"Knock it off!" shouted Danni from behind the bar at the Elbow Room in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Two fisherman had been arguing all night and finally decided to break out into an all-out fist fight. Combined with increasing tempers, alcohol and weariness, the men's patience had finally wore out.
"I said knock it off!" screamed Danni when the two fighters did not listen to her the first time.
She sighed in exasperation and pulled her black hair back into a messy ponytail. Her blue eyes flashed with irritation as she leapt over the bar and grabbed one of the men by the collar.
He was a younger fisherman, around her age she guessed, with dark hair and matching dark eyes. Tattoos peeked out from under his t-shirt and the earring in his ear made her smirk. He definitely was not from around here at all.
"When I say knock it off, I mean knock it off!" she yelled, the smirk on her face quickly changing to one of anger, "Both of you!"
She shot a glare at the other fisherman who was wiping a hand across a bloody lip. He was also in his late twenties and had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was more cleanly cut than the dark-haired boy but no less angry and impulsive.
"Sorry," mumbled the dark-haired boy, suddenly looking very nervous.
Danni narrowed her eyes suspiciously but suddenly broke out into a wide grin when she saw who was approaching them. Phil Harris stomped over, eyes gleaming with anger. He glared at the dark-haired boy and then shot Danni an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Danni," he said sincerely, "My son doesn't know the rules here yet and he's a little too hard-headed for his own good."
Danni's eyes widened in surprise as she glanced at the boy.
"You have two sons?"
"Yeah, Jake's been on board for a while now and this ruffian decided to jump on too. His name's Josh."
Phil shot his son another disapproving look. Josh glanced away awkwardly and turned his eyes to the other fisherman. He gave him an accusing look and sneered slightly at him.
"You wanna go?" challenged the blonde-haired boy, looking rather fierce, "If you're tryin to start something, bring it greenhorn!"
"And that one there is Blake Painter," said Phil with a glare at the blonde-headed boy, "Believe it or not but he's captain of the Maverick. Loud mouth but good skipper. And no, Blake, there won't be any more fighting today. Let's go Josh."
Blake looked somewhat disappointed but as Josh walked out he gave him the finger. Josh was infuriated but knew better than to react with his father walking beside of him. After the two left, Danni crossed her arms and gave Blake an amused look.
"So," she said as she sauntered over to him, "Why are you picking fights with greenhorns captain?"
Blake growled low in his throat and looked away.
"He started it," he muttered.
Danni rolled her eyes.
"Men," she sighed as she jumped back on the bar and slid over to the other side.
She pulled a rag out of her back jeans pocket and began wiping down the counter. Blake watched her for a moment, uncertainty in his eyes. Danni glanced up and saw him looking at her. She smiled slightly and leaned over the counter towards him.
"Somethin' on your mind?"
Blake swallowed nervously under her crystal blue eyes.
"Um, yeah. Can I get a beer?" he asked, lamely.
Danni rolled her eyes again and sighed as she turned around to fix him his drink.
After three years of job-hopping she had finally found the one place on earth she wanted to be…Dutch Harbor Alaska. No one else on earth would truly want to live here, but she did. There was something about it that called to her. It just felt right.
And something about this young captain just felt right too…