bit her lip, struggling for control.
She felt bitter and angry and very, very tired. She might have lost to Big Julie in a fair game, she’d never know now. But she’d had no chance at all in a stacked game with Tanner at the table. It was over.
Everything was over.
If she could move. Her legs felt as heavy as concrete pillars.
“Sorry, little miss all-or-nothing,” Big Julie chortled as he raked in the chips and took back the deed to the ranch. “What you got is a whole lotta nothing.”
And it’s always fun to play with a generous winner, too.
Hope focused her mind, willing herself to stand, and pushed herself to her feet. She felt defeated. Lost.
“Thanks for the game, Mr. Saladino,” she said, picking up her purse. “I appreciate the opportunity.”
“Why you rushin’ off so fast?” Big Julie asked expansively. “Stick around. Finish your drink.”
“Thanks, but it’s late and I have to go.”
She left the table, holding herself stiffly, keeping herself in check. Tears blurred her vision as she headed for the front door. She had to get out of here.
“She shouldn’t play if she can’t lose,” she heard Big Julie say behind her, and then she heard footsteps coming after her.
“Hope!” Tanner called, but his voice gave her the impetus to quicken her pace, heading toward the foyer, fleeing from him and the game and the ruins of her life. Flinging open the door of the suite, she stepped out into the hallway and fled to the elevator, stabbing the call button repeatedly.
The elevator took too long, and Hope’s heart pounded as Tanner came out of the suite and strode toward her. What did he want? He hadn’t done enough, now he wanted something more?
“Hope,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She turned her back on him and punched the elevator button again.
He came up behind her and reached for her arm.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, jerking her arm away. “Get away from me.”
Tanner stepped back as though he’d been slapped. “Hope, honey, I’m sorry, you got a bad beat just now, but you weren’t going to win tonight.”
She looked at him, feeling all the weight of her anger and loss. The ranch, yes. That was gone forever. But Tanner, too. She couldn’t afford to love another selfish, lying, cheating, cardplayer. She couldn’t afford to live with that much uncertainty and pain.
She’d known better, too. She just hadn’t listened to her own instincts.
“Was it a bad beat?” she asked, her face impassive, wondering if he’d lie and if she’d know if he were. “Or did you bring up that river card on purpose?”
Tanner glanced away. For a second he said nothing, and Hope had her answer.
Where was that elevator? Any time now would be good.
“I had to,” he said finally. He looked around to make sure Drake or Big Julie weren’t listening. “And—by the way—thank you for not saying anything. Listen—”
“No, you listen.” Hope held up a hand to stop him. “Go away, Tanner. Go back to the card game. Go get what you came for. Just—go away.”
“Hope, I meant what I said, we can figure something out. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Finally the elevator, and not a minute too soon. Hope stepped into it and hit the button for the lobby.
“There is nothing to figure out,” she said as the doors closed. “Didn’t you hear me? The ranch is gone, Tanner. The game’s over. Don’t call me tomorrow. Don’t call me ever again.”
Chapter 27
The gray early morning light that filtered in around the edges of Hope’s curtains brought a new day but only fresh heaviness to her heart. She rolled away from the window, staring into the blackness of her room, not wanting to get up, not wanting to get out of bed at all.
She knew she should try to get up and appreciate the day. It would be one of the few mornings she had left at the ranch.
No one else knew yet. No one knew that she’d lost everything last night—the ranch, Faith’s business, their home. When she got back to the house, everyone had been asleep. She hadn’t wanted to wake them with bad news. It was too late to call Marty.
She didn’t remember getting home. The only thing she remembered was that when she got to the top of the long driveway and saw the full moon glowing silver in the indigo sky, casting a glittery sheen over the house and barn, she put her head down on the steering wheel and wept. How long she’d stayed out