The Mavericks Read Free Page A

realized all of them were staring, a question in their minds.
    â€œWe were adopted,” Zeke explained.
    â€œAdopted? You two?” Josie asked.
    Suzette didn’t understand why Josie had to be so abrupt with men. Suzette wasn’t thrilled to have these two intimidating strangers so close, yet she couldn’t help feeling a little sympathetic to them. It couldn’t be easy being an outsider wherever you went.
    â€œYes, by a couple crazy enough to adopt eleven orphans at once,” Zeke said, his manner as brusque as Josie’s. “Now, do you want to keep poking around in something that’s none of your business, or do you want us to fix that wheel?”
    Suzette decided Zeke Maxwell was about as friendly as a prickly-pear cactus. Since she was a little afraid of Hawk, she agreed with Josie in wanting the men to leave as soon as possible. Not even the opportunity to be around the horses was enough to make her want them to stay past supper.
    â€œFix the wheel,” Suzette said. “In return, you can eat with us.” She couldn’t make herself say she
wanted
them to stay.
    â€œI don’t eat with people who shoot first and ask questions later,” Hawk said.
    â€œIf you don’t want to be taken for a savage, you shouldn’t go around wearing a feather in your hair,” Josie said.
    â€œIf you don’t want to be taken for a strumpet, you shouldn’t go around in the desert wearing so much rouge,” Hawk responded.
    Familiar with the way Josie’s temper could blaze out of control at the slightest provocation, Suzette intervened before the exchange could escalate into a full-fledged argument. “I think we all understand each other a little better now. First impressions can be misleading.”
    â€œOr they can be right on the mark.” Zeke’s grin was wide and insincere. “Too bad we won’t get to know each other well enough to know which applies in this situation.”
    Zeke turned away abruptly. He and Hawk walked over to the wagon, apparently deciding how to handle their tasks without the need of words. Josie followed close on their heels, her rifle still in her grasp, her gaze riveted on the pair. Suzette wondered if Josie thought they might try to steal something from inside the wagon. She could have told her they wouldn’t. They were the kind of men who would give, but never feel comfortable taking.
    Suzette would have preferred that the women fix the wheel themselves, but she knew that none of them could have held up the wagon the way Zeke did by putting his shoulder under it. Or lifted up the wheel as though it weighed hardly anything as Hawk did. The bulging muscles in Zeke’s back, shoulders, and legs belied his calm expression. He talked to Hawk as though holding up a wagon single-handedly was something he did every day. Hawk acted like it was nothing to pick up a wheel so heavy it had taken three of the women just to lean it against the wagon.
    â€œAll I need to do now is find a piece of wood I can make into a linchpin, and you can be on your way,” Zeke said.
    â€œWhere’s he going?” Suzette asked when Hawk walked away without a word.
    â€œTo see to the horses,” Zeke said.
    â€œWould he mind if I went, too?” Suzette asked. “I used to have two horses,” she explained when Zeke looked surprised. “I miss them.”
    â€œGo if you want,” Zeke said. “If Hawk doesn’t want you around, he’ll let you know quick enough.”
    â€œAre you always this rude?” Josie asked Zeke.
    â€œActually, I’m being very well-mannered. Isabelle would be proud of me.”
    Suzette didn’t know who Isabelle was, but she didn’t have a high opinion of the woman’s notion of what constituted good manners. Suzette’s stepfather had been a member of Quebec society, so she knew all about suitable behavior. As far as she was concerned, neither Zeke nor