by Carrie Carr
Her grandmother was about to regale the group of what happened the first time she met Lex, when the phone rang. "I'll get it," she said, as she rose and crossed over to the table where the phone lay. "Hello?" She listened for a moment and turned to face the others. "It's for you, Travis."
"Thank you." He stood and accepted the phone from Anna Leigh. "This is Travis Edwards, what can I do for you?" He stood quietly as the person on the other end of the phone spoke. "You did? Well, it's about damned time. You'sve had months to handle this. No. Bring the information over here." He gave the address and hung up the phone in disgust. "Sorry, everyone."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Travis," Anna Leigh assured him. "I take it we're about to have a visitor? We can always make ourselves scarce if you need privacy."
"No, that won'st be necessary." He helped Amanda to her feet. "After the accident, I hired a private investigator to try to find out who nearly killed you two girls." He saw her eyes widen in surprise. "Unfortunately, whoever did it covered their tracks very well, and it's taken the detective this long to find anything."
Amanda sat in a nearby chair. "Are you telling me you know who ran us off the road?"
"Not exactly. But he did say he may have found the truck. I'm hoping once I give the information to the sheriff, it will be easier for him to pick up their trail."
Jacob was surprised at what Travis had accomplished. "Why didn'st you tell anyone you hired a private investigator? We would have been more than happy to help with the expense."
"It wasn'st necessary. I've accumulated quite a tidy nest egg in the past few years, and I have no real bills to pay." Travis shook a finger at the other man. "Especially since a certain couple won'st let me pay rent while I'm staying with them."
Anna Leigh felt the need to reassure him. "Please, you're family, Travis. I could no more ask you for rent than I could Mandy over there. You certainly make up for it, sneaking around and paying for the groceries and utilities when we're not looking."
Travis had the sense to be embarrassed. "I need to call Charlie and see if he has time to come over. I'd like for him to be here when the man gives us what he has." He decided a retreat was in order before Anna Leigh realized just how much money he had been contributing to the household, so he hastily left the room.
WHEN THE THREE women entered the diner, they found out the machine that blended the milkshakes was broken. Not wanting Lex to head out on her own, Janna suggested they go around the corner to Dooley's, one of the local bars. She had already decided to take the rest of the day off to watch over her highly emotional friend. As they stepped into the dark pub, Janna rubbed her hands together gleefully. "How about we play a little pool? I don't feel like going back to the office today."
"Uh, okay. But I warn you, I truly suck at pool." Lex went to the bar and then turned back to them. "What would y'sall like?"
Barbara realized her lunch break was almost over. "I'll have a glass of iced tea." She poked Janna in the ribs. "Some of us have to go back to work today."
"Not my fault, darlin's. You could always accept my offer and have a nice boss." Janna turned to Lex. "Why don't you and I work on a pitcher of beer? Might as well enjoy playing hooky, don't you agree?"
"Right. And like I told you, darlin's," Barbara stressed the word sweetly, "I've worked at the bank for almost six years. I enjoy it there." She linked arms with Janna. "I can only stay for about fifteen minutes, then I've got to run."
Lex placed a tray laden with the drinks on the closest table. "The bartender told me since it's so slow, we can have the table for free today. I think he was trying to be friendlier with me than he should be, but what the hell."
Janna couldn'st resist a chance to tease. "Should Amanda be jealous?"
"I don't think so, smartass." Lex handed her the tray of balls. "Since you're so frisky, you can rack em."
"Gee, thanks." Janna took them and began to set the colorful array on the table.
Barbara studied Lex carefully. Although she was talkative enough to them, she could tell something was bothering her. "How are you doing, Lex? Is there anything I can do for you?"
Considering the question seriously for a long moment, Lex finally shook her head. "I don't think so, Barbara. But thanks." She checked her watch, then realized Amanda wouldn'st be home from the office for several hours. She took a long swallow of beer, relaxing when it hit her empty stomach.
Chapter Twelve
THE NERVOUS MAN gently shook the bouquet of flowers he was holding, killing time while he waited for someone to answer the door. He looked down at his khaki slacks and berated himself. Maybe he should have worn a tie. He second-guessed his idea of bringing flowers, fearing his date was allergic. Then he thought he should have gotten roses instead of wildflowers. His internal argument was halted in mid-conditional when the door opened and a lovely, slightly overweight woman wearing dark jeans and a pale green cotton blouse smiled brightly at him.
Lois opened the door wider and stepped back. "Michael. Please come in." Her shoulder-length brown hair bounced slightly as she led him into the living room of the modest home. "Why don't you have a seat? Would you like something to drink?"
He started to sit, but remembered what he was holding and thrust the bouquet in front of his body. "Umm, these are for you." Michael watched as Lois took the bouquet from him and inhaled deeply of their scent.
Her dark eyes twinkled. "Thank you. What a thoughtful thing to do. I haven'st been given flowers in years. Oh, my. I can'st get over it. Flowers! Let me just go put these in water. I'll be right back." Rushing from the room, she continued to rave about his thoughtfulness. "I just love wildflowers, they're so colorful."
Michael chuckled as he sat. When she came back into the room, he stood. "I'm glad you liked them. To tell you the truth, I wasn'st sure if you would."
The decorator sat next to him. "Not like flowers? Goodness." She patted Michael on the knee. "They are lovely, thank you. Do you have any preferences for what you'd like to do tonight?"
"Ah, not really. I'm learning my way around. I'm afraid Somerville has changed from when I grew up here." He couldn'st remember the last time a woman asked him what he wanted to do. He felt as if he had been missing something vital for too many years, wasted with a wife he didn'st love, or even care for. Michael turned so he could focus more on Lois. "I was hoping you had a few good ideas."
"Do you like to dance? There's a quiet little bar off the town square which has a good deejay after six."
Michael stood. "Sounds like fun. Although I hope you are wearing steel-toed shoes. I haven'st danced in forever."
Lois stood also, her bright smile infectious. "Me, either. So I guess we'll just have to wing it, don't you agree?" She led him to the door but turned back before exiting. "Don't think me too forward, but I'd like to buy you dinner tonight." When Michael opened his mouth to argue, she held up one hand. "Please? Consider it a payment for helping me decide on which wallpaper to hang in the guestrooms. It would have taken me hours to finally get Lexington to decide, if I could have kept her there with me at all."
"Well, since you put it that way, I don't see how I can refuse." Michael stepped outside with her and waited as Lois locked the door. "But only if you let me at least buy the drinks."
"It's a deal," Lois agreed, as he opened the car door for her. He was handsome, came from a good family, and was a gentleman to boot. She thought the woman who let him get away should be locked up. She had no way of realizing just how accurate her assessment was.
AMANDA STEPPED FROM the living room with a concerned look on her face. She had spent the last half-hour trying to track down her errant partner, with no luck. She had decided to take the rest of the day off work, so she could sit in on the meeting with the private investigator and wanted to tell Lex where she was. So lost in her thoughts, Amanda almost knocked down her grandmother in the front entryway. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn'st see you there."
"That's quite all right. You look troubled, is somethi
ng the matter?" Anna Leigh put an arm around Amanda's waist and guided her to the kitchen. "Sit and tell me what's bothering you."
"I'm worried about Lex. She's not at home, and according to Martha, she hasn'st been out to the ranch today. I've called around, but no one's seen her." Amanda glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's almost six o'clock. Where on earth could she be?"
Anna Leigh sat next to her. "Did she give you any idea what she was going to do today?"
"No, not really. I guess I just assumed she'd spend time on the construction of the house while I went to work." She looked at the tablecloth. "I kind of forgot to mention to Lex I had a doctor's appointment today. She's going to be furious with me when she finds out."
"Mandy, you can'st keep something like that from Lexington. She loves you and deserves to know these things."
"But I was afraid if she knew, she'd want to come with me. She gets antsy at the doctor's office. I just didn'st want her to suffer because of me."
Travis spotted the women at the table. "Hello, ladies." He saw the look on Amanda's face and sat on the other side of her. "What's the matter? Were you able to reach Lexie and ask her to come over for dinner?"
"No. She doesn'st answer her cell phone, and I can'st seem to find her anywhere. I'm not sure what to think."
"Maybe she had some errands to run here in town. Did she say anything to you this morning? You girls didn'st have a spat or anything, did you?"
"No, of course not."
"Is there something we can do to help you?" Anna Leigh wanted to let Amanda know her family was there if she needed them.
"Not at the moment, Gramma." Amanda stood and left the room, determined to find Lex and have a long talk with her.
JANNA ROSE AWKWARDLY from the table, placing one hand on the back of the chair to keep her balance. "I'll be back in a minute. You want to order another one?" she asked, pointing to the empty pitcher. They had been at the small bar all afternoon, alternating between playing pool and polishing off containers of beer. "I got to--" She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the restrooms.
"Sure. I'll take care of it." Lex was hard-pressed to remember just how many pitchers of beer they had consumed. She waved at the waitress, who had come on duty in the last hour.
The server weaved her way through the tall tables, balancing her tray on one ample hip. She was about Amanda's age and height, but was easily forty or so pounds heavier. "Hiya, hon. You gals need another round?"
"Yep." Lex pulled a ten-dollar bill from her wallet and tossed it on the tray. "Keep the change."
"Oooh. I sure will." She hurried away, intent on keeping a good customer happy.
Lex rubbed her face as she tried to sort out her feelings. She knew that getting drunk wasn'st going to help matters any, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn'st summon the desire to stop. She decided to worry about it later. Before she could dwell too deeply on these thoughts, Janna returned to the table.
"Did you get another one?" she asked, climbing into her chair with difficulty. "Someone must have changed chairs on me. This one seems taller."
"No. You're just drunker." Lex looked at the waitress who placed a ten dollar bill back on the table. "What's that for?"
"I'm sorry, hon. But I'm the bartender is afraid you two have had enough."
Lex stood unsteadily. "Bullshit. He can'st do that."
"Hang on. Let me go talk to him." Janna knew Lex had a short fuse and silently cursed herself for allowing their drinking to go so far. "I'll be back in a minute." She stood and slowly staggered toward the bar.
"Stupid jerk, trying to tell us what we can do. Who the hell does he think he is, anyway?" Lex dropped back to her chair, trying to muster a glare to send in the direction of the bartender. "Jackass." She didn'st notice when someone sat at her table, until he began to speak.
"Hey there." The young man who slid into Janna's chair pulled out a cigarette and lit it, studying Lex as if she were dessert. "Don't think I've seen you in here before, babe."
MICHAEL OPENED THE door for Lois, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the hazy atmosphere of the bar. "I had no idea this place was here," he commented loudly, trying to be heard over the thumping beat of a dance tune.
"I hate to admit this, but I've been here several times. It's fun, and I don't have to worry about being bothered." Lois squeezed through the jumble of chairs to find a table near the bar. She was pleasantly surprised when her date pulled out her chair for her. "Thank you, Michael. I'd forgotten what it was like to be around a gentleman."
"You're welcome, Lois." He leaned closer to her so he could be heard. "My father would tan my hide if I wasn'st. A gentleman, that is."
She slapped him on the shoulder. "God, I love a man with a sense of humor!"
"Would you like for me to get you a drink?"
"I'd love a rum and coke."
"I'll be right back." He tapped the table once and stepped through the crowd.
Having been disappointed in the dating scene before, Lois was enjoying the evening thoroughly. She heard yelling at the back of the club, but directed her attention to the bar to watch Michael.
"WHAT DID YOU call me?" Lex sputtered, glaring across the table at the kid. The music had continued to get louder, so she thought she had misunderstood him. "I know you didn'st say what I thought you did."
He held out his hands. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, sweet thing. I just noticed you and your friend from across the room, and thought you could use some company."
"What?" Lex knocked over the empty pitcher when she jumped to her feet. "Get lost, kid. I don't feel like messing with you."
"Come on, sugar. You look kind of down. I figure you need the right man to help you forget all your troubles." He twisted in his chair and gave his friends who were standing at the bar a thumbs up. "Let's go outside where we can have a little more privacy."
Lex stormed around the table and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling the arrogant young man to his feet. "Get the fuck out of my sight, before I embarrass you in front of your buddies."
He tried to fight off her grip. "What are you, a lesbian or something?"
"That's exactly what I am, Boy Scout. Back off before I get mad." Lex shoved him backward, causing him to knock over another table.
"Hey!" Two burly men barely got out of the way before their table collapsed. "Watch it!"
Lex was about to yell something back to them when another man stepped in front of her. "Get out of my way, buddy, or you're next." Squinting in the dim light, she recognized him as Amanda's father. "Shit."
"Lex, hold on." Michael had seen the commotion from the bar and hurried over, worried about his daughter's partner. He touched her arm, which she easily batted away.
"Go way, Michael. This has nothing to do with you." She looked around for the man who had bothered her, but he seemed to have disappeared in the smoky room. "Damn."
Janna stepped next to Michael. "You okay, Lex?" She had unsuccessfully tried to get another pitcher of beer from the bartender and was trying to figure out how to break the news to Lex.
"I'm fine." Lex glared at Michael. "Go back to where you came from. Everything's under control."
"No." Michael realized she was drunk, and her friend was in worse shape. He decided he needed to get them both home. He was about to say something else when he was roughly shoved aside.
"Get out of my way, old man. This bitch owes my friend an apology." A large man practically threw Michael to the floor, which caused Lex's eyes to narrow.
Lex helped Michael to his feet, then turned and glared at the intruder. "I think you're the one who needs to apologize, asshole. That's my future father-in-law you just knocked down."
The burly man looked around the room. He was several inches taller than Lex and easily outweighed her by fifty pounds. "Where's your boyfriend, then?"
"My girlfriend is probably at home, wondering where I am." Lex started to shove by him, but was stopped when his hand grabbed her shoulder.
>
"Girlfriend? You're a dyke?"
Lex couldn'st help it, she laughed. "Yeah. Keeps me from having to date guys like you." She shook off his hand and started to leave.
"You bitch!" The large man spun her back around and punched Lex in the face. "People like you ought to--" Whatever helpful suggestion he was about to make was cut short when her foot met his groin. Falling to the floor, he gasped in pain.
"Asshole." Lex sniffled and wiped at her face, surprised when she felt blood on her hand. She noticed Michael had disappeared. She turned to Janna, who had held off the man's two friends without much trouble. "You about ready to get out of here? I need to get home."
Janna pulled a few napkins off another table and handed them to her. "Yeah. We'd better call a cab, though. Neither one of us is in any shape to drive."
"Yeah, I think you're right." Lex held the napkins under her nose, trying to stem the flow of blood. "Jackass got in a lucky shot."
When he realized Lex was all right, Michael had hurried across the room to where he had left Lois. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long."
"It's all right, Michael. Was that Lexington over there?"
"I'm afraid so. She and her friend are drunk. Would you mind very much if I took them home?" Although he was having a good time with Lois tonight, Michael's first concern was getting Lex home safely.
"Of course not. As a matter of fact, let me help you. I can follow you in your car, so you can drive hers. That way you don't have to get a ride back." She gathered her purse and stood. "I think they're trying to leave. We'd better hurry."
AMANDA HAD JUST hung up the phone when it rang and startled her. "Hello?"
Michael sounded relieved to hear her voice. "I was hoping you'd be over there."
"What's up?"
He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I had to bring Lex home. Why don't you come to your house, and we can discuss it further when you get here. "