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Jordan grunted, referring to that first card by its slang name. “I’m ready for the hard liquor!” To punctuate his words, he slapped down a silver dollar beneath a penny onto the ten displayed on the table.
    â€œAll that talk and you’re only coppering one little bet?” Lottie asked in a sweet yet teasing voice.
    â€œAnd this on the little lady to win,” Jordan added as he slapped another five dollars onto the queen on the table’s layout.
    While this was going on, the rest of the men at the table placed their bets for what they thought would win or lose. Bets were placed on a display of the cards, all of which were shown in the suit of spades. If they thought a card would lose, they placed a copper token, or sometimes a penny, on that card. The bets came quickly and with plenty of cross talk between the gamblers before they were all stopped by a subtle wave of Lottie’s hand.
    Lottie pulled the soda from the box and set it aside. She then removed the next card as well and laid it beside the box. All of these motions were done with such a quick fluidity that both the card she’d removed as well as the one displayed through the rectangular hole cut in the box were revealed at approximately the same time.
    The card she set next to the box was the loser. It was the five of clubs.
    The card showing through the hole in the box was the winner and it was the jack of spades.
    â€œYou know I love you, Jordan,” Lottie said. “But I’m going to have to take that money away.”
    Jordan made a show of being mad, but knew better than to make a move toward the money.
    As he played that hand along with a few others, Caleb watched the way things at the table moved. He could see how players were kept on their side of the layout and how well the dealer’s box and stacks of money were controlled. He also watched the frowning man at the end of the table, which was more difficult than it should have been, since Caleb wanted to keep his eye on Lottie more than anything else.
    Even though the redhead never moved from her seat, her body shifted as if she were wriggling through calm waters. She tossed her hair from one shoulder to the other with little twitches of her head as she snapped the cards from the dealer’s box with deft twists of her wrist. When she spoke, it was always in a luxuriant tone. When she looked at Caleb, it seemed that she was making him a sinful promise with her dark brown eyes.
    As they worked their way through the deck, every man at the table tried their luck with gaining the dealer’s favor. Some of the flirtations were innocent enough, while others drifted more toward heartfelt and even desperate. Lottie deflected most of them with as much skill as she used in handling the cards, and none of the exchanges ended on a harsh note.
    None of them, that is, except for one.
    The frowning man at the end of the table had his hands flat upon the felt and his eyes fixed upon Lottie. He hadn’t even made a move toward the small pile of chips that had been pushed his way.
    â€œWhat the fuck is this?” the frowning man growled.
    Although the other gamblers were no strangers to such language, those words were very much out of place at that particular table. A few of the men even seemed offended.
    â€œNo need to speak to the lady like that,” Jordan said.
    Caleb shared that sentiment, but he knew all too well that saying as much wouldn’t do a lick of good.
    â€œIt’s all right,” Lottie said while patting Jordan’s hand. “He’s just a little upset. What seems to be the problem?”
    Flicking a few fingers toward his chips, the frowning man said, “This is the problem. It’s short.”
    Lottie’s brow furrowed as she went over the last several moves she’d made. Finally, she pointed out, “But you won. I paid you.”
    â€œYou paid me, but it’s not enough,” the frowning man insisted.