Authors: Marcia Lynn McClure
“
Oh, I won
’
t, Reverend.
I won
’
t,
”
Reb said.
Once Reverend Tippetts,
Scarlett,
and
Winnery
had left, Sage sat down on the parlor sofa and sighed.
She smiled as she looked to Reb, who had been talked into playing a few hands of rummy with her lady friends.
“
Now, Reb,
”
Mary began,
“
I
’
m assumin
’
ya know how to deal correctly.
”
“
Yes, ma
’
am, I do,
”
he said, grinning.
Mary nodded and said,
“
Good.
Don
’
t need another shifty dealer like Livie here.
”
“
I deal fine, Mary
,
and you know it,
”
Livie defended herself.
“
Come on, Sage,
”
Eugenia said.
“
Play a game or two with us.
”
Sage smiled and shook her head.
“
I really should do up the dishes and…
”
she began.
“
Nonsense!
”
Rose
exclaimed.
“
The dishes can wait.
You
’
ve been workin
’
all day
,
and it
’
s high time you had some fun.
Now come on.
Deal her in
,
Reb.
”
“
Oh, I don
’
t know…
”
Sage began to argue.
“
Oh, come on, Sage,
”
Reb said, winking at her.
“
I
’
ll make it interestin
’
.
”
Sage frowned.
“
What do ya mean by that?
”
Mary asked.
Reb raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.
“
You
’
ll see,
”
he said.
“
Charlie
’
s got his eye on the herd for a
while yet.
I got some time to spare.
”
He looked to Sage, a rather daring expression on his face.
“
Ya ain
’
t chicken are ya, Sage?
”
Sage smiled at him.
How could she possibly refuse?
“
Deal me in,
”
she said.
Reb chuckled and dealt a hand to Sage.
An hour later, the residents of Willows
’s
Boarding House and their handsome guest still sat in the parlor playing cards.
Sage was having a wonderful time
.
Reb made the game far more exciting just by his teasing manner and inability to win.
“
I have to say it, Reb,
”
Mary finally said.
“
Yer terrible at rummy.
”
Reb chuckled and nodded.
“
Don
’
t I know it,
”
he said.
“But
it
’
s just
’
cause there ain
’
t anythin
’
at stake here.
”
“
What do ya mean, boy?
”
Mary argued.
“
Winnin
’
or losin
’
.
Them ain
’
t stakes enough for ya?
”
“
Course not,
”
Reb said.
“
You ladies need to hop it up a bit here…make it worth fightin
’
for.
”
“
You mean…like gamblin
’
, Reb?
”
Rose
asked.
“
Exactly,
”
Reb confirmed.
“
Ain
’
t no reason for me to want to win
’
cause if I do win…what
’
s my prize?
Miss Mary grumblin
’
at me and Miss Livie pattin
’
my hand?
Nope…we need to set some serious stakes.
”
For some reason, Sage began to tremble inwardly.
Some sort of excited warning was whispering to her even though she had no idea why.
“
In case ya ain
’
t noticed it, Reb,
”
Mary began,
“
we
’
re all widows here
,
and I for one don
’
t want to gamble away my means of survival.
”
“
Oh, no, Miss Mary,
”
Reb told her.
“
I
’
d never let ya do that
,
and ya know it.
I was thinkin
’
more along the lines of…well, Miss Sage has been wantin
’
the boardin
’
house whitewashed, right?
”
“
Yes,
”
Sage
timidly admitted
.
“
And Miss
Rosie
, yer always teasin
’
me
’
bout wantin
’
a little sparkin
’
time on the front porch swing,
”
he added.
Sage
’
s eyebrows raised in astonishment. Surely he didn
’
t intend to bet such things as whitewashing an entire
boarding house
or sparking with a woman more than twice his age?
“
You
’
ve got our attention, Reb,
”
Rose
giggled.
“
Now, hold on, ladies,
”
Sage said.
“
I don
’
t think we should…
”
“
Oh, hush up, Sage,
”
Mary grumbled.
“
Let the boy talk.
”
Sage
’
s mouth dropped open in wonder.
Even Mary was falling prey to Reb
’
s cunning ways.
Reb smiled and winked at Sage.
“Well,
I say we set up some stakes
—
individual ones
—
and I play each of you ladies in
turn. If I win, each of ya antes up to whatever I want. I
f you win…I pay up to each of you,
”
he said.
“
Reb!
”
Sage exclaimed.
“
You can
’
t possibly be serious.
You
’
d be willing to bet whitewashin
’
the entire outside of the boardin
’
house on one hand of cards?
”
“
Nope,
”
he said.
“
Two out of three hands.
”
Rose
clapped her hands together with excitement.
“
I
’
m in!
I
’
m definitely in!
”
“
Me too!
Me too!
”
Livie giggled.
Sage looked at them, stunned into silence.
“
Sounds interestin
’
, boy,
”
Mary mused.
“
Count me in.
”
“
Miss Mary!
”
Sage exclaimed.
“
And I certainly have stakes to offer,
”
Eugenia said.
“
What about you, Sage?
Wouldn
’
t you like to have a fresh spread of whitewash on the boardin
’
house?
”
“
Well, yes…but…but what if I lose?
”
Sage asked.
“
Then I win whatever stakes I set down on ya,
”
Reb told her.
His smile was intriguingly naughty.
“
I
’
m first!
”
Rose
said.
“
What do you want if I lose, Reb?
”
she asked.
Reb scratched the whiskers on his chin, his eyes narrowing as he contemplated.
“
I want me a backrub,
”
Reb said.
“
A good, hard backrub…half an hour maybe.
My back
’
s been awful sore of late.
”
“
It
’
s a bet for that,
”
Rose
said.
“
And as far as my winnin
’
s?
”
Reb shrugged his shoulders.
“
Name it, Miss
Rosie
,
”
he said.
Again Sage
’
s mouth dropped open.
He was insane!
Didn
’
t he know these women well enough to realize he would probably lose every hand?
Furthermore, didn
’
t he realize what kind of winnings they would want?
“
I want some waltzin
’
,
”
Rose
said.
“
And a long, lickery goodnight kiss!
”
“
Rose Applewhite!
”
Mary exclaimed a moment before the same words could escape Sage
’
s mouth.
Rose
shrugged her shoulders and said,
“
It
’
s what
I
want.
I haven
’
t had me a night of dancin
’ and a kiss from a good-
lookin
’
man in a long time.
”
“
Done,
”
Reb said, chuckling and without pause.
Sage looked at him, her eyes widening in awe.
Could he possibly be serious?
“
How
’
bout you, Miss Livie?
”
he asked.
“
You first, Reb.
If you please,
”
Livie told him.
Still
,
the sudden blush
that
rose to her cheeks told Sage Livie
’
s stakes might be as high as
Rose’
s.
“Okeydokey
,
”
Reb began.
He leaned back in his chair for a moment and studied Livie.
“
I got some mendin
’
needs doin
’
,
”
he said.
“
Shirts,
blue jeans,
and such.
If I win…ya do my mendin
’
.
”
“
Done,
”
Livie said.
“
And now for my terms.
”
She paused and studied Reb for a moment.
“
If I win, I get a buggy ride with you…an entire afternoon of sunshine and fresh air.
Maybe a picnic too.
”