Chapter 2 – Meet the Folks
The stage barely had time to come to a halt when the door burst open and a teenage Maverick came tumbling out. Benny landed on his feet, blinked once, grabbed the nearest relative and held on tight. He could feel his rescuer shaking with laughter, but when he looked up there was nothing but a smile on his uncle's face. "Uncle Bret?" he asked tentatively, and was rewarded with an unrestrained bear hug.
"Right the first time," Bret shot back and gently moved Benny out of the path of the remaining passengers. Next out was Abby, who alighted a bit more gracefully, and was helped down by the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. All she perceived were amazing brown eyes smiling at her, and she was instantly smitten. She tried to say something but found herself tongue-tied.
"Hi, Abby, I'm your Uncle Bart." He picked her up and set her down again on the boardwalk, next to her brother. The girl literally found herself trembling, and she grabbed her brother's hand to steady herself. Benny could feel her shaking and wondered what caused the reaction.
Next out was the beautiful Danielle, and Pappy was there to help her out of the coach. "Beauregard, so happy to see you again. You're looking well."
Pappy found himself blushing . . . a beautiful woman could still do that to him, even at his age. That did not prevent him from speaking, however. "You're lovely as ever, Danielle. Welcome to Little Bend."
Bentley emerged next, and promptly called out, "Come back here with my daughter-in-law, you old reprobate." As soon as Beauregard had escorted Dani up to the boardwalk, he hurried back to great his brother. The two oldest Mavericks' stared at each other for a moment and then embraced fiercely.
"Ben. Oh, Ben, I've missed you so much." Bentley was surprised to hear the raw emotion in his brother's voice, and he held onto Beauregard as long as he could.
"Me too, Beau. It's been too long." He finally loosened his brother's hold on him and held Beauregard at arm's length. Dani was right, the eldest Maverick looked surprisingly good. "You do look good, you cantankerous old soul. What's your secret?"
"The love of a good woman," Beauregard answered quickly, referring to his relationship with Maude Donovan. Ben had aged some, as had they all, but he still looked like the Ben that Beau remembered.
And then a voice, oh so familiar and yet somehow different, boomed out from inside the coach. "Y'all not interested in your brother? Shall I go back to Loosiana?"
In an instant Bret and Bart were standing at the coach door, and seconds later three grown men were laughing, hugging, and crying. They gripped each other tightly and held on for dear life. The remainder of the Maverick family, perched atop the boardwalk, had never seen any of them quite so out-of-control with happiness.
Finally, Pappy cleared his throat and spoke up. "Breton, Bartley, Beauregard. Can we save the rest of the displays of affection for someplace a bit more private?"
The threesome settled down at the sound of a voice they knew all too well. "Of course, Pappy," Bart answered happily as he began to get the luggage from Milt, the coach driver. Bret eventually broke free and joined him, as Pappy escorted the family members to the waiting buggy. The twins were excited and curious, 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over one thing or another, and as soon as Beau helped Dani into the buggy he joined his cousins in moving the bags.
"How much stuff did you bring?" Bret asked after he'd made his third trip to the wagon.
"Dani likes to be prepared for anything," Beau replied sheepishly. The sound of his voice finally made the brothers stop in their tracks.
"Hey, the accent's gone," Bret realized.
"No, it's just different. Now he sounds like a good old southern boy," Bart laughed.
"A sophisticated southern gentleman, you two uncouth Texans. It just kind of evolved."
"Well, evolve yourself over here with that luggage. We've got a whole passel of Maverick's just dying to see you all back at the ranch." Bart lay the last luggage he was carrying into the wagon and climbed on board, and Beau followed suit.
"Get your rears over," Bret called and deposited his suitcases, then scooted into the wagon next to Beau. "Now, this feels right," he proclaimed, as Bart chucked at the horses to follow the buggy. The caravan was off.
XXXXXXXX
Doralice and Ginny were sitting on the front porch of Bart's house drinking sun tea when Maudie came galloping up on her horse Zanzibar. Belle wasn't far behind her on Marigold; the girls were excited and babbling.
"They're here, Momma! They're here!" Maudie squealed at the top of her lungs. Both girls hopped down off their horses and ran up on the wide veranda.
"Calm down, girls. Where are they exactly?" Doralice asked patiently. Maudie plopped down in the rocker next to her while Belle draped herself over her Aunt Ginny.
"About a mile down the road!" she exclaimed excitedly. Beauregard and Grace, having heard the commotion outside, soon appeared from inside the house. Everyone had been indoors having lunch with Lily Mae while the two wives sat contentedly on the porch and enjoyed the solitude. That was all over now.
"They're here?" Beauregard questioned. "Where?"
"Grandpa Ben?" Grace looked around anxiously. She'd been obsessed with meeting her 'Grandpa' Ben ever since she'd heard about the visit.
"They're coming!" Maudie insisted. Inside the house sounds from the other children could be heard. Lily, Bartley and Bodeen were about to be put down for their naps, and Breton strolled out onto the porch to join the 'big' kids. The porch of solitude quickly turned into the porch of chaos and stayed that way until the buggy appeared in the distance, followed closely by the wagon, loaded with luggage and Mavericks. Maudie shrieked and quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. The sound of the muffled scream brought the original Maude across the grounds, where she joined the group on the veranda.
There was a low murmur of voices coming from the buggy, but there was a raucous gaggle of voices drifting in from the wagon. Pappy pulled the buggy up to the porch as Bart drove the wagon around the back of the house, where it was easier to unload. It had been agreed that the visitors would spend part of their time staying with Bart's family and part of the time with Bret's.
At the sound of all the voices, another figure emerged from the house. Lily Mae appeared at the front door, and Bentley came across the porch as quickly as he could manage and took his long-time housekeeper in his arms. Lily reciprocated in kind, and the two old friends held each other and laughed, then cried, then laughed again. When they finally broke apart, Bentley urged Dani forward, but before he could make introductions, Dani spoke.
"Lily Mae, I'd know you anywhere. Beau's talked about you with such love and affection over the years, and you're even more beautiful than he described. I'm so happy and proud to meet you." With that she reached out and grabbed Lily Mae's hands in hers and kissed each one in turn.
"Here, Miss Dani, lets' get you introduced and get you a rocker. Beauregard, go into the living room and get Miss Dani a chair." Not knowing which Beauregard she meant, the eight-year-old jumped up and ran inside. By the time he came back, everyone had been introduced to everyone else and they were all laughing. Pappy took the chair from his grandson and set it on the porch so Dani could join the other wives. "Would you like some sun tea?" Lily Mae asked the newest member of the group.
"That would be delightful, Lily Mae. Thank you."
Dani had no sooner finished speaking than a cattle stampede made its way through the house, and Lily was swept off her feet by Dani's husband, who whirled her around and kissed her everywhere on her face that he could find a spot. Once again tears mingled with laughter, and when Beau finally put her down she held him by the shoulders and looked at him. "My little boy," she murmured, and then laughed again.
"Lily Mae, my guiding light," came Beau's reply as he kissed her on the cheek.
She pulled back, looking startled. "Where's my Englishman?"
Another laugh from Beau. "No more, Lily. I am an educated southern gentleman."
That caused laughter among his 'brothers.' "Educated, no. Gentleman, questionable."
Bart interrupted. "That's not fair, Bret. He is southern."
"What happened?" Lily questioned.
"Nothing, Lily. I just lost it over time. You live in Baton Rouge long enough, you sound like you were born there."
"Not quite, darling," Dani corrected him.
"Close enough," Beau answered.
"Is everybody hungry? I have lunch just about finished."
Doralice and Ginny got up and headed for the door. "We're coming in to help you," Ginny declared.
"By all means, let me help, too." That from Dani.
"No, ma'am. You just sit your little butt down out here and drink your tea. We can handle things," Lily insisted, as she followed the ladies inside.
Beau saw his daughter staring at Bart rapturously and couldn't help but tease her. "Abby, you keep looking at your Uncle Bart. Does he have something on his face?"
Abby turned six shades of red, covered her face, and ran in the house. Her father turned to Bart. "You have an admirer."
"Evidently. But you didn't have to embarrass her."
"She's still going to follow you around like a puppy dog." Beau looked down to find a miniature version of Bret clinging to his leg and staring up at him. "And which nephew are you, my beautiful boy?"
The mini-Bret gazed up solemnly. "I Bodeen."
"That's my youngest," Bret explained as he disengaged Bodeen from Beau's leg and swung him up high. "What are you doin' outta bed, young man?" Bodeen let loose with an ear-splitting laugh and clung to his father's neck.
"Company," was the solemn reply.
"You still need to nap. Let's see what we can do about puttin' you back to bed." Bret carried the squealing child back inside. When Ginny and Doralice had followed Lily inside, their two rockers were immediately occupied by Maudie and Benny.
"Are you Maudie or Belle?" Benny asked.
"I'm Maudie. Belle's over on the end of the porch with Beauregard."
"This is gonna get confusing," Benny stated the obvious. "There's two Ben's and three Beau's."
"And two Bret's and two Bart's. We'll work it all out." She paused before asking him a question. "Do you ride?"
"Horses? Well, sure. Do you?"
"Yes. What kind of saddle?"
"I learned on English. But I can ride on your saddles, too. They seem more comfortable."
"Do you wanna ride after lunch?"
He looked at the girl sitting next to him. He would be hard-pressed to guess her age, but she seemed bright and interesting, and she was certainly pretty enough, with long blonde curls and the most fascinating brown eyes . . . besides, he'd like nothing better than to get on a horse and see the ranch. "Sure. I think that'd be a fine idea."
"Lunch, you heathens," Lily Mae yelled, and everyone piled inside. The adventure had begun.
