Free The Mavericks by Leigh Greenwood Page B

were arguing, they’d soon be saying things they couldn’t forgive. Suzette forced her way between them. “Are the mules harnessed and ready to go?”
    â€œDone,” Zeke barked.
    â€œThank you. Why don’t you climb in the back, Josie? I’ll drive for the first hour.”
    â€œYou’d better drive all the time,” Zeke said. “She seems to have difficulty staying in touch with reality.”
    â€œAnd you have difficulty staying in touch with the truth,” Josie said.
    Zeke leveled a look at Josie that should have pushed her back several feet, but she held her ground. “I don’t know anything about the truth of your reality, but I want nothing to do with it,” he said.
    â€œGood,” Josie said when Zeke turned and strode away. She continued to glare after him, but he didn’t turn around or show that he’d heard her.
    â€œWhat was that all about?” Suzette asked.
    â€œThat is the most infuriating man who ever lived,”Josie said. She was so worked up, Suzette could almost see fire coming out of her nostrils. “He practically holds me in an embrace, then denies he even touched me.”
    Suzette thought it was a good thing Zeke and Josie would be going their separate ways. If they were together much longer, there’d be a terrible explosion.
    â€œCome on,” Suzette said, “get in. Let’s go before Mrs. Pettinger tries to give us anything else.”
    But Josie continued to stand staring at the spot where Zeke had stalked off, a look of mingled fury and chagrin on her face. It appeared to Suzette that Josie didn’t know how to react, and that was unlike her. She always knew what she wanted to do, didn’t hesitate to say what was on her mind, and could take command of any situation. Suzette had her own ideas about what might be throwing Josie off stride. Zeke was a man who might turn any woman’s head, but Suzette had no intention of letting Josie guess what she was thinking. If she was wrong, Josie would be furious with her. If she was right, Josie would be more angry still.
    Suzette pulled herself up into the driver’s seat and untied the reins from the brakes. “Are you coming?” she asked when Josie still hadn’t moved.
    Josie stalled a moment longer before turning and climbing into the wagon without a word. Suzette slapped the reins and called, “Giddyaup!” She smiled to herself when she remembered that Zeke and Hawk’s ranch wasn’t far from Tombstone. She had a feeling Josie had finally met a man who could get past her formidable defenses. Suddenly she was more eager than ever to reach Tombstone.
    â€œAre you done complaining?” Hawk asked Zeke. They were seated on the ground under the shade of a sycamore tree, leaning against the trunk. Hawk gazed up at the light filtering through the canopy overhead, watching the five-pointed leaves as they rustled in the barely perceptible breeze, occasionally allowing a shaft of sunlight to reach the ground. They had paused to allow the horses to drink and graze a few minutes. Zeke had taken the opportunity to fill Hawk’s ear about Josie.
    â€œI haven’t complained all that much,” Zeke protested.
    It amused Hawk to see his cynical brother so worked up over a woman, but it worried him as well. Zeke pretended to have a thick hide and not care about anything, but Hawk knew he cared about some people very deeply. He hoped Josie wasn’t going to be one of those people. “Every time you open your mouth you talk about Josie. Even the horses are probably tired of hearing her name by now. I don’t see why she bothers you so much if you dislike her.”
    â€œIt’s her ingrained belief that no man can ignore her, that every man who sees her can’t keep his hands off her.”
    Hawk shrugged. “All beautiful women are like that, especially the ones who make a living being attractive to