“She’s a beautiful woman,” Ben said.
“Who?”
“Your cousin.”
“You interested?” Sam asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Me, too,” Sam said. “But in a different way than you are. I’ve got to call my folks. They’re not going to believe this.”
“I don’t imagine your aunt Iris is going to be happy about it.”
“Aunt Iris is long gone.”
“Dead?”
“May be, for all I know. She married a preacher about fifteen or twenty years ago and moved to Des Moines. We haven’t heard from her since. Not even a Christmas card.”
Their chili came, served by the young man who was their waiter. He also delivered a cauldron of the oyster crackers they’d ordered along with chopped onions and a couple of kinds of grated cheese. They both dug in. This was good chili. No, it was great chili. But hot. Real hot.
“Are you sure we ordered the medium?” Ben asked.
“Hoo-wee,” Sam said, “this stuff is hotter than a three-dollar pistol. But good. I’ll bet the hottest kind would blister the paint off a butane tank. Dump some of those oyster crackers in it. And some of that cheese. Cuts down on the fire.”
Ben doctored up his bowl and ate the whole thing. His forehead was a little damp when he finished, but he’d enjoyed it. A girl came by and refilled their iced tea glasses. He chugged the second glass and looked around for Sunny, but she still hadn’t reappeared. Where had she gone?
Sam must have read his mind. “Wonder where Sunny ran off to?”
Ben shrugged. “I was wondering the same thing.”
When the waiter came to get dessert orders, Sam asked him about Sunny.
“She must be in the office.”
“The office? She the manager?” Ben asked.
“Owner and manager. One of them. How about some peach cobbler with ice cream? Or pecan pie?”
They both ordered cobbler.
“How long has Sunny been the owner and manager of this place?” Sam asked the waiter before he could leave.
“Couple of years, I think. She took over from her mother and her aunt before I started working here.”
“From her mother?”
The waiter nodded. “Her mother and aunt started the café. My grandfather says he’s been coming here since it opened back in the seventies. That was way before Austin built up so much downtown. I’ll get your cobbler.”
SUNNY SAT IN HER OFFICE for a long time, staring out the window at the courtyard and fighting the urge to go back and ask Sam Bass Outlaw about his family. Her family. Her family and Cassidy’s. She’d always longed to meet them, but her mother would have been mortified if she’d tried. Probably still would be.
Should she tell Cass who had just dropped into Chili Witches? Knowing her twin, Cass would go charging to his table and demand answers. She picked up the phone to call upstairs, then put it back down again.
Maybe it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Chapter Three
A couple of days later, Ben McKee managed to shake loose from a case he’d been working on by lunchtime. He’d had a hankering for some more chili ever since he and Sam had visited Chili Witches. He’d had a hankering to see Sunny again, as well. She was a good-looking woman with a warm smile, and he’d been thinking about her a good bit. He hadn’t been in Austin long and hadn’t had much time to meet any ladies.
Oh, his sister Tracy had been trying to fix him up with this one and that, but he’d sidestepped her efforts at matchmaking. He wasn’t interested in the type of women she wanted to introduce him to—the picket fence and happily-ever-after kind. He’d tried that, and he was still paying the price for it. Only thing good that had come from his marriage was his son, Jay.
He grinned at the thought of his five-year-old towhead as he pulled into a parking spot by the café. God, he loved that little boy. No way in hell was his ex getting her hands on him again. Marla had never wanted Jay; she was a party girl and having a kid cramped her style. Having a husband had cramped it, too.
Ben spotted Sunny the moment he walked in the door. Her back was to him, but he’d recognize the curve of her jeans anywhere. When she turned and spotted him, she grinned.
“Well, hello, Ranger,” she said, walking toward him. “Ben, isn’t it?”
He felt himself grinning back at her. “Right. And you’re Sunny.”
“That’s me. Where’s your running buddy?”
“Who? Sam?”
She nodded.
“He’s based in San Antonio. He’s only in Austin occasionally.”
She glanced around the restaurant. “I see that same corner table is available. Seat yourself, and I’ll get your drink. Iced tea okay?”
“Tea is fine.” Ben made his way to the table and sat with his back to the wall so that he could watch Sunny.
On her way to the bar, she spoke to several people as she passed, including a group of three Austin police officers. They all laughed at something she said to them. A fourth cop came in before she moved on, looped his arm around her neck and kissed her cheek. She grinned and bumped her hip against his.
Ben watched the interplay. Boyfriend? Lover? Or was she just a flirt? He picked up the menu and studied it.
He didn’t get very far with his studying before Sunny was back with his tea.
“Here you go,” she said. “Your waiter will be right with you.”
“You seem to draw a lot of cops.” He glanced to the table of four.
She laughed. “Yep. It’s because they get a twenty percent discount on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. You get one, too.”
“And why is that?”
“You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
“Well, sure, but I meant why the discount?”
She grinned. “Because I’m civic-minded. And because I used to be one.”
“You? A police officer?”
The surprise must have registered on his face, because she laughed. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“I just can’t picture you with a gun on your belt.”
She sobered. “I wore one for a lot of years. Oh, here’s Pete to take your order. Enjoy your lunch, Ben.” Sunny turned and was gone before he could say another word.
Ben ordered his meal and ate without speaking to Sunny again. The place was busy, and he watched her move around all over the rooms, smiling and talking to this one and that. He lingered a bit after he was done, but she never approached him again. Finally, he rose and started for the door.
“Everything to your liking, Ben?” she asked, suddenly appearing by the hat rack. She handed him his Stetson.
“Yes, ma’am. It was.”
She smiled. “Come back soon, and bring your friends.”
“I’ll do that.” He hesitated a couple of beats, trying to think of something more to say, but he was tongue-tied and nothing came out. He nodded, crammed his hat on and left.
What