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  He turned to speak to her. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Jeremy told me about what happened earlier. Are you okay?"

  "Yeah. By the time we went back, the guys were gone. It was too dark to get a good look at them, but they weren't familiar to me. I thought I knew most of the people in this town." Lex pulled the lawman over to a quieter spot so they could talk without yelling. "Something didn't feel right about the whole confrontation, Charlie. It was almost as if they were out to get me, personally. And I thought I saw Amanda's mother in here a few minutes ago."

  The sheriff rubbed the back of his neck as he thought. "Do you think she could have had something to do with it? Why would she have a few drunks try to beat you up? Doesn't seem like her style."

  Lex sighed. "No, it doesn't. I've lived in this area my entire life, and never made a secret of who I am. I've gotten a few dirty looks, and even some nasty words flung my way, but no one has ever tried something like tonight. It's just a little too coincidental to me." She glanced over his shoulder at the people around them. "Hell, Charlie. I grew up with these people. You can't tell me they're just now getting upset at the fact I'm gay."

  Charlie put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "I'll tell you what. You just point Amanda's mother out to me, and I'll try to keep an eye on her tonight. Maybe she'll hook up with those fellas again, and I can arrest them."

  "No. She's too smart. You go take care of Martha, and I'll see if I can find Mrs. Cauble and have a little chat with her." Lex narrowed her eyes. "If she does one thing to hurt Amanda, I'll make her regret ever coming to Somerville." She started to walk away, but Charlie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

  "Don't do something you'll be sorry for later. She's not worth it."

  She focused on his face and willed her anger down. "She may not be, but Amanda sure as hell is. I won't let anyone or anything hurt her. Don't ask me to stand by and let that happen, Charlie." Lex gently brushed his hand away and stepped back into the crowd before he could say anything else.

  HER EYES SEARCHED the room, looking for something, or someone. She finally spotted a table full of people and slowly pushed her way through the crowd to them. Once she made it to the group, she stopped and waited for them to notice her.

  "Hi. I didn't know you'd be here," Amanda said to the new arrival. "Won't you sit?"

  "Thanks. I had been thinking about going home when I noticed you sitting here. I hope you don't mind."

  Jacob stood and pulled out a chair. "Not at all, young lady. Have a seat."

  Janna sat, a little nervous at just showing up uninvited. "Thank you."

  "Where are my manners? Janna, I'd like to introduce you to my grandparents, Anna Leigh and Jacob Cauble." Amanda gestured to the woman who had just joined them. "Gramma, Grandpa, this is a good friend of ours, Janna Hotchiss. She's helping us out with the books for the ranch."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Janna." Anna Leigh shook the newcomer's hand. "Hotchiss. Aren't you Ted's daughter?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I'm living out at my granddad's right now, but I work in my dad's office." Janna felt at ease at once.

  Jacob patted her arm. "That's wonderful. It's great to meet a friend of our Mandy's. Are you here alone?"

  Janna tensed a bit at the question. "Umm, well. I am, but I wasn't supposed to be."

  "Is everything okay, Janna?" Amanda couldn't quite figure out what was causing her to turn such an interesting shade of red.

  "Yeah, just peachy. I was supposed to meet a friend of my dad's here, but it didn't work out too well."

  Anna Leigh patted her hand. "That's a shame. Are you all right? Is there anything we can do?"

  "I'm great. At least, as long as you don't mind me hanging around with you for a while."

  "Not at all. Lex wandered off somewhere a few minutes ago, but hopefully she'll be back soon." Amanda glanced past their table at the throng of people, trying to catch a glimpse of her lover.

  "HELLO, MRS. CAUBLE. Fancy seeing you here." Lex stepped into Elizabeth Cauble's view bearing a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

  Elizabeth took a step back. She could feel the anger radiating from the other woman. "Well, Lexington, I had no idea you'd be here this evening."

  Lex leaned in closer. "Cut the bullshit, Elizabeth. Your little friends didn't scare me." Lex took another step until they were almost nose-to-nose. "Back off, and leave us alone. I'll do whatever it takes to protect Amanda--even take on the likes of you."

  "As will I." Elizabeth pushed Lex back with one finger. "Don't think for a moment you can get away with seducing my daughter. I will do everything in my power to tear her away from your perverted clutches."

  "Big talk from someone who always hires muscle to do her dirty work," Lex growled. "Leave us alone. You don't want to make me angry."

  Elizabeth laughed. "Please. Your pathetic attempts at toughness don't frighten me in the least. I was picking my teeth with the likes of you before you were potty-trained."

  Lex took a deep calming breath. "Lady, you have no idea how good it would feel to knock you into next week. But for some strange reason, Amanda loves you, so I'm doing my best to abide by her wishes."

  Elizabeth's reaction came swiftly and the sharp crack of a slap resounded. "Don't threaten me, you two-bit cow chaser. Leave my daughter alone, or you will be sorry." She walked away, leaving Lex to hold her cheek where the blow had landed.

  Oh, boy. I think things just got a lot more interesting. Lex watched Elizabeth retreat into the crowd.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "WHERE HAVE YOU been? I was about to send out a search party to look for you," Amanda joked to Lex, as she sat next to her at the table. Her left cheekbone bore a red welt, and Amanda frowned, reaching up to touch it gently. "What happened to you?"

  Lex nodded a greeting to the others at the table and turned her attention back to her partner. "I'll tell you about it later." Then she spied Janna and went to greet her. They had talked earlier in the week about meeting at the dance, but Janna had seemed less than enthusiastic about attending. "Hey there. Glad to see you could make it tonight."

  "Thanks. My father set me up with someone, but it didn't work out." Janna was worried about how much she should tell Lex, afraid the only reason Hubert had insisted on being her escort was he had somehow found out she was doing the books for the ranch.

  Amanda turned away from Lex to focus on Janna. "Is it someone we know?"

  Janna nodded and locked eyes with Lex, deciding to tell her. "Your brother, Hubert."

  "That son-of-a-bitch!" Lex slammed her hand on the table and jumped up. "He'll do anything to get his filthy hands on my bank account!" A light touch on her arm caused Lex to sit. "Forgive me, Janna. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." She gave the concerned faces around the table a contrite look. "I'm sorry about blowing up. It's just he always manages to land on my one raw nerve."

  Jacob waved her off. "No need to apologize, Lex. We understand the problems you've had with your brother."

  "You have every right to be upset, Lex. I'm sorry about all this. My dad set it up. All I knew was I was supposed to meet a man named Hubert, and he'd be wearing a carnation in his jacket lapel to identify himself." Janna felt ashamed she'd caused Lex to be upset. "I would never have agreed to meet him had I known who he was, even though Dad was so adamant about it. But don't worry, even if we had gotten around to talking about my work, I would have never divulged any information to him." She cast her eyes downward at the paper tablecloth and her fingernail began to tear at the damp spot underneath her cup of punch. A light touch on her hand caused her to look up.

  "Janna, no one blames you for Hubert's duplicity. We've all been witnesses to the man's shady dealings, and we understand completely." Anna Leigh squeezed her hand. "So if I were you, I wouldn't worry about it so much. He'll get what he deserves, sooner or later."

  Lex nodded her agreement. "She's right. I've had to put up with my brother's schemes for years, and lately he just gets worse. Don't worr
y about him."

  "Worry about who, Lexie?" Martha and Charlie had leisurely strolled up behind her, and Martha placed her hands on Lex's shoulders. "Is everything all right here?"

  Jacob stood and pulled a couple of chairs from a nearby table. "Everything's just fine, folks. Why don't the two of you join us?"

  "Thank you, I believe we will." Charlie helped Martha into her chair, and took the other one. "Did we miss anything exciting?"

  Anna Leigh gestured to the younger women. "Actually, I believe Mandy was going to tell us more about what happened to the two of them earlier this evening."

  "I was?" Amanda saw Lex smirk. Just leave me twisting in the wind, partner. I should have known Gramma wouldn't accept that flimsy story. "Sure. But you've got to promise to stay calm, because it sounds a lot worse than it was." She hesitated before the expectant faces around the table.

  "It usually is, when these two are involved." Charlie quieted when Martha shot him a warning look.

  "Anyway," Amanda explained, "we had been dancing for a while, and decided to come over here for something to drink. When we got outside, three guys caught us by surprise and forced us behind the building."

  "They what?" Anna Leigh gasped in horror. "And no one stopped them?" She couldn't believe three men could accost them right outside the Knights of Columbus Hall, and no one would lift a finger to help.

  Amanda squeezed her grandmother's hand in reassurance. "No one else was outside. Everyone was dancing inside. We just stepped out at the wrong time."

  Jacob saw that Lex had an amused smile on her face. "What's so funny, Lex? You could have been seriously hurt."

  "Nah. I was more concerned about Amanda, but I shouldn't have been." She winked at her lover, who averted her face in embarrassment. "Isn't that right, Rocky?" She wrapped her arm around Amanda and pulled her close.

  Anna Leigh looked from one to the other, completely confused. "Rocky? What on earth happened, Mandy?"

  Amanda raised her head. "One of the guys was holding me back, and the other two acted like they were about to attack Lex." She felt the arm around her tighten in support. "So, I, umm, disabled the guy holding me, and it gave Lex enough of a distraction to dispose of her two so we could get away."

  Anna Leigh was confused. "Disabled?"

  "She hit him where it hurt the most," Lex shared.

  After his early chastisement from his fiancée, Charlie had been quiet. Now even he had to shake his head and groan. "Remind me never to get you mad, Amanda."

  "I'm always saying the exact same thing, Charlie. If you folks will excuse us, I've got to show Amanda something." Lex stood and grabbed Amanda's hand to pull her away from the table.

  "You do?" A pointed look from Lex quelled any protest she had been about to make. Amanda waved to the table and allowed herself to be dragged gently from the crowded room. "Lex, where are we going?"

  "Hold on." Lex put off answering the question as she grabbed their coats from where they hung on the wall. She helped Amanda with her coat and they exited the hall and continued their trek through the parking lot.

  Amanda frowned until she realized Lex was steering her to the center of town. "What--"

  "Sshh. Just come on." Lex helped her lover step over a knee-high, steel-cabled fence. She led Amanda along until they were standing in the middle of the large gazebo In the town square. Lex checked her watch again and turned westward. She pulled Amanda's back close to her and stood quietly, both of them looking off into the dark night. Lex had one arm wrapped around her lover and the other pointing out into the darkness. "Watch right over there."

  Suddenly a loud blast came from the direction where Lex was pointing. The night sky lit up as fireworks shot into the air. Car horns went off, and they could hear voices yelling into the night, as the clock struck midnight.

  Amanda felt tears of awe in her eyes as a soft voice whispered into her ear, "Happy New Year, my love."

  She spun around in Lex's arms and covered her lover's chilled mouth with her lips. She threaded her fingers in the dark hair and pulled the strong body closer. When they finally broke apart long enough to breathe, Amanda leaned into her partner's chest. "It certainly is."

  Lex was quite proud of herself. "Did you like it?" Unable to resist, she placed a soft kiss on Amanda's forehead.

  "Like what?" It took Amanda a moment to realize what the question was. "Oh. Yes, I did. And the fireworks were nice, too." Remembering Lex's earlier evasion, she peered into shaded eyes. "Are you going to tell me what happened to your cheek? It looks like someone hit you." She gently traced the aforementioned body part with her fingertips.

  "Umm, yeah. Someone did." Lex tried to stall while she figured out a way to tell Amanda what had transpired.

  Amanda cupped Lex's face in her hands. "Who? Tell me, so I can go straighten them out right now." She could feel the anger begin to take over. "I mean it, Lex. No one lays a hand on you and gets away with it."

  Lex covered the hands on her face with her own. "Take it easy, love." She pulled one of Amanda's hands to her lips and kissed it. "I kind of lost my cool, and probably deserved it."

  "I don't think you deserved any such thing. Who was it?"

  "Well, I ran into your mother and went off on her about the drunks, telling her I thought she was connected to the incident. I guess she took exception, so she slapped me. It didn't even hurt." Lex felt an almost tangible ache when Amanda pulled away from her. Now you've done it, Lexington. How often can you insult her family and expect there to be no consequences?

  Amanda walked over and braced her hands on the gazebo's railing. "My mother slapped you?" She gazed off into the late night darkness, trying to sort out her feelings. A burning anger began to simmer in her stomach. "Bitch. I've got a few things to say to her!"

  I guess it means she's not mad at me after all. Lex stepped forward and put her hands on Amanda's shoulders. "Sweetheart, calm down. She's not worth it."

  "But you are." Amanda looked into the one face she never wanted to see showing pain. "You are worth anything and everything to me. Did Mother admit to sending those men after us?"

  "No. But she did make it clear she'd do whatever it took to break us up." Lex released a heavy sigh, the vapor visible in the cold evening air. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm afraid I didn't handle it very well."

  Amanda stepped forward and snuggled in her lover's arms. "If she's breathing, you handled it a lot better than I would have." She kissed Lex on the chin. "I love you, Lexington Walters. And no one, including my mother, can ever change that."

  "I love you, too. I'm just sorry you have to go through all of this because of me." Lex's lips were quickly covered with a cool finger.

  "Because of my mother, not because of you. Don't take the blame for her warped sense of morality. I certainly don't, not anymore." Amanda replaced her finger with her lips for a long moment. "Thanks to you, I don't let my mother dictate my life any longer." She thought about their closely entwined bodies. "Now, let's go back inside before we freeze like this."

  "And the problem would be?" Lex pulled away and started back toward the Ladies Auxiliary, leading Amanda along by their joined hands.

  ANNA LEIGH TURNED to her husband as the young women bid them goodnight and made their way out of the Auxiliary building. They were the last people at their table, since the others had made their excuses earlier. "I'm worried about this entire mess, my love." She watched across the room as Lex embraced Martha and fended off the housekeeper's questioning. "I've never liked Elizabeth, but I tolerated her because she was Michael's wife. Do you think she could be behind the trouble the girls had tonight?"

  "I don't know, dearest." Jacob thought back to his wife's outrage when they found out exactly what happened to Lex and Amanda earlier that evening. Anna Leigh waited until the two young women were out of earshot, and began to rant about the lack of security around the dance. Poor Charlie got an earful for sure. Although I think he was almost as upset as Anna was.

  "We've got to do something
, Jacob. I won't stand by and let her destroy Mandy's happiness." Anna Leigh watched Lex and Amanda leave the building. "Maybe we should have insisted the girls come home with us instead of driving all the way out to the ranch. Lexington was looking so pale and worn out."

  Jacob pulled his wife close and kissed the top of her head. "I know, my love. I'm worried too. I think Mandy wanted to get her home so she could take care of her. We'll just have to be ready to offer our support where we can. I think I'm going to give Charlie a call tomorrow, and see if there's anything we can do to help."

  "THAT GIRL'S GOING to be the death of me yet," Martha lamented to her fiancé as they watched Lex and Amanda leave the building. "She should never have left the house this evening, as sick as she is."

  Charlie shook his head and put his arm around her. "Probably not. You know as well as I do when Lex gets something into her head, nothing's going to stop her. And she wanted to bring Amanda to this dance tonight."

  "I know. It doesn't mean I have to like it, though." Martha snuggled into his embrace. "Do you think Amanda's mother will cause them any more trouble? I'd like to hunt her down and tear into her good for slapping my Lexie." She noticed the red welt on Lex's cheek, and had to be restrained from tracking Elizabeth down after hearing what happened earlier.

  "So would I, sweetheart. I have a couple of deputies keeping an eye on her, just to see if she will lead us to the men who harassed the girls earlier. Hopefully she'll make a mistake, and we can lock her up." He led Martha over to an empty table and gently helped her into a chair. "Do you want to stay here for a while longer, or do you want me to take you home?"

  "I don't know. I guess I should have gotten a ride from Lexie to save you the trouble." Martha hated for Charlie to be out on the winding country roads this late, especially as he lived in a boarding house on the other side of town. "Didn't you tell me the Wades were out of town?"