Free The Mavericks by Leigh Greenwood Page A

doesn’t make a fool of himself over her like other men. Regardless of what Josie says, she wants men to make a fuss over her.”
    â€œOf course she does. It’s the way she judges her appeal to an audience. When they stop making a fuss over us, we’ll have to find another way to make a living.”
    â€œJosie may not like Zeke yet, but she’s intrigued by him. Just like you’re intrigued by Hawk.”
    Averting her gaze, Suzette started to fuss with the quilt again. “I don’t know if you’re right about Josie, but you’re right about me. However, it doesn’t matter. We’ll never see those men after today.”
    Laurie grabbed Suzette’s hand to keep her from fussing. “You could change that.”
    Suzette pulled away. “You know why I can’t.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œYes.”
    Suzette didn’t like the look Laurie gave her. It clearly said she thought Suzette was making a mistake, but Suzette didn’t have time for a romantic interlude with Hawk. She already had a pressing job—to make sure her sister didn’t suffer the way she had. Besides, even though she liked men, she didn’t trust them. None of them appeared able or willing to live up to their commitments. And a man who’d reached Hawk’sage without getting married was clearly a man who didn’t
want
commitments.
    â€œDon’t worry about me and Josie,” Suzette said. “Stay here with your parents, get well, and meet some nice farmer boy.”
    â€œI think I’ll do that,” Laurie said with a weak smile. “I used to think my life was unbearably boring, and I couldn’t wait to get away. But almost from the time I got to Globe, all I wanted was to come home. I can’t thank you enough for bringing me here.”
    â€œWe couldn’t think of leaving you. Now give me one last hug. I’ve been expecting Josie to drag me out of here for the last five minutes.”
    She hugged Laurie, only slightly jealous that she wasn’t the one to sleep in a soft bed under a handmade quilt, to live in a snug house, to know that her future was safe and secure. Yet as she stepped through the door, she realized she would have felt confined by the life Laurie would lead.
    Outside, Suzette saw that Zeke had brought up the mules, but nothing, had been done to harness them to the wagon. Instead, Josie and Zeke were squared off against one another like two young roosters. If Suzette didn’t do something in a hurry, the fur would begin to fly.

Chapter Five
    Suzette didn’t know whether to intervene or let them battle it out. Those two had been spoiling for a fight from the moment they’d met, each encounter ratcheting up the tension another notch. Now they were so wrapped up in their confrontation, they appeared to have forgotten they were supposed to be harnessing the mules. Hands clenched at his sides, Zeke was glaring at Josie dangerously.
    â€œI have no doubt men whose jobs keep them from seeing many women gape at you like starving kids at a table loaded with food, but I’m not starved for a woman.”
    â€œIs that why you can’t keep your hands off me? Or your eyes?”
    â€œI look at you because you get in my way,” Zeke snapped. “Only a woman who thinks every man finds her irresistible would interpret every accidental contactwhile harnessing a couple of mules as an inability to keep his hands off her.”
    â€œSo you didn’t touch me?”
    â€œIt certainly wasn’t intentional.” Zeke walked around Josie, picked up a collar and lifted it over the head of one of the mules. Josie followed suit with the other.
    â€œSo it was an accident that your arms just happened to be around me.”
    Zeke turned, his hold on his temper tenuous. “Since you don’t know enough about harnessing mules to know when to move out of the way, I had to reach around you.”
    The way they