Jan Hudson - The Twin

“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.

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 the hell had gotten into him? He’d never been shy around women. He’d hoped to flirt a little bit with her, maybe ask her out for coffee or something, but he’d felt like a damn teenager all of a sudden. Crazy.

He was still trying to figure it out when his cell phone rang and his thoughts switched to business.

SUNNY STOOD AT THE DOOR and watched Ben talking on his phone. He was one fine-looking man.

“Fine-looking man,” the Senator said.

She glared at the Senator and strode to bar. Grabbing a pitcher of iced tea, she made the rounds refilling glasses. What she didn’t need in her life was a man. Fine-looking or not.

When the lunch-hour crowd died down, she went into the kitchen and started filling a dozen plastic containers with chili, labeling the mild and medium lids. She saved the “hotter than hell” stuff for the café’s few adventurous paying customers. These were for some of Austin’s homeless. By the time the bowls were boxed up with spoons, napkins and crackers, Marge was there to pick them up.

The plump, gray-haired woman was all smiles as usual and wagging the insulated box from the previous day. “Thank you so much, Sunny. This means more than you know.”

“You always say that, Marge, and it is I who should be thanking you for all your work. A few cups of chili is nothing.”

“Oh, but it is. Chili is one of our favorite items. We have to make the guys take turns.”

“Need any salad today?”

Marge shook her head. “We have plenty from the restaurant next door, but thanks anyway.”

Sunny insisted on carrying the box outside to the mission’s vehicle. A myriad of good food smells flowed from the van when Marge opened the door.

“Looks like you hit the jackpot today,” Sunny said. “Reminds me that I haven’t eaten.”

“The restaurants in Austin are very kind to us. I collected all this in only half an hour. If you’re not in the mood for chili, the catfish at Hooks looked very good today,” Marge said, winking.

“Sounds like a winner to me.”

Marge waved as she roared off to serve the hungry folks who would be waiting for what might be their one decent meal of the day.

On cue, Sunny’s stomach growled, reminding her again that she hadn’t eaten anything since the cup of yogurt she had for breakfast many hours ago. She decided to take Marge’s suggestion and headed for Hooks, the seafood restaurant next door to Chili Witches. She and Cass often traded meals with Sid and Foster, the owners who’d also been tenants of the building for years.

Sid, a slightly plump man with thinning rusty hair, bustled over when she opened the door. “Hello, baby doll,” he said, giving her an air kiss. “Where have you been keeping yourself? Your sister just dropped in a few minutes ago. Want to join her or do you have a yen for some privacy?”

Sunny glanced around the room and spotted Cass, who grinned and waved her over. “I’ll join my sister. What’s good today?”