The Outlaw's Claim
Autore
Brenda Jackson
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Capitoli
20
One
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Maverick Outlaw grinned broadly as he watched his brother Jess pull his new wife, the former Paige Novak, into his arms, as if determined to kiss the lips right off her face. None of the onlookers seemed surprised at such a strong display of passion. Not even their father, Bart.
It had shocked the hell out of some when Bartram Outlaw had shown up for the wedding. It really should not have, since it was one of Bart’s sons getting married. However, the Outlaw brothers would be the first to admit that their father was ornery as hell and pigheaded to a fault. There were other words that could describe him, but since none of them were nice, Maverick decided not to think about them today.
Maverick was just glad their old man was here and trying to be friendly and sociable. Maybe that was helped along by the beautiful woman at his side, Claudia Dermotte. She was as friendly, sociable and outgoing as they came.
A few hours later, after all the wedding photos had been taken and the wedding dinner had been served and eaten, Jess and Paige escaped to change into their traveling clothes. They would be leaving to begin their month-long honeymoon, beginning in Dubai.
Maverick swore he’d never seen Jess so happy. There was no doubt in Maverick’s mind that although marriage seemed to agree with some people, he was not one of them. He liked his life just the way it was, and he enjoyed being a bachelor. His goal was to remain that way for quite a while. Maybe even forever, since he didn’t have to worry about continuing the Outlaw line. His married brothers seemed to be doing a good job of it.
“I noticed you kept your eyes on the old man today like the rest of us.”
Maverick glanced over at his brother Sloan and nodded. “I don’t know why we even bothered when he’s with Claudia. Dad never acts like an ass when he’s with her.”
“True. That goes to show he can be a decent human being when he wants.”
Maverick nodded again, knowing that was true. He wished he could say their father’s bark was worse than his bite, but that wasn’t true. Bart Outlaw was known to take a huge chunk out of a person’s ass whenever he was inclined to do so.
Maverick took a sip of his champagne and glanced over at their father. Claudia’s hand was firmly in Bart’s as she moved toward the newlyweds, who had just reappeared. When they reached Jess and Paige, of course, it was Claudia who made the first move and gave the couple goodbye hugs. Maverick then watched his father give Jess and Paige hugs as well. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it. When did Bart ever hug anyone other than Claudia and their sister, Charm?
“I’d be damned,” Sloan said, obviously seeing the exchange as well. “Although he looked stiff as hell doing it, I can’t believe the old man actually hugged them.”
“I honestly think that stunt he pulled with Cash and Brianna scared the shit out of him,” Maverick said, remembering how their father had tried to break up the couple. “He finally realized how close he came to losing one of his sons when Cash was ready to disown the old man.”
“I agree with you there,” Sloan said. “Maybe that’s why he didn’t have anything to say when I announced I was marrying Leslie.”
Maverick had four brothers, and all were here and accounted for. He also had one sister. He knew some people found it amazing that all six Outlaw siblings were as close as they were, considering each of them had a different mother. Bart had been married to five of the women, and when the divorces became final, his attorneys made sure he was given custody of his five sons. Maverick, at thirty-two, was the youngest son.
Garth, at forty, was the oldest, and he and his wife, Regan, were the proud parents of a seven-month-old son name Garrison. Regan’s father had been the corporate pilot for his family’s company for over forty years. When he retired, Regan had taken over. Just as Garth had taken over as CEO of their family’s multimillion-dollar business, Outlaw Freight Lines, when Bart had retired. Or more specifically, when the company’s board threatened to oust Bart if he didn’t step down.
Jessup—or Jess, as he preferred to be called—was thirty-eight and became the politician in the family when he went to Washington four years ago as a senator from Alaska. Everyone was happy for him and Paige, who was an actress in Hollywood and sister to their cousin Dillon Westmoreland’s wife. Paige had turned twenty-nine today and wanted to get married on her birthday.
Cashen, who preferred being called Cash, was Bart’s third-oldest son and at thirty-six was married to Brianna. They were the proud parents of two-year-old twin boys. Cash and his family made their home in Wyoming on a ranch he’d inherited from his mother.
Sloan was brother number four and had gotten married five months ago. He and his wife, Leslie, maintained dual residences in Wasilla and Fairbanks, Alaska. Sloan had had no problem informing the family—the day of his wedding, mind you—that he intended to have his wife pregnant by Christmas. Since that was next month, Maverick could just imagine how the couple spent most of their free time.
Last, but not least, there was his sister, twenty-seven-year-old Charm. She was the youngest of Bart’s children, and being the only girl, she was definitely the apple of their father’s eye. To this day, Charm’s mother, Claudia, was the only woman Bart had ever loved and the one he couldn’t handle. And...she’d been the only mother of his children Bart hadn’t married, but not for lack of trying.
Hell, their father was still trying. Maverick and his siblings always got a kick out of seeing Bart court Claudia. They figured the reason she hadn’t married Bart after all this time was because she needed some sort of affirmation that he had changed his manipulative ways. If that was true, then there would never be a marriage because Maverick and his brothers couldn’t see his father turning over a new leaf any time soon, or ever. Just like a leopard couldn’t change his spots, they doubted their father could change the ingrained nature of his character.
Sloan walked off, and Maverick was alone again. At least for the time being. There was no way he could ever be totally alone among his Westmoreland cousins. There were too many of them. Besides that, the wedding and the reception had been held in a section of Denver the locals referred to as Westmoreland Country.
Dillon, the oldest of the Denver-based Westmorelands, had built this mega building and named it Westmoreland House. The building, which could hold over three hundred people easily, was meant to be used for special occasions, events and family get-togethers.
Hearing oohs and aahs, he glanced over to where several relatives were admiring his cousin Bane’s three-month-old babies. It was the second set of triplets for Bane and his wife, Crystal, and all six kids were a perfect combination of the two of them, though they all had their father’s hazel eyes.
Maverick’s cell phone vibrated. He had turned off the ringer during the wedding ceremony and now wondered who would be calling him. Most of his female acquaintances only had the number to his burner phone. Anyone he considered important was here, attending his brother’s wedding.
Except for Phire.
He felt a slow roll in his stomach after pulling out his phone and seeing it was her, Sapphire Bordella, the woman who’d once been his friend with benefits.
He and Phire had met in Paris three years ago, when he’d been on a business trip. They had been attracted to each other immediately. He had quickly discovered she was someone he could talk to and enjoyed spending time with—both in and out of the bedroom. They were friends who understood each other, and at the time neither had been looking for anything permanent. One thing they had in common—they both had domineering fathers. Maverick knew how to handle his, but Phire had yet to learn how to handle hers. He was convinced the man was as much of a manipulator as Bart. Possibly even more so.
A year ago, Phire had decided it was time for her to pursue a serious romantic relationship. By mutual agreement they had ended their FWB relationship. However, they had maintained their close friendship and would often call each other to see how things were going. Lately, he’d noticed her calls had become infrequent. He had assumed she’d met someone and things had gotten serious, and he’d been delegated as a part of her past.
“Phire?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Maverick heard the strain in her voice. “Is everything alright?”
“No.”
That single word stoked his ire at whatever was bothering her. The one thing Phire would never admit to was not being okay. He walked to an area in Westmoreland House where he could hold a private conversation. When he entered an empty room, he realized it was the huge playroom Dillon had added to the design of the building so the youngsters in the family could have a place to enjoy themselves. This room looked like an indoor playground.
“What’s wrong, Phire?” he asked, closing the door behind him.
There was hesitation before she said, “I know we’re not together anymore, but I need to see you, Maverick.”
He heard the urgency in her voice and glanced at his watch. “I’m at my brother’s wedding in Denver, but I can be in Paris in—”
“I’m not in Paris—I’m in Texas.”
“You’re home?”
“I told you this ranch hasn’t been my home in years, Maverick.”
Yes, she had told him that a number of times. “Alright. I have my plane. Just give me time to refuel and I’m coming to Texas.”
“I hate for you to leave the wedding.”
“The reception is about to end, and Jess and Paige will be leaving for their honeymoon in a little bit, anyway.”
“If you’re sure it won’t inconvenience you.”
A part of him knew Phire could never inconvenience him. “It’s no problem. I can fly into Austin’s airport and—”
“No, I prefer meeting you someplace else.”
“Where, then?”
“Dallas. I can leave here for Dallas in a few hours.”
“And I’ll meet you there. I’ll make all the arrangements and text them to you.”
“Okay, and thanks, Maverick.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you soon.”
After he clicked off the phone, he checked his watch as he left the room. He hoped to have all his questions answered as to what was bothering Phire in a few hours.
“And just where do you think you’re going, young lady?”
Phire didn’t bother to glance up from tossing items into her overnight bag. The last thing her father needed to know was that she had plans to meet Maverick. The best thing she’d done over the last three years was to keep Maverick’s identity shielded from her father.
When he had ordered her home from Paris a couple of days ago, all he’d said was that she should come home immediately. Once she had arrived at the ranch, it didn’t take long to find out why she’d been summoned. He had selected the man he wanted her to marry.
Phire’s mother had passed away when she was twelve. Less than a year later, her father, Simon Bordella—an attorney turned rancher—sent her to live with his older sister in Paris. He hadn’t even sent for her to come home during the holidays or summers. If it hadn’t been for her aunt, Phire honestly don’t know what she would have done. Lois Priestly had been a godsend for her.
As Phire got older, two things became crystal clear. Although her aunt Lois never had anything bad to say about Phire’s father, she’d never said anything good about him, either. There had definitely been a disconnect in the brother-sister relationship. Granted, there was a fourteen-year difference in their ages, but Phire would have thought they’d have a closer sibling bond.
More than once she’d tried getting her aunt to talk about it, but she never would. The only thing Aunt Lois would say, was that whatever was done in the dark would eventually come to light. Phire often wondered what she meant. Another thing her aunt had warned her about was to never to cross him.
When Phire finished high school at seventeen, her father had finally sent for her, saying he wanted her to attend an American university. After college, Phire decided to make her home in Paris, and at the age of twenty-one, nothing her father did or said could make her change her mind. She reminded him that she was now an adult and old enough to make her own decisions. Besides, why would he want her around when he hadn’t before?
After she’d been living back in Paris for a year, her aunt had a massive stroke, which left her without speech and paralyzed in the legs. That meant Aunt Lois was in need of constant attention in a long-term care facility. When the funds for Aunt Lois’s care ran out, a frantic Phire had no other choice but to reach out to her father, convinced he would come to his sister’s aid.
Simon Bordella had agreed to provide the funds for his sister’s care, but not out of the goodness of his heart. He’d told Phire that he would only agree to help on one condition—Phire would agree to marry whatever man he chose for her without any questions asked.
At first, Phire thought he was joking. When she saw he was not, she was appalled. It was only when the doctors stressed what could happen to her aunt without proper long-term care that, out of desperation, Phire agreed to her father’s terms.
“I asked, where do you think you’re going, Sapphire?”
She turned around. “I need to think, and I can’t do it here.”
“What is there to think about? I kept my end of the agreement and provided the best care possible for Lois. Now it’s time you kept your end of the deal.”
Phire narrowed her gaze at him. “I had hoped you wouldn’t hold that agreement over my head. I’d begun thinking that you were providing the best of care to Aunt Lois because she is your sister.”
“Well, you thought wrong. Lois and I never got along. The only reason I’ve been paying those exorbitant fees for three years is because of the deal you and I made.”
“Why, Dad? Why is it important for you to select the man for me to marry?”
“The reason doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that now that you’re twenty-five, it’s time for you to settle down and Jaxon Ravnell will make the perfect son-in-law.”
Phire frowned as she thought of the man she’d been introduced to last night at dinner. “Why? Because he’s wealthy and you think he can be easily manipulated?”
Her father smiled as if he found what she’d said amusing. “Jaxon does have more money than he knows what to do with, so what’s wrong with me helping him decide the best way to use it?”
Phire didn’t say anything. She would admit that thirty-two-year-old Jaxon was definitely a handsome man. He was the CEO of several technology firms in Virginia and was in Texas looking for land to expand. Her father had met him a few weeks ago at one of those Texas business meetings, where the red carpet had practically been rolled out for Jaxon.
Over dinner last night her father had tried his hardest to sell Jaxon on the idea that he needed to invest some of his millions by buying up a lot of the land in the area. Mainly land her father owned that was adjacent to the ranch.
She’d always been good at reading people, and it had been obvious to her—even if hadn’t been to her father—that Jaxon wasn’t a man who could be easily manipulated. For some reason, she had a feeling Jaxon was actually playing her father by pretending the opposite. That was something she found rather interesting.
What her father had said earlier was true. He had made sure her aunt had the best of care in one of the finest facilities in Paris. He had kept his end of their deal, and whether she wanted to or not, she would keep hers.
“I need you back here in two days, Sapphire. I could tell over dinner that Jaxon was taken with you. He said he’d be in the area for at least six months and you two should spend time together. I want a wedding to take place no later than the spring. Understood?”
When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “Just in case you don’t understand, maybe now is the time to tell you that I had Lois moved.”
“You did what?” she asked furiously, crossing the room to her father.
“You heard me. Just in case you try to wiggle out of our agreement. Don’t worry, my sister is still getting the best of care, just in a nondisclosed location. I won’t tell you where until after you and Jaxon get married.”
“You can’t do that!”
“As her legal guardian, I can do whatever I want. Don’t worry about your aunt. What you need to concern yourself with is getting Jaxon to make you his wife by spring. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing you need to think about. However, if you feel the need to get away to accept your fate, then by all means, do so. But I expect you back in two days with a smile on your face, ready to convince Jaxon that you are the best thing that could ever happen to him.”
When her father walked out the room, Phire sank down on the bed.
Maverick checked his watch as he paced the confines of the hotel room. He hadn’t expected to arrive in Dallas before Phire and had texted her all the information she needed, including the fact that a hotel key in her name was at the check-in desk.
He knew everyone was wondering why he’d left Denver unexpectedly, when he and his brothers had planned to remain in Westmoreland Country for another two days. His brother Sloan had made a wisecrack that it must have something to do with a woman. His brother was right on that account. What Sloan was wrong about was in thinking this was a hookup.
Maverick considered Phire more than that.
From their first meeting it had been easy to see she was unlike any woman he’d ever known. In addition to her striking beauty, she had wit and a personality that drew him even when he hadn’t wanted to be drawn. And the more he had gotten to know her, the more he’d appreciated their friendship. Entering into a FWB relationship had been the first of its kind for him. Before Phire, he would never have considered such a thing.
As he waited for her arrival, he couldn’t help but recall when they’d first met. It had been his and Garth’s second night in Paris, and Maverick had decided to check out the nightlife at a pub someone had recommended. Since the place was a few blocks away and it had been a beautiful night in April, he’d walked.
As Maverick gazed out the hotel window at downtown Dallas, he let himself remember when he’d met Sapphire Bordella. It was a night he would never forget...
