ONE WIFE TOO MANY

by Susanne Marie Knight

  Someone knocked on the door. A young man, a Hawaiian native, with dark wavy hair and a precisely trimmed goatee leaned into the office. "May I come in?"

  Will hadn't seen this fellow before. Maybe here was the break he was looking for. He stood and extended his hand. "Sure, I'm Will Struthers, Richmond office. Have a seat."

  "Thanks." The man, dressed in island casual--colorful short-sleeved shirt and khaki slacks--shook his hand, then sat. "I'm Nathan Lawai'a, an associate here. Just got back from San Diego, consulting with a client. Heard you're looking for Jack Fairweather."

  "Do you know where he is?"

  "Sort of. I mean, I know where Jack'll be sometime during this next month. He's due to visit my family on the Big Island." Nathan flashed a brilliant smile. "Jack's trying to court my sister, Anakalia."

  "Pretty name."

  Nathan smiled. "She's a pretty girl."

  From what Will had heard, Fairweather had a short attention span when it came to women. Although he'd never met her, he wished better for Nathan's sister.

  He kept that thought to himself. "This is the first concrete news I've had on Fairweather's whereabouts. I appreciate it, Nathan. So, you or your family have no idea when, exactly, Fairweather will be arriving?"

  Nathan, who was probably around thirty or so, tugged on his coal black goatee. "Do you mind telling me what's so important about locating Jack?"

  Will hedged on his reply. "This is confidential."

  "Of course."

  "Fine." Will stood, then walked over to the open window. A gentle breeze stirred the palm trees and drifted into the office. He loosened his tie.

  "Fairweather's up to make partner. But before the board votes, Mr. Ernst would like a few matters clarified."

  Nathan sat up straighter in his chair. "Mr. Ernst of ESP?"

  "ESP?"

  A smile stretched Nathan's broad face. "Ernst, Scargill, and Petersen. It's a short cut."

  Will laughed. "I'd never heard of that acronym. Cute. And yeah, it's the big man himself."

  "In that case..." Nathan pulled a cell phone from his pocket. "Lemme check with the family. Maybe they've more recent news from Jack."

  While Nathan spoke a mixture of English and Hawaiian to someone called Pilikia, Will kept his fingers crossed. With any luck he could wrap up this investigation and be back home in a couple of days.

  Nathan pulled the phone away from his ear. "Will, Jack's expected tomorrow or Sunday. Do you want to take a hop over? I planned on flying back anyway, so we can go together. We can make the four o'clock and arrive in Hilo around five. My little brother will pick us up at the airport."

  A squawking sounded from the cell phone. Evidently Pilikia didn't appreciate being volunteered as designated driver. Either that or he didn't care to be described as little.

  Will grinned. "Sounds perfect. Thanks."

  Nathan made a few more arrangements, then terminated the call. He smacked his sturdy hands together. "Done! This works out great. You'll stay at my parents' house."

  "Thanks, but I can't impose. You're doing so much for me already, and believe me, I really appreciate it." Will picked up his briefcase and restuffed paperwork inside. "I'll stay at a nearby hotel."

  An amused expression covered Nathan's face. "My mother will insist. Trust me. You don't say no to a Hawai'ian mama. Even my father knows that cardinal rule."

  "But--"

  "It's already set in stone, Will. By now Pilikia has spread the word. My mother's freshening up the guest room even as we speak. You are our guest, our malihini. You can get settled, take in a few local sights, then have your talk with Jack on Sunday or Monday."

  Will slid his hand over his hair. This was an unexpected twist. Such hospitality, and to a stranger. "Are you certain I won't be in the way?"

  "As certain as my name is Nakana in Hawai'ian." Nathan gestured toward the door. "Ready?"

  This was all happening so fast. Will had been under the impression that everything on the islands was on "Hawaiian Time", meaning things ran a little bit late. He had to speed up to keep up.

  He grabbed his briefcase. "I'll say my goodbyes, then we can go."

  "Good, I'll meet you by the elevator, Will. Next stop, your hotel, then I'll have my brother pick us up and drive us to the airport."

  Will lifted his eyebrow. "How is that possible?"

  Nathan grinned. "Not the youngest one. Toma, the middle brother. He lives here in Pearl City with his wife, and works at the airport."

  After watching his new friend barrel down the corridor toward the elevators, Will walked in the other direction, wanting to thank the Honolulu ESP staff for their assistance.

  He had a good feeling about this unanticipated turn of events. With Nathan's help, Will would quickly wrap up the Jack Fairweather situation. And as a side bonus, Will would also get to enjoy the company of a very loving Hawaiian family.

  The Lawai'as were blessed with three sons and a daughter. Will had grown up as an only child. He couldn't help but envy their good fortune.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Andrea swam alongside her favorite three dolphins--Nicky, Archie, and Dottie. She swam with many other dolphins as well, but these three she knew the best.

  Seven years ago, they'd saved her life.

  Archie nudged her with his long snout--rostrum, was the technical name for it. He wanted her to dive with him, down to the bottom of Onomea Bay.

  Treading water, she shook her head. "No, Archie, I'm tired." She tilted her head and closed her eyes to show him. "I've got to get back. Almost time for dinner."

  The sign for food was the flapping of her mouth. Dottie nodded, dove down, then resurfaced with a small gray herring in her mouth. Her penetrating black eyes conveyed a message. She wagged her head at Andrea.

  Andrea laughed. "Thank you for the treat, Dottie, but you go ahead."

  The dolphin promptly swallowed the fish, then dashed off to swim in concentric circles around her. After Archie joined her, they leaped into the air with a blaze of whistles, squeals, and clicks.

  Nicky stayed by Andrea's side. He'd gotten his name because of a large nick near the point in his dorsal fin. Archie's fin was arched, and Dottie's was, of course, spotted. He touched her shoulder with his pectoral fin.

  She smoothed her hand over his sleek snout. "I do have to go now, Nicky."

  The burning sun was almost through for the day. A magical glow of twilight would soon blanket the tropical side of the Big Island.

  Andrea ducked under the surface for a moment, then pushed back her long and heavy dark hair. The sound of a whistle carried over the water, but it hadn't come from the dolphins. She turned toward the shoreline.

  Three figures stood on the rocky beach. Two men and a boy. Even from her position, about a half a mile out into the bay, she recognized two of them. The boy was Phillip, although he hated to be considered still a boy. But for goodness sake, he was only seventeen.

  The man in the middle was her eldest brother, home from Oahu. The other man she didn't know.

  Although he probably couldn't make out her words, she called, "Nathan! I'm glad you're home." She waved her arm in greeting.

  He waved back. After watching a while, they turned and left.

  Dottie nudged her, no doubt hoping for a rubdown on her snout. Archie followed suit.

  She obliged. "I guess I should really go now. Mama Kalala will be wanting me to help her cook."

  As she swam to shore, the dolphins trailed behind her. Once she could touch the ground, she stood and waved again--this time as a farewell. "Thanks for the escort, you guys. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

  Several clicks and squeals later, Archie, Dottie, and Nicky headed out to sea.

  Andrea splashed out of the water and walked over the pebble beach to a shaded area under a banyan tree. The tree guarded her belongings. She reached into her beach bag at its base and pulled out a towel.

  Her brisk rubdown further revived her. Long days, starting at sun up, involved painstaking
concentration at a variety of crafts, making items to be sold to the tourist market. She worked all day, nearly every day. Her one indulgence was an evening swim with her ocean friends, the dolphins.

  This sundown swim was her special time with them. She enjoyed their companionship, and she knew the dolphins enjoyed it, too.

  She slipped into a pair of short shorts. Her black and silver swimsuit with its zippered scuba-look front served as a top. It was a short walk through town to the Lawai'a house. No need to dress in anything more formal.

  With her wet hair pulled back into a ponytail, she slung her beach bag over her shoulder and walked barefoot over the stony ground. Seven years ago, the rocks had cut into her tender skin. Today, her soles were hardened. As she had hardened.

  No longer was she a soft, ornamental plaything, with bleached platinum hair, painted fingernails, and a timid personality. Although she still had no memory of her life before Hawaii, she knew instinctively that now she was a force to be reckoned with.

  Andrea smiled. Mama Kalala had taught her well.

  Her thoughts turned to her brother. She hadn't seen Nathan in over a month. While she'd enjoyed his visit then, she hadn't been thrilled with the co-worker he'd brought home with him.

  Jack Fairweather had been more interested in her, aggressively so, than she was in him.

  Andrea waited at the corner until a car had passed through the sleepy town before crossing the street. One more block, then she'd be home.

  Who was the man Nathan had brought home this time? Was he playing matchmaker again? He wasn't Jack Fairweather, for Jack was shorter, stockier than the tall silhouette she'd seen on the shore. Besides, Jack wasn't expected until tomorrow.

  Feeling a buzz of anticipation, Andrea reached the house and opened the French glass door into the kitchen.

  * * * *

  "Here she is!" Kalala Lawai'a clapped her hands together. "My favorite daughter."

  Seated at the Lawai'a kitchen table, Will looked at the back door and watched the young woman enter.

  He blinked, then blinked again. The gulp of iced tea that he'd just swallowed caught in his throat.

  Dear God, she was a knockout!

  Petite, slender but with feminine padding in all the right places, she literally took his breath away. She wore only the briefest of shorts plus a skintight bathing suit top. Absolutely devastating.

  Under the lightweight fabric of his suit jacket, he sweated. Her deeply tanned body sun-baked to perfection, teased him and beckoned to him to touch, to taste, to sample.

  With difficulty, he finished swallowing his tea, and stood to be introduced. The woman's long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, to reveal a radiant, heart shaped face. Her lips, full and lush, curved into a Mona Lisa smile.

  She reminded him of someone. But who? Not the Lawai'as. Not at all. Maybe he had seen her before.

  "Hello. I'm Anakalia." She extended her hand.

  When he gripped her hand, unexpected tingles traveled up his arm. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Anakalia. I'm Will Struthers."

  "Nice to meet you, too." She broke the handshake first.

  He didn't want the connection to end. "Your brother Nathan and I work for the same firm. He was very kind to invite me for the weekend, and Mrs. Lawai'a, well, I'm afraid I'm abusing her hospitality."

  Kalala tut-tutted. "Call me Mama Kalala, okay? And, I say, it is no trouble. Only pleasure, I assure you."

  Anakalia hugged her mother. "You do love houseguests, don't you?" She gave Kalala a peck on the cheek, and then darted out of the kitchen, calling back, "I'll just shower and change. And I promise I'll help with dinner, Mama."

  The woman stared after Anakalia for a moment, then smoothed a loose strand of salt-and-pepper hair back into her casual bun. "That child is always on the go. So hard to pin her down, you know?" A fond smile brightened her broad face. "She is my little coconut."

  Will nodded and sat back down. "She is very lovely." But the strange feeling that he might have seen Anakalia before refused to go away.

  Kalala hurried about the kitchen, peeling sweet potatoes, boiling rice, and cutting up papaya. She seemed to be a queen of multi-tasking.

  As busy as she was, she still had time to talk. "That child is a hard worker, too. Quite a business she has developed here, catering to the island's tourist industry. In fact, she ships these crafts to the other islands as well."

  She swept her hand around the kitchen crowded with stacked woven baskets, wooden bowls, brown nut necklaces, and intricate carved figurines.

  "I used to make all of these knickknacks way back when. Now Anakalia has taken over for me. I must say she is far better than I ever was."

  Will noted the pride swelling in Kalala's voice. Anakalia was genuinely loved.

  Fingering his collar, he glanced toward the stairs. Maybe he should also change. Suits and long-sleeved shirts were extremely out of place in this tropical paradise.

  And maybe, if he went upstairs, he'd run into Anakalia, when she came out of the shower.

  He finished his iced tea. What he really needed to do was ice down his libido.

  Kalala continued, "Busy like a beaver, that is what she is. The only quiet time Anakalia takes is when she swims out at the bay. She communes with her dolphins. They are her second family."

  His hostess glanced down at his hands, folded in front of him. "You married?"

  He smiled. Obviously that was a rhetorical question. His wedding band glittered on his ring finger.

  "Yes, I am. Just married, actually. It's almost been two weeks now."

  Kalala shook her wooden spoon at him and clucked, "Ho! Such a shame to separate newlyweds. How does your wife cope with this hardship?"

  He fingered the edge of his collar again. This time, he felt ill at ease because of the question.

  "Stella is okay with this. It's just for a few days."

  When he'd spoken with her this morning, she'd just finished a meeting with another holiday planning committee. In fact, she'd rushed through the call. She wasn't missing him all that much.

  Kalala stirred vegetables in a pot. "Days seem like years to those in love," she muttered. "Or should."

  In the next pot, she tasted the seasoned rice. "Good." She turned to him. "Will, you look uncomfortable. Why don't you change into a T-shirt and shorts? If you did not pack any, when my boys get back from the store, they will lend you some. You are skinny like Phillip. You take his shorts. For the shirt, you use Nathan's."

  Will stood and pushed his chair back under the oval table. "That's okay. I've got my own clothes. Thanks, Mrs.--"

  "Mama Kalala."

  "Mama Kalala." He smiled. "See you in a few."

  He took the polished oak stairs two at a time. Nathan had said the guest room was next to Anakalia's and that they shared a bathroom. With any luck, she wouldn't think to lock the connecting doors. He could, by accident, barge in on her.

  Will grinned. He might be married but he wasn't dead.

  * * * *

  The shower's jet of warm water couldn't dispel the growing cold spreading throughout Andrea's body. This man, this Will Struthers, was someone from her former life.

  It was as if a missing puzzle piece had suddenly fit into place. His deep voice kindled a rush of feelings within her, shaking her to her very core.

  The feelings swirling through her were neither good nor bad. Rather, she felt incredibly anxious.

  Whatever her previous life had held, it couldn't compare with her present one. She didn't want to go back to being Andrea Last-Name-Unknown. More than anything, she needed to continue as Anakalia Lawai'a.

  After turning off the shower faucet, she stepped out of the ball-and-claw-foot tub. She dried off and slipped into her terrycloth bathrobe. Next she wound a towel around her wet head. Her actions were done by rote. Her mind was a million miles away.

  Or rather her thoughts were one floor below, in the kitchen with Nathan's handsome friend.

  What if Will is my husband?
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  She shuddered. No. It's impossible. It can't be. It can't be. She used the phrase as a mantra to shut out these disturbing thoughts and images.

  Andrea hurried into her bedroom. She pulled off the towel and started to comb out her hair. What was most important right now was to concentrate on what she needed to do. Not to think about that man, about her past. She had to help Mama Kalala cook. So she had to dress. She had to focus on the little things.

  The doorknob to the connecting bedroom jiggled. Without thinking, she unlocked the door. On the other side of the threshold stood the man she was trying to forget.

  Him. Will Struthers.

  He eyed her from head to toe and blinked rapidly. His tanned face turned rosy red. "I-I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to intrude."

  His embarrassment made her grin. Nothing erotic here. She was completely covered.

  And just to make sure, she held the edges of her robe closed against her chest.

  Andrea backed away from the paneled door so he could enter. "Not a problem, Will. I have three brothers. I'm used to sharing a bathroom."

  None of what she said was really true, but he wouldn't know that.

  She turned toward her bedroom. "Well, I'll let you have your privacy."

  He tapped her on her shoulder. Even through the terrycloth, his touch seared her skin.

  "Listen, I know this may sound odd, but I feel as if I know you from someplace."

  Oh great. He felt it too, then. Her long dormant memory started to bubble as if getting ready to boil. Soon the dam would burst.

  She did not want that to happen.

  She turned back around, her bare feet squeaking on the parquet wood flooring. She played innocent. "Really? You don't look familiar to me. I rarely leave the Big Island. You said you work for ESP. Sometimes I visit Oahu to see my brother Tomas and his wife, Hi`ilani."

  She believed him to be an outsider, though. He didn't have an island feel about him. Especially since he wore an expensive executive suit... in the bathroom.

  And she absolutely itched to escape from his company.

  He smoothed dark hair off his forehead and shook his head. His gaze never left her face. "No, that can't be it. I work for the firm, but out of Richmond. I only visited Oahu once before."