Page 34 of Show Off

The young man sets down Dal’s water glass. “I left Jake at the docks about twenty minutes ago.” He offers an apologetic smile. “I barely had time to run home and change between jobs.”

Cassidy tucks a cardboard coaster under her glass. “Jimmy’s training as Jake’s first mate. They just got back from catching halibut this morning.”

“Halibut.” Dal looks delighted. “Rumor has it Cal Cornish does a killer halibut crusted in Dungeness crab and breadcrumbs, topped with a sweet chili sauce.”

“The rumor’s true, and it’s fantastic.” Jimmy plucks a pad from his apron and that’s when I smell it. Something…odd.

Something…not pleasant.

Whatisthat?

Dal wrinkles his nose and I know it’s not just me. Did someone…um…?

“You folks know what you want to drink?”

“I might need a sec.” Dal meets my eye. “You?”

Oh, God. Does he thinkImade that smell? “I haven’t even looked at drinks yet.”

“Cool.” Jimmy tucks the pad back in his apron. “I’ll come back in a bit with fresh bread.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Cassidy sings as he strides away.

The instant he’s out of earshot, Dal leans in. “What the fuck was that smell?”

“What?” Cass looks panicked and sniffs under her arms. “I didn’t smell anything.

Glaring at Dal, I kick his shin under the table. “Way to be rude.”

“What?”

I roll my eyes and look at Cass. “Ignore him. He’s very blunt.”

She stops smelling her shirt, but still looks edgy. “I don’t think it’s me.”

“It isn’t,” I assure her. “I smelled you when we hugged and you’re fresh as a daisy.”

“Thank God.”

I aim another glare at Dal. “You can’t just say stuff like that to strangers.”

He looks genuinely perplexed. “Why the hell not?”

“Because it’s impolite. Besides, the smell’s gone now.”

Cassidy looks at the kitchen. “Maybe they’re cleaning fresh crab. That has an odor sometimes.”

“I’m sure that’s it.” I flip to the beverage listings. “Do I want kombucha or a beer?”

“They’re both great.” Cassidy taps the third beer listed on the menu. “Jake’s brother, Mason, owns Big One’s Brewery. That’s his newest.”

“Big One’s?” Dal quirks a brow again. “As in balls?”

“Jesus, Dal.” I can’t take this guy anywhere.

But Cassidy’s laughing and shaking her head. “He gets that a lot, and yeah, he probably named his brewery that way on purpose. It’s actually a reference to the earthquake scientists say will eventually wipe out the Pacific Northwest—The Big One.”

I stifle a shudder. “That’s a little grim.”

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