A Winning Hand

by Maria Lake

  Although, seeing how Josie looked in that yellow dress she had on, he could sure understand why her Daddy and Mrs. Martin usually insisted on keeping her in modest clothes. She was near nineteen, but in that low cut dress she had looked years older, and far more knowing than was respectable. Far too much of Josie's bosom had been on display, and it was all he could do not to stare at the creamy swell of her breasts. It was obvious that she wasn't wearing a corset, yet her chest stood firm, her maidenly breasts proudly jutting up, daring for a man's touch.

  It was all he could do to control himself as he had her across his lap. Clothing or not, he knew full well which parts of her had been pressed against him, and if he hadn't set her back up on her feet just when he had, he had been in real danger of having something of his own press right back against her.

  Sam sighed. He wasn't sure if he had done the right thing or not. Truth was, she was her Daddy's responsibility, not his. Problem was, Lanshaw was too old to keep her in line. And just because Josie looked fully grown, didn't mean she acted grown. A gal like that needed a firm hand, or else she truly was going to land herself in trouble one of these days.

  And Sam untied his horse from the post, once again trying hard to forget what it had been like to press her to his lap when he'd been ready to spank her. He shook his head. Thinking about her body trying to wriggle and squirm against his was the last thing he should be doing right now. And wouldn’t accomplish anything other than an uncomfortable ride home.

  Chapter 9

  Josie rode straight for home, and it was getting close to dusk when she led her horse back into her stall. She was tired and hungry.

  Mrs. Martin was sitting in the kitchen with Sam, and by the looks of it, they had both just finished eating.

  Mrs. Martin busied herself immediately. “Don't you look a fright,” she chided Josie. “Horse didn't get spooked on your ride home, did it?”

  Josie shook her head, unable to look at Mrs. Martin or Sam.

  “Well, then you must be hungry.”

  Josie was about to answer yes, when Sam spoke.

  “Don't tell me the Appletons kept you all that time without serving you a good supper! Why when I worked at their place, Mrs. Appleton always made sure to give her guests the best of everything.”

  Josie felt ready to glare at him, but she was afraid she would falter under his hard stare. She was trapped. If she said she hadn't eaten, it would sound like Mrs. Appleton was a bad hostess by not giving her supper. It wasn't Mrs. Appleton's character that she was much concerned about, but Mrs. Martin would have some words to say to Minnie, the Appleton's cook. And then her whole cover story would unravel. No, she was stuck.

  “It was a good meal. But the ride home seemed longer than usual. Wouldn't mind a piece of bread as a little extra.”

  “Then mind you have something to drink down with it, or it will be too dry. Here, I'll fix you a plate while you wash up,” said Mrs. Martin.

  Josie noted glumly that she was stuck with a meal of bread and water. Prison food.

  “Daddy back?” she asked as she sat down to eat.

  Sam shook his head. “Sent a messenger back to say he'd be staying on for a few days. Was going to check out a mine.”

  "A mine?" Mrs. Martin said, disapprovingly. "The man's a rancher. What'd he have to do with a mine?"

  “Investing, I would expect. Or at least thinking of it,” Sam replied.

  “So Daddy could be looking at a fortune in gold or silver?” Josie asked hopefully.

  “Could be, but probably isn't. That's what happens with these mining schemes. Mostly schemes. Really just gambling, and that's what I'd told your father when he asked my advice.”

  “Nothing good ever came from gambling with mines,” Mrs. Martin said, agreeing with Sam. “Asked your advice and didn't take it, sounds like him all right,” Mrs. Martin continued to huff, as she cleared the table. “Well, hopefully he won't pledge himself to any crazy schemes.”

  Josie nodded, although the idea of mining still sounded pretty good to her-- just imagine if they owned a mine that had gold or silver.

  At the very least, whether Daddy went in on a mine or not, she could relax a little. With Daddy away and Sam busy running things, she was off the hook for a bit. If she was really lucky, maybe Sam would forget to tell Daddy about what she had been up to. She snuck a quick look at Sam, but his head was down and she couldn't read his expression.

  Ah well, it didn't matter what Sam thought, as long as her bottom was safe!

  Chapter 10

  Josie woke up in the middle of the night with a strangled moan. Her conscience had gotten to her. By day, she had escaped punishment, but in her dreams Sam hadn't let her go. He'd taken that belt and he'd gone and smacked her bottom with it, again and again and again. And that thick leather belt hurt even more than it had looked. It hurt so bad, it had left her breathless. It had hurt so bad that it not only made her bottom throb, she woke up feeling a painful aching between her legs that she didn't know how to soothe.

  She was hot and flustered and feeling guilty. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she cursed Sam for making her feel this way. She wasn't sure exactly how it was his fault, but somehow it had to be. She couldn't close her eyes for more than a minute without picturing herself over his lap. Again and again, the nightmares came, fast and furious.

  The last nightmare was the worst. Partway through the spanking, Sam had pulled up her dress, and ordered her to push down her drawers. Her face had burned as she slowly untied the ribbon on her drawers, and felt them fall past her knees, past her ankles, and then... and then she was bare to him. And he showed no mercy- not for her modesty or for her tender flesh. And in the end, cruel man, he had made her stand and bend before the mirror, so she could see how he had pinked her.

  Josie was terribly overheated and trembling after that last nightmare. How awful Sam was! Oh, how Sam made her ache!

  Chapter 11

  Sam didn't forget catching Josie over by the Saloon, but when Mr. Lanshaw returned to the ranch a week later, he was so preoccupied with his new mining investment that Sam could barely get a word in about the Saloon, and the few he did, Lanshaw hardly listened to.

  Absently, Lanshaw patted Sam on the shoulder. “Well, if Josie was up to anything naughty, I'm sure you put a stop to it.”

  “Not the way I would've wanted to, sir. If I had, I'd be more certain of its effectiveness.”

  “Well, I pay you to be effective, don't I? If you can manage my herd, my daughter ought to be easier to deal with.”

  “So, I have the authority to--”

  “If I'm not in a position to handle something, I trust you can take the reins, ranch or daughter. Now, about that mine--”

  “Sir, it's my feeling that the mine is too risky. It's too new. Why not wait a few months and see how she produces?”

  “Sam, I'm the son of a rancher, and I spent my whole long life on this ranch. So, believe me, I'm doing you a real credit by saying you know more about this ranch than I do.”

  “Well, thank you sir, that's mighty kind of you.”

  “But, just 'cause you know this ranch like it's your own, doesn’t mean you know squat about mining. When I went to Grove, Clay Johnson sat me down for a long talk about mining, told me everything about it. So, by the time I met with those men out in Tumbleweed, I knew quite a bit. Mining’s not something you wait on, not with all the folks eager to get rich quick.”

  “Just a few months sir, that doesn't seem like a long wait.”

  “In mining, a few months might as well be a few years. By then, all the shares could be sold out. By then, most of the easy gold could have been dug out.”

  “But if the gold went that quick--”

  “You think that I'd be left with a useless hole in the ground? It don't work that way. All the money comes in fast in the beginning. Then you use some of that to dig down further. Costs more to dig deeper, but eventually it more'n pays for itself.”

  “And you're c
ertain it has enough gold in it?”

  “It was like nothing I'd ever seen before Sam. Didn't even have to get tools out-- all I had to do was nudge the dirt a bit with my boot. That was all it took to find quite a few nuggets. I'd be crazy not to invest in an opportunity like this. Just think what kind of money will come pouring in! We'll be able to expand the ranch, could easily double the herd.”

  But Sam just shook his head. “Just seems too good to be true.”

  “Ah, Sam,” Lanshaw said, spitting tobacco on the dusty ground, “that's where we're different. It takes money to make money, and sometimes you just have to roll the dice. Men who play it safe wind up spending their whole lives working for other men.”

  Sam bridled at Lanshaw's words, felt like telling him how he had managed to grow a fortune on his own just by carefully investing a small inheritance in Waring Springs. But instead, he kept his mouth shut.

  Even Oren Trask didn't know how many properties Sam had bought up, and it was better that way. It did no man any good to have other men know what he was worth, especially out here where things were still settled with guns. Lanshaw surely would never believe how much he had earned from his investments, and would never understand how Sam could continue working for him if he had enough money to never have to work again. Heck, Sam couldn't understand it himself, but he usually told himself it was just 'cause he liked ranching, and because he felt bad that a fine place like the Lanshaw Ranch might fall apart if Old Lanshaw didn't have someone as careful as himself to run it.

  One thing he was sure of was that Josie Lanshaw couldn't be the reason he stuck around. Nope, he was definitely not working at Lanshaw's because of his daughter. She was more of a burr'n his saddle than anything else. He couldn't possibly be interested in courting her, let alone marry her! Besides, her stubborn ways clearly ran in the family.

  Sam shook his head as Lanshaw continued on about the mine- he realized that he wasn't going to win any argument with Lanshaw-- the man had the gold fever. Sam could only hope Lanshaw limited his investment to what he could afford to lose, just in case the Tumbleweed Mine turned out to be a bust.

  Chapter 12

  Gold fever was a powerful sickness. Within a months, Lanshaw had bought a majority of shares in two mines. After the first layers turned out to produce little more than a few nuggets, Lanshaw was left having to pour even more money into the mines so the men could dig deeper.

  And after Clay Johnson was caught trying to hop a train in the dead of night, it became clear that the Tumbleweed Mine turned out to be a classic swindle. Those few pieces of gold that they had "found" when old Lanshaw was being shown the mine, turned out to have been brought in from somewhere else. The mines were both a sad bust, and Lanshaw had put too much on the line.

  Clay Johnson had swindled a lot of men, and eventually an angry mob wound up hanging him for it, but the Lanshaw's never did recover the money he'd taken from them.

  And old Lanshaw never really recovered his wits after losing so much. For months, he wandered the house aimlessly, muttering to himself, while Sam and Josie did their best to keep the ranch running.

  It wasn't easy working together. Sam was more conservative about things, Josie more willing to carry some risk, so their business conversations didn't run smoothly. After one particularly heated exchange, Josie punctuated her remarks with some swear words that would have raised eyebrows even on the trail. It was all Sam could do not to haul her over his knee. But they were in her Daddy's house, and Sam still felt he had to respect the older man's authority over his home and daughter.

  After even more arguing, Josie and Sam went to Lanshaw and convinced him to sell part of the herd in order to cover expenses and keep from having to mortgage the ranch.

  Lanshaw continued to seem lost, and when the next illness made its rounds, he didn't even try to fight it. He took to his bed and prepared to make peace with the world before he met his maker.

  Josie went into her father's room and tearfully said goodbye to him.

  Her father kissed her on the cheek and apologized for leaving before he'd gotten a chance to see her start a family.

  “Don't see that happening so soon,” she said, hugging him tight.

  “I'll see what I can do to make sure you're looked after.”

  And then, with another hug, far more feeble this time, her father sent her out, and asked her to send Sam in for a few words.

  Josie knew she wasn't supposed to listen in on other people's words, but she couldn’t help herself. After Sam closed the door, she pressed her ear to it.

  “I should've listened to you Sam,” her father said, by way of greeting.

  “You couldn't have known, sir.”

  “I suppose you'll be off to a place that can pay your wages,” he said. It was well known that Sam had turned down several paydays so the few ranch hands they had left could get paid.

  “Not until I get this place turned around first, sir.”

  “You're a good man, Sam. If only I had someone like you to look after my Josie.”

  A troubled quiet settled over the room.

  Daddy spoke again, his voice trembling this time. “Would you, Sam? Would you look after her? I could go in peace if I knew I left her in your hands.”

  “Yessir,” Sam said, his voice quiet but firm, “yessir.”

  Josie drew back from the door, shaking, and ran into her own bedroom. What had just happened? Daddy had used to last words to rope Sam into... into what exactly? It had sounded an awful lot like Daddy had asked Sam to marry her. But she couldn't marry Sam-- they didn't suit at all. Annie Appleton's betrothed was always bringing her bouquets and taking her on carriage rides-- Annie was constantly sighing about how romantic Jeremiah was. Josie couldn't see Sam being like that, at least not with her. Had Daddy seen how they'd gotten on while they were running the ranch together? Oil and water would have been one thing, but they were more like kerosene on a fire.

  Sure, Sam was a mighty fine looking man, and he had a real good head on his shoulders, but he was the wrong man for her. He was too firm, and he would never let her go on the way Daddy had. And she strongly suspected he would try to spank her if she didn't obey him. It was bad enough she still woke up in the night, shuddering over the thought of him taking her over his lap. She didn't need that actually happening!

  But, maybe Daddy wasn't really pressing Sam to marry her. Maybe he just wanted to make sure she would be okay after he was gone. Daddy just wanted to make sure that she would be safe living out here on the ranch, to make sure no outlaws decided they were an easy target. Sam'd just stay on to make sure that she and Mrs. Martin weren't kidnapped by bandits or anything like that.

  That would be okay. Josie gave a sigh of relief. She sure wouldn't mind having a strong man like Sam around to protect them. And if he could help her keep the ranch, so much the better. Just as long as she didn't have to love, honor and obey him. If that was what had been promised, then she could see an awful lot of trouble for herself on the horizon. But there was still plenty of time enough to worry about that- she'd have to go into mourning for a year- she wouldn't have to face any marriage proposals, not from Sam, not from anyone, until she was close to twenty-one.

  She could hear the footsteps before the knock on the door. She knew she should go into the other room, to see, but she couldn't right now. She couldn't see Daddy like that-- gone.

  Josie pulled her door open fast, ready to argue with Mrs. Martin or Sam about paying her last respects. But there was no argument coming. Sam just stood there, hat in hand, his fingers crumpling the brim.

  “He was a good man,” Sam said gruffly.

  “No,” she yelled, “don't you dare say that. Calling him good means he's gone, because he'd never let anyone call him that while he was still alive. Don't you dare go calling Daddy a good man.”

  And then she grabbed Sam by the shirtfront and pounded her hands against his chest. Josie was a tiny thing, and Sam could have easily pushed her away, but instead he stood the
re, letting her rail against him, until he heard something hitch in her breath.

  His arms were around her before the first tears landed on his shirt, and he put his arms around her back, hugging her tightly, until she had calmed.

  “Dang it,” she said looking up at him through tear soaked lashes. “Why did you have to go and be nice to me all of a sudden?”

  “When did you start saying 'dang it' instead of---”

  “Didn't seem right to say the other on a day like today.”

  “It's never right for you to say those words, but it's good of you to show respect.”

  “Funny, thing is that Daddy'd always been one to cuss his head off it he felt like it.”

  Sam nodded.

  “What's the word to best describe him? Colorful? Daddy sure was colorful,” Josie said sadly. She was trying to find a way to laugh, to lift the weight of her sorrow, but she couldn't.

  “I lost my parents too,” Sam said quietly. “Thought I might know a thing or two about how that feels. Just didn't want you to think you were all alone.”

  “That mean you aren't running off to another job?”

  “I'd like to think I'm a better man than that. Think I owe your family more'n that, don't you?”

  Josie shrugged. “Figured a job's a job, and--”

  “And I'm not going anywhere. We've got plenty of matters to talk about, you and me, but not now.”

  “The ranch is still in trouble, isn't it?”

  “That's not something to think about right now.”

  “But it is, isn't it?”

  “Whatever needs to be done will get done, but not today.”

  “Was Daddy upset that I wasn't there-- during his last words?”

  “He sent you out for a reason, and it wasn't just so he could talk to me. He was pretty clear he didn't want you to see him as he went. He wanted you to remember him as he was, when he was alive. Not with his spirit slipping away.”