Chapter 20

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Lex opened her eyes the next morning. She lifted her head from it's warm nest, snuggled behind Amanda with her nose tucked in the sweetly fragrant blonde hair. Gently disentangling herself from the younger woman, Lex climbed out of bed, tucking the dark comforter back around the small body. Damn, I feel great! She marveled to herself, unsure if it was due to the release of long-held in emotion or the wonderful full body massage she had received from Amanda's talented hands. Dressing quickly, Lex left a short note on the pillow next to the sleeping woman, then crept quietly out of the room.

Bounding down the stairs, Lex saw a light coming from the kitchen, so she made a slight detour in her direction. Seeing Martha at the counter humming to herself as she rolled out the biscuits, the rancher crept up behind the unsuspecting woman with an evil smile on her face.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" she bellowed, scooping up the shocked housekeeper and spinning her around the room.

"Aaaaahhh!!" Martha screamed, then reflexively grabbed the tall woman around the head, coating Lex's dark hair with flour and bits of dough. "Put me down, you crazy brat!" she huffed, "I'm getting airsick!"

Laughing, Lex stopped spinning the older woman around, allowing her small feet to touch the ground. Realizing what Martha had been doing, she cringed when she saw the housekeeper remove her hands from where they had been clinched in her thick hair. "Ugh…" she gave the small woman another devious grin. "So, I'm guessing I look pretty good in white hair?" she casually reached behind her back and rubbed her palms across the flour-covered countertop.

Martha snickered. "I'm sorry about that, Lexie…you just startled me." Seeing the look on the younger woman's face, she shook her head and pointed a finger directly at the tall woman's chest. "Now, wait just a minute…" she backed up several steps, with the rancher closing in on her.

"What's the matter, Martha?" Lex chuckled, hands still behind her back.

The older woman put her hands in front of herself defensively. "Don't be doing anything that you might regret…"

Lex laughed. "Me? Never!" she closed in on the smaller woman, cornering her against the stove. Just as Lex was about to raise her hands and rub flour in Martha's hair, she felt two small arms wrap around her from behind, trapping her arms to her sides.

"Can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?" a soft voice whispered in her ear.

Martha laughed, and wiped another blob of flour onto the rancher's nose. "Thanks, sweetie." She grinned at Amanda, then edged past the two women and went back to her biscuit making.

Lex twisted, then picked the young blonde up and cradled her in her arms. "Good morning, traitor."

Amanda looked up into sparkling blue eyes, then noticed the flour and dough in Lex's hair. "Umm…good morning?" she used one hand to brush flour out of the taller woman's hair. "You helping Martha cook breakfast again?" she teased.

Lex rolled her eyes. "No…" she mock-glared at the housekeeper's back. "This was completely unprovoked. All I did was come in and tell Martha good morning!" she gave the woman in her arms a slight pout.

"Ha!" Martha snorted. "Don't believe a word of it…the little brat snuck up on me and started spinning me around the room!"

"You didn't…" Amanda looked up for confirmation.

"Well…" Lex blushed slightly.

"Ah…Lex?" Amanda grinned, her hands locked behind the rancher's neck.

"Mmm?" the older woman looked deeply into her eyes, a tender smile on her face.

"You wanna let me down now?" the smaller woman asked, seeing the look of total love on her companion's face.

"Not really…" Lex admitted. "I could do this for the rest of my life." She said quietly. "And I hope to." Even quieter.

Amanda stopped breathing. "Me too." She finally responded. "I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be…"

Martha glanced at the two young women in the middle of the kitchen. "Hey! Would you two either sit at the table, or go somewhere else right now? How am I supposed to cook with you two giving each other puppy-dog eyes in the middle of my kitchen?" That got the intended response. Both young women blushed furiously.

Lex gently allowed Amanda to stand on her own feet. "Sorry about that…sorta forgot what I was doing."

The younger woman gave her a gentle pat on her good side. "Don't be…it was fun." She saw that Martha was diligently working on the biscuits, with her back turned to the couple. Amanda reached up and pulled Lex's head down gently. "Let me give you a proper good morning." She gave the taller woman a long, passionate kiss, ending only when Martha cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, wouldn't you two be more comfortable upstairs?" the housekeeper asked.

"Oops!" Amanda chuckled. Then she looked directly at Martha and grinned. "Probably. But I'm so hungry I could eat some of Lex's pancakes!"

The housekeeper laughed, and Lex scowled. "Remind me to bring you breakfast in bed one morning - that'll teach you to tease me!" she gave the smaller woman a light pat on the rear, then sat down at the table. "Need any help, Martha?"

"Oh, yes…you could be a big help and go find something else to do for about twenty or thirty minutes…" the housekeeper hinted, trying to keep Lex out from under her feet.

Amanda walked over and pulled the tall woman out of her chair. "C'mon…let's go for a walk…" she led Lex out of the room, with Martha's laughter floating after them. The young woman led the tall rancher down the long hallway, pulling her into the darkened den.

"I thought we were going for a walk?" Lex asked, as the small woman pushed her gently onto the couch.

Smirking, Amanda turned on the stereo, placing a CD in the drive. "Changed my mind…it looks pretty chilly outside this morning, so I thought we could just sit in here and enjoy your wonderful stereo system." She pushed play, and turned the volume down until it became background sound. The lights from the stereo cast a soft glow in the room, allowing Amanda to see the gentle smile on her lover's face.

"Think so? Why don't you come over here and get comfortable?" Lex murmured, watching the pale lights flicker across the young woman's face.

Amanda grinned, then walked slowly across the room to climb up into the rancher's lap, straddling her muscular legs. Wrapping her arms around Lex's neck, she whispered, "You're right… this is much more comfortable." She placed a soft kiss on the older woman's lips, then snuggled under her chin.

Lex chuckled, then wrapped her arms around Amanda, pulling her close. "Happy to be of service, ma'am." Closing her eyes, Lex relaxed - somewhat shocked that she was able to sit still for such a long length of time, without the urge to be up and doing something. You're a bad influence on me, Amanda…she thought wryly, enjoying the feel of the young woman in her arms.