Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii Book 3)

by Susan Stoker

  He nodded. “You have next Sunday off, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’d like to take you to my place and cook for you…if that’s all right.”

  Kenna tingled. “Can you cook?”

  Marshall chuckled. “I’m not a chef like Elodie, but I’ve been taking pointers from her, and I can grill a mean steak.”

  “Sounds good. You want to go to the Aloha Stadium swap meet with me in the morning?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said immediately.

  Kenna smiled. “You ever been?”

  “Nope.”

  “You’re in for a treat. They have everything from clothes to souvenirs, ethnic food to antiques. I love talking to the artists. They usually have amazingly interesting stories.”

  Marshall smiled. “I like seeing you get all worked up and excited about doing stuff,” he said. “We can work out the logistics later.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Be safe this week.”

  “I will,” Kenna reassured him.

  For a second they both stood stock still, staring at each other, before Marshall took a deep breath and backed away.

  Kenna watched him walk backward down the hall.

  “Go inside,” he ordered.

  It was reassuring that he felt the same pull toward her that she did toward him. Kenna gave him a little wave, then pushed her door open and went inside her apartment.

  She closed the door and leaned against it with another smile on her face. It was safe to say that she was head over heels for Marshall Smart. She had no idea what he was so worried about her finding out, but she had a feeling whatever it was, it wouldn’t matter.

  Feeling happier than she’d been in a very long time, Kenna dug her dinner out of her beach bag and headed to the couch to eat. Food first, then shower, then she’d text Lexie and find out the details about helping her with the new location of Food For All.

  It would be a busy week, and Kenna was already excited about seeing Marshall next Sunday. Yes, she’d talk to him as the week progressed, but seeing where he lived, him cooking for her…it seemed like a perfect time to move their physical relationship forward.

  Saying it like that almost seemed too tame. In reality, Kenna wanted to fuck Marshall more than she’d wanted anything in a long while. And she had a feeling next weekend would be their time.

  She was still smiling as she took a big bite of her burger. It was lukewarm, but nothing could dim her excitement from the day.

  Chapter Ten

  The week was moving quickly. Between working out, doing errands, talking to Marshall, and working, time had flown by.

  It was already Wednesday morning, and Kenna was headed to the Barber’s Point area to meet up with Lexie, Elodie, and another woman named Ashlyn, who worked with Lexie, to organize the satellite location of Food For All. She’d even convinced Carly to come with her. She hadn’t lied to Marshall, she could have a conversation with anyone about anything, but she was glad Carly had said yes to coming all the same.

  Kenna was also worried about her friend. Carly hadn’t been going anywhere since the confrontation with Shawn at Duke’s, preferring to stay in her apartment as much as possible until it was time to go to work. It wasn’t as if Kenna blamed her; if Shawn was her ex, she’d be extremely careful as well, but it wasn’t exactly healthy for Carly to lock herself away.

  One more reason to hate Shawn.

  But today she’d convinced Carly to come with her, and was looking forward to spending time with her friend outside of work.

  As they drove toward the western side of the island, Kenna said as nonchalantly as she could, “So…how are things with Jag? You guys still talking?”

  “They’re fine. And yes.”

  Kenna could tell Carly didn’t want to talk about the handsome SEAL, but she wasn’t ready to drop it. “Marshall said he’s worried about you.”

  Carly sighed and looked over at Kenna. “Look, I know you’re deliriously happy with Marshall, but don’t go getting ideas that I’m gonna end up with his friend. I’m done with guys. Seriously. Maybe not forever, but for the foreseeable future. Okay?”

  “Okay, okay,” Kenna said. “I want you to be happy. And just because Shawn wasn’t the man for you doesn’t mean someone else isn’t. Not to mention, they’re not all abusive assholes either.”

  “I know. And I really do like Jag. He’s nice and he makes me feel safe. But I’m still not ready. I feel like I need to get my feet under me again. Learn to be happy on my own for a while. It also wouldn’t be fair to him to be a rebound.”

  “I get it,” Kenna said. And she did. She had a feeling if Carly let Jag in, she wouldn’t regret the decision, but she had to be the one to decide when she was ready to move on. “Thanks for coming with me today,” she said, changing the subject.

  Carly smiled. “Thanks for asking me. I know I need to get out more, but I just imagine Shawn jumping out and hurting me the second I leave my apartment.”

  “I understand. But no one is gonna hurt you today. This should be fun.”

  “Who’s gonna be there again? The two women from Duke’s the other night, I know, but who else?”

  “Yeah, Elodie and Lexie. Lexie works for Food For All and they’re expanding into this new location. She’s apparently in charge of getting it all set up. Another woman who works with her, Ashlyn, will also be there from what I understand.”

  “Cool. So the guys aren’t coming?” Carly asked a little too nonchalantly.

  Kenna suppressed a grin. She had a feeling if Jag had just a little bit of patience, he’d totally wear Carly down. “No, they’re working. I think they helped move some of the bigger pieces of furniture yesterday.”

  Carly nodded.

  They talked about work gossip and their schedules the rest of the way to Barber’s Point. Kenna pulled into a parking spot a block from the Food For All building, and she and Carly climbed out of her trusty Chevy and headed down the sidewalk.

  The windows of the building were covered with tan paper, indicating to the general public that they weren’t open yet, but Lexie had told Kenna to just come on in when she arrived.

  Kenna pushed open the door and walked into a large, bright and welcoming space. She smiled. If she happened to be down on her luck and felt bad about having to ask for help with feeding herself or her family, she’d feel much better about it after walking in here. It wasn’t depressing. It was almost uplifting. The walls were bright white and the lighting was vivid as well, but without the harsh glare of fluorescent bulbs. And once the paper was off the front windows, she knew the sunlight would help even more.

  “Hi!”

  “Yay! Kenna and Carly are here!”

  “Good to see you again!”

  The immediate welcome from the three women made Kenna smile even wider. It reminded her of the old television show Cheers, where everyone always greeted Norm when he walked into the bar.

  Kenna waved at everyone. “Hi! You guys remember Carly, right?”

  “How could we forget the best waitress ever?” Elodie said with a grin.

  “And this is Ashlyn. She works with me at Food For All,” Lexie said.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Kenna said politely.

  “Same. I’ve heard a lot about you from Lexie,” Ashlyn said.

  “You can put your purses down over there,” Lexie said, pointing to a table along one of the walls where their own bags were sitting. “Then we’ll get to work.”

  “What are we doing today?” Kenna asked as she headed for the table.

  “The taskmaster has quite the list,” Ashlyn quipped.

  “Shut it,” Lexie said, throwing a balled-up piece of paper at her friend.

  Everyone laughed.

  Kenna had a feeling today was going to be a ton of fun. She needed this. Needed to connect with women outside of work.

  Hearing the door open once more, Kenna turned to see a man entering the space. He was tall, fairly skinny, and had long, dishevel
ed hair. His lips were moving as if he was talking to himself, but no words were audible. He stared at the floor as he stopped near the door. He carried a large bag, which was full of empty tin cans, and his clothes were tattered and worn.

  Kenna waited for Lexie or Ashlyn to tell the man that they weren’t open yet, but instead, Lexie greeted the man by name as she approached.

  “Hi, Theo. Did you sleep okay last night?”

  He nodded but didn’t pick his head up or answer verbally.

  “Good. You think you can be happy here instead of being downtown?”

  At that, Theo looked up for the first time. He stared at Lexie as if she hung the moon. “I like my bed. And my place. It’s quiet. And there’s a park nearby. With trees.”

  “You like trees, don’t you?” Lexie asked gently.

  Theo looked back down at his feet and nodded once more.

  “Good. We’re just getting started in here. You can stay if you want.”

  “Stay,” Theo mumbled under his breath.

  Ashlyn startled Kenna when she spoke quietly from right next to her. Kenna hadn’t even heard her approach. “Theo helped save her life. Lexie would do anything for him. He’s protective of her in his own way. When she knew she’d be working down here, she couldn’t bear to leave him downtown. She asked if he wanted to come over here and he agreed. She arranged for a one-room studio apartment for him, and he seems to be doing really well so far.”

  Kenna didn’t know the details of Lexie’s story, and was extremely curious as to what happened and how this previously homeless man had saved her new friend’s life, but now wasn’t the time or place to ask about it.

  Theo shuffled over to a small table in the corner and sat on a chair, making sure his bag was between his feet, as if he thought one of the women might try to take it from him. Kenna didn’t take offense. If she’d been homeless, she supposed she’d be paranoid about someone stealing her stuff too.

  Lexie walked over to a cooler and pulled out a bottle of water. She brought it over to Theo and left it on the table without a word. Then she turned to the women and said, “Okay, so Elodie wants to set up the back room so we can get the boxed lunch program underway quickly. It’ll involve moving some of the shelves the guys brought in yesterday. We also need to sweep this place, clean the bathroom, unstack the tables and chairs, and generally make everything look as inviting and welcoming as possible.”

  Ashlyn groaned and bent over with a hand on her back as if she were a hundred years old.

  Everyone laughed.

  “And while I love the brightness of the room, it’s a little…stark. I thought before we unpacked or cleaned, we could paint the walls. I wanted to do a colorful mural like the ones in Kakaako.”

  “What’s that?” Carly asked.

  “It’s a neighborhood between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. It used to be an industrial ghost town with mostly auto body shops and old warehouses. But a bunch of local artists used the old buildings as their canvases and as a result, it revived the area. There are a bunch of breweries and other businesses there now, and there’s even a monthly food truck gathering.”

  “How come I didn’t know about this?” Kenna asked no one in particular.

  “Because you have no reason to really drive through there?” Elodie suggested.

  “I do now,” Kenna said. “I’m gonna look it up and Carly and I will go through on our way back to Waikiki.”

  “Awesome,” Ashlyn said with a smile.

  “So…who’s gonna draw this mural, Lexie? Because I don’t have a lick of artistic ability, and I don’t think you do either,” Elodie said.

  “Count me out,” Ashlyn chimed in.

  “I don’t suppose either of you is an artist?” Lexie asked Kenna and Carly.

  “Sorry, I’m not,” Kenna said.

  “I can’t even draw a straight line,” Carly agreed.

  “Well, shoot. There goes my grand idea,” Lexie said with a sigh.

  “I can draw.”

  All five women turned to look at Theo. He was still sitting at the table, looking down at the top of it, drawing imaginary circles with his finger in the light dust covering the surface.

  Lexie walked over to him and crouched next to his chair. “You can draw, Theo?”

  He nodded.

  Lexie turned and gestured to Elodie. “Will you bring me a piece of paper and a pen?”

  Elodie rushed over to the table with their purses on it and grabbed a piece of paper out of a folder, bringing it over to Theo and Lexie.

  Kenna watched with interest as Lexie turned back to her unconventional friend and put the supplies on the table in front of him. “Can you draw me something?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe the ocean, with a pretty beach, some buildings off to the left and a mountain.”

  “Like Diamond Head?” Theo asked, looking up at her.

  “Yes, exactly! And maybe a bright rainbow in there somewhere too. Everyone likes rainbows. They’re happy.”

  Theo nodded and bent over the paper.

  Lexie stood and backed away from the table, giving Theo room to do his thing.

  “Do you really think he can draw?” Carly whispered as Lexie came back over to where the women were standing.

  “I sure as hell hope so. Otherwise the walls are gonna be super boring in here,” Lexie said. “We don’t have the money to hire an artist right now.”

  “We could ask Aleck,” Elodie suggested.

  Kenna blinked in surprise at the seemingly out-of-the-blue statement.

  “We could,” Lexie agreed. “But he’s already donated so much, I hate to ask for anything else.”

  “He can afford it,” Elodie said nonchalantly.

  “I know, but I don’t want to take advantage. Especially if I need to hit him up for help with something else later.”

  Elodie and Ashlyn nodded in agreement, but Kenna just looked at Carly in confusion.

  Elodie caught the look and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Kenna shrugged. “I guess I’m just confused about why you’ve singled out Marshall to donate money.”

  “He’s loaded,” Lexie said casually, already unstacking chairs. “You’d never know it by looking at him or talking to him. He’s one of the most down-to-earth millionaires I’ve ever met. I swear I’m not taking advantage of him though. That’s why I wouldn’t ask him to pay for an artist to come in and paint a mural on the wall. He’s been more than generous as it is.”

  Kenna was still stuck on the first part of what she’d said, struggling to wrap her mind around the fact that Marshall was a millionaire.

  “You didn’t know? I’m sorry if we let the cat out of the bag,” Elodie said gently. “He doesn’t go around bragging about the fact his parents made a ton of money in real estate and set up a trust fund for him.”

  “And he’s even paying them back for his penthouse at Coral Springs too. He told us they bought it as a vacation place, but when he was stationed here, they insisted he move in. They switched it over to his name and everything,” Lexie explained.

  Kenna froze completely at hearing where Marshall lived.

  God, she was an idiot.

  No wonder it had been so easy to get onto the private beach. Marshall freaking lived there. And he hadn’t said a word.

  Humiliation swept over her like an ocean tide.

  And just like that, the best date she’d had in her entire life was tainted.

  Carly obviously saw how upset she was, though she didn’t know why. She put her hand on Kenna’s arm in support.

  Kenna knew she should say something, but she was still processing the fact that in all the conversations they’d had, Marshall hadn’t said one word about being rich. It stung. Bad.

  She was saved from the awkward silence by Theo saying, “Done.”

  Everyone’s attention turned to him as he put the pen down on the table. Lexie walked back over and picked up the piece of paper. Her shock was easy to see on her face.

/>   “Can you draw this again? But on the wall? Really big?” she asked him.

  Theo nodded.

  Kenna turned to the women with a huge smile on her face. “Looks like we found our artist,” she said.

  Elodie and Ashlyn cheered and rushed over to see what Theo had drawn. Carly took the chance to ask Kenna quietly, “You okay?”

  “No,” she replied honestly. “But I’m not going to think about that right now. We’ve got stuff to do and I want to get to know everyone here. I can’t do that and think about how Marshall lied to me.”

  Carly frowned. “Okay, but I’m here if you want to talk.”

  “Thanks,” Kenna said. “That means a lot.”

  Carly nodded and pulled Kenna toward Theo and his drawing. She went willingly, wanting to put what she’d just learned about Marshall out of her mind. It was too hurtful to dwell on right now.

  The rest of the morning and early afternoon went by quickly. Elodie ordered lunch for all of them and they pigged out on burgers, French fries, and malasadas for dessert. Theo turned out to be amazingly talented. He might have a mental disability and questionable hygiene, but it certainly didn’t affect his artistic talent. He finished drawing the beach scene on the wall and they all got a good start on painting it in by the time Kenna and Carly had to leave.

  Since Carly had to work that night, she needed to get home so she could change and drive to Duke’s for her shift. They hadn’t gotten a ton of work done on organizing the space, but Kenna was thrilled with how well everyone got along. Elodie and Lexie were just as fun as they had been the night they came to Duke’s.

  Kenna heard abbreviated stories of both their dramas, and was suitably horrified. She wasn’t all that surprised to hear how Marshall and his SEAL team banded together to rescue the women. She also couldn’t help but be interested in hearing about the missions they were on when they’d met Elodie and Lexie in the first place. It was hard to visualize Marshall in full-on SEAL mode, but she had a feeling it would be impressive.

  Hearing about Marshall and his friends was also a little painful. It reminded her of his deception. It didn’t help when Lexie went on and on about the ocean view from his penthouse condo at Coral Springs.