by Tara Lain
“Thank you, ma’am. Please tell Katie good-bye for me. And the girls.” Genevieve had put her kids to bed earlier, since the stress of the event had taken it out of everyone.
“I will, dear. We all loved meeting you.”
Lani waved and followed Aliki and Kai out the door.
Rand stood, and the detective followed. “I didn’t mean to offend him. It’s just that Mrs. Orwell tells me you’re afraid of heights, and you obviously overcame that fear to save Mr. Kealoha’s life.”
“I felt—feel responsible for putting him and the children in harm’s way.” He shrugged. “Plus, we never know what we’ll do until the moment comes.” He shook the guy’s hand, turned, and gave Mrs. Orwell and Genevieve big hugs.
Genevieve hugged him back. “I don’t know how we’ll ever thank you, but Mama will find a way.” She smiled.
Mrs. Orwell touched his arm. “Remember what I said about this vacation. Very important. Pay attention. I wish I could fly back with you, just to hold your hand.”
“I do too.” He managed a smile.
“One way to avoid the flight is to stay.” She grinned.
“Everything I love is back there, Mrs. O.”
She cocked her head. “No. Not by a long shot.”
He took a breath, let it out slowly, kissed her cheek, and walked out into the twilight.
Aliki and Lani were leaning against each other in the back seat, and Aliki was already breathing deeply against his sister’s shoulder. Kai gazed out the passenger window as Rand started the car and pulled away, waving toward Mrs. O. and Genevieve on the porch.
Okay, so a tense mood in the car. “How long will it take us to get back?”
Kai glanced over, then returned to his brood out the window. “It’s normally a couple hours, but we have to go slow at night.”
“I’m sorry my first exposure to the Hana Road is in the dark.”
“You should fill up the tank in Paia. There’s a place up there.” He pointed up the road but didn’t look at Rand.
Rand turned in to the station and got out. By the time he filled up, both kids seemed asleep. He stared at Kai’s back. “Where to?”
Kai pointed. “That way. Once we get out of town, there’re no choices.”
“Okay.”
He kept driving in silence until the road narrowed and darkened. He pressed on the high beams and sat up straighter. Might as well go for it. “I’m really sorry I put you and the kids in danger.”
“You didn’t put us in danger. Nobody could have known what would happen.” But the edge in his voice didn’t sound forgiving.
“Still, I’m sorry.”
They rode for a while in silence. Uncomfortable silence. Rand watched the road closely—narrow and winding. On the left, moonlight shone off the water, while ahead, unexpected bridges, all one-lane, would crop up. He’d stop, wait to be sure no one was coming the other way, then move across them.
Kai glanced toward him. “Want me to drive? I know this road better.”
“Uh, sure.” He drove a few more yards until a small turnout on the right appeared in his headlights. He pulled over and stopped the car. At the last second, he turned it off and got out to the sound of rushing water.
Kai exited the passenger seat and started around the front of the car. Rand came up beside him. “What’s that noise?”
“Waterfall. Most of the turnouts are near them so people can stop and take pictures.”
“Where is it?”
Kai pointed behind him. Rand walked a few feet until a railing signaled he’d better stop. He pulled out his phone, found the flashlight app, and turned it on, shining it toward the water sounds. “Wow. Pretty.” Water tumbled down the sides of a rocky cliff, surrounded by bushes, flowers, and trees. “It’s like a jungle back here.”
“That’s because it is a jungle.”
“So different from Hana.” He took a deep breath. “Why are you pissed?”
Rand heard Kai exhale even over the sound of the falling water. “I’m not pissed.” He stared toward the waterfall.
“Yeah, you are. I’m really sorry you ended up hanging off a flagpole.”
“Not your fault, and you did a pretty damned good job of risking your balls to rescue me.”
“Then shouldn’t you be kissing me instead of treating me like I killed your dog?”
“Don’t have a dog, and it’s complicated.”
“Tell me the fuck about it.” Rand leaned on the railing. “Is it so complicated I should plan to leave tomorrow?”
Pause.
“Okay. I get it.” He stood. “I’ll call first thing in the morning and try to get a flight. Not sure if I’ll be able to get gone in one day, but I’ll try.”
Kai turned to him. “Look, if it was just me, I’d tell you to stay and the fuck with what people think or say. But it’s not. It’s the kids. We’ve got the hots for each other, and people notice it.” He shrugged. “What fun is there in being on your vacation and having to pretend we’re just cowboy buddies all the time? And I’ve got to live here after you’re gone.”
“I get it.” Liar. He sucked in some breath. “Aliki is what, ten? So you’re going to be Mr. Straight Macho Cowboy Dude until he’s eighteen? Twenty-one?”
That was no frown. That was a scowl. “Yeah, so how many people know you’re gay, Mr. Owner of a bed and breakfast you call a ranch?”
“I know. Pots. Kettles.”
“What?”
“Never mind. I guess we just should have met in some other lifetime.” He turned because his eyes started to water. “Let’s get back so I can pack.” Rand climbed in the passenger seat, put his head back, and closed his eyes. If someone took a power drill and pushed it into his chest, he couldn’t hurt worse. What the fuck? A few hours ago, I could have died in the way I fear most, but that seems like an easy canter compared to—right now. Why is that? His head fell to the side. I don’t want to know.
Kai pulled up in front of their house and glanced at the three sleeping bodies in the car. Just as well. I’m crappy company. Rand looked peaceful and oh so beautiful sleeping. So different than his face hanging upside down from a balcony, ready to fall to his fucking death trying to save Kai. How in the hell did I let my life get this complicated?
He pushed open the driver’s door, reached into the back seat, and pulled out Aliki. Dead weight, he barely fluttered his eyes as Kai carried him to the front door, flicked on a light, then took him back to his bedroom, deposited him in bed, pulled off his flip-flops and covered him. On to bigger challenges.
By the time he got outside, Lani had roused enough to get herself out of the car and stagger toward the house. He grinned. “Need help getting in?”
She shook her head and kept going straight until she disappeared in the front door.
Kai stared through the passenger window at Rand, who leaned against it, his lashes making crescent shapes on his cheeks in the moonlight. If Kai opened the door, Rand would fall out.
“Oh man.” Kai took a breath and walked around to the driver side, slid in, and gently shook Rand’s powerful shoulder. One of the shoulders that had saved Kai’s life. “Hey, brah, time to wake up.” Yeah, I should have woken up sooner and never let this thing get so far, but you’re fucking hard to resist.
Rand’s eyelids flipped open, then closed again.
“Don’t go back to sleep, Rand. You need to drive to the guest house.”
“Oh, what?” His blue eyes appeared, and his lashes fluttered. “Right. Drive.” He sat up abruptly, almost hitting Kai in the chin.
A knock on the window made Kai look up. Lani waved on the other side of the car. She opened the door. “He’s too tired to drive, Kai. I made up the couch for him. Bring him inside.”
“No, he should go home.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I’m too tired to argue. Bring him in.” She turned and walked away. He snorted. Leave it to his twelve-year-old mother. Rand’s eyes had closed again. “Okay, you win.” He got out,
closed the driver door, walked to the passenger side, and began the work of hauling that big body out of the car—a big body he’d like to take straight to his bedroom and do X-rated things to all night. What? Almost dying makes you horny? Apparently the answer was yes.
As he slid Rand’s arm around his neck and walked him toward the house, the heat and sweetness of him seeped into his skin——heat Kai would never get to feel again.
Rand opened an eye. Whispers and smells. Where am I? He opened the other eye and watched Lani and Aliki tiptoeing around the kitchen, making what smelled deliciously like breakfast.
Hmmm. Wearing my jeans. Check. Nothing else. Probably okay. He sat up as he said, “Can I help you with that?”
Lani made a little eep sound, then laughed. “Sure. How do you like your eggs?”
“Cooked.” He spied his shirt lying on the arm of the chair, so he slipped it on but left it open—the pits could use a little wash before he buttoned up—then pulled on his boots over the socks he was still wearing. “Man, I really conked out.”
“Hanging fifty feet in the air will do that to you.”
Aliki grinned over his shoulder. “You were so rad, brah.”
He wiped a hand over his neck. “Thanks, but it’s a sport I can definitely give up.” Standing, he glanced down the hall. “I’ll help you right after I use the bathroom, okay?”
“No hurry.” Lani seemed to have everything under control—as usual. “I left some clean towels for you on the table in the hall.”
“Thank you.” He walked down the hall, saw the towels, grabbed them, and opened the bathroom door—Holy blessed shit! Kai stood in the middle of the floor stark naked, towel poised in one hand, mouth open, and erect cock in his other hand.
No thought. Rand dropped the towels as he closed the door and flipped the lock, then took two steps to Kai, grabbed his long wet hair tight in one hand, and his long wet cock in the other. Yanking his head back, he covered Kai’s mouth with his own and shoved his tongue inside as he started to pump like a Texas oil drill.
Kai pressed two hands against Rand’s bare chest for two seconds, then slid them around his back and thrust his hips up into Rand’s hand. “Yes. Just. Like. That. Do it fucking fast, cowboy. Unh. Unh.”
“Were you in the shower thinking of me?” His hand cranked like an As-Seen-on-TV ad for an arm toner.
“Shit yes. All I want is this cock in your ass, fucking you till we die.”
“What a way to go.” He increased the speed and the pressure, gritting his teeth and staring at Kai’s wide, panting lips.
“Unh. Unh. Close. Unh.” His head fell back, tendons in his neck standing out, looking like the Silent Scream as jets of cum shot from the bright-red tip of his penis. Splat. Three hits to the tile wall.
As Kai gasped, Rand fell to his knees and licked his softening cock clean. He gazed up. “Have to be tidy.”
Kai sucked big breaths until his panting stopped. “I’ve gotta get out of here before the kids realize we’re in here together.”
“Yeah. Got that.” Rand stood as Kai wiped the towel over himself, wrapped it around his lean hips, and started for the door. He stopped, staring at the floor but not turning to look at Rand. “Thanks. That was great. You’re great.” He opened the door and left.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Rand sighed and clicked the lock.
Chapter Sixteen
An hour later, they all sat laughing at the table as waffles and fruit magically appeared, compliments of Lani with a little assistance from Aliki. Rand chewed appreciatively. Kai might have more reservations about him than a Las Vegas hotel, but the kids wanted him to stay and were buttering him up—literally.
“Can we do another riding lesson tomorrow, Uncle Rand?” Aliki ate his waffle by hand.
“Well, I might have to go home early, so I’m not sure.” He glanced at Kai, then back at his waffles as Aliki moaned loudly.
“No, you said you’d stay until New Year’s. That’s not for a long time.”
“Only three more days.”
“Why can’t you live here?”
“I have a ranch and customers and employees and horses to take care of.”
Only the horses part seemed to make any impression. “Can’t your employees feed the horses?”
Kai looked up. “Enough, Aliki. Rand said he has to go back. Appreciate all the fun he’s given you.”
“I do.” He shoved his waffle around his plate.
Rand wanted to say Aliki appreciated him a lot more than Kai did, but he shut up.
“I really loved my lessons, Uncle Rand.” Lani smiled, but her smiles conveyed more sadness than people who sobbed into their sleeves.
“I’m glad, Lani.” Shit, I need to get out of here before my fucking heart breaks. He carried his plate to the sink.
The rap on the door made him drop the ceramic dish, but it didn’t break. He turned just in time to see Lani flash a panicked glance at Kai and run for the back of the house. Aliki looked equally worried, but he kind of hunched up and folded in on himself. Kai’s chest rose as if he took a deep breath; then he stood and walked to the door.
Through the door that Kai opened, Rand could see a middle-aged woman standing on the porch. Kai said, “Hi. How can I help you?”
The voice was a little muffled, but she said something about Aliki. The kid looked up with huge eyes. Rand walked to the table and started gathering the dishes. Casually he carried them back to the counter as if he did this every day.
Kai said something, then opened the door farther and stepped back. The woman wore a long skirt, flat and kind of sensible shoes for Hawaii, and a gray jacket over her white blouse. She walked a few paces into the room, glanced around, and smiled. “Hello, Aliki. How are you?”
“Uh hello. Who are you?”
“I’m Mrs. Guthrie, a member of the staff from the school district. Your teacher Mrs. Bryoni asked me to come. I came by yesterday, but no one was here. Sorry to disturb your vacation, but you’ve been hard to reach.” She smiled a bit tightly.
Kai nodded toward the couch. “Oh, well, we’re sorry to disturb your vacation.” Talk about smiles not getting anywhere near your eyes. “Please sit down. Can I offer you some coffee? We just finished breakfast.”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
Aliki’s natural enthusiasm couldn’t keep contained for long. “Yesterday my brother and my Uncle Rand took us to Makawao, and we saw art and learned to line dance and all kinds of cool stuff. Oh, and I had donuts on a stick.”
“How nice. That must have been a very cultural experience.” She accepted the coffee from Kai, then looked up with a tight smile. “You must be Uncle Rand.”
Rand nodded and crossed the space, extending his hand. “Randall McIntyre, ma’am.” He glanced at Kai. Some twitch in that handsome face conveyed a world of caution and plain old fear. “I’m the kids’ riding teacher—and friend.”
Aliki opened his mouth, then smiled so big craters pinched in his cheeks.
She nodded. “I see. Do you live in Hana, Mr. McIntyre?”
“No. I’m a ranch owner in Chico, California, ma’am. I don’t get away as much as I’d like, but I took some vacation, and I’m visiting until New Year’s.”
“I see.” She glanced at the covers bunched at the end of the couch.
Rand grinned. Show her the dimples. “I’ve been staying at the Hana Maui, but after our drive of the infamous road last evening, I conked out, and Aliki was kind enough to cover me up.” That’s right, lady, it’s all about me and the kids. Kai was hardly even there. He gazed at her like a snake charmer, planting the seeds of belief.
“I hear that’s a very beautiful hotel.”
“Yes, it is. Wonderful food as well.”
“So you know Mrs. Kahele?”
“Not really well. Her illness and all.”
She looked at Kai. “Yes, I understand she’s quite ill.”
He nodded. “Coronary heart disease.”
“I�
��m sorry to hear it.”
Lani walked out from the back hall. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Aliki’s sister, Lani.”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard you’re quite an excellent student.” She sipped her coffee.
“Both my mother and my brother have emphasized the importance of education.”
Rand leaned against the sink and looked around at Kai, Lani, and Aliki all giving this woman the biggest, most practiced line of pure bullshit he’d ever heard. Fortunately, the woman didn’t seem to realize it.
“I’d very much like to talk with your mother.”
Hmm, maybe she realizes more than she shows.
Lani wiped a hand over her eyes. Great dramatic touch. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible, but Kai supervises Aliki’s studies, so I’m sure you can talk with him.”
The lady looked at Lani for one beat too long, then turned to Kai. “Perhaps you can come to the school when we resume next week?”
“I’d be happy to, ma’am.”
“How old are you, Kai?” Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Twenty-three.”
“A lot of responsibility for a young man—siblings to care for along with a sick mother.”
“She’s been ill for some time. I’m used to it.” The curve of his lips was all the warmth she got from that direct gaze.
“You’re their half brother, as I understand it.”
Lani looked at Kai with love. “Kai has been our brother for our entire lives. There’s nothing half about it.”
Mrs. Guthrie set the coffee cup on the rickety table. “Thank you for the coffee.” She stood. “I understand you’ll be visiting Mrs. Bryoni next week, Kai.”
“Yes, ma’am. I hope Aliki’s doing well.” Kai glanced at Aliki, who gave him a cheeky grin.
“Yes. I’m told he’s a decent student, if a wiggly one. We may want to discuss some strategies for his hyperactivity.” She gave a tight smile.
Rand frowned. “Forgive me, Mrs. Guthrie, but I spend a lot of time with Aliki and I personally think his brand of hyperactivity is called enthusiasm and imagination.”
“Yes, well. There are limits to what a classroom can bear. Thank you all again.” She walked to the door, and Kai stepped over and opened it. She sailed out. Lani grabbed the door from Kai’s hand before he could slam it and pushed it softly closed.