Page 95 of Tide Over

“Hey,” I reply, a feeling almost like relief flooding through me just at the sound of his voice.

“How was your first day?” he asks.

“It was ok,” I say. “Busy right away. I was on the ropes for most of it.”

There’s a pause on the other end and my heart sinks. Because I know he’s thinking what I’ve been thinking all day. We both take risks in dangerous jobs, every day. And one of those risks became all too real for him. Who’s to say it won’t for me someday too…

But I shake off that feeling and change the subject. “Did you see your family today?”

“Yeah, Mom and Heather were here this morning,” he says. “And Grandpa stopped by this afternoon.” He pauses for a moment, and his voice softens. “He took the crew out today. He’s going to finish the season with them.”

A lump rises in my throat. I know how much it hurts Theo not to be out there with his crew, but I also know it’s about more than the job. Jimmy stepping in is for Theo’s peace of mind. To not only take care of what Theo can’t right now, but to also take care of him.

“Let me guess,” I say, forcing some lightness into my voice. “He brought in the biggest haul of the season?”

Theo lets out a breath of laughter, and the sound lifts my heart.

“Obviously.”

I smile, happy they haven’t lost their ability to rib on each other amongst this pain.

“He’s a good one,” I say softly.

“Yeah. He is.”

We’re quiet for a moment as I lie back on the bed and stare at the underside of the bunk above me.

“How’s Miss Bobber?” I ask.

“She’s asleep on my lap right now. I think she likes having someone to sleep with all day.” He pauses for a moment. “She’s been sleeping on your pillow beside me.”

My breath catches in my chest as I close my eyes. “I wish I was.”

I hear his breath through the phone as he lets out a soft sigh. “Me too.”

I rub my hand forcefully over my eyes as I momentarily pull the phone away from my ear and let out a sigh of my own.

Fuck, this is hard.

But I draw a breath in and push it all aside, knowing I need to stay strong for him.

I bring the phone back to my ear. “I feel like you’ve set me up for failure here, by the way.”

There’s a long pause on the other end, and I just wait.

“What?”

“You were all talk about challenging me in ping-pong,” I say. “But because you never did, I’m rusty now.”

An incredulous breath of laughter escapes him, making me smile.

“And I was supposed to do that anyway, when you told me to fuck off every time?” he asks, but I hear the smile in his voice.

I chuckle. “Who can’t take the challenge now?”

“Still you,” he says, not missing a beat. “Because you could be playing right now, but you’re hiding away in your room instead.”

Both fire and laughter rise in my chest. “Hiding?”

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