Free Texas Wide Open by KC Klein Page B

the green was heard throughout the Pitt. Apparently,
     Nikki thought the hustle was over and it was time to close the deal. Mike didn’t want
     to cause trouble for Nikki, but if she didn’t change course quick, it wouldn’t be
     long before she’d be asking him for a job. And if he made Mary Beth’s daughter a strip—an
     exotic dancer—well, let’s just say he’d rather be in the place where pitchforks were
     the norm and the weather was like south Texas in the middle of summer.
    There was only one person who cared for Nikki enough to put up with her crap—cared
     enough to drag her kicking and screaming from herself. He just hoped Jett could pull
     his head out of his ass long enough to see that Nikki was worth it.
     
     
    Nikki’s gaze followed the small, white, spinning ball as it traveled across the green
     felt. Her heart and the cue ball were one as both dead-dropped into the pocket after
     the black eight.
    A freaking scratch. She never lost a game. Well, not when she wasn’t trying to lose. But she just had—lost
     a game when she should’ve won. There was a moment, ten seconds maybe, when she was
     dizzy, colors spun with the sickening reality that she didn’t have the money to cover
     her bet.
    She braced herself with a hand on the table and quickly tried to pull herself together.
     She licked her lips and gave a laugh that sounded fake even to her. “Hey, hey . .
     .” God, what was it? Bob or Bill? In her mind she’d referred to him as Bandanna-man.
     Who did he think he was kidding? Everyone knew what he was hiding—a receding hairline.
     Regardless, it would’ve been smart of her to figure out his name beforehand. Her dad
     would’ve been disappointed. She was better than this. “How about we go double or nothing?
     One more round. Winner takes all.”
    But even as she said it, she knew it was a no-go. Toward the end, her patience had
     run thin and she’d potted the balls with speed. There was no way she could pass her
     game off as a total fluke. And since everyone seemed to be packing a gun except her,
     there was also no way she was getting out without paying with money or her life. The
     problem was she only had one of those to give and twenty-two was just too young to
     die in a sleazy strip joint in the middle of Texas.
    “I don’t think so, sweetheart. A deal’s a deal,” said Bandanna-man. His pack-a-day
     habit had grayed out his skin, but color had seeped back in now that lust was wetting
     his eyes. Lust for her or the thousand dollars that should be coming to him, she wasn’t
     sure.
    She nodded and gave what she hoped was a good-sportsmanship smile. Monday-through-Friday , she was in trouble, but even in a time like this she couldn’t get her mother’s voice
     out of her head.
    Just because we’re poor doesn’t mean we have to curse like trash.
    Hence, the euphemisms of Monday-through-Friday , bowed-ship , and shut-the-front-door . God, that woman had more power from beyond the grave than she had when she was alive.
    Use the gifts God gave you, Sunshine.
    Gee, thanks, Mom. Another jeweled piece of advice that got her nowhere. ’Course, she
     would’ve appreciated if God had given her a little less ability to do calculus and
     a little more green in the bank. Instead, her only two assets worth a damn were her
     ability to play pool and a pair of strong, long legs. But maybe her mother had a point.
     Even a broken clock was right twice a day.
    God had given her two assets for a reason. If one failed her, then it was time to use the
     other.
    She picked up her drink, and, swirling the amber liquid in the glass, she made a move
     toward her mouth. But instead of wetting her lips, she tossed the contents in Bandanna-man’s
     face. And ran for hell.

Chapter 7
    Katie’s hand trembled as she ran the currycomb over Fat Albert’s withers, the repetitive
     motion soothing her as much as the horse. Katie needed to be here at the stables,
     needed to be in a place where