Free Bucking the Tiger by Marcus Galloway

when work started and the real customers started to show their faces. The last time Caleb had seen an actual sunrise was at the tail end of a forty-eight-hour-long poker game.
    â€œAren’t you worried he might come back?” Caleb asked.
    â€œHe may or he may not.”
    â€œIf he does, you should have someone looking out for you.”
    â€œSomeone like you?” Lottie asked.
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œI thought you had your hands full keeping Doc out of trouble.”
    â€œDoc can handle himself,” Caleb said. “Besides, I’d much rather look at you than at him.”
    She smiled at the compliment and then tucked it away with all the others she’d gotten during her walk down the street that evening. “You’re sweet, Caleb, but I can take care of myself, too, you know.”
    â€œAll right then. Do you play poker?”
    â€œDoes the sun set in the west?”
    â€œHow about you come by the Beehive when it sets tomorrow?”
    Lottie stopped so she could turn and square her shoulders to Caleb. Even though Caleb had thought about her more than once, he was still surprised by how good she looked just then. Every move she made was a show and every shift of her feet got the rest of her body wriggling in an almost sinful way.
    â€œI had plans for tomorrow, but I’ll see what I can do about canceling them,” she said.
    â€œIf there’s anyone else you’d like to bring along, feel free.”
    â€œThe more, the merrier, huh?”
    â€œThat’s the idea.”
    â€œI’ll try to make it, Caleb. I truly will. In the meantime, would you like to have a drink with me? I’ve got a bit of time before I need to open my table.”
    It took every bit of strength that Caleb could muster for him to shake his head and say, “Not right now. There’s some errands I need to run.”
    â€œPicking up Doc’s laundry?”
    â€œIf you’re trying to get that invitation revoked, you’re on the right path.”
    She showed him a pouting lip before mouthing the words “I’m sorry.” After that, Lottie blew him a kiss and headed down Griffin Avenue toward the saloon where Caleb had first laid eyes on her.
    After watching her go for as long as he could without actually following her, Caleb reminded himself of why he’d been out and about at that particular moment. Despite the more practical side of his brain nagging at him to move along, Caleb took another lingering glance in Lottie’s direction and then put his nose back to the grindstone.
    Although he’d been in Fort Griffin for a little while now, Caleb still didn’t know the saloons by name. Even considering how often he made the rounds visiting each and every one of them, there were still too many for all of them to rank equally in his mind. If he picked a favorite other than his base of operations, he might be tempted to start taking some of the offers he’d been getting to work there and not the Beehive.
    Also, not knowing those other places by name made it a whole lot easier to steal from them.
    Caleb’s first stop was a place he’d labeled Red in his mind simply because of the color of the walls inside. After nodding to several of the regulars, Caleb got a few dollars in hand and walked between the roulette wheel and a faro game. As he went from one to the other, he managed to snatch at least two chips off each table, pocket them, and then fuss about with placing a bet using his own money.
    Most of the money he got was from careless gamblers, but the roulette spinner made the mistake of talking to a serving girl for a few seconds too long, which gave Caleb an opening he couldn’t resist. Just to look like he belonged, Caleb placed a bet and actually won another couple of dollars before cashing in all his chips and moving on.
    The next place he hit was an out-of-the-way shit hole at the west end of town. Caleb liked it because it was the first