Strength of the Heart Read online

  Strength of the Heart

  Copyright © 2002 by Carrie Carr

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  Other Carrie Carr Titles Published By Yellow Rose Press

  Other Yellow Rose Titles You May Enjoy

  Visit Us On Line

  Strength of the Heart

  by

  Carrie Carr

  Copyright © 2002 by Carrie Carr

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The characters, incidents and dialogue herein are fictional and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  ISBN 978-1-935053-86-6 (eBook)

  eBook Conversion January 2012

  Second Edition Revised, Re-edited, Reformatted in 2007

  First Printing 2007

  9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Cover design by Katherine Smith

  Published by:

  Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC

  3520 Avenue H

  Port Arthur, Texas 77627

  Find us on the World Wide Web at http://www.regalcrest.biz

  Published in the United States of America

  Acknowledgments

  So many people helped make this book possible, and I hope they all know how truly grateful I am. Readers, editors, and friends have given me more than I can ever repay. I have to also thank Katherine Smith--you are truly a remarkable artist. Thank you for such a beautiful cover. Cathy LeNoir, your vision so many years ago grew into a publishing company I'm proud to be a part of--thank you for allowing me to live my dream.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to--My Dad, who gave me his unwavering love and support. He left us much too soon, and I'll never stop missing him.

  My grandfather Claude--I'm sure he'ss telling tall tales in Heaven. Thank you for teaching me that a good story can put a smile on anyone'ss face.

  My Mom, who always shows me that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Her strength and love holds our family together.

  And, to my Jan. Thank you, for always being my biggest fan, and my guiding light. Always and forever, sweetheart.

  Strength of the Heart

  by

  Carrie Carr

  Chapter One

  LIGHT TAPPING ECHOED in the empty room as Amanda Cauble limped her way across the polished wood floor. The walking cast on her right leg was covered with a dark stocking and blended well with her knee-length black skirt. Amanda enjoyed watching the young couple as they whispered together. The body language of the newlyweds was decidedly familiar. When the husband's eyes met hers, Amanda could tell that he was interested in the home. "Would you two like more time? Since this house is older, not many people have shown an interest. So there's really no rush."

  "Oh, no. We were just trying to decide where all of our furniture would go." He was not much taller than his wife, who was the same height as Amanda. "We love this place. How long will it take to get the paperwork completed?"

  "Not long at all. Let's go back to my office, and we'll get started, all right?" Amanda tucked her clipboard into her briefcase and flipped the clasp closed. She didn'st argue when her client gently took the briefcase from her, as his wife linked arms with her and helped her from the room. "Thank you. I can'st wait until this cast comes off." She locked the front door behind them.

  He held the rear door of their car open and waited until Amanda was settled in before closing it quietly. Opening his wife's door, he placed a quick kiss on her lips before racing around the light gray sedan and settling in behind the wheel. "Amanda, Laurie and I would like to thank you for finding this house for us. It's exactly what we'sve been looking for, isn'st it?"

  Laurie nodded. "It sure is, Dan." She turned around in her seat so that she could face Amanda. "We wanted something older that we can renovate ourselves. The newer houses just don't have the personality that the more established homes do."

  "That's so true. My grandparents's house is about the same age as this one, and it's always felt more like home than my parents house." Amanda glanced out the window as the car headed back to the real estate office. "Thanks for driving, Dan. I'm afraid I can'st get back behind the wheel until I can use my right foot. I'm sorry that Wanda had to leave the office early today. She really wanted the chance to show this house to you both."

  "Not a problem. We love Wanda, but it was nice to have the office manager show us around." Dan pulled the car into the parking lot of Sunflower Realty and parked next to a green four-door pickup truck that dwarfed his sedan. He rushed around the car and helped both women from the vehicle, then let his attention focus on the huge truck beside them. His eyes lit up as he checked it out. "Whoa. That's a toy I'd love to have."

  His wife nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "I don't think so. Our new house would almost fit in the back of that monster."

  Warm hands on Amanda's shoulders caused her to turn around. She knew immediately who it was. "Hi, Lex."

  "Hi, beautiful." Lex's face was partially hidden by the dark cowboy hat, but her smile gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by and see if you would like to go to lunch." Lex looked over at the young couple. "Unless I've come at a bad time. Hi, I'm Lexington Walters. That's my monster's you're parked next to." The green Dodge Ram was a larger version of the one that had been wrecked, and Amanda continually teased her about the noise the diesel made.

  Laurie blushed. "Oh, my, I'm sorry. I didn'st mean anything by it."

  "No, no. I'm the one who's sorry. I was just teasing you." Lex noticed the interest in Dan's eyes as he stared at her truck. "You want to get a closer look? I can show you the interior and the engine."

  "That would be great. I'm Dan, and this is my wife, Laurie." He gave his spouse a pleading look. "If that's okay with you, that is."

  Laurie nudged him with her hip. "Go on. I'll be inside with Amanda, starting the paperwork." She linked arms with Amanda and tugged gently.

  Amanda waved at Lex and allowed herself to be led into the building. "I guess I'll be seeing you in a little while," she called goodnaturedly. Her partner waved back and opened the passenger side of the truck, eager to show off her new toy to an appreciative audience.

  "SO," AMANDA WAVED her empty fork at Lex, who was busy cutting another large bite from her own steak, "how's the work on the house coming along?" Their ranch house was in the final stages of being rebuilt, because Amanda's mentally unstable mother had burned it to the ground two months prior.

  Lex swallowed the bite of food that she had been chewing and took a healthy drink from her glass of tea. "Pretty good, actually. We should be able to move in a couple of weeks." She placed her fork down on the edge of her plate and looked shyly across the table. "Martha cornered me this morning down at the barn."

  The fork that was almost to Amanda's mouth
stopped, the contents forgotten. "What did she want?" Her confusion cleared as she realized what her partner was trying to tell her. "Oh, no. She didn'st?"

  "Yep. Said that she's made all the arrangements, cause she's getting tired of waiting for us to make up our minds." Lex leaned back in her seat and looked around. Satisfied that no one was listening to their conversation, she leaned forward again. "How does April twenty-third sound to you?"

  "That soon? But that's only about a month away. I'll never be able to get everything done by then." Amanda grasped Lex's hand. "We'sve got invitations to mail, clothes to pick out, and decorations to decide on."

  "Hold on there, sweetheart. Martha's got all that under control. She's been plotting with your grandmother, and I think it's pretty much out of our hands. All we have to do is show up and recite our vows." Lex stood and moved around to Amanda's side of the table, pulled up an empty chair, and sat down next to her. "We have been changing our minds a lot and putting things off. Let's let the two of them have their fun, okay? I think they both really want to do this. It's not every day that we get married."

  "I should hope not." Amanda leaned into the sturdy body next to hers. "I guess you're right."

  Lex was confused by Amanda's reticence. "Well, don't sound quite so excited about it. Are you having second thoughts?" Not caring where they were, she wrapped one arm around Amanda's shoulders. "If you're set against it, I'll call her and cancel the whole thing."

  "No!" Amanda jerked back, realizing her attitude was hurting the one person she'd sworn she'd never hurt. "That's not it at all. I'm just..." Her voice trailed off, the last word was unintelligible.

  Lex tilted her head until she could see her eyes. "You're just what?"

  "Nervous." Amanda picked up her fork and began to swirl it through the leftover gravy on her plate. "I've never done this before," she whispered.

  "No, really?" Lex took the busy utensil away and placed it out of reach. "Well, Miss Cauble, I've never done this before, either." She twisted in her chair until their knees were touching. "Look at me." Once Amanda's eyes were locked with hers, she continued. "To tell you the truth, I'm a bit nervous, myself. I don't want to disappoint you."

  "Really?"

  "Yep." Lex cleared her throat. "I'm scared spitless, if you want the truth. But I figure that we'll get through it like we always do. Together." Lex almost leaned down and kissed Amanda, but the sound of someone clearing their throat reminded her where they were.

  "You gals about done with your lunch?" the waitress asked as she placed the check for the meal on the table.

  Lex stood and brushed at the wrinkles in the legs of her jeans. "I am." She reached into her back pocket for her wallet. She grabbed a few bills and handed them to their server. "Thanks, Alison."

  The woman picked up the money. "Thank you, Lex. Y'sall take care, all right?" She went back to the kitchen, humming a tune to herself.

  "Alison? That wasn'st--"

  "Uh, yeah. It was." Lex helped Amanda from her chair and escorted her from the restaurant. "I didn'st realize she worked here until she took our orders, and by then I was too preoccupied to say anything to you about it." The waitress had been a childhood girlfriend of Lex's. She hadn'st seen much of the other woman since they were both fourteen and had lost a friend in a hunting accident.

  Amanda linked her arm through her fiancée's. "Huh. She's a bit, uh, shorter, than I pictured her."

  "You think? I thought she looked pretty good." Lex jumped when Amanda pinched her stomach. "Hey! Watch it."

  "You'd better stop watching it. I'll go kick her with my cast."

  Lex opened the restaurant door and allowed Amanda to exit ahead of her. "You'sve got nothing to worry about. I've only got eyes for you."

  "YOU WANT ANOTHER cup of coffee, Tray?" Lester asked as he stood and slowly limped over to the stove.

  "No, thank you, my friend." Travis watched as the old cook stirred the boiling pot. "Why are you limping?"

  Lester looked up from his stew. "Old age, I'd imagine. I reckon I'll have to retire before too long. These old bones get creakier every year." He was almost back to the table when the large radio on the counter crackled to life.

  "Base, this is Roy. Do you read me?"

  Lester picked up the large microphone and squeezed the bar along the handle. "This is Lester. Go ahead, Roy."

  "We'sve got an emergency, Lester. Me and a couple of the boys are on our way back to the bunkhouse. Better have an ambulance meet us."

  "Roger that." Lester exchanged worried glances with Travis. "What's wrong out there?"

  Roy's breathless voice echoed in the quiet bunkhouse. "It's Raw-son. He fell off his horse, and we can'st wake him up. There's no sign of a head injury, either."

  Lester rubbed his whiskered cheeks in thought. "All right. We'll get the ambulance on the way. How far away are you?"

  " Bout twenty minutes, I think. One of the boys is riding behind Mr. Walters, holding him up. We're trying to keep him as immobile as possible, since we're not sure what's wrong."

  Lester knew what was wrong, as did Travis. Rawson Walters had pancreatic cancer. He had returned home a couple of months before to spend his final days with his family. Only the immediate family and Lester knew of his illness. "Just take it easy with him, Roy. We'll be here waiting for you." He set the microphone back down on the countertop and scrubbed his hand over his face. A strong hand squeezed his shoulder, and he looked up into the concerned face of his friend.

  "I'll give Lexie a call on her cell phone," Travis offered quietly.

  "Good idea. She needs to hear this from family, not from a hospital." Lester grabbed the phone that hung on the wall, picked up the handset and dialed the ambulance emergency number that was posted on the nearby bulletin board. He watched as Travis took a small phone from his shirt pocket and hit the speed dial.

  "AND, BELIEVE IT or not, I actually cornered Lexie this morning. Told her that we were tired of them fartin's around and gave her a set date for the ceremony." Martha was proud of herself, and grinned as she poured fresh coffee into her mug and that of her companion.

  Anna Leigh picked up the cup. "Thank you. I'll bet that went over well. How did she take it?"

  "Not too bad, really. At least, once she got over the initial shock." The housekeeper chuckled as she remembered the look on Lex's face. "I tried to talk her into going on a cruise for their honeymoon, but she wouldn'st hear of it."

  "Well, after hearing all about yours, I'm ready to pack up Jacob and leave on one," Anna Leigh admitted. They had been splitting their time between planning Lex and Amanda's wedding, and reminiscing about Martha's own recent honeymoon. "It sounded so wonderful."

  "It certainly was. I knew Charlie was romantic, but I never knew he was such a fine dancer. And seeing him in that tuxedo for dinner in the evenings, oh, my. It was the most perfect time in my life, I do believe." Although she had danced with the sheriff in the past, it had always been in the small local bars, not ballroom dancing like they had done on the cruise ship.

  Seeing the dreamy, far-away look in her eyes, Anna Leigh rested her hand on Martha's arm. "I'm so happy for you, Martha. You both deserve all the happiness in the world." She glanced at her watch. "Goodness. I need to get back to town."

  "Hot date?"

  "Not exactly. But there is someone I need to see."

  "Well then, let me walk you out to your car." Martha linked arms with her and led her through her well-kept home. "Don't be a stranger."

  Anna Leigh slipped behind the steering wheel of the luxury car. "Not a chance of that, Martha. You tell that handsome husband of yours I said hello's," she called through the open car window before putting the vehicle in reverse and driving away.

  Martha waved until the car drove out of sight and closed the front door. "What a wonderful lady." Back in the kitchen, she tied her apron around her waist and was about to start lunch when she heard the front door slam. "What on earth?"

  A slender teenage boy raced into the kitchen,
breathless. "Martha! There's a--"

  Martha pulled him into a nearby chair. "Calm down. What's going on?"

  "I was up at the main house, watching the construction guys work, when I saw an ambulance go up the road to the bunkhouse. It was moving pretty fast, too. Their lights were flashing, but they didn'st have the siren on. What do you think happened?"

  "I'm not sure, Ronnie." Martha hurried over to the phone and dialed a number from memory. After she'd allowed it to ring several times, she finally gave up and placed the receiver back in the cradle. "Something's going on, that's for sure. Lester always answers the phone."

  "EASY, FELLAS. WATCH his arm, there," the old cook ordered. He was standing next to the medical technicians who were strapping Rawson down onto the gurney. The pale, gaunt form under the thin sheet bore faint resemblance to the robust man who had left the ranch so many years earlier. Lester looked back over his shoulder and saw Travis standing by the door to the bunkhouse. Lester limped back over to where Travis stood, deciding he was in the way more than he was helping the EMTs, "Were you able to get a hold of Miz Lex?"

  "No, not yet. Either she has her cell phone turned off, or is out of range. I didn'st want to leave a message on her voice mail."

  "I can understand that." Lester studied Travis's face carefully. "You all right?"

  "Not really. I've never gotten along with Rawson, but I hate to see this happen. No one deserves to die like that."

  "He ain'st dead yet, Tray. Maybe this is just a one time thing."

  Travis placed a hand on Lester's shoulder. "No. We both knew that his time is short. No sense in trying to kid ourselves." He watched the paramedics place the gurney in the back of the ambulance and closed the door. "We need to find Lexie, and tell her what's going on."