Marlin's Faith: The Virtues Book II by A.J. Downey Read Free Book Online Page A

wanted to admit to myself.
    When I was sure she was down for the count and wouldn’t come back up out of her slumber anytime soon, I extracted my hand from her light grip with a heavy sigh and moved myself over to what was becoming my customary post in the chair by the bed. I slouched down and closed my eyes, my lips hooking up into a slight smile at a particularly brilliant stroke of an idea that hit me like a bolt out of the blue.
    Yeah.
    I would get right on that tomorrow, I just needed to check and see if I had the money for it. I should. Business was good, sucking a little wind with my absence, but I could get by. I could do it while Hope took Faith clothes shopping.
    Decision made I dropped off into a light sleep myself, but it wasn’t particularly restful. I didn’t get restful sleep anymore. Jerking awake at any movement or sound Faith made. From the moment I’d laid eyes on her, I’d sworn to myself I wouldn’t let her go down the way Danny had. Faith was my atonement for how I’d treated my brother and so far she’d soothed the fiery torment of my guilt.
    I couldn’t bring my brother back. I couldn’t save him from the grave. But I could save her. It wasn’t perfect. Hell, maybe it wasn’t even right… but it mattered and I needed to do something that really mattered at least once in my damned life because at the end of the day, successful business, pride of the family, none of it meant shit fuck all in the grand scheme of things. Not when you were willing to let a family member go. Willing to let them die, just because they pissed you off or disappointed you.
    Hope belonged to the Captain, and my club was my second family. By extension, Faith was family too. Cutter’d put me in charge when it came to her care, I wasn’t about to let my Captain, my brothers, Hope or Faith down. It was just what it had to be. I was okay with that. My life needed a change up from the same old routine anyhow.
     

Chapter 8
    Faith
     
    “Faith?” I jumped and turned mutely back to my sister. I swallowed hard and she frowned. “You okay?”
    I pressed my lips together and nodded rapidly. I wasn’t. I felt like they were all staring at me. Like everyone in the store knew . I felt dirty, ashamed and like the weight of the universe was pressing me inexorably into the floor.
    “No, you’re not.” Hope said judiciously and hung the dress she’d pulled off the rack back up.
    “I… I think it’s just a little bit much for my first time out.” I murmured and she nodded.
    “There was this famous general back in the day, like world war one and two, right? He used to say that he didn’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbed or how good he was at anything. He used to say ‘The measure of a man’s success should be taken by how high he bounces when he hits bottom.’ You always did bounce the best out of the three of us. This is no exception.”
    I rolled my lips together and thought about what my sister was saying, finally nodding. A measure calmer than I had been before, even though my heart still raced in my chest and every breath I took made me feel like I was going to explode.
    “Concentrate on the clothes, Bubbles. Let’s find you some stuff to wear that you’ll be comfortable in. It’s hot around here, some shorts? A couple of swimsuits maybe?” Hope kept talking and I followed her dutifully around the little clothing boutique, looking at clothes without really seeing them.
    My blood rushed in my ears, my heart thundered in my chest and it felt like the world was losing focus. I was falling but I was standing still. I felt crazed and like a total lunatic and when gentle hands fell on my shoulders I jumped clean out of my skin, shrieking, clapping my hands over my mouth to stifle the terrified sound. I quickly glanced around the shop and with a sinking feeling realized that if they hadn’t really been staring before, I was definitely the center of attention now.
    All conversation had ceased and