The Maverick (10 page)

The news Griff was flying off to Miami didn’t startle her nearly as much as his last words. “Love you,” he’d said. Was that a casual farewell or did it mean something more?

And why was she obsessing about it? The
L
word hadn’t been mentioned before.
Cool it, Cass,
she told herself.
Don’t rush things. Take it slow and easy.
In the first place, she might have misunderstood him.

No, she hadn’t misunderstood. She’d heard what she’d heard. Loud and clear. And it wasn’t three little words. It was two. Unless you counted “Bye.” And she didn’t.

Oh, cripes! Forget it. Concentrate on the color chips.

Concentrate!

When she’d finally selected colors for the outside of her house, she began to laugh. She’d picked the exact same hues as Sunny’s house. Oh, the chamois shade she’d picked might have a tiny bit more gold, but basically they were the same. Would Sunny mind?

She’d have to ask, but knowing her sister, there wouldn’t be a problem. No wonder Cass had immediately loved Sunny’s house.

For the other house, she picked a soft gray trimmed with
white, with a yellow front door. People were supposed to be drawn to yellow doors. By the time she went to bed, she’d selected wall colors for the entire interior of both places. All the paint was eco-friendly, and she was putting down bamboo floors everywhere except the kitchens and bathrooms, which would be tile. Greg Gonzales had promised to use reclaimed lumber wherever he could, and to think green in other ways.

Cass was really getting excited to move on the renovations, and she hoped Greg’s bid was on target. Two months ago she’d gotten an estimate from another contractor, whose figure had been exorbitant. Several people had recommended Greg, and she had good feelings about the whole venture.

T
HE FOLLOWING MORNING
, Greg called as she was getting dressed. “I have your estimate together,” he told her.

“Already? I like the way you work.”

“I aim to please. When and where can I drop it off?”

“I’m working today at Chili Witches. I’ll be there until closing. Anytime is fine with me.”

“Great,” Greg said. “By the way, I made a deal with your friend Oscar, and I’m buying his house down the street from yours. It worked out well for both of us. He needed to move to his new job as soon as possible, and I’ll soon be starting renovations there as well.”

“Fantastic. See you later.”

She finished dressing and hurried downstairs to open.

Sometime after eleven, Cass was in the office chasing down an invoice when her mother stuck her head in. “Someone out front is asking for you,” Gloria said. Her mouth drew into a sly smile. “A man. A very handsome man.”

“Must be Greg Gonzales. He said he’d be dropping by.”

“The same Greg Gonzales you went to school with? The football player you used to swoon over when you were fifteen?”

“The very one. You don’t forget much, do you, Mom?”

“How could I forget? For a year I never heard such sighing over a boy. It looks like you finally have your chance. He seem very nice.”

“Don’t go matchmaking, Mom. He’s a contractor, here to drop off an estimate for renovating the houses I bought. Besides, I imagine he’s married with four kids by now.”

“Maybe so, but I didn’t see a ring on his finger. I checked.”

Cass shook her head. “Rings don’t mean anything these days, especially in his business. They’re sometimes a safety hazard.”

She hurried out to meet Greg, who was standing by the bar with a large envelope in his hand.

He smiled when he saw her. “Good morning, Cass.”

“Hi, Greg. That for me?” She motioned to the envelope, which he handed to her. “Have time for me to buy you a cup of coffee?”

“As a matter of fact, I thought I’d grab a hamburger and some fries while I’m here. I’ve been up since five with my roofing crew, and it’s time for my lunch.”

“Sure. Where would you like to sit? You’ve beat most of the lunch crowd. Grab any table you want.”

“Do you have time to join me?”

“For a minute. I’m eager to see your figures.” She turned to tell her mother to watch the door, and almost fell over her. “Eavesdropping?” she whispered.

“Certainly not,” Gloria said. “Go ahead and have a bite with your friend. Min and I can handle everything. After all, we did it for years without any help.”

Cass gave her an exasperated eye roll and trailed after Greg.

Gloria followed. Cass had no choice except to introduce her to the contractor.

“I’m so delighted to meet you, Greg. I remember you as a boy. Now, what can I get you two for lunch?”

Greg ordered, and Cass said, “I think I’ll just have coffee for now, Mom. Thanks.”

She could see her mother open her mouth to argue, but Cass gave a small shake of her head. “Wonderful,” Gloria said. “I’ll get those drinks right out.”

Actually, one of the waiters brought the drinks, and Cass opened the envelope to check the estimates. After a quick scan of the figures, she said, “I’ll want to study this in more detail before I give you a final answer, but my first impression is that it looks very satisfactory. When can you start?”

“Anytime you give the word. We should be finished with our current job by the weekend, and I can have a crew there Monday morning. If you want to wait—”

“I don’t. I’ve put this off long enough. I’d like to get started as soon as possible. I’ll check your estimates later this afternoon and get back to you. Is this your cell number?” She pointed to the letterhead.

“No. Let me write it down for you.” He made a note on the outside of the envelope.

“I’m so excited about this. I already have the paint colors and flooring picked out. I’m going over in the morning to take some measurements so I can begin to plan for rugs and furniture.”

“Want me to help with the measurements?” he asked.

“Oh, not necessary, Greg. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Not at all. My men can work without me for a while, and I’d like to talk to you about a fireplace.”

“A fireplace?”

“Yes. I’m thinking about adding a gas fireplace to the house I’m buying from Oscar, and I was wondering if you’re interested in one in your house as well.”

“I hadn’t even thought about it, but that’s a wonderful idea. How much would it cost?”

“I’m going to get some figures together later this afternoon,” he said, “and I can let you know tomorrow.”

The waiter appeared with Greg’s hamburger and fries. Aunt Min was right behind him with another tray. Cass again made introductions.

Aunt Min gushed a bit over him, then said, “I’m trying out new recipes for sweet potato empanadas, Cass, and I wish you would try out these two kinds and the different sauces and see what you think.” She laid out two plates, one holding baked empanadas, the other fried, along with three sauces, side plates and silverware. “I just finished them.”

“Could I do that later? I need to get back to work. We have customers coming in.”

“Oh, pish,” her aunt said. “Gloria and I can handle everything. Greg, I’d like your opinion as well. After you finish your hamburger, of course.” She smiled brightly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll give them a try.”

After Min wiggled her fingers and left, he asked, “Are your mother and aunt twins, too?”

“No,” Cass said. “But they do look a lot alike. And they conspire in tandem.”

Greg looked puzzled.

“Never mind.” She was glad he hadn’t snapped to their obvious efforts to get something going between Greg and her. Cass sighed and took a baked empanada onto a plate, cut it in half and topped one bite with one sauce, the other bite with a different one. “These are really good.”

“So’s this hamburger.”

“Thanks. Our hamburgers are the best in Texas, second only to our chili.”

“I love the chili here. I’ll get that next time.”

She tried a fried empanada and the other sauce, then left him to his meal. “See you in the morning about ten?”

He nodded.

Cass made a beeline for her mother and pulled her around a corner and out of sight. “What’s the big idea?”

Gloria raised her eyebrows and feigned puzzlement. “I don’t understand.”

“Greg is my contractor. Nothing more.”

“He’s very handsome and seems quite nice.”

“I prefer Griff.”

Gloria heaved a theatrical sigh and walked away.

This wasn’t good, Cass thought.

D
URING THE AFTERNOON LULL
, Cass retreated to her office to study the figures Greg had given her. She was impressed with his presentation and his estimate of the costs. Both were very complete and much more reasonable than the other contractor had offered for the same work. She compared the two carefully. Greg had also provided a list of stores and suppliers where he got builder discounts. Cass called him and told him the job was his.

Another call buzzed in as she was saying goodbye to Greg. It was Griff.

“Hi,” she said. “How’s Miami?”

“Nice, but I’d rather be in Austin.”

“I’d rather you were here, too. I was just talking to my new contractor when you called. We’re starting renovations on my houses on Monday.”

“That was quick.”

“Things happened to work out well. Are you coming back soon? You can help me move the POAC office. One of our members is donating office space in her building.”

“When are you moving?”

“Either tomorrow or Sunday afternoon. I’ll be working Saturday.”

“Babe, I wish I could be there, but it looks like I’ll be in Miami until Saturday, and I have some things to take care of in New York before I can leave. It will be at least Tuesday or Wednesday before I can wrap up my business and come home.”

“Home? Are you thinking of Austin as home?”

“More and more,” Griff said. “I told you I love the town. And Austin is where you are.”

A big lump formed in her throat. “I miss you.”

“I miss you more. Believe me, I’m doing everything I can to get there, sweetheart. You can’t imagine. Cass, I love you so much.”

She totally melted. There was no mistaking his words this time. She tried to say something, but her mouth wouldn’t work.

“Cass?”

“Yes. I’m here. I—I…” The words just wouldn’t come.

“Cass, I’m not rushing you, simply telling you how I feel.”

“I understand,” she said. And the tears came. She sniffed. Why was she crying? “I, uh, I can’t talk right now.”

“Sorry. I know you’re working. I’ll call you tomorrow night. Goodbye, sweetheart.”

When the call ended, Cass put her head down and wept.

“Cass, honey, why are you upset?”

She looked up to see the Senator sitting across from her, looking concerned. Squeezing her eyes shut, she told herself
she was hallucinating, but when she opened them again, he was still there.

“Griff told me he loves me.”

“How wonderful! Don’t you love him?”

“I—I’m not sure. We haven’t known each other very long.”

“Sometimes it doesn’t take very long. The moment I saw your mother I fell head over heels for her. Now,
she
took a little longer to bring around.”

Cass couldn’t believe that she was sitting in the office calmly discussing her love life with a ghost. This was crazy.

As if he could read her mind, he smiled.

That made her more nervous. Still, she said, “Mom and Aunt Min don’t like him.”

“They didn’t like me either, not at first. The important thing is not how they feel about him but how you feel. Listen to the quiet little voice deep inside you, and you won’t go wrong.”

“But—”

Just as quickly as he’d appeared, the Senator faded, and she was left talking to an empty chair.

Friday morning was a glorious day in Austin, with clear skies and with temperatures expected to be in the eighties. Dressed appropriately in shorts and sandals, Cass pulled to a stop in front of her house at exactly ten o’clock. Greg’s big pickup was already there, and he was sitting on the front steps, waiting. Did his eyes linger a bit too long on her legs? If so, she didn’t mind. In fact, she felt a little smug about still having good legs. She reminded herself it was past time to get back into her jogging routine. Monday for sure.

Hurrying up the broken concrete walk, she waved. “Am I late?”

“Nope. You’re exactly on time.” Clipboard in hand, he smiled and stood. “I’m a little early. Ready to measure?”

“I am.” She held up her retractable tape. “Let me unlock the door. Karen isn’t here today. We’re hoping to find someone to move the office furniture today.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about the office.” He motioned toward the sign beside the front door. “Exactly what is POAC?”

“POAC stands for Preserve Old Austin’s Charm. It’s a nonprofit organization that supports what its name implies. I’m
the president.” She told him a little bit about projects the group had been involved in.

“Cool,” Greg said. “It breaks my heart when I see some of the landmarks torn down and paved over. I don’t want Austin to become a city with a bunch of skyscrapers dominating the landscape.”

Cass chuckled. “You sound like me. We’d love to have you as a member.”

“Where do I sign up?”

She took a form from the filing cabinet. “Fill this out and send it in if you’re truly interested.”

“I am.” He slipped the form into the papers on his clipboard. “Where is POAC moving?”

“To the building of one of our members, a couple of blocks over—if I can locate some muscle and a truck pretty soon.”

“I’ve got some muscle and a truck. Is this all you have to move?” He motioned to the desk, folding chairs, a folding table and a file cabinet.

Cass looked around at the motley assortment of equipment and furniture and grinned. “This is it. Did I mention we keep the overhead low? Everything we have is either donated or bought from the Salvation Army store. We pay our secretary barely enough to keep her in gas money to work a few hours a week.”

“I’ll call two of my guys to come over, and by the time we’re finished measuring, they’ll have everything loaded up and ready to go.”

“Oh, Greg, I hate for you to do that. I don’t want to impose on your workers’ time.”

“Not a problem.” Greg phone Chick, whoever he was, and told him to bring a couple of helpers to this address.

“That’s very sweet of you, Greg.”

He grinned. “I’m a sweet kind of guy. Let’s use my tape.” He unclipped an enormous tape measure from his belt and whipped it the length of the living room. “Sixteen.” He moved and whipped it again. “Thirteen.”

Cass hurriedly wrote down the numbers as he moved from room to room and called them out.

“Golly,” she said when they were finished. “That took a whole five minutes. You’re speedy.”

He chuckled. “The other house had the exact same floor plan, so these same measurements should do for them. Let’s talk about the fireplace. I assume you’d want it in the living room.”

“Sure. I suppose another option would be between the living room and dining room.” They walked back in that direction.

“It’s a possibility, but it would cost considerably more. I recommend you put it right here between these two windows.” He showed her several styles to choose from, then gave her a price for each.

“I love this one,” Cass said, pointing out a contemporary one, faced with slate. “Let’s do it.”

“Good choice,” he said. “A lot of people are putting their flat screen TVs over the fireplace. Want me to wire yours for a TV?”

“Great idea. How much will it cost?”

She was surprised at how little he quoted, and she scribbled the figure in her notebook a second before the helpers knocked on the front door. Greg instructed the two men on what to load in his truck, and while they were doing so, Cass called the owner of the new office space and told her they were on the way.

Greg drove the men and the furniture to the new site, and Cass followed behind. The furniture was moved and the office set up in less than an hour.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this, Greg,” she told him warmly.

“Consider it my donation to POAC. Want to grab a bite of lunch at the place across the street?”

Cass hesitated. She rarely ate lunch so early.

“I wanted to go over some particulars about trim work and paint.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’m always up for Chinese. What about your men?”

“Chick will pick them up. He’s on his way.”

She and Greg walked across the street and went inside. It felt a little strange to be with another man and have him opening the door and touching her back to steer her to a table. Was she picking up some subtle signals or was he just another friendly guy?

After they ordered, he did indeed go over some ideas he had for the crown molding in both houses, as well as railings for the porches to make them look different from one another. He also suggested using reclaimed lumber. They decided on granite countertops for her house and concrete ones for the rental, and discussed interior molding colors.

When their food came, they put aside their respective notes and ate.

“Tell me,” he said, “what have you been doing since high school?”

Cass briefly told him about college and law school and her stint as a lawyer in New York. “I stood it as long as I could, and then I headed back to Texas last year. I didn’t like being a lawyer, and I missed home and my sister. What about you? As I recall, you had a football scholarship somewhere.”

“I did. UCLA. I was studying architecture there, but I blew out my knee in my junior year. Surgery fixed me up to do ev
erything except play football, and I dropped out of school. For a few years I knocked around California learning the building trades. Like you, I started missing Texas and my family, so I headed home a couple of years ago.”

“Married? Children?”

He shook his head. “Nope. How about you?”

Cass had a feeling she needed to discourage any ideas of a personal relationship between them. “Nope. Me neither, but I’ve been seeing a very special guy. This may be the one.”

“Then it wouldn’t do me any good to ask you out on date?”

She smiled. “Sorry. I’m pretty sure my guy wouldn’t approve.”

“Well, damn. A day late and a dollar short. You know, I used to have a crush on you when you were a cute little sophomore cheerleader.”

Cass laughed. “On Sunny or me?”

“Both of you, to tell the truth. I couldn’t tell one from the other. But you seemed too young for me at the time.”

“How funny. I figured you didn’t know we were alive. So you never went back to get your architecture degree?”

He shook his head. “I kept putting it off for one reason or another, and now I’m too old.”

“I don’t think you’re ever too old to go back to school.”

“Maybe you’re right, but I have people dependent on me now. My mom isn’t in the best of health, and I support her and my special-needs sister.”

While they finished lunch, Cass told him briefly about Sunny’s life, as well. Greg was easy to talk to, and she really liked him, but the zing she felt with Griff simply wasn’t there. She didn’t have the slightest urge to jump across the table and nibble his ear or kiss him senseless.

Sorry, Mom.

S
HE MISSED
G
RIFF
dreadfully. Even though he called every day, it wasn’t enough. Her days were busy and full, but still they seemed to drag by. When Sunny picked her up on Sunday morning to drive to Dripping Springs for their meeting with Carrie Outlaw, Cass welcomed the distraction of both having time alone with her sister and seeing Carrie.

Sunny drove like an old lady, but Cass didn’t say a word about it as they tooled down the highway. This last time she’d come this way, Griff had been with her and nervous as a hooker in church about her heavy foot. She smiled, remembering.

“What?” Sunny said. “Why are you grinning like a possum in a persimmon tree?”

“I was thinking about something.”

“Something or someone?” When she didn’t answer, Sunny said, “Griff Mitchell, I’ll bet. Are you getting serious about him, Cass?”

She sighed. “I think so, and it may be a problem. Mom and Aunt Min don’t like him, and they can’t explain why. How do you feel about him, sis?”

“He’s good-looking for sure. And charming and thoughtful. But…I don’t know, somehow I’m uneasy around him. Maybe it’s the cop in me. Ben and Sam feel the same way. I’m not sure how Belle and her other brothers feel, but I know Sam ran a check on him.”

Cass bolted straight up, and only her seat belt restrained her from shooting to her feet. Fury zipped through her like an express train. “Dammit! I can’t believe he did that. Just because Griff doesn’t have a Texas drawl doesn’t mean he’s a sleaze. Wait till I get my hands on Sam Bass Outlaw.”

“Calm down, Cass. You’re overreacting. Sam only did it
because he cares about you. Don’t you want to know what he found out?”

She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead. “No! I wouldn’t sink so low as to ask.”

After a mile or two of silence, she relented. “Okay, what did Sam find out?”

“Griff was born on Long Island, went to Harvard, was the president of his class, also went to Harvard Law and graduated at the top of his class. He’s licensed to practice law in New York, and his record is clean as a whistle except for a couple of speeding tickets and a disturbing the peace citation when he was in college.”

“I could have told Sam all that and saved him a world of time and trouble. I can’t believe he checked Griff out.”

“Don’t be angry, Cass. Maybe it’s because none of us are used to being around rich folks from New Yawk, as you call it. You probably rubbed elbows with people like that when you lived there. We didn’t. Sometimes you distrust what’s not familiar. Maybe that’s what we’re feeling.”

“Ben, too?”

Sunny nodded. “Sorry. And maybe J.J.,” she added quietly.

“Has the
entire
family been discussing Griff and his ‘slick’ ways?”

“We aren’t trying to be nosy. We care about you.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Cass said. “I saw the Senator again. Saw him, hell. We had a conversation.”

Sunny glanced over at her with a surprised look. “You did?”

“I kid you not.”

“What did you talk about?”

“He told me to listen to the quiet voice inside me and follow my heart.”

“Then I’d pay attention to his advice if I were you,” Sunny said. “He’s never steered me wrong.”

“Maybe so, but his flitting in and out like he does makes me nervous. And speaking of nervous,” Cass said, thrumming her fingers against her thigh, “I’m itching to know what Carrie wants to talk with us about. Have you come up with any ideas?”

“Not a one. I suppose we’re going to have to wait another few minutes to find out. Seems strange it’s Carrie, of all people, who wants to talk with us. And privately.”

“Well, she’s a lawyer. But so’s Frank. And Belle, too, for that matter.”

“Here we are,” Sunny said, turning in at their meeting place. “We’ll soon find out.”