Early One Morning (Love in Oahu Book 1)

by Aubree Lane

  “You’re wrong,” he reiterated.

  With that, he turned and walked up to the house and left her alone on the dock.

  • • •

  When Terence entered the kitchen, he saw his sister, once again, had a bird’s eye view of the dock from her perch at the table. She smiled at him knowingly. “It looked as if things were getting pretty intense down there, then zilch. What happened?”

  Terence placed Annie’s mug in the sink and joined Lena at the table. “Kai has been dead for three years, isn’t it about time you started dating again? It’s a little unnerving knowing my sister gets off watching me make out.”

  Lena snickered. “Don’t change the subject.”

  Terence rubbed his stubbled chin. “I just lied to her.”

  “About what?”

  “Never mind,” he said, pushing away from the table. “Do you still have our high school yearbooks around here?”

  “Somewhere. Why?”

  Intent on rousing his daughter and putting an end to all this nonsense, he got up and headed for the stairs. “Do me a favor and stash them under your mattress until Annie leaves.”

  “Stop,” Lena commanded. “Explain, right now!”

  Terence did as he was told. He didn’t know why he was playing cat and mouse with his sister. Lena wouldn’t give up until she knew the whole story, and other than acute embarrassment, he didn’t have a reason to keep it from her. So he went back to the table and repeated Annie’s story verbatim.

  • • •

  “Now tell me why you lied to her?” Lena asked when he finished. “I know I gave you a hard time yesterday, but I want you to be happy.” She took hold of his hand. “That girl is infatuated with you, and I know you find her attractive. What gives?”

  His sister had lost her mind. “Are you kidding? This doesn’t have anything to do with me. She’s in love with some photograph. What happens the first time I don’t live up to her expectations?”

  “What kind of expectations could she possibly have about a photo? The real live Terence has to be better than that. Not every woman is going to turn out to be as shallow as Hannah the Horrible.”

  “Hey,” Terence scowled under his breath, “lower your voice. I don’t want Erika hearing you talk about her mother that way.”

  “Who do you think I got that expression from?” Lena chuckled. “And for what it’s worth, I think you should give Annie a chance. I like her.”

  Terence could not believe the words coming out of his sister’s mouth. “Since when?”

  “Since she had the good sense to think my brother was worth all the trouble she just went to.” She stroked his hand. “Little brother, you are a great guy. You would make a wonderful fantasy for any woman. Annie already thinks you are. Give yourself some credit. Get to know her and maybe you’ll end up having a fantasy of your own come true. Don’t let what happened with Hannah keep you from finding happiness.”

  “Stay out of it,” Terence growled. It had been almost impossible to walk away from Annie, now Lena was giving him permission to pursue her and was talking about fantasies. This conversation was more than just a little unnerving.

  • • •

  The moment Annie was back in her room, she dug out her cell phone and called Marissa. She braced herself for a cold reception, but she needed to talk to her friend. The phone rang three times before Marissa answered.

  Annie plunged in as if she hadn’t just stabbed her best friend in the back. “Can you talk?”

  “Only for a minute,” Marissa answered in an excited whisper. “David is in the bathroom. I have never seen him so jealous. He canceled his last two tee times so we could spend every moment of the rest of our vacation together. And he’s totally committed to making our second honeymoon incredibly memorable.”

  Annie laughed. “Again, way too much information. So you’re not mad at me? We’re good?”

  “Oh please, what was I thinking? I shouldn’t have ever considered kissing Terence. My marriage is worth much more than that. I should be thanking you, but I won’t because what you did was pretty low.”

  Knowing she was about to sound utterly self-centered and obnoxious, Annie broke in and cut Marissa off. “Good, then let’s get back to me. He says he’s not the same boy in the yearbook.”

  “Well, of course not. He’s all man now.”

  Annie bristled hearing Marissa talk about Terence that way. She held the phone out at arm’s length and shot it a dirty look. She brought it back to her ear and continued, “No, he says we have the wrong person.”

  “He’s lying.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Marissa countered. “I can ask David to run a quick check just to make sure we haven’t lost our minds.”

  Annie sighed. “I’m sure he would find ample proof to put us both away.”

  “I mean,” Marissa clarified. “I could have my private detective husband check out his story and make sure we have the right person.”

  “I know what you mean,” Annie sighed, “but I don’t want David getting involved in this.”

  “You just don’t want to owe him a favor. Have you and Terence kissed?”

  “Is nothing private to you?”

  “Now all of a sudden you don’t want to tell me anything. I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Annie paced the room. This conversation was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. “Marissa, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Where was that yesterday when you were zooming away giving me that little Miss America wave?”

  Annie knew she was in trouble. The Miss America wave was the ultimate put-down. The user of the wave was defined as being shallow and plastic, and in this instance Annie was guilty on both counts. A lump formed in her throat and she wanted to cry. “Marissa, I’m so sorry.”

  “Over and done with, I’m on to bigger and better things with my husband. I’m just being nosy. If I’m not going to be the one kissing him, I at least want to hear about it.”

  Annie wanted this conversation to end. Marissa was still peeved, but they would get through it. If David hadn’t been able to break up their friendship after ten years, nothing could. “If there is ever anything to tell, you’ll be the first and only one to hear about it.” She hung up the phone, and let out a sigh of relief.

  Annie collapsed on the edge of the bed and rubbed her face. She wanted to hide under the covers. Annie didn’t know how she was going to face Terence, but the smell of breakfast drifting up the stairs was proving too much to resist. She took a deep bracing breath, opened the bedroom door, and headed downstairs to face the music.

  The Javier family was just getting breakfast on the table when Annie entered the kitchen.

  “Come join us,” Lena said, pulling out the empty chair between Erika and Terence. “I was just about to call you.”

  The spread Lena prepared made Annie’s mouth water. There were scrambled eggs, a plate of some strange yellow fruit, fresh coffee, juice, and toast.

  Needing to do something with her hands, Annie picked up the odd fruit and examined it. “I have never seen anything like this before. Do I just bite it?”

  “Daddy, show her,” Erika commanded while stuffing a fork full of eggs into her mouth and dribbling bits of it down her shirt.

  Terence didn’t refuse, but the look on his face made it clear he didn’t want to show Annie anything. Grudgingly, he picked up a knife and began cutting. He arranged the fruit on a plate and placed it in front of her.

  Annie looked down and saw a dish full of stars. She smiled at Erika. “It’s too pretty to eat.”

  Erika picked up a piece of fruit with the same fingers she just licked and shoved it in Annie’s face. “You have to. It’s the best part.”

  Reluctantly, Annie opened her mouth and let Erika feed her. The crisp refreshing flavor exploded in her mouth. “It’s delicious. Can I have more?”

  “There is plenty,” Lena interjected. “It’s called Star Fruit. Eat as muc
h as you like.”

  Annie filled her plate with everything, not just the fruit, and began eating. She loved to eat, especially when someone else fixed it. “This is really good,” she said with a full mouth.

  Terence cracked a smile. “Keep eating like that and we’re going to have to teach Erika her table manners all over again.”

  Annie had seen the girl eat and wondered what manners he was referring to, but she grabbed a napkin and dabbed her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was setting such a poor example. My only excuse is that I usually eat alone, and over the years I’ve lost all sense of etiquette.”

  Lena frowned. “What? I would think you would have lots of dates.”

  “I get asked out a lot,” Annie said, picking up a piece of toast, “but they are usually lawyers.” Alan rushed into her mind as an afterthought. He was as far away from being a lawyer as one could possibly get. They spent a lot of time together the past few months, and yet he was nowhere near the forefront of her brain. A new form of guilt began to settle in the pit of her stomach.

  Terence and Lena glanced at each other, and the tension in the room grew thick.

  “You’re a lawyer?” Lena asked tentatively.

  “If I say yes, do I have to leave?” Annie joked.

  Brother and sister glanced at each other again, and Annie believed she had the answer to her rhetorical question.

  Erika ended the suspense. “They want to know if you can help daddy keep me.”

  That got her interest. Maybe she should have let the girl talk yesterday. “You want to stay here with your dad?”

  “Heck yeah,” Erika replied. “I don’t want to go home to Hannah the Horrible.”

  “Erika Turner, you are not to talk about your mother that way,” Terence scolded. “She’s your mom, and you will treat her with respect.”

  Blood rushed into Annie’s brain and kicked it into high gear. He said Erika Turner, not Erika Javier. That meant Erika’s mother was Hannah Turner. Annie felt light headed and hardly dared to ask for confirmation, but she had to know the answer. “Hannah Turner, the daughter of Alexander Turner?”

  “That’s my grandpa,” Erika squealed. “Do you know him?”

  “A little.” Knowing Terence was about to be blown away, she phrased her next sentence carefully. “Your mother and I attended the same high school, and we sang in the same choir.”

  Terence missed the glass of juice he was reaching for and sent it splattering all over the table. The orange liquid soaked the toast and drenched the scrambled eggs.

  Dark confused eyes bore into hers.

  Answering his unspoken question, Annie sucked in a breath and nodded.

  Without waiting for anyone to finish eating, he picked up his plate and began clearing the table. “Annie and I will clean up. You two go outside and have some fun.”

  Lena grabbed Erika’s arm. “Let’s go, Sweet Pea. I hate washing dishes.”

  Erika balked and grabbed a piece of dripping toast. “I’m still hungry, and I haven’t brushed my teeth.”

  Terence relieved Erika of the soggy glob of bread and dislodged his stubborn daughter from her chair. “Later baby, go outside with Aunt Lena.”

  When they were safely away, he turned back to Annie. His eyes blazed with fury. “What exactly are you saying?”

  Annie hadn’t expected his anger to be directed at her and momentarily recoiled. Forcing her voice to sound calm, she explained, “Hannah was there when Summer Sutton broke out the yearbook. She was part of our group. I don’t know what happened after high school, but I doubt it was accidental.” She paused and let the information sink in. “Are you still going to tell me I have the wrong Terence Javier?”

  He dropped into the dining room chair. “What did I do to deserve this?”

  Guilt, being the feeling of the day, washed over her. Terence hadn’t done a thing. “This isn’t your fault. It’s ours. I’m sorry for my part, but maybe I can help make it right.”

  “How? Are you going to take on Alexander Turner and his entire law firm? Better yet, just give Hannah a call and tell her that we hooked up yesterday. Maybe if you ask her real nice, she would consider letting me keep Erika. Do you think that will do it? If nothing else, it would give the two of you a chance to catch up and have a good laugh at my expense.”

  Annie ignored his sarcasm and picked a few more dishes up from the table. “Of course not. I don’t have anything to say to Hannah. I’m not even a lawyer, but a friend of mine specializes in Family Law, and she is a mama lion when she’s fighting for the rights of a child.”

  Terence looked confused. “You just said you were a lawyer.”

  “I said I dated lawyers,” Annie corrected. “The ones Marissa fixes me up with. She’s the lawyer.”

  Terence threw a crumpled napkin up into the air. “Oh yeah, let’s not forget about her. That makes all the sense in the world. Let’s get the basket case I took out diving to be my lawyer.”

  Annie picked the napkin up off the floor and tossed it into the trash. “The only reason she acted the way she did was because you were the dive master. If you had been anyone else, she would have seemed perfectly normal. You might have even liked her.”

  Terence shook his head. “There is no way I’m putting my child’s welfare in that woman’s hands.”

  Annie slowed her speech and tried to make him understand. “That would be a colossal mistake. Marissa is better than good. I can’t remember the last time she lost a case. I’m offering you the perfect solution to your problem. Don’t turn it down, Terence. At least talk to her.”

  Terence scowled. “Didn’t you say Marissa was on the dock yesterday because she wanted to kiss me?”

  Annie nodded.

  “And that her husband knows all about it?”

  Annie rolled her eyes and nodded a second time.

  “Well, don’t you think,” Terence continued, “he might not want me around?”

  She waved her hand in the air as if his concerns meant nothing. “He’ll get over it.”

  Terence gave up. “Fine, call her. I only hope I don’t lose some teeth when her husband decides to punch me out.”

  Annie smiled and gave him a quick hug. Marissa was going to love this. There wasn’t any way she would turn down this job. She was a firm believer in fate, instinct, the sixth sense, astrology, and how everything happens for a reason. For a lawyer, Marissa could be pretty surreal. She would eat up the fact that life had come full circle and that she’d been chosen to be Erika’s savior. More importantly, David, being the in-house private detective for the firm, would be working alongside her, and hating every single minute.

  Chapter 4

  “So this is where you live?” Annie asked, surveying Terence’s home through the bug splattered windshield of his small compact Honda.

  When the vehicle came to a full stop, she climbed out and took a closer look. The one story bungalow was nestled in a grove of trees not far from the ocean or Lena’s. It was a little sanctuary, calm and peaceful. “It’s beautiful. Why are you staying over at Lena’s?”

  Terence got out and rested his arms on the car’s rooftop. “Because she thought you might be an axe murderer.”

  Annie leveled him a glare. “What good are you sleeping out on the boat?”

  A smile broke across his face and he laughed. “I’d be the one that got away.”

  It was his first smile since his meeting with Marissa. At first Annie thought her best friend had refused to take his case. Thankfully, that was not what was troubling him. Annie smiled and hoped she was at least partially responsible for his mood change.

  The rear door slammed, and Erika yelled, “I’m going to find Avery and Taylor. They’re probably at the beach.” Without waiting for her father’s permission, she disappeared down a sandy path.

  Terence smiled. “I guess she’s in need of some kid time. Come on, I’ll show you my humble abode.”

  His idea of the grand tour was more of a race-walk as he made a beeline for
his home office.

  Annie followed, letting her eyes dart around each room, trying to take in as many details as possible. From what she saw Terence’s home was exquisite. Even with Erika’s stuff strewn about, she could see the care he had taken with his selections.

  Terence slipped behind a battered, oak veneered desk, which was in desperate need of refinishing, and got to work. Annie plopped down in a fluffy oversized, red-checked wing chair, which was totally out of place in the masculine surroundings, and waited for him to gather whatever information Marissa had requested of him.

  Fatigue washed over her as she sank into the depths of the cushions. Annie closed her eyes and snuggled down just a little bit deeper.

  Just before she was about to drift off, Terence said, “The time change must be catching up with you. I’m going to be here for a while. You could take a nap in one of the bedrooms or go lay out on the beach. You don’t have to hang around here.”

  Annie opened one eye. Little shock waves tingled across her shoulders. His eyes danced, and his easy smile made her feel welcome and safe. She wasn’t about to leave. Annie liked being close to him. She felt protected. That feeling occurred so seldom in her life, she didn’t want to let it go. She pulled her knees to her chest. “I think I’m pretty comfortable right here.”

  “Okay,” he warned, “but if you fall asleep in that chair, you’re going to pay for it later.”

  “Hush,” Annie purred. “I’m already asleep.”

  • • •

  Terence shrugged and went back to work. If Annie was willing to risk permanent injury by sleeping in that torture chamber, that was her business. He’d given her fair warning.

  Lunch with Marissa and David had gone surprisingly well. Marissa knew her stuff, and David, though not overjoyed with the prospect of working with him, had been courteous and polite.

  The first thing Marissa did after sending Annie, Erika, and Lena away was prod him for all the ugly details about his relationship with Hannah. He hated that part. He knew Marissa needed to hear the whole story in order to represent him properly, but it was like pouring salt on a wound. He never loved Hannah, but the callousness she showed when she threw him away still stung. Until then, he hadn’t thought anybody could be that cold and heartless.