The Wrenching Game
Part 2
The wind blew at Danni Quinn's back, pushing her towards the teal and yellow boat docked at Delta Way. Her left hand held her briefcase; left shoulder supported the strap of her purse. A tote bag was slung over her right shoulder while her right hand pulled a wheeled suitcase that wobbled behind her like a drunken sailor. An umbrella would have been useless in the driving rain, so Danni relied on her Gortex jacket to keep her dry, but a gust of wind whirled around her and yanked the hood off her head. The hood billowed behind her head like a sail in the wind, the pelting rain drenching her hair.
Danni Quinn finally reached the edge of the dock and stopped. She cursed under her breath… a ship full of men, and no one there to meet her. Danni was no stranger to fishing boats, for she had been born, bred and raised on the Alaskan peninsula, but the space between the boat and the dock seemed like a chasm. With the boat bobbing to and fro, she was sure she would end up in the bay. She stood there a moment, hoping someone in the wheelhouse would see her. Tapping her foot, she checked her watch. "Fuck!" she said out loud, and began to search her purse for her cell phone.
Finally, the cabin door opened and two men walked across the deck towards her. Even in their raingear, she recognized them as Josh Harris and Freddie Maughtai. Yes, she had seen one or two episodes of the Deadliest Catch, but she wasn't about to let these pretty boy reality stars work their charm on her for their own advantage. She was determined to be as tough as a piece of charred rib eye steak in her observation of their crabbing operation.
"Ms. Quinn?" Josh called out to her as he jumped off the boat and onto the dock.
"Who the hell else could I be?" she declared, her voice raspy from a two pack a day cigarette habit. "You expecting any other women today?"
Josh reached for the suitcase and noticed the sensible shoes on her feet. He grinned to himself. Jake and Ryan wouldn't be falling all over each other to impress this tough cookie. He grabbed the luggage and tossed it over the rail to Freddie. "May I take your briefcase, ma'am?"
"Ma'am?" she repeated, and then grumbled something incomprehensible.
Josh took that as a 'yes.' He took her tote bag and purse, slung both over his right shoulder, and then offered his hand. Danni grabbed it and practically yanked him into the water as she stepped onto the boat. Freddie reached out a gentle hand, and winced as she grasped it with an iron grip. The woman had the strength of an anaconda.
Josh vaulted back onto the ship and traded raised eyebrows with Freddie as the woman trudged across the deck. "You got any rituals to tame that one, Freddie?" Josh asked.
Freddie shook his head. "It's gonna be a long season, bro."
TBC...
