by Toby Neal
Terence set his cup down on the table. “I hope you will support me in taking the company in a different direction. There’s a board meeting in an hour.”
“And how glad I am that I wasn’t at that last meeting,” Grace said.
Terence closed his mouth on the impulse to apologize.
He’d killed one of her sons, his wife, one of her grandsons and a niece—and this morning they’d had the news of Akane’s death, too. She had no more living family from that son. How could he ever apologize?
“It didn’t have to go down that way,” Terence said instead.
“I agree with you about that.” Grace set down her cup, but her age-spotted hands still held it tightly as if seeking warmth. “You surprised all of us that day, Terence, by showing that you have what it takes to lead. However, I want you to know…you won’t be leading this family alone.” She reached in the capacious pocket of her hibiscus-patterned muumuu and withdrew a cell phone. She tapped the screen and held the phone up for Terence to see.
An oddly angled video began to play, and Terence jerked in shock as he recognized himself, seated at the head of the plastic-covered conference table. Someone had videoed the whole massacre! Emma was supposed to have collected all the cell phones, but clearly one had been missed.
Aunty Grace turned the video off when it reached the point where Terence drew his pistol. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t play the section where you murder my family. I’ve already seen it too many times.”
Terence blew out a shaky breath. “I’m truly sorry, Aunty Grace.” If it made him weak to apologize, if it made her angrier to hear his feeble words—there was nothing more to lose, at this point. She had a video of him committing murder!
“I’ve had long enough to think about this situation from all angles. To consider your track record, and to think about how you set up that meeting and what you did there. I concluded that you did what you did because you could not see Akane take the lead in the family. Sad as it is for me to admit, you are not the only one who knew that Akane’s leadership would ultimately be the end of us, and my son would always have backed him. If you hadn’t taken steps, I would have.” Grace set the phone down. “I accept that you didn’t want to kill my son and his family. That you took no pleasure in it. That you may not want to lead Chang Enterprises, even now—but that you are the best person to do so. I accept all of that.” She raised her eyes to meet his, and they were so dark he couldn’t see a pupil in their obsidian depths. “But hear this, nephew. I accept, but I will never forget. This video is stored in the Cloud and will be sent to the police if you ever cross me. I will be your silent partner in every major Chang Enterprises decision going forward.” She took a sip of tea, and her hands were perfectly steady. “Do we understand each other?”
“We do.” Terence picked up his teacup and lifted it in toast, hoping that his hand didn’t shake either. “I will benefit greatly from your wisdom, Aunty.”
Terence looked around the long koa table in the conference room at the downtown warehouse of Chang Enterprises, Inc. All of the remaining family members had gathered for the first board meeting since his hostile takeover.
“I don’t see any plastic on the floor,” his cousin Leo Chang said. “That’s the only reason I came all the way into the room.” A nervous titter from the rest of the group met this sally.
“Those ugly days are behind us,” Terence said. “I hope everyone is with me, going forward, now that we’ve cleared out the negative elements.”
“And you’re not the negative element?” Penny Chang, his PR manager cousin, was a known Akane sympathizer. “You seem like one to me, what with the mass murder of family members and all.”
Another edgy titter. Emma, stationed by the exit, picked up a shotgun leaning against the wall and racked it with a harsh sound. She’d been elected peacekeeper for the day and was dressed like a dominatrix in black leather and high-heeled boots.
“I never wanted things to go down the way they did,” Terence said. “But you all know what Akane was. The transition after Byron has been rough, but believe me when I tell you, I am the lesser of two evils.”
“And if that was all you were, Terence…” Aunty Grace spoke up. “But I think you are much more than the lesser of evils.”
There were several ways that statement could be interpreted.
Terence held his breath. His hand slid down and his fingers curled around the grip of a pistol taped to the table’s underside. He’d walked in with the rest of the family and ostentatiously surrendered his phone and weapons, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken out some insurance beforehand.
“You are much more than a lesser choice of any kind. You are smart, college-educated, and a successful businessman in your own right. You are what we need to take this company and this family out of the shadows, the back alleys, the corner drug deals—and bring us into the light.” Grace looked around the table, her dark eyes boring into each person. “I look forward to a day when the Changs not only own the Big Island, we run it—from legitimate positions of power as elected county officials, on advisory boards, and as majority shareholders in growing businesses. I look forward to a day when we can stop hiding, ashamed that we run gambling and whores and make meth. We’re better than that! And with Terence leading us, we can do more and be more.” She took a sip of water. “No one lost more than I did at that last board meeting. And if I can get past the death of my son and his family to see the bigger picture, you can too. Besides, I’ll be right beside Terence, making sure he does this right.” Aunty Grace smacked a hand down on the table emphatically, and everyone jumped.
A loud murmur that definitely had a positive tone filled the room as the family processed this.
Terence inclined his head to Grace. “I will do all that I can to earn your confidence. Now, if each of you will direct your attention to the agenda? It’s been updated since our last meeting, and we have a number of items to go over.”
Aunty Grace’s clout had steamrolled the last of the resistance. Terence and the family got down to new business.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sophie woke to the hairy warmth and rumbling snores of Ginger and Tank, taking up half of the bed. She rolled over to look out through the sliding glass doors at dawn coming up across the smooth glass of early morning Hilo Bay. Birds were waking in the banyan tree outside, and the last of the coqui frog chorus was dying down as morning lit the sky. She pillowed her cheek on her hands, gratitude and well-being filling her.
She was sleeping without blackout drapes. The depression was better, at least temporarily. And she was going to have a baby, a child of her own to love.
She’d returned late in the evening yesterday from her appointment with Dr. Wilson to find the dogs in her apartment, and a note from Jake: “Took them out for a walk and they’ve been fed. Please call me as soon as you’re ready to talk.”
Sophie had already decided that she wasn’t going to be ready to talk until she knew the baby’s paternity; whatever conclusion they might come to before that might be changed by that news.
Maybe it was time to call the clinic instead of just waiting for an email.
She’d gone to bed early after a simple meal of canned soup, and this morning her tummy was growling with hunger, not morning sickness. “Let’s go for a run, dogs, and I’ll take you out to breakfast.”
It wasn’t long before Sophie, Ginger, and Tank were jogging through the park. Sophie felt good today: energetic, strong. The faint sting of the bald patch on her scalp rubbing against the inside of her ball cap was the only reminder of recent ugly events.
And today, she wasn’t going to focus on ugly events. She was going to enjoy running with her dogs in the park and feeling good for once.
Sophie remembered that first glimpse of the tiny shape on the sonogram and felt that excitement and anticipation all over again. She was going to be a mother! She was still glad about this unexpected miracle, even with all its challenges.
&
nbsp; What names would be good? Dad would have ideas. Perhaps something that harked back to her grandparents, gone too soon in a flu epidemic when her father was young.
What would it be like to hold her baby? To feed it?
Some things seemed impossible to imagine, even as worries crowded in—how could she work, and provide care for an infant?
Too many questions. Not enough answers. Worrying wouldn’t solve anything; it just stole any happiness she could have now.
“A useless emotion. Like guilt,” Sophie murmured aloud, remembering Connor telling her not to bother with useless emotions.
Sophie tied the dogs to a post outside the same modest restaurant where she and Alika had eaten breakfast not long ago; she still remembered telling him about her relationship with Jake, and later finding him doing a martial arts routine alone in the alley.
So many things had happened since then.
Sophie got a table right next to the window and fetched water in a bowl for the dogs, before settling in to eat a hearty breakfast, thankful that her digestive system was cooperating.
On the way back to her apartment, walking through the park, she called the clinic on Oahu that was performing the paternity test. The clerk on call established her identity, and then passed her on to one of the technicians.
“Hello, Ms. Ang. Yes, I’m glad to hear from you. I was just putting together your report and getting ready to contact you.”
Sophie’s heart pounded and she put her hand on her chest, drawing a deep breath. “Please do get that report into the mail for me. But, since I have you on the phone, do you mind giving me the information now?”
“Certainly.” Keys clicked as the woman worked her computer. “The results came in with a 98% probability that Alika Wolcott is the father of your child.”
“Thank you,” Sophie said faintly, and ended the call.
Chapter Forty
Alika was working with his physical therapist, learning to tie a shoelace one-handed.
“Be patient. Make a loop. Pin the lace to your shoe with your thumb. Use your fingers to circle the lace around and through the loop.”
“I can just get Velcro shoes,” Alika grumbled.
Sandy Pitman, his physical therapist, quirked a brow. “You never know when you’ll have to tie something.”
Alika kept swinging his stump arm forward. He could still feel the arm as if it were there, could not stop the impulse of his ghost hand from trying to assist. The fingers of his right hand fumbled and felt too large for the task, but he’d just seen the PT perform it one-handed, so it could be done.
Alika persisted, but finally, when he tugged on the tail of the lace, the whole thing melted into a tangle. He swore. “This shouldn’t be so freakin’ hard. A kid can do this. I want to punch something.”
“We’ll get to the punching bag later. Your reward for getting this figured out.” The attractive female PT had been in Iraq, and she was missing both legs from the knees down. Alika couldn’t even grumble that the woman didn’t understand his struggle, his anger, the way even the simplest things that a child could perform had become difficult challenges—when watching Sandy arrange herself to stand gave him a zing of compassion.
Alika’s phone, stashed in the loose pocket of his workout shorts, vibrated. He didn’t usually answer it during therapy, but he needed a break. “Excuse me.”
He straightened up and walked away, feeling a flicker of gratitude that he could still do that, that at least his legs were strong and whole. “Alika here.”
“Alika, it’s Sophie. I have news about the paternity test.” Sophie’s voice was flat, uninflected.
Alika froze. Trust Sophie to cut to the chase without even a greeting!
Sophie’s pregnancy news had been too difficult to assimilate in the midst of his personal turmoil; he’d managed to compartmentalize it and put it out of his mind. The only thing he’d been really clear on when Sophie visited was that, while he’d always care for her as a friend, he wasn’t “in love” with her since the bomb had blown them apart.
He felt bad he’d almost forgotten about the situation. “Are you all right? Feeling okay?”
“I am fine.” She paused. “And you’re the father.”
“What?” Alika put his ghost arm out to grab the wall and ended up crashing into it. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m afraid not. The clinic says it’s a 98% probability that we’re having a child together.” Sophie sounded stiff, wooden, how she got when she was struggling or uncomfortable. “But like I told you. You aren’t obligated. This is my baby and I’ll raise it and care for it myself.”
A powerful wave of emotion blasted through Alika at those words. “No way are you shutting me out.”
Not like his dad had done to his mom, refusing even to acknowledge that Alika was his son. This was a chance to do things the way he wished they’d been done for him. The irony that Alika had accidentally fathered a child, when he’d so hated being a bastard himself, made him rub his eyes, overwhelmed.
Sophie drew a shuddering breath. “Are you telling me you want to be involved?”
“Hell yes. What do you need? Say the word. Want to stay here, at my house? My family and I would love to have you. I showed you the room you and the baby can have.” Alika straightened up from the wall. “We’re doing this together. I might only have one arm, but that arm can still hold a baby.”
Sophie sniffed audibly. “I appreciate that. I don’t need anything, but I do need someone to talk over all the decisions I have to make. Like what kind of doctor to get, and what kind of delivery to have.” Her voice trailed off. “There’s a lot to learn.”
“I admit I’m no expert on pregnancy and parenting. I’ll have to get some books and read up on it. But I’ll do whatever I can to help and support you.”
“Thanks, Alika. It’s been hard dealing with this alone.”
“Jake? He’s not…there for you?” It felt awkward to ask Sophie about her relationship with the man she’d chosen over him—but it didn’t even sting this time. Hopefully, Jake would step up. Sophie needed someone to love on her through this, and it wasn’t going to be him.
“Jake’s had a hard time with the idea that he might not be the baby’s father. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get past this. You being the father, I mean.” Sophie’s voice wobbled.
“Ah, shit.” Alika waved Sandy away as the PT approached, mouthing “emergency” as he strode to the back door of his home gym. Once outside, he took a restorative look at the beautiful backdrop of Namolokama, Mamaloa, and Hihimanu, the three stunning green mountains that cupped Hanalei Bay in their arms. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I hope you guys can work it out. We never talked about it, but my feelings changed after the bomb.”
“I knew things were different between us when I saw you on Kaua`i. Not that the arm thing mattered to me. It wasn’t that.”
“I know it wasn’t. It was the whole situation.” Alika rubbed his eyes again. “Did you know I had a ring in my pocket when I met you in your dad’s lobby? I was going to ask you to marry me. I thought I’d wait until we were on the elevator and then I’d pop the question when we were alone.” He hadn’t meant to tell her that. Ever. Strangely, it didn’t hurt to do so now.
“Oh, Alika.” Sophie’s voice had gone thick and husky.
“What would you have answered?”
“No. No, I can’t marry you. That’s what I would have said.” Sophie was definitely crying. “I think I’m in love with Jake.”
“And yet here we are. Having a child together.” He sighed. “I’ll still marry you—for the child’s sake. If you want to.”
“No, Alika. But thanks. This is so sad.” The phone line crackled as Sophie sniffled. “I’m in the park with the dogs, sitting on a bench. People are looking at me, and I just want to blow my nose on my shirt.”
“If you were here, I’d give you my best one-armed hug.”
“And I’m sure it’s better than most men’s two-armed hug
s.” She sighed. “I’ll call you, because I’m going to have to pick a delivery team, and I need help with that.”
“You know my number. Tattoo it on your forehead.”
“I don’t think so. Phone numbers change too often.”
Alika laughed. “You crack me up. Always so literal. I’m going to be a dad, Sophie.” Joy bloomed somewhere deep inside him. “I’m going to be a dad!”
“And I’m going to be a mother. It’s still hard to believe, even though I’ve seen the baby on a sonogram. I’ll send you the photo.”
Alika’s heart speeded up at the thought of actually seeing his child. “Is it a girl or a boy?”
“I asked not to know. I want to be surprised. I hope that’s okay.”
“I’d like that, too. And I can’t wait to see the photo.”
A comfortable silence stretched between them. Alika shut his eyes, feeling the warm breeze, listening to the rattle of the coconut palm fronds, the shush of the wind in the bamboo landscaping around the pool. His mom and grandma were going to go apeshit with excitement. They wouldn’t care that he and Sophie weren’t together as long as everyone was getting along and the baby was healthy. “I want you and Jake to work things out. Tell Jake that from me, will you?”
“I wish I didn’t have to tell him this news,” Sophie whispered. “I don’t know how he’s going to take it.”
“I want you to be happy, but if Jake can’t see how lucky he is, then we’re better off without him.”
“I’m happy about the baby, regardless,” Sophie said.
“Me too. Let’s do this. Let’s figure out how to be parents.”
Chapter Forty-One
After the phone call to Alika, Sophie sent Jake a brief text message. “We need to talk. Call me ASAP.”