Chapter 7

Amanda led the taller woman through the house, pulling her into a spacious room off of the main hall. Large bay windows with cheery curtains brightened the room, which had a large cherry wood desk sitting in front of the windows, and several oversized chairs were scattered around the room.

"This is where Gramma keeps track of things at the real estate office, even though she officially retired a couple of years ago." Amanda explained, showing Lex the large computer occupying one whole side of the desk. "She keeps at me to take over for her, but until recently I really didn't have any good reason to live here permanently." A sweet smile at the rancher. "C'mon, let's sit down for a minute before you get too engrossed in paperwork." She sat the taller woman down on the sofa.

Lex watched as the younger woman nervously played with their still-clasped hands, a small tremor of fear running through her. Something's bothering her…bite the bullet time, I think. "Amanda?" she used her free hand to lift the small woman's chin up, so that they were looking eye-to-eye. "What's the matter?" Seeing a small sparkle of tears in those sea-green eyes, a lump formed in her throat. "You know you can tell me, right?"

"I know…it's just kind of hard to explain. I'm twenty-three years old, and yet every time my mother calls, I feel like I'm sixteen again." She felt the reassuring grip on her hand tighten slightly. "I spoke to my mother earlier today…she wants me to come back to Los Angeles and work in her art gallery."

Lex stiffened. "And…" she had to clear her throat, "What do you want?" Feeling her heart pound, the older woman tried valiantly to appear calm. The woman sitting next to her must have noticed, because she scooted closer, almost sitting in her lap.

"I want…" she pulled their linked hands up to her lips, "to stay here." She kissed the large hand in hers, "I want to tell my grandmother that I would be glad to run her office for her, and…" Amanda was unable to finish her thought, as she was pulled up into Lex's arms, and her mouth was captured in a passionate kiss. Giving up words, the young woman tangled her hands in ebony waves, pulling Lex to her with almost inhuman strength. She trembled as she felt strong hands begin to roam across her back, mapping across her shirt with sweet urgency. Pulling back to look at Lex's face, Amanda whispered, "I just found you." Seeing answering tears shine in those incredible blue eyes, "And I'm not ready to give you up…not for my mother, and not for anyone."

Lex looked into the younger woman's eyes, and saw a fierce determination there. She really means this. Feeling her misgivings crumble beneath that gaze, Lex tried to think of words to convey what she was feeling in her heart. "I love you." Feeling totally inadequate, until she saw the answering smile break across Amanda's face.

"I love you too." Amanda murmured, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on the rancher's mouth. Breaking off, she snuggled her face into the tan neck, happy to simply absorb the feeling of love that seemed to surround her.

They sat there quietly for a while, both content to just hold the other, until a ringing phone made them both jump. Amanda regretfully slipped off of Lex's lap, and had just curled up next to her when Anna Leigh came into the room.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mandy…but your father is on the phone, and wants to talk to you." The older woman looked upset.

"Gramma? Are you okay?" Amanda stood and walked over to her grandmother. "Did Dad say something to upset you?" She felt Lex come up behind her and place a comforting hand on the small of her back.

Anna Leigh took a deep breath. "I'm fine, sweetheart." She gave her granddaughter a wry smile. "God knows I love my son, but he can be so small minded at times. I've often wondered where we went wrong with him." But she did know…her parents, trying to make up for losing their daughter to a 'working man,' gave young Michael the best of everything, even when Jacob and Anna Leigh strenuously argued against it. He was showered with expensive clothes, fancy cars, and had decided at an early age that money was the most important thing in the world, no matter how much his parents tried to tell him otherwise. And when his grandparents introduced him to a young socialite from a wealthy family, Michael immediately saw his opportunity, and proposed.

How on earth did our sweet little Amanda come from such a business-like merger? Anna Leigh often wondered to herself.

"Guess I'd better get this over with." Amanda walked over to the desk and picked up the phone. "Hello, Dad." She listened for a few minutes, her normally cheerful demeanor becoming more clouded by the minute. Looking across the room, she saw that Lex and her grandmother were in a deep discussion. Putting her hand over the mouthpiece, she whispered, "Lex…" no other words need be spoken, as the tall woman crossed the room quickly to pull the small blonde into her arms.

Looks like she's in good hands, now. Anna Leigh left the room quietly, closing the door behind her.

"I know what Mother wants, but as I told her earlier today, I'm staying here in Somerville." Tears welled up in her eyes as she listened to her father's tirade. "I'm a grown woman, Dad… I love you and Mother, but there's nothing there for me anymore." She took a deep breath as Lex pulled her tight, kissing her lightly on top of her head. "I've found someone I love very much, and I'm very happy here." She leaned back into the strong arms now supporting her. "Yes, Gramma and Grandpa know about it. She's staying here with us now." Amanda pulled the phone away from her ear as he father began to rant in earnest now. "NO! She's not like that! They have accepted my choices, why can't you?" Amanda felt tears of frustration fall down her face. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Father." She slowly laid the phone back on its base, then turned and tucked herself into the strong body behind her. "Oh, God…" she began to cry.

Lex was at a loss. What can I say to her without sounding like a selfish fool? "Shhh…it's gonna be alright, sweetheart." She whispered into the nearby ear.

Amanda cried herself out, feeling a deep sense of loss. "He doesn't want anything to do with me until I 'come to my senses'." She sighed. "He says all you want is my money, and that you're just using me." She looked up, expecting to see anger.

Laughing out loud, Lex gave Amanda a strong squeeze. "You're kidding, right?" she continued to chuckle, releasing her grasp on the younger woman and stepping over to a small table, where the attaché case from the bank was lying. Pulling out an envelope, she handed the smaller woman a piece of paper. "Read the balance on the statement." She grinned.

Amanda gave her a questioning gaze, but did as she asked and looked down at the bank statement. No wonder she's smiling…she has more money than both my parents have combined! "You're kidding, right?" Looking up at the grin stretched across the rancher's face.

Lex shook her head. "Nope. My mother was evidently from a very well-to-do family…and with the investments I've made in the past few years, it's safe to say that I won't be trying to clean out your bank accounts in the middle of the night." She smiled.

"Not that I ever had any worries in that regard, Lex. I don't use my parent's money - which has also caused quite a few arguments." Amanda crossed to where the taller woman was standing and stepped into her arms. "I don't care if you were just a poor ranch hand, I'd still be in love with you."

Lex kissed her temple. "I know…and you should know that I fell in love with you the moment I pulled you out of the creek. I had no idea who you were, but there was something about you…" she pulled the smaller woman closer. "So, are you going to help me read all these damn reports? Maybe you can figure out where all the money is going."

Amanda allowed herself to be led back over to the desk, sitting in a nearby chair. "Sure. I help with the bookwork at the office all the time - I love numbers."

Grinning at the younger woman, Lex handed her a pile of papers. "Maybe I should hire you to do my paperwork at the ranch? I hate sitting in an office when I can be outside doing something instead."

"I'd love to." Amanda smiled. "What are you willing to pay?" She asked, sorting the papers into some semblance of order.

Lex gave her a sexy smile. "I think we could work something out." She started dividing the papers she had into neat little piles.

They worked quietly for almost two hours, each woman studying the papers before her. Amanda finally found a pattern to the losses, pointing it out to the older woman. "Look. This is the third time I've seen this." She handed the paper to Lex.

"Now that you mentioned it, I've seen it a couple of times myself." Lex dug through a pile, then jumped to her feet. "That sonofabitch!" She threw the papers down and began to stomp through the room. "I'll kill him!"

Part II

Chapter 8

"Lex! Wait!" Amanda jumped up from her chair and caught the tall woman before she could reach the door. Latching onto a strong arm, she forced Lex to turn and face her.

The angry rancher was almost to the door when she felt a small hand grab her arm. Spinning around, she was about to sling off the annoyance when a quiet voice cut through the red haze of her fury.

"Lex?" Amanda spoke quietly, hoping to calm the angry woman as one would a wild animal. "Hey…come over here and sit down, please?" She thought at first Lex was just going to brush her aside and continue out the door, but the piercing blue eyes softened, and the older woman allowed herself to be guided to the sofa.

Leaning back on the sofa, Lex closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry…" she murmured, feeling the anger ebb away, leaving only weariness in its place.

Amanda sat down next to her, feeling her own heart slowly go back to its normal rhythm. She watched as the older woman finally calmed down, seeing that the tense lines on her face slowly soften. Picking up the hand that was clinched into a tight fist, she coaxed it open, entwining their fingers together. "Shhh…there's nothing to be sorry about."

Lex pulled their joined hands up until they were against her chest. Bending her face down, she placed a very soft kiss on Amanda's knuckles. "I'm sorry that you had to witness that." Opening her eyes, Lex looked down at their hands, still unable to bring herself to meet the younger woman's gaze. "But better you know now how I can be, I guess."

"Look at me." A quiet demand. Taking a deep breath, Lex slowly raised her eyes to look into Amanda's. Expecting to see fear or disgust, the rancher was somewhat shocked at the amount of love and understanding she was receiving through the shining green eyes across from her. Opening her mouth to speak, Lex found her lips gently covered with a soft fingertip.

"If that's the best you can do to scare me off, you're in big trouble." Seeing the older woman taking a breath to speak, Amanda shook her head. "No, wait…I know you have a temper," she gave the rancher a wry smile, "and if you ask anyone in my family, they'll tell you I have a pretty short fuse myself." Taking her hand away from Lex's mouth, she used it instead to caress the tan cheek. "So, between the two of us, everyone else had better watch out!" Noticing that Lex's blue eyes were turning watery, Amanda threaded her fingers behind the older woman's neck, pulling her head forward. She gave Lex a gentle kiss, then pulled back and smiled. "Would it help you to talk about it?"

Lex leaned forward again until their foreheads were touching. "There's not much to say…" her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper as her eyes involuntarily closed, "It's about the missing money." Her hand was released, and she felt a heavy weight descend onto her chest… until small, strong arms wrapped themselves around her comfortingly. Pulling the smaller woman into her lap, Lex buried her face in the soft reddish-blonde hair. "It's not the amount of money that bothers me…" she mumbled, feeling the younger woman squeeze her tighter.

Amanda stroked the dark head tenderly. "Shhh…I know that honey." She felt the body under hers tremble slightly.

"My own brother…" Lex sniffed, trying to control her emotions. "How can my own brother be embezzling money from the ranch?"

Dear God…no wonder she's so upset… Amanda could feel the quiet sobs wracking the slender form beneath her. "Sweetheart…maybe there's another explanation."

Pulling herself together, the older woman leaned back so she could look into Amanda's face. "I could probably handle the fact that he's taking money from the ranch, since he really never liked the fact that Dad signed it over to me." She gave the younger woman a weak smile, as soft fingertips wiped the tears from her face. "But the way he's done it…I really never thought the slimy bastard was that smart."

"He can't be too smart…since you've caught him at it." Amanda remarked, relieved to see that her companion was feeling more like herself.

Lex shook her head sadly. "That's just it, Amanda. Looking at the statements and receipts, we haven't caught him…" she helped the young woman off of her lap, picking up some papers from the desk. "Look right here…" She showed the smaller woman the signature on the withdrawal slip. It read, 'Lexington M. Walters'. "We've caught me."