As he stepped out, a breathy female voice greeted him: “hello, handsome. Danie at the bar asked me to bring you this,” she held out a pte with a greasy sausage wrapped in some kind of bread and a mug of beer.
Dane took them from her and thanked her.
“Any time, honey,” she said, then added with what he assumed was supposed to be a flirtatious smile, “And if you need anything else, ANYTHING, you just ask for Dierdre, OK?”
Dane just fshed her a quick grin in acknowledgement, then moved past her and into the main room. Several eyes turned to look at him; most immediately turned away, back to whatever they had been doing but a few looked at him with some new measure of respect, while a few others gred in undisguised dislike. Much to his surprise, Jacob walked over to him with one hand extended. “Look, Drifter, I found out my girl was pying me like a fiddle. So, about that poker game, just a friendly match for a few coins perhaps?”
Dane accepted his hand and shook quickly. “I think I’d like that, but some other time. I’m a bit shy of coin at the moment and probably need to get back to the ranch. The pce just won’t repair itself.”
“The Sievert pce? How about this then: one hand, you win, I bring a couple of my guys and we help you out from noon to supper time tomorrow and then go home, asking only for dinner as payment. I win, you come down to the lumber yard first thing tomorrow and help unload the wagon due in this afternoon, stick around until we have things neat and tidy and then go back to your Widow?”
“Let me talk to Joshua first but I think I’d like that," Dane replied.
“Joshua? Just look for the Faro tables along that wall. He just can’t get enough of that game and has the Devil’s own luck at it. I’ll be at the bar keeping my girl under control. By the way, you really made an impression on Deirdre,” he added.
***
Meanwhile, behind the bar, Dierdre dumped a tray of dishes in the sink and turned away, almost colliding with Danie. “So,” the bartender asked, “not sure which I want to know more but did you hear anything juicy, and have you got a new lover?”
“No to the first and not yet to the second, but I don’t pn to give up just yet. Only thing I heard through the door was, as that sweet hunk of man meat was coming out, a mention of a shared history and that they cannot be friends but don’t have to be enemies.”
“Interesting. Would be nice to know what kind of history they share. If he sticks around, you’re free to stick near him and do what you can to get him to open up; I’ll pass word to the other girls.”
“He looks to be a hard one to break,” Dierdre replied, then added with a grin: “but I kind of want to know just how hard…”
Danie gasped to hide an involuntary chuckle, then, mock horror in her voice, said “you best watch talk like that Dee, or folks might think you’re one of those ‘loose women’ the Parson keeps warning about.”
Deirdre smiled back at her “I was talking about the muscles in his arms dear. Besides, anyone who doesn’t know that I AM one of those loose women is none too bright…”
Danie did not hide her ughter at this but turned her attention back to her patrons as Dierdre went off to the floor.
***
As this exchange wrapped up, Dane found Joshua. “How’s it going, Joshua?” He asked.
“Not too well. Only up eleven cents. Usually up over a dolr by now,” the other replied, “Probably should call it a day and go do some real work.”
“What do you know about my new best friend Jacob?” Dane asked.
Joshua gnced over where Dane indicated and shrugged. “He owns the lumber yard. His daddy literally built a third of the town. Jacob inherited all of his business sense, none of his people skills and just enough of his talent for building things to not kill himself with tools. Only two ways to win his respect: beat him in a fight or show him you know how to use a hammer and a saw.” Joshua paused to let a grin take over his face for a moment before its normal bnk expression returned. "I have done both. The bartender, Danie, likes to let him think she’s his girl, but she doesn't know the meaning of the word ‘faithful,’ and truth be told, he only has a vague handle on it himself.”
“Hmm. He offered an odd wager: one hand of poker, he and a few of his boys come back with us and do a half day’s work for nothing but a share of supper. I lose, I have to help them unload a wagon tomorrow at the lumber yard.”
“He’s one of the best card pyers around,” Joshua warned. “If he pys an honest game he rarely loses, and he normally loses only if he wants to.”
“So, you are saying he cheats?”
“I’m saying he rarely has to, but he doesn’t like to lose.”
“Ah. So should I py him?” Dane asked.
“Why not? Just remember if you win, he probably wanted you to, for some reason.”
Dane considered this for a moment and then returned to where Jacob was waiting. “I’m seriously considering your proposal, my friend, but I was considering one stipution.”
“What is a ‘stipution’?” Jacob asked, confused by the unusual word.
“An extra condition. Instead of one hand, we py two or three - you deal the first one, I deal the second. If one of us wins both hands, the bet’s decided, if not, a third person deals the final hand to decide things. That way there’ll be no way an outside observer could accuse either of us of cheating, and we all want a clean game, right?”
Jacob thought about this for a moment. “Not sure I like the suggestion that one of us might cheat, but if we need a third dealer, I suggest Dierdre. She seems to have taken quite a shine to you, and we all know she’s good with her hands,” several of the men in earshot let out chuckles at this, “but would never risk Daniel’s wrath by intentionally crossing her man.”
“That sounds fair. Agreed,” Dane replied, holding out his hand. Jacob shook his hand, then called out for a fresh deck of cards.
