Chapter One and a Half: The Bet (continued)

At six feet five, Charles Peterson towered over the bloated body of Cus Dayton. He stared down incredulously at the hulking mass and then stepped over him and seated himself between Vera, the plucky owner of Lucy's, and Judge Dugan. After a few minutes of amused silence, the group saw Sally return to the lounge carrying two large steins of beer. She set one in front of the judge, who promptly pressed it to his lips, and placed the other in front of Jake Sorrentino, a bookish but shrewd attorney from Durango.

"And mine?" Cole McBride snipped as he cast an aggravated glance at the saucy, little waitress.

"Oh, yeah, Cole. Sorry about that," she quickly replied as she scurried off again.

Cole really wasn't that upset at her forgetfulness as it gave him another opportunity to watch her shake and shimmy her way down the hallway. Jake rolled his eyes at Cole's sophomoric behavior and focused in on the lanky cowboy that had just joined them.

"So, Chuck, what brings you down to Lucy's so early?" asked Jake.

"Oh, nothin' really," replied Charles. "Just hoping to get in on a game or two before I headed up to the camp to see my boys."

Not one to miss a game of any sort, Jake edged forward in his chair and reached across the table for a deck of cards. Miguel, too, liked a bit of action, so with a small effort both he and Jake nudged Cus out of the way and repositioned the table in its rightful place in the center of the room.

"Seven-card Stud or Draw, Chuck?" asked Jake.

"Just deal, Jake. I reckon I can handle my own either way," Charles said as he wriggled into position at the table and eyed the attorney. Charles had known Jake for almost twenty years. He wasn't a crook, as far as Charles could tell, but his reputation was less than spotless. The word down in Pagosa was that Jake had a way of winning over a judge. So it came as no surprise that Judge Dugan and Jake should be holed up in the same game at Lucy's. "So what's the score?"

Jake took a deep breath and then slowly went around the room. "Well, until Cus passed out, he was up a few bucks. Nothing real serious just yet. Vera's about even, right, hon?"

Vera nodded and carefully placed an unlit cigarette between her wind-burned lips. Charles could see she had been up all night.

"Miguel is up now thanks to the judge," continued Jake. "And the judge, well...we can't all be winners."

"How 'bout you and Cole?" asked Charles, like an eagle getting a bead on its prey.

"Jake's on a roll, Chuck, don't let him fool ya," interjected Judge Dugan with a touch of bitterness.

"And Cole?" Charles asked the judge.

"Like I said, Chuck. Jake's on a roll."

Charles watched as Jake shuffled the cards and offered them to be cut.

"Vera, you in?" asked Jake.

"I suppose just for a few hands."

"How about you, Cole?"

Cole could hardly be bothered but he managed to tear himself away from the hallway enough to nod.

"Miguel's in, so all that's left is you, Judge. How about it?"

The judge looked around the room at the competition and patted Miguel on the shoulder. "No thanks, Jake. Mikey here has all my money today." The portly Mexican smiled a big toothless smile and sidled up to the table with the judge's hundred burning a hole in his pocket. The fivesome was set.