Ace

  Throughout the game, and the next three that followed, it occurred to Ace that he’d never had this much fun shooting pool. Before, it had always been strictly business. But this was just plain entertainment. He loved watching her. She seemed to speak with her whole body. She chewed her lip, or sometimes stuck out her tongue as she concentrated on a shot. She squinted her eyes, then opened them wide as she made her move. Those wonderful lips would turn down into the most heart-tugging pout when she missed. Whenever she happened to make a lucky shot, her whole face would light up as she danced up and down, or gave him a high five. He was, he realized, having the time of his life. And was feeling more turned on by the game of pool than he’d been in years.

  “Here’s your money.” She slapped down two twenties. “And I owe you a beer.”

  As she walked away he left the money on the table. When she returned with his beer, she looked at the money, then at him. “What’s this?”

  “I don’t want your money, Red.”

  “Fair’s fair. If we’re going to play for money, I intend to pay my debt. Now.” She set her beer aside and gathered up the balls. “I think this time I should break.”

  “Okay.” He leaned a hip against the table and watched her, feeling mellow.

  “This time I want to play for a hundred.”

  His head came up. At first he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. “What did you…?”

  “I said a hundred. It’s the only way I can get even, after all these losses.” She was smiling. Her lashes fluttered. “Or can’t you spare that much?”

  “Yeah. Sure I can.” He felt a moment’s irritation. He didn’t mind throwing the game for twenty or thirty dollars. But a hundred? It would be a lot harder to swallow. Still, she was right. She’d been losing all night. If this was what it took for her to walk out feeling good about the evening, what the heck. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a bill.

  She set her long neck on top of it and picked up her stick. This time as she leaned over the table, there was a look in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. Not so much a look of concentration as a look of determination. Maybe, if his head wasn’t feeling quite so fuzzy, and if the music wasn’t quite so loud, he’d question it. Instead, he just stood back enjoying the show.

  In one clean motion she shot the cue ball, sending the balls scattering. As Ace watched, three striped balls dropped into three separate pockets.

  “Well.” She turned to him with that dazzling smile. “Looks like it’s still my turn.”

  “Yeah.” He watched as she studied the table for a long moment, then sank another ball, and then another.

  Ace knew his mouth was hanging open. He couldn’t help it. In the blink of an eye, this little female had turned from Sweet Suzie Sunshine into Minnesota Fats. He never even had a chance to make a single shot. When the table was empty she picked up his hundred and stuffed it in the pocket of her jeans, then turned to him with that same warm smile.

  “Thanks. You’re just about the best teacher I’ve ever met. Do you believe what I just did?”

  “No. I don’t.” He was studying her with a look of amazement.

  “Can we do it again?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I don’t…”

  “Come on. I’ll let you break this time.”

  He knew he wasn’t thinking clearly. He knew, also, that a lot of the guys in the crowd had started watching more closely. And some of them had begun making side bets on the outcome.

  There was his pride to consider now. His manhood. He had always considered himself king of the pool hustlers. And he was being beaten by an amateur.

  “Okay. Double or nothing.”

  She never even hesitated. “Fine. You break.”

  He did. And even managed to sink all but two balls. When he missed, his opponent sank them, and demanded another game. And another. With each game, Ace watched the complete transformation of this young woman. Where before her hands had fumbled, they were now steady. Where she had closed her eyes or looked away, she was now completely focused as she took careful aim and sank ball after ball. The only thing that didn’t change was that dazzling smile. Especially when she tucked away his last hundred, making his loss an even thousand.

  There were snickers from the crowd that had gathered to watch.

  She picked up her beer and turned to him with that big, easy smile. “Want to go one more?”

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cody pushing his way through the crowd until he was beside him.

  “Don’t know if you’ve noticed,” the old cowboy muttered. “But while she’s been buying you beers, she’s been nursing that same long neck all night.”

  As the truth dawned, Ace’s eyes narrowed. While he’d allowed himself to become brain-dead, she’d remained stone-cold sober.

  It was like a dash of ice water.

  “Last chance, cowboy.” Her voice was as smooth as velvet. “Double or nothing?”

  “No thanks, Red. You’ve had enough of my hide tonight.” Ace placed his stick on the rack and turned away, struggling to cool his heated temper. He couldn’t afford a display of fireworks in front of this crowd of regulars.

  When he turned back she was already headed toward the door. As he started to follow her he felt Cody’s hand on his shoulder. With a muttered oath he brushed it aside and stormed after her. Outside he breathed in the first fresh air he’d inhaled in hours. At once he could feel his head clearing, his mind sharpening. And his temper growing with every step.

  Seeing him, she started to run toward a dusty, beat-up truck. She grabbed frantically for the door handle. Before she could yank it open he was beside her, his hand holding the door shut.

  In the moonlight it was clear that the smile was gone from her lips. Her eyes were wide with fear. But to her credit, she didn’t back down.

  “Okay.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “So I wasn’t some dumb little bimbo who’d never held a pool stick before.”

  “That’s the first honest thing you’ve said all night.” His breath was hot against her cheek as he towered over her. “I have a good notion to turn you upside down and shake every single dollar out of your pockets. I wonder how many other cowboys you suckered tonight?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Not my business? A thousand of your dollars belong to me.”

  “Used to belong to you. They’re mine now.”

  She took a step backward and stumbled. When he reached out to grab her she ducked, then came up swinging, catching him by surprise and sending him sprawling in the dirt. She used that moment to turn and yank open the door before scrambling inside. Eager to escape she turned on the ignition and the old truck coughed and sputtered, then died.

  Ace regained his footing and leaned in the open window before she could crank it shut. “Looks like your luck is beginning to fade, Red.”

  “It’s not my luck you’re worried about. It’s your own. This just wasn’t your lucky night, cowboy.”

  “Luck had nothing to do with what went on in there tonight.”

  “You need to learn how to accept defeat. Admit it. You could have walked away any time you wanted. Nobody put a gun to your head and made you stay. But I won that money fair and square. And I’m not giving it back.”

  “Then at least let me know your name and where to find you.”

  “Yeah. That’ll happen.” She shot him a grin. “So you can get your revenge?”

  “The only revenge I want is on a pool table. I want your word that I can challenge you to another game some time. When I’m sober and feeling lucky.”

  “When you’re feeling stupid, you mean. You can’t beat me, cowboy. So don’t bother trying. A word of advice. Next time you see me, keep your eyes off my backside and your money in your pocket.”

  She was so close to the mark, it stung. Though he was humiliated and angry, he reached through the win dow and gently lifted her chin with his fingertip. Their eyes met and held. At once he felt the quick sexual tug
and removed his hand. “You still haven’t told me your name, Red.”

  “Red will do.” She turned her attention back to the ignition. This time the old engine sputtered, then caught. She put the truck in gear and the wheels spewed gravel as she took off, leaving Ace to stare after her in frustration.

  In the silence that followed he heard Cody’s voice beside him in the darkness. “Come on, son. Give me your keys. You’re in no shape to drive.”

  “Yeah. Here.” Ace tossed the keys, then, minutes later, as the truck rolled to a stop beside him, he climbed into the passenger side and slumped in the seat.

  As they headed along the deserted highway that took them out of town and back to the Double W, Ace stared morosely out the window. Finally he broke the silence. “How did that happen?”

  “How? She hustled you, boy.”

  He turned to study the old man’s profile. “Oldest con in the world. And I fell for it. I haven’t been suckered like that since I was twelve years old. And it hurts, Cody. It hurts like hell.”

  They drove for miles, while Ace continued to stare broodingly out the window. Finally he turned. “You think I’m losing my edge?”

  Cody grinned. “Hell, son. You’re just a man. What chance have you got against a female with all that going for her?”

  “Yeah. Who’d have thought? Did you see her, Cody?”

  “Yep. She was good.”

  “Good? How about that time she pretended to look away, and still managed to make her shot? Or the time she sank two balls in a row with the wrong end of the stick?” He pounded his fist into his open palm. “Oh, man was I suckered. How could I have been that blind?”

  “’Cause you let her get you drunk.”

  “Yeah. She is some fine piece of work. I’ve got to find out her name, Cody.”

  “That wouldn’t be smart, son. Just let it go.”

  Ace looked away, his pride still wounded, his anger starting to build all over again. “I’m not going to let it go. She owes me. And one way or another I intend to collect.”

  Chapter 2

  “Hey, Ace.” The pounding on his bedroom door had Ace lifting his head from beneath his pillow like a wounded grizzly. At the sudden movement his head started throbbing, and morning sunlight stabbed his eyes.

  He’d been awake half the night thinking about the redhead who’d made a fool of him. On his own turf. That’s what stung the most. The thought of it, of her, had cost him dearly.

  The door was thrown open and his brother, Hazard, paused in the doorway. “Cass is on the phone. Wants to know why you missed your nine o’clock appointment with that government guy.”

  “Government…?” Ace sat up, his head swimming. “It’s nine o’clock already?”

  “No. It’s nine-thirty. Some Washington guy’s been cooling his heels up at WildeMining for half an hour. Cass doesn’t think he’ll accept any more coffee and doughnuts. Or any more excuses.”

  Hazard turned away with a grin as the air turned blue with a stream of oaths. He sauntered into the kitchen and kissed his wife Erin. Then he greeted his brother Chance and sister-in-law Maggie, who was just lifting a platter of steaks and eggs from the stove. “If that scene in Ace’s room was any indication of his mood, we better be ready to duck when our little brother shows his face this morning.”

  Chance looked up from his computer, where he’d been getting the latest stock reports. “Probably couldn’t meet any girls at Clancy’s last night.” He glanced at Cody, who had sauntered in from the barn. “Didn’t you go into town with him?”

  “Yep.” The old cowboy took his time hanging his hat at the door, before making his way toward the table.

  “Well?” Hazard took a seat across from him. “Is that it? Ace is smarting because he couldn’t ply his charm on any females?”

  “Oh, there were females, all right. One in particular.”

  That snagged the attention of Erin and Maggie.

  “Was she pretty?” Maggie hovered, filling Cody’s coffee cup.

  “Best-looking filly in the place.”

  “Are you saying she didn’t pay any attention to Ace?” Erin looked as surprised as the others. Ace’s attraction to the opposite sex was legendary.

  “Oh, she paid him lots of attention.”

  “Then why…?”

  They all looked up as Ace dashed into the room, his tie askew, his briefcase trailing the edges of several documents.

  “Good morning, Ace.” Maggie gave him her sweetest smile. “Sit right down. Breakfast is ready.”

  “No time. I already called Frank and told him to have the copter standing by. He’s not too happy about flying up to the mine with that storm front moving in.” He gulped a couple of aspirin and downed a glass of juice while the others merely stared.

  “Will you be home for dinner?”

  He shrugged. Even that small movement cost him. Then he turned and realized the entire family was watching him. “What? What’re you all looking at?”

  When they said nothing he glowered at Cody. “You told them, didn’t you?”

  “Told us what?” Chance looked from Cody to his brother.

  When the old man said nothing, Ace let out a long, slow breath. “I got…hustled last night. Out of a thousand bucks.”

  “You?” Hazard almost swallowed his toast whole.

  “Yeah. By a woman.”

  “A woman?”

  Ace nodded. “A woman with the face of an angel and a mind like a steel trap. And hands that could make a pool stick just about dance and sing.”

  “I don’t care if she could make the Statue of Liberty dance and sing.” Chance was shaking his head in disbelief. “We’re talking about you, Ace. How did you let this happen?”

  “I got drunk.”

  Maggie blinked. “Ace, I’ve never seen you drink more than two beers in any given night.”

  “Yeah. I always figure I have to be sharp, in case there’s a chance for a game. But the loser had to buy, and she kept losing, and I kept on trying to lose so I wouldn’t embarrass her. And the next thing I knew, I was stupid drunk and she was a thousand dollars richer.” He turned toward the door, then turned back. “And if you repeat a word of what I’ve just told you, I’ll deny everything. Come on, Cody,” he snarled. “Get me out to the helicopter pad.”

  When he stormed away, the others around the table remained silent until the door was safely closed. Then they burst into gales of laughter.

  “I wish I’d been there.” Chance stood and began to pace. “Oh, how I wish I’d seen that.” He shook his head. “Can you just imagine Ace’s reaction when he realized he’d been conned?”

  “After all these years of being the world’s best.” Hazard helped himself to more steak and eggs. “I sure would love to meet the female who beat my little brother.”

  “Yeah.” Chance grinned at his wife. “And I’d hate to be in her shoes if he ever runs into her again.”

  “Ace.” As soon as he stepped through the door of his outer office, Cass cornered him. “Before you greet Curtis, I want you to meet my replacement.”

  “That can wait. Curtis can’t.”

  “But there’s so little time left…”

  Before Cass could say more he yanked open the door.

  “Mr. Curtis.” Ace breezed through the open doorway, wearing his best pool-hustler smile, his hand extended.

  “There’s nothing I hate more than to be left twiddling my thumbs over a missed appointment.” Phillip Curtis had the manner and bearing of a military general. White hair cut razor-sharp. Dark suit neatly pressed. Shoes polished to a high shine. A conservative tie that his father might have owned twenty years earlier.

  “I’m really sorry about this delay. A…family matter. Couldn’t be helped.”

  “I didn’t know you were married.”

  “I’m not. I was talking about…my two brothers and their wives. You met them when you had dinner at the Double W.”

  “One of your family is ill?”

  “Y
es. Unfortunately.” He didn’t bother to relate which one. But he didn’t consider it a lie, since he was feeling far from healthy at the moment. In fact, a headache still throbbed behind his temples.

  “Sorry. But wasted time is wasted money, in my opinion. Don’t know about your time, Wilde, but mine is too valuable to waste.”

  “I quite agree. So, in order to save some of our precious time, I have my driver standing by to take us directly to the mine.”

  “I’ve already toured your mine, Mr. Wilde.”

  “I know that. But I think you’ll be interested in a couple of innovations that have recently been installed.” Ace winked at Cass and smoothly steered the man toward the exit. “We’re not only going to be on time with our delivery to the government, we’ll actually beat the timetable we established earlier.”

  “You’ll put that in writing?”

  Ace punched the elevator button. “If you’d like an addendum to the contract. But as long as you’re happy with the delivery schedule we originally agreed upon…” He waited until Curtis preceded him, then punched the buttons and watched as the doors glided silently closed. “…It seems unnecessary to change them now. I’ll just give you my word that we’ll meet or beat every deadline in that contract.”

  “I don’t put any faith in handshake agreements, Wilde. If a man’s as good as his word, let him write it down and sign it.”

  Ace sighed. Even on his best day, he didn’t look forward to dealing with Phillip Curtis. The man always gave him a headache. Today, it was threatening to become a migraine.

  WildeMining was an impressive sight. A modern chrome-and-glass facility stood at the center. This housed the offices and the computer-generated system that could locate, in the blink of a cursor, any malfunction in equipment. Around this nerve center, like spokes in a wheel, were the paved roads leading to and from the various mines themselves. These roads hummed day and night with trucks hauling coal, gravel, or precious uranium for government consumption.

  Each mine had a separate set of buildings containing its own cafeteria, medical center and lounge where workers could relax between shifts.