Page 36 of Rogue Wave

I was almost afraid to ask.

“I’ll walk Shadow down on the beach for two whole weeks…free of charge,” she offered with a smile.

“That doesn’t seem like a punishment for you.”

“I promise to suffer through it as I clean up her poop.”

I shook my head in amusement.

We shook on it. I wasn’t getting much out of the deal, but I also couldn’t exactly wager anything worthwhile. I was the sheriff, and we were in a public bar.

Less than ten minutes later, she smoked me.

It wasn’t even close.

I sank one ball. One.

She sank all the others.

What I’d realized, though, was that it hadn’t been a stroke of luck. Sure, she’d had a few easy shots, but she’d also made shots that would be difficult for a professional to make.

“You’re a pool shark,” I accused. “You even pretended to miss the break shot to throw me off.”

“I did no such thing!” she contested.

I started to argue with her, but she held up her hand in my face.

“Look, I know what a pool shark is. I used to be one. Emphasis on the used to part. My father was a great pool player, and he taught my sister, Cora, and me how to play. He used to take us to the bars with him while he played.”

I stood there in shock, wondering how young she and her sister had been when their dad took them to those bars.

“He was a good swindler, and he learned it was easier to con people out of money when they were playing a teenage girl than a grown man,” she explained. “Whatever we won, our dad gave us half, so we enjoyed it. Well, Cora hated playing, but she loved the money. I, on the other hand, enjoyed playing. I had no idea it wasn’t legal.”

“So, once you grew up, you just played for fun and no longer took bets, except for me?”

“Well…I may have swindled a few guys who were dicks in college, but they had it coming!” Her voice grew louder, and she pointed her finger at me. “So don’t you dare write me a ticket for that either!”

Her raised voice was drawing attention, so I held up my hands to calm her.

“Alright, hurricane, slow down.”

Her head jerked back. “What did you call me?”

“Hurricane.”

Her brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Never mind. Talk to me about⁠—”

“Why?” she repeated.

I sighed long and loud because she clearly wasn’t going to let this go. “Because you have the insane ability to storm right in and cause chaos in your wake.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting up her gorgeous tits for an even better view. “That sounds like a bad thing. Got any other choices?”

Were we really sitting here debating the merits of the nickname I’d given her?

“How about rogue wave?” I offered, feeling a stupid need to make her nickname something she liked, even though I’d likely never use it.