DISCLAIMER: I don't own the guys, and really, would I want to? I mean, other than the moral implications of owning someone, think about the maintenance of seven men! I've got two brothers and the house is a mess, what'd seven grown men who spend a large percentage of their time drinking do? And the smell! Buck's the only one we've seen bathe regularly, we can't even get Vin out of that dead animal he calls a coat... No, I'll stick with just watching the guys. :) Actually I don't use any of the guys in this story so...RATING: PG
Warnings: Naw...
NOTES: This is my first time sending something to this list, I hope you all enjoy it. It's just a little speculation on how Ezra came to be. The title sucks, but I used all my creativity for the day writing this. A couple months ago I saw part of an old movie called something like "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" and it made me think of something Maude would do. I never got around to writing a story about it but today I was apparently bored and just sat down and made this story. It's unbeted and I've only read through it once, but I'm sending it anyway because I just spent three or four hours writing it and there's nothing in my mail box to read.
Feedback: Please, please, please! I'll take anything you want to say to me, even if it's just that this story sucked. Point out any errors you see, any character flaws, anything at all. And I write back to everyone so that should be a bit of an incentive. ~ Becky Hromiko
The blonde woman stood uncomfortably with a young boy, watching her husband play at the card table."Patrick," she said cautiously.
"Don't interrupt me now, Maude," he growled, not looking away from his cards.
The betting continued, there was over $15,000 in the pot, not an unusual occurrence in some tournaments, but definitely unsettling for the small time player at the table.
"Come on, Mr. Standish, are you in or out?" an old rancher, Gregory Peters, asked.
Patrick looked at his cards again then back at the pot. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
"But Patrick, you can't bet the deed to the house, where will we live?!" Maude interrupted.
"Shut up, woman. The house is worth at least $5000."
Maude held her peace and pulled the child a little closer. "A gambling hall is no place for a child," she muttered reproachfully, more to herself than anyone else.
A storeowner, Solomon Jones, saw Patrick's bet and after a minute of contemplation raised it $1,000. Patrick cursed under his breath then grabbed Maude's arm and pulled her over. "I need you to go home and get all your jewelry, anything around there that's worth anything."
"But Patrick," she tried to protest.
"You don't think Tommy belongs here anyway, now go!"
"What'll we do if you lose?" she spat back.
"I'm not going to lose, there's no way anyone can beat this hand!" He showed her the cards and she stared at them blankly.
"You know I don't know anything about poker, dear. Why don't you just stop this silly game, get the deed to the house back, and we can all go home?"
"Once a bet is placed, you can't take it back," Frank Reynolds, the professional gambler at the table, reminded as he saw the storeowner's bet and raised it another thousand.
"Maude, there isn't any choice, I've got to play out this hand. Now go get--" He stopped mid-sentence and clutched at his chest.
"Patrick!" She knelt down next to him as he fell to the floor. "Tommy, go get your daddy some water," she commanded urgently, taking Patrick's head in her lap. The others at the table gathered around to see what they could do to help.
"Is he alive?" Peters asked with little compassion. The storeowner cuffed him then ran off saying he’d get the doctor.
Maude was close to tears as Tommy ran back clutching a dripping glass of water. "Is Daddy going to be all right, Mama?"
"Oh course he is, sugar, of course he is."
The doctor soon came and Patrick was taken from the gambling hall. "He should be okay, I don't know what made him collapse," the doctor explained.
"Probably the stress," Reynolds speculated. "You gentlemen ready to finish this game?" The others moved back to their seats.
"What about Patrick's hand?" Maude asked, still dabbing at some tears.
"Since he isn't here to play, he'll just have to fold," Jones explained, sounding sorry.
"But, but, the deed to our house is in that pot! Where are we going to live?"
"You should never bet more than you can afford to lose," the gambler said. "I believe the bet was to you, Mr. Peters."
"Wait! Isn't there anything I can do?" Maude practically pleaded. Tommy likewise looked imploringly at the assembled men.
"Well, if you found someone to take his place..." Solomon hated to see the woman look so distraught. He was willing to give her back the deed, but knew the others at the table weren't so generous.
"I'll take his place," Maude said instantly, quickly taking Patrick's seat and pulling Tommy to stand beside her.
"Now ma'am," Peters objected. "Poker ain't no woman's game, you get on out of here."
Reynolds studied the determined look on Maude's face for a moment before speaking. "Mrs. Standish, I respect your desire to keep your house, but you said so yourself that you don't know a thing about poker."
"I know what my husband told me, he said this hand couldn't be beat and I believe him."
"That's all well and good, but you still have to meet the bet."
Peters grunted his agreement and raised the bet by $2000. "There, try to meet that."
Maude stared in amazement at the $24,000 on the table. "Well, I don't have any cash money with me, Patrick already took it all. But I'm sure I can get some from the bank."
"You can't go to the bank, we play with what we have at the table," Peters said.
"That wasn't explicitly stated at the beginning of the game," Reynolds disagreed.
"So let's just take a five minute break and we can all go down to the bank and have a talk with Mr. Waters," Jones was quick to say.
"We just had a ten minute break when that fool collapsed!" Peter thundered.
"Are you in such a hurry to lose your money?" Frank smiled as he got up and headed toward the door. Jones followed, offering an arm to Maude. Peters shook his head but went after them.
"I'd like to take out a loan," Maude explained after being introduced to Mr. Waters, the bank owner.
"Take out a loan?" Solomon said incredulously." I thought you had the money in an account."
"Well I don't and I'd like to take out a loan."
Gregory laughed. "Old Waters here don't give out loans."
"I run a bank, of course I make loans.' Waters said sternly. He smiled sweetly, more of a grimace, at Maude. "Now, little lady, what do you have to offer as collateral?"
"Collateral?" she asked.
"Yes, something you can offer me so that I can offer you a loan."
"I don't really have anything," Maude said a bit flustered. "Our house is already in the pot."
"The pot?"
"We're in the middle of a game" Jones said nervously.
"Gambling! You know I don't approve of that!"
"But sir," Maude's sweet accent begged. "My husband's taken ill and if I don't finish this hand we'll lose everything."
Waters shook his head. "Even if I didn't disapprove of gambling, you have to have collateral to get a loan."
Maude reached into her purse and pulled out the five cards her husband had been dealt. 'How about these?"
The banker looked at the cards for a moment then yelled, "Out, all of you out!"
Maude looked startled and quickly pulled the cards back. "But Mr. Waters--"
"Out!"
The quartet of poker players and a young boy made there way out of the bank and back toward the gambling hall.
"What are we going to do, Mama?" the boy asked sadly.
"Don't you worry, baby, everything will work out."
They were gathered around the table again.
"The bet was to you, ma'am," Peters said with a barely concealed sneer.
"Yes, well..."
"You have to meet the bet or fold," Reynolds reminded.
"I know, but..."
"Mrs. Standish, why don't you let one of us have those cards, then if we win we'll give you the deed back?" Jones suggested.
"But I'd be losing all that money!"
"You can't win it anyway if you don't meet the bet!" Gregory was known for his short fuse and it had burnt out a good ten minutes ago.
"Tommy, go on home and get all my jewelry."
'That ain't going to be enough!"
"Mr. Peters, surely you can humor the woman," Frank said disapprovingly.
"I been humoring her the last half hour, I'm humored out and I want to finish this hand! I've got things to get to!'
Solomon shook his head sadly. "We really should finish this."
"Just wait for Tommy to get back," Maude said desperately.
It was a tense five-minute wait before Tommy ran back to the room with pockets sadly unfilled. He took out all the jewelry he'd collected.
"Here's all of it Mama."
"That's my boy, sugar."
Jones picked up one of the pieces and examined it before shaking his head sadly. "This isn't going to be enough to cover the bet."
"But my husband said the hand was unbeatable."
"Why don't you let us have a look at those cards," Frank suggested.
Maude pulled them close. "Oh no, you never show your cards."
"Ma'am," Gregory said irritably. "You've got to fold."
"But"
Before she could finish her sentence Mr. Waters came into the room with his clerk.
"I hope I'm not too late," he boomed happily.
"Mr. Waters! What are you doing here?" Maude asked surprised.
"I've come to give you that loan."
"But she didn't have any collateral!" Peters protested.
"Yes she did, that's the best hand I've ever seen. What do you need to meet the bet?"
"$4,000," Maude said, still a bit dazed.
Waters placed the money on the table. "And how about we raise it $5,000?"
"$5,000!" Solomon exclaimed.
"Yes, and the bet is to you," Waters smiled.
Jones shook his head. "I call," he said pushing his chips into the middle of the table. The others did the same.
"I suppose it's time to show the cards, right?" Maude said eagerly. She fanned out her cards on the table, showing her straight flush.
Jones and Peters muttered and threw down their cards revealing four kings and a full house. Reynolds just tipped his hat to her but didn't reveal his cards.
"Did I win?" Maude asked.
"Yes, you did," Mr. Waters chuckled. "Yes, you did." Maude grabbed Tommy and hugged him tight.
Just then Patrick returned to the room with the doctor helping to support him.
"Oh Patrick!" Maude gushed, dragging Tommy along as she went to him. "We won!"
"We won?" Patrick said blankly. "We won?!" He grabbed Maude and kissed her then patted Tommy on the head. "Did you help your Mama, son?"
"Yes sir, I did," Tommy said proudly.
"Good work," Patrick smiled then limped toward the table to help Mr. Waters as he collected the pot.
"It was a pleasure playing with you, ma'am," Solomon said as he left. Gregory just grunted at her. Frank smiled charmingly and winked as he went past. Maude smiled back at him then went to help her husband.
Later that night Maude lay in Patrick's arms far from the town they'd just conned. They'd given a percentage of the winnings to the banker for cooperating in their little ruse, and paid Tommy for his afternoon playing their son.
"It was a good day, Maude," Patrick said tiredly.
"Yes, dear, it was."
"We made enough today, we could think about settling down," he suggested hesitantly.
Maude turned around to look at him. "Don't say such things!"
"Maude--"
"No, you know we're not the settling down type, we'd be bored with each other in no time."
Patrick laughed. "I don't know about that," he said nuzzling her neck.
"How do you think Tommy did?" he asked abruptly.
"Fine, I suppose," Maude answered. "He looked rather sweet."
"Ever think of having one of our own?"
"A child?" It was Maude's turn to laugh.
"Yes, a child."
"Patrick, you don't have to spend as much time with those children as I do, we definitely don't want to have one around all the time."
"I don't know about that," Patrick said thoughtfully. "Think of all the money we'd save instead of hiring a new kid in each town?"
Maude could see the smile in his eyes; he was teasing her. He was trying to get to her where he knew it mattered, money.
"Don't you play with me, Mr. Standish," she said sternly.
"I'd never do that, Mrs. Standish," he smiled back. When his smile vanished, Maude knew he was serious about having this discussion. She always thought he was too sentimental for the work they did, but to have a child! What was he thinking?
"What would we do with a child?" she asked, sure she could convince him of his faulty logic, if there was any logic involved in this thought.
"Raise him or her, teach him, take care of her, be better parents than we had," Patrick answered.
Maude buried her head in his chest. The two of them had been together for many years, since they'd found each other on the streets of New Orleans. Both had run away from home, neither ready for the world they found themselves in. Together they'd found some peace and happiness. Maude could still remember how she felt when he'd given her that cheap ring and asked her to marry him. It had long since been replaced by something nicer, but she still had that old ring and kept it close to her. Patrick was the only person she'd ever truly been herself with and she knew the same was true for him. Did she want to do that with someone else? Could she even be responsible for someone else so completely? Children had to be cared for. It would be harder to get out of a town with a child to look after. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought a child might be a nice thing to have. She already knew people would take pity on a woman and child. If they had one of their own, she and Patrick wouldn't have to look for a kid no one in town would recognize. Plus, there was the benefit of unconditional love and loyalty. A child might limit them somewhat, but if the money they'd made today was any indication of how profitable one con could be, it could be worth it to have a child around.
Patrick took her pause as a refusal and tried to convince her further. "We made $20,000 today, we can have a new life for ourselves. You don't always want to con people, do you?"
Maude looked up, taken away from her thoughts. "I like conning people, we're teaching them a lesson."
Patrick chuckled again. "What, don't trust people?"
"Exactly," Maude agreed."And they should be more careful with their money. We didn't send anyone to the poor house today. As Mr. Reynolds informed me, 'never bet more than you can afford to lose.'" The mocking tone wasn't lost on Patrick.
"Do you think he knew what was going on?" he asked.
Maude shook her head in disbelief. "That man was entirely too unperceptive to be a gambler!"
"So what do you say, Maudey? Shall we have a child?" Patrick changed the subject back.
"Oh, Patrick, what would we do with a child?" she repeated. "I don't know how to be a mother, and you're certainly no father."
"Hey," he objected. "I could be a great father."
"Let's just not talk about it now," she said snuggling back against him."Life is already complicated enough without the trouble of worrying about someone else."
Patrick didn't say anything more, but he could tell she was changing her mind.
A year later found Maude heavy with child standing under the meek protection of an awning as rain poured down torrentially. She stared numbly at the muddy street.
"Gone," she muttered, rubbing absently at her swollen abdomen. Patrick was gone, killed in a poker game. She'd run away before they could turn on her, she knew their con had been seen through. She tears were mixed with the rain dripping from her hair. How had everything gone so wrong?
They were going to be a family. She expected the baby any time now, and some how Patrick had convinced her that settling down was going to be a wonderful thing. She'd even been looking forward to it. Just one more con so they'd be set for a good long while. But now he was dead and she was alone again.
Maude cursed Patrick and the baby that she carried. What was she going to be with a child? How was she going to support herself and this baby? She took a deep breath and stood up straight. She'd find a way. If she was anything, she was a survivor. She still had some money, enough to live off of for awhile. Maybe it was time she went back home. When she left she swore she'd never return, she'd never have anything to do with her family again, but it wouldn't be the first promise she broke, or the last.
There was an aunt living in a nearby town who might be willing to help. Especially after she came up with a sob story about her husband's death. The truth would never do, she'd think of something to tell her relatives that they'd find respectable. Maude looked out into the rain then left the protection of the awning and walked out into the mud to meet her destiny.
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