Scarlet Lady (15 page)

The car shot forward. “Yes, ma’am. Does my promotion mean that I get a raise?”

“Depends on how much of my job you do.”

“Consider yourself replaced,” Cat said enthusiastically. “Now, where do you want to shop?”

“Surprise me,” was all Katie said.

The salesclerk looked surprised when Katie marched in, still wearing the satin shorts and cutaway jacket. Katie herself was surprised a half hour later when she left wearing a sassy black miniskirt and a leather jacket adorned with silver studs and fringe.

The shoe store next door produced a pair of shiny black boots with silver toes. But when Cat picked up the black felt Stetson, Katie drew the line.

Their arms full of packages, they headed back to Cat’s car. “Where to now, boss?”

“Take me home.”

Wisely, Cat didn’t ask any more questions. Now that she’d set her course of action, Katie was beginning to feel very shaky. Could she do this? Was she really good enough to duplicate her previous success? Did she even want to?

Then she remembered the IOUs burning a hole in her jacket pocket and knew that she had no choice. She couldn’t get past them. When she’d given herself to Montana, she hadn’t considered that he might think she was selling her body. In the world she knew, making love meant something. One-night stands had always been beyond her comprehension, as was sex for pay. She’d just done both. Her skin burned as she considered how he’d interpreted her actions.

She shook her head. That kind of concern had to wait. Her reputation was unimportant. She’d worry about it later. For now, she had to clear Carson’s name. He might be weak, but he wasn’t a bad person. Throwing him into the job of running a company that was already going down was enough to push anybody over
the rational edge. If she could square his gambling debts, he could go back to teaching, to a life free of business pressures and family responsibilities.

As for squaring herself with Montana, she didn’t know how she’d accomplish that yet. The more she thought about it, the more blame she took for their spending the night together. No matter how he interpreted their lovemaking, it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t let it.

And one thing she did know. Everything had gone too far. If she could play poker and win, she’d forget their bet. She’d never had any intention of claiming his boat—even if it meant losing Carithers’ Chance. Still, Montana was a gambler and she had won. Maybe she’d better rethink her position on saving the plantation. Too much pain had come as a result of tradition. Maybe it was time to give it up and move on.

Katie’s faithful old Chevy—the blue goose—was now parked in the drive, the keys in the switch. The tank was full of gas, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it had been washed.

“Carson?” she called out, rushing into the house. He’d come home.

But there was no one there.

She couldn’t decide if he’d even been there.

“What’s going on?” Cat asked, entering the house behind her.

“Oh, Cat. Carson’s still missing. He didn’t pay off
his debts. In fact, he lost almost half of the money I won.”

“You didn’t tell me you gave him the money. Did you really think he could be trusted?”

Katie sighed. “I know. I believed him when he said he wouldn’t gamble. I was wrong. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things, Cat. But not anymore. Little Miss Innocent is getting a firsthand education in ‘me first.’ ”

“And what is
me
going to do with the new duds?”

“I’m going to make some money. I’m going to pay Carson’s debts myself and get Rhett Butler Montana out of my life once and for all.”

“Not if he sees you in that outfit,” Cat observed.

“He won’t. I’m taking my business somewhere else. I’ve probably been banned from gambling on the
Scarlet Lady
. Mr. Butler seems to think I cheat at cards.”

“Do you?”

“No! At least I haven’t yet. After tonight? Who knows? The lady in black is on the prowl.”

“I don’t know about this, Katie. I think you’d better make another plan.”

“Go to work, Cat. You have to do the job of the financial director in addition to your own. I’ll call you.”

Cat hesitated. “Maybe I’d better go with you?”

“You’ve already taken your vacations through the year two thousand.”

“But I’m part of management now,” she protested. “Don’t I get something more?”

“You don’t.”

“What do I tell Montana when he comes to pick you
up this afternoon? I assume, since you’ve been out Carson-hunting every night, that he’ll be there.”

Katie hadn’t thought about that. If she canceled their plans now, he’d be ringing her doorbell. No, she’d just leave things alone. “Tell him that I’m discouraged. I left early to think about things. I’ll call him.”

“I don’t think he’s going to like that,” Cat observed dryly. “Sure you don’t want me to hang out with him?”

Katie made her way up the stairs, her arms still full of packages. “I’m sure. If you don’t follow orders, you’ll get fired. Go.”

Reluctantly, the red-haired woman backed down the foyer and out the door. Only when Katie heard Cat’s car drive away did she let out a deep breath and sink down to the steps. Everybody thought she was invincible. But she’d been strong as long as she could. Now she was fully deflated and shaking like a leaf.

She thought about what she was going to do. The only difference between her and Carson was that her gamble had become personal.

Katie forced herself to take a two-hour nap and eat a light lunch. Afterward she showered and dried her hair. Pinning it up like Cat had that first night was impossible, so she settled for curling it to frame her face, letting it touch the top of her shoulders. Bright red lipstick and velvet-black mascara gave her a sensual look that she hoped would accomplish her purpose.

Distraction and defeat.

Because of the touch of autumn in the cool October
air, and the memory of her recent midnight swim, Katie chose the newly opened Casino Louisian, a land-based pavilion, as her destination. The sun was already low in the sky when she left the freeway and followed the signs.

The casino looked like a mirage of pink neon and white lace rising from the river. In the fading daylight, the neon sign rippled and a trio of slot machines shot coins into a sparkling bucket. Katie drove up the tree-lined semicircle, coming to a stop at the pavilion entrance, where two eager young men wearing straw hats and pink suspenders appeared at her side.

The first young man eyed her old car skeptically. The second one opened her car door, took one look, and smiled. “Good afternoon. Welcome to Casino Louisian.”

He gave her a ticket for her car and the other led her to the door, ignoring another arrival to watch her walk inside.

Cat had done it again, selected an outfit that had made Katie’s first two male contacts fall over themselves to help her. So far, so good. She patted her pocket, checking to make certain the zipper was closed. If she lost the money Carson had returned, it had better be at a gambling table. Studying the lobby signs, she said a small prayer that she’d have an even bigger bulge when she left and headed for the change counter to swap her bills for chips. This time she was playing with ten hundred-dollar bills instead of just two.

The clerk behind the ornate white enclosure handed her a sparkly bucket filled with chips. Blackjack hadn’t been her original game of choice, but it had served her
well the first time and it would give her time to study her surroundings tonight.

Two hours later she’d won and lost. Still she’d managed to more than double her stake and make her presence known. She left the table and wandered into one of the restaurants offering drinks and a buffet of snacks.

Too nervous to choose something to eat, Katie filled her glass with diet cola and took a seat.

“Wouldn’t you like something to eat?” one of the waiters asked. “Compliments of the house?”

“I could use a sandwich, but I don’t have enough hands to handle that.”

Moments later she’d been served a small plate overflowing with food. Since she couldn’t be certain how the evening would go, she worked her way through half the plate. If anybody had asked, she wouldn’t have been able to tell them what she’d eaten.

The helpful waiter appeared once more. “May I refill your glass?”

“No thanks,” she said. “But I think I’d like to try my hand at some poker. Could you direct me to a high-stakes table, a private one, perhaps?”

He looked at her dubiously. “Ah, maybe you’d rather try some of our regular tables, ma’am. I’d hate for you to lose your—shirt.”

Katie smiled sweetly. “Oh, that’s all right. My daddy gave me a check for my birthday and told me to spend it any way I want. Since my daddy thinks it’s so much fun, I thought I’d find out.”

Moments later she was led through the tables and up
a curved stairway to the balcony above. At one of the doors her escort stopped, knocked, and went inside.

There was a large mahogany gaming table in a circle of light. In the shadows beyond, six men looked up. One of them, a giant with long hair caught in a rubber band, stood. “Welcome, ma’am. I’m Big Jonah. I understand you have some birthday money you’d like to share with us. Sit down.”

“Who said I was going to lose?” she asked, and slid into a vacant seat.

“I’m Little Willie, ma’am,” the player beside her said. Do you have a name?”

She placed her chips in front of her and smiled. “Just call me Red.”

“That’s obviously not because of the color of your hair,” a third player said.

“You’re right,” she replied with a mysterious smile.

An hour later, when she took the pot, the first man left the game. “I guess we know now why you’re called Red.”

“Yeah,” another player snapped. “I figured that out. It’s because you’re red-hot.”

During a quick break for more food and drinks, Katie found the ladies’ room, repaired her makeup, and felt the swell in her pocket. She’d been careful not to be too obvious, but figuring out what the gamblers held had been far easier than she’d expected. It was time to turn up the heat.

She glanced at her watch. Almost midnight. She ought to be tired, but she wasn’t. Playing with these men wasn’t as nerve-racking as playing with Montana.
Still, her nerves were drawn tight and her pulse was racing. Forcing herself to remain calm, she took her seat. “I’ve still got most of my birthday money, gentlemen. I’m feeling very lucky. Suppose we change the game and raise our stakes a bit.”

The four remaining players glanced at each other and grinned. “Sure,” one of the men agreed, “what’ll it be? Strip poker?”

“I was thinking more about five-card draw, maybe aces and one-eyed jacks wild.”

“That sounds pretty complicated,” the dealer said. “Are you sure you know how to play?”

“No,” she said, unbuttoning and removing her jacket to reveal the skintight T-shirt beneath. “But I’m a very quick study.”

She let them take the first hand. Then settled down to do some serious card playing. By the time an hour had passed, the table was down to three players, with an equal number of chips stacked before each player.

Leaning back, Katie took a deep breath and said the words that had, a week ago, literally changed her life for the second time.

“What about it, gentlemen? Double or nothing?”

EIGHT

Frowning, Montana faced Cat, who was guarding the door to Katie’s office like a marine drill sergeant.

“What do you mean, Katherine isn’t here?”

“Just what I said. She didn’t come in today.”

“I’ve been picking her up every afternoon for almost a week. Why didn’t she let me know?”

Cat relaxed her hold on the door frame, looking slightly guilty as she said, “I don’t know. I think she’s got a hole in her head. If you wanted to pick me up, I’d be here.”

Montana wasn’t sure he believed Cat. But he took the opportunity to push past her and enter Katie’s private office. Unlike the house, her office walls were covered with plaques, certificates, and pictures. Katie with children, Katie with patients, Katie receiving the handshake of some pompous-looking award presenter.

On the desk were more pictures of a personal nature. Two elderly people waved from the deck of a cruise ship,
the woman an older version of Katie. A young man, serious and scholarly, stared out from behind a desk piled high with books and papers.

And plants. Everywhere there were plants, growing in wild profusion. Along the wall was a table with a coffeepot and cups. Big fat-cushioned chairs with well-worn fabric were pulled up close, as if they were nuzzling her battered desk.

The office was Katie and her family, both her parents, her brother, and those who made up her everyday world.

“Surely,” Montana began, “surely the director of finance gets better furniture than this.”

“Oh, she gets it and then she passes it on to some other employee who she thinks needs it more. If it were up to Katie, she’d sit on an apple crate and work on a card table. She’s very generous with the people she cares about. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“I noticed,” he snapped. “But that obviously doesn’t include me.”

Cat walked around Katie’s desk, straightening the papers scattered there. “I think you’re wrong. I think she cares a great deal about you. But she isn’t going to let herself be distracted by her personal needs. Right now Carson is the only thing she’s concerned about.”