Page 41 of Marlin's Faith

“Tell what?”

“Who I’m pissed at, her or me.”

Hope smiled and knocked me in the shoulder lightly, “Welcome to my world of the last twenty-seven years,” she said and I frowned.

“I don’t get it; I thought you took over as ‘mom’ when she was nine.”

Hope snorted, “Please, our mom was never really a mom. She was too busy trying to be our best friend. I didn’t take over officially until I was eighteen, but I’d been doing it from the day mom turned up pregnant with Faith.” She sighed and it was a heavy, thing.

“So, what I’m feelin’?”

“Yeah, welcome to what it’s like to be a parent.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” I muttered.

“Fine, I’ll rephrase, ‘welcome to what it feels like to be responsible for another human being.’”

I looked at Hope, long and hard, the wheels turning in my head. Maybe that was the problem. There was taking care of someone then there was taking responsibility over some one… Faith needed the first, sure, but she was a big fuckin’ girl…

“You’re thinking awfully hard,” Hope stated sardonically.

I nodded, “Yeah, talk about it later. Right now, she needs a change of clothes and to stop hiding.”

Hope looked me over, carefully considering, “This conversation isn’t over, is it?”

“Not by a long shot, now I’ve got two of those and customers waiting. Johnny will make three if I keep delaying. He’s gotta take a leak.”

“Say no more.”

Hope went down below decks and I went around to the stern where my brother and our two customers were chatting.

“Sorry, Johnny. Go ahead.” I said and Johnny nodded, giving me a look full of weight.

“No problem, be right back.”

He went through the door and down the steps, disappearing into my living quarters. I heard him and Hope exchange a hello and doors open and shut and the rest was quiet. This wasn’t the most ideal situation, but then again, it never was, was it?

I sighed and plucked my sunglasses off the table I’d left them on and put ‘em on my face. Our two customers were a couple of guys in their fifties and teachers from some high school up north. They’d left their wives back in town and had come out to indulge whatever bromance they had going on, having been buddies for however many years.

I checked their lines and made small talk with them, did my job, but I kept getting distracted, letting my gaze stray from the water and my customers to the stairs leading down into my home, waiting for that pretty blonde head of hair to appear. No such luck, it was my asshole brother who showed back up first.

“Thanks, Man,” he grunted and took over as the social one, although these two weren’t bad as far as some of the dudes I had standing on my deck. They’d at least fished before, although fly fishing on a river and deep sea fishing like we were now, were worlds apart as far as fishing went.

Johnny came back up and slapped me on the back of the shoulder, giving me a meaningful look that I couldn’t readily identify its meaning before diving back in with the clients. I turned back when Faith appeared in a long, airy skirt and white tank top. The outfit suited her; modest but cool for the soaring temperatures out here. Hope came up behind her and gave me a dirty look followed immediately with a considering one.

“You girls want to head up to the foredeck?” I asked. It was going to be crowded back here otherwise and if one of the guys –

“Fish on!” one of them cried, and I bowed my head. Of course, why wouldn’t they catch something at the precise fucking time she got up here? All I wanted to do was check with her, and nope, no, no and no.Motherfucker.

I went up to the grinning fool who’s rod was bending under the strain of whatever was on the other end. Damn, he got a big one.

“Hope, Faith, gonna need you girls to head up to the front of the boat for your safety please,” Johnny told them and nodding, Faith caught my eye, uncertainty radiating out from those aquamarine jewels.

“Go on, I’ll be up when I can. Soak up some sun and try to relax,” I grunted, while helping the dude with the fish on his line into the fighting chair. I could feel the tension in the rod, the dude was putting up a fight and his muscles trembled with exertion already. Still, he seemed determined and if the line didn’t break, or if the fish didn’t slip the hook, he had a good chance of getting it in so long as it didn’t turn into a day long fight.

God I sincerely hoped it didn’t.

22

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