Chapter 24

Once the truck had made it safely back into town, Lex looked over at Amanda with a questioning glance. "Would you mind too terribly much if we went straight over to the boarding house? I can't concentrate on anything else until I know that Martha has been taken care of." She asked, with an apologetic smile. "I promise it won't take too long."

Amanda squeezed the hand she had been holding throughout the entire drive. "Good idea…I'd feel a lot better too."

Ten minutes later, they pulled onto a quiet residential street in one of the older sections of town. Large two story wood-framed homes populated the block, several of them sporting historical landmark signs in their front yard. Lex pulled the truck up to a house situated in the middle of the block, with a sheriff's department car sitting in the driveway.

"Wow," Amanda sighed, allowing Lex to help her from the truck, "It's beautiful!" She followed the rancher up the stone walkway to the front porch. "Charlie lives here?"

Lex stopped on the porch and smiled. "Yep. He lives here with Mrs. Wade and her son, David." Seeing the unasked question in the green eyes, she continued. "Mr. Wade passed away about ten years ago, and Mrs. Wade needed a boarder to help make ends meet, and take care of things around the house. Charlie was living in a tiny efficiency apartment on the other side of town, away from the Sheriff's Department - and he'd been good friends with the Wades' forever, so he jumped at the chance for a nice room and home-cooked meals." Smiling, Lex knocked on the door.

Moments later, the door opened and a tall young man about twenty-five opened the door. "Lex!" he yelled, swinging the door inward and stepping out onto the porch, "It's been way too long!" he scooped her up in a bearhug, swinging the poor rancher around in a circle.

"Dammit, Dave…put me down!" Lex yelled, wriggling unsuccessfully to get out of his grasp.

Dropping her back to her feet, David grinned, his white teeth shining against his ebony skin. Looking at Amanda, his smile faded a little. "Uh-oh…I didn't realize we had company."

Lex stood off to the side, watching as green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Sorry about that, Dave…" she motioned the younger woman forward with a wave of her hand. "This is Amanda Cauble…Amanda, this brut is David Wade." She almost laughed at the chagrined look on the young man's face.

"Oh, shi…uh, I mean…hello, Amanda…it's nice to meet you." He held out a large hand tentatively.

Amanda grasped his hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you too, David. Have you known Lex very long?"

"Over half of my life, I think…and please call me Dave." He ushered the two women into the house, and into a spacious living room. "Have a seat, ladies. Can I get you something to drink?"

Lex waited until Amanda sat down on one end of a navy blue loveseat, then dropped down beside her. "Nah…we were hoping to chat with Charlie for a few minutes…is he around?"

The young man leaned against the nearby sofa. "Yeah, I think he's upstairs getting cleaned up - he should be down in a few minutes." He was about to continue when a very petite older woman walked into the room.

"Lexie Walters! I thought my old ears heard your voice! Get yourself over here right now!" she demanded, opening her arms.

Lex dutifully rose from the loveseat and crossed the room, bending low to embrace the older woman. "Mama Wade…you just keep looking younger and prettier every time I see you."

The old woman slapped her arm. "Don't be spreading your bull around me, Lexie. I've had to hear it for too many years to be believing it."

Kissing the wrinkled cheek, Lex escorted the older woman to a chair. "I'm sorry it's been so long, but it's been pretty hectic at the ranch." She apologized.

Mrs. Wade slapped at her again. "You better quit treating me like some sort of senile invalid…I can still whip your fanny, young lady!" She noticed Amanda sitting quietly on the loveseat. "That your latest catch?" she pointed at the young blonde woman, who instantly blushed.

"What?!" Lex spun around in the middle of the room, stopped before she could finish walking back to her seat.

Dave laughed. "Charlie told us how you fished a young lady out of the creek - we figured this must be her." He explained, enjoying seeing Lex turn several shades of red as well.

"Where are your manners, girl?" the older woman queried. "Or should be just refer to her as 'the catch of the day'?"

God…where's a good rock to crawl under when you need one? "Sorry…Mama Wade, allow me to introduce you to Amanda Cauble. Amanda, this is Dave's mother, Mrs. Ida Wade."

Amanda stood up and walked over to the chair. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wade." She held out her hand.

"Good lord…" the older woman scoffed, standing up. "C'mere." She embraced the surprised blonde in a strong hug, which was enthusiastically returned. "Call me Mama, honey. Everyone else does."

Amanda laughed. She's got to be one of the few adults I've ever found that was actually shorter than I was. "Okay…thanks, Mama Wade. Dave tells me you've known Lex for a long time?"

"Goodness, yes…ever since little Davey drug her home after school - must have been fifteen years ago. Have a seat, and I'll tell you all about it."

Lex stood up. "C'mon, Dave…I think that's our cue to leave. Want to show me how that work in the garage is coming along?" She drug the poor man out before he could respond.

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

"Mama! Mama!" ten year old David came running into the house, his clothes torn and blood running from his nose and split lip.

Ida stepped out of the kitchen, then ran to catch her young son in the hallway. "Davey! What on earth happened to you?" She dropped to her knees and began wiping the blood away with the edge of her apron.

Panting, he began, "There were these boys…took my backpack…started hitting me…"

Ida clasped her son to her chest gently. "Shh…calm down, baby. You're safe now."

He struggled to get away from her. "You don't…understand…Mama…" he finally pulled free, and grabbed her hand. "C'mon…you gotta help her…" he started for the door, dragging Ida behind him. "Please…I think they hurt her pretty bad…"

Ida allowed her son to pull her out of the house, and down the street. "Who are we going to go help, honey?" she asked, as he practically ran down the sidewalk, pulling on her arm.

Half a block away, lying under the sparse shade of a half-dead tree, lay a young girl. She was curled up on one side, her knees pulled almost to her chest, and she wasn't moving. Davey turned loose of his mother's hand, and ran the rest of the way to where the girl lie. He squatted down beside her and began to run his hand gently over her dark hair.

"See? I told you I'd get some help…c'mon…wake up!" he brushed the hair out of her eyes, seeing the blood on her pale face. "Mama? Please?"

Ida hurried over to the young girl, who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old. She was wearing jeans and a denim shirt, and well-worn cowboy boots. "Davey, who is this girl?" Ida dropped to her knees next to the unmoving form.

"I dunno, Mama…when those boys started hitting me, she stood up to them and told them to stop. So they started hitting her. She told me to run, and I told her I was gonna get help." Tears were running down his dark and dirty face. "She's gonna be alright, isn't she?" He bit his lip to keep from crying out loud.

Turning the girl carefully onto her back, Ida frowned. "Davey, I want you to go to Mr. Conner's house, and get him over here right away…I'm going to need some help in getting her to our house." Now I just have to figure out who this brave child is…I hope she'll be able to tell me soon. Seeing her son staring at the girl, she shook his shoulder. "David! Hurry!" Then she sighed as the young boy took off again.

They finally got the still unconscious girl to their house, and comfortably ensconced in the guestroom. The dark-haired child hadn't moved, but they cleaned her up and found that she was sporting a rather nasty gash on the back of her head, but no broken bones. She had called Sheriff Bristol to come over and see if he knew the girl, since Ida had never seen her before.

Charlie was understandably shocked when he saw the young girl sleeping in the Wade's guestroom. "Dear lord!! Lexington?" he stumbled over to the bed and sat down beside her.

Ida stood beside the lawman, seeing the tears in his eyes. "I guess you know our little hero here?"

He looked up at the small woman and smiled. "Hero? She looks like she's been in one hell of a fight…Martha's going to be furious!" he tenderly brushed the dark hair from the closed eyes, one of which was already sporting a dark bruise.

Ida patted him on the shoulder. "Well, she was…several older boys were beginning to beat up my Davey when she came along and took them all on…now my son has a serious case of hero worship."

The young girl began thrashing her head back and forth, and started to cry. Charlie scooped her up in his arms and held her tight. "Shhh…sweetheart…you're okay…" he whispered in her ear.

Lex opened her one good eye, confused. "Uncle Charlie?" she rasped, blinking to clear her vision.

"Yeah, it's me, honey. You feel okay?" he let her lie back on the bed, but still kept his arm under her shoulder.

"Umm…my head hurts, and I can't open my eye…" her lower lip quivered a little. "Where are we?" she saw the small dark-skinned woman behind Charlie. "Where's Martha?"

Ida stepped forward slowly, so as not to frighten the girl. "My name's Ida Wade, and you're in my house. Do you remember what happened?"

Lex shrugged her shoulders slightly.. "Sorta…I saw some guys following a little boy home from school, so I decided to see what they were up to. I kinda got mad when they took his backpack away and started hitting him." She looked up at Ida. "Is the little boy okay? They got a few hits on him before I could stop them."

Ida laughed. "Oh honey, he's just fine." She stepped to the doorway and ushered in a small boy who was looking at the bed with wide-eyed wonder. "Lexington, I want you to meet my son, David." She gently pushed the young man towards the bed.

He stepped up to the bed and smiled. "Wow! You sure have a pretty eye!" said with the innocence of a child. "Your other eye probably looks real pretty too…thanks for stopping those boys today."

Lex looked at him and smiled. "Your welcome. Thanks for getting your mother to come and help me." She glanced up at Ida. "Thank you, Mrs. Wade…I'm real sorry I couldn't stop those guys from hurting David." She then looked at Charlie. "Can I go home now, Uncle Charlie? I really want to see Martha."

Charlie looked up at Ida with a grin. "Sure, sweetheart. Let's get you into the car - I'll even turn on the lights and siren, how's that?"

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

Ida looked up at Amanda, who had a gentle smile on her face. "After that, Lexie would walk Davey home from school…although I think the fresh baked cookies had as much to do with it as anything else." She laughed. "She even made sure he went to college, helped him get a scholarship and everything…now he's got a business degree, and runs his own shop." She finished proudly.

Dave and Lex stepped back into the room. "Aw, Mama…" he grumbled.

Lex laughed, then walked over and sat down next to Amanda. "Mama Wade been telling her tall tales again?" She smirked at the look of outrage on the older woman's face.

"Hrumpph! I'll give you tall tales, young lady!" Ida grumped. Before she could continue her tirade, Charlie walked into the room.

"Well, well…isn't this a pleasant surprise?" the lawman drawled, taking the chair nearest Ida. "Good evening, Ida. These kids giving you a hard time?"

Dave laughed. "She gives as good as she gets, you know that." He bent down and kissed her gray head. "I'd love to stay and visit, but I'm expecting a late delivery to the store." He gave a wave to the two women sitting on the loveseat. "Amanda, it was great meeting you - don't be a stranger around here. And Lex," he grinned, "You'd better start showing up over here a little more often, or else."

Amanda laughed. "Thanks, Dave. I'll get her over here more, I promise." She pointedly ignored the glare coming from her companion.