Lex laughed. "Sure…let's take a shower - the lights are much better in there." She pulled the younger woman towards the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Part 7

Chapter 39

After a short argument which she won, Amanda had Lex's place setting moved from next to Frank, to across the table beside her. The entire meal was spent in tense silence, only broken by the occasional attempts by Jeannie and her husband to clear the air.

"Good grief, Mandy…Daddy told us about what happened to you today. But he failed to mention that you looked like you got into a fight with Mike Tyson and lost." Jeannie teased. "So c'mon…tell us the whole story."

Amanda's explanation about the day's events further antagonized her parents, especially since she painted her companion's part in the tale so heroically. "The police officers said the look on that thief's face was really funny when Lex pulled that rope tight, and he hit the ground. They were trying to catch up on their bikes, and saw the whole thing."

Michael glared at the rancher. "Sounds rather foolish to me…chasing down a criminal when you are unarmed." He took a sip of wine. "People have been killed for less."

"I really wasn't thinking." The dark haired woman admitted. "I saw him hit Amanda, and totally lost it. I just wanted to make sure he paid for what he had done to her." Lex added quietly.

Uh-oh…time to change the subject, I think. "So, my lovely sister…" Jeannie smiled at the young blonde, "Give me all the juicy gossip from Somerville." She purposely ignored the glare from her mother, and winked at the rancher. "Or maybe you can fill me in, Lex."

"Sure…what do you want to know?" Lex flinched slightly when Amanda poked her leg under the table.

Jeannie gave her sister an evil grin. "Got anything on my sister? She never likes to talk about herself."

Lex grinned too, then almost yelped out loud as her leg was pinched. "Ow!" She quickly cleared her throat to cover up her slip. "Excuse me." Turning her head slightly, Lex quirked an eyebrow at her lover. "Well…did Amanda tell you about her promotion? She's now the manager of the real estate office."

"Really? Oooh…Mandy - that's great!" Jeannie almost squealed with excitement. "But what about that Neanderthal, Rick?" She looked at Lex. "He was always so rude when I would call Amanda's office. Someone needs to knock him down a peg or two, in my opinion."

The rancher almost choked on the water she was drinking. "Well," she coughed, "there's actually a really funny story about that…ow!" A sharp pain from her just-stomped foot stopped Lex in mid-sentence.

Frank, who had been silent up until now, looked at the dark-haired woman. "You okay, Lex?" His smirk let her know he knew exactly what was wrong.

"Yeah…" she glared at Amanda, who smiled innocently. "Sudden cramp, I guess." She felt a hand rub her leg in a soothing manner.

"So…what's the story?" Jeannie asked, missing the glare her sibling threw at her.

Feeling the hand on her thigh tighten into a claw, the rancher decided that discretion was the better part of valor. "Seems poor Rick not only got fired, but ended up receiving a bruised jaw and got thrown into jail for disorderly conduct." The claw straightened out, and gave her a loving pat instead.

Amanda quickly decided to change the subject. "So, Mother…have you decided on a cruise, or a tour of Europe this year?" Knowing that Elizabeth had one real passion in her life - travel.

"I believe I'll do Paris…the last cruise was such a disappointment to me. People actually brought children on board!" Sounding totally disgusted, she continued, "And they let the little heathens run wild. It was absolutely disgraceful."

Lex started to say something, but closed her mouth and concentrated on her plate instead. No sense in giving them any more reason to make Amanda's stay here miserable, she thought to herself.

"Do you have something you'd like to say, Lex?" Michael had seen the tall woman begin to speak, then stop. "I'm sure that we would all be interested in whatever is on your mind."

Amanda looked at her father in surprise, but didn't say anything.

"I really don't think you want to hear my opinion, Mr. Cauble." Lex gave Amanda's father a small smile.

Michael returned her smile. "Don't be ridiculous…please - share with us." He waved a hand at the table.

Feeling Amanda's comforting touch on her leg, Lex gave her partner an apologetic look. "I was just going to say that those folks probably worked and saved for years to go on a cruise, so they had just as much right to be there as anyone."

"Are you saying that I…don't…work for my money?" Elizabeth gave the rancher a nasty look, daring her to answer.

Lex shook her head. "No, ma'am, not at all. I'm just saying that most folks don't take a real vacation every year. But when they do, they have as much right to relax and enjoy themselves as the people whose biggest concern is where they'll go, not how much it will cost."

Seeing his mother-in-law preparing herself to attack, Frank jumped into the conversation. "Have you ever been on a cruise, Lex?" Cutting the older woman off before she could get started.

The tall woman smiled, a little embarrassed. "No…never really had the time. As a matter of fact, this is the first real vacation I've ever had." She gave Amanda a meaningful look. "But I wouldn't mind going on one, someday."

"Frank and I are taking an Alaskan Cruise as a second honeymoon next spring," Jeannie shared, helpfully. "Maybe you should consider going on one too - certainly a great way to beat the summer heat." She smiled. "I didn't visit as often as Amanda did, but the Texas summers stand out as extremely wicked in my mind. I don't know how you are able to handle it."

Lex shrugged. "I guess I'm just used to it - doesn't really bother me any."

Elizabeth saw her opportunity. "I suppose it's like the migrant workers in the Valley… they don't know any better than to stay in the hot sun all day. They're quite used to it as well, I suppose."

Amanda glared at her mother. "I can't believe your attitude!"

"It's okay, Amanda." Lex placed a hand on the younger woman's arm, trying to calm her down.

"No, it's not!" the furious blonde snapped, then looked into hurt blue eyes and immediately dropped her voice. "I'm getting tired of listening to my parents take potshots at you." She whispered, forgetting the other people at the table.

Lex casually slipped her hand beneath the table, and took a firm grasp of Amanda's fingers. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" she gave the smaller hand in hers a gentle squeeze. Looking up at Elizabeth, she smiled again. "And I have to agree with you, Mrs. Cauble…if a person works all day, every day in the heat, it's much easier for them to handle it." Then, with a slight twinkle in her eye, she continued, "Unlike the poor folks that have to sit in an office all the time… they break out into a sweat just walking to their cars at the end of the day."

Touché, Mother. Amanda smiled inwardly. She looked over at Lex and gave her a wink. "You about finished?" she looked at the half-eaten plate of food in front of her lover with a frown.

"Yeah…just not real hungry, I guess." This offered with a sheepish shrug. Lex's stomach was still in knots over what happened earlier in the day.

"You two got any plans for tonight?" Frank asked, after a not so subtle poke in the ribs from his wife.

Amanda looked at Lex, who raised an eyebrow encouragingly. "Not really…what do you have in mind?" She looked at her sister, who was smiling broadly.

"Lex…you can't come to LA without going out at least for one evening…isn't that right, Amanda?" Jeannie winked.

The rancher looked suddenly panicked. "Umm…that's really nice of you, but I didn't bring anything to wear for a night out on the town."

Frank and Jeannie both laughed. "Actually," he said, smiling, "You'll be more suitably dressed for where we're going than Jeannie or I will."

"Okay, why not?" Lex looked at Amanda. "Do you feel up to it?" The tone in her voice made it clear that Amanda could just say no.

The young blonde smiled and patted Lex on the arm. "Sure…" she touched her bruised jaw, "Looks bad, but really doesn't hurt."

Elizabeth Cauble sighed heavily, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "I guess it's too much to ask that you actually spend some time with your father and me before you leave us." She gave Amanda a pitiful look.

"Now, now…" Michael stopped her. "I'm sure Amanda will be glad to spend some quality time with us in the morning." He gave the rancher an unreadable look. "And you too, Lex. I'd really like the opportunity to get to know you a little better." He smiled, a look that sent chills down the dark-haired woman's spine.

Why do I suddenly feel like a man at the gallows being told to jump? Lex wondered. "Sure, Mr. Cauble…if you really want to." She gave Amanda's hand a firm squeeze. "But I'm sure I can find something to occupy myself with if you need to spend a little time alone with Amanda."

"That won't be necessary, Lex." If all goes well, Amanda will send your gold-digging hide back to Texas so fast it will make your head spin. He laughed inwardly. "If my daughter is determined to spend time with you, I'd really like for us to become better acquainted."

Jeannie stood up. "Great! We'll get ready, and meet you two in the sitting room in an hour." She grabbed her husband and hurried from the room.

Amanda released Lex's hand and stood up as well. "Guess we'd better go get ready, huh?" she asked her lover with a sweet smile. "We'll see you both in the morning," she assured her parents as Lex joined her by the door. "Goodnight."

Halfway up the stairs, Lex pulled Amanda to a stop. "Do you have any idea where we're going tonight?"

"Sure." Amanda grinned, then continued up the stairs, a growling rancher at her heels.

"AMANDA!" Lex chased her, laughing.