“That’s great,” Sam replied. “Doesn’t sound like it’ll delay the tsunami recovery.”
“No, I don’t believe so.”
“Any word on our return to the shelter?” Alessandro asked.
“That’s what he’s discussing with Frannie. Now that phone service is restored, she can coordinate the transportation. There’s a tree blocking the road for Walter’s group, but the chief says a crew is clearing it now. The other two groups are free to return. However, there are multiple trees down on our road, so we’ll see what the chief and Frannie decide.”
“If it doesn’t look like the trees will be cleared anytime soon, we could take the trail,” Sam said. “I’d hate to hike up it, but down isn’t bad at all. I’ve done it before. Of course, we’d need to know it’s safe.”
“There’s a hiking trail from here to the shelter?” Alessandro hadn’t heard of it. Then again, he hadn’t had the opportunity to explore much away from Sunrise Shelter. He’d been to the marina for a couple of diving excursions and had taken short walks from the shelter to the beach and back with groups of kids. Driving to the church was the first time he’d seen the island from one of its high points, and it had been a matter of hours before the storm set in and obliterated the view. “It was quite the drive up here. Seems like it’d be a long way for the kids, especially if they’re carrying backpacks.”
Sam shook his head, dismissing the concern. “The trail takes a direct route down the hill instead of following the road. In good weather, it’s probably a forty-five-minute walk. My parents used to let my brother and me walk to the village after church when we were teenagers. They’d take the car and meet us at one of the beachfront restaurants for lunch.”
“It’s a beautiful walk,” Father Jacob assured Alessandro. “I’ve taken it to the beach and back for exercise. The teen group here at the church occasionally cleans sections of the trail as a community service project. It’s well-maintained, though I can’t say what condition it’s in right now. There are sections with wooden walkways that could be slick. And there could be trees down.”
“But no threat of electrical wires,” Sam said. “Though with any luck, the road will be clear later today and we can drive the same way we came. Let the kids save their energy for cleaning up any debris around the bunkhouses.”
“Let me guess, you’re talking about the trail?” Frannie came up behind Sam and Father Jacob. She was all smiles, but as had been the case the entire day, she never met Alessandro’s eyes.
Sam nodded. “I mentioned the possibility of taking it back to the shelter if the road is blocked.”
“Turns out, the road is blocked. The police chief knows of at least two spots where it’s impassable. One is where I met Alessandro, but there’s another tree down closer to the station. It’s prevented the patrols from coming this way.” She looked at Father Jacob. “The police chief drove by the shelter an hour ago and it seems to be in good shape. Tommy Solofa is arranging to take the other groups to the shelter using the cars he has available. I know we’re drawing on your resources here, so I’d like to be out of your way as soon as we can, but I won’t know the road conditions for several hours. By then, it’s likely to be dark.”
“The kids are perfectly fine here, Frannie,” Father Jacob assured her. “You brought enough food and we have plenty of clean water.”
“We’re limited on access to showers, though. You won’t want to smell these kids in another day, let alone the adults.”
The priest spread his arms. “A church is, above all, a haven for those who need one. We don’t discriminate based on odor.”
Frannie’s responding smile made Alessandro’s heart flip. Did she realize how breathtaking her smile was?
“Thank you, Father. It’s reassuring to feel welcomed. For your sake, though, I’d like to get out today. It’ll make the kids feel better to return at the same time as their friends, and I’ll feel better the sooner I can ensure the shelter’s put to rights and the kids are in school.”
Sam gestured toward the front of the church. “I don’t mind making a trek down the trail. Now that the landlines work again, I can call from the bottom of the hill to let you know if it’s safe. If I run into trouble, I’ll turn around and come back. If the path is clear, it’ll take the pressure off the road crews to know we’re not stranded up here.”
“If you’re comfortable doing that, it’s fine with me,” Frannie said. She hooked her index fingers in the front pockets of her shorts. “I don’t want you to go alone, though.”
“I’ll go,” Alessandro said.
Frannie started to accept, then shook her head. “No, it’s probably better if there’s at least one male and one female here with the kids. Either I’ll go or Chloe can. Let me talk to her and figure out what makes the most sense.”
Twenty minutes later, it was settled. Frannie and Alessandro stood at the front of the church as, with a skip in her step, Chloe shouldered her backpack and accompanied Sam down the road to the top of the trail.
The moment the pair was out of sight, Frannie turned on her heel and entered the double doors without him.
* * *
Frannie couldn’t get back to the kids fast enough.
She sensed Alessandro walking a step behind her before she heard his footfalls on the marble floor of the vestibule.
“I would’ve bet on you to go,” Alessandro said as they took the stairs down to the community room.
“Why?” It came out sounding carefree; she felt anything but. She couldn’t talk to him right now. Childish, she knew. But it was hard. She needed to calm down. To stop thinking about what she’d seen in his bag. To stop thinking about the fact he’d warned her that he wasn’t good enough for her, and that he had a reputation. That he’d earned that reputation.
She hadn’t believed him. She hadn’t wanted to believe him. She wanted Alessandro to see himself as she saw him every day at the shelter: the caring man who helped Tommy build a grill, the man who checked on stuffed camels, the man who crawled around on the nursery floor with kids on his back until they howled with laughter.
The man who, according to Irene, helped one of the toddlers learn to use the potty a few weeks ago, despite the fact there was a mistake that soaked Alessandro as well as the child.
Frannie forced back the notion of Prince Alessandro the Beneficent. All it did was open her gullible, bleeding heart to being stomped.
He moved beside her as they rounded the corner of the stairs. “I assumed, given the particular kids in our group and their health needs, that Chloe would’ve opted to stay with them.”
She shrugged. She’d hoped no one besides Chloe noticed the rhyme and reason behind the evacuation assignments. She wanted the kids with health challenges to know they were safe, but without having their differences highlighted to the others.
“Chloe’s heard about the trail since her arrival and been dying to explore it. I told her to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m familiar with the kids’ health issues. None is so serious that we can’t handle them should an emergency arise, which is unlikely at this point, anyway.”
“She and Sam should make good time.”
Frannie nodded.
They were about to round the final corner, putting them in view of the kids in the community room, when Alessandro stopped walking. Softly, he said, “Frannie.”
“Yes?” Again, she kept her tone light.
“Look at me.”
“What is it?”
He waited until she turned to say, “You know what. You haven’t said a word to me since we were in the truck.”
It took her a solid five seconds to tell him, “It’s because I don’t know what to say.”
“How about, ‘Alessandro, I trust you.’”
Those four words made her throat tighten and eyes burn. They were almost as powerful as the expression she’d witnessed on his face as Chloe treated her injury. He’d looked at her with concern, yes, but there was more. If she didn’t know
better, she’d have identified it as love. Or, at the very least, attraction.
He added, “I’ve been here two months. I would hope, at this point, that you can trust me.”
For longer than was comfortable, she said nothing, weighing and discarding responses. When she was certain she could keep her voice steady, she said, “You wouldn’t be around the kids if I didn’t trust you. On the other hand, I won’t pretend that what I saw in the truck doesn’t bother me. You say you have a good reason. Maybe you do, though I can’t imagine what it is. I feel betrayed, both as the director of the shelter and personally.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held out a hand. “Unless it’s a full explanation, I don’t want to hear it. I want to focus on the kids. I need to focus on the kids. But you should know this: if you break the rules and consume alcohol at the shelter, I’ll book you on the first flight to Sarcaccia and I’ll drive you to the marina myself to ensure you catch it. I don’t care who you are or who your parents are. If that means the shelter’s funding is cut off, I’ll find it elsewhere.”
Disbelief clouded his eyes. “You believe my family would cut off funding?”
“I…I don’t want to think about it.” She realized her hands were balled into fists and slowly released them. “I want you to follow the rules. And I don’t want to talk about this any more.”
Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in the base of her throat. She’d never been good with confrontation. She’d never argued with her roommates at school, and while working for Jack Gladwell had been stressful at times, the atmosphere was a positive one. Collaborative.
Even through her parents’ separation and divorce, Frannie had lived in a peaceful household. Confrontation with a person she’d come to care about—maybe even love—rattled her last nerve.
He regarded her, nodded, then said, “I’ll follow your rules.”
“Thank you. That’s all I need to know.” She turned away, then jogged down the stairs to catch the end of the magic show.
* * *
The next ninety minutes passed quickly. Tired of being cooped up inside, the kids cheered when Father Jacob located a Frisbee and told them they were free to take it to the grassy area at the side of the church. Alessandro went with them, leaving Frannie and the priest alone in the quiet building. When he excused himself to take a much-needed nap, Frannie used the opportunity to clean the community room.
Thankfully, the space wasn’t in bad shape. The children were cognizant of the fact they were guests of the church and had been careful not to make a mess. They’d kept their belongings contained, cleared their places after meals, and thrown away their trash. However, given Father Jacob’s hospitality, Frannie wanted to do something nice for him. She started by wiping down the tables and vacuuming. When the kids showed no signs of returning, she scrubbed the windowsills and washed the windows. From there, she moved into the choir room, where she dusted the chairs, the piano, and music stands, then cleaned that room’s windows and sills.
Father Jacob would never expect it of her, but it made her feel better to do something constructive. She finished washing the final choir room window when the office phone rang. She hurried to answer, grabbing it on the fourth ring.
“Frannie? It’s Sam.”
Winded from cleaning and her sprint to the phone, she sat in one of the guest chairs in the priest’s office. “Where are you?”
“Believe it or not, I’m standing inside your office. Everything was locked up tight when we arrived, but I didn’t have any trouble using your key. Branches and palm fronds have blown in, but on first glance, the place looks great. Chloe’s doing a detailed walk-through now. Phone is working, obviously. Electricity is out, but the generator’s running like a champ.”
Frannie gave a fist pump to the empty room. So many people worked hard to finance and build the shelter; knowing it’d come through a major storm unscathed gave her an enormous sense of relief.
“So, the big question. How was the trail?”
“Surprisingly clear. Chloe and I tried to look at it from the kids’ perspective. There are some slick spots, but you’ll recognize those when you approach them. Otherwise, there’s one long section about two-thirds of the way down where the wooden walkway is buried in mud. We tied a pink sock to a tree just above where it starts. Look down on the ground when you get to the sock and you’ll see where we marked a path through the trees to take you around it.”
The idea of Sam and Chloe tying a pink sock to a tree made her smile. “Sounds like you think we could come down that way without too much trouble.”
“As long as you have the light, you’ll be fine. The kids would probably enjoy it. However, if you were to come today, you’d need to leave soon.”
She checked her watch. It was over three hours until sunset, but Sam was right. With the dense foliage of the rainforest, the trail would be dark sooner than that. Bugs could be an issue, too. “I’ll call the police station for an update on the road and let you and Chloe know what we decide.”
Sam told her he’d stay within hearing range of the office phone, then added, “We were able to see the road from a few spots along the trail. I’d be surprised if it’s clear before tomorrow night. The same mudslide that covered the trail crossed a wide section of the road. The crews will have that to contend with in addition to the trees.”
“And that means taking advantage of Father Jacob’s good will longer than I’d prefer.”
There was noise on the other end of the line as Chloe returned to the office and reported water damage inside the schoolhouse, though the repairs and cleanup needed were minor and all the other buildings were in good condition.
Just as Chloe finished, Frannie heard Alessandro return to the community room with the kids. She ended the call, then dialed the police station. It took only a thirty-second update to determine that the road from the church wouldn’t be clear for at least another day or two. Decision made, she let Sam know, then went out to the community room to talk to Alessandro. Before she could say anything, he waved her over to a corner for a private word.
“We cleared the grassy area behind the church before we started throwing the Frisbee. Figured it was the least we could do for Father Jacob. I wasn’t sure where to have the kids put all the downed branches and waste, so it’s stacked beyond the tree line.”
A flush tinged his cheeks from the exertion, but he seemed invigorated. She peeked at the kids as they gathered around the community room table with cups of water. They also seemed energized by their outdoor time.
“Thank you,” she said, focusing on Alessandro. “Father Jacob will appreciate that. He’s taking a nap, but I expect he’ll be down shortly. We can ask if he’d like the stack moved. In the meantime, do you think the kids are up for a hike down the hill?”
His grin made her want to forget that she’d seen the Scotch in his bag. “If you were to suggest it, they’d jump to go. It wasn’t easy to convince them to come inside for drinks. I take it the road is blocked?”
“Worse than when we came up. If we go today, though, it needs to be soon.”
“I’m willing to help pack the kids and carry the first aid kit. We can load the sleeping bags, cooler, and games in the truck so they’re out of Father Jacob’s way, then come back for the truck as soon as the road is clear.”
“Sounds like a plan. Thank you.” She took a deep breath. This was the Alessandro she’d come to rely on at the shelter. The one who saved her the last slice of banana cake. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 20
Father Jacob joined Alessandro near the community room windows as the kids cleared their cups from the table. Frannie stood near the front of the room, waiting for the kids to finish so she could inform them of the plan.
“Thank you, Alessandro, for all the work you and the kids did outside,” the priest said. “I saw you from my window. That was an enormous help.”
He told Father Jacob where he’d stacked the debris and offered to m
ove it, but the priest shook his head. “I have parishioners who volunteer to help me with landscaping every so often, and that’s where we put it.”
The priest aimed a purposeful look in Frannie’s direction. “Since your arrival on the island, it seems you’ve taken good care of our Frannie, too.”
“Frannie takes very good care of Frannie. She doesn’t leave much for the rest of us to do.”
That brought a soft smile to the priest’s face. “True, true.” A beat later, he added, “Sam tells me you’ve made a great contribution at the shelter and that the kids relate well to you. Their parents aren’t here to tell you, so I will: thank you. What your family has done for Kilakuru is changing their lives for the better, and the fact you came here personally to work speaks to your character.”
He didn’t feel worthy of the praise. The priest must’ve sensed his discomfort because the older man put a reassuring hand on Alessandro’s arm. “I think, when you return home, you’ll find it has made you better, too.”
Frannie called for the kids’ attention, then announced that they’d take the trail back to the shelter to meet the other groups. As the kids chattered with excitement, she said, “First, we pack. Do an inventory of everything you brought to make sure it’s coming back with you. Your toiletries, pajamas, clothes, everything. Items that are too big to carry will go in Tommy’s truck and will come down when the road opens. Once we’re packed, Father Jacob will lead us in a quick prayer, then it’s time for a kid sandwich.”
“I’m the ham!” one of the boys yelled, to which one of the girls grumbled, “You were the ham last time.”
Another boy said, “But he’s the best ham.”
Then everyone started speaking at once.
“I call cheese!”
“You’re sooo cheesy.”
“Total cheese.”
“Naomi should be the tomato.”
The Wicked Prince Page 20