“I guess that makes sense,” Caleb said.
“Of course it does. If I was in his position, I would do that very same thing.”
“You make me nervous sometimes, Doc.”
“Really? Then try this,” Doc said as he opened his flask and poured a splash of whiskey into the coffee that Caleb had barely sipped. “You’ll find this does wonders for making the world easier to bear.”
Although Caleb was about to give Doc hell for spoiling a perfectly good cup of coffee, Caleb took a sip and found that it went down just fine.
“With all that said,” Doc added excitedly. “I wouldn’t bet against Weeks turning his firebug loose on some other target. But that’s neither here nor there, since we’ll do our best to win this thing before any of that happens.”
“It can’t be that easy, Doc. Otherwise, someone else would have taken Weeks out of the picture.”
“We have the advantage of thinking unlike other men,” Doc said without a trace of doubt in his voice. “All we need to do is give Weeks enough to make him relax a bit and think he’s got the upper hand while we gather some bits and pieces of vital information. After that, we can make any number of moves to knock him onto his sorry ass.”
Even as Caleb chewed on his perfectly cooked steak, he could feel his appetite shrinking in a hurry. “I don’t know. That sounds awfully risky.”
“You want to live without risk, you’ve got a safe little saloon to run. It looks like Charlie and the others are making a decent living. Why not remove all the risk and just let Weeks have what he wants? All the saloons in Dallas might just run better with one man holding the reins.”
When he thought about that, Caleb felt a cold knot tie in his stomach. Oddly enough, when he thought about keeping the Flush and growing old in Dallas, that knot was cinched up even tighter.
“I’ve always been a hard worker, Doc. I had my wild times, but a man’s got to sink roots somewhere.”
Focusing on his own plate, Doc nodded. A lantern flickered on the wall beside him, making his hair look especially light and his skin even more washed out than normal. His blue eyes darted down to the diamond stickpin fastened to his lapel. “Look at us. We’re both young men, but you’re talking about sinking roots, and I’m trying to make a living sticking my fingers in people’s mouths.
“I don’t know about you, but winning my daily bread sure beats the hell out of scrounging for it. That’s what makes me feel alive, and I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve already dragged yourself out of that miserable office you always complain so much about. Why stop there? If anyone needs to be taken down a few notches, it’s Weeks. I owe him for nearly burning down Dr. Seegar’s practice back in October, and you need to fight for what you built.”
Caleb met Doc’s eager stare and replied in an unwavering tone, “It would also help you build up the stake you need to take your gambling onto the professionals’ circuit.”
“Yes,” Doc replied immediately. “It most certainly would.”
“Well it sure seems like you’ve been giving this some thought.”
“You’re damn right I have.”
The knot in Caleb’s stomach hadn’t only loosened. It was completely gone. Cutting off another chunk of steak, he used it to push some mashed potatoes into a pile. “All right then,” he said through a full mouth. “How do you propose we find out which branch of the law has got it in for us the most?”
[22]
Steve had a bet placed covering the ten and jack, coppered a bet for the deuce to lose, and of course he didn’t forget to place a healthy wager on the eight to win. Although the three came up as the losing card, the jack of diamonds appeared in the top of the box.
“All right,” Steve said as his hands flew into motion once more to spread his bets across the felt display. “That’s just fine, because there’s still three more turns to go.”
Jennifer Wright sat behind her husband. Over the last few of Steve’s visits to Dallas, she found it helpful for her to keep an eye on him rather than leave the man to his own devices. While her husband’s smile never faltered, the circles under Jen’s eyes were growing darker every time she showed her face in the Busted Flush. “That’s a lot of money, sweetheart.”
“I know, but I’ve got a system,” Steve replied.
“You’ve said that plenty of times already, but we’re still behind.”
“That’s all right, I’m going to win it back. Remember that big chunk of cash I walked out of here with that last time?”
“That was weeks ago,” Jen reminded him. “And since then, you’ve been behind.”
No matter how much he wanted to argue with her, Steve couldn’t dispute the facts. “Right, but that can all change.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t place such high bets, Steve. That’s all.”
“It’s all right. I know what I’m doing.”
Doc sat in his spot and looked over to the couple after wrapping up a conversation with one of the other players. “All right now, this is going to be the last game for a while, so be sure to make these bets count.”
“You hear that?” Steve asked. “This is the last game. Just a few more rounds, and then we can go.”
Jen nodded and took in a breath. As much as she fought to pull back on Steve’s reins, it was hard not to get caught up in the atmosphere surrounding any of the gambling tables. The money was right out there for all to see. Unlike the rest of the world, fate’s face was in plain sight. It was painted onto the cards, roulette wheels, or spotted over the sides of rolling dice.
Steve placed his bets with the skill of a marksman, having learned all the subtleties of betting at faro. Every spot at Doc’s table was full, and when Doc called for the end of betting and moved for the dealer’s box, all the players felt the same breathless anticipation as if Doc was reaching for the gun under his arm.
After milking the moment for all it was worth, Doc flipped the cards and showed the loser and winner. “Good news, friends,” Doc announced. “That is, only if you coppered a nine and bet on lucky number eight.”
“Yes!” Steve said as he pumped a fist in the air.
More than half of the other players were just as happy. There were slaps on the back along with a few grumbled curses as a seat was vacated, in no time at all, another hopeful soul sat down to try his luck.
“You see, sweetie?” Steve asked. “This game’s got a science to it. All you need to do is figure it out.”
Doc smirked at that. “Two more rounds, gents,” he said. When his eyes fell onto Jen, he winked and added, “Better make that lady and gents.”
Jen returned Doc’s cordial smile. Before she could do much else, Steve had laid down his next series of bets, and the cards were being shown.
Although none of Steve’s winning numbers came up, he’d coppered a bet on the king, which had turned out to be the losing card.
Nodding and studying the felt tabletop. Steve collected his paltry winnings and quickly counted up his remaining funds. Before he got a total figured out, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Mind if I have a word with you?” Caleb asked.
“Can it wait?” Steve asked. “This game is almost over.”
“Actually, no. It’s about that matter we were talking about before,” Caleb said as he shot a quick nod toward Jennifer.
Suddenly, Steve understood and got up. “I’ll be right back, sweetie,” he said to his wife. “Save my seat, and don’t let Doc deal until I get back.”
She nodded nervously and started to ask a question, but was sidetracked when Doc asked for her assistance in a card trick.