“But it’s not an easy business, and it’s one of those things where if you have a bad year, okay, you can pull it out the next. But if you have two bad years, it gets harder. A couple bad years, a big commercial firm comes in... then the boats need fixing...” He runs a palm down his face and then takes a deep drink of his beer, finishing it and then grumbling a quiet, “Yeah, so.”

I’m suddenly not quite as giddy anymore.

I can tell he’s not going to lay the specifics of his business troubles on me and really, it’s fine because I suspect I would be only marginally more helpful than Kyle the DJ would be in this situation. But I stay quiet, not only because of my inexpertise, but because I know he isn’t done. I still have no idea why he’s here.

“So about, I don’t know, maybe a month ago, some people called up, said they had an idea for...” He cuts off and looks at me for a long pause. “For a show.”

“Like a fishing expo?” I ask.

Laughing, he says, “No. Like a television show.”

Oh.

Oh.

I lean forward, my elbows on the table. “And by ‘some people’ you mean...”

He blinks away. “The Adventure Channel.”

I feel my eyes go wide. “Holy shit, Finn. They want to make a show out of your family business?”

“Me, Dad, Colt, and Levi. All four Roberts boys.”

“And you’re here to start negotiations?” I’m reeling. The Adventure Channel is huge. Finn definitely has a face and body for television, but... he’s not exactly warm and fuzzy.

He shakes his head, saying, “No. See, one of our smaller boats was fucked a while ago, but before our main boat, the Linda, broke, I wasn’t really considering it that seriously. I came down here because both my brothers want to do it, and I don’t feel right making a unilateral decision about it without at least weighing the options.” He rubs his face again. “But I found out about an hour ago that the Linda is fucked, too. I mean, fucked. We have maybe five thousand in the bank, and are looking at a repair that’ll cost a hundred grand. Maybe two.” Looking over at me, he says, “Now I have to consider this show, or bowing out of the industry completely. I don’t want this, Harlow. It’d be a circus.”

“Have you talked to the network since you’ve been here?”

“Only a couple of emails. I came down early because of Oliver’s opening, and Colton was worried I was going to have a heart attack like Dad and wanted me out of town.” He glances at me. “I’m meeting with them soon in person. They’ve been sending me promo materials.”