Chapter 8

They sat tangled together for several minutes as Lex rubbed the blonde’s back with one hand comfortingly. "Why don’t we go see what your grandparents and Charlie are up to?" She whispered into the smaller woman’s ear. "They’re probably wondering what’s taking us so long." Lex kissed her head and leaned back slightly.

"That’s a good idea. But, aren’t you curious about those papers? Hubert said it was an inheritance." Amanda gestured to the stack of papers that Lex had dropped. She bent down and picked them up off the floor.

"Nah. He was probably just saying that so I would hurry up and sign them. For all I know, it could be another one of his get-rich-quick schemes." Lex barely spared the items in question a passing glance.

Amanda stood and offered the rancher her hand. "I don’t know; he seemed pretty adamant about getting them back in a hurry. I figured that it must involve money, knowing Hubert." She pulled Lex to her feet and wrapped an arm around her.

Lex chuckled. "I think I can make it to the kitchen under my own power, sweetheart. It’s really not necessary for you to be my crutch."

"I know," Amanda smiled. "But I enjoy it." She tightened her grip on the taller woman’s waist. "So just relax and let me have my fun."

"Seems like I’ve heard that line before," Lex teased. She enjoyed watching the blush creep across the younger woman’s face.

"Ooh! I can’t believe you said that!" Amanda laughed as they stepped into the kitchen. She fanned her face with her free hand. Geez…the things that she can do to me with just a few words.

Anna Leigh looked up at the smiling women when they entered the room. "Goodness, Mandy. You look flushed. Is everything okay?" She could tell by the smirk on the taller woman’s face that everything was just fine. I’d love to know what Lexington said or did that caused that one! My, she’s red! She winked at the sheriff who was sitting across from her at the table.

"Looks like someone could use a little cooling off," Charlie quipped. He raised his coffee mug at the rancher in salute. "You’re looking a lot better today, Lex."

Lex allowed Amanda to seat her at the remaining chair at the table. "Thanks, Charlie. I’m feeling pretty good." Which was true, she supposed. Although this damn headache is beginning to get on my nerves, and my arm is still killing me. But it could have been a lot worse, Lex thought tiredly. And damned if I’m not sleepy again.

"Why don’t you stay for lunch, Charlie? I just cooked up a big batch of stew and there’s more than enough." Jacob could see the indecision playing on the sheriff’s face. "It’s the least we could do since you haven’t arrested our granddaughter for her traffic indiscretions today." He got up and walked over to the stove to stir the simmering pot with a wooden spoon.

"Traffic indiscretions?" Lex glanced over at Amanda who had taken Jacob’s place at the table. "Exactly what kind of indiscretions are we talking about here?" she questioned her friend.

Charlie ignored the pleading look that the blonde woman gave him. "Seems like Amanda wanted to see how many laws she could break between her office and here."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You’re exaggerating, Sheriff." She stressed his title. "I may have went over the speed limit a bit, but I don’t think…"

"Sixty-four in a thirty is more thank a little bit, honey. When I saw that little Mustang fly by me, I thought I was seeing things." Charlie shook his head. "You scared me to death, young lady." I thought something serious had happened to Lex…god, the thoughts that went through my mind at that.

"I’m really sorry." Amanda looked properly chastised. "I didn’t even see you behind me until I pulled up into the driveway."

Lex sighed heavily and braced her head with the hand she had propped on the table. "What am I going to do with you?" She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"We’ve been wondering that same question for years," Jacob chuckled. "Hope you have better luck figuring it out." He winked at his wife and returned his attention to the simmering pot on the stovetop.

"Grandpa!" The blonde woman huffed, although she couldn’t hide the smile that was sneaking onto her face. "You talk as if I was a lot of trouble growing up." She shook a warning finger at Lex, who had a silly grin on her face.

Anna Leigh laughed at her granddaughter’s antics. "Oh, honey…its not that you were trouble, it just seemed to find you." She saw the glint in Lex’s eyes.

"I knew it!" Lex chortled, raising her head and slapping her hand down on the table. "My life has certainly gotten more exciting since you dropped into it, sweetheart."

Amanda gave the rancher an incredulous look. "That’s not what Martha told me. Seems like you were always coming back to the house with something either scraped or broken."

Lex tried to look innocent. "I don’t know what you’re talking about." She gave Charlie an intimidating glare. Not one word, Charlie…

"Well, let’s see…" Amanda closed her eyes and began to count off on her fingers. "You rolled your truck and broke your leg."

"Not my fault – the weather was bad," Lex defended.

"Uh-huh. Okay," Amanda refused to let up, especially when she saw the daring glint in her partner’s eyes. "Broken ribs, which you unsuccessfully tried to hide from Martha?"

Charlie exchanged amused glances with the Caubles. These two are something else that’s for sure. I’m sure glad that Lex found someone who won’t take any bull from her.

Lex bit her lip in deep thought. "Umm…" Her face brightened. "Oh, yeah! The cinch strap ripped while I was breaking a new horse. Again, not my fault." She gave the group around the table a triumphant smile.

Amanda shook her head. "How about the broken arm you had when you met my grandmother?"

The rancher was quiet for a long moment. "I honestly don’t remember how that happened," she admitted ruefully. "But I’m sure it wasn’t my fault either." Lex grinned when Amanda struck her tongue out at her.

"That’s enough, girls." Anna Leigh admonished, then decided to change the subject. "Lexington, dear…if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly were those papers about that was so important?"

"To tell you the truth, I kinda forgot all about them." Lex looked at Amanda. "Did you bring them with you, sweetheart?"

The blonde smiled and handed the stack of papers to Lex. "Of course. I’m beginning to get a little curious about them, myself."

Lex took the papers and gave the younger woman a gentle grin. "Thanks, love." She began to study the papers carefully. "Hmm…"

Amanda stood up and went to the cabinet that held the dinnerware. "I’ll just get the table set for lunch." She grabbed a handful of bowls and spoons and brought them over to the table. When she placed a setting in front of Lex, she noticed that the dark-haired woman had placed the papers on the table and closed her eyes. "Lex? What’s the matter? Does it tell you what this is all about?"

The rancher felt a soft touch on her shoulder and opened her eyes. "Yeah. Says that someone died last week and left Hubert and me a rather large inheritance." She looked down at her hands and released a heavy sigh.

Anna Leigh reached across the table and patted the tall woman’s hand. "Honey, who passed away? Someone close to you?"

Lex looked up at the older woman with a slightly puzzled expression. "My grandmother."

"Victoria’s mother? But I thought you told me that she passed away when you were a child." Anna Leigh could read the hurt and confusion on the rancher’s face. She knew that both of Rawson’s parents were long dead, since they had left the ranch to their only son before Lexington was even born. When Anna Leigh first met the young woman, she felt sorry for her lack of grandparents, since the rancher had told her that they were all dead.

"That’s what my father had told me." Lex struggled to her feet. "If you’ll excuse me, I’m really not very hungry right now." She stepped away from the table and departed the kitchen, leaving the papers behind.

Amanda looked at the shocked faces around the kitchen. "Umm…I’m going to go see…" she hurried out of the room behind her apparently distraught friend. After a quick search of the downstairs, she found Lex on the front porch. The blue eyes were staring off into the distance, not focused on any one thing. "Mind some company?"

The dark-haired woman glanced back over her shoulder. "I’m afraid I’m not very good company right now." She turned her attention back to the passing traffic.

"Okay. Then I’ll just stand here with you for a bit, if you don’t mind." Amanda stepped over and rubbed Lex’s back. "And I always think you’re good company." She felt the tense shoulders relax slightly.

Lex turned around with a small smile on her face. "Thanks, sweetheart." She reached over and brushed the hair out of the smaller woman’s eyes. "Sorry I left like that. It just felt like the room was closing in on me." She leaned up tiredly against one of the support beams.

Amanda stepped closer and ran her hand up Lex’s unencumbered arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There’s really not much to say." When Lex saw the determined look on her partner’s face, she relented. "When I was about eight or nine, I asked my dad about my grandparents. Seemed like all the other kids at school were always talking about theirs, and I was curious. He told me that they were all dead and not to bother him about it anymore." She remembered the conversation like it was yesterday…

Young Lexington came home from school excited about something she had heard in class. Her science teacher had explained that everyone received different characteristics from the people in their family, and that if they looked closely at their parent’s parents, they’d see their own features on their grandparent’s faces. She was curious about which family members she most looked like, and searched for her father to find the answers. "Daddy!" she went from building to building, yelling for the rancher.

Rawson Walters was in the hay barn, repairing several rotted planks in the loft. He heard his young daughter cry his name and peeked over the edge. "Up here, Lex. You want to bring me that can of nails?"

"Sure, Dad." She dropped her backpack full of schoolwork and rushed to do his bidding. Lex would follow her father all over the ranch faithfully to help out as much as a nine-year-old possibly could. She hurried up the ladder to the loft, almost dropping the nails in the process.

"Careful, there! It would take all day to get those all picked up." The tired man admonished as he took the can from his daughter. "What are you running around hollerin’ about, Lex?"

Lex impatiently brushed her dark hair out of her eyes. "We learned some really neat stuff in school today, and I wanted to tell you about it." She held one end of the board that he was working on. "Well, I mean…I wanted to ask you something about it."

The ex-rodeo rider looked up from where he was nailing the board. "Okay, so ask." God, he hated having these kinds of talks with the youngster. She was too bright for her own good, and was always asking him questions he was uncomfortable answering.

"Well, we were talking about heredity today in science, and how we’re all made up of different parts of folks in our family." Lex’s eyes were bright with excitement. "Then Mr. Ramsey said that if we looked at our grandparents, we could figure out where our different features came from."

Rawson felt a cold chill start in his gut. Don’t ask me about them, please… he silently begged his daughter. "Yeah? So what’s your question, hon?"

The young girl didn’t notice the sudden loss of color in her father’s face. "Where are my grandparents, Daddy? All the other kids talked about theirs, and I didn’t know what to say." She saw an unusual look cross the rancher’s face, but continued, "I don’t remember ever hearing anything about them, and I was wondering why."

"Your grandparents are all dead, Lex. Not much to talk about." Rawson grabbed another board and started to hammer. "And I don’t talk about them because there’s nothing to say, so just drop the subject." He picked up a few more nails and looked his daughter in the eye. "Why don’t you get back to the house and do your homework, and we’ll go ride the south section of fence before it gets dark?" The rancher knew the best way to distract the young girl was by doing work on the ranch itself.

"Okay, Daddy. I’ll be back in no time!" Lex impulsively hugged her father before she took off back down the ladder, anxious to finish her homework. It wasn’t until much later that Lex realized what her father had told her.

God, that hurt when I finally figured out what he had meant. Lex took and released a deep breath. "Why would he lie to me about that? What purpose could it possibly serve?"

"I don’t know, honey." Amanda looked up into anguished blue eyes. "I’m sure he thought he was doing the right thing." A cold blast of air caused her to shiver violently. "Why don’t we go back into the house before you add pneumonia to your list of ills?"

The rancher nodded and allowed Amanda to lead her back inside the house and into the living room. "You’re probably right, as usual." Lex grinned at the young woman as she was guided to the loveseat near the fire. "Umm…sweetheart?" She watched as Amanda covered her legs with the quilt. "Amanda?"

Amanda looked up from where she was tucking the edges of the quilt around her lover’s legs. "Yes?" She was kneeling on the floor next to Lex’s feet. "Maybe I should stir up the fire." She stood up and started to walk away, when the back of her belt was grabbed from behind. "Urk!" Amanda suddenly found herself sitting in the rancher’s lap.

"Stop fussing, love. You’re gonna wear yourself completely out." Lex pulled the younger woman closer. "Besides, I have a better way to warm up." She leaned forward and covered Amanda’s lips with her own for a long moment. Lex felt her partner’s hands tangle themselves into her thick hair as she continued her loving ministrations. She pulled back regretfully to catch her breath. "God, Amanda…" she murmured, leaning her forehead against the blonde’s.

"Yeah…" Amanda gasped huskily, "Me too." She heard voices coming closer, as her grandparent’s tried to join them without embarrassment. "I think we’re about to have company, sweetheart." She slowly slipped from Lex’s lap to sit beside her. In a louder voice, Amanda asked, "What are you going to do about the forms, Lex? Do you want to sign them so I can take them back to Hubert?"

Jacob and Anna Leigh stepped into the room with large smiles on their faces. "Hello, girls." The older man chuckled, "Are you okay, Lex?" He and his wife sat down together on the nearby sofa. "Charlie sends his regrets, but he wanted to go and check into something. He said he would call you later."

Lex smiled at Amanda’s grandfather. "I’m fine, Jacob. Just needed to get a little air." She felt Amanda take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "Sorry about running out like that."

Anna Leigh waved her hand and scoffed. "Don’t you dare apologize, Lexington. We were just concerned about you." She saw her granddaughter nod slightly and smiled. "You just let us know if there’s anything we can do."

"Thank you, Anna Leigh." Lex acknowledged quietly. "I may just take you up on that." She looked sideways at her partner. "I need to find out more about my grandmother. Would you…?"

Amanda pulled their linked hands up to her lips and kissed Lex’s knuckles gently. "Why don’t I do a little investigating, and see what I can come up with?" She looked over at her grandparents. "Would you mind if I borrowed your computer?"

"Not a bit, Peanut. Why don’t I see if I can give you a hand?" Jacob stood up and followed the young woman out of the room.

Lex watched them as they left. She took a deep breath and looked down at her lap. My grandmother. I wonder why she never tried to get in touch with me? She felt tears burn her eyes as she thought about what she had missed. She had to know that I existed, didn’t she? Maybe she was ashamed of me…I’m no great prize.

"Lexington?" Anna Leigh’s gentle voice broke into the rancher’s musings. "Would it help to talk about it, dear?" She crossed the room to perch on the arm of the loveseat. "I’ve been told I’m a very good listener." Anna Leigh placed a comforting hand on the younger woman’s shoulder.

"I don’t…maybe…" Lex shook her head and blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. "I guess I’m just trying to understand why." She closed her eyes when she felt the older woman’s hand make soothing motions on her head. "Why would my father lie to me about my family? And why did they never make an effort to get in touch with me when I got older?"

Anna Leigh sighed. "I’m not certain, of course…but your mother’s father almost disowned her when she married Rawson. I didn’t know either of them terribly well, since both Victoria and Rawson were a bit older than Michael." She got up and sat down next to Lex on the loveseat. "I do remember the write up in the newspaper, though. They said it was quite…interesting."

Lex looked at the older woman quizzically. "Interesting? It was just a wedding."

"Well, it seems that there was a slight altercation at the reception." More like a brawl. The paper had mentioned it took hours to clean up. Several people, including the groom ended up in jail. Anna Leigh smiled gently at the younger woman. "I don’t think your father got along very well with Victoria’s parents."

"Just exactly what kind of altercation are we talking about?" Lex shifted slightly so that she could look directly at Anna Leigh. "And why was there a newspaper article on a simple wedding?"

The older woman shook her head. "It was so many years ago, and I may not remember the details very well."

"Please, Anna Leigh. I would really appreciate anything that you could tell me. I’m at such a loss here," Lex pleaded quietly. "Until today, I thought my grandparents had died before I was born. Maybe you can help me figure out why my father never told me about them."

Anna Leigh took a deep breath. "Okay…" She reached over to grasp Lex’s hand. "But bear with me, dear…it was quite some time ago, and I didn’t pay that close of attention to the gossip at the time." After the younger woman nodded, she began. "I know for a fact that the Edwards’ were not too fond of their daughter’s choice for a husband. Victoria was such a sweet and quiet girl, and I think that Rawson brought her out of her shell, so to speak. Travis, her father and your grandfather, was going to cut her off from the family completely, or so the gossips said." The older woman shook her head sadly. "Melanie, your grandmother, talked him into allowing the wedding to take place. At least that was the buzz around town at the time. Since they were not from around here, it was pretty big news for a girl of her social standing to marry a working man." When she read the pain in Lex’s eyes, Anna Leigh apologized. "Honey…like I said before, all of this is just hearsay. We don’t know what really happened."

Lex took a deep breath and tried to smile. "It’s okay. I guess it just sounded a little too familiar, that’s all." She saw the look of realization cross the older woman’s face. "I went through something similar with Amanda’s father just a month ago – hit a little too close to home."

"Oh, dear…I never thought of that." Anna Leigh gazed at the young woman sadly. "You know that Jacob and I love you as if you were our own granddaughter, don’t you?"

"Yes…and believe me, you two are the best grandparents I could have ever asked for." Lex answered with a watery smile. "But I really would like to know about my family. Maybe I have a great aunt or uncle out there…or even cousins." She suddenly smiled. "Or maybe my grandfather is still alive! Think he’d mind meeting me?"

Green eyes twinkled. "Mind? Good lord, child! If he is alive, he’ll probably be ecstatic…you are the spitting image of your dear mother." She reached up and wiped an errant tear from the rancher’s face. "Let me finish my little story, and then we’ll check on Mandy and Jacob’s progress in the office, okay?" She waited until Lex composed herself, then continued. "Where was I? Oh, yes. The wedding went off beautifully, they said…but things got a little…uncomfortable, at the reception. Travis had a little too much to drink, and accused Rawson of marrying his daughter for her money. Your father took that as an insult to Victoria and punched his father-in-law, which caused a large brawl to break out."

"Oh, boy. No wonder I never saw any pictures of my grandparents." Lex shook her head. "But I swear that I can remember a tall, dark-haired man at our house before my mother died."

"You probably did. I think they used to visit when your father would go out of town to the rodeos – although after Victoria’s funeral, I don’t believe we ever saw either one of them again. But we really didn’t travel in the same social circles as the Edwards’." Anna Leigh could see the exhaustion on the rancher’s face. "Why don’t you let me help you upstairs, Lexington? You look completely worn out."

Lex fought off a yawn. "That bad, huh?" She blinked several times and frowned. "I swear I’m gonna quit taking those dam…uh, sorry…darn pills that old quack prescribed. They knock me on my rear."

"Let’s go." Anna Leigh pulled Lex to her feet. "He prescribed those because he knew that there wasn’t any other way to get you to rest and get better. I’ll explain to Amanda where you are when I check on them, okay?" She wrapped a steadying arm around the trim waist. "Honey, you need to eat more…you’re nothing but skin and bones."

The rancher sighed as they made their way up the stairs. "You sound like Martha." She chuckled at the answering pat on her side. "Or Amanda, for that matter. She’s always on me about not eating right."

Anna Leigh tickled the taller woman’s ribs. "Hush. Or I’ll sic Jacob on you to fatten you up." Her husband took great delight in cooking, and was forever treating her to rich meals. "Thank goodness I still do my walking every day, or I’d be the size of a house by now."

"Now that’s a threat." Lex murmured as she sat heavily on the bed. "You’d never get rid of me then." She yawned again as the older woman covered her with a blanket. "Thanks, Gramma." Lex didn’t even realize what she had said as she closed her eyes tiredly.

"Any time, honey," Anna Leigh whispered, kissing the already sleeping woman’s forehead. "Pleasant dreams."

***************

Amanda was sitting at the computer searching through county records as Jacob continued to peruse the legal papers left behind by Hubert. "Can you find anything that tells where Lex’s grandmother was buried?" she asked him as she surfed from site to site.

"I’m afraid not, Peanut." Jacob was sitting in the chair he had pulled around next to his granddaughter. "Although I do remember hearing that they came from Dallas at one time. Maybe you could try there."

"Good idea, Grandpa. Do you know what her maiden name was?" Amanda found yet another dead end and leaned back in her chair with an exasperated breath. "Is there anyone in this town we could call that might have known them? I really want to find something for Lex."

Jacob rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don’t…let me think…"

"How about Reverend Nelson? Isn’t he the one who performed the ceremony?" Anna Leigh answered from the doorway. "Perhaps he would know a little bit more about the Edwards’ than we do." She stepped into the room and leaned up against her husband, who promptly pulled her into his lap. "Jacob! Behave yourself!"

"Not a chance, my love." The chuckling man pulled his wife close and nibbled gently on her neck. "Now what were you saying about Reverend Nelson?" Jacob tickled her ribs.

Anna Leigh slapped ineffectually at his hands. "Stop that!" she giggled. "Mandy, tell your grandfather if he doesn’t stop this instant, that he’ll be sleeping in the guest room." She squirmed a bit more until her husband stopped his teasing.

Amanda laughed at her grandparent’s antics. That’s what Lex and I am going to look like in forty years or so, I bet. They’re so darn cute! "Oh, I dunno… I think I’m on his side this time."

"Traitor!" Her grandmother huffed with a smile. "Anyway, I was saying that Reverend Nelson usually keeps really good records, and if anyone knows anything about Travis or Melanie Edwards, it would probably be him."

"Great! I’ll just get Lex and we’ll…" Amanda had jumped up and was halfway to the doorway when she realized something. "Where is Lex, Gramma? Is she in the living room?"

The older woman escaped her husband’s loving grip and stood up. "I took her upstairs to bed, sweetheart. Her medication had about gotten the best of her." Anna Leigh crossed the room to stand next to her granddaughter. "She was in shock, I think. Finding out she had a grandmother that had been alive all these years really shook her up."

Amanda looked stricken. "Oh, no…poor Lex. I should have been there for her." She started to leave the room when her grandmother stopped her.

"She’s already asleep, Mandy. Lexington was fine, really." Seeing the look on the younger woman’s face, she continued, "She was just the sweetest thing before she fell asleep, calling me Gramma just like you."

Jacob sauntered up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her, propping his chin on the top of her head. "That’s great, sweetheart. Hopefully we can keep her in the habit when she’s conscious." He winked at his granddaughter. "Why don’t you go upstairs to check on her, and we’ll see if we can’t hunt down Reverend Nelson."

Anna Leigh nodded. "You look like you could use a little nap yourself, honey. Get some rest, and we’ll call you down for an early dinner, alright?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’m beat, even though it’s only," she looked at her watch in amazement. "Two o’clock? Good grief!" Amanda embraced both of her grandparents and planted kisses on their cheeks. "I’ll see you both in a little bit, okay?" she turned and practically raced out of the room.

"She reminds me so much of you at that age, my love." Jacob chuckled in his wife’s ear. "Never walking anywhere, always in a hurry." He ran his hands along her side in a teasing manner. "It has been a busy day…maybe we should take our own advice and get a little nap in ourselves?"

"Hmm…" Anna Leigh took her husband’s hand and led him from the office. "That’s the best offer I’ve had all day, Handsome." She pulled him up the stairs and into their bedroom, closing the door behind them quietly.

Amanda shut the bedroom door and tiptoed across the room silently. She studied the still form on the bed as she pulled on a tee shirt and a pair of shorts. Lex had rolled over on her left side, draping her injured arm across Amanda’s pillow. Quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping woman, Amanda slipped under the covers and gently raised Lex’s arm, slowly rolling her over to her back.

"Amanda…" Lex sighed. "Love you…" she murmured in her sleep.

"I love you too, sweetheart." Amanda snuggled up next to the rancher and kissed her softly on the jaw. "Sleep well, my love. We’ll get all of this mess figured out soon, I promise." She closed her eyes and joined her lover in slumber.

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