by Aubree Lane
Terence had just finished his second semester at the local community college and planned on picking up a few more transferable credits by attending the summer session. He changed his mind when, Jake Gilmore, the owner of Lielani’s Catch, called and asked if he would help with a big job that would last through August.
Jake had been dealing with a few health problems and needed someone he could trust to help get him through the next few months. Terence was hesitant, he needed to load up on as many cheap credits as possible before heading off to the university. Jake countered by making the pot a little sweeter. He tripled the going wage and offered Terence partial ownership of his boating operation if he would agree to put his education on hold and join him in this endeavor.
It was an offer Terence couldn’t refuse. Before his mother passed away, he promised her he would finish his education. He had done his best to keep that promise, but Terence loved working with Jake. As the school year came to an end, Terence became increasingly filled with dread. In a few years he would graduate and it would all be over. He would get a job in an office and work with computers for the rest of his life. With Jake’s offer on the table, he realized there were more options available. He promised his mom he would get his degree, not be miserable for the rest of his life.
He dropped the classes he’d signed up for and showed up at Lielani’s Catch a few hours before the Turner family was scheduled to arrive. But Lielani’s Catch was no more. Jake had changed the name of his medium sized watercraft to Angel Rose, in honor of Terence’s mother.
“I just thought I’d do something to make the old girl feel like she was yours,” the longtime family friend explained.
Terence wiped away a tear. Changing the name of a boat was considered bad luck. For a man as superstitious as Jake to tempt destiny meant a lot to Terence. Then it was time to get to work as Alexander Turner and his daughter came aboard, sporting brand new deck shoes and several bottles of broad spectrum sun block fifty.
Mr. Turner rarely made an appearance that first summer. Other than the occasional fishing trip, which he didn’t seem to enjoy, he spent most of his time playing golf and left Hannah to her own devices.
Hannah was content to spend the summer stretched out on the deck in her bikini without ever leaving the pier. It seemed like every week the bikinis became skimpier and skimpier while the poses she struck while relaxing on deck became more and more seductive.
Hannah made Terence extremely uncomfortable. She was a hard person to ignore or take for granted. Her body had matured beyond her age and she was breathtaking. No one would believe she was still in high school. She was a blonde bombshell ready to test the waters of her newfound sexuality.
Jake had a rough summer health wise, leaving Terence and Hannah alone while Mr. Turner golfed and schmoozed with potential clients.
Hannah watched every move Terence made. His greatest challenge was to put her off without pissing her off. She was off limits and he wasn’t going to risk losing his paycheck, along with a whole summer’s worth of classes, by messing around with the boss’s daughter. Occasionally, he would buy her a soda or a hamburger to appease her ruffled feathers, but that was it.
He kept sane by concentrating on catching up on the routine maintenance Jake let slide since falling ill. By the time the Turner’s left in August, the Angel Rose was in tiptop shape and Terence’s only regret was that he had to return to school and leave his baby behind.
Alexander Turner must have liked the arrangement because he retained their services for the following two summers. Terence resented the fact that he and Jake were essentially hired to babysit his daughter, but the work was easy and the money helped pay his tuition.
The following summer was more of the same, except Hannah was another year older and another year bolder. The advances she made on Terence made Jake blush. At first Terence was glad the old guy was feeling better and that he was around more, but instead of making his life easier, Terence found himself having to endure not only Hannah’s teasing but Jake’s as well.
Terence did his job and kept to himself as much as possible. When the Turners finally left for the season, Terence was exhausted. He vowed never to go through another summer like that again. It wasn’t worth it.
Jake convinced him to come back by increasing his piece of the pie and making him half owner of the Angel Rose. When that last summer rolled around, Terence was surprised to find that Hannah had grown up. All her immature brashness was gone and she had acquired a much more sophisticated and subtle style.
With only one more year of school left, Terence was well on his way to earning his B.A. in Computer Science and decided a geeky computer guy could do a lot worse than Hannah Turner. Looking towards his future and the doors a recommendation from Alexander Turner could open, he took a chance and asked Hannah out.
Their relationship sizzled. Hannah insisted they not waste any more time, and Terence was just naive enough to believe Hannah actually cared about him.
Before the summer was over, Hannah was pregnant. Terence must not have been Alexander Turner’s ideal choice for a son-in-law, or for being the father of his only grandchild, because the Turners packed up and left several weeks early without informing Terence of his impending fatherhood.
Neither he nor Jake knew the reason for their early departure, but for Terence it had been a relief. The thrill of being with Hannah had waned. Bit by bit she showed her true colors, and it wasn’t long before Terence realized his first instinct to stay away from her had been correct.
Six months later at a job fair on campus, Terence took another chance and turned in an application for an IT job at The Law Offices of Alexander Turner, believing he had an in with the boss.
His credentials must have impressed someone because after a few telephone interviews, he was asked to fly to San Diego and interview in person during winter break. His biggest fear was running into Hannah. He hoped he’d be able to slip in under the radar, work for her father a few years so he would have something prestigious to put on his résumé, then return to the island and contract out his services while still working with Jake on the Angel Rose.
As luck would have it, on the day of his interview Hannah stopped by to have lunch with her father. They ran into each other as Terence was walking out of the office of the associate who had conducted his interview.
Terence was shocked by what he saw. Hannah wore a tight top that showed off a round tummy with a protruding belly button. There was no mistaking the fact that she was pregnant. He confronted her, and she didn’t deny that he was the father.
Alexander came out of his office, and before Terence could get any more information out of Hannah, security escorted him off the premises and ordered him never to contact the family again.
Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.
Being a prominent family, Terence was confident the birth of his child would be announced in all the newspapers. When he returned home, he immediately researched the newspapers in San Diego and decided his best source of information would come from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Unfortunately, they didn’t publish birth or wedding announcements online at the time, so in order to keep current, he had to subscribe to the publication and be satisfied with day old news.
Seven weeks later he learned that Hannah had named their daughter Erika Rose. When he saw that their daughter’s middle name was Rose, he prayed it was Hannah’s way of reaching out to him, and he hoped they would be able to raise their daughter together. That little ray of sunshine went out the window when he was finally able to contact her. The woman spat at him that her daughter was named after her grandmother, not his stupid boat.
From then on it seemed that Hannah’s mission in life was to keep Erika away from him. Although Terence now made a decent living with his two thriving businesses, one working the tourist trade on West Oahu aboard the Angel Rose, the other as a computer consultant, he did not have the funds necessary to fight the Turners, and thus far, all his attempts to gain c
ustody or visitation rights had proved fruitless.
Not having the opportunity to build a relationship with Erika weighed on him. For a long time, he didn’t know if she knew he existed. Then out of the blue, Hannah informed him that she was sending Erika for a visit. Not just for a few days, but for her entire summer vacation.
Terence was elated and racked his brain to come up with a way to show his daughter how much she had always meant to him. With Jake’s blessing, the Angel Rose became the Erika Rose.
By this time, Jake had retired and left the boat in Terence’s capable hands. The Erika Rose was now a part-time gig that Terence operated between consulting contracts.
• • •
“Oh good,” Marissa said. “I thought I was going to have to do this one pro bono, it’s nice to know you’ll be able to afford my fee.”
Terence smiled but was hesitant to seal the deal. Marissa’s demeanor was self-assured and confident. She was no longer the ditsy blonde that came aboard the Erika Rose earlier in the week, but the image was still burned in his brain. “Not so fast. Why are you so willing to go up against an old friend? Why aren’t you on Hannah’s side?”
Marissa sighed and bit her lip. “I guess I have a story to tell you, too.”
She glanced nervously at her husband, and Terence got the impression that he was about to hear an abbreviated version of her story.
She tapped the end of her pencil restlessly on the table before she began. “There were five of us who used to hang together in high school.”
“Five!” Terence’s eyes flew wide open. “You mean there might be more of you showing up?”
“That’s just the core group,” Marissa chuckled. “There were twenty of us in the choir. Don’t worry, I’ll send you pictures so you won’t have any more surprises. Anyway, when I was a child, Alexander and my father were partners in their own law firm. I have known Hannah for most of my life. Our fathers had a falling out and went their separate ways. Don’t ask me what happened, because I don’t know.
“Hannah and I stayed friends, but she always tried to make me feel inferior. She did a pretty good job of it, too. Nothing about me was good enough, not my clothes, not my hair, or how I acted. By our senior year I’d had enough. Annie and I stayed friends, and the other girls chose Hannah and the in crowd.” Marissa took a sip of water and tapped her lips with her fingertips trying to decide whether or not to continue. She shrugged. “That’s it, end of story. Nothing earth shattering, just kid stuff. I’ve known Hannah an awful long time. I can’t imagine she’d be a good mother. I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”
Terence could relate to how Hannah could make you feel small and worthless, and he felt Marissa was being basically honest with him. He had checked her credentials out on the Internet and was properly impressed. He found several articles written about her in the Los Angeles Times, all of which had been extremely flattering. In addition, he discovered links to multiple other articles spouting her prowess. Annie had not exaggerated when she said Marissa was good. She had an excellent reputation, and after his research, he didn’t think he’d be able to find a more capable lawyer. “So where do we go from here?”
Marissa smiled and stood up. “First, I need to talk to Erika. My goal is to do what is best for her, and as long as that doesn’t conflict with your wants and needs, David and I will attack this the moment we get home.”
Terence didn’t have a problem with her terms. He wanted what was best for Erika, even if that meant staying in San Diego with Hannah. Knowing that couldn’t possibly be the case made it easy for him to agree. He reached out his hand. “Deal.”
“Good.” Marissa grasped his hand and shook it heartily. “I’ll leave David to gather some basic information from you while I go find Erika.”
• • •
That was several hours ago. Now Erika was off playing with her friends and Annie was dozing in a chair just a few feet away.
He loved watching members of the female persuasion sleep. They looked so innocent and trustworthy.
When Erika arrived that first summer, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He would sit in her room for hours trying to resist the urge to reach out and touch her face as she slept. He found it hard to believe that this perfect little being was actually his child. That he was a father, and that his daughter was finally sleeping in the room he fixed up for her when she was born. Of course, the lambs and ducks were too babyish by the time Erika actually had a chance to use the room, so they overhauled it together shortly after her arrival.
Erika picked out everything, new hot pink paint for the walls, princess bedspread and accessories. Then there were the assorted animated character appliques she insisted on putting on the ceiling. The result was quite unusual. The room was so shockingly busy, Terence truly didn’t know how Erika slept at night. The paint color alone was enough to produce insomnia. He thought about calming it down a bit after she returned to the mainland, but his daughter was proud of her masterpiece, so he simply kept the door shut when she wasn’t around.
Annie sighed and snuggled a little deeper into the killer chair. Terence grinned knowing she was going to need a good massage when she woke up. He was just the man for the job. The third time’s a charm. This time they would connect. There was no need for any more games now that everything was out in the open.
He would be working with Marissa for months and from what he ascertained, Marissa and Annie were inseparable. Whatever relationship he and Annie developed didn’t have to be a flash in the pan. They would have ample opportunity to make something of it if they chose, and that was all the assurance he needed to take it to the next level. As soon as Erika went to sleep tonight, he planned on waking every inch of Annie’s supple body up.
Terence tried to get back to work, but the slumbering woman across from him kept making contented little sleep noises. A drop of drool leaked out of the corner of her lush, soft mouth and kissing that mouth became the sole focus of his concentration.
The list of information David needed from him was short, but so far he had only completed one item. Frustrated, he tossed his pen on the desk and went outside to check on Erika.
• • •
When Annie opened her eyes, it was dark. She lifted her head and a sharp pain shot down her back. She groaned and forced her body into an upright position. She needed a chiropractor. Every muscle in her body ached. What had this awful chair done to her?
The lights flipped on, and Terence walked in. “I warned you,” he smirked holding out his hand. “Need some help?”
“This chair looks and feels so comfortable, it lures you in, and then it turns on you,” Annie complained.
He pulled her to her feet and Annie instantly felt better. She stretched her arms over her head to get a little blood back into her extremities, then in one flowing gesture she bent at the waist and touched the floor. Her back cracked, and she cried out with relief.
Terence watched her intently. “My back never pops like that.”
“I’m not done yet.” Fully aware of how he was looking at her, she flashed a smile. Annie pushed him back to make room for her next posture then rotated around for a spinal twist. Her back popped again and she repeated the motion on the other side. Annie wanted to do one more Asana called Downward Facing Dog, but she would have had to present her backside to Terence, and she thought that might be just a little too obvious.
Terence smiled. “I’m impressed.”
“Yoga,” Annie explained. She looked over his shoulder expecting to see his daughter. “Where is Erika? She must be hungry. Why didn’t you wake me?” Annie rubbed her shoulder. “Seriously, why didn’t you wake me?”
Terence cocked his head and grinned. Annie had been asleep for hours, and the first thing she did upon waking was inquire about his daughter.
She caught his look. “What?”
“I’m surprised, that’s all.”
“About what?”
“Never mind. Erika is spending the n
ight at Taylor’s. It seems we arrived home just in time for a slumber party. No time for dad now that she’s back with her friends.”
Annie smiled. Erika was out for the evening. She put her arm around his shoulders. “At least you can take solace in the fact that it is still an all-girl slumber party.”
Terence’s eyes grew wide, and his head shook. “No way are we going down that road. It’s time to change the subject.”
Annie was tempted to tease him further by telling him how beautiful Erika was and very soon he was going to have his hands full, but it was clear this dad was not ready for that. She steered him out of the office and guided him towards the kitchen. “So now that Erika’s not here for dinner, what other excuse can I use to get fed? I’m starving.”
“Are you trying to use my daughter to get a free meal out of me?” Terence teased in mock horror.
Annie laughed. “I’m hungry. I just figured she would be, too.” She caught a whiff of something cooking, and as they passed the dining room, she saw the table had been set for two. The lights were dimmed, and little tea lights illuminated the room. Her heart skipped a beat. He was romantic and even more importantly, they were both on the same page. “I see you’re expecting someone, should I make myself scarce?” she asked coyly, tilting her chin up to him.
“No,” he said softly. “You don’t have to leave.”
The tone of his voice made her catch her breath, teasing time was over. She shivered and took a step closer. Unfortunately, he picked up a pair of mitts, and opened the oven door.
Annie quickly reconciled herself to actually eating dinner. It smelled fantastic, and her stomach was growling. She picked a wine glass off the table. “Are these just for show or do you have something to put inside them?”
Terence set a casserole dish on the table and lifted the lid. “Taco casserole, I thought Erika was going to be here, or I would have made something a bit more adult.”