Yankton

Chapter 42

Chapter 42 It's Just What I Do

There were five others besides Montana and my sister, who decided to try her luck when one of the original players changed his mind, and dropped out.. Texas Hold 'em had different rules than Montana was familiar with. For one there was no "pot" sitting out on the table, everyone used chips, and blinds, in this case, the game started with a blind of twenty dollars, which was the minimum bet, ten being the smaller. Everyone started with two cards. The dealer kept dealing and "burning" cards, as everyone showed their hands, a heavy set man won the first round, then Melinda of all people. I could tell Montana was frustrated at first, but being the professional that she is, just kept plugging away, slowly learning the game. By the fourth "showdown," she seemed to have gained her confidence back, eventually to the point where all had folded with the exception of Montana, the big heavy set guy, and an older woman. After she dropped out, Melinda joined us to watch,

"I think she's caught on to the game," whispered my sister, "those people are playing at a higher level, way too much for me."

The object of the game is to have the best hand with all cards facing up. In the first game the big guy won, after that, Montana took the lead, and never looked back. In the end, she had won three hundred dollars, with the remaining two players congratulating her on her skill. We then retired to the lounge where she bought a round of drinks to celebrate her win.

"This is so different from anything I am familiar with," she explained, but at this moment, I have mixed feelings about the game. In one sense, it is a faster paced game, you have less to work with, and it requires you to stay sharp."

"Are you thinking about introducing the game to Purgatory?" asked Craig.

Pausing to think, Montana replied,

"I'm not quite sure," then looking at me, she added,

"You told me this is a modern version of poker, would playing it back in 1877 cause a conflict?"

"Yeah it might," I replied, "Texas Hold 'em has only been around since the nineteen nineties, it caught the country by "storm," so-to speak, but it can be just simple things like that that can throw a "monkey wrench" into the historical stream, it's why I can't kill Swearingen. Montana took a long sip of her vodka martini thought a moment, then said,

"Perhaps you're right, the new rules are such that it might confuse the kind of men who play at my table, they are already on edge, and any variation of the rules might cause them to suspect cheating."

"Best to stick to plain old-fashioned poker," I replied, "Say how about a little blackjack?"

"Only if we can find a table using only a single deck," she replied. Montana won a hundred dollars at Blackjack before calling it a night, as we were heading towards the door, the big guy that had played against Montana approached us and introduced himself.

"I didn't introduce myself earlier this evening, but my name is Alex Clark. Ma'am, I really liked the way you played earlier, I could tell you were just learning the game, but wow! Did you ever take off?"

"Thank you for the compliment Mr. Clark," replied Montana. "However I was remiss in offering my name as well, it's…Abigail Carter, and yes, this version of the game is new to me."

"Well the reason I stopped you was to ask if you might be interested in just a straight forward game of poker, just the way our father's played the game." Montana gave me one of her little smirks, and then smiled.

"Regular poker you say?"

"Yes ma'am, there are five of us who are getting up a game, but I must warn you, this is strictly high stakes, five grand to get in, winner take all." Montana gave him a strange look, then replied,

"That is certainly a sizeable sum of money Mr. Clark, but I must warn you that while I am new to this Texas Hold 'em, it is a different story around plain old-fashioned poker." Clark grinned,

"I wouldn't have it any other way, can I count you in?" She gave me a pleading look, whereby I just shrugged,

"Lotta money," I said, "Chips or cash?"

"Strictly cash," was the reply,

"What about security?" I asked, "That much loose money lying around tends to draw "flies."

"We'll be playing upstairs at this hotel," said Clark, "A Ms Spears who will be one of the players has one of the suites and we'll be playing there, listen, I can assure you everything is on the up and up, are you in…Or out?" Montana smiled,

"When does this little "party" begin?" asked Montana,

"Tomorrow, two PM sharp," replied Mr. Clark, room 210."

"Count me in Mr. Clark," replied Montana.

Immediately Montana's face drained of color,

"Do we have that much?" she asked.

"That will pretty much wipe out your account," replied Melinda,

"All the money we've been getting for all those antique guns and other things, has been adding up, but I've been spreading it around, things like overhead and bills, my salary, and separate accounts for you Brian, Mark, and Melonie. Oh we're doing all right, but five grand is a lot of money, not counting any extra you'll need to cover bets and stuff." Montana then looked at me,

"Brian?" Shrugging, I grimaced, and said,

"Hey look, you're the professional around here, you seem to do pretty well back in Purgatory, but you're going to be playing against people who are good at what they do, you may be on top of the game in 1877, but these people are the tops of 2014."

"Well if we were playing this Texas Hold'em, I wouldn't have jumped in, look Brian; if I can win against the kind of men who come to Purgatory to play I can win here."

"Well you usually play against miners, and gamblers, well we're just holding up traffic standing here, we'll talk later."

Later, came in the bedroom as we lay next to each other,

"Look Brian," stated Montana, "I can do this," She would go on all night like this if I didn't say something.

"Look Montana, I have a lot of faith in you, and actually I'm more concerned about these other people you'll be playing against, who knows what they're capable of, especially if you waltz out of that room with the whole pot in your hands. Consider every one of them a "wild card. Craig and I will be there as your security, but as the song says,

"Keep your feet, watch the street, and stay on guard." She began to nibble my ear, whispering,

"Let's make love."

In between "breaks," we would discuss the upcoming poker game, and by morning the whole thing was settled, five grand was a lot of money, pretty much what a Spencer rifle in excellent shape goes for at auction. Montana also convinced me to let her take in another four thousand to cover bets. In the morning she spoke privately with Melinda then both of them promptly left. They returned shortly after noon with Montana's hair now resembling the one made famous by Betty Page. I don't know what it was, but that hair style fit her to a tee.

(Not knowing who Betty Page was, I had to find out, but apparently Melinda and the place that did Montana's hair did, and performed a super job.) However the surprises weren't over, both women were unusually tight lipped, but shortly before we were due to leave, Montana emerged from the bedroom wearing what is termed "A little black dress.

I couldn't believe my eyes, the dress revealed Montana's cleavage quite nicely, and was hemmed just above her knees. Decked out with appropriate jewelry, it just wasn't the same woman. Anticipating my response, she smiled nervously and said.

"I've been thinking about this for some time now, Melinda talked me into it, so blame her, however when you consider all things, this dress is the modern equivalent of what I wear around Purgatory, so please just don't say anymore, I'm very uneasy at the moment."

"Well that's certainly not the feeling you want just before a make or break poker game," I replied."

"I'll be all right, now let's get going; I cannot afford to be late."

I was the only one accompanying her, everyone else had things to do, Craig and Jake went back to working out the boarding house design, while my sister went back to doing her thing. Wince Montana was dressed to kill, I had to quickly change into dress slacks a white shirt and a presentation jacket. We arrived close to 1:45, and headed right up to the second floor. By this time Montana had calmed down, no one had shouted at her to cover up, or charged her with indecent exposure, so drawing a deep sigh, she announced,

"I'm ready, let's do this." Upon entering the suite, I immediately noticed the others weren't especially dressed to the "nines," however Jenna Spears the woman who's room we were in, wore a similar dress, but without so much showing.

A man introducing himself as Walt Spears took our money, as introductions were made, drinks prepared, and the players took their seats. Since none of the others came with escorts, Mr. Spears and I were the only non-players in the room.

"Do you play poker?" I asked him as we settled down on a nearby couch. Taking a sip of his whiskey sour, he shook his head and said,

"Nope, actually I hate card games…Waste of time, however Jenna loves the game, she tolerates my passion, and I tolerate hers."

"Could I ask what your passion is Mr. Spears," I inquired,

"Guns!" came the reply, "Specifically old guns, western guns, rifles pistols, but I stop at flintlocks, although I make an exception for Hawken's." I couldn't believe my luck at being here; clearly supernatural forces were at work here.

"Well Mr. Spears, I think you and I need to talk."

So we sat on the couch drank and talked. Occasionally, he would get up and bring his wife another glass of wine, or one of the men a bottle of beer. Montana had switched to strictly wine, taking her time to drink it. Mr. Spears got me "hooked" on whiskey sours, which I hadn't had in years, but his were quite good.

"I put myself through college tending bar at the Palmer House in Chicago," he told me, "In fact, that's where I met Jenna."

One thing was for sure, this guy really knew his guns, here I was, right in the middle of where the action was in 1877, weapons of all types passing through the Black Hills, and yet didn't know half of what he did. On top of all that, the guy had a lot of experience in trading and selling gold and silver, it soon became clear, I needed this guy, throwing caution to the wind, I came right out and made him an offer.

"Mr. Spears, it's obvious you have what I need, and I have what you need. I can't go into the close details with you yet, I only just met you, and both of us need time to build trust, but I'm tapped into just about any western firearm you're looking for, I even have a couple old trapdoors I'm convinced are Custer rifles, in fact, I've got some casings I plan to send to a guy who can test them. I'm also selling gold and gold coins, frankly it's a royal pain in the ass, and I certainly could use help. So, here's the deal, you let me know what you're looking for, and I'll try and get it for you, in exchange, you help me to smooth out my gold problems."

He sat across from me sipping his drink and thinking.

"Is any of this gold or these guns stolen or shall we say…Inappropriately obtained?" I looked him dead in the eye and replied,

"No sir they are not. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you my secret but until then, this has to be an agreement of trust." Looking me in the eye, her reached over and shook my hand,

"Fair enough Mr. Yankton, but tell me, who are you dealing with now?"

"Mostly gun auction sites and a fellow down in Lead, why?" He grinned,

"Next time you have a few to sell, give me a call; I might be able to get you better offers."

About this time, the others were stopping the game to take a break when Montana came over to me, her facial expression didn't reveal whether she was winning or loosing, pulling me into a corner, she sighed.

"Well, I haven't lost a whole lot, but I haven't won very much either, these people are simply the best at what they do, I made a mistake in thinking they would be like the typical "bummers" who usually grace my table, but at the present, I'm just holding my own. I'll tell you one thing, that Jenna Spears…I wish she was dealing for me, I swear I've never witnessed anyone, man or woman who can deal and play the way she does."

"Well you never know Montana," I quietly replied,

"Stranger things have happened." After everyone visited the bathroom, and refreshed their drinks, the game resumed, and two hours later it was over.

Mrs. Spears had won, however Montana managed to hold onto slightly over twenty-five hundred of her original bet, an expensive lesson, but one that she was able to learn from. Unlike some of the games Montana dealt there were no accusations of cheating, or double dealing, these were professionals, in fact, Montana, seemed to be having a good time talking and laughing with Mrs. Spears, and the other woman Nancy Palmer, afterwards. Mr. Spears was a stock broker from Denver, who had a satellite office in Rapid City, he told me that he would probably be back through town sometime in November, and to give him a call,

"Bring some of those guns you say you have been coming across, and any I told you I'm looking for." I promised I would as well as keeping in touch by email.

On the drive home Montana was strangely quiet, other than to say,

"I'm sorry Brian." I pulled over immediately, took her in my arms and replied,

"Sorry for what? You're a gambler, you knew the risks, s**t happens, I'm sure there are gamblers back in 1877 who could do as well or even better than Mrs. Spears, they just haven't come through Purgatory yet, don't beat yourself up Montana."

Back at home everyone was sorry she had lost, but she was still "singing the blues," until we went to bed. As we lay cuddled together, I whispered in her ear,

"One thing is for sure,"

"What's that?" she replied,

"I love the way you had your hair done, never change it, it really makes you stand out."

"That's funny, the man who did my hair, a man, can you believe that, your sister says it's quite common, my gosh, what's been happening in a hundred and thirty-seven years?"

"You don't want to know Montana, so what did this guy say?"

"Oh yes, he had a picture of this woman, ah…"

"Betty Page?" I injected.

"Oh yes, anyway, he thought I would look "marvelous" in such a hair style."

"Well you do, I think that will be your "signature" style."

"But I don't recall ever seeing any woman wearing this style, and from what he told me, it takes a lot of brushing and maintenance to keep it full looking, I might only be able to do that when I come here."

"Well you talk to my sister," I replied, "She might be able to help."

Montana said nothing for a few moments, then whispered in my ear,

"I want to mount you for a change,"

"Ummm,"

"But first, I'm a bit hungry," she then began to move down my chest and stomach.

Although I was having strong feelings for Montana before, after this night, both of us now knew that we were completely in love; our feelings for each other simply carried us away. However, whispering "I love you," in her ear, brought muffled sobs instead of joy, this wasn't right, but after a little tenderness, I managed to get her to open up.

"I'm not crying because I'm upset silly, can't you tell tears of joy?" She then went on to explain,

"I had come close to convincing myself I could never love again, I know we've talked about this in the past, but something inside of me was still hesitant, I know now my love for you is real."

"Well I guess that leaves only solution," I replied, "Question is…Do we get married here in 2014, or back in 1877?"

"What's the…Oh…Yes, I hadn't thought of that, well…"

"Let's marry in 1877 for starters," I replied, "Less paperwork, and no ID's, but then my mom would kill me if we didn't include her in it, and I would like a decent honeymoon. Yeah, we could fly to Hawaii spend a week lying on Waikiki, you in a string bikini, yeah that would work."

Dead silence followed as I knew it would,

"What in hell are you talking about?" came the response, "What's this about flying, and where is this Hawaii, and weeki?" Bending over to kiss her, I chuckled,

"Just teasing babe, Hawaii, or the Sandwich Islands as they are known in your time are three thousand nautical miles out in the Pacific, Waikiki is a popular beach on the island."

"Well why couldn't we go in 1877?" This almost caused me to burst out laughing,

"Well, first off, we'd have to take a train to San Francisco, and from the things I've read, train travel in 1877 is a crap shoot with death. Second, we'd have to board passage on a steam or sailing ship out there, but all we would find would be natives, maybe some missionaries, and a US Navy coaling station, sorry Montana, that just ain't gonna happen."