28. Cole #2
“Can’t blame the guy for wanting a break from those assholes,” Wes says.
Javi rolls his eyes. “You mean the racist, homophobic family that raised him?”
“Kent’s not like them,” Lawrence says. “You can’t hold that against him.”
“Listen,” Morgan says. “We’re hoping if we take on Kent, and maybe train another person next year, we can rotate out one person each season so no one has to fish year-round unless they want to.”
“Which brings us to our next point,” I say. “Morgan and I are going to take bairdi crab off to spend time with Finn.”
“Then I’ll come back in January for opilio crab,” Morgan says.
“And I’ll stay home with Finn.” I can’t wait to spend all that quality time with him, and I’m hoping if I rest my back and restart physical therapy, I’ll be in a better position to captain next year.
“Wow. The end of an era,” Lawrence says.
“We’re trying it out,” Morgan says. “We can’t predict the future. People get hurt. Things change. We need to have other people already trained before that happens.”
“If that’s the case, then Kent is a bad choice anyway,” Javi says.
“Kent is having a really hard time on the Unfathomable,” Lawrence says.
Javi rakes his hair back from his face and looks at Lawrence for a tense second. “Fine.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
He nods.
“Great. Okay. We’ll let him know then.”
“Who’s going to skipper for bairdi?” Javi asks.
“I am,” Wes says.
Javi nods again. “Good.” Another nod, like he’s trying to convince himself. “That’s good.”
“I call deck boss,” Lawrence says.
Morgan feigns contemplation, stroking his beard. “I don’t know. Lawlessness on deck sounds pretty dangerous.”
“Shut up, Mor. I know you guys picked me.”
Morgan looks to me. “You told him?”
“I deduced,” Lawrence says.
Wes’s brows lift. “You deduced?”
Lawrence cocks his head to the side and smirks. “I’m not just a pretty face.”
I hold Wes back after we finish. “Hey, do you want to haul these pots so I can be out there with them?”
Maybe I can figure out what’s going on between Javi and Lawrence while we work the deck.
Wes sucks air through his teeth and frowns. “Sorry, Cap. I’d love to, but I’d rather freeze my ass off than spend the day in the wheelhouse.”
I laugh. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
My thoughts drift back into anxiety over Lawrence and Javi, but he waits patiently, holding space for me. Seb was good about that too. It’s a fatherly inclination, maybe.
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head.
“Don’t be. You’re doing a damn good job, Cole. I have every faith in you.”
He pulls me into a hug that fills me with grief and gratitude, because after Seb died, I lost my father figure, and I’m hungry for whatever paternal approval I can get.
“Oh, and Captain? Be careful out there. I’ve been old and busted a lot longer than you. Don’t rely on muscle memory. Take each step lightly until you find your new sea legs.”
“Could it be?” Lawrence rubs his eyes. “Is that Cole Morrissey out here on deck?”
Alejo salutes me, smile lifting the corners of his mustache. “Ay, our fearless leader is back!”
Following Wes’s warning, I walk toward Morgan’s post at the hydraulic controls with measured footsteps. It’s not like I haven’t been on deck since the accident. I just haven’t worked the deck. The last thing I need is to eat shit in front of the crew the first time I work out here.
“Hey there, Sunshine.” Morgan takes my hand and pulls me against him, and into a kiss.
I cradle the back of his head and lower my voice. “You sure you’re okay with me out here?”
When I told him I wanted to work the deck today, he was supportive, even though he looked queasy. His only concern was that hard labor will exacerbate my chronic pain. He’s not wrong about that, but I want to try.
I wouldn’t blame Morgan if he changed his mind since breakfast, and I’m happy to head back inside the minute he asks. If the roles were reversed, I don’t know if I’d be strong enough to work with Morgan on deck without having a panic attack.
“I’m okay,” Morgan says. “Just behave yourself.”
“Roger.” I salute him.
“Stop being so cute.” Morgan’s aquamarine eyes sparkle like we’re standing in sunlight instead of cloud-covered twilight.
Lawrence groans. “I liked you two better when you weren’t talking to each other.”
I flash him my middle finger and ask Morgan serenely, “Where do you want me, deck boss?”
Lawrence swings his head toward Javi. “Deck boss?”
“I mean, what would you rather me call him, Captain Morgan?”
Morgan squeezes my hip. “Stop,” he says in a sexy timbre he usually reserves for punishments.
“Captain Morgan,” Lawrence muses as he tosses the crab hook toward the bobbing buoys. “Why did it take us so long to make the connection?”
“Now look what you’ve done,” Morgan tells me, with a sharp smack to my ass.
“Sorry, Cap…” At Morgan’s mutinous glare, I shut my mouth and roll my lips inward, stifling my grin.
Lawrence chucks the buoy onto the deck and feeds the line into the block. The engine whines as it drags the crab pot from the depths.