Page 8 of A Groom for Millie
“Alright then,” Robert said, adding the empty revolver and holster to the pile, along with a bill. “I’ll add another ten.” Robert watched as Bart turned green. “You alright?”
Bart nodded slightly. “Okay, I’ll put in my horse.”
Robert took a pencil from the dealer and tore a piece of paper from the notebook next to him. Scribbling on it, he handed the paper and pencil over to Bart. “Sign it.”
Bart took the pencil and with a shaky hand wrote out his name. “There,” he said, tossing the paper into the pile. Robert nodded. Bart flipped over his hand. Three kings, a deuce, and a six. “Four kings,” he said, reaching for the pot.
“Not so fast, Carson. I’ve not shown my cards.”
“Unless you have four aces, the pot’s mine.”
Robert shrugged. “You’re right. I don’t have four.” He laid his cards down on the table, fanning them for all to see. “I have five.”
He watched the color drain from Bart’s face, as the three aces and two wild cards mocked the drunk man.
“Impossible,” Bart said lowly.
“Five Aces beats four kings. Pot is yours.” The dealer pointed to Robert.
Robert picked up a duffle bag on the floor and snapped it open. He reached over and tossed the paper to the side, placing the gun, holster, and all the money in the satchel. He’d sort out the chips later and take them to Marcy to cash in. When he was done, he stuffed the paper in his pocket and gave a mock bow. “Pleasure playing with you tonight.”
“You ain’t going nowhere,” Bart hissed.
“Why not?”
“You cheated.”
Robert shook his head. “No, I didn’t. You called deuces wild.”
“What about my fifteen dollars?” Victor demanded.
Robert slapped the boy on the shoulders as he walked by. “You need to be careful who you associate with. Consider it an expensive lesson learned.”
“I’m not finished with you, Taylor,” Bart called after him. “We’re going to meet again.”
Robert waved his hand in the air, dismissing Bart’s taunts. He had just reached the stairs leading to the upper level when a woman stepped out of the shadows and walked up to him.
“I’ve been watching you all night, sugar,” she said. She took her fingers and gingerly walked them up to his arm. “How about you buy Sweet Suzy a drink?”
“I’m headed to bed,” Robert said, brushing her hand aside.
“Want company?”
Robert looked at the woman in front of him. The years had not been nice to her. Hair that was probably once beautiful, had been dyed with henna powder. She had charcoal around her eyes and her lips were the color of pokeberry juice. Her face sported a canyon of wrinkles covered in powder. She looked … tired.
“I’m going up alone,” he said. He had no desire to be with a woman that had been shared by so many men. He had enough money that he would be able to buy a piece of land, raise a few cows, and start thinking about a family.
He wanted to get married, but the life of a gambler was not one that a proper lady would want to be around. And Robert wanted to get married to a proper lady.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ten-dollar coin and handed it to the woman. “Why don’t you take the night off and get some rest?”
Suzy took the coin, placing it between her teeth. She bit it and then examined the edge. As she stuffed the coin in her dress, she smiled at him. “That’s mighty kind of you.”
Suddenly, there was a commotion across the room and Robert turned to see Bart leaning over the table, retching on the floor. He grimaced and quickly climbed the steps to his room. He’d hide everything away and then go over to the stable to see the liveryman. He didn’t want Bart trying to leave town with his horse. He needed the rest as tomorrow he would leave to head to a new town.
When he was in his room, he shut the door, turning the key in the lock. Just for good measure, he put a chair under the doorknob, tilting it, so the door couldn’t be opened from the outside. It only took one incident where he was robbed after a large win, that he had a routine he followed now.
Dumping the contents of his bag on the table, he sorted the piles into paper money, gold and silver coins, and the chips that the house would use. Normally they were traded for whiskey or food, but Robert planned on cashing them in. There were nearly four hundred dollars in chips, along with several hundred in coins and paper money.
