Lex woke at her usual time – before the sun had the opportunity to rise. Groaning at the early hour, she used her right hand to rub her weary eyes, while she mentally debated with her more practical side that told her to get out of bed. Just when she had decided to listen to that annoying little internal voice, she felt the body draped across hers snuggle closer. Lex sighed. Not like I have a good reason to leave this. Her lips turned upward into a small smile. Not like I’d leave this even if I did have a good reason.
“Morning,” a sleep-roughened voice grumbled, before soft lips kissed Lex’s throat. “I’ve got to figure out a way to make you sleep in until at least sunrise, just once.” Lex worked her hand under the soft material of her lover’s sleep shirt, gently scratching Amanda’s back. “I dunno if you can, but it will certainly be fun watching you try.”
Amanda crawled up the relaxed body until their faces were inches apart. “You’re on.” She dropped her head slightly and brushed her lips against Lex’s. When she felt strong hands run underneath her shirt, along her spine, Amanda deepened the kiss, and the body under hers trembled. “Mmm. Cold?” She loved the way her lover responded to her touch, just as she responded to Lex's in much the same way.
“N…n…no…not…at all,” Lex stammered, unable to control her voice when she felt Amanda’s hands exploring under her shirt – hands that knowingly found just the right places to touch, leaving behind an almost electrical charge. “Amanda,” she cleared her throat, “we shouldn’t.” But her body happily rebelled by arching toward the touch. “Your, ah, grandparents.” She lost the battle as a soft touch traced down her stomach, closely followed by insistent bites and small licks. “They might, Oh, God.” Her eyes closed as Amanda found a very sensitive spot just below her ribs.
“Shhh. It’s okay, sweetheart. They’re at the other end of the hall, and won’t be up for hours.” Amanda slowly worked the soft shirt up the quivering body below her. “Besides, the risk of getting caught is half the fun.” Then she stopped talking, and concentrated on the enjoyable task at hand.
****
Lex had a content look on her face when she followed Amanda down the stairway a few hours later. It had taken all of her considerable willpower to not climb into the shower with Amanda after their pre-dawn activities, especially after her lover had gone into great detail as to what she would be missing. She is such a little tease. She was unable to take her eyes off of the gently swaying hips in front of her. So engrossed in her perusal, Lex didn’t realize when they stopped, and she had to grab the railing to keep them both from falling when she bumped into the lithe form.
Amanda turned around to peer into the rancher’s eyes. “Hey there. Everything okay?”
The question brought Lex back to reality, making her a little embarrassed that she had been caught daydreaming. “Yeah, sure.” Her brows creased into a questioning gaze when Amanda put her hands on her shoulders and directed her to stand on the step below her. “What?”
With a mischievous smile, Amanda leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Lex’s neck. “Much better.” She looked directly into her partner’s eyes before she captured Lex’s lips in a sweet embrace.
“Ahem.”
Breaking off the kiss reluctantly, Lex slowly turned around to find the source of the interruption. “Busted.”
At the bottom of the stairs stood a cheerful Anna Leigh. “Good morning, you two.” When she saw her granddaughter wrap her arms around Lex, her smile widened. “I trust you both slept well.”
Amanda propped her chin on the shoulder in front of her. “Oh, yeah. Like a baby.” She tugged Lex closer. “But, then again, I had a pretty good nap on the sofa last night.”
“Well, you looked so peaceful that I didn’t have the heart to disturb you.” Lex leaned back into the embrace.
Amanda felt hands entwine with hers, which were splayed across Lex’s torso. “Yeah, but you could have made me get up, instead of carrying me up the stairs.”
Deciding that Lex needed rescuing, Anna Leigh waved to the couple. “C’mon. I was just on my way up to tell you two that breakfast is ready.”
“Mmm. I was hoping that’s what that great smell was.” Lex began her descent again, but was bypassed by Amanda, who skipped down the stairs.
“Great! I’m starving.”
Lex followed at a more leisurely pace, but couldn’t resist another quip. “There’s a big surprise,” she mumbled to Anna Leigh, who laughed as Amanda backhanded Lex on the stomach.
They all entered the kitchen laughing, causing Jacob to turn around at the counter from where he was pouring a cup of coffee. “Good morning, ladies.” He pulled two more mugs from the cabinet. “Coffee?” Hearing several affirmative answers, he filled the cups, then turned back toward the women.
“Good morning, Grandpa Jake.” Amanda wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tight. Snuggling her face into his chest, she released a heavy sigh. “I’ve really missed this.”
Jacob enveloped her in his arms, returning the hug and kissing the head beneath his chin. “Me too. Did you sleep well?” He looked over Amanda’s head to Lex and Anna Leigh. “Have a seat, ladies. Breakfast is ready.” With a final hug and kiss to his granddaughter, Jacob turned back toward the stove. “Wanna help, Peanut?”
Lex looked at Anna Leigh, wondering if she should offer to help cook, even though she wasn’t very good at cooking.
Anna Leigh shook her head. “Better do as he says. Sit down, or he’ll never serve us.” She pointed at a chair opposite her, and watched as Lex sat down gingerly.
While two of the women got themselves seated at the table, Jacob and Amanda brought over several platters of food. Fluffy eggs with vegetables inside covered one plate, while crisp strips of bacon and sizzling sausage links were on another. Before sitting down, Amanda handed Lex a steaming cup of coffee, and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Here you go. I hope you’re hungry. Grandpa makes the best omelets I’ve ever tasted.” She winked at Jacob as he sat down next to his wife.
They spent the majority of the meal talking of the events at the ranch for the past week, with both of the elder Cauble’s expressing their shock and concern.
“…and then, after we get back to the house, Martha and I discover that tough-stuff over there,” Amanda pointed at Lex with her fork, “got shot sometime during all that running, and never said a word to either one of us.”
Lex set her coffee mug down on the table. “You’re getting it all out of proportion.” She looked at Jacob, hoping that he’d understand. “I really didn’t notice anything until later. It barely grazed me.”
“Yeah, right. A scratch that even now, several days later, is still bleeding.” Amanda gave her companion a dirty look. “Which is why we’re going to see Doctor Anderson right after breakfast, right?”
Rolling her eyes, Lex let out a heavy sigh. “Amanda.”
Anna Leigh looked across the table at Lex. “Is that true? Lexington, you run the risk of infection with a wound like that, if it’s not already.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her, but she’s just so darn stubborn.” Sensing another ally in her ongoing battle with Lex, Amanda added, “She wouldn’t even let me change the dressing on it this morning.”
When her look at Jacob didn’t bring any help, Lex decided to try and change the subject. “Mr…ah, Jacob, do you know of a good detail shop around here?”
“Sure, Lex. Shuman’s on Fourth does excellent work, why?” Jacob had finished his breakfast and was leaning back in his seat, one arm casually draped across the back of his wife’s chair.
“Oh, that’s right. You can’t see the driveway from here.” Amanda pushed her chair back and stood up. “C’mon, let’s go out front and I’ll show you.” She took Lex’s hand and helped her from her seat, and led the group through the house.
As soon as they reached the door, Amanda turned around to face her grandparents. “How did you know we were here yesterday? You opened the door before we could even get to it.”
Anna Leigh laughed. “You did call and say you were on your way, so we were expecting you. And when we heard the slamming of car doors, we assumed it was you.” Hand in hand, she and Jacob followed Lex and Amanda outside, stopping in shock when they saw the little Mustang sitting in the driveway. Muddy, but whole. “Oh, my.” Anna Leigh placed her free hand over her heart. “How--”
Jacob turned to look at his granddaughter. “But I thought you said it was lost?”
“Lex pulled it out of the creek and then got it running again. She gave it to me the night all the excitement happened.” Amanda wrapped an arm around her embarrassed friend.
“Didn’t do that much, really. Just let it dry out,” Lex mumbled, not at all enjoying all the attention that focused on her.
Jacob came up on her other side, giving her a hug. “Uh-huh…and just how did you get the car out of the creek? Whistle, and it followed?” he enjoyed the look on both young women’s faces – Lex’s, which was one of pure embarrassment, and Amanda’s, who looked as if the idea had never crossed her mind.
“He’s right.” Amanda looked up at the rancher, who wouldn’t meet her gaze. “The car was on the far side of the creek…how did…”she paused, understanding dawning on her features. “You didn’t.” she whispered, the closing of Lex’s eyes telling her everything. “You went back into that cold, heavily running stream, after you had your ribs broken? Are you nuts?” She spun around to get face-to-face with the taller woman, her voice quivering.
Jacob moved back over to where Anna Leigh was standing. “I think we should go in and take care of the breakfast dishes, don’t you, sweetheart?” Seeing her nod, he gently grasped her hand and limped into the house.
Lex opened her eyes, hearing the upset in the younger woman’s voice. “I…um…you were just so sad about losing that car, and I wanted to do something to cheer you up. Especially after the story you told me on how you got it…” looking into the shining green eyes that took her breath away.
“But, God, Lex…you could have asked me to help you, anyway.” Amanda felt her control slipping, and then the callused hands cradled her face gently. “When did you…?”
“The day I went to get the jeep. I used the winch on it to pull the Mustang out of the water.” She kissed Amanda on the nose. “Piece of cake.”
Amanda moved her arms up until they were wrapped around the dark-haired woman’s neck. “Yeah, right. And just how did you attach the winch to the Mustang?” she saw Lex trying to think up a good answer. “Magic?”
“How’d you guess?” Lex smirked. She felt her head being pulled downwards. “Not buying that, huh?” the tall woman asked, as she leaned down to meet Amanda halfway. Their lips touched, and to Lex time ceased to matter – it was as if all the sounds around them stopped, and all she could hear was the rapid beating of her own heart. A motorcycle suddenly roared by, causing the dark woman to realize where they were standing, so she slowly broke off the kiss.
Amanda brought her arms down and placed one around the tapered waist. “Don’t think for a minute that I’ve been distracted from our little discussion – we’ll finish it later.” She began to lead the older woman back inside. “But right now, we’ve got a doctor’s appointment to keep.”
