by Lakes, Lynde
Mele’s throat constricted with sympathy, and she reached across the table to clutch Bethy’s hand. “Honey, this wasn’t your fault by any stretch of the imagination. And I think you’re right. I need to talk to your dad.”
Mele had the unnerving sensation of someone staring at her, and she glanced toward the entrance. Rick came striding toward their table, broad-shouldered and looking fit, with a worried expression on his face. She had an urge to escape, but Bethy’s guilt had put a new slant on the situation. And besides, her knees suddenly seemed too weak to support her.
Rick had two pikake leis over his arm. Mele’s heart pounded. This was dangerous territory. How could she face him and then walk away again? But she had to. It was important for Rick to be aware of the awful weight his daughter carried.
He kissed Bethy’s cheek and placed a lei around her neck; then he bent and kissed Mele’s cheek, slipping a lei over her head, too. The strong floral scent and his woodsy aftershave wafted around her. “It’s good to see you again,” he said in a deep voice that sent a tremor through her. “I never really got to tell you how very sorry I am about Geoffrey. I wanted to go to the funeral, but….”
“His parents didn’t want anyone but family,” she said softly.
Rick nodded. “And how are you holding up?”
The look of honest compassion in his eyes was almost her undoing. She stammered an attempt at a reply. “I’m…ah…Rick, we need to talk.”
His eyes brightened with hope. “Bethy, why don’t you go to the powder room and comb your hair. Or something.”
Bethy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Get rid of me just when the fun begins. Story of my life.”
Mele smiled in spite of herself. “I’ll take notes and give you the lowdown later.”
Bethy left, but halfway to the restroom, she glanced back with a wary look on her face. Mele gave her an encouraging nod.
“Why wouldn’t you take my calls?” Rick asked.
“I think we should talk about Bethy.”
He sighed. “I’m truly sorry. She got you here under false pretenses, but she’s a good kid. Just lets her imagination run away with her, and this time I let her–”
“She feels guilty and thinks she’s responsible for people dying.”
“What? That’s crazy. She knows I’m the one….”
“Let’s not play the who’s more guilty game, because I’d win hands down. We have to deal with Bethy’s feelings. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t be burdened with guilt like that.”
An unreadable look darkened Rick’s eyes. “She has no reason to feel that way.”
“But the point is, she does.”
“So…what do we do now?”
Mele liked the sound of we, but she shook away the thought almost as soon as it had occurred. “I don’t know. You’re her father. You’ve got to think of something. What about her mother?”
He shook his head. “She’s in in Paris on a buying trip. She’s more into her career right now than our daughter. I have to fight the urge to blame her for the kidnapping. If she’d been home….” He paused. “I shouldn’t have said that; it wasn’t fair. I messed up when I didn’t stop Dom before he could kill again.”
She swallowed hard, remembering how she’d been the one to beg for mercy on behalf of Dominic Gabronski. “Maybe if we stopped trying to lay the blame, Bethy wouldn’t feel the need to take it on herself to save us.”
Rick exhaled. “I’m willing to give it a try.” His deep voice called to her soul.
Mele felt a unity with Rick that she couldn’t shake. She cared about him and his daughter, and wanted to be a part of their lives. But even after her mourning period for Geoffrey was over, a love relationship with Rick was impossible.
A sharp pang sliced into her. She couldn’t have him. No way could she accept an undercover agent who went wherever the FBI sent him. She needed a man rooted in Hawaii so that the children she wanted would be raised around family. But before she and Rick went their separate ways, she had to help Bethy.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to spend time with your daughter and help her through this. She isn’t responsible for any of it, and maybe I can make her understand that.”
The look in his eyes melted her. “That’s very generous of you. Thank you.”
Mele lowered her gaze and studied her fingers. “So what was it you wanted to say to me?”
Rick swallowed convulsively. Though he’d obviously hoped for this opportunity, for the chance to talk to her, now that it was here, he seemed at a loss for words. “I know you loved Geoffrey….” Rick’s voice trailed away as though he was convinced of the truth of that but couldn’t bear the thought.
Suddenly an uncontrollable urge to clarify her relationship with Geoffrey gripped Mele. “I lost my best friend, not my fiancé.” She didn’t know why that distinction seemed important, but it did. “We broke our engagement the day of his murder. We didn’t get a chance to tell anyone. And then it was too late….”
Rick captured her gaze with a piercing look. “Did meeting me have anything to do with your breakup?”
She wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, but figured honesty was always the best option. “No. Our engagement was wrong from the start. It just took me a long time to find the courage to speak up. The funny thing was Geoffrey felt the same way. We were in like, not love. Maybe if I’d broken the engagement sooner, Geoffrey would still be alive. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive mys—”
“I thought we were dropping the guilt trips for Bethy’s sake,” Rick said gently.
Mele sighed. “You’re right. But it’ll take some work.”
“We could struggle with it together….”
She studied his handsome, strong face, and her heart did a flip-flop at the love gleaming in his eyes. “You’re talking about more than helping Bethy, aren’t you?”
He smiled. “Guilty as charged.”
Her heart pounded. She longed to throw herself into his arms. “No. We can’t let this go any further. I mean…it’s impossible. We are impossible. We come from different worlds, and we have different values.”
“I don’t think we’re so different.”
“But we are! You’re an FBI agent who lives for adventure and travels the world looking for trouble. I’m a local peace-loving girl who doesn’t want to leave the islands.”
He grinned. “I quit the undercover work and took a desk job. I have to live in D.C. for a while, but we can work this out.”
“What you really mean is if you and I get closer, I’ll give in and leave the island. But that will never happen. Never.” He winced like she’d slapped him. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. “How long will you be here?” she asked softly to lessen the harshness of her words.
He looked down at his hands. “A month.”
“I’ll spend as much time as I can with Bethy before you go…but I can’t see you.”
“That’s crazy. How can I be on this island and not see you?” His voice was hoarse. He swallowed against the tight constriction in his throat. “We belong together.”
“I belong on this island where the children I plan to have will be raised with their grandparents and forty or fifty cousins. Besides, I’m in line for a partnership at the law firm. I’ve worked too hard to let it all go.”
Anger glinted in his eyes. “Sounds like you’ve thought everything over pretty thoroughly…and love wasn’t enough.” He threw some bills down on the table. “Please see that Bethy gets back to the hotel after lunch.” He paused, looking at Mele like he wanted to shake her. Then his gaze softened. “I’m available, if you need anything. I always will be.”
In the weeks that followed, Mele made it a point to see Bethy daily until it was time for father and daughter to go back to Washington D.C. Bethy hadn’t talked any more about guilt. Mele hugged her close, blinking back tears. “You can call me anytime, and come visit whenever you like.”
Rick had stayed out of sight on all the visits.
Mele was surprised and – to her chagrin – disappointed that he’d given up so easily.
She breathed in and out deeply, trying to get past the painful longing. It would be okay. She would stay busy, and soon the pain of sending away the man she loved would lessen.
But it didn’t. The hole in her heart seemed to grow bigger every day.
****
Six months later, Rick and Bethy returned to Hawaii. After almost losing Bethy, Rick convinced her mother that since she was doing so much traveling that it was best that his daughter stay with him. Now he just had to convince Mele that they should all be together. He couldn’t give up the woman who’d captured his heart. If something had to go, it would be his job, not her. But was it already too late?
It was past midnight by the time he got Bethy settled in the hotel and drove alone to Mele’s condo.
“Who is it?” she called from inside. Her voice sounded thick and muffled.
He took a deep breath. “It’s me. Rick.”
Silence. He heard only the thudding of his own heart. Time seemed to stop while he waited…and waited.
“Mele … I gave up my job in D.C. Know anyone hiring on Oahu?”
At the sound of deadbolt locks disengaging, adrenaline shot through his veins. The door opened – and there she was: hair tangled, eyes dazed, wearing a sleep shorts outfit with tiny palm trees on it, her long legs looking enticing.
“Rick?” She stared at him as though unable to believe her eyes.
He didn’t know who moved first, but suddenly she was in his arms, all warm and cuddly. “You gave up your job for me?” she asked between kisses.
“I’d give up my life for you,” he said, kissing her again.
“I thought I’d never see you again…and my heart was breaking.” She paused. “Are you going to regret this?”
“The only thing I regret is that it took me this long to realize that for you, I could live anywhere, make a living anywhere.”
She drew him into her darkened living room and turned on a table lamp. She opened a desk drawer and withdrew an airline folder. Inside was a ticket to Washington D.C. “I was coming to see you this weekend to tell you that I’ll do whatever it takes to be your wife and Bethy’s mother.”
“Oh, Mele, that’s the best news I’ve ever heard,” he said, drawing her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom. Kissing her face, her neck, her shoulders, he stood on her feet, and in the throes of wild passion they undressed each other.
“I dreamed of this,” she murmured.
He laughed low in his throat. “Don’t tell me the ending of the dream. I want it to be a surprise.” He walked her backwards toward the bed and eased her down to a prone position. The only light came from the open doorway and he wanted to enjoy this with all of his senses.
Hot and impatient, he yanked the drapes open, and then he slid onto the bed. Just as he hoped, silvery moonlight highlighted their nude bodies. Tracing a hand down her throat, he inhaled her scent, listened to her quickened breathing and pounding heart. It was as if everything had stilled inside. He fought to slow himself down and remain tender while his rising desire urged him to ravish her. Catching her in an unyielding hold with warm, soft pressure and iron-willed patience he lulled her into willing submission. She trailed her fingers over him, then reached for his pulsing penis.
“I love the size and shape of you, your hard muscles, your muscular back, chest, shoulders and best of all your heart.” Then she laughed. “And this sexy badboy hair drives me wild.” She entwined her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. He felt the feral drive of their dual madness. He ravaged her mouth, her breasts while his fingers found her moist core. He entered her – and as though she couldn’t get enough, she drew him deeper. He felt her moist core pulsing hot and insistent around his hot, throbbing shaft.
“Rick, now please!”
Together they rode the sweaty tides of passion to the pinnacle.
Later in the afterglow, he realized that if he hadn’t just experienced the best sex he’d ever had, it was close and definitely made hotter by his love for her.
He hated to make love to her and run. It set a cold beginning between them, especially on their first time, but…
“I’d like nothing better than to stay and make love to you over and over and then wake up and make love to you again in the morning, but I can’t leave Bethy alone all night.” He looked down into her eyes. “Honey, if I have my way, we won’t be spending many more nights apart.”
“It’s all right. I know you have to get back to my future daughter, and I’d be disappointed in you if you didn’t go to her. But, perhaps we could all meet for breakfast?”
The next day, after breakfast, they all drove out to see where Mele’s car had gone over the edge of the cliff on that fateful night.
Mele related the story as though reliving it. She told Bethy the legend of Akua Lapu and how she suspected that the spirit had had a hand in the way things had happened and ultimately turned out.
When she finished, he leaned over to Bethy and asked, “Want to be the flower girl at my wedding?”
Bethy gave a dimpled smile. “Who’s the lucky lady? As if I didn’t know!”
He gestured with his thumb toward Mele.
“Hey, don’t I get to say anything about this?” Mele asked,
They were playing a game for Bethy’s benefit, so his angel could feel a part of the proposal.
Rick smiled. “Of course. As long as you say yes.”
“Yes!” she shouted, the joyous sound echoing out over the turquoise ocean below.
****
Three months later, Mele was living her dream. Wearing a white beaded wedding gown, she and Rick exchanged vows on the cliff overlooking Makapuu Lighthouse. When the formality was over and the minister left, Rick kissed her again, this time longer and with even more passion. Then he released her for a moment and hugged Bethy, and then drew her back into his strong, secure arms. His tender, warm kiss promised a lifetime of love and passion.
The breeze hummed a haunting song.
“Look!” Bethy said.
Mele looked down at the lighthouse. Was it a trick of the light? Or did her new daughter really see something?
Bethy smiled as if she had achieved a new awareness, and then she turned back to the lighthouse.
Mele followed her new daughter’s gaze. “You aren’t imagining it, sweetie. It’s still there.
“I know,” Bethy said.
Mele met Rick’s gaze, and he nodded, his eyes full of love.
She smiled. “It seems our daughter has fully grasped how the spirit changed our lives and why we wanted to be married here.
Bethy watched the spirit intently. “This is so awesome.”
Rick laughed. “It is indeed awesome.”
They stepped closer to their daughter and drew her into their embrace again. Hugging tightly, the new little family watched in silence as a wispy Akua Lapu draped in white gossamer veils floated over the landmark lighthouse, then smiled and disappeared.
Bethy stepped away, staring at the now cloudless sky as though reluctant to let the spirit go.
Mele pressed closer into Rick and went back to kissing her new husband, looking forward to many tomorrows. They didn’t need the spirit anymore. They had each other.
The End
www.lyndelakes.com
Other Books by Lynde Lakes:
Murder in the Clear Zone
Pointing Leaf
Primitive Flame
Star Fallen Lover
Silent Cymbals
Russian Connection
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
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