down every time with the reason that she could never leave her "little Lexie" to work the massive ranch alone. Charlie respected that, and in truth it made the gentle woman even sweeter in his eyes.
It took a couple of years, but poor Charlie finally got the hint. Martha cared for him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to leave the ranch and settle down. Charlie understood, and he stayed close friends with Martha, taking her to various dances and picnics. He never gave up the hope that someday she’d tire of the ranch life and agree to become his wife. But until that day arrived, he was more than happy to have Martha as a good friend. And the lovestruck lawman never stopped dreaming about settling down with the sweet housekeeper who took care of the Rocking W Ranch.
Movement in the camp brought Lex out of her musings and back to the situation at hand. Deciding that taking closer look was better than daydreaming, she circled around the clearing until she was behind the large truck and trailer. She noticed several of the men were arguing a little distance away. She pulled out her pocketknife and crawled to the parked vehicles, which were empty. Once under the trailer, she positioned herself near the wheels on the farthest side. Here I go again, Martha…face down in the mud. Lex poked a small hole on the inside of the tire, which hissed loudly. Damn! She quickly wiped a small amount of mud on the neat slice to quiet it and also to slow the speed that the air was leaking out. Lex proceeded to take care of the remaining tires in the same manner, then stealthily made her way back to her hiding place.
The clouds quickly took over the late afternoon sky, thunder rumbling in the distance. Lex was enjoying herself. She could see the trailer slowly sinking to the ground. Only a matter of time before these assholes notice. She decided to take care of the truck next. I wonder how Amanda’s doing? I hope she made it to the ranch all right.
Chapter Eleven
"CHARLIE’S ON HIS way." Martha’s face was grim as she hung up the phone. "He said he’d take the back way in."
She crossed over to where Amanda sat nervously tearing a paper napkin into tiny bits and touched her on the shoulder. "Amanda?"
Amanda jumped, startled. "What?" She looked down at the mess on the table, then raised her eyes to meet Martha’s gaze. "I’m sorry. Wait. Did you say the sheriff is on his way?" She stood up and pushed her chair up against the table. "I’ve got to get back. Thunder should be rested enough by now." She was almost to the kitchen door when Martha grabbed her arm.
"Now you wait just a darned minute! If you think I’m going to let you go back to—"
"I’ve got to. She may need me." Amanda felt like crying. "I can’t leave her out there all alone, Martha. Don’t ask me to."
The housekeeper released Amanda’s arm with a heavy sigh. "All right, but you’re not going anywhere without a radio." She tossed up her hands in defeat before heading for the office with Amanda right behind her. Martha pulled a handheld radio out of its charging base and gave it to her. "I’ll sit here by the base radio, and you can call me if you need anything, okay?" She was about to say more when the rumble of thunder interrupted her.
They both looked up, as if to see something through the ceiling. "Great. Now Lexie will have an excuse to play in the mud again." Martha shook a finger in Amanda’s direction. "And you’re gonna put on a raincoat before you take off again, right?"
Amanda ducked her head and nodded quietly. "Yes ma’am." Suddenly she was enveloped in a strong hug, which she happily returned.
"Honey, I want you to be extra special careful. Don’t take any crazy chances." Martha rubbed Amanda’s back. "I have enough to worry about with Lexie always going off half-cocked, giving me heart attacks." She turned around and led Amanda out of the room. "Let’s get you bundled up and ready to go."
LEX HAD JUST returned to her hiding place after sabotaging the truck when the first raindrops fell. Great. I knew I should have brought my coat. The flannel shirt she wore had felt great earlier in the day, but now that the sudden cloud cover hid the sun, the wind was decidedly cooler. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms briskly, trying to keep warm, almost laughing out loud at the scene unfolding in front of her.
The rain started coming down in earnest, causing the would-be thieves to race around picking up their belongings. One of them, a short, stocky man with dark hair, had almost made it back to the truck when he noticed something was wrong. "Hey, Matt," he yelled, looking back at the tall lanky man near the campfire, "is these tires flat?"
Lex nearly gave herself away laughing. Oh, we’ve got a regular Einstein among us. Wonder what his first clue was? She blinked away a raindrop, thankful for the dark cowboy hat keeping most of the rain out of her face.
Another man checked the other side of the trailer. "This side’s flat, too." The man they called Matt walked over to the truck and took a rifle from inside. "You guys keep a close watch. I don’t like the looks of this."
Lex crept slowly back from her vantage point. Uh-oh, I think he means business. She ducked deeper into the brush.
Matt tossed the rifle over to the short, stocky man. "Darrell, take this and do a perimeter check. If anything moves, shoot it!" He turned to face the older man who had checked the far side of the trailer. "Randall, get the other rifle out of the truck and check the edge of the clearing." The gray-headed man nodded and complied.
Lex looked around. Where did the other three go? Suddenly, the bushes to the left of her rustled. Shit! She ducked down lower, practically lying face down in the rapidly building mud. Man number four stepped out of the shrubbery almost on top of her.
"Hey, Matt, what the hell’s goin’ on?" he asked, zipping up his mud-covered pants.
Lex slowly lifted her head. That makes only two left. She decided not to move until she knew where the other men were. Looking around, Lex noticed a slight movement in the trailer. I thought that thing was empty. As she watched, a yo
unger man, probably still a teenager, climbed out of the trailer and over to the leader.
"Aw, Matt. It’s starting to rain again. Are we gonna get out of here pretty soon?" He ran a hand through his shoulder-length brown hair. "I really want to go home."
Matt put his hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. "Yeah, we’ll just leave the trailer for now. Why don’t you go on and get into the truck? We’ll be there in a little bit." The young man nodded and walked to the vehicle.
Lex looked at her watch. The sheriff should be here before too much longer. And knowing Amanda, she’s probably on her way back by now, too. She continued to gradually retreat. Better get to the pass and wait for her.
She crept slowly around the outskirts of the clearing, trying to stay out of sight, when, halfway around the area, she nearly crawled into man number six, who was making good use of the thick bushes. He had long blonde hair partially tied into a ponytail and did not look at all happy to be squatting in the rain.
Lex edged around until she was directly behind him, waiting patiently. Hurry up, buddy, she thought to herself, I really don’t want to be watching this. He grunted a few times and then pulled up his pants. Ugh. I’d hate to have to do your laundry, she thought to herself.
The man stood up and turned, coming face to face with a drenched woman in a black cowboy hat, who had a very ‘not nice’ expression on her face. "Wha…?"
"Say nighty-night!" Lex punched him hard in the face, getting an intense amount of pleasure in watching the man crumple to the ground. She pulled off his shirt, tearing it into two strips. One she used for a gag, and the other to tie his feet together, and then used his belt to tie his hands. She looked down, satisfied with her handiwork. Flexing her right hand, she winced. Damned hard-headed thief. Then she continued her journey to the pass. Suddenly, she heard one of the men in the camp shout.
"Hey, Matt! I think I see something." He took careful aim and fired several rounds.
AMANDA WAS ALMOST to the pass when she heard the first gunshots. Oh my God, Lex! She pressed her heels to Thunder’s sides, urging him to move faster. She knew her friend was unarmed, and she was terrified of what she might find.
Tearing through the pass, Amanda had to pull the powerful horse up quickly, or else collide with the solitary figure on the path.
"Whoa!" Lex tugged at the heaving animal’s reins.
Amanda slid off the exhausted horse, stumbling over her feet and almost tackling Lex.
"Amanda? What’s wrong? Are you okay?" Lex wrapped her arms around Amanda, who buried her face in the damp material of her chest.
"Am I okay?" Amanda choked back a sob and squeezed Lex tighter. "I heard gunshots." She pulled away from Lex and used her hands to search the drenched form. "Are you okay?"
Lex hugged her in relief. "Oh, yeah, I’m just fine." She took her hat off and shook the excess water from it, even though the rain still fell heavily. "A little damp, but fine."
Amanda wasn’t completely convinced. "Are you sure? You’re not hiding anything from me, are you?" She continued to search Lex for any signs of injury.
Lex cradled Amanda’s hands. "No. They weren’t shooting at me; they were shooting near me, and I’m not sure if that rabbit will ever be the same again."
Amanda smiled through her tears. "I heard the shots, and I thought—" She sniffled, trying to regain some composure.
Touched by the concern, Lex pulled Amanda into her arms, and bent down to place a kiss on her forehead, which was partially hidden by a hood. "Were you able to contact the sheriff? I don’t think those guys will be going too far right now."
"Yeah, Martha talked to him. He said that he’d come in the back way." Amanda paused. "What do you mean, they won’t be going very far? What have you done?"
Lex gave her a devious little grin. "Seems the tires on their trailer went flat." She pulled a piece of wire out of her back pocket, "and this accidentally fell off their truck."
Amanda shook her head. "Never mind. I don’t think I want to know." She walked over to Thunder, and untied the duster from behind the saddle and handed it to Lex. "Here, you look half-frozen." Amanda then grabbed the saddlebag and searched through it. "Oh, and Martha sent this." She pulled out the handheld radio and tossed it to Lex.
"Great. Now I don’t feel so damn isolated." Lex stuffed the radio into an inner pocket of the large coat. Holding out her hand, she silently requested that Amanda move closer to her.
Happily complying with the unspoken plea, Amanda tucked herself comfortably up against Lex’s ribs. "Now what are we going to do?"
Lex looked down at her tenderly. "I don’t suppose I could talk you into going back to the house?"
"I don’t think so," Amanda said seriously.
"That’s what I thought. We," Lex hugged her close, "are going to find a good spot to watch the fun." She sobered. "But we have to be very careful, since these idiots have guns." She held up a warning hand. "And, you have to do exactly as I say, no questions asked, okay?"
Amanda gave her an equally serious nod. "Okay. As long as you understand that I’m not completely helpless, right?"
"Gotcha," Lex agreed, as they headed for the clearing.
IT TOOK THEM almost an hour to walk back to the clearing. The heavy rain and the roundabout route they took hampered their progress. Lex tucked Amanda in the dense shrubbery, then settled down behind her, wrapping her arms around Amanda’s waist. They watched in amusement as the man Lex identified as Matt looked under the hood of the truck, apparently having no success in getting it to start.
Lex leaned into Amanda and placed her mouth next to her ear. "I wonder what his problem is?" she whispered, an evil chuckle coloring her tone.
In amusement, Amanda squeezed the hands that were wrapped securely around her stomach.
Another man walked up to the truck and said something to Matt, who looked around the clearing. He pointed in the opposite direction from where Lex and Amanda were sitting, and Darrell walked in that direction, carrying his rifle.
Lex whispered, "Uh-oh. They must have finally figured out that one of them is missing."
Amanda turned slightly in Lex’s arms so that she could speak without being overheard. "Missing?"
"Yeah, he’s tied up over in those trees to the right."
Amanda’s eyes widened. "You?"
Lex gave her a sheepish shrug. "Yeah. I practically tripped over him on my way back to meet you. He was, uh, somewhat indisposed." When Amanda’s expression showed that her meaning hadn’t registered, she added, "In the bushes."
Amanda’s brow creased in a thoughtful manner, then suddenly cleared. "Oh. Eww."
"Yeah. But now that they’ve figured out he’s missing, things could get a little hairy. We may have to get out of here in a hurry, so be ready."
Amanda nodded and reached a hand up to cup Lex’s cheek. "As long as we leave together." She pulled Lex’s face down for a gentle kiss. "No heroics, right?"
Lex placed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "Right." Then she became instantly alert. "Get ready to move. It looks like they’re beginning to search for their missing buddy." She released Amanda’s waist and grabbed her hand. "Come on. We’ll be safer back by the pass." Lex crawled through the bushes, pulling Amanda behind her.
They decided to circle around to the left of the clearing, hoping that the longer path would be free of the searching men. Lex suddenly came to a halt, causing Amanda to slam into her back.
"What?" Amanda whispered, fearing detection.
Lex turned halfway around and placed one hand over Amanda’s mouth. "Shh." She motioned with her other hand to the right of where they were standing.
Darrell was searching the underbrush, using the barrel of his rifle to move the heavy shrubbery out of the way. In his other hand he carried a flashlight to help cut the gloom of the heavy rain and the early evening’s stormy sky. He was swinging the light in a wide arc, coming dangerously close to the two women.
Lex pulled Amanda to stand directly behind
her and hoped that the dark duster she wore would camouflage them. "If we happen to get separated, take Thunder and meet me back at the pond. They’ll never find us there," she whispered. A strong squeeze of her hand and an emphatic shake of Amanda’s head were her only answer. Lex spun around to face the young woman. "I’m not planning on it happening, but we need to be prepared just in case."
Amanda sighed, then nodded. Lex turned back around to watch the man search, slowly moving the two of them away from him. She froze as the light panned across her body as she felt Amanda’s hands clinch tightly on the back of her coat. When the light kept going, Lex relaxed a little. She started slowly backing up again, pushing Amanda back as well. The light suddenly hit her in the face, and the man let out a yell of surprise. "Hey!" He lifted the nose of his rifle, trying to aim it and the flashlight at the dark apparition in front of him.
Lex spun around quickly, still using her body to block his view of her companion. "Run!" she hissed, pushing Amanda forward roughly. Amanda stumbled, but regained her footing and moved quickly through the heavy trees, with Lex right behind her.
Crack!
Bark exploded off a tree near Amanda’s head. Oh, God! She willed her body to move faster. Through the pouring rain she heard men shouting. She risked a glance behind her and saw Lex a few steps back.
Crack! Crack!
More shots rang out, and Amanda heard several bodies crashing through the brush right after them.
"To the right," Lex whispered urgently. She pulled Amanda’s arm in that direction. They veered off the slight path they were on, into even denser foliage.
Crack! Crack! Those shots sounded further away this time, Amanda thought to herself, as Lex jerked her down into some heavy bushes. Panting hard, Amanda looked around, squinting in the dim light. They seemed to be inside a small burrow, so thickly concealed that the falling rain could hardly break through. It was so dark that Amanda could barely make out the large form in front of her, but she knew in her heart who it was.