Paradise Wild (Wild At Heart Book 2)

by Christine Hartmann

  “Aloha and welcome to Motivating Monday yoga.”

  The small crowd murmured, “Aloha.”

  Ellie stretched unobtrusively.

  Wish I could sit down.

  “You’re here because you are beautiful, inside and out. You want to embrace all that Maui has to offer. This class will set you on the right path for today and, if you want, for the rest of your life.”

  There was light clapping.

  Ellie suppressed a yawn.

  Wish Denver were here. Her gaze picked a spot on the sand a few feet in front of her. Watching him would motivate me.

  “We’ll start with pigeon pose.”

  Ellie’s mouth fell open as she watched Jacqui drape herself flat over one bent leg. The women near her collapsed onto their mats and beach towels, racing to imitate the instructor, who gave melodious directions without raising her head.

  Ellie pulled her towel to the back of the group and kneeled. She pulled one leg forward, bracing herself with both hands. With effort, she maneuvered a foreleg to the ground. But her body refused to relax on top of it.

  Jacqui moved among the participants, adjusting an arm here, massaging a back there.

  Ellie twisted her neck and looked up at her friend. “My body’s not meant to do this.”

  Jacqui’s eyes sparkled. “It can do anything you want it to.”

  Ellie lowered her voice. “You really believe that?”

  Jacqui’s hands tugged at Ellie’s legs and massaged her shoulders. “It’s my job to believe it. But ask me again after quitting time.”

  Ellie closed her eyes and willed herself to be flexible. “I don’t think this pose looks like a pigeon.” She inspected the group. “We look like dying monkeys.”

  “Wait till you see what we’re doing next.”

  “Oh, joy.” With a dramatic sigh, Ellie dropped over her bent leg. “Hey, I’m doing it. Jacqui, it worked.”

  Her friend patted her on the head. “See. Anything’s possible.”

  After class and a quick shower, Jacqui and Ellie strolled to the hotel entrance. Ellie rolled her head and rubbed her biceps.

  “You do that every morning?”

  Jacqui greeted porters and hotel guests as they passed, emanating a radiance and self-confidence Ellie admired.

  “Five mornings a week.”

  “And do you really believe anybody can do all that stuff. Downward donkey and squirming swan?”

  Jacqui looped her arm through Ellie’s and laughed. “You keep me real, sister.”

  They passed one of the hotel’s huge exotic flower bouquets, a delightful explosion of pinks, whites, greens, and purples. Jacqui disengaged from Ellie, reached in a fluid motion for a hibiscus blossom, broke it off, and put it behind her own ear.

  “It’s okay to do that?” Ellie looked over her shoulder at the display as they kept walking.

  “Everything’s possible, remember?” Jacqui’s long fingers adjusted the ornament in her short hair. “Besides, I’ve got some gray coming in on that side. This covers it up.”

  ***

  Near noon that day, Brandon stood outside a small café on the corner peering at his phone. Ellie tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hey.” He stuffed the phone in his shorts. “See you found it.”

  “Google maps.” Ellie followed him into the dark interior of the tiny restaurant. “I parked up the street a bit. I wanted to walk along the shore.”

  Brandon nodded. “Feel you. Couldn’t get over the palm trees and the water at first either.”

  Ellie looked at a menu written on boards hanging from the wall. “I’m glad there’s not a lot of traffic. Sometimes I’m watching the beach instead of the road.”

  “It’ll get worse. Visitors start coming after Thanksgiving. The roads fill up.”

  They ordered and Ellie waved aside Brandon’s offer to pay for himself.

  “This is an appreciation lunch, remember? You saved me from Noa.”

  He ruffled his hair. “I didn’t do much.”

  “You did plenty.”

  Stools lined white tile counters under an awning. Ellie regarded the brown mound on her plate. Her nose wrinkled.

  “Trust me.” Brandon stuck his fork into an identical heap in front of him. “It’s better than it looks.”

  Thick gravy oozed over a fried egg that cloaked a hamburger patty stacked atop a dense pile of rice. Ellie dipped her fork into the gravy.

  Brandon grinned. “Loco moco’s local. You’ve got to say you tried it.”

  “It’s not bad.” She chopped at the egg. “Heart attack on a plate. But tasty.”

  Stand up paddlers in rash guard tops hauled boards and paddles in and out of the water at the park across the street, where palm trees shaded public bathrooms and gazebos. Cars crawled intermittently by, maintaining the twenty miles per hour speed limit. Sun burned tourists ambled along the sidewalks, with their heads turned toward the ocean.

  Brandon pushed his clean plate from him. “Hate to ask. No more problems with the jerk, right?”

  Ellie shook her head. “I blocked his number.”

  “Good. I know too many like him.”

  Ellie looked at him over her half-eaten burger. “You do?”

  Brandon twisted his napkin around his little finger. “Not here. Back in Seattle.”

  “I thought Seattle was all high tech geeks.”

  “Didn’t hang out with those dudes. My crowd was…tougher.”

  Brandon rubbed his biceps.

  “Is that tattoo from then?” A dark green leaf peeked from the bottom of his sleeve.

  Brandon lifted the arm of his t-shirt.

  Ellie laughed. “Oh, I thought it was a marijuana leaf.”

  “Not impossible. But I got this one later. It’s a kind of maple. Reminds me of home.”

  She grinned. “You’re turning over a new leaf?” Her fork sliced the remaining egg.

  Brandon’s eyebrows sunk over his brown eyes. “Trying. Maui’s making it hard. It’s so fricking expensive. I’m working six days a week. It’s only part-time, sure. But I didn’t think it would be like this. Rent’s killing me. Dude here told me Hawaii rent’s, like, more than double the national average. Wish I’d known that before I arrived.”

  Ellie bit her lip. “I never thought of that. I’ve been so busy pretending I’m rich.”

  “It’s cool. I didn’t mean anything about you. I’d jump at the chance to pretend like that.” The napkin tore and he threw it on his plate. “It’s just my girlfriend’s coming out. And I got to tell her she’d better find a job soon. I used to take care of her. Some ways at least.”

  “Bring her over to the house. I’d like to meet her.” Ellie covered her plate with her napkin. “Now I can’t eat another bite. This—”

  Brandon scowled. “Shit.”

  “No.” She smiled. “It was really pretty good. I’m just—”

  Brandon interrupted. “He’s back.” He pointed to the street.

  Ellie swiveled from her stool just as Noa turned the corner in his truck. He made an illegal U-turn and stopped abruptly across from the café.

  Brandon pulled Ellie’s elbow as she flung money on the table. “Come on. Let’s go.” He held his hand flat to stop approaching cars. They jogged across the street.

  “What you running for, brah?” Noa’s voice carried over the honks that accompanied his own dash through the sparse traffic.

  Brandon shoved Ellie under a tree. “You stay here.” He strolled in Noa’s direction, arms swinging, head to one side. “Hey, Noa. Howzit?”

  The surf on the nearby beach drowned out most of the details of the two men’s conversation, but Ellie strained to hear.

  “…saw you two…kill her.” Noa thrashed his arms wildly, as though fending off bees.

  Brandon stayed still, head still cocked, his gaze even. “Take it easy…”

  The thrashing slowed. “…throwing me over.”

  Brandon’s voice was low and even-tempered. “…all good, d
ude…just friends.”

  “You can have her…” Noa jerked his middle finger at Ellie.

  She shuddered.

  “…don’t push it.” Brandon maneuvered Noa away from Ellie and turned them both to the road. He strode at his side, one hand behind Noa’s back, not quite touching him.

  Ellie watched them part at the curb. Noa wove unsteadily among the cars, climbed into his pickup, gunned the engine, and roared north along the quiet street.

  Ellie threw her arms around Brandon when he approached. “What would have happened if you hadn’t been there?”

  Brandon squeezed her and let go. “Not much. A lot of noise. He was too wasted.”

  Ellie shuddered. “Is he stalking me?”

  “He was driving by and saw us. It was just bad luck.”

  Ellie tramped to a picnic table and sat on her shaking hands. “Was he drunk?”

  “High.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Trust me. I know what it looks like.”

  Ellie shook her head. “A few days ago my biggest problems were geckos and roaches. Now I feel like I should call the police.”

  Brandon perched himself on the table with his legs on the bench. “You can. But I think he’s full of shit.”

  Palm tree fronds rustled overhead, sounding like gentle rain. Waves cascaded against the beige sand. Children screeched, chasing each other across the rough grass. Surfers hosed their boards at a public faucet.

  “This is paradise?” Ellie fought a rising nausea.

  “Yep.” Brandon yanked her from the bench.

  “What are you doing?”

  He schlepped her across the grass. She dragged after him, her sandals slapping a reluctant beat on the turf.

  “Where are we going?”

  He slowed at the sand but kept running. The blue water splashed as he leapt through the shallows. Ellie stumbled after him, giggling.

  “I don’t have a suit on.”

  Brandon splashed water at her with his free hand. “Who cares?”

  A wave rose behind him. She tugged to get away. His grip held her firmly in place.

  “Dive into it.” He suddenly let go and plunged, arms stretched forward, into the body of the wave. Ellie screeched and followed close behind. They emerged farther out, shaking water from their heads and laughing. People on shore clapped.

  Ellie rubbed sparkling water droplets from her eyelashes. “I’m going to get you for this, Brandon.” She sprung toward him with an enormous smile.

  “Have to catch me first.” He kicked away on his back, his sneakered feet visible through the clear water, his t-shirt billowing around him like a gently rising balloon.

  ***

  Construction on the house began in earnest early the following week. Ellie and Viv retreated frequently to the bedroom suite, farthest from the noise. Viv sulked in a cat basket in the closet. Ellie worked on her computer from a pile of pillows on the bed.

  “You must have seen this coming.” Devora’s image surveyed Ellie from the screen.

  “All white? Seriously? The kitchen cabinets are practically new.”

  “You met Dr. Lovejoy. She likes surgical sterility.”

  Ellie sighed. “If that kitchen’s all white, I’ll never be able to cook again. Did I tell you I dropped a tray of cookies on the floor? Can you imagine what that would do to a white floor?”

  Devora snickered. “What makes you think Dr. Lovejoy eats cookies? Or even thinks about cookies?”

  Ellie snickered. “Everybody thinks about cookies.”

  “Right. Everybody but one. Now let’s go over it. Lanai sanded.”

  “Hold on.” Ellie raised her hand. “What’s the lanai again?”

  “The porch.”

  “Got it. Go on.”

  Devora read from a long list and put it down. “I’ll email you the details. You have authority to prioritize. But the house always comes first. Leave everything to do with the ohana until later.”

  Ellie raised her hand again.

  Devora squinted one eye. “Right. Ohana is guesthouse. Want to use the card to pay for some Hawaiian lessons?”

  Ellie stuck her tongue out at the screen.

  That evening, Ellie worked on a .gif for Denver.

  Ellie: Made this for u.

  The animated clip showed Ellie repeatedly spilling coffee on a white floor.

  Denver: Childhood fears?

  Ellie: Adult horror.

  Denver: Dated someone once like that.

  Ellie: Clumsy?

  Denver: Very neat.

  Ellie flipped onto her stomach.

  Ellie: I’m not. Neat. Am clumsy.

  Denver: I like that.

  Ellie sat up and leaned against the pillows. She hesitated, and then typed.

  Ellie: Want to video chat?

  Denver: Love to. But can’t. Boarding flight.

  Ellie slid down the pillows. She held the phone high and zoomed it around her head like an airplane.

  Denver: Sorry.

  Ellie: No prob.

  Denver: Do it soon.

  She nestled the phone against her breast.

  Ellie: Holding u 2 that.

  ***

  Ellie declined Jacqui’s invitation to attend the Fantastic Friday yoga class. Instead, she made Belgian waffles with fresh pineapple and maple syrup. She carried a full plate, a cup of coffee, and Celine to the lanai.

  “Watch out, girl. You’re going to drop one of us.”

  “Don’t care.” Ellie bumped open the front door with her hip. “The floors will be all white in a few months. Whatever I do to these now won’t matter.”

  “Wish I could do that.”

  Ellie balanced the plate on the deck chair’s armrest and put her coffee on the floor.

  “What? Drop stuff?”

  “Have enough money to rip out something I don’t like the color of.”

  Ellie spoke through a mouth full of waffle. “You would never do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you care too much about other people. If you had that kind of money, you’d set up a foundation to get kids clean drinking water. I’m the mercenary who ditched school to take this job.”

  “All for the greater good, sister. That way I can keep my high morals and have a free place to stay on Maui over fall break.”

  The gardeners’ arrival cut short the phone conversation. As the men unloaded equipment, Brandon walked up to the house with a young woman. Ellie shoveled down the last of her breakfast.

  “Hope you weren’t kidding when you said I could bring Olivia.”

  Ellie wiped her mouth with a paper towel. “I wasn’t.” She turned to Olivia. “Having only hot guys around gets old.”

  Olivia laughed. “I’m Olivia. Mattingly. Guess you heard about me from Brandon.” She kissed him on the mouth and he returned to the trucks.

  Ellie observed Olivia’s thin figure, her pale face, and the dark circles under her eyes. “Want to come inside? We can sit in the kitchen. I’ve got tons of leftover breakfast.”

  She settled Olivia on a stool by the counter and pushed a full plate in front of her. Olivia looped her pageboy cut over her ears and dug in.

  Are those two not getting enough to eat?

  Olivia noticed Ellie looking at her. Ellie busied herself with cleaning up.

  “Do you need some help?” Olivia pushed a pineapple chunk through the syrup.

  “You finish first.” Ellie skimmed a sponge across the countertops. “After that, you can keep me company. I’m not saying help. Just moral support. I’ve spent the morning cleaning gecko poop out of suitcases.”

  Olivia put down her fork. “Gross.”

  “Sorry. No graphic details. But life in this house isn’t all it was cracked up to be.”

  Olivia brightened. “I like cleaning.”

  Ellie flung the sponge into the sink with a disgusted look. “You’re kidding.”

  “No.” Olivia brought her plate to the sink and washe
d it. “I enjoy the process. Ask Brandon. Before I arrived, I think he messed up the apartment on purpose, just to cheer me up.”

  “You weren’t happy when you got to paradise?” Ellie looked into Olivia’s face. “You’re too young to have serious troubles.”

  Olivia blinked and turned away. “I’m twenty-one, same as Brandon.” She pulled a clip from her pocket and pinched hair back from her face. “Now where’s the dirt?”

  Olivia followed Ellie into the spare bedroom, where two suitcases lay open on the floor. Ellie picked up a spray bottle, some rags, and a package of disposable kitchen gloves.

  “So, how did you and Brandon meet?”

  Olivia reached for a spare pair of gloves, tugging them from Ellie’s grasp when Ellie held on. “We both went to the University of Washington. Same chemistry class freshman year.”

  Ellie lugged a third case from the closet.

  “I think the problem is I didn’t zipper them closed. I thought they should air out. Who knew the little reptiles would think I opened a public restroom?”

  Olivia’s mouth twitched. “First thing I’ll do when I get home is tape ours shut.”

  The scent of lemon and bleach pervaded the air as Ellie started on the new bag. “Did you major in chemistry?”

  Olivia scrubbed at a stain on the lining. “I didn’t finish school. Neither did Brandon.”

  “Oh.”

  “It’s fine. We got sidetracked. Well, he did. And I thought I could help.”

  “Look. Tell me when to shut up. I don’t mean to pry.”

  Olivia flipped the suitcase over. “You’re not.” The locks beat a rhythmic tapping against the floor as she rubbed. “Believe it or not, I went to prep school. I even got into Harvard. But that seemed like a straight shot right down my father’s scary, narrow alley. So I ran in the other direction.”

  A sudden gust blew the room door shut. Viv’s plaintive meow sounded from the hall.

  Olivia’s eyes twinkled. “You have a cat?”

  “Viv. Want to meet him?”