by Merry Farmer
“Or Newton’s law of universal gravitation,” he rushed on, moving away from her and keeping his hands busy. He pulled a crate out of his wagon that he had no intention of opening or using. “Any two bod—objects in the universe attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.”
“Huh?” Lucy blinked.
Gideon paused halfway through moving the crate, holding it as a shield between them. “What goes up must come down.”
“Oh.”
“Those are the things I know,” he finished, putting the crate on top of the one that he’d been sitting on earlier. “Not love.”
He wasn’t sure if he should feel victory or disappointment at the confusion that pinched Lucy’s face. Maybe he should have just let her kiss him after all and dealt with the consequences later.
But no, letting someone make promises and take something from him once before and dealing with the consequences later was what had destroyed the life and career he’d come so close to building.
That thought was enough to kill any remaining ardor he felt.
“I’m sorry that I can’t give you what you want, Lucy,” he spoke frankly, leaning on the stacked crates, still using them as a barrier between them. “I’ve got work to do.”
Her confusion slowly resolved into a frown, and she planted her hands on her waist. “You work too much, Gideon Faraday. That’s your problem.”
He couldn’t argue with her. She was right, that was his problem. It was also the only solution he had at his disposal.
A quick glance to the side at Pete striding up through the midday camps gave him just the excuse he needed to escape the confusion that persisted in his chest.
“Looks like Pete needs us to pack things up to move out,” he said.
Lucy pursed her lips, studying him as if she wasn’t willing to give up whatever her mission was without a fight. She eventually glanced at Pete and sighed, “Looks like it. Too bad. I would have enjoyed… talking with you.”
They were both wise enough to know that wasn’t what she meant. At least she knew that he was aware of the game she was playing and that she wasn’t going to win.
The smile she gave him a moment later turned that theory on its head.
“Another time,” she said. The mischievous grin she’d approached him with came back as she turned on her heel and sauntered away from his wagon and back to her own. The deliberate sway of her hips was a threat and a promise.
Gideon let out a breath and lowered his head to rest on his arms on the crate. He had a feeling that the forces of attraction were on their way to being far more irresistible than he would like. Worse still, the tragedy of his life had taught him nothing but that he was only human and couldn’t hold out forever.
Chapter Four
A few days later, Gideon was handed an unexpected opportunity to get rid of the cash that haunted him.
“Gentlemen, I’m fixing to get a poker game started,” Charlie Garrett—a professional card player traveling west with them—announced as he strode into the camp where Gideon sat working on Graham’s leg.
Graham sat on the far side of the campfire, in the middle of a conversation with two of the wagon train’s crew members, Hank and Bob. Closer to Gideon, the train’s lone black crew member, Isaiah, was whittling something of his own. Lucy stood on the far side of the camp, helping her friends, Estelle and Olivia, to clean up after supper. Everyone perked up at Charlie’s announcement.
Hank and Bob snorted with laughter, standing from their conversation with Graham and moving on.
“I’m not playing ’til I make up for last time,” Hank said.
“Yeah,” Bob seconded. “You shouldn’t have cleaned us out so early in the trip.”
He thumped Charlie on the back, then he and Hank wandered off in search of other entertainment.
“Not exactly the best way to go looking for a game,” Graham chuckled.
Charlie spread his hands in a gesture as if to say “What can you do?”
“I’m not looking to clean anybody out tonight,” he said aloud. “I just thought I’d see if anyone was as bored as I was.”
At the words ‘clean anybody out,’ Gideon stood. “I’ll play.”
“Excellent.” Charlie smiled, turning to the others. “Anybody else?”
“I haven’t played cards since before the war,” Graham said.
As Gideon rushed to his wagon to fish the satchel of money out of his trunk, Charlie roped a few others into the game. The satchel was just where Gideon had left it. Keeping it and his hands inside of his trunk, he counted out the bills, wondering how much would be too much to play with.
“Land sakes, that’s a lot of money,” Lucy gasped behind him.
To his credit, Gideon didn’t jump nearly as high as he usually did when Lucy snuck up on him. Of course, that probably meant he was getting used to her, which he should definitely stop himself from doing.
“It’s, uh, payment for some work I did,” he blurted out the truth before he could find a plausible lie. He frowned at his own revelation, stomach sinking.
“What kind of work pays that sort of money?” Lucy asked. Lucky for him, she instantly forgot her question, shook her head, and said, “Don’t play with Mr. Garrett tonight.”
Gideon frowned. “Why not? You don’t strike me as the sort who disapproves of cards, not with your Aunt Virginia.”
Lucy made an impatient sound. “It’s not that. It’s a set-up.” She stepped closer to him, so close he could feel the heat of her body and smell the flowery scent that always enveloped her. With a conspiratorial light in her eyes, she whispered, “Luke Chance stole one of Josephine’s brooches. Pete wanted to force him to give it back and tan the boy’s hide, but Josephine had a better idea. She wants to teach him a lesson, so she got Charlie Garrett involved.”
“In what?” In spite of himself, Gideon dipped close enough to her to join the conspiracy.
“Charlie is going to convince Luke to join the card game.” Her gaze flickered back to the group that was already setting up for cards. “See? He’s doing it now.”
Gideon turned to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lucy. Sure enough, Luke Chance—one of the older orphans who was part of an entire family of them that Josephine Lewis had taken in—sauntered past, hands in his pockets.
“Come on and join us, son,” Charlie called to him.
“Me?” Luke paused. Judging by the look in his eyes, he was tempted.
“Of course.” Charlie’s smile was as broad as ever. “You play poker before?”
Luke shook his head. “No.”
Charlie gestured for him to join them. “No time like the present. Come. Sit yourself down.”
Luke broke into a smile and rushed to join the circle of barrels and crates that the men had made around the larger crate Charlie had moved.
“There.” Lucy turned back to Gideon. “So don’t play, because you can’t win. Charlie already has the deck stacked. He knows exactly what hands he’s dealing to everyone. He can count cards, or something like that.”
“Really?” Twin sparks of intrigue made Gideon smile. On the one hand, he would love to sit and talk with a man who was clever enough at math to count cards. On the other, he was sure to lose a hefty chunk of his blood money if he played. “Perfect.”
With a nod to Lucy, he strode back toward the newly formed circle of card players.
“Gideon,” Lucy hissed after him. When Gideon ignored her, she rushed around to the side of the game, where Estelle and Olivia were watching as if a play was about to start, and began whispering to them.
“I’m in.” Gideon took his seat, smiling at Charlie. The man was about to do him a huge favor.
“All right, gentlemen, ante up,” Charlie said, bringing out his cards.
“What if I haven’t got any money?” Luke said, red-faced.
“Come, come, son. I’m sure you’ve got som
ething,” Charlie said. “You’ve got to pay to play. Got any jewelry on you?”
Luke slumped, dug his toe into the ground, chewed his lip, then sighed. He reached into his pocket and took out a silver cameo. It must have been the one that belonged to Josephine. “How about this?”
Charlie beamed. “That’ll do, son. I’ll advance you three dollars for it.” He reached into his pocket and took out a handful of coins, counted a few of them, then poured them into Luke’s hand.
Gideon slid his ante into the pot along with the others.
“There you go, son,” Charlie instructed Luke. “A dime will get you started. Now, here come your cards.”
Luke beamed.
“We used to play our fair share of cards on the plantation,” Isaiah said, as the cards were dealt. “I was pretty good, too. I’ll take three,” he interrupted his story after checking his cards. He returned three to the table as Charlie dealt him three more.
“I spent some time down South,” Charlie said, fanning his cards and taking a look. “Before the war, that is. Played a few tournaments in Atlanta, Charleston. I was born in Richmond, as it happens.”
“I fold,” Graham sighed on Charlie’s left.
“I can bet, right?” Luke said, overexcited.
“Yes, son,” Charlie told him.
“I bet a dollar.”
Half the men in the circle blew out breaths or whistled. Gideon sent a sideways look to Lucy. She chewed her lip, as if she knew what was coming.
“I may have played cards,” Isaiah said, “but not like that. I fold.”
“I see your dollar,” Gideon mumbled, dropping half his bills as he placed one on the crate.
“No, no,” Lucy whispered. When Gideon peeked at her again, she was shaking her head furiously and gesturing for him to fold.
“I see your dollar, and I raise you two,” Charlie said, sending Luke a broad smile.
“If I wasn’t out before, I’d be out now,” Graham said, shaking his head.
Luke’s eyes still glowed with promise. “I only have two dollars of the three you gave me left. I’m gonna win, so what do I do?”
Charlie grinned from ear to ear. “It’s called going all in, son.”
“Then I go all in,” Luke said. He dumped the remainder of his coins on the barrel.
Gideon fought not to give himself away by grinning. If he’d known it would be this easy to get rid of his money while helping someone else teach a lesson, he would have banded with Charlie to find wayward boys to swindle a lot sooner. He rubbed the back of his neck, pushing two more bills into the pot. “I’ll call.”
Charlie’s brow rose in surprise. “You sure you want to do that?” he asked, looking hard in Gideon’s direction.
To the side, Lucy squeaked.
“I’m sure,” Gideon said. “I call.”
“He calls.” Charlie nodded. “So do I. Show your cards, son.”
With a grin of triumph, Luke tipped his cards down, revealing three tens and two queens. “I don’t know much about poker, but I know that’s a full house, and I know a full house wins.”
“Hmm.” Gideon showed his cards. He held a pair of nines and a pair of sevens.
“You called with that hand?” Isaiah teased him.
“Yes.” That was all the answer Gideon was going to give.
Graham had hunched over and held his hand to his mouth, covering laughter.
“Well, well.” Charlie flipped his cards down to show four kings. “A full house is good, son, but four of a kind beats a full house by just a little bit.”
Luke’s joyful expression dropped. “What?”
“You lose, son,” Charlie informed him, scooping all of the coins and bills from the table.
Luke stared at his cards, at Charlie’s hand, now resting on the table, and at the space where his money had been moments before. “That’s not fair.”
Charlie shrugged. “That’s poker, son.” His smile was as wide as ever.
“But…but the brooch—”
“Is mine now, fair and square,” Charlie finished for him.
“This is stupid,” Luke barked. He stood and threw his cards on the crate. Half of them fluttered to the ground. He marched off, swatting at the canvas covering the supply wagon as he did.
“Careful there, son,” Charlie called after him, chuckling. As soon as Luke was out of earshot, he said, “That’ll teach him a thing or two about taking what isn’t his.”
“So you cheated,” Isaiah said, mouth widening to a grin.
Charlie shook his head. “I used my skills to take back what didn’t belong to the boy.”
“But it was all planned,” Isaiah went on.
Charlie’s only answer was to smile and hand Isaiah back his ante money.
Gideon leaned over to pick up the cards that had fallen off the crate. “Let’s play a few more hands.”
“Gid.” Graham blew out a breath, releasing his tension. He twisted to Gideon and fixed him with a flat look. “Are you sure you want to throw more money Charlie’s way? You already lost three dollars.”
“Oh, I have plenty of money,” Gideon replied. His words rippled through the rest of them, bringing them all to attention. Gideon cursed himself for not watching what he said. “That is, I’d like to see if I can earn some more.” Which was about as far from the truth as it was possible to get.
“I wouldn’t mind a few more hands,” Isaiah went on. “It’ll be a nice way to pass the time.”
Graham sighed. “I guess it would.”
“Whatever you say.” Charlie grinned, collecting all the cards. “And I promise to play straight from here on out.”
Gideon sure hoped not. He had far more money to lose than he would be able to get rid of in one night, but for the first time in months, a lightness filled him. He might actually stand a chance of easing his guilt and putting his ill-gotten gains into the hands of someone who might be able to use it without weeping at the thought of how it’d been earned.
If Lucy hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. Gideon had deliberately lost over a hundred dollars to Charlie Garrett the night Charlie had nabbed Luke for stealing. The mystery of it stayed with her for days. It was enough to derail her plans to kiss Gideon, for a little while. She was still determined to make that happen, but first she had to figure out why on earth a man would gamble with such a large sum when he knew he was playing with a card sharp.
And where had a scientist from Princeton University come by so much money anyhow?
Those questions and more swirled through her head as they reached Ft. Kearney and stopped for an overnight stay. While everyone else was relieved to have some time to relax and splash around in the river, washing clothes or just enjoying a rare moment of respite, Lucy’s brain was churning so hard she was surprised there wasn’t smoke coming out of her ears. Even a conversation with Estelle, Olivia, and Josephine about forming a trail school for the children traveling west on the wagon train couldn’t keep her thoughts off of the problem.
The only thing that popped her out of her thoughts was the sight of Gideon coming down the slope toward the river where she was busy washing her clothes alongside several other women. Gideon was helping Graham to walk on the wooden leg he’d constructed, but evidently they ran into a problem, and Graham sat.
“I wonder what they’re up to,” she said, abandoning the last of the laundry that she was wringing and heading out of the water.
“Wait, Lucy, aren’t you going to help us plan the trail school?” Olivia called after her.
“Afterwards,” Lucy called back over her shoulder.
She marched up the hillside, ignoring the water that dripped off of the hem of her skirt and petticoat. As soon as she reached Gideon and Graham, she burst into a smile.
“Gideon. Do you want to go swimming? The water’s just fine. I was going to go back in as soon as I’d finished with the laundry just to enjoy myself. Do you want to come?” She paused, then added, “You can come
too, Graham.” She peeked at his leg. Missing limbs had become all too common a sight in soldiers returning home from the war, but if anyone could fix it, Gideon could.
“Um, well,” Gideon stammered. “I have important work… adjustments need to be made….”
Graham blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Why, we’d love to go for a swim. Wouldn’t we, Gid?”
Gideon made a strange, strangled noise. He blushed and refused to meet Lucy’s eyes. It was the same sort of blush he’d worn when she’d seen him almost—
It dawned on her with a mischievous giggle that if Gideon came swimming with her, chances are he’d have to take his shirt off again. She was more than ready to feast her eyes on the sight of his chest and torso a second time.
“Perfect. Fabulous.” She beamed, already thrilled with the prospect. She still had that kiss to collect, after all, and the water was as good a place to get it as any. “I’ll just sort my laundry and take off my dress, and I’ll meet you in the water.”
Barely able to contain her excitement—excitement of more than one kind—she turned and skipped back to the river.
She made quick work of stripping down to her chemise and drawers. Her mother would have been scandalized if she knew that half of the people on the wagon train routinely went swimming in their underwear. But Aunt Virginia would roll with laughter if she knew, and that was all that mattered to Lucy. She lay her things in a patch of sun to keep warm, then waded out into the water up to her waist.
Gideon and Graham had already made it out to near the center of the shallow, slow-moving river. They were having some sort of a conversation, but she went ahead and interrupted. Some things were more important than whatever men talked about. Kisses, for example.
“That’s it, I’m done with chores for the day,” she declared. Gideon ducked into the water up to his neck, hiding his bare chest. “I think we all deserve a break from work now and then, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Gideon sank further into the water.
“So tell me more about science.” She drifted closer to him, saying the word ‘science’ with all the thrilling feeling that his explanation of the laws of attraction had filled her with the other day. If every explanation of science was that scintillating, she would devote the rest of her life to its scholarly pursuits.