Awake Unto Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

grinned at Kerry, who grinned back.
    Jack was surprised that Addison got a smile out of Kerry. She likes him. He’s a good man.
    “Get upstairs, girl. Me and the doctor got to talk.”
    As Kerry nodded and walked away, Jack watched her. She’d grown taller in the last year, and her pants were too short and her shirt too small. He figured if she was going to dress as a boy, he might as well go ahead and give her money to get some clothes that fit. He turned back to Addison.
    “Doc. I want you and me to do some business. You got that system you got and I can get you the marks. If there’s a game going, you get more idiots than you can handle. They’re all figuring to win some money. I know you’re a respectable-like fellow but…” Jack looked at Addison. “I’ll be the dealer, you’ll be the ringer. We can clean up, I tell you. Split fifty-fifty.”
    “I’m your man, sir. We can have a go at it during the weekends. I have classes during the week. I’ll use the money to pay back some of my educational debts.”
    “No worries.” They shook hands.
    Leo was skeptical when Jack told him their plans later. “It sounds like a winner, Jack, but too good to be true. They ain’t all that stupid down here in the terrific Pacific.” He used the Barbary Coast’s nickname sarcastically.
    “Ah, you’re like an old woman sometimes, Leo. The doc looks like an honest gentleman who’s ripe for the taking.”
    “Yeah, but word travels fast, Jack.”
    “We got it all figured, Leo.”
     
    *
     
    The next year was lucrative for Jack and Addison. A seemingly endless stream of greenhorns and old hands wanted to take on the fine young doctor. Leo served him cold, strong tea so it would look like he was tossing down the whiskey, and he and Jack used signals to telegraph their strategy, leaving no one the wiser. They all went away shaking their heads, with empty pockets.
    “I do believe, Jack, I’ve made enough to pay my parents back for both my baccalaureate and medical degrees, thanks to you.”
    “You’re a clever fellow, Addison. I’ve made me so much money I started an account for Kerry at the Bank of California. I’ve never saved a penny before I met you. I don’t know…if something ever happened to me…” Jack fell silent.
    Addison sipped his drink.
    “I never met anyone like you before. I never made so much money from cards as I have with you. And you make me think about things when we talk, you know? Things I never cared to think about before. You’re a good man. One of the best I’ve met.” Jack stopped again, trying to get up the courage to ask Addison what he wanted to.
    “I want you to be a co-signer on the bank account so’s you can help Kerry and get the money to her if…well, if something should happen.”
    “With pleasure, Mr. O’Shea.” Addison shook Jack’s hand tightly, and Jack knew he’d made the right decision. Grant would take care of Kerry and Kerry’s money if he wasn’t around to keep an eye on her anymore. He ground his teeth as the same sense of dread came over him as it had been doing for the last few days. He ignored it, like he always did, and swallowed past the lump in his throat when he watched Kerry laughing with some of the bar patrons. He couldn’t imagine not being around to see what she might become one day. Slamming his glass on the table he stood abruptly. “What say we go find ourselves some games outside the Grey Dog, Addison?”
    They went around to a few different bars and found themselves in one of the lowest of the many deadfalls on the Coast. The crowd was rougher than usual and hard drinking.
    Addison won a couple a rounds and big tough stood up and said, flatly, “Yer cheatin’ and I can prove it. Let me see the deck.” Jack handed it over swiftly. The man couldn’t prove a thing since it all resided in Addison’s agile mind.
    The hoodlum made Jack and Addison stand up and he searched but could find no cards on either of them, naturally. He growled