Page 74 of Marlin's Faith

“Well, Janice, Arlene, either of you two interested in putting a line in the water?” Johnny asked from over my shoulder.

“Oh, no, not us!” Janice laughed.

I couldn’t resist and I was sure I was going to pay for it somehow, but I gestured over to Bobby, “Well, my cabana boy, Bobby here, would love to take care of you ladies. He’ll take you up to the foredeck and the loungers up there to catch some sun with my girl Faith, won’t you Bobby?”

Bobby grinned at me in that way that told me ‘you are so going to get it you fucker,’ but he held out his arms to the two women and said, “Absolutely, follow me.”

He went off with the two ladies, just as Faith made her appearance. She drifted up to me and I leaned down. She kissed me gently on the cheek and with a warm smile, drifted off after Bobby. Both Dave and John looked after her with admiring expressions and I suppressed the urge to say something. She was on board with me, she was safe with my best friend, and the two men weren’t going to do anything more than look with their wives on board. I needed to let it go, so I did.

What I didn’t let go was Johnny’s scowl at me when I turned around. I scowled right back and the first chance I got, hauled his ass below deck.

“Just what in the absolute fuck is your problem today? What the fuck did Lynn do now?”

Johnny looked visibly upset, not angry, but upset, which was unlike my brother. I crossed my arms and waited for him to spill it.

“Traded in her car and traded up, man… I can’t afford keeping up with her. Our fuckin’ kids are going without while she’s riding around in a new fuckin’ BMW. I left her ass. I’ve been stayin’ here on the boat while you been gone, but Jimmy, she’s holding our fuckin’ kids over my head. I don’t know what to do.”

I put a hand on my brother’s shoulder, “We’ll figure it out, Man. We always do, but I can’t have you takin’ your shit out on Faith. She didn’t do nothin’, she isn’t Lynn, she ain’t asked for nothin’ I’ve given her. She doesn’t ask for anything, come to think of it. She’s got enough to deal with without you bein’ a full fuckin’ ass hamster to her.”

“I’ll fuckin’ apologize.”

“Yeah, youwill.As for Lynn, I’ll be here more, we’ll do more gigs, but not to pay for her shit. We’ll find you a divorce lawyer and a fuckin’ kick ass family lawyer.”

“Mama’s gonna have a fuckin’ fit.”

“Good, you can draw fire; Faith is scared to death to meet our parents.” I gave him a pointed look and he grimaced.

“She’s a pretty girl,” he supplied.

“Yeah, she’s worried about divulging her latest line of work, despite the fact I keep telling her that sexual slavery ain’t exactly a job description.”

Johnny looked even more crestfallen, “Shit, I didn’t think about that.”

“No, you didn’t, and you keep thinking about her like she’s a whore, I’m going to kick your fuckin’ ass so hard your own kids won’t recognize you. You get me?”

Johnny looked at me for a long minute, “You really love this chick, don’t you?” he asked.

“Never felt the way I do about her with anyone else.”

He nodded, “Lynn’s being served the papers today. Can we get the fuck out of herebeforeshe gets them and makes a scene?”

“Damn, you really did it, Bro?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’d you get to serve ‘em?”

He looked embarrassed, “I couldn’t serve ‘em, and you couldn’t either being family. I had to get a third party unrelated to either myself, Lynn or the kids. I called up Cutter and asked for help.”

“The Captain?” I asked startled.

“Yeah, he said I’d owe a favor to the club, but he’s got one of the guys that stayed behind doin’ it.”

“Looks like I owe the Captain a favor or two myself then.”

Johnny looked spooked, “What do you think he’ll have me do?”

“Never mind that now, it ain’t nothing you gotta worry about. Cutter knows you’re family and that you’ve got kids. Shit you’ve hung out with us long enough.” I lowered my voice, “Whatever he asks might not be this side of legal, but he’ll keep you well clear of it. He’s got a soft spot for kids and taking you out of the equation would leave yours without a functioning parent.”

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