Forever Too Far

“This is Blaire. My daughter,” Dad said.
         “We met earlier today ,” he told Abe and winked at me again. I immediately felt uncomfortable. Rush wouldn’t like him winking at me. Maybe we shouldn’t stay a few days. I was pregnant. Couldn’t he see that? Why would he be flirting with a pregnant woman?
         “Ah, well then, good. Glad y’all met,” Dad sounded nervous. Something was off. Was this guy dangerous?
         The door to the cabin opened and a sleep ruffled Rush walked outside. This time he was shirtless and his jeans were unbuttoned. I doubted he’d even put on his underwear. He looked like he’d just woken up and realized I was missing and jerked on his jeans to come and find me. His eyes shifted from me to Captain and back. The angry snarl on his face surprised me. He hadn’t seen the man wink at me, had he?
         “Hello, Abe,” he said in a sleepy voice as he walked over and pulled me against him. Yes , he was definitely asserting his ownership. Why would he feel threatened? Did the man not understand that I was completely obsessed with him?
         “Rush. Even though I was real happy to see Blaire I’m glad you were smart enough to come get her,” Abe replied. The warning in his tone was unmistakable. He was letting Rush know he didn’t like me feeling second.
         Rush nodded and pressed his lips to my head. “It won’t happen again,” he told my father.
         Dad nodded. “Good. Next time I won’t be so understanding,” he told him.
         “Newlyweds?” Captain asked, still standing there watching us.
         Rush tensed and I eased closer to him to calm him down. He wanted to be a newlywed. Having another guy question our relationship bothered him.
        “They’re engaged,” Dad explained.
         Captain pointed the beer toward me as if he was pointing at my stomach. “Got things a little backwards , don’t you?” The accusation in his voice caused Rush to move before I could stop him. Immediately, he was around me and moving across the boat. I reached out and grabbed Rush’s arm just as his foot hit the step leading out.
          “Alright, hold it,” Dad said in a loud commanding voice I wasn’t used to hearing him use. “I was gonna wait and explain this to Blaire without a damn audience but it looks like I need to do it now. Since you’ve done gone and pissed Rush off.” He was shooting Captain an annoyed look.
          What was he talking about? What kind of explanation?
         Rush stopped moving and glared back at my father. “No one talks to Blaire like that. I don’t give a fuck who he is.”
          “Wasn’t talking to Blaire. I was talking to you,” Captain drawled in a bored tone and took another swig of his beer.
          I wrapped both hands around Rush’s arm and held on tight.
         “That’s enough, boy,” Dad snapped at Captain. I would like to argue that he wasn’t a boy but a man who could very likely hurt my dad without breaking a sweat. I preferred that he stayed friendly with his neighbors.
          Captain held up both his hands and shrugged. “Fine,” he replied. I was shocked that he backed down so easily.
          Dad sighed and lo oked back at me. “You might want to sit back down,” he said.
          I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this. Why would I need to sit down? Rush took my seat then pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist.
          Dad looked over at Captain and frowned. He didn’t want to tell me whatever it was that he was about to tell me. That made me nervous.
         “When I was sixteen I knocked up my high school girlfriend, ” he started and I grabbed Rush’s arms and held on tight. “Becca Lynn wasn’t ready to be a momma and I sure as hell wasn’t ready to be a daddy. We agreed to put the baby up for adoption. Becca Lynn’s parents handled the finding of suitable parents for the baby and then she had it and that was it. We didn’t stay together. We’d broken up due to the reality of her pregnancy and what had happened. After graduation she went on to college on the west coast and I went to Georgia. Never saw her again,” my dad said and sighed and studied me a moment before going any further. Rush’s arms had tightened around me and I was holding onto him. I wasn’t sure yet where exactly this was going but I had an idea.
         “After you and Valerie were born I realized how precious