Wesley laughed. “I’ll bet my handkerchief and your dress.”
At this rate, Pearl knew they would all soon be naked.
“I call,” Anthony said. “Two pairs.”
She grinned. “A full house.”
“Damn,” the man said.
Wesley sighed. “This is why I don’t gamble. One pair.”
The thrill of winning shot through Pearl. It had been a long time since she’d won at the game she loved. “All right, gentlemen, I need your clothes and I need to know something about you that is a secret.”
The two men glanced at one another as Anthony reached down and removed his boots. Then he stood and removed his pants. “I still want to know how you know how to play this game.”
“Then you’ve got to win,” she said.
He handed her his pants and boots before he sat back at the table.
Wesley handed her his handkerchief. “I was born and raised right outside of Helena.”
Could that be why he didn’t want to return there? Seemed odd, but it was new information.
“Georgia was fragile, but she wanted to move to Montana. She died along the trail.”
“I’m so sorry, Anthony,” Pearl said, lying her hand on his arm. He had already told her Georgia was his wife, but Pearl didn’t know all the facts like why they hadn’t had children. This would be a good way to get into their story. “I know you loved her.”
“Yes, well, I try not to think about her too much. Besides, now I have you,” he said.
“But she was still an important part of your life,” Pearl told him as she handed the cards to Wesley. “You deal.”
The man shuffled the cards and then had her cut them.
He dealt them each five cards. She picked up her hand and frowned. She would have to get a really good draw to win this time.
“I bet my slippers and Wesley’s pants,” she said.
Wesley snorted. “I’m betting my pants and your dress.”
“I’m going to bet Pearl’s dress, my shirt,andWesley’s pants,” Anthony said.
She grinned at the men. “I’ll take three cards please.”
Wesley dealt her three cards and then he took two. He must have three of a kind.
“I’ll take one card,” Anthony said.
When she received her cards, she frowned, hoping to throw them off.
“I’ll bet Wesley’s shirt and Anthony’s shirt,” she said, smiling. What they didn’t know was that she had received a second pair in her draw. She now had a pair of kings and queens.
Anthony didn’t look happy. He must not have received the third card to go with his two pairs. If her pairs were higher, she had his shirt.
Wesley tossed in his cards. “I fold.”
“Remove your shirt,” she said and he stood and pulled it from his pants.
“I call,” she said.