The Wild Card (A Luck of the Draw Western)

Drew Woodson's arch-enemy, Matt Ferris, becomes his new mining partner when Tommy Garth gambles away his share of the Lyra Shay mine in a fateful game of poker. Ferris, wasting no time trying to gain full control of the mine, attempts to sink Drew so deeply in debt that he will be forced to sell out. When Tommy's step-daughter, Marlene, is kidnapped, Drew is forced to borrow heavily against his share to pay the ransom.

Tommy, distraught over his step-daughter's kidnapping and insistent that Ferris cheated him, is vowing revenge. Soon, the situation erupts in violence. Just when Drew thought poker was the worst of his troubles, Tommy turns out to be the wild card in an even more dangerous game.

The Wild Card is the third novel in Loretta Jackson and Vickie Britton's Luck of the Draw series. The sisters are co-authors of Stone of Vengeance, which takes place in the modern-day West, the Ardis Cole Mystery Series, and a play set at a poker table, Dead Man's Hand. Both writers are drawn to the western setting, which has provided a backdrop for much of their work. Loretta, who taught school at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, now resides in Junction City, Kansas. Vickie, whose interested include history and criminal justice, lives in Hutchinson, Kansas.