by Carrie Carr
With a pained grunt, Hubert took the notepad and began to write. He spent several minutes trying to compose his answer, making it appear he was having trouble writing. In fact, he was thinking furiously about how to recant his earlier statement. Big guy came in the back door of my office, I think looking for money,'s he lied. don't remember much after that. It all happened too fast.'s
"But it doesn'st explain why you told the deputy at the scene that Lex beat you up." The lawman looked over his notes and glared at Hubert. "You said, and I quote, Please don't let her hurt me anymore.'s
I'd say your sister has a good case against you for defamation of character."
"No," Hubert groaned, raising one hand to stop the sheriff's tirade. His whole face hurt, but he knew he'd have better luck getting his point across verbally. Since the stitches in his mouth were somewhat dry, the injured man had trouble speaking. "I was combused. He din'st umnersdand me. He's wying." Hubert reached for a nearby glass of water and wrestled with the straw, sucking painfully to moisten his mouth.
As he struggled to keep the smirk off of his face, Sheriff Bristol folded his notepad and placed it back into his shirt pocket. "Would you be able to identify the man who did this to you if we were to bring him in? We'sve got a few leads we're trying to follow up." He had no idea who had beaten Hubert, but Charlie wanted to see how he took the news.
Almost choking on the water, Hubert set the glass on the tray and wiped his mouth. "Uh-uh." He reached for the notepad, deciding writing was much less painful than talking. It was dark, and he came in from behind. I have no idea who it could be.'s His hands began to shake when he considered what might happen if Bobby got caught. He knew the man had no loyalty and would sell him out immediately if he had to.
Charlie stood. "It's going to be fine, son. We'll get to the bottom of this." He had noticed the look of fear on the injured man's face, and even though there was no love lost between the two, he felt a pang of sympathy. "Don't you worry. We'sve never gotten along, but I won'st let anything else happen to you." He met the nurse at the door and handed her his business card. "Could you have someone contact me if Mr. Walters has any other guests? I can be reached at the bottom number twenty-four hours a day."
"Certainly, Sheriff. I'll tell the other nurses," she agreed, slipping the paper into her pocket. As she took the rolling table away from the bed, the young nurse spoke to her patient. "Well, Mr. Walters, let's see about taking your temperature." When he opened his mouth, she shook her head. "No. With all the damage in there, we'll have to take it the old fashioned way." She snapped her rubber gloves, and flipped open the sheet. "Roll over."
BLINKING TO CLEAR her eyes, Amanda looked around the room to get her bearings. Due to the dark curtains she had closed earlier, she was unable to tell if it was daytime or evening. A quick glance showed her the small digital alarm clock read two-thirty. Lex had both arms wrapped around her waist, and her head was pillowed on her chest. She lovingly brushed the hair away from Lex's face, worried when she felt the heat emanating from the flushed skin. Realizing Lex would need some aspirin when she awoke, Amanda started trying to extricate herself.
No," Lex mumbled, tightening her grip. "Don't leave me," she gasped, deeply asleep. "Please."
Amanda wrapped her arms around Lex's shoulders and began to rock back and forth. "Shhh. It's all right. I'm here." She placed tender kisses on the fevered brow beneath her. "You're okay, love. I'm here."
Lex struggled for a few more moments before she jerked awake. "Amanda?" Her eyes were glazed, and the dark circles beneath them attested to her illness. She shivered slightly and pulled back from her lover's embrace. "What happened?"
Amanda brushed the damp hair away from Lex's face. "You were having a bad dream."
"It seemed so real," Lex whispered. She rubbed her face with one hand, trying to fight the feeling of total helplessness that pervaded her dreams.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Shaking her head abruptly, Lex quickly climbed out of bed. "No, I don't remember it well, anyway." She peeked through the curtains and almost gasped as the bright afternoon sunlight assaulted her sensitive eyes. "I can'st believe I slept so long. I've got a lot of things to do out at the ranch."
"I don't think so." Amanda jumped out of bed and stood next to her lover. "You're sick, and you're going to get right back into bed and rest." She placed one hand on Lex's arm and was surprised when it was shaken off.
"I can'st." Lex pulled away, the fear of her dreams fresh in her mind. "I've got to--"
Amanda stepped forward again and wrapped her arms around her lover's body. "Shhh. I'm not going to let you go, Lex." Her quiet resolve was what Lex needed, and Amanda felt the strong arms embrace her tightly. She slowly led them over to the bed and pushed her back against the mattress.
With a shake of her head, Lex tried to lift herself off the bed. "I don't want to go back to sleep," she argued, her voice shaking slightly. When an insistent hand crept under her tee shirt and began to lightly stroke her belly, Lex felt her eyes close involuntarily. "Got stuff to do," she mumbled.
Whatever the dream was about, Amanda could tell it scared her. She continued her ministrations until her lover's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. After she was certain Lex was sound asleep, Amanda stopped her stroking. A rustling in the next room piqued her curiosity, and she eased out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen.
Martha was scraping something from a plastic container into the garbage, muttering under her breath. When she heard a noise in the doorway, she turned around with a concerned look on her face. "What are you doing up? I didn'st wake you with all my puttering around in here, did I?"
Amanda shook her head and ambled over to the half-full coffeepot. "No," she yawned, as she poured herself a mug and sat at the table. "Lex is running a fever, and I wanted to get her something for it. I heard you in here and thought I'd see what you were doing." Amanda frowned slightly when she noticed the empty container in the housekeeper's hand. "I wouldn'st think the stuff which was brought over after the funeral had gone bad, yet."
"True. But after being with you girls for so long, I understand what you like." She wrinkled her short nose as if she had smelled something terrible. "And I thought I'd spare you from Mrs. Webster's spaghetti with tuna fish. I swear, the woman has a heart the size of Texas, but she makes up some of the most god-awful stuff I've ever heard of."
"Spaghetti with...eeeew. That's almost as bad as the dish loaded with onions." Amanda propped her feet up on the chair across from her. "Maybe I've become spoiled. Between my grandpa and you, I've never had it so well."
Martha sat at the table, intrigued. "I figured you were used to good food. After you got back from California, Lexie mentioned to me she'd never seen such a huge kitchen. Must have had some good meals growing up, didn'st you?"
"No. I mean, we always had cooks." Amanda looked into her coffee mug, somewhat embarrassed. "Chefs, more like it. But taste wasn'st important, as far as my mother was concerned. It was all about appearance."
"I'm truly sorry to hear that. Speaking of kitchens, have you seen the new one at the ranch? Lexie won'st let me in there, yet. The brat keeps telling me it's a surprise." Martha could see the relief in Amanda's eyes at the change in subjects.
"No. She won'st let me see the house yet, either. I'm almost afraid of what I'll see, to tell you the truth. Does the outside look much different?"
"Not so's I can tell. Although she did finally get rid of the awful stucco. The stuff never looked clean. I kind of like the new brick. It's a multicolored red and looks like one of those expensive houses you see in magazines."
"I can'st wait to see it. We'sve already got the new furniture picked out. I think it was the hardest part for Lex. She was so upset that the bed her dad had made for her mother was lost in the fire."
"Most everything else was replaceable except for her mother's piano. The gun safe protected her father's guns. Thankfully, we'd stored a lot of Victoria's things over at my pla
ce, and a lot of the pictures are there, too. Did you get the new furniture locally or did you order it off the computer? I swear, I don't understand how folks can shop without actually looking at something."
"Don't worry. Lex is almost as bad as you are when it comes to things like that. We went to McCormick's and picked everything out personally, although we did get the appliances at David Wade's store. That was a fight."
"Why was it a fight? He and Lexie have been good friends for years."
"Because he wanted to give us a discount, and Lex wouldn'st hear of it. That's one stubborn woman you raised."
Martha waved her hands in front of her. "Oh, no. don't be blaming her upbringing. She was born stubborn." She watched as Amanda stifled a yawn. "As much as I'm enjoying your company, you need to get back to bed." She stood and brought Amanda up with her. "Go on. I'll wake you both when dinner's ready. You'sve got a lot of sleep to catch up on."
Realizing it was useless to argue, Amanda acquiesced. "Yes, ma'am." She was almost through the door when she turned around. "Dinner? Oh, no."
"What's wrong?"
"I told my grandmother earlier we'd have dinner with them tonight, but I don't think Lex will be up to it."
Martha made a shooing motion with her hands. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll give her a call and tell her. Off to bed with you."
"Thanks, Martha." Amanda rushed over and hugged the heavyset woman, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. "You're the best." She hurried from the room before Martha could say a word.
"I swear, that girl gets more and more like Lexie every day." Martha waited for a moment until she knew she was alone, and grabbed the nearby phone.
"Hello?"
"Anna Leigh? This is Martha."
"It's wonderful to hear from you. How are our girls doing? I'll admit I've been concerned, since I haven'st heard from Mandy much today."
"They'sve been sleeping. I think the past couple of days finally caught up with them. Lexie got a cold from all that playing around in the rain and mud, so she'll probably be out until supper time."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything we can do for her?"
"No, I don't think so. But I think the girls are going to stay in tonight. Amanda told me that they were supposed to come over to your place this evening for dinner, and I told her I'd give you a call." Martha leaned back against the counter. "I got that information you'sve been wanting," she whispered conspiratorially.
Anna Leigh found the situation amusing. "That sounds so cloakand-dagger, doesn'st it? Well? don't keep me in suspense."
Martha looked around as if she were afraid of being overheard.
"McCormick's. But you didn'st hear it from me."
"Your secret's safe with me, Martha. Thank you for finding out for us. You tell the girls to get some rest, and we'll see them another time."
"I sure will. Goodbye, Anna Leigh." She hung up the phone and looked around the kitchen. "I hope Lexie takes this in the spirit which it's being given."
THE KNOCK ON the door caused him to lift his gaze from the paperwork in front of him. Rubbing his eyes, the sheriff had to control the anger brewing in his stomach. "Come in."
"You wanted to see me?" Deputy Thomas swaggered into the room and sat in the chair across from Charlie. "I hope this won'st take long. I've got more footwork to do on that assault case from yesterday." He leaned back in his seat and stretched his legs out in front of the desk. "I want to canvass the neighborhood and see if I can get anyone to admit seeing that woman's vehicle in the area at the time the assault occurred."
Charlie slowly closed the folder in front of him, silently counting to ten. After a moment, he looked up at the deputy and cleared his throat. "Shouldn'st you have done that before you jumped to conclusions and made an arrest?"
"Nah. I had the word of the victim; this is only a formality."
"You arrogant little pup!" Charlie jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on his desk. "Good police work consists of more than the word of one person, and you put an innocent person in jail because you were too damned sure of yourself to follow through." He stormed around the desk until he towered over the deputy, who had risen taller in the chair. "You didn'st even bother to check for an alibi before dragging a half-dressed woman out in the rain. You, and our department, could be in for one hell of a lawsuit."
"Give me a break. She had a bloody bandage on her knuckles, and her own brother implicated her in the crime. I followed the proper procedures. How can we be sure she didn'st do it?" Deputy Thomas had only met the sheriff briefly when he was first transferred. He'd had no idea the man could get this out of control.
Clenching his fists to keep from grabbing the seated man, Charlie took a deep breath and stepped back. "Because she was at my house at the time in question." He sat on the corner of the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Your house? What was she doing at your house?"
"I'm married to her mother. And I don't take kindly to wetbehind-the-ears whelps like you harassing the young woman I consider to be my daughter."
Deciding to take the offensive, Thomas stood. "How do you explain that her own brother incriminated her in the brutal assault that sent him to the hospital?" He took out his notepad and flipped through the pages. "I asked him point blank who did that to him, and he answered, My sister, Lex Walters.'s What was I supposed to think?"
Although he was typically an easy-going man, Charlie Bristol had heard enough. He stepped away from the desk and stood directly in front of the smaller man, their noses almost touching. "That's just it, boy. You didn'st think. You didn'st follow procedure. Had you followed procedure and called for a backup before you went to Lex's house, you would have been told the circumstances between the two of them. You wouldn'st have arrested her, and we wouldn'st be having this conversation." Wanting to slam the young deputy on the floor and pound some sense into him, the sheriff stepped back and stood at the window behind his desk. He looked outside at the sun, which glinted off the chrome of his police cruiser. "I won'st have a loose cannon in my department, Deputy Thomas. Pack up your gear and go back to where you came from. I don't want to see you in my county again."
"Wait a damned minute," Thomas growled, advancing on the sheriff. "You can'st--"
Charlie spun around and shoved his finger into the surprised man's chest. "I just did, boy. Either walk out on your own, or I'll have someone escort you." He jabbed hard. "Your choice."
The deputy looked as if he was about to fight back, but backed down. He stepped away and started for the door. Thomas turned back and pointed at the sheriff. "You haven'st heard the last of this, Sheriff Bristol. When my superior hears--"
"I've known Walter Simpson longer than you'sve been alive, son. don't be threatening me with him. I'd advise you to go back to your own department and study up on procedures, because next time you might not be so lucky." He shook his head as the door slammed behind the departing deputy. "Don't screw with me or my family, boy. You'll lose every time."
ANNA LEIGH CLOSED the door behind her and stood for a moment, trying to let her eyes adjust to the dark interior after being out in the bright sunlight. "Jacob? Are you in here?" she called, as she passed through another doorway into a large room filled with furniture in different stages of construction.
"We're over here." Jacob rose from where he had been kneeling and met his wife halfway. "I'd give you a hug, but I'm covered in varnish," he told her as he removed his rubber gloves.
Travis stood also, dusting off the knees of his heavy jeans. "It's good to see you, Anna Leigh. What brings you out to the shop?"
She allowed her husband to lead her over to the piece they had been working on. "Oh, my. This is incredible. I can'st believe he has you out in this dusty old place with him, but it looks like you two work well together."
"I think so," Jacob agreed. "Travis is a natural at this. And if it wasn'st for his help, we'd never get this done in time." He dragged a tarp off of another piece of furniture. "Well? What d
o you think?"
Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Anna Leigh studied the piece carefully. She moved all the way around it, running her hands along the top and sides. After a moment, she bent and looked at the front, which bore detailed engraving. Touching the carved letters, Anna Leigh turned around. "This has to be the best work you'sve ever done, Jacob. I don't think I've ever seen such amazing detail before." Her eyes clouded with tears. "It's absolutely beautiful."
"So, you think it'll be a hit?" Jacob asked, standing next to his wife. He wasn'st surprised as she turned and wrapped her arms around him, obviously not caring about the varnish that was splattered over his clothes.
"It's perfect." She felt his lips touch her head. "I took care of the other arrangements a few minutes ago. The truck will stop by here on their way and pick everything up."
Travis was impressed with how well she handled the situation. "I should have had you on my board of directors. You certainly can get things done quickly."
"That might not be a very good idea, my friend," Jacob disagreed seriously.
"Why, you little--" Anna Leigh charged after her husband, who took off at a run. "Wait until I get my hands on you, Jacob Cauble!"
align="justify" >"Oh? Why not?"
Jacob stepped closer to his friend. "Because," he whispered loudly, ignoring the look his wife was giving him, "you'd have lost control within the first month. She's ruthless."
MARTHA LOOKED IN on the scene before her. The two women were so cute, snuggled together. She crossed the room and sat lightly on the bed, reaching up with one hand to brush the dark hair away from the slumbering woman's face.
Lex was curled up facing the doorway with Amanda tucked snugly behind her, one arm draped possessively across her waist. She smiled in her sleep at Martha's touch, obviously dreaming.
"Lexie, it's time to wake up." Martha stroked the flushed cheek. "Come on. Let me see those baby blues."