Well, not if one was naked and beneath them. That was a guaranteed way for a man to smile and hand over his coin. But then, I’d have to give myself in return. I’d done that once, for free, and it got me nothing but heartache.
“I didn’t cheat,” I countered, eyeing the man across the table as I scooped my winnings in front of me. He’d had three shots of rotgut whiskey since I sat at the table and it was his drunk mind that was making him lose. “Ask the others.” I tilted my head toward the other two men at the table. “They lost their money too and they’re not complaining.”
“That’s because they want to get beneath your skirts and know it’s easiest to do so if you’re not a cranky bitch.”
I did smile then and noticed the two men flush hotly. While I doubted they were true gentlemen, they weren’t going to drag me into a corner and have their way with me either.
“Those are very wise words. I guess you’re not getting lucky with any of the ladies tonight.”
The man stood, his chair tipping over.
“I won’t stand for this from a woman.”
I stood as well, pulled my gun from my reticule. There were some coins in the pouch already, but would be quite heavy when I added what was on the table.
“And I won’t stand for you accusing me of things. I won fair and square.” Before things got even worse, I dropped the earnings into my bag. All alone now, I needed them. “Get the hell out of here before I shoot you.”
The man on my right pushed his chair back and stood, hands up. “She will, too.” He was four feet back when he spoke. “The other night, she shot the tip of Sam Crockett’s left ear off.”
“Yes, he bled like a stuck pig, too,” I added.
I’d spent the past week visiting the saloons in Slate Springs. There were three of them so I rotated between them. Since I no longer had a means of income—Spur’s house was fine to live in, but there was no money to put food on the table—cards was how I earned my keep.
Walker and Luke had put up a fight about my moving out of their house, but I wasn’t going to stay with them indefinitely. With Spur and Lane dead, I needed to decide what I was going to do. Since everyone in town assumed I was married to Spur, and since Patricia was the only person who could argue otherwise and she was very dead, I played along. It seemed I was taking advantage of two dead people, but what was a woman to do?
Unfortunately, I was becoming quite infamous among the miners and I would soon lose much of my chances to gamble. Only the cockiest of men wanted to lose to a woman, a woman who was known for her abilities. My income would soon dry up, so until then I’d get as much as I could.
Walker and Luke had warned me that being under their protection kept me from harm, but it also kept me from potential husbands. I was a widow, supposedly, and now very marriageable. To the men, I was attractive, young and everything they would want in a bride. Come winter, I was told one of the only requirements was consciousness and perhaps being under the age of fifty.
I’d had three marriage proposals and a near miss with being caught in a compromising position, but my gun had kept the most ardent and desperate of men away. But winter was coming quickly here in the mountains and a man wanted a woman to warm their bed. I doubted I could make it past the first snowfall without being wed. I would have to leave Slate Springs if I wanted to avoid that. Soon. I’d do it soon, but I just couldn’t pass through Jasper yet.
While they’d treated me falsely and I’d been so angry with them, that didn’t mean I wanted Lane or Spur dead.
“I don’t care if she shot him and mounted him on the wall, I want my damn money.”
He came around the table with a pace much faster than the usual drunk. I didn’t hesitate and shot him.
He cried out in surprise as much as in pain, his hand going up to his left ear.
“In case you were wondering if I had a bad aim and hit that man’s ear by mistake.”
I backed up a step, then one more, keeping my gun pointed at the man who now had blood seeping between his fingers. I wasn’t taking my eyes off of him.
He was swearing hotly, but I’d heard it all before.
I took another step and ran into a hard body. I startled and then tried to turn about when hands dropped to my shoulders.
“This seems to be a common occurrence for you, shooting men in saloons.”
I whipped around at the familiar voice. “Lane,” I breathed.
Clearly, he wasn’t dead. In fact, he didn’t even look injured. Except for the black eye. His hair was a touch longer than I remembered and he had pale whiskers on his cheeks. Other than that, he looked… good.
“Oh, my God. I thought… I thought…” I jumped into his arms and hugged him, reveling in the hard feel of him, his heat, his scent. Everything. He wasn’t dead!
“Do you shoot men in every saloon?” Spur asked, coming to stand right beside Lane, pushing my wrist so that the gun didn’t aim at him, then taking it from me.
“Spur!” I let go of Lane and grabbed him next. Then I remembered myself and stepped back. “Wait. Wait. I’m so angry with you two. What are you even doing here? Where’s Lil?”