Chapter 5

Amanda rushed out of the pharmacy as soon as she was given Lex's prescriptions. So intent on her thoughts, she didn't see the large man about to go through the door. "Ooof! Excuse me…" Stumbling back, she glanced up and saw whom she ran into.

"Well, well…hello there, sweet thing." The deep voice drawled. "Fancy meeting you here - come in to pick up your birth control pills?" Rick Thompson blocked her exit, standing in front of Amanda with his thick arms crossed over his chest.

Why do I have the sudden urge to go home and shower? Yuck! "Ah, no…and if you'll excuse me, I have someone waiting for me." She tried to edge past the big man, who grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait! I just want to talk to you for a minute. When will you be coming back to work?" he let the small woman wriggle out of his grasp, confident that she wouldn't go anywhere. Amused, Rick decided to see just how far he could push the little blonde. "So…have you had a nice vacation?" he sneered.

"You sonofabitch!" Amanda pulled her arm back and slapped him, hard.

Rick had actually been knocked back a step. "Why you little bitch…I'll…" stepping forward, he reached for Amanda, only to be stopped by a strong grip on his shoulder. "What?!?"

He spun around, ready to pound on whoever had decided to interfere.

Ice blue eyes glared into his. "Problem?" Lex inquired coolly, even though it took all that she had to control the urge to knock the large man into next week.

"Mind your own damn business, Walters." He ranted, "the little whore slapped me!" his tirade was stopped when Lex grabbed two handfuls of his suit coat, pulling him into her face.

"So? Knowing you, you probably deserved it!" Lex growled. "Wanna try picking on someone your own size?"

"Why? What's it to you?" his bravado fading, Rick's tone turned more wheedling.

"She's a friend of mine, asshole!" Lex could feel her heart pounding in anger, which in turn caused her newly stitched wound to throb painfully.

Amanda took the opportunity to step around Rick, and moved to stand behind the agitated rancher. Placing a cautious hand on Lex's back, she whispered, "Let it go…he's not worth it."

Releasing her hold on his jacket, Lex stepped back and took a deep breath. Seeing the big man begin to smile, she stepped back into his face. "And…" she dropped her voice to a menacing drawl, "If I ever hear of you speaking about her that way again, they're gonna have to use Velcro to put you back together." She turned her back on him to leave.

"This ain't over yet, by a longshot!" he yelled halfheartedly, after realizing a small crowd had gathered. "You'd better be careful who you're threatening around here!" Rick waved a fist at the departing women.

Neither woman turned around, but Lex waved a bored hand over her head. "Yeah, right." She followed the small blonde back to the truck, climbing inside.

Amanda closed her door and leaned on the steering wheel. She looked over at Lex, who was slumped in her seat, eyes closed. "Are you alright?"

The rancher visibly pulled herself together and sighed. "Yeah…that jerk has always been able to yank my chain." She looked at the younger woman closely. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Amanda gave her a strained smile, then started the truck. "Only the inside of my hand when I slapped him." She flexed the hand in question, then pulled the large vehicle out of the parking lot. "Let's go home." She gave her passenger a real smile, "So I can tuck you into bed."

"Mmm…I think I can handle that," Lex returned her smile. Then her eyes closed, almost against her will. "Damn, Laura musta gave me some sort of sedative…I can barely stay awake." She mumbled, her head falling back against the seat.

"Yeah, she did say that she was going to give you something to help you relax…" Amanda's voice trailed off when she saw that the older woman had fallen asleep. She felt a strong protective urge come over her. Rick's real lucky he didn't start anything with her…or I would have done more than just slap him. She drove the rest of the way home in contemplative silence, taking her time and avoiding the main streets, since they were normally rougher riding, and she didn't want her companion jarred anymore than necessary.

Pulling up in the driveway, Amanda noticed that her grandparents were walking out to the Suburban. Climbing out of the truck, she met them halfway, as they had started towards her when she drove up.

"Mandy! Sweetheart," Anna Leigh wrapped her granddaughter up in a loving hug. "We were getting concerned…you've been gone for hours." She looked towards the truck. "Is Lexington going to come inside?"

Jacob had made his way over to where the two women were standing. "You just caught us on our way to the car dealership…they called to say Anna Leigh's new car was ready." He had been driving his wife's car when a drunk driver hit him six months ago. They had waited to order her a new one until last month, since Jacob had not been cleared by the doctor until recently.

"Hi, Grandpa." Amanda stepped into his welcoming arms. "I take it you've finally been given a clean bill of health?" She backed off a step and smiled at her grandmother. "Lex fell asleep on the drive back. They had to reopen the bullet wound because it was infected, and Laura," this with a smile to Jacob, "gave her a sedative to keep her calm."

Jacob smiled. "How is Laura? She was such a sweetheart to me…although I think I gained a few pounds from those contraband milkshakes she kept sneaking in to me." He looked at the sleeping figure in the truck. "Do you need any help getting Lex into the house?"

Amanda followed his gaze, her eyes softening as she looked at the dozing rancher. "No…I'll wake her up in a minute. At least I should be able to get her to rest today." She gave both of them a hug. "You two go ahead and pick up that new car…I can't wait to see it!" she ushered them back to the Suburban.

Once Jacob and Anna Leigh had driven off, Amanda walked back over to the hunter green 4x4. She opened the passenger door slowly, so as not to startle the sleeping woman. "Lex?" spoken quietly. "Honey, it's time to wake up." She brushed the bangs out of the dark woman's eyes, which slowly opened at her touch. "Hey there."

Lex looked around, somewhat disoriented. "Umm…" she cleared her throat, "Hi." Blinking a couple of times, she finally recognized where they were. "Sorry…didn't mean to drop off like that." She wiped a shaky hand across her face.

"Don't worry about it." Amanda unclipped the seat belt holding her in. "Think you can make it into the house?"

Rolling her eyes, Lex sighed. "Relax, I'm fine…just a little drugged up." She sat up and swung her legs out of the truck.

Amanda took a step back, but stayed within arms' distance. "Okay…well, I'm staying right here, just in case." Daring the other woman to argue with her.

"Waste of time…" Lex stepped down from the truck, but her legs began to buckle as soon as she put her weight on them. "Whoa!"

Amanda jumped forward and caught Lex before she fell. Wrapping her arm around the taller woman, she chastised, "Teach you to not listen to me!" She started towards the house slowly, "Of all the stubborn, pig-headed…"

"Hey!" Lex complained, but held on tightly to the small blonde, "I just wasn't awake yet." She grumbled, allowing Amanda to guide her into the house, and then up the stairs.

Walking into their bedroom, Amanda wordlessly drug Lex towards the bed, pulling the comforter back and then pushed Lex down gently. She lifted the rancher's feet up, removed her boots, and then began to unsnap her jeans.

"If you were trying to get me into bed, all you had to do was say so." Lex teased, trying to gauge the other woman's mood. Reaching down to help, she was startled when her hands were batted away. "What?"

Amanda pulled the jeans off of the long legs, folded them neatly and placed them on a nearby chair. "Hush." Lifting the covers back over the tall form, the small blonde went into the adjoining bathroom and brought out a glass of water, stopping to grab the prescription bottles from her purse. "Here…take these. I'm going to go downstairs and get you something to eat."

Puzzled, Lex did as she was told. "Okay…are you mad at me?" She sat the glass down on the bedside table.

Stopping at the doorway, Amanda realized how she must have looked to the other woman. "No honey, I'm not." She walked back over to the bed and sat next to the older woman. "I'm sorry…I just wanted to get you settled before you fell asleep again." She brought a hand up and caressed the tan cheek. "I'll be right back." Standing up, Amanda leaned over and kissed Lex on the top of her head. "Behave yourself for a few minutes."

"Yes ma'am…" Lex realized that she wasn't going to win any arguments today. "Could you do me a favor and bring the bank papers back with you? I'd really like to start looking over them." This with a pleading smile.

"Sure…if you promise to get some rest first." Amanda countered, standing at the doorway. "I'll even help you if you want."

Lex leaned back against the pillows. "It's a deal." She felt another wave of lethargy wash over her. What in the hell did they give me? I feel like I could sleep for a week! Closing her eyes, the exhausted woman didn't even notice when Amanda snuck from the room.