Beyond Always (Lex and Amanda Series)

by Carrie Carr

  Lex's cell rang and she took it off her belt. "Walters. What? All right. We'll try to send it toward the house." She put her phone back. "That was Shelby. Jack tried to lasso the filly, but lost his grip on his rope. We need to head west to either cut it off, or guide it back to its momma."

  "All right." Rebecca adjusted her boots in the stirrups. "Thanks, Lex. I'm sorry about all of that. I'm not real sure where it came from."

  Lex shrugged. "We all have doubts, just don't let "˜em eat you up inside." She set Mac out in a trot. "Not like Amanda would let me."

  "DAMN IT, JACK. That was a stupid-assed thing to do," Shelby snapped, as they followed the terrified filly. Its coppery-red coat shone in the sunlight as it galloped away.

  "You said you wanted to catch it. I never miss with my rope."

  She pointed to a group of trees ahead. "Maybe next time you'll have the end tied off, instead of thinking you could hold on. Circle up there so it'll keep going toward the house. We don't want it hung up in that cedar."

  He slapped Coco's hip with his gloved hand. "Heeyah!"

  Shelby saw two riders ahead and raised her hand. She received acknowledging waves and then her cell rang. "Yeah. Jack's going around to keep her out of the cedar, maybe y'all could run up ahead."

  Lex waved her hat in the air before she took off at an angle.

  Shelby kept her horse behind the sorrel filly. She spotted the rope trailing behind and urged her horse into a canter. As she came closer, she put all her weight on her left leg while lifting her right one across the saddle. When her horse was close to the rope, Shelby jumped to the ground and grabbed the end. She stumbled to her feet and pulled the rope taut.

  The filly panicked as the rope tightened around her neck, and took off at a run.

  "Fuck!" Shelby tried to keep up but soon fell and the filly easily dragged her. She grimaced as clumps of grass and rocks assailed her body.

  Rebecca looked on in horror. "Shelby! Let go of the rope!" She kicked Patches into a gallop.

  Instead of releasing the rope, Shelby wrapped it around her wrist. As she slid behind the filly, she twisted her body so that she was moving feet first, doing whatever she could to slow the animal's pace. "Whoa!"

  "Shelby, damn it! Let go!" Rebecca rode close to her lover. "Shelby!"

  Shelby spit out mouthfuls of dirt, but refused to release her grip. She gritted her teeth and, with renewed energy, dug her boot heels into the ground. "Goddamn it, horse. Whoa!"

  Twenty yards ahead, Lex and Jack held their horses in the filly's path, blocking the entrance to the thick stand of cedar.

  The filly started to slow at the sight. The heavy weight that pulled on her finally brought her to a halt.

  Rebecca brought Patches up beside Shelby and dropped from the saddle before the dust cleared. "Shelby?"

  Shelby spit then shakily held out her arm. "Take the rope."

  "To hell with the damned rope, Shelby. You could have been killed!"

  "Rope."

  Rebecca gently unwrapped the rope from her lover's arm. She tied it to her saddle horn just as Lex rode up. The filly continued to struggle, but Patches held firm.

  "Is she all right?" Lex asked.

  "I think so." Rebecca returned to Shelby, who was still on the ground. "Have you totally lost your damned mind?"

  Shelby spit again and wiped her mouth on her shirtsleeve. "Nope." She rested her arms on her upraised knees. "Strong little thing, ain't she?"

  Lex looked down at her and shook her head. "You're insane. Why did you feel the need to hang on to that damned rope?"

  "I was afraid she'd get hung up on something and hurt herself."

  Rebecca slapped her shoulder. "So, instead, you try to get yourself killed? That's the stupidest damned thing I've ever heard of!"

  She stomped away, muttering under her breath.

  Jack joined them. "Nice catch," he told Shelby. Then he turned to Lex. "It was my fault, Boss. I thought I could rope her and bring her in easy. The filly had other ideas."

  "Yeah. Do you think you can get her back to the corral without any problems?"

  He nodded and stretched from his horse to untie the rope from Rebecca's saddle horn. "I'll take care of it. Sorry about that, Shelby."

  "No harm done." Shelby slowly climbed to her feet. She brushed the dirt from her jeans and nodded toward her lover. "Looks like I've got some fence patchin' to do."

  Lex leaned on her saddle horn. "Better you than me. If you're all right, I'll follow Jack and help get the new horses settled in the corral."

  "Sure. Just put ours in the barn, if you don't mind. I'll be up shortly."

  "Take your time. I think you scared a few years off Rebecca." Lex saluted her and turned Mac to follow Jack and the filly.

  Shelby trailed Rebecca, who seemed intent on walking the entire length of field where she had been dragged. "Rebecca?" When her lover continued on as if she didn't hear her, Shelby picked up her pace. "Hey."

  Rebecca stopped and picked up Shelby's hat. She shook it to get the worst of the dirt from it.

  When Rebecca turned around and held out the hat, Shelby saw the tears that coursed down her cheeks.

  "Aw, darlin'." Shelby took the hat and tossed it to the ground. "Come here."

  She pulled Rebecca close and held her. "I'm sorry. But I figured she wasn't strong enough to do any serious damage to me, and I didn't want her getting hung up and hurt herself."

  "It was still a stupid thing to do." Rebecca rested her cheek against Shelby's shoulder.

  "I know. But if I thought I had been in any real danger, I would have let go of the rope." Shelby chuckled. "Good thing there wasn't any cactus around, huh? I'd look like a porcupine."

  Rebecca giggled and slapped her on the chest. "You're impossible."

  "And you chose to put up with me. What does that say about you?"

  Rebecca looked up into her face. "That I'm very lucky to have you," she answered softly. She drew Shelby's face down and kissed her, then pulled away and swatted her. "Don't scare me like that again, Shelby Fisher."

  "Yes, ma'am." Shelby kissed her again.

  AS SHE WAITED for Shelby and Rebecca to return, Lex climbed through the corral slats to give the mares a closer look. She took slow, cautious steps to keep from spooking them. It hadn't been very hard to get them into the corral, as they found the bucket of feed she lured them with quite fascinating. Now that they had eaten, the two mares eyed her warily as the filly stayed close to its mother's side.

  Jack leaned against the side of the four-horse trailer. "You need any help, Boss?" His voice was just loud enough for her to hear. He worked a length of rope in his hand as he watched.

  Lex shook her head. She stepped toward the gray mare and cautiously extended her hand toward its head. "Easy, girl." She grinned as she began to scratch beneath the mare's jaw. "Like that, do you?"

  The chestnut on the other side snorted and slung her head to the side, but didn't move away from her foal. She also kept a very watchful eye on the human who gave her companion attention.

  "Yeah, you're nervous, aren't you?" Lex ran her hand along the neck of the gray, grimacing at the tangles in its mane. As she scratched with one hand, she used the other to stroke the ragged coat. "I think we'd better get you into town and have Ron check you out. Some of these sores look infected."

  A sideways glance at the chestnut verified that it was in as bad of shape, including a particularly nasty looking spot below its left front knee. The wound was swollen and crusted with blood and puss.

  Jack brought her the three halters he had fashioned out of rope. "I figured we'd be making a trip to the vet today." He held one halter out to Lex.

  "Good idea, thanks." She had no trouble placing the halter on the gray. Lex accepted another halter and moved closer to the chestnut. The animal snorted, bobbed its head and backed away, the foal following her. "Come on, this won't hurt."

  Lex stopped trying to catch the animal and turned when she heard new voices.

&
nbsp; Shelby and Rebecca arrived on the back of Patches. Shelby swung down from behind her partner. "Thanks for the lift, darlin'."

  "Let's not make a habit of it, though. I'm going to put Patches away if you don't need me."

  "Sure." Shelby patted the paint's shoulder. "'preciate the ride, Patches."

  Lex stepped out of the corral and joined Shelby. "I was wondering if you had to walk back. Your horse beat us to the barn."

  "Figures. And I didn't want to strain Patches." When Lex laughed at her, Shelby gave her a dirty look. "Shut up."

  "Heh." Lex cleared her throat. "If it's all right with you, I think we ought to take the horses to the vet."

  Shelby put her hands on her hips. "Why are you askin' me?"

  "Well, they're on your property. Your place, your rules."

  "Oh. Uh, sure. I was thinkin' of doin' that anyhow. Be okay to use your trailer?"

  Lex nodded. "We could ask Roy and Helen to take the kids home in my truck. Then you and I could haul the strays into town, and I could pick up my horses when I drop you off."

  "Yeah. No problem." Shelby turned to Jack, who had stood quietly by Lex. "Would you mind runnin' up to the house so Roy will know what we're gonna do?"

  "Sure." He turned and ambled away. Shelby took off her hat and wiped her forehead against her shoulder. "Heck of a way to spend a day off, ain't it?" "What's a day off?" Rebecca came from the barn. "What's the plan?" She stood beside her lover. Shelby gestured to the horses. "We're gonna load up the strays and take "˜em into town. Shouldn't take too long." "I can handle taking them to town, Shelby. No sense in ruining your weekend," Lex said. Shelby turned to Rebecca, who gave a slight nod. "Nah. They were on our property, so the least I can do is help. Right, darlin'?"

  "Right." Rebecca patted her on the side before taking a step back. "I'll let you two handle it while I take care of the horses. Lex, do you care if I give yours a little feed?"

  "No, that would be great. Do you need any help?"

  Rebecca laughed at her. "I think I can handle two extra horses. But thanks for the offer." She gathered the reins of Mac and Coco and led them to the barn.

  Lex moved closer to Shelby and lowered her voice. "Did I offend her?"

  "Nah. I think you made extra points for askin'."

  "Yeah? Cool." Lex tipped her head toward the house. "I'm going to run tell the kids goodbye." Lex ignored Shelby's laugh as she walked away. She was miffed at the other woman's teasing, until she realized how little it mattered. "Gotta quit being so damned sensitive about these things." She removed her gloves and tucked them into her back pocket. When she hit the top step, the back door opened and Melanie greeted her.

  "Momma! Aunt Helen said we're gonna go home with her and Uncle Roy. Can't I go with you? I'm a big girl, you know."

  Lex lifted Melanie into her arms. "You sure are, princess. But all we're going to do is take the stray horses to the vet's office. I'll be home before you know it."

  Melanie's pout was reminiscent of Amanda's. "I won't get in the way, I promise."

  "I know, sweetheart." Lex kissed her cheek. "I need someone to help Aunt Helen with Eddie while Uncle Roy gets some rest. Do you think you can do that?"

  The pout disappeared. "I can, Momma. I promise."

  "That's my girl!" Lex kissed her again and set her down. "Have you been good?"

  "Yes'm. I drew a picture for the "˜frigerator. Do you wanna see?"

  "Sure. Then I'd better get back out there, so I can get home faster."

  SHELBY CLOSED THE trailer just as a pained yelp came from the corral. She latched the door and jogged toward the sound. She saw the chestnut mare staring from the middle of the corral and the filly trotting around her. Rebecca stood with her back to the railing. "Rebecca? What happened?"

  "I'm okay." Rebecca held one arm close to her body and crawled through the slats on the corral.

  "What happened?" Shelby asked again. She reached for Rebecca's arm. "Lemme see."

  Rebecca shook her head. "I was just being stupid." She had tears in her eyes and bit her lip as Shelby gently held her arm.

  The skin on Rebecca's forearm was torn and bleeding. Shelby led her toward the house and didn't release her grip. "Let's get this cleaned up and see what we have."

  "It's just a bite. The mare looked half-asleep, so I thought it would be easy to put a halter on her." Rebecca stumbled but Shelby's hold kept her from falling. "Damned thing snapped at me before I knew what was happening."

  Shelby helped her up the steps and opened the back door. "It happens, darlin'." She led her to the kitchen sink.

  Lex met them at the sink. "What happened? I was just on my way out there."

  "Chestnut took exception to a halter." Shelby started a slow stream of water over the injury, and winced when Rebecca hissed at the pain. "Sorry."

  Lex stood behind them, anxious to help. "Where are your first aid supplies?"

  "Bathroom cabinet," Shelby answered.

  Rebecca closed her eyes at the continued rush of the cold water. She was unable to stop a pained moan from escaping.

  "Hang in there, baby. I'm almost done." Shelby turned off the water and accepted a clean towel from Lex, who had brought the supplies from the bathroom.

  "What can I do to help?" Lex asked.

  Shelby led Rebecca to a chair. "I'm not sure. This doesn't look real deep. But still, it's an ugly gash."

  "I've been nipped before," Rebecca countered. "You're making a bigger deal out of it than necessary."

  "Hush." Shelby's hands shook too badly to open the first aid kit, so she handed it to Lex. She watched as Lex cleaned the wound and covered it in antibiotic ointment. "I think you ought to go to town and see a doctor."

  Rebecca sniffled and blinked tears from her eyes. She remained quiet until Lex wrapped a gauze bandage around her arm. "Don't be ridiculous. It's not that serious."

  Shelby tried another tactic. "Well, I don't want you staying here by yourself. Why don't you come to town with us?"

  When Rebecca's face darkened, Lex washed her hands at the sink, then gathered the leftover supplies. "Holler when you're ready." She left the room to give them privacy.

  "I'm capable of being here alone, even with a horse bite." Rebecca took a deep breath and held it for several seconds, before releasing it slowly. "You're not usually this overprotective. What's going on with you?"

  Shelby opened her mouth to disagree with her, but stopped. She sighed and removed her western hat. Her short hair was matted against her head with sweat and she ran her fingers through the strands before replacing the hat. "I've always cared about what happens to you, Rebecca." She looked at the floor. "Hell, my life wouldn't be worth livin' without you, you know that."

  She took a breath to gather her courage and raised her head. "I love you, darlin'. And just thinkin' about somethin' happenin' to you scares the shit out of me." She smiled when Rebecca blinked in surprise. "Yeah. So, please let a doctor check out your arm, okay? Save me from makin' a fool outta myself in front of everyone?"

  Rebecca laughed and put her good arm behind Shelby's neck and kissed her. "All right. You win, this time."

  LEX RETURNED TO the kitchen and smiled at the couple who sat so close together they were almost one. "I'm going to put the gray back in the corral with the others. I called Ron. He said he'd come out here to look them over."

  Rebecca tried to stand, but Shelby's firm grip on her hand kept her seated. "That's not necessary, Lex. I'm sure she only bit me because I spooked her."

  "Maybe. But something doesn't look quite right about her, and I'd feel better if we had a vet's opinion."

  "Sounds good to me." Shelby gave Rebecca's hand a squeeze before she got up from the table. "I'll help you."

  Lex was about to brush off the offer, when she considered the look on her friend's face. Shelby obviously needed to talk. "All right, thanks. Rebecca, is there anything I can do for you?"

  "Yes. Please drag Shelby out of here. I'm going to go change my shirt, since this one is
trashed."

  Shelby laughed. "I'm goin'. Holler if you need anything."

  Rebecca swatted her on the rear. "I need to change my shirt. Now go on."

  "Yes'm." Shelby tipped her head and followed Lex out of the house. Once they were halfway between the house and the corral she asked, "Do you think I overreacted?"

  Lex slowed her pace. "No, not really. I've seen lesser bites than that get infected. Probably wouldn't hurt to have a doctor look it over."

  "Yeah. That's what I thought, too."

  They stopped at the corral and watched the three horses all acting differently. The gray relaxed in one corner. The sorrel filly stayed close to its mother as the chestnut mare continuously stomped its left front hoof.

  Shelby propped her arms on the rail and rested her chin on them. "Wonder what she did to her leg?"

  "Hard to tell, since she won't let us get close." Lex joined her and draped her arms on the top rail. "The filly seems to be the only one in decent shape."

  "Too skinny, though. How long will it take the vet to get here?"

  "Not sure. Why? You got something else to do?" Lex laughed at her friend's heavy sigh. She knew exactly what was bothering Shelby, but she didn't know if the other woman would have the nerve to say it aloud. "What?"

  Shelby turned and glared at her. "You're a right smartass sometimes, ain't ya?" When Lex remained silent, she shook her head. "All right. I want to take Rebecca into town and get her arm looked at. Is there anythin' wrong with that?"

  "Nope." Lex turned and leaned against the corral with her elbows braced along the top rail. "I was just wondering when you'd get around to saying it." She laughed as Shelby muttered and pushed away from the corral. "Go on. I'll keep an eye on things for you."

  "Thanks." Shelby headed for the house. She turned and walked backward. "Sorry for snappin' at you."

  Lex waved one hand at her. "Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have teased you. Take care of Rebecca."

  "I sure will. See you later." Shelby spun and jogged toward the house.

  Chapter Twenty

  TWO AND A half hours after they arrived at the emergency room, Rebecca still had not seen a doctor. Her arm throbbed and she felt dizzy from her empty stomach. She rested her head against Shelby's shoulder and closed her eyes.