MY FATE FOR YOURS

Chapter 27- EAMON

Eamon

"Alright, we aren't staying out here all day, just so you know," I say as I push the boat away from the dock. Tobin talked me into coming out to the Atchafalaya Basin and hunting Nutria for a while. I tried to get out of it, but he was damn persistent. I got to figure out a way to tell him that I've been seeing Rach. Or want to be seeing Rach. Or whatever the hell it is going on between us. But for now, I just agreed to spend the day with him and tomorrow I'll worry about telling him what's really going on. Maybe she and I can make sense of it at dinner tonight.

"Would you quit crying and get in?" Tobin says.

"What are we gonna do with all these rat's you plan on catching?" I ask. I check my .22. Hunting nutria isn't exactly hard. They aren't small—they actually resemble the Rodents of Unusual Size in that movie Ma loves, The Princess Bride. There are a thousand of the things around, and they're pretty damn easy to shoot. There isn't a whole lot of sport involved here.

"I don't know, bro, I thought you could make some purses out of their hides or something." Tobin steers the boat into the brown water of the marsh.

I resist the urge to smack the back of his head. "That's funny, little brother."

"Actually, Jerry asked for them. Figured it's the least I could do with as good as he's been about me skipping out on work," Tobin says. His voice is a little shamed and I hate that for him. He's getting better, though. I think seeing Delia first hand helped, even if he didn't talk to her. He's come back a lot better. He even seems like he might be able to move on now.

"Sounds good, my man."

"'Course, if you were going to take over and be the boss, I'd surely take advantage of that," he says.

"I bet you would, asshole. Let's get this done so we can get out of here."

"What's the rush, E? We've got a cooler full of beer and all damn day."

"I told you, bro. No can do. I'll help you get a few of the little vermin, but then we gotta bail. I've got a date tonight," I say. It's not a lie.

"Ah, that's shocking, E. I never thought I'd see the day," Tobin says. He aims and easily shoots a big ass nutria. I steer the boat over and we toss it in.

"I know, I know. But one of us has to keep the women of Crawford satisfied, and clearly, you've been slacking."

I think I've pissed him off for a second, but Tobin starts howling with laughter. And I think, maybe, he's back.

It doesn't take long before we've got six of the little bastards lined up in the boat with us. I've got a clean shot of two on the levee on our way back to the dock.  "I'll get them," Tobin says. But I don't give him the chance. I fire off two quick shots and hit both of them. Tobin's eyes are on me as I watch them both fall into the water. There's no way that we can't get the boat over there on account of all of the stumps in the water. Without thinking, I jump into the swamp water to grab them and toss them into the boat.

"Eamon, you dumbass!" Tobin yells. "You don't even have waders on!"

"I'm good," I say. I hoist myself back into the boat. "It's just water."

By the time we make it back to shore, I'm itching and my legs are damn near on fire. Tobin was right, and I knew it. But I acted on impulse and look what it got me. I've got to get this damn swamp mud off of me. Now.

Tobin loads up the gear while I'm stripping down. I use the bottled water in his truck to wash the mud from my legs, but it's pointless. It's too much. I toss my clothes into the back of his truck and have to listen to him laugh his ass off as I ride pants-less the entire trip home.