Nonexistent No More: A Poker Boy story Read online

  “I have a hunch,” Patty said, “from a few things Emmanuel mentioned, that she will need lots of coaching in our modern world.”

  “Breath mints as well,” I said.

  “We can hope that changes with her skin color,” Patty said.

  Patty then turned to face me, a serious look on her face. “Laverne wants you to buy Emmanuel Sucker a house? You want to explain how that is possible?”

  I sort of coughed under the intense gaze of those superhero brown eyes. “I can easily afford it,” I said, smiling. “You know, poker winnings.”

  “I think we need to talk,” Patty said, clearly not happy that I hadn’t told her I had money.

  Lots and lots of money. So much money, in fact, I wasn’t sure how much I had anymore.

  But I had a hunch, since Patty was a hundred years older than I was, that there were some things she hasn’t told me as well. It might be a very, very interesting conversation, one we had needed to have for a while now.

  “Your place or my trailer?” I asked, smiling.

  She just glared at me, clearly not even happy at the question. So I picked her place and jumped us there.

  Just safer.

  And somewhere I was sure I could hear Lady Luck and the God of Hospitality laughing.

  About the Author

  Bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith has written more than one hundred popular novels and well over 100 published short stories. His novels include the science fiction novel Laying the Music to Rest and the thriller The Hunted as D.W. Smith. With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. He writes under many pen names and has also ghosted for a number of top bestselling writers.

  Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.

  Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books. He is now executive editing for Fiction River.

  Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.