When Caleb woke up, he was surrounded by feathery pillows that were thicker than his head. Soft, downy comforters were wrapped around him and the smell of lilacs filled the air. As he shifted, he felt his legs and back rubbing against what he guessed to be satin or silk.
“Am I…in…?” he asked groggily.
“Not quite heaven, but you’re close,” Doc said from somewhere that was nearby but out of sight. “You’re in Lottie’s bedroom.”
Caleb opened his eyes and tried to sit up. Any thoughts of a glorious afterlife were erased when he felt pain lance all the way from his shoulder blades to the front of his chest. “Jesus!” he grunted as he dropped back down again. He felt another stab of pain as he hit, and he clutched two fistfuls of sheets until the pain died down a bit.
As something cool was pressed to his forehead, Caleb heard another voice. This one was also familiar and matched his surroundings much more than the scratchy drawl that had come before it.
“Sit still, Caleb,” Lottie said. “The doctor said you shouldn’t move unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“It is necessary,” Caleb groaned. “My mouth feels like baked leather.”
“I don’t exactly know what that means, but I bet you’re thirsty.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Caleb said. As the pain faded a little more, he soon felt another cold touch against his skin. A tin cup was being placed in his hand and he took it gratefully. The first sip of water hurt like hell, but the second was a blessing. After that, he felt as if he’d never be able to drink enough.
When he finally came up for air, Caleb rubbed his eyes and took another look around. “How long have I been here?”
“Two weeks,” Doc said.
Almost immediately, Lottie backhanded Doc’s shoulder and said, “It’s just been over two days.”
Doc moved around to the opposite side of Caleb’s bed and said, “I bet that makes you feel better, doesn’t it? You see? It’s all a matter of perspective.”
Although he meant to laugh, Caleb let out something that was more like a grunt that had been forced up from the bottom of his gut. “Can I have some more water?”
“Sure,” Lottie said. “I’ll go get it.”
After watching her leave the room, Caleb shifted so he could get a look at Doc. The slender Georgian was sitting on a small padded chair against the wall. The room had a soft glow to it, thanks to the tinted lantern covers, the dark color of the furnishings, and the expensive carpet on the floor. There were a few tables set up here and there, each of which had flowers set on it in a different size of vase.
Doc sat in his chair with one arm draped over the back. Once Lottie was well out of earshot, he said, “I think she’s sweet on you.”
“Too bad I had to get stabbed to bring that out of her.”
“Shot,” Doc corrected. “You were shot.”
Pressing his palms against his eyes, Caleb took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It hurt, but not as much as when he’d tried to sit up a few moments ago. “Oh…yeah.” Suddenly, all the memories snapped back into focus, and Caleb tried to get out of bed one more time. “What happened after I was shot? Where’s Taylor?”
“He had more men waiting outside. Since nobody else but me and Owen were in any condition to chase after him, it seemed prudent to let him go. I must give him a bit of credit, though. He was man enough to leave his money behind.”
“After all that, you still figure on getting out of that game a winner.”
“And why not? I earned it.”
“Earned it? You cheated, Doc. We cheated. If that kind of thing had happened in my saloon, I would have chased us out of there and run us out of town.”
“That’s why a professional must know how to keep his moves quick and quiet. You did a fine job. Actually, we all did.”
Caleb opened his eyes and saw Doc truly basking in the moment.
When he saw he was being watched, Doc shrugged and said, “It could have been a whole lot worse, you know. None of us wound up dead.”
“Close,” Caleb grunted.
“Close only counts in horseshoes, and it sure as hell doesn’t count in poker.”
“I don’t even think I’m remembering how that last hand went.”
“Beautifully.” Doc beamed. “It was absolutely beautiful.”
“The way I recall, I had two of the cards you wound up showing before all the shooting started.”
“You did have those cards. And, thanks to Mike putting the deadwood pile closer to me, you tossed those cards my way when you folded.”
“I thought that part was a little obvious,” Lottie said as she came back into the room with Caleb’s water. “But it went over pretty well. Taylor must have been fixing the deal, so he knew who was getting what cards. I’m amazed he left that much to chance.”
“You’re not a card mechanic, are you?” Doc asked.
Lottie shrugged. “It’s not one of my strengths. At least, not in poker.”
“It’s hard enough to deal the cards you want to one or even two people, but dealing them to everyone at the table either requires a deck that you’ve already stacked or cards that have been rigged some other way. He dealt his own cards and my cards. The rest were just random trash.”
“So I just happened to get the cards you needed?” Caleb asked.
Grinning, Doc said, “That’s right. I did mention that I had to wait the better part of a day for those pieces to come together. You showed them to me perfectly, by the way.”
Lottie looked down at Caleb and asked, “You showed Doc your cards?”
“We’ve been practicing.”
“Very nice,” she said with genuine admiration. “Still, it was a risky play.”
Doc waved that off with one hand. “It was everyone working together. Mike shifted the discard pile, Caleb fed me the cards, and you distracted Taylor so he wouldn’t see any of it coming. I don’t see why everyone’s so surprised. After all, we were going into this as a team. Despite a few injuries, we all came out of it fairly well. Which reminds me…”
As Doc’s voice trailed off, he fished two bundles of money from inside his jacket. “Donnelly was kind enough to cash me out even after all the commotion. We had to pay for the damage to his place, but all of us came out ahead.”
Caleb took his money even though it hurt to move. Lottie, on the other hand, looked down at the cash as if it were a snake coiled in Doc’s hand.
“What’s the matter?” Doc asked.
Letting out a sigh, Lottie replied, “I shouldn’t take that money.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m the one who brought Taylor to that game. Because of me, two men are dead, Mike and Caleb were hurt, and the rest of us could have been killed as well.”
“First of all,” Doc said, “we all take a certain amount of risk when we do a job like this. It’s what makes the payoff that much sweeter. Secondly, you bringing Taylor to that game is what resulted in us getting his money.”
“And third,” Caleb added, “the men that were killed were working for Taylor.”
Doc nodded. “And, if I may add, they were trying their damnedest to kill us at the time. Don’t forget that.”
When she looked at Caleb, Lottie got a nod in return. That was enough for her to reach out to take the money Doc was offering. When she tried to take that money from Doc, however, she wasn’t able to pry it from his grasp.
Staring her dead in the eyes, Doc asked, “Did you know Taylor was connected to the Tiger?”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t. All I knew was that he was rich and looking for a game of high-stakes poker. Boyer’s always been the man to collect the taxes around here.”
“Did you look into who he was at all?”
“A bit, but I should have looked a whole lot deeper. That’s why I was going to refuse this money.”
After chewing on that for a while, Doc slowly started to nod. He let go of the money and put a smile on his face. “Consider this a lesson learned…for all of us.”
“Yeah, Doc,” Caleb grunted. “You start learning to drive people crazy and I’ll start learning how to dodge bullets.”
“I’m already doing just fine in that regard,” Doc said.
“Yes,” Lottie said as she tucked her money away and patted Doc on the cheek, “you most certainly are. Take all the time you need here, Caleb. I’ve got some errands to run. Will you be at your faro table tonight, Doc?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. There are some players coming in from Denver and they’re looking for a game. Since I’ll be occupied tonight, I’ll steer them your way.”
“Much appreciated.”
Lottie stepped over to Caleb and leaned down so she could kiss him on the forehead. After pausing to look into his eyes for a moment, she leaned down again so she could place a distinctly less nurturing kiss on his lips. Before backing away, she drew Caleb’s bottom lip into her mouth and gave it a quick nibble. “Feel better soon,” she said. “I want you able to move around again.”
Unable to hide the stunned expression on his face, Caleb said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Lottie turned on her heel and headed for the door with a bounce in her step that held a special spot in every man’s dreams. Doc was still looking in that direction when Caleb let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Now, that’s what I call a good person to have on our side,” Caleb said.
“Indeed, she would be. Except for one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Remember what she said about not knowing who Taylor was?” Doc asked.
“Yeah.”
“She was lying.”