Connecting the Dots
Prologue
They hadn't seen each other in years, the three Maverick boys. Bret, Bart, and Beau had grown up together, like three brothers, when they were actually cousins. Bret and Bart were the sons of Beauregard Maverick, and Beau was the son of his younger brother, Bentley. They'd come to Texas before any of the three boys were thought of, and that's where they would stay for many years to come.
Bret was born first, then Beau, then Bart. All three boys were within seventeen months of each other in age, and they were never apart for very long. Beau's mother Abigail died first, then Bret and Bart's mother Isabelle, and all three were raised by a combination of the two fathers and Bentley's housekeeper, Lily Mae Connors. Lily Mae lived with Bentley and Beau, but she cooked for both households and served as surrogate mother for all three boys. Unconventional as it might be, it seemed to work for everyone involved.
Beauregard and Bentley were professional gamblers, honest poker players who passed along the love of the game to all of the boys, and when they were grown the three of them set out on their own to make their living the same way their fathers had. After many years and misadventures, they all settled down and started their own families.
Beau married a woman slightly older than him, Georgia Mayfield, and they lived together happily for several years, until Georgia caught the fever and died unexpectedly. Beau, after a lengthy mourning period, hooked up with one of the saloon girls, but it didn't last long. Then he took a stagecoach to Baton Rouge to meet his cousins for a trip to New Orleans. Having missed his original coach, he made a later stage and met Danielle Louisa Montrose, who would become the love of his life. Bart and Bret went on to New Orleans; Beau stayed in Baton Rouge and married Dani. They had fraternal twins, Bentley and Abigail.
Bart was next, and eventually he fell head-over-heels in love with Doralice Donovan, the daughter of Maude Donovan, who owned the local saloon in Little Bend, Texas. Over the years Bart had worked at almost every position in a saloon, and he soon took over the management of 'Maude's.' He and Doralice remained ridiculously in love and raised five little Mavericks, including a pair of identical twins, Maude and Isabelle.
Big Brother Bret was the last to wed, and he married a fiery redhead known as Ginny Malone, a Pinkerton detective. They adopted a baby daughter named Grace when their best friends died, then had two more babies, both boys, Bartley and Bodeen.
Over the years Bart revived his interest in something he and Bret had thought about when they were younger . . . ranching. But his focus now was horses and not cattle. It took some convincing on the younger Maverick's part, but Bret finally agreed he would become partners with his brother in the B Bar M Ranch. They bought the land Uncle Bentley's so-called 'mansion' had once stood on and began building.
When all was finished, there were houses for Bret and Ginny, Pappy and Maude, who were now living together, and Bart and Doralice. In addition there was a breeding barn, a large barn for everything else, and several small corrals.
It took a while, but the ranch finally began to pay off. Bart still oversaw the operations of Maude's, but he went into town only once a week to do so. Bret got the itch to play poker once in a while and traveled to one of the small surrounding towns. Pappy was retired, as was his brother Bentley, who was living in Baton Rouge with his son.
Somehow the idea of a 'reunion,' or a long-delayed visit, took hold in the three cousin's heads, and everyone agreed it sounded like a good idea. Pappy grumbled but not for long, since he didn't have to do any traveling. Letters were written, arrangements were made, and the visit was set for June. Bret and Bart were as excited as they'd been since they were kids, and from all indications, Beau was, too.
It was going to be a reunion that no one would ever forget.
