Page 7 of Rogue Wave

“Nah, I’m headed out, too. Thanks.”

He nodded and left, and I decided to do the same. There may be a few more phone calls in my future, but I could do those from my front porch with a drink in my hand.

A cold beer was exactly what I needed right now.

I felt like I’d been caught in a storm and barely survived. Hell, I technically had.

Hurricane Hazel had gotten me good.

The scary part was that I wasn’t sure it was a bad thing. She was intense, and there was a high chance she’d be the one to bring me to my knees.

3

“I fall for emotionally unavailable men. It’s called magnetic repulsion.”

—It’s science

Hazel

“Everything will be okay, dear,” Dottie said as she poured me more tea. “Hank and Dougie will take care of everything. Don’t you worry.”

I knew she was right, but she was also wrong. Hank would take care of it, and Dougie was certainly a big help too, but there was no way I wouldn’t worry. It wasn’t in my DNA.

I worried about whether some of the drugs that fell into the ocean may hurt some of the animals if they accidentally ingested them.

I worried that more drugs would wash ashore and kids would find them.

I worried that Hank would find some way to make this my fault and give me another ticket for something.

I was a worrier, end of story. Not to the point where I had anxiety, but just always thinking about every possible scenario for every situation.

Logically, I knew it wasn’t my fault, but Hank had a way of making me feel like it was with his grumpy attitude.

After I’d called Hank, Dougie had actually been the first to find me on the beach. I’d been thrilled to deal with him rather than Surly McSheriffsauce.

“You doin’ okay?” Dougie asked as soon as he found me. “Did you touch anything?”

“Yes, but only one of them because I didn’t realize what it was, since all the barnacles were covering it. I wasn’t trying to ruin the crime scene.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Dougie said softly. “I was more worried about your safety. Drugs like fentanyl, meth, and carfentanil can cause serious problems if you inhale the airborne particles.”

Oh. Clearly, I knew nothing about drugs.

“Well, I’m glad you have faith in me, but I don’t think Hank feels the same, so I’m staying far away from those drugs until he gets here.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

Hank showed up shortly after, and his presence was commanding and borderline scary. He and Dougie spoke in soft voices, occasionally looking in my direction.

I stared at his crisply starched sheriff shirt, and my imagination went to what he would look like underneath. I scolded myself for even thinking that—especially in the middle of a crime scene.

“Are you hurt?” The way Hank asked made it seem like he genuinely cared, but I knew that was just a standard question the police always asked people.

I shook my head, unable to get any words out.

“Can you show us what you found and how you found it?” Kingston asked.

I walked over to where I had stumbled across everything and even showed them some of the other things I’d picked up—the non-drug-related items.