Bed of Roses Page 0,87

to a party, and I said I'd swing by and pick up Mac. She didn't have a car back then. So her mother came to the door, and gave me the kind of once-over you don't generally get from mothers, then sort of backed me into a corner until Mac got down. It was . . . interesting, and yeah, scary. Scary Linda. Good name."

"What were you, twenty? She should be ashamed. Arrested. Something. Now I dislike her more. I didn't think it was possible."

"I survived. But if she tries it again, I'm counting on you to protect me. And a lot better than you did with Scary Kellye."

"One of these days I'm going to tell her what I think of her. Linda, not Kellye. And if she actually shows up at Mac's wedding and tries to pull something, I might get violent."

"Can I watch?"

Emma laid her head back down on his shoulder. "I'm calling my mother tomorrow, just to tell her she's wonderful." She kissed his cheek again. "And so are you. This is the first time I've ever been carried through the moonlight."

"Actually, it's overcast."

She smiled. "Not from where I'm sitting."

J ACK STUDIED HIS HOLE CARDS. POKER NIGHT HAD BEEN GOOD to him, so far, but the pair of deuces didn't look promising. He checked, waited while the bet walked around the table. When it got to Doctor Rod, he tossed in twenty-five. Beside him, Mal folded. Del tossed in his chips. Landscape Frank did the same. Lawyer Henry folded.

Jack debated briefly, and coughed up the twenty-five.

Del burned the top card, then turned over the flop. Ace of clubs, ten of diamonds, four of diamonds. Possible flush, possible straight. And he had a crap pair of deuces. He checked.

Rod went another twenty-five.

Carter folded, Del and Frank met the bet.

Stupid, Jack thought, but he just had a feeling. Sometimes feelings were worth twenty-five. He added his chips to the pot.

Del buried a card, turned the next up. Two of diamonds.

Now that was interesting. Still, knowing how Rod played, he checked. Rod bet another twenty-five, with Del raising it twenty-five more. Frank folded. Jack thought about trip deuces. But he still had a feeling. He tossed in the fifty.

"Glad it didn't scare you off. I'm looking to score here. Need to sweeten the pot." Rod grinned. "I just got engaged."

Del glanced over. "Seriously? We're dropping like flies."

"Congratulations," Carter said.

"Thanks. Raise it back fifty more. I figured, what the hell am I waiting for? So I took the jump. Shell's all about taking a look at your sister's place. Maybe you can get me the Poker Buddy discount."

"Not a chance." Del counted out chips. "But I'll see your fifty. Seeing as it's probably the end of poker and cigars for you."

"Hell, Shell's not that way. Bet's to you, Jack."

Pocket aces, probably. Rod never bluffed, or he sucked at it so wide you saw through it like a plate glass window. Pocket aces or a couple of pretty diamonds. Still . . .

"I'll stick. Consider it an engagement present."

"Appreciate it. We're looking at next June. Shell wants the big splash. I figured, hey, we'll just fly down to some island over the winter, get some sun, get some surf, get married. But she wants the big deal."

"And so it begins," Mal said in funereal tones.

"You're having the big deal, right, Carter?"

"Mac's in the business. They do a great job. Make it really special. Personalized."

"Don't sweat it," Mal said to Rod. "You won't have any say in it anyway. Just learn to repeat 'sure, baby' whenever she asks if you like something, want something, will do something."

"A lot you know. You've never been there."

"Nearly was. I didn't say 'sure, baby' enough." Mal examined the tip of his cigar. "Fortunately."

"I'm going to like being married." Rod nudged his glasses back up his nose. "Settled in, settled down. I guess you're heading in that direction, Jack."

"What?"

"You've been tight with the hot florist for a while now. Off the market."

Del clamped his cigar in his teeth. "Are we playing poker, or should we start talking about where Rod's going to register? Three players in for the river."

Del turned over the last card, but Jack was too busy staring at Rod to notice.

"My bet. And I'm all in."

"That's interesting, Rod." Expression bland, Del puffed on his cigar. "I'll cover it. How about it, Jack?

You sticking or folding?"

"What?"

"Bet's to you, brother."

"Right." Off the market? What did that mean ? He took a slow sip of beer, ordered himself