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  Amanda waited until they were out of earshot before speaking. "Lex--"

  "Amanda, wait. I promised Lorrie yesterday that we'd go. It just slipped my mind." Lex scooped scrambled eggs onto her fork. "She's been getting a lot of flack at school, mainly by Jerry Sater and his buddies, about how she dresses."

  "But she's never said word one about it to me." Amanda finished her juice and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "And what's wrong with how she dresses? Most kids wear jeans to school."

  Lex nodded since her mouth was full. She chewed for a few seconds before swallowing. "I know. But I think it's because she wears western shirts and boots. She has tennis shoes at school for gym class, but doesn't wear them anywhere else."

  "I'd like to teach that brat Jerry a few things," Amanda said, clearing her place from the table.

  "Me too. But that would just make it worse for her and you know it." Lex finished her breakfast and joined Amanda at the sink. "Same thing happened to me when I was a kid. But my old man didn't see any need for separate school and work clothes." Old hurts came to the surface and Lex was grateful for the sudden loving embrace she found herself in. "I'll be damned if I let that to happen to our kids."

  Amanda's arms tightened around her partner's waist and she buried her face in Lex's shirt. There were no words needed, just the promise of love and support freely given.

  THE LONG DAY finally over, Amanda stretched out on the bed with a heartfelt moan. The shopping trip was a success, and both girls had a great time. As much as she adored her children, her favorite part of the day was bedtime. She rolled over onto her side and watched her nude partner step out of the bathroom. Most definitely her favorite time of day. Although Lex would be turning forty in a few weeks, to Amanda she still looked as athletic as she did when they first met. She sighed as Lex changed into boxer shorts and a tee shirt. So much for the nice view.

  Lex came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing." Amanda stretched and slipped her hand under Lex's shirt. "Mmm. Better."

  "Oh yeah?" Lex rolled Amanda over and raised her gown. She blew a loud raspberry on her stomach, causing her wife to laugh.

  "Stop it!" Amanda struggled, which only made Lex laugh and continue. "Aarrgghh!" Amanda stopped struggling when Lex moved lower. "Oooh." Her nightgown suddenly disappeared, as warm hands began a teasing dance over her body. She wrapped her legs around Lex's hips and twisted, putting her wife beneath her. "Hmm." Amanda straddled Lex's waist. "Now," she slowly divested Lex of her tee shirt. "How long can I torture you?"

  Lex grinned. "Do your worst, woman. I can handle anything you can dish out."

  "Sounds like a challenge." Amanda lightly ran her fingers along Lex's ribcage and over her chest. She enjoyed the reaction. "Cold?"

  "N--" Lex had to clear her throat when Amanda's lips followed the same path. "No. Not cold at all." She jumped when Amanda nibbled a particularly sensitive spot. "Whoa."

  SITTING AT HER office desk, Amanda glanced at her watch. It was a few minutes past one, and she sent a silent prayer to Lex, whom she hoped was having a good meeting. Lex had managed to reschedule for noon, allowing her to leave home at the same time as Amanda and the kids. With a heavy sigh, Amanda stared at her inbox. She picked up the top paper and was startled when her phone rang. "Yes?"

  "Amanda, you have a call from Red Creek Elementary on line two," Margaret, the receptionist said.

  "Thanks." Amanda tapped the flashing light on her phone. "This is Amanda Walters."

  "Ms. Walters, this is Principal Nicks. I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I couldn't reach your, ah, partner."

  Rolling her eyes at his unease, Amanda returned the paper to the inbox. "No, Lex had to run out of town. What can I do for you?"

  The principal cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. Well, it's about your, ah, daughter? Lorraine?"

  "Lorrie? What's wrong? Is she sick or hurt?" Amanda looked around the floor by her desk for her purse.

  "No, no. Nothing like that. There's been an--incident--here at the school, and I'm afraid she's going to have to go home for the day."

  Amanda hooked her right foot around the strap of her purse and tugged it out from under her desk. She stood and placed the bag on her chair. "What kind of incident? Is she all right?"

  "She's fine, but she hit another child in the face with a dodge ball. I'm sure you understand that we can't condone that sort of behavior."

  "Excuse me?" Amanda sat on the edge of her desk. "How do you know it was done on purpose?"

  "The children all know that throwing at the head is not allowed. Poor Jerry Sater is still in the nurse's office. His nose may be broken."

  Cringing, Amanda used her shoulder to hold the phone receiver while she put on her jacket. "I'll be right there, Mr. Nicks. Thank you for calling." Amanda hung up before she said something she would regret.

  AMANDA WADED THROUGH a group of children who were returning from the playground. She tried to ignore the "wet kid" aroma that filled the hallway. Even as a mother of two active girls, she still had trouble stomaching the smell. She quickly stepped into the office and smiled at the school secretary. "Hi, Mrs. Clevens."

  "Ms. Walters, hello." The matronly woman pointed toward the closed door behind her. "She's in there. Go right in."

  "Thank you." Amanda tapped on the door.

  "Come," the principal's gruff voice answered.

  Taking a deep breath, Amanda stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She saw Lorrie sitting in a corner chair, head down, her new clothes covered with playground dirt. She immediately knelt next to Lorrie's chair. "Honey? What happened to your clothes?"

  Lorrie raised her head. "Me and Al and Courtney was playing, and Jerry and Russ ran by and pushed us down. They made Al cry, Mommy." Lorrie lunged into Amanda, who caught her instinctively.

  "Sssh. It's okay." Amanda tucked Lorrie's head against her shoulder and turned to the principal. "Mr. Nicks?"

  "Well." He adjusted his tie. "I wasn't made aware of the other children's actions. But that still doesn't excuse your daughter from hitting Jerry in the face with the ball."

  "Did you even bother to find out all the facts before you accused my daughter of something?"

  Mr. Nicks frowned. "I take my job very seriously. You can't have bullies on the playground. And the only injury I was made aware of was Jerry Sater's."

  It took all of Amanda's willpower not to yell at the pompous man. She decided to ignore him and brushed her hand through Lorrie's hair in an attempt to calm her. Amanda lowered her voice. "Want to tell me about throwing the ball?"

  "Jerry pushed Al and made her cry. Her knee was bleeding and Jerry laughed." Lorrie wiped her teary face on Amanda's jacket. "I was mad and threw the ball, but Jerry turned around and it hit him in the face. I didn't mean to hurt him."

  The principal interrupted. "It doesn't matter what the intent was, Lorraine. Your actions injured someone else."

  "And what about what Jerry did? Is he exempt?" Amanda changed places with Lorrie so that her daughter was in her lap. "I have no problem with taking Lorrie out of school today for her part in the incident. But I do have issues with the instigator getting off scot free."

  "Now see here, Ms. Walters--"

  Amanda stood. "Lorrie, honey. Could you go out to the front office while I finish talking to Mr. Nicks?" She kissed Lorrie on the forehead before letting her go. Once the door closed again, Amanda turned toward the principal. Her eyes sparkled with rage. "I'm taking my daughter home and she'll be back in school on Monday. If you don't do something about Jerry Sater, I'll notify the authorities. Maybe they can help you handle one trouble-making little boy."

  "Ms. Walters, please. I think we can come to some sort of understanding--"

  "You're damned right we can. Either you handle the situation, or I will." She opened the door and held out her hand to Lorrie. "Come on, sweetie. You can help me at work until your sister gets out of class." Amanda stormed from the office before her temper totally g
ot away from her.

  SOFT MUSIC FROM a small radio filled Amanda's office. The door was closed in an attempt at privacy, as mother and daughter sat at the desk, intent on what they were doing.

  Lorrie looked across the desk and watched her mother flip through a short stack of papers. "Mommy?"

  "Yes?" Amanda stopped searching for an elusive contract and gave Lorrie her complete attention.

  "When will Momma be home?"

  "Probably around lunchtime tomorrow. Why?"

  Focusing on the paper she had been writing on, Lorrie mumbled, "Is she going to be mad at me because I got sent home again?"

  Amanda's answer was postponed by the buzzing of her phone. "Hold on, sweetie." She pushed the speaker button. "Yes?"

  "I'm sorry, Amanda. But there's an extremely, um, agitated woman on line one for you."

  Giving her daughter what she hoped was a comforting smile, Amanda nodded. "Thanks, Margaret." She picked up the handset and pushed the button. "This is Amanda Walters, how can I help you?"

  "Walters? Seriously?" the woman said. "Whatever."

  Amanda kept her voice steady, aware of the young ears not far away. She had legally changed her name before she became pregnant with Melanie, so everyone's last name would be the same. "Is there something I can do for you?"

  "Damn right you can. I had to take Jerry to the emergency room."

  "I'm sorry to hear that. But what--"

  Susan's voice took on an even nastier tone. "You're going to pay for my son's medical bills."

  Struggling to keep from upsetting Lorrie, Amanda cleared her throat. "Bills? Just what is wrong with him?"

  "Well, the emergency room doctor couldn't tell me his nose was broken, so I'm taking Jerry to a specialist. And I expect you and Lexington to pay for it."

  "I don't think so."

  "You either pay, or I'll sue." Susan's voice grew in intensity until she was screaming. "Your little brat could have killed my boy!"

  Amanda had heard enough. "Give me a break. I spoke to the nurse, and she told me it was just a bloody nose. And if your son wasn't such a bully, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Her anger got the better of her. "What happened today was an accident. And if you think for one damned minute you're getting as much as a penny out of us, you're deluded." She slammed the phone down, noticing too late the shocked look on Lorrie's face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

  Lorrie didn't say anything.

  Amanda lifted her purse from the floor. "Why don't we pick up your sister and then get some ice cream? How's that sound?"

  "Okay." Lorrie followed her out of the room, her head hung low out of guilt.

  Chapter Three

  INSIDE THE PICKET fence, the wooden swing set was strategically situated beneath huge shade trees. Lorrie kicked her legs forward to urge her swing higher. Her hair blew across her face and temporarily obscured her eyes. She tried to ignore the girl next to her, who attempted to catch up.

  "How do you do that?" Ally huffed. Only a few days older than her best friend, she was several pounds heavier and a couple of inches shorter. She shook her head to move her curly blonde hair away from her mouth. Her own swing wasn't half as high in the air. No matter how hard she kicked, she never got far from the ground.

  "I dunno. Just goes like I want it to." Lorrie grinned wildly when her toes touched the closest tree branch. "Yeah!" Her jubilance was short-lived when the back door of the house slammed and two younger girls hurried down the steps. "Crud."

  Ally's sister, Penny, was the first to reach them. She was a year younger than Melanie, but they were as close as the older girls were to each other. "Hey, wanna know somethin'? We was playing dolls and I was a mommy."

  "That's nice," Lorrie grumbled. She kept swinging, hoping they'd get the hint and leave her and Ally alone.

  Melanie stood as close to the swings as was safe. Her small hands were on her hips and she looked eerily like Amanda. "Lorrie, we want to swing, too."

  "We were first." Lorrie did her best to ignore her sister. "Come on, Al. Go higher."

  "Mommy says you're supposed to share," Melanie said. Freckles sat beside her and she scratched the dog on the top of the head.

  Penny jumped and swatted at her sister. "Ally, please? You're not swinging so high anyway."

  "Stop it." Ally kicked and slid from the swing, hitting the ground flat on her back. She became completely still and her eyes were closed.

  Lorrie waited until her swing came to a low point and nimbly jumped. She dropped to her knees beside her best friend. "Al?" She shook Ally's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

  "She's dead," Penny wailed.

  "Hush." Lorrie carefully shook Ally again. "Come on, Al. You're scaring the little kids."

  Ally's eyes and mouth opened, but she didn't make a sound. Her face took on a fearful grimace and her eyes grew wide.

  "Hey." Lorrie lifted Ally into a sitting position and patted her back, causing the other girl to inhale deeply. She held her as Ally coughed and cried. "You're all right. Just got the breath knocked out of you. The same thing happened to me when I fell off Mine, once." Lex had helped her the way she helped Ally now.

  Melanie still had tears in her eyes. "I'm gonna go get Mommy."

  "No!" Lorrie was afraid they'd get into trouble, and she'd been in enough lately to last her a lifetime. "Everything's fine. Right, Al?"

  "Y--yeah." Ally coughed a few more times and rubbed the tears from her face. "Ow."

  Lorrie helped Ally to her feet and brushed off her clothes. "Maybe we should go inside and find something else to do."

  "Like what?" Penny got on the other side of Ally and grasped her hand. Her spare hand ended up in her mouth and she began to nervously suck on her knuckles. "That was scary, Ally."

  "Yeah, it was," Lorrie said. She tapped her leg and Freckles immediately jumped up on her. "You almost was a real angel, instead of just one for Halloween."

  Hearing about Halloween perked up the younger girls. Penny especially got excited. "I'm a princess."

  Ally rolled her eyes. "We know, Pen. And I'm an angel, Lorrie's a zombie, and Mel's Snow White."

  "I know." Penny released her sister's hand and skipped over to Melanie. "I love Snow White. Your dress is so pretty, too."

  "Uh-huh. Come on, let's go look at it." Melanie started running for the house, the rest of the girls hurrying to catch up.

  FOUR EXCITABLE CHILDREN and one dog raced into the kitchen, which startled Amanda and caused her to drop the spoon she used to stir the pot of stew on the stove.

  Melanie was the first to speak. "Mommy, can we wear our costumes? We'll be good."

  Penny tugged on Amanda's blouse. "Hey, wanna know something? I'm going to be a princess."

  "That's right." Amanda turned to look at the four children. "Lorrie, Ally, will you two help your sisters if they need it?"

  Lorrie's smile grew. "Yes, ma'am." She tugged on her little sister's arm. "Come on, Mel. Let's go get dressed up." She led the little group from the room, breaking into a run as they hit the stairs. "Last one up's a rotten egg!" Freckles bounced along beside her, adding a bark every few steps.

  "Wait for me," Penny cried, as she had trouble navigating. She was smaller than Melanie, but never let that deter her from following along.

  Melanie waited for Penny, taking the younger girl's hand. "We can get dressed in my room." She led the way, moving slower in deference to Penny.

  The two older girls had gone to the end of the hall to Lorrie's room and closed the door. She had shared a room with her sister until Melanie turned five. Lorrie had requested her own space and was given one of the guest rooms, which she was allowed to decorate as she desired.

  Melanie's room was across the hall from her parent's, and she redecorated as well. The dominant color in her room was pink. Her white, full-sized canopy bed was draped in the bright color, and her white bedspread was covered with pink polka dots. She had posters of her favorite cartoon characters, mainly princesses. W
here her sister's room had books to read and sports paraphernalia, Melanie had shelves of coloring books and art supplies. In one corner stood a sturdy easel that was covered with a large pad of paper. Her completed "artwork" covered an entire wall, taped there by her proud parents.

  She went to her closet to get her costume, while Penny took her own out of the small suitcase on the bed. They chatted and giggled while changing, leaving their clothes scattered on the floor.

  A knock on the door caused both girls to become silent. Melanie had finished dressing and was spinning in a circle. "Come in," she sang.

  Lorrie and Ally joined the younger girls. Both were wearing their costumes. Ally was in her angel outfit, minus the wings and halo. Lorrie was dressed in torn, black clothing. Her zombie mask was still in her room. Freckles circled around Melanie, barking. "Mel, quit doing that."

  "Hey, wanna know something?" Penny asked Lorrie. She held out the edge of her dress, which was a smaller version of a shimmering yellow ball gown. "I'm a princess."

  "I know, Penny." Lorrie had heard the same refrain all afternoon.

  Allison stared at Melanie, who had finally stopped spinning around the room. "Something doesn't look right with Mel, Lorrie."

  "What?" Lorrie looked at her little sister. She was wearing the same costume as she had last weekend. The dress had a blue top with red sleeves and cape, and a yellow skirt. "She looks okay to me."

  "Snow White had dark hair," Allison said. "Mel's hair is too light."

  Lorrie turned her head to one side as she studied Melanie, then glanced at the poster over her bed. "You're right. We need to find something to make her hair look more like Snow White's."

  "My mommy uses a creamy stuff for color," Penny said. "She's always keeping boxes of it in her bathroom."

  "I don't think my moms use stuff like that." Lorrie scrunched her face in thought. "Wait. I got an idea." She left the room, coming back a minute later with Lex's boot shine kit.