Chapter 11. Lex opened her eyes and saw Lester¹s concerned face hovering above her

Lex opened her eyes and saw Lester¹s concerned face hovering above her. "What happened?" she murmured, "Why am I on the floor?"

"Good lord, Miz Lex! Are you okay? You done scared ten years off of me!" The old cook ran trembling hands down the reclining woman¹s arms. "You didn¹t have a relapse or something, did you?"

"NoŠI don¹t think so." Lex slowly raised up to a sitting position to lean against the wall. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Did I hear you right? My grandfather is alive?"

Lester slowly climbed to his feet. "That¹s right. At least he was about a month ago when I got his last letter." The old man hobbled over to the radio that was sitting on the counter. "I¹m getting too damn old for all this excitement," he grumbled. He picked up the freestanding microphone and hit the transmit key, signaling the radio at the ranch house. "Excuse me a minute, Boss. I gotta buzz the main house before Ronnie gets there."

The rancher slowly rose from her position under the window and sat down at the kitchen table. "Why is Ronnie going up to theŠ" Understanding dawned in her blue eyes. "Oh, hell." Amanda and Martha will come unglued when he gets there, she worried.

"He took off before I could stop him, Miz Lex. The little guy just happened to walk into the kitchen the same time that you hit the floor." He put the microphone to his lips. "Main house, this is Lester. Do you read me?" He released the key and waited.

"Why the radio? Is there something wrong with the phone?" Lex asked as they waited for a response from the house.

"I was going to tell you about it this evening, Boss. It was out yesterday morning when I got up." Lester gave the rancher a shrug of his shoulders.

A clear voice from the radio interrupted him. "I read you loud and clear, Lester. This is Amanda. Is something wrong?" She had been carrying the handheld radio around in her sweater pocket in case Lex called.

The old man looked over at Lex with a worried look. The dark-haired woman had her arm propped up on the table and rested her forehead on her open hand. "Everything is okay, Miss. But Ronnie is going to show up there any minute now, all excited and upset. Just tell him that you talked to me and that everything is all right."

"Why is Ronnie on his way up here? What¹s going on?" Amanda¹s voice had a slightly panicked tone to it.

"Lester, this is Martha." The housekeeper overheard the conversation and had taken the radio away from the distraught young woman. "Is Lexie there with you?"

Lex looked up and saw that Lester was becoming increasingly frustrated. She stood up and gently took the radio microphone away from him. "Martha? Calm down. Everything is just fine." She leaned back against the kitchen counter and closed her eyes. "I had a little shock a bit ago, and kinda passed out for a minute. But I¹m okay now, so justŠ"

"You passed out? Oh, Lexie! Maybe we shouldŠ" Martha was interrupted when Amanda suddenly seized the radio.

"Lex? My god, are you okay?" Amanda¹s voice trembled. "What happened?" She didn¹t wait for an answer. "That does it. I knew you were going to overdo it. Just stay right thereŠI'll get the truck and pick you up in a couple of minutes."

"Wait!" Lex nodded thankfully at Lester when he brought her a chair to sit on. "Sweetheart, I¹m fine, really. I just had more of a shock than I was able to handle, that¹s all."

Amanda took a deep breath and sat down at the kitchen table. "What kind of shock?" She heard a frantic beating on the front door. "I think Ronnie¹s here, honey." The young woman watched as Martha nodded and left the room. "NowŠ you were going to tell me what kind of shock would make you pass out?"

The rancher chuckled. "YeahŠit does sound sorta strange, doesn¹t it?" She felt calmer since she could hear Amanda¹s voice. Now isn¹t that pitiful? "Lester just told me that my grandfather is alive, and I guess it kind of threw me for a loop." Major understatement, Lexington old girl. More like knocked you senseless.

"Oh, honeyŠthat¹s wonderful news! What else did he say?" Amanda felt a large weight lift off of her shoulders as she realized that Lex was okay.

"I don¹t know. That¹s when I passed out," Lex ruefully admitted. "But we¹re about to make our way back to the house. Hopefully we can get Lester to tell us a little bit more about all of this."

Amanda smiled and waved to the teenage boy that Martha escorted into the kitchen. "Sounds great, love. I¹ll be looking for you." She rose and walked over to the window as if she could see where Lex was calling from. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. We¹ll be there in a few minutes, okay?" Lex looked at the old cook, daring him to say something about her use of endearments. She sat down the microphone and laughed. "Ronnie made it there in record time. Maybe we should see if he wants to join the school track team."

Lester grabbed his coat from a nearby hook and pulled it on. "Maybe so. Lord knows that boy has been a godsend for me. He never complains and is always looking for something to do." He went over to a nearby closet and grabbed a metal box and tucked it under his arm. This should help her understand where Travis and Melanie were coming from a little better. Hopefully she won¹t hold their absence against them.

Lex led the old man out of the bunkhouse and closed the door behind them. "Is that so? I¹m really glad, Lester. He¹s had a rough life, that¹s for sure." She climbed into the jeep and waited for him to do the same. "What¹s in the box?"

"Something I think you¹ll be rather interested in, Miz Lex. I¹m just sorry I didn¹t show you this before now." Lester looked at the young woman sadly. "I just always assumed that you knew about your grandparents but didn¹t want to have anything to do with them."

"Don¹t worry about it." Lex flinched as the jeep hit a particularly rough spot in the road. "Remind me to get some new shocks put on this old thing, would you? This damn road¹s going to beat me to death." They rode the rest of the way to the main house in silence; both caught up in their own thoughts.

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

Lex pulled the jeep up to the front of the house. She watched as Lester slowly pulled himself out of the vehicle and stretched. "You okay, Lester?" She walked around the rear of the jeep and met the old man as they started up the steps to the house.

"Just fine, Boss. I reckon this cold weather is just messing around with my old bones. I betcha anything that we¹re in for a nasty storm soon." Lester limped up the steps next to the tall woman. "You sure you¹re feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I¹m fine. Just a little sore." Lex opened the door with a grimace. A little sore? GeezŠ I ache all over. Wonder if I could talk Amanda into a massage tonight? She smiled to herself as she stepped into the hallway with Lester behind her. Oh, yeahŠ

The cook patted Lex gently on the back and stepped around her. "I¹m gonna go hunt down Ronnie and make sure he¹s okay." He limped down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Lex!" Amanda rushed from the sitting room and wrapped her arms around the startled rancher. "Are you alright?" She pulled back slightly to study the older woman¹s face. "You look a little pale."

The rancher gently grasped the small hand that was checking her forehead. "I¹m just fine, love." She put her sore arm around Amanda¹s waist and began walking down the hall again. "Did you two get everything done while I was gone?"

Amanda sighed and allowed Lex to lead her to the kitchen. "Yes, we did. And we heard from Gramma, too. They should be here in a couple of hours with Jeanne and Frank." Don¹t try and change the subject with me, Lexington MarieŠI¹ll find out sooner or later, she thought to herself.

"Great." Lex inhaled deeply at the kitchen doorway. "MmmmŠit smells great in here!" she complimented Martha who was handing Ronnie a stack of plates. "Looks like you¹ve drafted some more help, Martha." She waved at the young man as he made his way into the next room. "Hi there, Ronnie."

"Hi, Ms. Walters. You doing okay?" Ronnie asked as he started to carry the plates into the next room.

The tall woman gave him a gentle smile. "Yep. Just great. Thanks for asking."

The housekeeper looked up and smiled warmly at the couple standing in the doorway. "I¹m glad you¹re doing alright, honey. But you look completely worn out. Why don¹t you go upstairs and lie down for a little while?"

Lex was about to argue when she felt the arm around her squeeze slightly. "Sounds like a good idea. Guess I¹ll see you all in a bit." She looked down at Amanda and winked. "Wanna help me up the stairs?"

"Of course. I¹d hate for you to strain yourself." Amanda grinned at Martha and escorted the rancher from the room.

Lester and Martha both smiled as the couple left. The housekeeper sat down at the table across from the old cook. "Okay. It¹s just you and me now. Tell me what happened."

"Not a whole lot to tell. Miz Lex asked me about her granddaddy, and I said that he was still around. Next thing I knew, she turned white as a sheet and hit the floor like a rock. Scared me half to death. The old man sighed. "Ronnie walked in about that time and took off like his tail was on fire."

Martha shook her head and sighed. "My poor Lexie. This has all been such a terrible shock for her."

Ronnie came back into the kitchen and stood next to the table. "I set the table, ma¹am. Is there something else that I can do for you?"

"No, honey. I think you¹ve taken care of everything. Why don¹t you go into the den and watch a movie?" Martha smiled at the earnest young man. "I know that Lexie wouldn¹t mind."

"Okay, Ms. RollinsŠbut you come and get me if you need anything done, okay?" Ronnie took off out of the kitchen with a large grin.

Lester chuckled. "That boy never walks anywhere." He sobered and looked at the housekeeper. "I had no idea that the boss didn¹t know about her grandparents. I just assumed that her old man poisoned her mind against them like he did Hubert¹s."

"What do you mean? And, forgive me for asking, but how do you know them so well?" Martha refilled both of their coffee mugs from the carafe that was sitting by her hand.

"Oh, yeah. I reckon we don¹t run in the same social circles, do we?" The old cook scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, it¹s kinda a long story, but if you¹re interestedŠ" At Martha¹s encouraging nod he continued." Me and Travis grew up together ¯ we¹ve been good friends for close to sixty years now. He went on to college and made a name for himself in oil, where I went and just worked in the oil fields." Lester winked slyly at the smiling housekeeper. "I wanted to make quick cash to spend on the ladies, and Travis decided to go the safer route and build his money slowly."

Martha laughed. "That sounds about right. So you two have kept in touch for all these years?"

The older man nodded. "Yep. When he found out that the ranch needed a cook right after little Victoria got married, he asked me if I would take the job. It made him feel better knowing that there would be someone here to kinda look out for her." Lester tried to unobtrusively wipe a tear from his eye. "When she passed away, he and Melanie tried to get custody of the children ¯ especially young Lexington and Louis. But their daddy fought back, and used Hubert¹s nasty temperament against them. He and the boy told them that none of them wanted anything to do with their grandparents and to leave them be."

"That¹s horrible." Martha shook her head sadly. "But why didn¹t they try to reach Lexie once her daddy left? Surely they thought she¹d at least see them."

"Well, they did. Sorta." Lester fiddled with the box that he had laid on the table. "They actually called out here not long after Rawson took off, but Hubert was still living here at the time."

Martha¹s eyes widened. "Oh, no."

Lester nodded as he moved his coffee mug back and forth, leaving a small ring of condensation on the table. "Yep. Hubert told Melanie that they had no use for either her or Travis, and to never bother them again. She was really broken up about it." He trailed his fingertip through the water, leaving a small squiggle design behind. "So me and Travis exchange letters about once a month, and I keep him up to date on the things around here and how young Lex is doing. He was really upset after her accident last week. Told me to call him immediately if she got put in the hospital, and he¹d be right down." He looked up sadly. "I¹m just so damn sorry that I didn¹t tell the Boss about them sooner ¯ I shoulda know it was all Hubert¹s doing."

"That¹s horribleŠgoing through life thinking that your grandchildren want nothing to do with you. And dear Mrs. Edwards passing away before knowing any different. It¹s so tragic." The housekeeper brushed a sympathetic tear from her own cheek. "You say that Mr. Edwards is still interested in Lexie?" When the old cook nodded, she smiled as a plan began to form in her head. "And you know how to get in touch with him?"

Lester chuckled. "Yep. He¹s living just north of Dallas right now." He patted the box on the table. "I figured that she might be a little uncomfortable calling Travis on the phone, so I thought I¹d give her something that she could use to get to know him first."

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

Upstairs a couple of hours later, Amanda woke up to find the tall woman wrapped snugly around her. Lex normally would sleep on her back and pull the blonde close to her, but today she had a deathgrip on the young blonde. She was a lot more upset than she wanted anyone to know, Amanda thought to herself as she gently played with the long dark hair that was splayed across her body. The older woman¹s head was pillowed on her stomach and her long arms were wrapped tightly around Amanda¹s body. A quiet knock at the door caused Amanda to look up.

Martha had stood outside the door for several moments as she debated with herself on whether or not to wake the women inside. She knew that the rancher needed the rest but Amanda¹s family had just arrived, and she thought that the younger woman would want to come downstairs to visit. The housekeeper knocked lightly on the door before opening it slowly. "Hi there honey," she whispered to Amanda, who waved her into the room.

"Hi, Martha. Guess we were both kinda tired." Amanda was thankful that they were too tired to have done anything earlier and was both sporting their usual choice of sleepwear. Lex had on a dark gray tee shirt and black Garfield boxer shorts and Amanda was wearing a deep blue tee shirt that also belonged to Lex. She looked at the alarm clock and gasped. "Oh, no! I¹m so sorry! I was supposed to help you with the dinner preparations. Why didn¹t you wake me sooner?" She was about to climb out of bed when the housekeeper waved her hand.

"No need, sweetheart. Lester is still pretty handy in the kitchen, and we got everything taken care of. Besides," she winked, "Someone had to take care of Lexie, right?" She almost burst into laughter when the dark-haired woman squeezed Amanda tighter and mumbled in her sleep. "I wouldn¹t have disturbed you now, but your family is downstairs. I thought you might want to visit with your sister for a bit."

Amanda nodded. "I do, thanks. Let me just wake Lex up and we¹ll be downstairs in a few minutes, okay?"

Martha smiled as she walked back to the door. "Sure thing, dear. I¹ll let everyone know that you¹re on your way." She closed the door behind her.

The young woman directed her attention back to the sleeping form holding her tight. I really hate to disturb her when she¹s sleeping this wellŠmaybe I can sneak out and let her rest for a little while longer. Amanda began to scoot sideways slightly but the rancher kept her iron grip.

"MmmŠnoŠ" Lex mumbled. Her breath tickled Amanda¹s exposed stomach where her shirt had ridden up and caused the blonde to giggle slightly.

"Oh, godŠ" Amanda tried to keep from waking her lover. A light kiss near her belly button let her know that she was unsuccessful. "Lex?" She giggled again as the dark-haired woman raised her shirt higher and nibbled a path up from her stomach.

Blue eyes sparkled with love at the young blonde. "Hi there." Lex¹s voice was deep and slightly scratchy with sleep. "You planning on going somewhere?"

Amanda sighed as she ran her fingers through the tangled dark hair. "Unfortunately, yes. My family arrived a little while ago, and I thought I¹d go downstairs to visit." She looked at the clock on the bedside table. "We¹ve been up here for almost three hours, honey."

"Wanna go for four?" Lex teased as she raised up slightly to give Amanda a kiss. "Who says we have to be sociable, anyway?" she asked after she pulled back.

"You don¹t know how tempting that offer is." Amanda bent down and gave the rancher another, much longer kiss. "ButŠ" she sighed. "Martha has already been up here once, and I really don¹t want to give her any ammunition for teasing." The housekeeper¹s favorite pastime was causing Amanda to blush, and the young woman really didn¹t want to give her entire family hours of fun, either.

Lex rolled over and chuckled. "Probably a good idea. Although, if Charlie does what I think he¹s gonna do, we¹re going to have the upper hand today." She sat up and stretched her arms over her head. "Ugh!"

The smaller woman quickly snuck under Lex¹s arms and squeezed the rancher tightly. "MmmŠ" She kissed the tan throat under her lips. "What is Charlie going to do?" She smiled as she felt warm hands travel up the inside of her shirt.

"Well, heŠaaahŠ" Lex squirmed as Amanda reciprocated. Teasing fingers found her sensitive spots by memory. "Amanda! Damn, woman! That tickles!" Lex quickly rolled so that she could pin the blonde to the bed. "Do you really want to play this game right now?" The rancher whispered as she leaned over Amanda. She held the younger woman¹s arms above her head with her left hand. "Because I know a few spots that could make you squeal." Lex leaned down further and nibbled on an accessible earlobe.

"LexŠ" Amanda pleaded, "PleaseŠmy family is downstairs." She remembered the last time they got into a tickle fight. Martha had heard her scream and burst into the room wielding her broom, much to the rancher¹s delight. "You wouldn¹tŠ" Her eyes widened as the older woman got a diabolical grin on her face. "UmmŠplease?" she begged sincerely.

The blue eyes softened as Lex released her hold. "I shouldn¹t let you get away with this, but I will." The rancher climbed off of Amanda and chuckled. "This time." She pulled the younger woman into her arms and hugged her. "C¹mon, before your sister comes up here looking for you."

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

The dinner was certainly a rousing success, Martha noted happily as she looked around the table at the empty plates. The housekeeper was sitting between Frank and Charlie, and she exchanged an amused glance with Anna Leigh who was directly across from her. Lex was sitting at the head of the table with Amanda and Jeannie on either side of her. She was trying to follow the conversation between the two sisters over who Œdestroyed¹ whose doll years ago.

"Are you denying that you completely hacked off her hair?" Jeannie asked her sister. "She looked like a blasted GI Joe when you got through with her!"

Amanda waved her fork at the auburn-haired woman. "It wasn¹t that bad. Besides, it was the only way I could get the gum out." She took another bite of the pumpkin pie that Anna Leigh had brought. "It didn¹t hurt her any. Not like what you did with my Jane and Johnny West dolls that Uncle Morris bought me at that garage sale." The ten-inch dolls were dressed with molded on turquoise western clothes. Amanda loved them and played with the already worn dolls for hours, much to her mother¹s distaste.

Jeannie grinned at Lex who was watching them both with an amused look. "Oh, I dunno. Seems to me that it was rather prophetic, don¹t you think?"

"What do you mean by that? You ripped their heads off and switched them, then glued them so I couldn¹t change them back! Johnny West was the first action-figure cross-dresser in California!" Amanda noticed where her sister¹s attention was directed. "WhyŠ" She looked at the rancher and began to giggle.

Lex looked at Jacob. The older man shrugged his shoulders and watched as his granddaughters both began to laugh hysterically. "I have no idea, Lex." Just as the two women would get their mirth under control, one or both of them would glance back up at the dark-haired woman and start all over again.

"How does she look in turquoise, Mandy?" Jeannie gasped out between giggles.

This caused Amanda to break out in laughter all over again. "LexŠturquoiseŠ" She began, then chortled hysterically once again.

"Okay childrenŠ" Lex sighed and looked at the other people at the table. "Does anyone know what is wrong with these two?" She watched as her partner reached out with one hand and grasped her arm. "What?"

"SorryŠ" Amanda rubbed the rancher¹s arm gently. "It¹s just thatŠ" she began to giggle again.

Anna Leigh smiled at Lex¹s raised eyebrow. "Let me see if I can shed some light on the subject while Amanda and Jeannie clear the table." She gave each woman a look that caused them both to stand, still giggling, and carry plates into the kitchen. "When Mandy was about, ohŠeight I guess, her mother¹s brother Morris had taken the girls for a drive while Elizabeth had some silly tea party or something." The look on her face told what she thought about that. "Anyway, they happened upon an estate sale, and Morris decided to stop and let the girls look around. Jeannie found this beautiful wind up merry-go-round, and asked Morris if she could have it. Of course he said yes ¯ that man just loved the girlsŠ" She sighed. "Sorry. So he told Mandy to pick something out too. She found these old dolls, similar to Barbie dolls. They had these blue bodies that were supposed to be denim, and were dressed western style."

Lex suddenly realized where this was all going. "And Jeannie switched the heads on the boy and girl dolls?"

"Oh, yes! It was quite funny! But Elizabeth noticed little Mandy playing with a woman doll that had the body of a man, and I believe she threw it away. She was already upset because the toys were Œused¹ ¯ much less not in perfect working order."

"That¹s a shame. It sounds like Amanda really enjoyed them." Lex felt a pang of regret for not knowing her friend then. I would have found her more dolls, if that¹s what she wanted, she determined. HmmŠI wonderŠ "I don¹t mean to upset you, but why do you look so sad when you talk about Morris? He sounds like a great guy."

Jacob patted his wife¹s hand and addressed the rancher. "Morris has been disowned by the Kingston family, including his only sister Elizabeth."

The rancher shook her head. "Why? Is he a mass-murderer or something?" She was slightly confused by the sad looks on the older couple¹s face.

Frank, who had been listening to the entire conversation, finally spoke up. "Worse. At least in their eyes. He¹s gay," he uttered quietly. "He brought hisŠummŠsignificant other to Mandy¹s graduation. There was a nasty fight and he was kicked out of the family." He looked up at Lex with a pained expression. "Mandy was devastated. As far as I know, she hasn¹t heard from him since. No one has, I guess."

"That¹s not entirely true, Frank." Anna Leigh spoke up with a proud smile. "We hear from him every now and then ¯ I think he¹s somewhat adopted Jacob and I. He andŠ" she looked at Jacob.

"Kevin, isn¹t it?" her husband offered.

Anna Leigh nodded. "Right. Thank you, darling. KevinŠsends us cards on all the major holidays. We¹ve been trying for years to get them to come down and visit." She gave Lex a serious look. "Maybe if he realizes that he¹d be welcomed, we could get them both here for Christmas."

Lex grinned. "Sounds great." She heard the sisters, still laughing, make their way back from the kitchen. "Let¹s just keep it a secret though, okay?" Nods from around the table answered her.

"Hi, Slim." Jeannie walked into the room and wrapped an arm around the rancher¹s shoulders. "Sorry to be such a ninny." She placed a kiss on the stunned woman¹s cheek before she grabbed a few more dishes from the table. "But knowing how fond of that damn doll Mandy wasŠ"

Amanda stepped in behind her sister and dropped into her startled lover¹s lap. "She¹s right. I loved that doll." She dropped a quick kiss on Lex¹s nose. "But I¹ve got the real thing, now."

Lester, who was at the other end of the table laughed and slapped Charlie on the arm. "Ain¹t that a hoot? Little Lex being a doll?"

The sheriff chuckled and nodded. "You got that right." He reached under the table and clasped Martha¹s hand. "She really is though, isn¹t she?"

"Darn right!" Martha squeezed his hand and smiled. She started to get up but was halted by the rancher¹s raised hand.

"Don¹t even think about it. We¹ll take care of the cleanup." She raised an eyebrow at Amanda and the young woman climbed off of her lap.

Ronnie jumped up, glad to have something to do. "I¹ll help!" he offered.

Martha looked across the table and smiled at Anna Leigh. "I guess this means the rest of us can go relax in the den." She began to stand but was startled when Charlie solicitously pulled her chair back for her. "Thank you, honey."

"Anytime, sweetheart." The sheriff nervously reached into the right pocket of his pants. The ring is still thereŠnow I just gotta figure out the best time toŠ

"Charlie? Are you okay?" Martha was concerned by the faraway look in the lawman¹s eyes. "You look a little distracted."

Charlie snapped back to the present. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I¹m great." He gave the worried woman a smile. "Why don¹t we get out of the way so the kids can clean up?"

Frank stood up and grabbed the near-empty turkey platter. "That¹s a great idea. It won¹t take us any time at all, and then we¹ll join you."

Lex smiled at the housekeeper. "You¹re outnumbered, Martha. Go relax for a change, and let us take care of everything."

"You go with them, honey. There¹s plenty of us to handle the dishes and such." Amanda rubbed Lex¹s back with one hand. "No sense in you overdoing it." When she saw the rancher¹s mouth open to argue, the blonde covered her mouth with her hand. "Please? For me?" she added in a soft whisper.

Blue eyes softened and crinkled into a smile. When the small hand was pulled away Lex grinned. "For you." She winked and followed Anna Leigh and Jacob from the room.

Amanda watched as Lex left. "That was way too easy," she murmured.

"You think she¹s up to something?" Jeannie asked from behind her. "She did give in pretty quickly." The older woman swatted her sister on the rear. "C¹monŠlet¹s get everything cleaned up so we can find out what Slim has up her sleeve."

"Hey!" Amanda squealed. She turned around and chased her sister back through the mudroom.

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