Chapter 32

"So…how are we supposed to dress for dinner?" Lex asked, sprawled out on the bed, still wrapped in a towel.

Amanda stepped out of the bathroom, brushing her just-dried hair. Looking at the relaxed form on the bed, she smirked. "In clothes, preferably." She was clad only in her bra and underwear, after sneaking across the hallway to grab dry clothes while wearing only a towel.

Lex suddenly appeared behind her, handing Amanda her towel and chuckling. "Smartass." She kissed the back of the blonde's neck. "I thought I'd just go 'casual' - whatta ya think?"

"I think that if you don't get dressed, we may never make it downstairs for dinner." Amanda turned around and placed a soft kiss on the taller woman's throat. "Thankfully, my parents don't insist that we dress up for dinner - it's really not that big of a deal." She gave Lex's flat belly a gentle pat. "C'mon…let's get dressed. Sophia will probably be coming for us soon."

"Who's Sophia?" Lex asked, as she rummaged through her suitcase. "Where did you put my…oh, here they are." She pulled out socks and underwear, and tossed them on the bed.

Amanda finished getting dressed and laughed. "Sophia is the maid for this floor - Beverly said she'd come for us when dinner is ready."

Lex turned around, her neatly pressed jeans on, but unbuttoned. "Should I wear a tee shirt, or one of my button downs?" she stepped over to the closet to find a suitable shirt. "Just how casual is dinner in this place? Will I have to wade through ten different types of forks before I find the right one?" She grabbed a light blue oxford shirt and held it up to her body. "How's this?"

Walking over to the nervously babbling rancher, Amanda took the shirt from her and removed it from the hanger. "It's perfect…" She draped the fabric over the broad shoulders. "Don't worry so much…it's just a simple dinner. You have eaten in public before, haven't you?" She teased, trying to get the older woman to calm down.

Lex watched as the small hands buttoned her shirt for her. "Yeah, of course I have…it's just that…well, they're…I just want to make a good impression, that's all." She took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't want your family to think I'm some sort of backwoods hick that eats with their hands…"

"Honey…they're not going to think that. Just because you own a ranch, that doesn't mean you have no manners. Martha raised you much better than that." Amanda wrapped her arms around Lex's waist, pulling the tall woman closer. "And if for some reason their little snooty brains think that way, no matter how wrong it is, I don't give a damn! I love you, so they'll just have to love you too!"

"Oh, yeah?" Lex countered her eyes twinkling, pulling the smaller woman into a hug.

Amanda nodded into her chest. "Damn straight."

A knock at the door interrupted them. "Miss Amanda, are you there?" A soft, lightly accented Spanish voice asked through the door.

"Come in, Sophia…" Amanda said, taking only one step away from Lex, who finished tucking in her shirt and buttoned her jeans closed.

"I'm sorry to be disturbing you, Miss Amanda, but Mrs. Cauble asked that you and your guest join them in the drawing room before dinner." The short, heavyset woman said softly.

"Thank you, Sophia…let me introduce you - this is Lexington Walters…Lex, this is Sophia, who spent a lot of time chasing me up and down these halls when I was a child." She gave the maid a sweet smile.

Lex stepped forward and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sophia…you can call me Lex."

"Umm…" the maid was somewhat at a loss, looking up into those intense blue eyes. "Thank you, Miss Lex…it's a real pleasure to meet you." She released the tall woman's hand and smiled at them both. "I'll let Mrs. Cauble know you'll be down soon." Nodding to Amanda, Sophia left the room, still smiling.

Amanda stood chuckling, staring at the quickly closed door. "You seem to have enchanted our entire household staff." She turned and looked at Lex, who was sitting on the bed slipping on her socks.

"Oh yeah…I think I'm more of an oddity - they act like they've never seen someone wearing scruffy boots before." She pulled one of the talked about pieces of footwear on.

"Nah…" Amanda sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around the broad shoulders. "It's because they're not used to houseguests treating them like people." She sighed. "I don't think my mother knows anyone's name except Beverly's - and she only knows hers because Beverly is in charge of the staff."

Lex leaned her head over until it touched Amanda's. "That's a real shame. They're all really nice folks." She kissed the blonde head, then stood up. "Do I look okay?" The rancher held her arms out away from her body, a little nervously.

Amanda scratched her chin, apparently deep in thought. "Hmm…" She pursed her lips. "No, you don't look okay." Seeing the upset look on Lex's face, she laughed and continued, "You look great!" Amanda stood up and grabbed the older woman's hand. "C'mon…let's go face the inquisition."

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

Amanda stood outside the closed doors to the sitting room, gathering her courage. All right, Mandy…get a grip, she mentally chastised. Looking at her partner, she saw that Lex had a slightly lost look on her face. "Ready?" she smiled at the taller woman.

"As I'll ever be." Lex returned her smile.

Conversation stopped and all eyes in the room turned towards the door as Amanda and Lex entered.

An auburn-haired young woman, who looked like a slightly older version of Amanda, stepped towards them, a smile on her face. "Amanda! It's so good to see you again." She gave the younger woman a light hug, then pulled back and tugged on the end of Amanda's hair. "What did you do to your hair?"

Amanda smiled as her sister backed away. "I cut it to make it easier to take care of," she unconsciously brushed the shoulder-length blonde strands away from her face. "With taking care of Grandpa and working at the office, I just didn't have time to mess with waist-long hair."

"It makes you look older." A slender blonde woman commented from a nearby chair. "Are you going to stand there all evening, or are you going to come tell me hello?" she regally questioned, lifting a hand towards them.

Amanda traded rolled eyes with her sister, then walked over to their mother, who stood up as her younger daughter approached. "Hello, Mother." Amanda greeted the aristocratic woman, "You're looking well."

Elizabeth Cauble placed her hands on Amanda's shoulders, then leaned forward to place a light kiss on the younger woman's cheek. "Thank you dear…" she pulled back and patted her hair with one hand. "I had Antoine make it a little lighter, this time." She looked her youngest daughter over carefully. "You are looking a little washed out, dear - have you been working too hard? Showing strange people dirty little houses all day is not something a lady should be doing." She said the words as if work were a disease.

"No…actually, I've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks - and it's been raining too much to get any sun." Not to mention most of my…activities…have been indoors lately, she grinned to herself. "And I really don't want to have another argument over my job right now." Amanda turned towards the doorway, where her lover stood quietly. "Lex…come over here." She looked back at her family, then took Lex's hand. "Mother, this is Lexington Walters - she's the woman I told you about over the phone…Lex, this is my mother, Elizabeth Cauble."

The rancher looked at Elizabeth, who was a couple of inches taller than Amanda. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cauble." She held out her hand to the older woman, who took it with slight disdain.

"Yes, I'm sure." Elizabeth removed her hand quickly, wiping it not so discreetly with a handkerchief. So this is the cowhand who is after my daughter's inheritance… we'll just see about that, she gave the taller woman an icy glare.

Amanda missed the look her mother gave Lex as she grabbed the rancher's arm and casually directed her over to where her sister and a tall handsome man stood. "Jeannie, Frank… this is Lex, the love of my life." She turned to see Lex's face blush slightly. "Lex, this is my sister Jeannie, and my best friend Frank Rivers, who just happens to be married to her."

Frank shook Lex's hand with enthusiasm. "So, you're this mysterious rancher that our Mandy has been raving about…" he pulled her into a hug, and whispered into her ear, "Welcome to the family, Lex…just don't let the old battle-ax get to you." Frank released the somewhat shocked rancher, who gave him a shaky smile.

"Thanks, Frank…it's really good to meet you." Lex glanced over at Amanda, and smiled. "Although Amanda hasn't told me much about her family, I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you before we leave." Seeing her partner's face looking at her questioningly, "I'm sure you have some interesting stories to tell." Then she turned back towards Jeannie and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Jeannie."

Amanda's sister took her hand cautiously. "Lex…it seems that we owe you our thanks for saving my sister's life." She didn't really understand Amanda's lifestyle, but knew from listening to her mother's ravings that this woman was her 'girlfriend'. It's probably just a phase she's going through, since I married Frank and she didn't, Jeannie thought to herself. Gorgeous eyes - and she doesn't look like the money-hungry demon Mother described, either. Hmm…

Lex gave Jeannie a slightly embarrassed smile. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that's all…" she was saved from any further comments by a clear voice from the doorway.

"Excuse me, but dinner is ready, Mrs. Cauble." Beverly gave Elizabeth a slight curtsy.

Elizabeth held out her hand for Michael to take. "Very well. Shall we all continue our conversations in the dining room?" she asked the others, her and her husband taking the lead and stepping from the room.

Frank gave Lex and Amanda a wink. "Guess that's our cue to follow." He waited for Jeannie to take his arm, then followed the older couple out of the sitting room.

Lex watched as the others left, then turned and bowed to Amanda with a rakish smile. "Shall we, my dear?" she held out her arm.

Amanda swatted the offered arm, then wrapped her arms around Lex tightly. "God…I love you…" she murmured into the taller woman's chest. "Think they'd miss us if we just staying right here, like this?"

Kissing the top of the blonde head, Lex chuckled. "Uh, yeah…I'm afraid they would." She whispered, looking over Amanda's head and seeing Elizabeth's angry glare at the doorway, before the older woman turned on her heel and fled the scene. "C'mon, sweetheart…I can hear your stomach rumbling from here. Let's go impress your family with my table manners." She teased. "I promise to use my fork instead of my fingers."

"Oh, god…don't even joke about that!" Amanda laughed. "But it would be fun to see my mother's face if you did." She lifted her head up and gave the rancher a tender kiss. "Okay… let's go watch my mother hold court at the dining room table." She pulled Lex out of the sitting room and down the hall.

Part 6

Chapter 33

They stepped into a lavish dining room, with a large table that could easily seat twenty people. Michael Cauble sat at the head of the table, with his wife to the right of him, and his eldest daughter to the left. Frank stood next to Jeannie's chair, waiting for the other women to take their seats. There was a place setting next to Elizabeth, and another on the other side of Frank. Before Amanda could complain about the seating arrangements, Lex gently pushed her towards the chair next to her mother, while the rancher took her place next to the grinning Frank.

He pulled Lex's chair out for her, getting an upraised eyebrow in response. "Thanks, Frank…" Lex mumbled, then gave a wink to her partner across the table.

"Now that we're all finally seated," Elizabeth gave the rancher an annoyed look, "you may have dinner brought in, Beverly."

Everyone was completely silent as the servers brought in the meal, waiting until they left the room to begin speaking. "So, Lex…is this the first time you've ever been to Los Angeles?" Michael was bound and determined to show how unworldly Amanda's choice in suitors was.

Setting down her fork, the rancher smiled. "Yes it is, Mr. Cauble…I don't usually take the time to travel from the ranch, but since Amanda decided that she needed to come, wild horses couldn't keep me away." She gave her lover a smile across the table.

"What exactly do you raise on your ranch? Cattle, horses…?" Frank decided that the dark haired woman could use an ally.

Lex gave him a smile. "Cattle, mostly…but I'm trying to turn it into more of a horse ranch. What is it you do, Frank?"

The big man cleared his throat. "I played professional football for a couple of years, until I blew out my knee…now I'm in the public relations business."

"You're that Frank Rivers?" Lex exclaimed. "Wow! I used to curse you when the Cowboys would play the Rams…you're one of the best defensive backs I've ever seen play the game!"

"Such a barbaric game…grown men trying to hurt each other." Elizabeth sniffed. "But I suppose you'd be interested in that sort of thing, wouldn't you, Ms. Walters?"

Amanda shook her head. "I don't think…"

Lex chuckled. "Nah…I enjoy watching the game, but I just as soon be out riding, than sitting in front of a television, or stuck inside with a desk job."

"Most…desk jobs…as you put it, are very good ways of making a living. At least it's steady income." The matriarch fussed with her napkin.

"I agree, Mrs. Cauble…I just can't ever see myself locked in that sort of position - but folks that do, have my complete respect." The rancher noticed the red flush rising on the older woman's face, and grinned inwardly. Not going to get me to lose my temper over something that trivial, lady…

Michael decided to try and change the subject, since the only person losing control of their temper seemed to be his normally calm wife. "Amanda, have you thought any more on my offer? You could have the office right down the hall from me, and of course you'd be making over twice what you could at that puny real estate office." He enjoyed the look of shock on the rancher's face.

Amanda looked across the table to Lex, whose face had turned quite pale. "Um…I thought we were going to discuss this tomorrow?" she directed towards her father. Oh, Lex… don't look at me that way.

"Amanda! That would be wonderful! You've always wanted to work with your father…" Elizabeth beamed, placing a hand on her younger daughter's arm. "We could have all of your things brought back out of storage in the morning." She gave the quiet woman across the table a triumphant look.

Lex felt her whole world collapse. Dropping her fork to her barely touched plate, she swallowed the lump in her throat and mumbled, "If you'd please excuse me…I need to make a few phone calls." She promptly stood up and left the room.

Michael watched the rancher leave, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Well, Amanda, I guess we should talk about your salary…"

Elizabeth cut in before her younger daughter could speak. "Michael, you know we don't discuss money or politics while we are eating - it's bad for the digestion." She turned to Amanda. "We really must do something about your wardrobe, dear…I think you've spent too much time in the company of that…woman - you look like a migrant worker, or something equally distasteful."

Amanda tossed her napkin on the table in disgust. "These are the same damn clothes I wore when I lived here!" she began to stand up, but Elizabeth's grip on her shirt stopped her.

"Watch your language, young lady!" Michael stood up angrily, his face red. "Apologize to your mother this instant…" he pushed his chair back, prepared to go around the table towards his youngest daughter.

"Daddy…let's all calm down, here…" Jeannie grabbed her father's arm, pulling gently. "It's been a really long day, and we're all tired." She gave a nervous smile as Michael sat back in his chair. Looking at her sister, she asked, "Amanda? C'mon, why don't you sit back down and we can finish dinner like civilized adults?"

"I'm really not that hungry…if you will all excuse me, I'm going to check on my friend." Amanda quietly pushed her chair back towards the table and left the room.

Waiting until the young woman closed the door behind her, Michael turned towards his wife. "Dammit, Elizabeth! You just had to start on her clothes…" he looked over at his oldest daughter. "And I don't want to hear anything out of you…"

"Okay, sure…" Jeannie shrugged her shoulders. Poor Amanda…they're just not going to let this go…

"Please, Michael - calm yourself. I can't help it if our daughter had begun dressing like a…a…field hand! Did you see those jeans? They were faded! And not even pressed!" she tsked.

Jeannie stifled a giggle. "I think she looks great - and I love her hair." She turned to her husband, "What do you think? Should I get mine trimmed, too?"

"Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart…" Frank grinned at his wife. "You'd look great without any hair at all." He enjoyed the look of shock on her face.

"Eeww…" Jeannie grimaced, then stuck her tongue out at her husband.

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

Amanda stepped out of the dining room, closed the door quietly behind her, and then started down the long hallway towards the sitting room. "Lex?" She peeked her head inside, finding the large room empty. Okay…if I were an upset rancher, where would I go? She wondered to herself. Turning around, she almost screamed out loud when she came face to face with Beverly.

"Goodness!" the maid exclaimed, "I'm terribly sorry to give you such a scare…are you alright, Miss Amanda?"

The young blonde leaned up against the doorframe, releasing a heavy breath. "I'm fine… you wouldn't happened to have seen Lex in the past few minutes, would you?"

Beverly nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have…she asked me to show her how to get to the back gardens - she said she needed some fresh air." She noticed the lines of tension on the younger woman's face. "Is it true that you'll be staying? Mr. Cauble called me earlier and told me to have your things pulled from storage tomorrow - but I wanted to check with you first."

"I'm afraid that's just wishful thinking on his part, Beverly - at the rate things are going, I'm not sure if we'll even be here through tomorrow." She spared a wistful glance down the hallway. "Um…I've got a moving truck and crew scheduled to show up tomorrow - would you…"

The maid patted her on the shoulder. "I'll send them over with Paul to the storage facility - he'll make sure that they get everything." She saw the sad look on Amanda's face as the young woman looked down the hall, fidgeting. "Why don't you go and check on your friend? I'll tell everyone that you retired for the evening."

A relieved smile crossed Amanda's face. "Thanks, Beverly. I owe you one." She forced herself to walk slowly down the hallway, making her way towards the side of the house.