by Dylan Keefer
Micah nodded. It was true. Her flesh wound was going to heal a little bit quicker than his leg. Cooper was dead, but it had been a close one. The only saving grace they had was that the drug dealer had a cell phone on him, and while Heather had to limp a good distance to find service to call for help, things could have been a lot worse.
“Brock?” Micah asked. Heather shook her head.
“No one knows where he is. He never went and got help. He just disappeared. Probably with the drugs he stole. Cooper was right. My brother doesn’t want to change. I’m not sure he ever will.”
Micah pointed at her. “You can’t give up on him. I know that it seems like you’ve really lost him, but that kid—he loves you. He’s just—lost.”
Heather reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for telling me that. I think I’ve about lost hope for them though.”
“Don’t,” Micah said. “Hope is so precious. Losing that is the greatest loss you can have.”
Raine walked into the room and immediately crossed her arms over her chest.
“I let you both go off to take a nice nature hike and camping trip,” she said. “Both of you get shot!”
“She’s going to kill me now,” Heather muttered to him. Malanie, Ailani, Dani, and Eric entered the room after her.
“I’m going to kill both of you,” Raine said. “But first…”
She walked over and hugged Heather. Then she reached down and kissed Micah. She placed her forehead on his.
“I missed you,” she whispered. He smiled.
“I missed you, too.”
Chapter Five
It was an emphatic “No!”
Malanie wrinkled her nose as she stared at the piece of jewelry in Micah’s hand. Her response made him groan.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he said handing the ring back to the saleswoman behind the counter.
“That’s pretty obvious,” Malanie said. “You’re thinking too big. Raine isn’t into all of—that.” She waived her finger at the recent suggestion. The saleswoman smiled.
“Tell me a little more about her.” Micah raised an eyebrow.
“Um—she likes dogs?”
Malanie laughed and stepped in. “Okay. She likes subtle colors. Nothing extravagant. She has slender fingers and a slender figure. She isn’t a flashy dresser. In fact, she likes to dress business professional or dress down. Not much in between. She’s white. Like keʻokeʻo to the max. I don’t know how she stays in the sun.”
“You’re making me look bad,” Micah said to the girl.
“You should be glad that you asked me to come with you,” Malanie said. “I’m surprised that you didn’t ask Stephanie.”
“I can only handle Stephanie in small doses,” he smirked. “So far, I can tolerate you longer.”
“I think I have some selections that match her a little more,” the saleswoman said. “Come with me.”
Micah couldn’t believe that he was doing this. Almost a year had gone by since their last big case, and Micah had a lot of time to think about what he wanted for his life. The main key ingredient was Raine. He was sure of it. So now, a ring. He hadn’t told anyone except for Malanie since he was nervous enough as it was. Heather would have given it away, and Tai would have been annoying to deal with. The college student usually kept her emotions in check, and even she started to tear up when he told her he was going to buy a ring.
His and Raine’s relationship had been a whirlwind of craziness and looking back to how it all began made him smile every time. She had been so uptight and business only. Something about their relationship developed when he realized that he could lose her. It took a lot of healing and the capture of her tormentor, but they arrived at a good place. Now, he knew that he didn’t ever want to let go.
“That one,” he said, and then looked at Malanie with a hopeful glance. “Right?”
“Yeah,” she beamed. “That’s perfect. Oh man, this is exciting!”
On their way back to the car, Malanie kept staring at the ring. “It’s beautiful. She’s gonna love it.”
“I hope so. Now, put it back before you lose it.” She rolled her eyes, but put it in the box and in the bag.
“When are you going to pop the question?”
“I’m still trying to work that out. I don’t want it to be cheesy. She deserves something great.”
“I know you’ve got this,” Malanie encouraged.
“What about you? How are things going with that kid Eric from your school?”
Malanie shook her head. “I kind of had to let that go for now. I don’t think he was ready for a relationship. He was so excited when he got to help Raine solve that teacher’s murder. He’s kind of on a one-track mind.”
“I guess it’s good that he’s passionate about something and willing to work towards it, and you’re just finishing your freshman year. You’ve got all the time in the world for relationships.”
Malanie snorted. “That was good. Very dad-like comment. You practicing for kids after you get married?”
“Yeah, we’re going to focus on the proposal first,” Micah said.
Malanie stopped and handed him the bag. “My Jeep is in the next row over. Make sure you hide that well. I really want her to be surprised, and you know how good she is at figuring out things.”
Micah raised the bag and nodded. “Trust me. I know.” Malanie gave him a hug which lasted longer than he was used to. Micah smiled. “Don’t get too sentimental on me, Malanie.”
“You’ll never see me like this again. So, take it while you can,” her voice was muffled in his embrace.
His phone rang when he got in his car. Setting down the ring on the passenger’s seat, he looked at the screen to see the name of the caller. Kyle? Hmm.
“This is unexpected,” he answered. “Don’t you college professors work at all?”
“Says the military cop who always seems to have free time.”
“Hey, I have been working on cases. Just yesterday, I pulled a cat out of a tree.” Kyle laughed.
“I think you should leave that to the firemen. Stick to the ground, brother.” Micah heard him sigh. “I wanted to give you a call because—well, there is a situation up here.”
“What kind of situation?”
“Do you remember Mya Dornel?” Micah stiffened. He hadn’t heard that name in a long time. “That silence tells me that you do.”
“How can I not remember her. Why are you bringing up Mya?”
“Because she’s in a coma here in Minnesota. She was found in her car which was smashed into a tree a couple of days ago. Alcohol all over her and in her bloodstream. The cops think that she was driving drunk and had an accident.”
“Wow,” Micah said. “That’s crazy. Do they—think she’s going to make it?”
“Not sure,” Kyle said. “I didn’t call just to tell you that, Micah. Mya was married. Her husband said that she went to meet someone the night of her accident. He also swears that Mya never would have gotten drunk, and definitely wouldn’t have driven. He thinks someone was trying to kill her. The police won’t do anything.”
Micah knew where his brother was going with this even before he asked. “Kyle, you’re not asking me to come there and investigate this? You know as well as anyone that I can’t. I have no authority up there. I’m MP.”
“Then come up as a private investigator. Bring Raine. We haven’t met her yet anyway. This will be a great opportunity.”
“Right,” Micah said. “I’ll just tell her that we’re going to visit family, and oh, try to solve an alleged murder attempt on a girl who is in a coma. By the way, Raine, did I mention that she and I used to have sex a lot back in the day.”
“Sounds like a good way to break it to her,” Kyle said. “Micah, I know this is a strange request, but—Mya—Mya made something of herself. She was changing the world, and if someone did try to kill her, you might be the only one who will bring her justice. She saved your life, right?”
“I guess I really better think of a better way to break it to Raine.”
After hanging up with his brother, Micah leaned his head back on the headrest and sighed as his memories ran wild in his mind.
The sound of their mouths connected in ignorant bliss of anything else was interrupted by a slight giggle. The kissing stopped as both breathed heavily into each other’s faces. She smiled as he frowned.
“What was the giggle for? Did I do something wrong?” He asked. She shook her head.
“Your hand is up my shirt, and it’s cold,” she said. “You’re lucky that I didn’t squeal.”
He smirked. “Oh, I can make you squeal.” He pushed her body down into the bed and pinned her hands above her head with one of his. She bit her lip as he lifted her shirt up to her bra and leaned down to kiss her belly. She moaned as his lips moved up from her belly button to her chest.
A door slammed from the front of the house echoing in their ears. They both stopped breathing for a second.
“Is that your brother?” she whispered. “Or your mother. Please don’t let it be your mother.”
“It’s Kyle. If we’re quiet, he might not come up here.”
The footsteps on the staircase stopped, and both of them could tell Kyle was listening to see if he could hear any activity going on in the house.
“He knows your car is here,” she whispered. He put a finger to her lips. The footsteps came closer to the door.
“Micah,” Kyle’s voice sounded through the door. “Are you in there?”
Neither of them said a word. Mya struggled to breathe softly and keep in the laughter that she wanted to let out. The last thing they wanted was for Kyle to open the door. Thankfully, Kyle was pretty good at respecting… The door opened, and Micah threw the covers over him and lay on top of her pretending to be asleep.
“You’re taking a nap?” Kyle said from the door. Micah stretched and turned in his bed.
“Oh, hey, when did you get home?” Mya squirmed a little bit underneath him. Micah held back a grunt as her nails scratched his side.
“Thought that you might be getting ready to go. We leave in an hour?”
Crap! He had forgotten about the event tonight. Kyle saw the shift in thought, and somehow picked up on his brother’s forgetfulness.
“Figures you’d forget. You don’t have to go,” He started to close the door, and Micah jumped up from the bed.
“Kyle, hold up.” He quickly threw the covers back over Mya who grabbed them and slid underneath. Kyle turned around and frowned.
“You’re naked.” Micah pursed his lips together and nodded, having forgotten that fact.
“Yeah, I am. Listen, I’ll be ready. I wouldn’t miss my little brother making the family proud. One of us should, ya know.
Kyle nodded and shook his head. “Alright. You’re welcome to come too Mya.” He glanced at the bed, and Mya peeked her head out from under the covers with an embarrassed look.
“Got a family thing tonight, Kyle, but thanks. I won’t keep him.” Kyle glanced at Micah’s nude figure and laughed.
“So, glad that I’m getting an apartment in a month,” he said closing the door behind him. Micah put his hands on his hips and turned to see Mya getting out of the bed and gathering her clothes.
“I can’t believe you forgot,” she said. “Kyle’s been talking about this for months. Big brothers are supposed to be on this.”
She snapped her fingers before sliding her panties up her legs. Micah sat on the edge of his bed. “I guess I’ve had more important things on my mind.”
“Like what you’re going to do with your life?” Micah’s head snapped in her direction.
“What do you mean by that?” Mya pulled her jeans up and buttoned them.
“I mean, that I’ve loved this summer with you, but I’m going back to school in a couple of weeks. And you’ve been pretty adamant about not going back because you flunked out this past year.”
“I prefer the phrase ‘partied out’. It sounds nicer.”
Mya grabbed his face in her hands. “Micah, I love you. You know this, but life isn’t like when we were in high school. Your brother has…”
Micah groaned. “It always comes back to Kyle. He’s the perfect son, the perfect student, and he’ll be the perfect cop. Me, I’m just a disappointment.”
“You chose to be a disappointment,” Mya said slipping her feet into her shoes. “And while you’re great in bed, you can’t bank your future on that.”
Micah leaned back on his hands as she walked up to him again and kissed him. “But I’m not your girlfriend. I’m just your sex buddy. You owe me nothing, but—you still have time to register for classes before the semester starts.”
She poked him in the nose and made her way out of his room. Micah fell back onto his bed and sighed. He and Maya had been as close as two people could get to dating without actually dating. They had been that way since high school. They partied together, skipped school together, graduated together, and went to college together. Of course, they had sex together, but that hadn’t started until later in their senior year of high school. The only thing that changed was that when they went to college, Maya went to study and achieve some goals. Micah had continued his party streak. It frustrated her to no end, but they were stuck together. At some point, she gave up making him try with classes, and just focused on her. That led to him barely passing his first year and flunking his second.
“You should slow down,” Kyle said as his arm rested on the open window. Micah snorted.
“C’mon. You can’t be acting like a cop already. Besides, I see more cops speeding along these roads than anyone.”
“Just slow down,” Kyle said. “You need to care more about your life and the choices you make.”
Micah sighed. “Can’t believe that you have to bring that up tonight.”
“Can’t believe that I need to bring it up at all,” Kyle remarked. “I tried to get you to do this with me, but you decided to throw your life away.”
“You sound like Mom and Dad. Listen,” Micah leaned to the side and drove with a lazy hand on the wheel. “I’ve got a plan. Hawaii.”
Kyle frowned and raised an eyebrow. “Hawaii?”
“Yeah. One of the guys I knew at school is from there. His dad runs a roofing and siding business out there. I can get a job and live the life out there. Party on the side. I hear the girls out there are something.”
“You are an idiot. I can’t believe that I’m the voice of reason between the two of us,” Kyle said. “But whatever.”
“What?”
“You have potential to kill it in school and become something. You have a girl who is still willing to put up with you even though you haven’t proved worth it. And—you don’t even care.”
Micah started to respond. The words were on their way out of his lips when Kyle’s face reflected a bright light coming from Micah’s left. His brother’s eyes grew wide. It was quick, but Micah felt everything. The impact of the other car. The force of the car spinning. His hands losing control of the wheel. The dizziness from his world not making sense. His brother’s voice. Then everything went black.
Micah jolted awake. His eyes only seeing bright light glaring down on him. He couldn’t move. Was he trapped in the car? What happened? Did they hit something or did something hit them? He blinked and tried to talk, but a pounding in his head attack him like a jackhammer.
“Hey. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He felt a hand on his forehead and one of his arm.
“Mya?” His eyes slowly started to adjust. She stood over him.
“It’s me. I’m here.”
“What happened?” He tried to move again, but the pain in his head was too much.
“Just lay still,” she said softly. “You’re in the hospital. You were in an accident, and you got a little banged up. You’re going to be okay.”
She squeezed his hand, and he felt a lit
tle bit relaxed. “I remember it came out of nowhere. We were just heading to the…” Micah stopped and groaned. “Oh, man. Kyle’s graduation. He’s gotta be pissed at me. I know that he’s probably going to blame me.”
Mya shook her head slowly. “It was a drunk driver that hit you. It wasn’t your fault, Micah.”
“Still,” he croaked. “It was probably still my fault. Mom and Dad are going to say that. Kyle is going to think that. Man. Where is he anyway?”
Mya didn’t answer. Her hand seemed to loosen in its grip. “He’s in—another room.”
“Why did you hesitate?” Mya’s tears couldn’t be contained as she swallowed.
“Micah, your parents are with Kyle right now. He was injured pretty bad.” Micah dropped her hand. Her words, as much as she tried to cushion the blow, hit him harder than the headache. One stood out. Paralyzed.
Several months passed by. Most of them were spent in front of doctor’s and specialists trying to exhaust every possible outcome that could give a hope for Kyle to walk again. It was Kyle who made the decision to stop searching. He was tired or it, and they didn’t have the money to pour into every consultation and appointment.
Micah had been present without being present. He had felt like an outsider among his family, and he was okay with that. Mya had written to him, texted him, called him—and he had ignored her. He had ignored everyone who only wanted to talk about Kyle and how the family was doing. When Mya’s letters stopped coming, he figured that he had successfully fended her off. He was wrong.
It was a late night. Micah sat in his car fingering his fake I.D. Still another year before he could toss this and use the real thing. He sighed and stepped out of the car. The guy at the door of the bar took a look at the I.D. Micah wasn’t worried. He had used the same one for a while now, and no one had ever caught on.
“Have a good night, sir,” the man said as he handed the card back.
“He’s underage,” a voice said behind him. “That’s a fake I.D.”
Micah didn’t turn around. The voice was unmistakable. The guy at the bar looked at Mya and then looked at Micah.