Page 7 of A Seer and Present Danger

Futures flashed:

Apple pie, one piece, two plates

Coffee refill

Bill

Hugo might be desperate for cash, but that shared dessert told me Kenny was almost flat broke too. And cheap.

“Can I get you folks anything else?” I asked. “We bake our pies fresh every day.”

Kenny quickly cut off Gail’s reply. “We’ll share a slice of apple. Is the ice cream extra?”

“Nope, comes with it.”

“But I don’t like ice cream,” Gail whined.

We both looked at her in shock.

“How can you not like ice cream?” he asked.

“It’s too cold.”

He laughed, but the glare she threw his way made him cork it real fast.

“All right then,” I said. “One apple pie with ice cream on the side.”

“Two plates.” Kenny pointed at his coffee. “And heat this up.”

I nodded and was off.

I’d been sneaking glances at the man in the back booth. He’d ordered the chowder bowl (good choice) and a side of corn bread (also good). He’d been slowly making his way through both as he scrolled on his phone.

Every once in a while, he’d look up and stare off into the middle space, pressing his palm flat on the table and flexing his fingers, which was a weird little habit. But even weirder was how often his attention returned to Aggie.

I wondered why he kept looking at her.

I wondered why she’d run out of the room the moment he had stepped in.

Shelly swung past his table and gave him a fresh Arnold Palmer.

He didn’t seem to track her like he was tracking Aggie.

It wasn’t a little future thing, but I had a funny feeling about him. Some of it was that (nice) instant attraction at first sight, but some of it was, well, not fear, but caution.

I had a good nose for magic and mayhem but when I looked at him, I couldn’t tell if he was magic or not. I couldn’t tell if he was dangerous or safe. I couldn’t tell what kind of trouble he might be.

Which only made me more curious about him.

I slid up to Aggie as she was wiping down a table.

“Hey, friend. Can I ask you a question?”

She jerked and looked back at me. “How are you so quiet?”

“I’m not that quiet, it’s just noisy in here. Do you know that man in the back booth?”

“No. Why?”