Chapter 12

They were sitting in Mr. Collins office, the pudgy man sweating profusely as Lex sat there, silently glaring at him.

"I…I…swear to you, Ms. Walters," he stammered, wiping his forehead with an already damp handkerchief, "I honestly don't see how this could have happened!" His face was getting redder by the minute, and Amanda was afraid the poor man was on the verge of passing out.

"Are you doubting my word, Mr. Collins?" Lex asked quietly, her intense blue eyes boring into the bank president's face.

"No!" he practically shouted, "I mean, of course not!" he clarified, more quietly. "But our policy on any withdrawal is to get a visual identification - especially with such large amounts."

Lex leaned forward in her chair. "Then," she paused, lowering her voice even more, "unless my brother has changed drastically," she looked down at her own body, "I suggest that one of your employees is either not following policy, or they are in on his little scheme." She glanced back up, catching the sweating banker staring at her breasts.

He flushed scarlet, and began to stammer, "M..m..m..Ms W…ww…Walters…" pulling his collar away from his throat, "I can assure you that we will be investigating this matter thoroughly. And these papers, " he held up several documents, "will insure that only you…" he looked at one page somewhat puzzled, "and Miss Cauble here…" not hearing Amanda's gasp of surprise, "will be the only people who have access to this account."

Lex nodded and stood up. "Very good…and if anything happens to this account…" she gave him an icy stare, "I will hold you personally responsible." She got a certain enjoyment out of seeing the banker's face suddenly pale. "Good day, Mr. Collins." Lex gestured for Amanda to proceed her through the office door.

After Amanda signed the necessary papers, Lex ushered her out of the bank and back to the truck. The younger woman was unusually quiet as the rancher helped her into the passenger seat and closed the door after her.

Getting in behind the wheel, Lex sighed. She looked over at her silent friend with concern. "Are you alright? You seem awfully quiet."

Amanda blinked, then turned her gaze towards the dark-haired woman. "You didn't tell me you were going to do that."

"What?" Lex asked, puzzled. "Oh…that." She met the green eyes with a hopeful look. "I'm sorry…I guess I wasn't really thinking. Does it bother you?"

The younger woman wrinkled her brow thoughtfully. "No! I mean, it's not that…I was just really surprised, that's all." She offered her hand to Lex. "But why put anyone else on the account, after all the trouble it's already caused? And why me?"

"Because I know you would make sure Martha was taken care of if anything ever happened to me…" Lex squeezed her hand.

"Please don't talk like that…I don't think I could survive if anything ever happened to you." Amanda took a deep breath, willing herself not to start crying. "Why not put Martha's name on it, then?"

Lex pulled Amanda's hand up and held it to her cheek. "I'm afraid if I do, Hubert will find out somehow…but he'd never suspect that I would give authorization to someone I've only known for a short while, " she kissed the small hand, "and because I'm totally in love with you, and want to share all I have…"

"You know that I have all I really need right here, right now, don't you?" Amanda tenderly cupped the rancher's cheek. Resisting the urge to crawl across the seats and wrap herself around Lex's body, she smiled. "I'll try not to ever break this trust you have in me." Removing her hand, the younger woman sat back and buckled her seatbelt. "It's almost time to meet Gramma at the office, you ready?" She knew that this was not the time or place for such a deep conversation,

and could also see that her companion was more than a little off balance by the whole thing.

Lex nodded, somewhat at a loss for words. "Yeah…this ought to be fun, huh?" she backed the truck out of the parking space in front of the bank, driving towards the real estate office.