Chapter 13

"Morning, MarthaŠCharlie." Lex breezed in to the kitchen with a large smile. She kissed the housekeeper on the head and squeezed the sheriff¹s shoulder before joining them both at the kitchen table. Sometime during the early morning someone had slipped in the extra leaf to the table, which allowed six chairs to circle the oblong wooden structure. "Isn¹t it a beautiful morning?"

Charlie looked quizzically at his fiancee¹ and they both turned slightly to look outside. The heavy clouds darkened the morning sky, and driving sleet still beat heavily against the windows. "UhŠwell." The lawman scratched his chin. "I suppose it¹s a beautiful day somewhere," he teased.

Lex followed their gaze and grinned ruefully. "HehŠoops. I didn¹t even notice the weather." She was about to say more when Amanda stepped into the room. Anna Leigh and Jacob flanked the blonde, and all three were laughing.

"You should have seen the look on Frank¹s face. It was priceless. Of course, mine probably looked just as shockedŠ.Oh! Good morning, everyone!" She cheerfully greeted as she walked over and sat in the rancher¹s lap, leaving more than enough room for her grandparents at the table.

Anna Leigh sat down next to Lex and patted her on the arm. "How are you feeling this morning, dear?"

"Pretty darn good, thanks for asking." The dark-haired woman poured three more cups of coffee while Martha walked over to the stove. "Care for some coffee?"

"Thank you, Lexington." Anna Leigh accepted the offering gratefully. "What are your plans for today?"

The rancher looked down at her coffee mug, then back up to the faces around the table. "Well, I¹ve got to take a quick run to the barn and check out the horses. After that, my day is pretty much free."

"Do you need any help? I¹m sure there¹s more than enough of us around here to give you a hand." Jacob offered. "No sense in you having to do all the work alone."

Amanda nodded. "Grandpa¹s right, honey. A couple of us could go with you and it wouldn¹t take very long at all." Another blast of cold wind caused the kitchen windows to rattle. "Whoa." She shivered involuntarily.

Lex squeezed the younger woman¹s waist. "I really appreciate the offer but there¹s no reason for anyone else to be out in that weather." When Amanda began to argue, Lex covered her mouth with a gentle hand. "Shhh. I¹m the only one who has the proper clothing to be out in that mess and you know it, sweetheart."

"I guess." Amanda sighed. "But it doesn¹t mean I have to like it." She looked up to see the rest of the table smiling at her. "What?"

Jacob chuckled. "I¹m sorry about that, Peanut. But you just look so darn cute when you pout like that." He exchanged knowing smiles with the rancher. "Okay, LexŠyou win this one. How long will it take you?"

"Probably less than fifteen minutes, I¹d guess. I should be back before breakfast is ready. Why?" Lex looked over at Anna Leigh who had a devious grin on her face.

The older woman rubbed her hands together and laughed. "I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of Mandy¹s childhood, so I brought several picture albums with us." She saw the horrified look on her granddaughter¹s face. "Don¹t worry, honey. I didn¹t bring any nudes."

"Gramma!" Amanda huffed, as Lex laughed. "I would hope not!" She slapped her lover¹s shoulder. "Hush!"

"I¹m sorry, sweetheart." Lex continued to laugh. "But I had my heart set on some cheesecake pictures!" She had to wipe tears of mirth from her eyes. "Maybe on a bearskin rug, or something?"

Anna Leigh considered for a moment. "HmmŠnot with this particular set of albums, I don¹t think." She took pity on the blushing woman and sighed. "No, I¹m afraid not, Lexington. But I¹ll see what I can dig up for Christmas."

Amanda buried her face in Lex¹s shoulder. "Oh, god. Just kill me now."

Lex rubbed her back comfortingly. "It¹s okay, love. I¹m sure Martha has already shown you all of my embarrassing photos." She felt the younger woman chuckle. "I¹ll take that as a yes."

Martha spoke up from her position on the other side of the room. "Well, of course I did. We had to have something to do when you were out gallivanting around the ranch." She poured batter on the griddle that covered half the oven. "I hope everyone likes pancakes. I thought it would be the easiest thing to fix."

"Sounds great, Martha. How about I help you out over there?" Jacob stood up and walked over to the stove. "I can flip the pancakes while you handle the bacon and sausage."

"Thank you, Jacob. I¹d appreciate that." Martha moved over and allowed the tall man access to the griddle.

Charlie looked at the two people working at the stove, then back to Anna Leigh. "He cooks?"

"Goodness, yes!" Anna Leigh exclaimed. "Jacob was actually accepted to a culinary school overseas. He¹s just so fond of carpentry, he only cooks for fun."

"And I can tell you from experience, the man is a wizard in the kitchen!" Lex exclaimed to the astonished lawman.

The housekeeper snorted from the stove, trying to contain her laughter. "Oh, honey. Nothing against Jacob hereŠbut to you anyone that can boil water is a master chef." She shared a smile with the tall man at the stove. "The poor girl never could find her way around in a kitchen," she shared conspiratorially.

"Gee, thanks." Lex helped the blonde off of her lap. "I think I¹ll escape to the barn before she starts in with the embarrassing stories." She continued to hold Amanda¹s hand as she walked towards the doorway. "Wanna help me find my hat?"

Amanda grinned. "Sure." She waved at the rest of the room before they left. "Be back in a second, everyone." She followed the rancher to the back door, where the heavy duster hung next to the battered black hat. As Lex pulled on the dark coat, Amanda reached over to button up the front. "Are you sure you don¹t want my help? It won¹t take me but a minute to change."

Lex smiled down at the small hands that worked the buttons on the heavy material. "No, sweetheart. Stay inside and visit with your family. I¹ll only be gone for a few minutes. You won¹t even miss me."

"Wanna bet?" Amanda lifted the hat from its hook and placed it on her companion¹s head. "I miss you when I close my eyes and can¹t see you." She felt a gentle touch on her face and looked up. "But then I just think of you, and can see you in my mindŠand everything¹s okay again."

"That¹s beautiful, love." Lex leaned down and covered Amanda¹s lips tenderly with her own. She continued to kiss the younger woman for several moments until they both had to break away breathlessly. "Wow."

The blonde leaned her head against the rancher¹s chest. "Yeah. Wow." She squeezed Lex close and sighed. "God, LexŠI love you so much."

Lex buried her face in the blonde hair and breathed in deeply. "I love you too." She pulled back and straightened her hat on her head. "NowŠgo visit. I¹ll be back in a flash." She reached into a pocket to pull out a pair of thick leather work gloves and slip them on her hands.

"All right. Be careful, Lex. That weather sounds awful." Amanda stepped away from the rancher regretfully. "I¹ll keep your chair warm for you."

"Sounds great, sweetheart." Lex opened the back door and gasped as a blast of cold air nearly took her breath away. "Damn!" She looked back at her lover, who wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep warm. "Make that ten minutesŠit¹s too damn cold out there to goof off!" She winked and hurried out, closing the door quickly behind her.

Amanda moved towards the door to look out through the glass panes. She watched with a small smile as the tall form jogged towards the barn, holding the hat in place with one hand. "Hurry back, Lex. I miss you already," she murmured to the retreating figure.

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

Lex allowed the barn door to slam heavily behind her as she made her way into the darkened barn. It¹s too warm in here, she worried. Somebody left the thermostat on too high when they were in here last. Wait a minuteŠI was the last one in here, I think. The rancher pulled her hat from her head and shook the excess water from it. She moved towards the wall where the device was. Before she could reach for it, the lights came on and partially blinded her. "WhatŠ?"

"Leave it alone," a deep voice commanded from behind her, near the door.

The tall woman spun around quickly. "Who the hellŠ"

A man stood by the closed door holding a pitchfork pointed towards Lex. "Ain¹t this my lucky day?" He laughed. "I was trying to figure out how to get to you, and you came to me instead."

"Do I know you?" Lex began to step forward cautiously. "WaitŠyou¹reŠ" She stopped when the man jabbed at her with the pointed tool.

"Stay back." He relaxed a bit when the tall woman put her hat back on her head and held her hands out from her sides. "That¹s better. Now back up a little, closer to the wall."

Lex did as he asked. "Okay. Just take it easy." She leaned up against the wall and took a steadying breath and tried to think. Stall, LexingtonŠ

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

Amanda was on her way back to the kitchen when she saw Jeannie and Frank walk down the stairs. "It¹s about time you two got down here," she teased as she grabbed each one by the arm and dragged the two of them into the kitchen. "Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence."

"Good morning kids." Anna Leigh stepped over to the cabinet and refilled the carafe from the fresh pot of coffee that had just finished brewing. "Have a seat. Martha and Jacob are about to please our palates with a combined effort."

Frank sat down next to Charlie and shook his head. "What did she say?" he grumbled as Amanda sat a cup of coffee down in front of him. The big man rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"She said thatŠ" Charlie started, but was interrupted when the phone rang.

"I¹ll get it." Amanda raced over and grabbed the phone. "Walters¹ residence, Amanda speaking." She listened for a moment, then turned solemn. "OkayŠsure. Hold on just a minute, please." She waved the receiver at the still seated sheriff. "Charlie? It¹s for you."

The lawman stood up and walked over to where the young woman was standing. "Thank you, honey." He took the phone and leaned up against the cabinet. "This is Sheriff Bristol."

Everyone in the room quieted as the sheriff took the call. Martha noticed the grip Charlie held on the phone as his knuckles turned white. "Charlie?"

"You what?" Charlie ground out between gritted teeth. He didn¹t even flinch when Martha stepped over to him and began to rub his arm. "How could you lose track of him?" His entire body began to tremble slightly from the strain of controlling his temper. "Dammit, Jeremy! Just how incompetent are you? I thought you had him under surveillance."

Martha was beginning to worry about her intended¹s health. The lawman was a very unhealthy shade of red, and she had never heard him utter a curse word in all the years that she¹d known him. "CharlieŠhoney. Please calm down. You¹re scaring me." She saw as his eyes slowly tracked to hers, and noticed a look of dread on his face. "What?"

Charlie placed a fingertip gently on the housekeeper¹s lips to silence her. "All right. I want you to get every available man on this right now. Send a couple out here to the ranch. I want that son of a bitch found yesterday, you got that?" He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. "I¹ll be expecting your full report on my desk by the time I get back to town." The sheriff slowly placed the phone back on its handset and faced the rest of the room. "I¹ve got some good news and some bad news, folks."

Amanda looked down at her trembling hands. Why are my hands shaking? She waited until Martha guided the lawman over to the table and sat down next to them. "What¹s wrong, Charlie?"

"I now know who was behind Lex¹s accident last week." Charlie scrubbed his hands over his face. "He just recently got out on bail, but I had my best deputy on him every second of every day. And I didn¹t think he¹d be stupid enough to try anything, soŠ"

"Who?" Martha asked, rubbing her hand across the weary man¹s shoulders. "Out on bail?" She paled. "You meanŠ?"

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

"Matt Sterling?" Lex shook her head with a disgusted sigh. "So, someone actually posted your bond?" She reached to unbutton her coat. Damn, it¹s hot in here. He must have cranked the blasted thermostat up to eighty degrees.

The man limped forward slightly. "Hold it!" He jabbed his makeshift weapon at the rancher again. "What do you think you¹re doing?"

Lex sighed. "I¹m unbuttoning my coat since it feels like the damn tropics in here." She raised an eyebrow at him in question. Forget it, asshole. I¹m not afraid. I¹ve had tougher steaks than you.

"Go aheadŠslowly." Matt watched as Lex slowly opened her coat. "Might as well take it off, you¹re not going anywhere for a while." He considered for a moment. "At least until I can figure out what I want to do with you."

"Okay." Lex removed the coat and dropped it carefully to the ground. She backed up to the wall again and gestured to the thermostat. "Mind if I turn that thing down? You¹re gonna make my horses sick if they get too warm." She waited until he nodded before she adjusted the temperature. "Thanks."

Matt leaned back against the door and shrugged. "Yeah. I was getting kinda hot, myself." He thought about her earlier question. "For your information, Miss High and Mighty rancher, I¹m an important guy. My new boss paid my bail and even found me a place to stay."

The rancher nodded. Keep him talking, and maybe I can get him relaxed enough to get that pitchfork away from him. "Really? And just who is your boss?"

"Oh, yeah! Like I¹m stupid enough to tell you!" He waved the tool in her direction again. "But then again, who are you going to tell?" he laughed. "SoŠhow are you feeling after your little jump from that drop-off? I loved the sound your head made when I whacked you with that log, you know."

"It was you?" DamnŠhe¹s a head case! Gotta keep him talking. Lex nodded. "Why did you do it?" She unconsciously reached behind her head and felt the healed wound. It took her a lot of convincing to get Amanda to remove her stitches last night. But it was fun paying the doctor bill, she mused. "How¹s the leg?" Lex noticed that he was still limping. She knew it was probably dangerous, but she wanted to keep Matt¹s attention on her, and not on the fact that there were a houseful of people nearby. Especially the local sheriff.

He leaned a little heavier on the door. "Like you care! It¹s your damn fault that stupid deputy shot me!"

The rancher shook her head. "OhŠso I forced you to break into my house? You¹re lucky that I wasn¹t the one who shot you." What a dipshitŠI do believe that Ronnie got ALL the brains in the family.

"Shut up!" Matt jumped away from the door and stalked menacingly towards Lex with the pitchfork. "Just shut up!" he screamed as he came at her.

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

Charlie nodded wearily. "Yeah. He's that worthless piece of trash that broke in here just a little over a month ago. He¹s out now, and we can¹t find the sorryŠ" He looked at Amanda, who had gotten very quiet. "Sweetheart, we¹ll find him. He¹s probably hiding in a cheap motel room somewhere by now."

"Who posted his bond?" Jacob asked. "He may still be with that person."

"We thought of that. Unfortunately, the bond was paid for in cash, and the person had used an assumed name." And poor Naomi is ten years past retirement nowŠit¹s going to take a while to get a good description of whoever actually paid the bond.. Charlie stood up quickly. "I need to get back to town and head up the search." He gave Martha an apologetic smile. "I¹m sorry, sweetheart."

Martha enveloped the thin man in a strong hug. "Don¹t you dare be apologizing for doing your job." She exhaled heavily. "We¹ll get through this, honey. We always have."

Anna Leigh and her husband exchanged worried glances. Jacob turned off the griddle and stove, then stepped over the where his wife was sitting. Wordlessly she stood and he took her place in the chair. The gentle man wrapped his arms around Anna Leigh as she perched on his lap and they held each other as they continued to watch the drama unfold in front of them.

"I hate to sound paranoid, but what if he¹s somewhere around here? I mean, he¹s already tried to hurt Lex once, right?" Frank asked everyone.

Jeannie shook her head. "You¹re right, honey. You are being paranoid. Just look at the weather." She pointed to a nearby window. "Even if he is out to get Lex, he wouldn¹t be foolish enough to be out in this, right?"

"Unless he¹s been here since before the weather got bad," Amanda murmured. She looked over at the clock on the wall. It¹s been twenty-five minutes since she left for the barn. "Oh godŠ"

Charlie turned around until he was facing her. "What is it?" He kept one arm wrapped around Martha to comfort the housekeeper.

Amanda bit her bottom lip. "The barn." She looked around the room anxiously. "It would be a perfect place to hide."

"You¹ve got to be kidding! It¹s too damn cold out there, even if you were under some sort of cover." Frank dismissed the idea with a derisive snort.

"She¹s right," Martha agreed. "When Lexie decided to change the ranch over to raising horses, she renovated the barn and added a climate control thermostat." She glanced at the clock. "And, it¹s been close to half an hour since she left."

"That does it." Charlie kissed Martha on the cheek. "I¹m gonna go check out the barn." He started for the door.

Frank stood up. "Let me get my coat and I¹ll come with you."

The sheriff shook his head. "I can¹t allow that, son. It¹s probably nothing, but I can¹t put a civilian into any kind of a dangerous situation."

"I appreciate what you¹re saying, Sheriff." The big man stood next to Amanda and put his arm around her. "But, Lex is family, and I can pretty much take care of myself." He looked at Martha who smiled at him with relief. "Does Lex keep any firearms in the house?"

Amanda answered him. "Yes. She has a gun safe in the office." She gave Charlie an apologetic smile, then looked back up at her brother-in-law. "C¹monŠshe gave me the combination when I moved in." And showed me how to load and fire all the guns in there, Amanda shivered in remembrance.

"I¹ll come with you. Might as well take something besides my revolver." Charlie started after them, but stopped and turned back around. "Martha, could you call the office and tell them what¹s going on? There should be a couple of cars here in about half an hour. I want them to know what¹s happening, and what to expect out here."

Martha nodded. "Will do, Charlie." She crossed the room quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now you be real careful out there, you hear me?" she whispered as she looked into his eyes.

The lawman smiled. "Don¹t you worry, sweetheart. We¹re probably over-reacting, and Lex is more than likely playing with her darn horses ¯ but I¹ll be careful anyway." Charlie kissed her on the forehead and hurried from the kitchen.

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

Lex braced herself when the crazy man began to charge her. She waited patiently but he stopped a few feet away, breathing heavily. What theŠ? I swear, this guy is definitely not running on all cylinders. She watched as he fought to get his emotions under control.

"Oh, noŠthat would be too easy." Matt stepped back a few paces. "I¹d like nothing better than to stick you with this and watch you bleed, but I don¹t think I¹m gonna do that just yet." He limped backwards until he could sit on a couple of bales of hay.

"OkayŠso what exactly is it that you want from me?" Lex shifted her weight around a little bit. Her back had not completely healed from the fall, and standing in one place for a period of time caused it to stiffen up. She casually looked down at her watch and noticed with some surprise that she had been gone from the house for over thirty minutes. Amanda¹s probably going crazy by nowŠshe always panics when I¹m gone longer that I say. God, I hate doing that to her.

Matt laughed. "Want from you? Damn! That¹s rich!" He shook his head and continued to chuckle. "You¹ve completely ruined my life! You turned my little brother against me, and you have the nerve to stand there and ask what I want from you?" He stood up again. "Maybe I just want you to apologize for taking everything away from me."

The tall woman took a step away from the wall and tried to stretch her now aching back. "You came out here to hide in my barn in the middle of a winter storm to get an apology from me?" Lex took a step towards the rustler. "All right. I¹m sorry."

"You are so full of shit, you know that?" Matt¹s face reddened in anger. "Like I would accept an apology from you! And I didn¹t mean to hide in your damn barn, but my car slid off the road last night, and I couldn¹t get it out of the ditch." He jabbed the tool in Lex¹s direction. "So don¹t be giving me no fake apologies, all right? I¹m not stupid!"

Lex raised her hands in a placating gesture. "RightŠokay." She continued to watch for an opening to get the weapon away from the increasingly unstable man. "No more apologies."

He moved forward another step. "You¹re still doing it! Treating me like an idiot!" Matt was less than five feet away from the rancher now. "I¹m so damn sick and tired of you people acting like you¹re better than I am. First my boss, and now you. I¹m not going to take it anymore, you hear me?" He poked Lex in the stomach with the pitchfork, causing her to take a step back to keep from being hurt.

"Hey!" Lex watched carefully as he pulled the makeshift weapon back. If he comes at me again, I¹m going to have to try and grab it before the moron gets in a lucky shot and turns me into a sieve.

"That¹s right! I¹m in charge now!" Matt pulled the pitchfork back and spun it around. He grabbed the prongs and swung the tool like a baseball bat, slamming it at the rancher¹s right side. "How¹s that feel, huh?"

Not prepared for the attack, Lex felt the wooden handle connect with her ribs. She moved with the blow to lessen the impact. "Like a damn Little Leaguer just learning to swing," she taunted. If I can get him to swing at me like that again, I can get it away from him.

Matt exploded in anger. "You bitch!" He pulled the tool back for another blow. "I¹ll give you a practice swing!"

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

Charlie checked the rounds in the shotgun again before turning to Frank and Amanda. They were all standing by the back door while Frank buttoned up in one of Lex¹s old coats. "OkayŠ I¹ll go around to the back entrance to the barn, and you take up your position by the main door. Once I get a look inside, I¹ll radio you if I want you to go in. Got it?"

"Got it," Frank nodded seriously. He looked at Amanda¹s worried face. "Lex will probably jump out of the barn and kick both our butts, you know that?"

Amanda forced a smile to her face. "Probably. Or she¹ll beat you back to the house." She felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. But I don¹t think soŠ she wouldn¹t stay out this long without callingŠ. "Wait! We could contact the barn with the intercom!" The old intercom system was rarely used anymore since it depended on whoever was at the other end to open up the line to communicate. Amanda had used it on occasion to startle her companion for fun.

"DamnŠwhy didn¹t I think of that?" Charlie grinned and shook his head. "Good idea, honey. Let¹s go." He allowed Amanda to lead the three of them back into the office, where the intercom box was positioned on one wall.

Frank shook his head in amazement. "How many gadgets does she have?" He looked at the small box on the wall.

"Not that manyŠand she really doesn¹t like this one, because it¹s so old." Amanda smiled at the two men. "Lex says that every time this thing buzzes in the barn, it¹s so loud that it scares her to death." She reached up and pushed a brown button and held it in for a couple of seconds. "We¹ll probably hear a loud bit of cussing any second now."

She waited for a moment and then pushed the button again. "Maybe she¹s already on her way back to the house," Amanda theorized, but felt doubtful. Or maybe she can¹t answer itŠ godŠ.

"It could be down because of the weather," Charlie patted the young woman¹s shoulder sympathetically. "We¹ll head down to the barn and see what¹s taking her so long, okay?"

Frank nodded in agreement. "He¹s right. As bad as the weather has been, the line could have gotten icy and broken." He pulled Amanda close to him as they turned and left the office. "Don¹t worry, MandyŠeverything¹s going to be just fine."

They walked back down the hallway and met Martha and Jeannie at the back door. The housekeeper looked upset, and the younger woman was standing next to her with an arm around her waist. "Charlie, I hate to bother you before you go out, but I just talked to Lydia at your office. She said to tell you that only one car was coming out here because Councilman Alders heard about it on the radio and threw a big fit."

"Dammit!" The sheriff shook his head angrily. "Worthless politicians. I swear a dung beetle would turn up its nose at him." He looked at the women with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that, ladies. It just sticks in my craw to have to put up with the likes of him." Charlie looked over at Frank. "You ready?"

"Yep. Let¹s go." The big man winked at his wife and followed the lawman through the back door. "Damn, that wind¹s cold!" He quickly slammed the door behind them.

Amanda stepped to the closed door and moved the curtain that covered the small windows. "I think the sleet is letting up some," she commented quietly.

"C¹mon, honey." Martha pulled the blonde away from her post at the door. "Let¹s go make sure Anna Leigh and Jacob are doing all right in the kitchen."

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

Lex tried to grab the handle of the pitchfork before it hit her again, but her right arm was in no shape to make the difficult move. She felt the blow more this time as it hit the same spot on her side. With a pained grunt, she dropped to her knees and rolled to her left. I¹ve got to get that damned thing away from him before he does some serious damage.

"Stay still!" Matt screamed, as he reversed his hold and now held the tool by the handle once again. He jabbed at the rancher, who rolled out of the way and kicked his legs out from under him. "Aaaaaaah! Damn you!"

"What¹s the matter, did that hurt?" Lex taunted after she had kicked the man in his healing leg. She felt a grim satisfaction when he fell to the ground in agony. Lex was having trouble moving as well; her back and right arm were both protesting their mistreatment. She lay on her back for a moment to catch her breath.

Before she could get up, Matt discarded the pitchfork and sat on her chest. He grabbed her around the throat with both hands and began to squeeze. "You bitch!" he panted. He pulled her head up slightly and began to shake her. "I¹ve had it with you!"

Lex grabbed his wrists with both hands, frantically trying to pry his fingers away. A loud buzz echoed through the barn at that moment, which caused Matt to loosen his grip in confusion. Another buzz caused him to look away for a split second. It was just the break the rancher needed, and she slammed her head into his face, hard.

"Aaaah! My nose!" he screamed and fell back, clutching his now bleeding face. He rolled over onto his side and whimpered.

The rancher gasped and pulled air into her starved lungs. She rolled into a sitting position and rubbed her throat with one hand. "Bastard," she choked out. Lex blinked several times as she tried to get her eyes to focus. That was closeŠ

Matt wiped his bloody face on his sleeve and began to look around for the pitchfork. His eyes were quickly swelling shut so he ran his hands around the barn floor aimlessly.

"Oh no you don¹t." Lex rolled to her knees and began to crawl after him. "I¹m not finished with you yet." She grabbed his leg and pulled.

"Let go of me, dammit!" Matt kicked back at the rancher. He smiled to himself when he heard a grunt and felt his foot make contact.

Lex¹s head snapped back from the blow as the man¹s heel connected with her forehead. That¹s gonna leave a bruise, she thought. "Come here, you little shit." She pulled at his leg again, flipping Matt over onto his back. "Now I¹ve got ya'." The angry woman quickly straddled his body and slapped his hands away easily. She blocked a punch and slammed her fist into his already bloody face with determination. "That¹s for slapping Ronnie!" Lex pulled back her fist to hit him again when she felt a strong hand grasp her shoulder.

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

Charlie stood at the back door to the barn. As the rain and sleet continued to beat down, he pulled the radio from his coat pocket and pulled it to his lips. "I¹m in position, Frank. Everything clear on that side?"

"All quiet. Do you want me to go in?" Frank¹s voice asked on the radio. The ex-football player was standing to one side of the main entry of the barn. He put his ear up to the door and tried to hear if anything was going on inside.

"NoŠI want to try and peek inside first. But be ready just in case." Charlie advised him quietly. He slowly opened the door a couple of inches and peered inside the barn. Two figures were scuffling across the floor. "Let¹s go in, Frank. Looks like Lex is in trouble." He quickly pocketed the radio and stepped into the barn. Across the room he could make out the tall woman¹s figure easily as she grabbed the other person and flipped them onto their back. Maybe she doesn¹t need any help after all, he wryly observed.

Frank swung the barn door open and rushed in. He saw Lex roll the other person over onto their back and climb onto the man¹s chest. At least I think it¹s a man, he thought. What the hell happened to his face? Before he could get to them, Lex had pulled back her left arm and punched the screaming man in the face. He sat his gun down by the doorway and rushed over to where the two combatants were still going at it.

The sheriff nodded at Frank and stood back as the big man attempted to pull the rancher off of the bloodied form underneath her. "Go ahead, son. You¹re a lot stronger than I am." He watched the scene with relief. Should have known she¹d have everything under control. That¹s my girl, he thought proudly.

"Lex! That¹s enough!" Frank yelled as he grabbed her shoulders. He pulled at her ineffectually. Damn, she¹s strong. "C¹monŠlet go of him, Lex."

"WhatŠ?" Lex spun around and threw a punch at her friend. "Frank?" Once she recognized the man standing over her, she allowed him to pull her to her feet slowly. "Sorry about that."

Frank grinned at her. "No harm done." Thank god she didn¹t connect with that punchŠI¹d probably end up with a black eye, at the least.

A loud moan brought all of their attention back to the man lying on the floor of the barn. "OoowwwŠ." Matt started to get up but was rolled over roughly by Charlie. "Hey, watch it! That crazy broad tried to kill me!" he whined as the sheriff quickly cuffed his hands behind his back.

"Shut up." Charlie looked back up at Lex. "Are you okay, honey?" He noticed that the tall woman was leaning against Frank rather heavily. Lex had bits of mud and hay on various parts of her body, and he could see a bruise forming in the middle of her forehead.

Lex ran her hand through her hair to get it out of her eyes. "Yeah, I¹m okay. Just a little sore." She flexed her left hand. "Nothing broken." She smiled at the lawman. "Don¹t take this the wrong way, but what are you guys doing here? And what¹s with the guns?" The tired woman allowed Frank to help her to a bale of hay to sit down. "Thanks."

"No problem." Frank squeezed her shoulder gently and walked over to help Charlie lift the whining man off the floor. "Oh, quit your bitching," he grumbled to Matt. "Or, I¹ll turn her loose on you again." He looked over at the sheriff. "What are we gonna do with him?"

Charlie laughed. "We¹ll bring him up to the house and let one of my deputies take him back to town when they get here." He looked over at Lex with a worried expression. "You think you can make it back to the house, sweetheart? I¹ll tell you everything when we get there, okay?"

The rancher stood up stiffly. "Sounds good." She reached down and picked up her hat. "Let¹s go. I¹m starving."

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