A Novel of Frontier West Texas
ISBN:
978-1-964830-00-1
by Preston Lewis
The Three of
Hearts
Long before Tombstone and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, frontier vagabond Doc Holliday rode into the tumultuous Texas town of Fort Griffin, looking for a mysterious lady gambler, not trouble. Only after he finds both does he escape into legend. Known throughout the rough-and-tumble towns of west Texas for her beauty, female gambler Lottie Deno possesses uncanny luck at the gaming tables. Trouble, though, comes in several shapes, none more volatile nor more available than "Big Nose" Kate Elder, a soiled dove with a heart of bold!
As Doc attempts
to win Lottie's money and her heart, both he and she become pawns
in a duel of saloon rivals to control Fort Griffin's gambling
underworld. In this contest between gambling king and queen, Kate
elder becomes the unpredictable joker, as infatuated with Doc as he
is with Lottie. A model of feminine propriety except for her
gambling, Lottie Deno cannot escape a terrible secret from her
past. Kate cannot escape her marital ambitions. Only with the help
of one of them can Doc Holliday, a man torn between love and lust,
escape a lynch mob and an early grave in wicked Fort
Griffin.
Lottie's Luck is a revised and updated version of The Lady and Doc Holliday, originally published in 1989.
Excerpt:
“John Henry Holliday,” she said softly. “How long’s it been since Jacksboro? Ten or eleven months?”
“A long time, Lottie, too long.” He removed his hat.
“It’s never too long, John Henry. Not among thieves.”
“But among admirers, yes.”
“No, John Henry, not even among admirers.”
“Guess there’s no sense in discussing old times, huh?”
Lottie nodded, a curl falling across her forehead.
“I suppose you’re here to play for the former proprietor of the Bee Hive.”
She nodded again.
“You got enough to cover sixteen thousand?”
“Not with me, but I can cover it. My word’s good. You know that.”
“I do,” Holliday said as he shuffled the cards from hand to hand several times. He inserted them in the box as he looked at the circle of men gathering around. A nine showed as the soda card.
“Place your bets, Lottie, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“I owe it to Mike for keeping me on at the Bee Hive.”
Holliday laughed. “Everyone knows he owes you for the crowd you bring in.” Holliday glanced at Fogle, who nodded at the one thing both men agreed on.
“Eight thousand,” Lottie said, “on the low cards. I’m betting to win.”
Holliday thumbed the nine soda card from the dealing box and stared at a naked jack, the loser. Slowly he pulled the jack from the box and grimaced at the sight—the trey of hearts. He pitched Fogle’s unopened money bag to Lottie. “The money should be there, if your man’s honest.”
“He’s more so than most,” Lottie answered, leaving the sack where Holliday tossed it. “Now I’m playing the low cards to lose.”
As Holliday pulled the winning three of hearts out of the way, the crowd cheered. A six of clubs had taken its place. Lottie had triumphed. Holliday’s only chance to hang on now was a split, but the next card turned up a ten. The Bee Hive had changed hands again. Holliday turned the faro box on its side. “How do you do it, Lottie?” he asked.
“I work at it.”
“You must,” Holliday answered, standing up and turning toward the stairs. He heard Fogle’s laughter following him downstairs.
“God bless Lottie’s Luck,” Fogle kept yelling.
Praise for
Lottie's Luck:
The author paints a vivid picture of the untamed West and the wild, funny, seedy characters who made its legends. Descriptions of rigged card games and chases by vigilantes will have the reader rapidly turning pages. —Library Journal
The hide-hunters’ Fort Griffin, Texas, at its gritty zenith. Holliday finds his match and cards and love in the mysterious Lottie Deno … Lewis knows his background and card lore. In this one, he deals aces, full. — Books of the Southwest
Lewis has written a fine historical novel about the West, without dealing with many of the traditional elements one associates with that amorphous genre. — Concho River Review
Whether the legends are truth or fiction, Lewis has come up with a fascinating story about some real characters from this region’s past. — Abilene Reporter-News
For Western fans this novel is a keeper … If the Western is to survive as a genre in a world where readers of any literature are hard to come by, it will happen because writers like this author have discerned that women sometimes played starring roles in the drama of frontier history and that place is sometimes as important as plot. — Texas Books in Review
Breathes new life into a Texas mystery: What happened to Lottie Deno, the beautiful West Texas gambler who broke men’s hearts—and wallets—from San Antonio to Fort Griffin in the 1870s. — Dallas Morning News