Page 43 of One Night Gamble
“I was in a foster home when I was a kid, and then later, a group home,” Casey admitted. “One of the couples who kept us was a musician. He played the trumpet in one of the big shows in Vegas. I used to catch a ride with him into town sometimes.”
“Ah, well I was never on the albums,” Mona said. “Sometimes, if one of the girls got sick, I’d sub for them. It was fun.”
“I bet,” Lee said. Then the women were all talking about their pasts and the most exciting thing that had happened to them. For Lee, it was the time she’d thought she was waiting for a celebrity outside of an embassy in London. Unfortunately, it had turned out to be a protest and she’d been arrested.
They all laughed at that.
“How did you not know?” Gran asked.
“To be honest, everyone had a camera, so we figured they were all waiting for someone famous. My daughter and I were standing there, cameras at the ready, when the cops arrived. We sorted it out quickly, but not before we’d all been taken to the station. It was very exciting.”
Talia didn’t think it had been nearly as thrilling as Lee’s adventure when she’d had to bail her father out of jail after he’d been busted for trying to sell stolen goods.
“Well the most exciting thing to happen to me was when I was picked to be on The Price Is Right. You know not everyone gets to. It was so much fun,” Tonya said.
“Did you win?” Casey asked.
“Just some kitchen appliances but it was something,” Tonya said. “My husband recorded it and we used to show everyone when they came over to our house.”
“That sounds like fun,” Talia said. “Nothing that exciting has ever happened to me.”
“That’s because you’re young,” Gran said. “We’ve got at least forty years on you, lovey. Give it time.”
She smiled at her grandmother and then looked at Casey. “What about you? Surely playing in a high-stakes game has to rank up there.”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, it is exciting. But like you, I’m not sure I’ve experienced my big adventure yet,” Casey said.
Again, she couldn’t help but notice how relaxed Casey looked, sitting at the card table. He was at ease here. He shuffled easily and in a nonchalant way that made it seem as if winning or losing didn’t matter to him. But his gaze was eagle-eyed and sharp. He watched everything and she knew that he could win if he wanted to.
There was something in his eyes that made her want to believe that he was trying to say she might be his most exciting adventure. But she doubted it. She knew that no woman could compete with the allure of the next hand.
Or at least that was what experience had taught her. She wanted to think she was wise enough not to fall into the same trap she’d been in her entire life, but Casey tempted her.
“Looks like Talia and Casey won,” Mona said, doing the tally on her notepad. “Want some help cleaning up, Nina?”
“I got it,” Talia said, getting up to start clearing away the snacks. As she worked, she heard Casey talking to Mona and offering to see her home, which was sweet, and very considerate. No one wanted Mona behind the wheel of her golf cart when she was tipsy.
The other ladies then chimed in that they, too, needed an escort and Talia moved to the living room window to watch Casey driving Mona’s golf cart away, accompanied by three ladies.
“I like him,” Gran said, coming up next to her. “He’s got a sweetness underneath all that flash.”
Maybe.
“He’s never had a real family,” Talia said.
“Maybe that’s why he is so good at cards. He had nothing else to distract him,” Gran said.
“Or maybe it’s just that cards are his family,” Talia said.
“Not everyone who plays the game is like your father,” Gran said, a warning in her voice.
“I know.”
“Do you?” Gran asked. “That young man isn’t like Dan. Don’t make him pay for your father’s mistakes.”
She tried not to let her grandmother’s words have too much weight. But they did. Was she looking for a reason to walk away from Casey before she fell any harder for him?
…
