Roped & Tied

by Keyser, Ronald H. ;

  “No, I don’t.” Jake grinned as he started the engine. He pulled away from the curb. “Honey, I told you from day one I was going to make the world know who I was. I’m just keeping my promise.”

  “Well,” Dani said proudly, “You’ve done a pretty good job of that. I guess four consecutive gold buckles as tie-down champion and two more as best all-around cowboy are helping to get the word out.”

  “Damned right, it is,” Jake grinned. “I told you I was going to be the best there ever was.”

  “Yeah, you did,” Dani said with a soft smile. “So where we going?”

  “Well, I really wanted to surprise you.” Jake scratched his cheek. “But you really want to know?”

  “You know I don’t like surprises.” Dani gave him a playful frown.

  “Yeah, I do.” He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, then looked back at her. “We’re going to Vegas.”

  “Dammit, Jake!” exclaimed Dani, “Why didn’t you tell me? Hell, it’s two-thirty now, and that’s more than six hours from here. You could’ve at least let me pack something.”

  “If I had told you to pack, it would have spoiled the surprise,” Jake explained.

  Dani sat looking out the front window for a moment before she turned to Jake. “So what’s in Vegas that’s so important you have to trick me to get me there?”

  “Now that I can’t tell you right now,” answered Jake with a grin. “But it’s big.”

  Dani breathed in deeply, then exhaled before turning back to the window. “How long are we staying?”

  “Three nights,” answered Jake. “We’ll be back here Thursday evening.”

  “What hotel?” she asked.

  “The Riviera.” Jake looked pleased with himself.

  “You’re something else.” Dani shook her head. “But you’re going to have to buy me some clothes when we get there.”

  “Of course, anything you want,” Jake said, grinning over at her.

  Dani stared out the window of the new truck for a moment more as she thought the situation over. She finally looked back at Jake and asked with a sly smile, “You got plenty of money?”

  “What do you think?” Jake smugly reached to open the center console. He pulled out a stuffed leather wallet and handed it to Dani. “That ought to do it.”

  Dani opened the billfold to glance inside, then looked at Jake. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think that should be enough.”

  Jake reached behind Dani’s seat and pulled up a small carry bag. He set it on Dani’s lap. “Open that one.”

  Dani gasped when she opened the zipper. Inside were five neatly banded stacks of $100 bills. “Holy shit, Jake!” She pulled one of the stacks out to look at it. “You’re crazy. You have $50,000 in here. What are you carrying around this kind of money for?”

  “Your surprise, that’s what for,” Jake told her. He paused to stare down the road for a moment before he added, “I plan on this being a great trip. The best ever.”

  Dani was still in shock over the money sitting in her lap. “Well, I don’t have any idea what you want to do with all this money, but carrying it around like this is nuts.”

  “Maybe,” said Jake with a smile, “but maybe not. I’ll find out when we get to Vegas.”

  “You’re not going to gamble this all away, are you?” Dani gave him a skeptical look.

  “Hell, no.” Jake turned his truck onto the entrance ramp of I10. “Well, maybe some of it,” he added.

  Dani gave Jake a quizzical look. “What the hell are you up to, Jake O’Brien?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see.” Jake smiled. “I can’t go giving up all my secrets, least not yet.”

  Dani shook her head. She reached out and turned on the radio. A soft country song came from the speakers. She wasn’t sure if she was mad at Jake for dragging her along and not telling her what the surprise was, or excited about the fact that there was a pile of money in her lap and it appeared as if Jake was intent on spending all of it.

  She laid her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes as she tried to imagine what Jake could be up to, but quickly dozed off to sleep. Her sexual escapades with Brandon and Jake earlier had worn her out, and she didn’t wake up until Jake had to stop for gas in Kingman, Arizona, an hour and a half shy of Las Vegas.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Dani and Jake were standing in the presidential suite on the twenty-fourth floor of the Riviera Hotel and Casino taking in the view of the Vegas strip below, lit up in the darkness by millions of neon lights. Jake had made them drinks from the fully stocked bar in the sitting room.

  “What do you think?” Jake asked, putting his arm around Dani.

  “This is beautiful.” She leaned in close to him. “What do we do now, and is this the big surprise you had in mind for me?”

  “Oh, no, not at all. This room is just a part of it.” Jake let her go with a smile. He walked over to his suitcase, which he had left by the door to their suite when they came in, and pulled it over to the dining room table where he lifted it up and set it on the thick glass table top. He unzipped it, dug around in the contents for a moment, then pulled out two sandwich bags, one filled with rolled marijuana cigarettes, the other cocaine. He looked at Dani and added with a laugh, “First things first. Let’s get this party started.”

  “Good Lord!” exclaimed Dani as she walked over to the table. She watched Jake light up a joint, then took it from him and smoked as he used his pocket knife to cut up two large lines of coke on the table. “You don’t think we’re going to get in trouble smoking this in the room?” she asked.

  “Naw.” Jake pulled a bill out of his wallet and rolled it up. He handed the bill to Dani. “I guarantee you there’s a lot more shit that goes on up here that’s a whole lot worse than smoking a joint.”

  Dani traded the joint for the bill. “You’re probably right about that.”

  She snorted a line of coke, then handed the bill to Jake, who did the same. They spent the next minute or so wiping their noses and inhaling through their nostrils to get all of the drug into their sinuses.

  Dani finally asked, “Now what do we do?”

  “Well, first off, we have to get out of here pretty soon because I need to take you shopping.” Jake took another large toke from the joint he’d retrieved from her. He exhaled and handed the joint back. “Maybe then you’ll figure out what your surprise is.”

  “Really?” Dani took a large puff off the cigarette, then said as she ejected a large cloud of smoke into the room, “I’m ready when you are.”

  “All right, then.” Jake put a couple joints in his shirt pocket. He then pulled a small glass vial with a tiny metal spoon dangling from a chain attached to the cap from the pocket of his jeans. He dug it into the sandwich bag of cocaine to fill it up, put the cap back on and returned it to his pocket. He walked toward the bar. “But first I think we need to do a shot…sort of a celebration. What do you think?”

  The mix of cocaine and marijuana was already making Dani feel invincible. “I don’t see why not. Do they have any tequila in there?”

  “Damned sure do.” Jake pulled out a full liter of Jose Cuervo 1800 and set it on the bar top. He filled two shot glasses and handed one to her.

  “Here’s to a great night!” Jake toasted Dani.

  “To a great night,” answered Dani as their glasses clinked together. She threw her shot back and set her glass down on the bar. “You ready?”

  “Yeah, let’s go.” Jake walked over to the window to take in the view again. “Sure is pretty, isn’t it?”

  Dani followed him over and looked at the streets below. “Yes, it truly is.” She laid her head on Jake’s shoulder. “Thanks for bringing me, honey. I get the feeling something great is going to happen while we’re here.”

  “I sure do hope so.” Jake took his gaze off the strip and looked down at her. “What do you say we do one more shot and then we’ll go?”

  “I don’t see why not; that first
one was pretty good.” Dani gave him a smile as they walked back over to the bar.

  An hour and half later, they finally left the hotel room to make their way downstairs after using a hefty amount of Visine to clear the redness from their eyes. Dani noticed Jake grinding his teeth as they rode the elevator to the lobby with another couple, then realized she was doing the same.

  Before they left the room, Jake refilled his coke vial twice, put two more joints in his shirt pocket after they smoked the ones he had put there previously, and there was a half-empty bottle of 1800 Tequila sitting on the bar top next to two empty shot glasses. A dusting of cocaine they hadn’t bothered to clean up covered most of the counter.

  * * *

  “Where you folks headed?” asked the driver after Jake and Dani slid into the back seat of the Yellow cab. Without a word, Jake handed the man a piece of paper with an address on it.

  “I see!” The man put the taxi in gear and turned right onto Las Vegas Boulevard. “Congratulations, by the way.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at his passengers, smiling.

  “Hey, buddy.” Jake sounded annoyed, and Dani looked at him, puzzled. “This is a surprise. Don’t go spilling the beans about where we’re going.”

  Dani noticed the driver straighten and glance back at her for a moment. “No problem, sir.”

  She smiled at Jake. “You can tell me now, can’t you?”

  “Nope,” answered Jake deliberately, giving her a wink. “You’ll know soon enough. It’s right around the corner. We’ll be there in just a minute.”

  They sat in silence until the driver turned right into the parking lot of a corner 7-11. “This is it? You’re taking me to a convenience store?” asked Dani as Jake paid the driver.

  “No.” Jake opened his door. “Come on, honey. We’re going to take a quick walk.”

  “Oohhkaaay.” Dani sighed and opened her door, already tired of the suspense. She stepped out to look around. People walked along the strip all around them as Jake came around to her side of the car.

  He took her hand. “Come on, sweetheart, we’re almost there.”

  Dani stumbled a bit when they started to walk back the way they came; the drugs and alcohol were beginning to take their toll. She quickly regained her balance, though, and noticed a small yellow chapel with a white church spire poking up from the roof coming up on their left.

  Jake stopped as they came alongside the front door, reached into his pocket, pulled out a large diamond ring and dropped to one knee. “Dani Harrison, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Dani squatted down so she would be eye to eye with Jake as she asked, “What the hell are you doing, Jake?”

  “I want you to marry me, right here, right now.” Jake held out the ring. “Will you be my wife?”

  Dani held her breath as she looked at the ring. Brandon briefly crossed her mind as a million thoughts raced through her head, but was quickly forgotten when Dani realized this was what she had wanted her whole life. She knew the one thing she’d always wanted to do was to see the rodeo world from the top of the mountain and, so far, Jake had delivered when he promised she would enjoy the view from the presidential suite.

  She stood and noticed a small crowd of people had gathered to see what her answer would be, then looked back at Jake, who was still on one knee.

  Jake asked again, “Dani, will you marry me?”

  Trying to buy a bit of time, Dani asked, “Are you really sure, Jake?”

  “Never been so sure of anything in my entire life.” His blue eyes were serious.

  “Say yes,” called a lady in the gathering crowd.

  A beaming smile grew as Dani’s eyes started to water, although she wasn’t sure if they were tears or the drugs and alcohol. Her head started nodding as she clasped her hands together and said softly, “Yes…yes.”

  The crowd erupted with congratulations and applause as Jake stood and put the diamond on her finger, then kissed her passionately before waving thanks to the crowd as they dispersed.

  He was smiling from ear to ear as he opened the front door to walk inside the small chapel. “Come on in, Mrs. O’Brien, we’re about to start a new life together.”

  Thirty minutes later, they walked back out onto the sidewalk as husband and wife.

  * * *

  “Honey, don’t you think we need to slow down and get some rest?” Dani stood next to Jake at a busy dice table and gently rubbed the simple gold band on his left ring finger. They hadn’t got much sleep the last forty-eight hours. They had spent most of their time drinking at every popular bar or night club, walking up and down the strip shopping at any store they came across, or making unsuccessful attempts at lovemaking back at their room.

  The amount of cocaine Jake had ingested made it impossible for him to get an erection and, in fact, both bags of marijuana and cocaine had dwindled considerably since they tied the knot just a short two days before. This evening, however, Jake had grown bored with the schedule they’d kept so far and wanted to try a little gambling. A little had turned into a lot, however; they’d been standing at this table for more than two hours.

  “Aw, come on, honey,” Jake pleaded, shaking the dice in his hands before he looked at her. He gave her a charming smile. “I’m finally on a roll. Watch this.”

  The crowd around him gasped as he put five one-thousand-dollar chips on the pass line, then waited for the pit boss to signal there were no more wagers. He tossed the dice down the table, bouncing them off the far wall, where they careened off into two different directions. The die that bounced to the left spun on its corner before finally settling with the four face up. The other already showed three. The crowd went wild.

  “Yeah, baby!” Jake raised his fists. He turned and grabbed Dani by the waist, squeezed her hard and lifted her into the air. “See, I told you. Everything about you and me getting married is coming up roses. I always knew you were my lucky charm! Give me a few more minutes and I can have this whole damned trip paid for.”

  The smile on Dani’s face disappeared as Jake set her down. She paused a minute to watch the bets get settled before she looked at Jake. “I didn’t know our wedding was such a damned trip.”

  “Oh, stop that.” Jake gave her another smile as he reached down to grab the dice again. He paused and looked at Dani. “You know I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “A shitty choice of words, I guess?” Dani raised an eyebrow. She was ready to go back to their room and pass out on the bed.

  “Yeah, honey, that’s all. I didn’t mean nothing by it. Besides, you can’t get mad at me for anything while we’re at the table. It’s bad luck.” Jake leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He glanced at the chips in front of him. After his last winning roll, he had thirty thousand-dollar chips and several hundred ones lined up in front of him.

  He looked at Dani with bloodshot eyes and added, “Tell you what. One more roll of the dice and we’ll call it quits. What do you say?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Dani sighed with relief. “Or we can stop right now. We can end this damned trip on a good note.”

  Jake lifted his hat off and scratched the top of his head. The people around him gasped as he grabbed ten more thousand-dollar chips and placed them on the pass line before he grabbed the dice and said, “Would you stop it?” He looked into Dani’s eyes and added with a chuckle, “The way you’re talking is bad luck. You know I didn’t mean nothing by that. And besides, in spite of you trying to bring me down, I’m feeling pretty damned lucky.”

  He placed his chips on the pass line again, then hurled the dice down the table. They settled on the far end showing a five and a four.

  “Place your bets,” said the pit boss.

  Jake bit his lower lip as he looked at Dani for a moment, then grabbed five more thousand-dollar chips and placed them on the nine.

  “What are you doing?” asked Dani before Jake picked up the dice again.

  “I’m going to roll that nine again,” said Jake with
a smile. “I can feel it.”

  “But…” Dani didn’t get anything else out before the dice were tossed again. They bounced off the far side of the table and came to rest showing a four and a two.

  “Damn.” Jake immediately reached in front of him and put another five-thousand dollar bet on the six. The crowd gasped again.

  “Jake, are you sure you want to do this?” Dani nervously rubbed her hands together. “That’s a lot of money down there.”

  Jake glanced at her briefly. “Don’t worry, honey. I’m on a roll. I’ve had the dice for ten minutes now.” A grin came over his face as he added, “And, if you’re going to hit them hard, you got to bet hard.”

  Dani tried to act as if she wasn’t nervous, but her stomach tightened. “All right, honey. You can do it.”

  Jake threw the dice again. This time a three and a five came up. “Well, well, well,” he said as he put another five-thousand dollar bet on the eight.

  There was a crowd gathering to watch as he looked at Dani. “Here we go, sweetheart.” The dice flew down the table again and settled showing two fives.

  “Son of a bitch.” Jake looked down at his five remaining thousand-dollar chips. He took a deep breath and paused a moment before finally reaching down and putting them on the table over the number ten. The only chips he had remaining were in the small stack of hundreds in front of him.

  “Are you sure?” asked Dani.

  Jake smiled from ear to ear. “Honey, I got them right where I want them.”

  He grabbed the dice and let them fly once more, and this time they came up showing three and four. A huge moan went up from the crowd as everyone realized Jake had lost thirty thousand dollars in just a couple of minutes.

  Jake acted like losing the money was all in fun and not much of a big deal, but Dani was in shock. “Damn, Jake, I’ve never seen anything like that.” She watched him pick up the small stack of hundred dollar chips and turn away from the table.