Up in Smoke Read Free Page B

shrugged slightly. “Just figured maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree. I don’t want to waste my time working on getting you a free hotel stay if this isn’t even a reality for you.”
    “No. I have money—plenty of it, kid—but I’m not sure about Vegas. I’ve been coming here for decades playing at my little five-man table. Seems extreme to go to Vegas.” I didn’t really have a ton of money, but I wasn’t going to reveal that to some kid.
    “I understand. Just think about it, Blaze . Last time I went, I placed sixth and walked away with a hundred grand.”
    His comment piqued my interest. That was a lot of dough for sixth place. “How many people bought in?”
    “Three hundred,” he replied.
    That was a lot of people, but only two hundred more than what I was used to at North Bend. “I’ll think about it, kid. Thanks.”
    Heading out of the casino, I hid the cash in my inside coat pocket so I could sneak it back into the bank before work on Monday without drawing any suspicion from Susan. I hid all but five hundred to show Susan. She’d be happy about it and I could put that portion back into checking. It was the only way I could share in the victory without mentioning that I took money from the other account.
    As I rode the elevator up to my room in the hotel, I thought about Robert and that tournament in Vegas he had been talking about. Ten thousand dollars is too much for one shot. But then again, that kid did walk away with a hundred grand. The best I did in any of the tournaments was getting a buffet coupon. I didn’t entirely discount the idea of going; there was a lot of possibility in it.

CHAPTER 3
    B ack at home two days later, my favorite smell in the world tickled my nose as I came down the stairs, causing me to crack a smile: bacon. Susan made me breakfast the first morning of every work week. It helped motivate me for the week of work ahead. Coming into the kitchen with a smile, I walked to her side and kissed her cheek.
    “Finally feeling a bit better today, dear?” I asked as I took a seat at the table. “I didn’t hear you get up once last night.”
    She brought over a plate of eggs and bacon and set it down in front of me. “Yes. Much better, thank you,” she replied. “Coffee or orange juice?” she asked on her way back around the kitchen island.
    “Coffee, please,” I replied, bowing my head to say a quick prayer over the meal. I picked up the newspaper and thumbed to the sports section.
    Susan returned back to the table with a cup of coffee and set it down beside my plate. I looked at her with an appreciative smile. “Thank you.” She smiled at me and then went over to the sink to start on the dishes.
    After eating my breakfast and reading the paper, I showered and got ready for work. On my way back down the stairs, Susan met me near the front door to open it for me.
    “Why are you leaving early?” she asked, her eyes innocent, her face soft.
    It broke my heart every time I had to lie to her, so I’d look for ways to modify it. My lies were more comfortable that way. “Just dropping off the extra money I won from the other night.”
    She smiled. “I can take it for you, dear. I have a list of errands I have to run. I’ll just stop by and drop it off in our savings account.”
    “No!” I accidently snapped from nervousness. “I mean . . . sorry, it’s not a big deal. I like the extra commute. It gives me more time to listen to my new audiobook.”
    “Okay,” she replied, a little taken aback. She looked at me and said, "Have a good time at work. See you after your shift.”
    Relieved that she didn’t keep pushing it, I kissed her and told her I loved her. I stepped out onto the porch and thought to myself, crisis avoided, again . It seemed that almost every time I withdrew money from the account, I was just a few wrong words or moves away from her discovering my trespasses.
    I wanted out of gambling a year ago, but by that time I was already down over half