The Maverick Read Online Free PDF Page A

so I had to be content with fish. It’s not the same.”
    “Kind of hard to play fetch with a fish.”
    He laughed. “True.”
    “What kind of dog do you want?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “You need to talk to Sunny or to Skye, my cousin’s wife. Sunny volunteers at one of the animal shelters, and she’s always looking for good homes for the cats and dogs there. Skye’s a veterinarian and a bit fey. She could probably look at you and recommend the perfect pet.”
    “That sounds interesting.”
    “She’s an interesting lady. All my relatives are interesting. In fact, I’ll be seeing several of them on Sunday. We’re having a bluebonnet picnic. Maybe you’d like to come along. I’m sure you’d be welcome.”
    He grinned. “You’re eating bluebonnets?”
    “Not that I know of. It’s sort of an anniversary party and celebration of the bluebonnets for a couple of my first cousins.They had a double wedding in a bluebonnet field before Sunny and I met them last year.”
    Griff frowned. “You just met your cousins last year?”
    “It’s a long and complex story. Ah, here’s our food. I’m famished.”
    The table was so filled with the variety of delicacies she’d ordered that Cass had a difficult time knowing where to start. She reached for a small spinach empanada and took a bite. “Ah, heavenly. Here, taste.” She held out the other half, and he ate it from her hand.
    “Very good. Are you going to feed me the rest of the meal?”
    Smiling, Cass said. “Nope. Grab your fork. It’s every man for himself.”
    They tasted everything, then chose their favorites. The wine was an ideal complement.
    “Tell me about your long-lost cousins,” Griff said as he helped himself to another scallop.
    “Well, they weren’t exactly lost. Sunny and I knew about them, but they didn’t know about us. We were, as they used to say, born on the wrong side of the blanket.” When Griff looked puzzled, she said, “We were illegitimate. Our father was married to someone else when we were conceived, and he died before we were born. To give him credit, he loved my mother deeply, but his wife wouldn’t consent to a divorce. Someone shot him on the steps of the capitol before he could convince her to let him go.”
    “Shot him? Who?”
    Cass shrugged. “Nobody knows. His murder was never solved. Anyhow, my mother thought the Outlaw family would consider us an embarrassment, so we never met any of them, and none of the Outlaws knew about us until Sam Bass Outlaw, one of my cousins who’s a Texas Ranger, came intoChili Witches a few months ago. Since then, we’ve become great friends. Seems that none of them cared much for Iris, the Senator’s wife, and she remarried and moved to Ohio or Iowa or somewhere years ago.”
    “Fascinating.”
    “Isn’t it? Sounds like a soap opera or something. There was never any secret about who our father was, but Mom conveniently neglected to mention that they weren’t married. We stumbled on that bit of information ourselves. Mom is going to be mortified to know we’ve met all our Outlaw relatives and love them.”
    “She doesn’t know you’ve met them?”
    “Nope. And she and Aunt Min will be arriving from France in a few weeks, and the you-know-what’s going to hit the fan. Are you going to eat that last crawfish cake?”
    “Want to flip for it?”
    She laughed. “See, I told you crawfish was good.”
    “I bow to your good judgment.”
    They ordered more crawfish cakes and another bottle of wine, and talked about everything in the world. When the waiter began to hover and Cass noticed that the bar was almost empty, she glanced at her watch.
    “Dear Lord! Look at the time! It’s two in the morning, and I have to work tomorrow.”
    “Two? I can’t believe it.” Griff motioned for the check and handed the waiter his credit card. “Sorry I’ve been so thoughtless. Let’s get you home and into bed.”
    Cass lifted her brows at him, and he gave her an innocent look. “No