“At the mill.” Noelani felt her temper flare. “The islands—Maui, in particular—were once the world’s leading sugar producer. Didn’t your father ever tell you about the month he spent on Maui studying Bruce Shiller’s operation?”
“Leave my father out of this.”
“Like he conveniently left me out of his life, you mean?”
“Ladies, ladies.” Adam stepped between the two bristling women.
Nick interrupted his conversation to glance their way. “The band’s taking a break, I see. Noelani, here’s their card. I assume you’ve come to talk to them about performing. You’ll want the guy with the accordion. He books all their gigs.”
“What’s she want with a band?” Casey peered around Adam.
“Short memory,” Noelani said sarcastically. “Have you forgotten that at breakfast, Jackson put me in charge of your annual pua’a?”
“Our what?”
“Sorry. Your pigfest.”
“Oh. I did forget. Nick, here’s Viv, Luc and Murray. Let’s go. You said you wanted Mr. Dardenne to meet Luc.” Dismissing the others, Casey spoke to the man with whom Nick chatted. Linking her arm through his, the two of them left.
Noelani watched Casey flag down a handsome couple and a third party. She recognized Murray Dewalt as the extra male, the friend and neighbor she’d met that morning in the kitchen. The man she didn’t know had midnight-dark eyes, killer good looks and carried a worn instrument case. His companion, a smartly dressed, racehorse-thin blonde, enveloped Casey in an effusive hug.
“Viv is Casey’s best friend,” Nick said for Noelani’s benefit. To Adam, he said, “Henry Dardenne is considering picking up the casino contract Guy Moreau reneged on. Henry requested a meeting with Luc Renault, because he wants some reassurance that Luc will continue performing if he buys the casino.”
“Um, excuse me.” Noelani ducked away from the men and made a beeline for the band leader, now packing up his equipment.
Adam’s gaze followed her. “Nick, I understand that Casey’s suffering from the loss of her folks. But she’s got to face facts. Noelani didn’t write Duke’s will.”
“Don’t push, Adam. For years Casey’s poured her heart and soul into growing the best cane in the state—mostly to please her dad. Duke did more than die. He fell from his pedestal. And…this isn’t for publication, but Casey had a miscarriage. The day before the property settlement meeting. Emotionally, she’s going through hell.”
“God, Nick. I’m sorry. For your sake, too. But maybe she’d benefit from having a sister at a time like this. Don’t women connect over babies?”
“Casey needs time. I wish she and Jackson would let me help them come up with the money to get rid of Noelani.”
“I hope you mean buy her out, rather than get rid of her. That sounds…sinister.”
“You know what I mean. If Dardenne signs tonight, I could give them a loan. But my question is—why are you involving yourself, Adam?”
“From the vantage point of an outsider, it strikes me that Casey and Jackson were dealt a majority of the aces in this hand. They grew up with Duke’s love. Noelani’s the one who got shortchanged.”
“Be that as it may, you can’t force people to like each other.”
“I’m not advocating force. Casey listens to you, Nick. It’d help if you put in a good word now and then for Noelani.”
“I’ll think about it. Meanwhile, don’t forget who hired you.”
“I know who hired me.” Adam felt the sting of Nick’s rebuke.
“Yeah? Well, you’re awfully damn chummy with our foe for a guy who usually keeps his nose to the grindstone. Why are you out with her tonight?”
“Jackson expressly requested I escort her here.” Adam’s temper frayed as Nick turned and walked away without a backward glance. “For another thing, she’s not the enemy,” he muttered. But dammit, he couldn’t afford to blow this job at Bellefontaine. And Nick knew full well that Adam needed the job if he had any hope of buying back Magnolia Manor.
Noelani paused a foot behind Adam. Close enough to catch the heated exchange that had passed between him and Nick. Adam’s terse admission that he’d driven her to the casino at his employer’s request cut deeper than any of Casey’s recent barbs. Noelani froze. First shame, then fury buzzed in her ears.
As if sensing her presence, Adam glanced over his shoulder. Damn! Had she heard?
She blindly jammed a paper in her purse. “I signed a contract with the group for a hundred dollars less than Jackson paid last year. If you’re reporting back to him, I think that news should please him.”
Damn, she had overheard. Adam didn’t know what to say to make matters better. “So, we’re ready to head home, then?” He avoided her eyes.
Noelani read that as guilt. And had he forgotten about their going to dinner, or had he changed his mind? Darned if she’d ask. Obviously more had happened between the men than the few lines she’d heard.
That was doubly evident in the way they ignored each other as she and Adam walked by the huddled friends. There was no wave, no acknowledgment, nothing to indicate they were even acquainted.
She might have probed deeper, except that they were delayed by a commotion at the casino entrance. Security had a disheveled-looking man by the scruff of the neck. He’d obviously drunk too much.
“Take your hands off me, sonny. My credit’s good here. Or it oughta be. I have wages coming from Duke Fontaine. His son-in-law owns this joint. If his wife won’t pay me, by hell I’ll take it out in trade.” He wrenched loose long enough to snag a glass of whiskey from the tray of a passing cocktail waitress.
Noelani plucked at Adam’s sleeve. “Who is that?” She rose on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “Did you hear what he said about Duke?” Busily elbowing his way through the crowd, Adam forged ahead. And Noelani’s voice carried farther than she’d intended.
The drunk, still evading the security personnel, fixed her with red-rimmed eyes. “I’m Chuck Riley. You wanna know about me and Duke Fontaine? I taught that bastard to fly. I went with him and the missus on their fancy European trip, but would he give me a turn at the stick? No. Said I’d lost my edge. I ask you, which one of us didn’t make it home?”
Two hefty security guards grappled Riley, wresting him to the ground. “Sorry we let him get in your face, miss.” Hoisting Riley, the guards carted him toward an office. When the door flew open, Noelani saw Nick, Casey and several others inside, looking anxious. Someone must have gone upstairs and gotten them.
Realizing they’d been separated, Adam hurried back to Noelani. “What happened with that guy? Did he grab you? I’m sorry—I let gawkers get between us.”
“His name is Riley. Chuck Riley. He said he was in Europe with my fa—uh, with Duke.” Her knees spongy, she dropped back behind a large group who were exiting the casino.
“The guy was plastered. Probably hallucinating. Why would a guy like that be with Duke in Europe?”
“Riley claimed Duke owed him back wages. I saw Casey and Nick in the office where security took him.”
“Huh. Then they can handle him. Jackson and Casey always pay their bills.”
“You’d know about that, I guess.”
“Listen, I grant you Casey’s been cross with you. But you might try being a little less abrasive, too.”
“Me?” Noelani lifted the heavy hair off her neck, glad to emerge into less stale air. “Have I complained? I wouldn’t dare since you’ve become her staunch defender.”
“I would think you’d take her part over a drunk stranger. After all, you are a Fontaine.”
“I’m a Hana,” she flared. “If my mother had wanted to recognize Fontaine’s blood, she’d have put Duke’s name on my birth certificate.”
“So his blood’s not red enough for you, but his money’s the right shade of green?”
They’d reached Adam’s pickup. Noelani recoiled from his sudden attack.
“Buckle up,” he growled. “We’ve got a mile to
drive to the restaurant.”
“If I was starving and hadn’t eaten in a week, I wouldn’t eat with you, Adam Ross. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”
“Well, I haven’t. I worked hard today.”
“That’s right. You’ve gone above and beyond the normal call of duty. I hope Jackson’s paying you double overtime,” she said, syrup dripping from each word.
Her jab hit home. Adam missed when he poked the key at the ignition. “God, Noelani,” he said, at once sounding contrite. “Nick pushed a hot button of mine tonight. I’m taking my anger out on you, and I shouldn’t. Forgive me,” he said, finally getting his pickup started.
“Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I acted like a jerk.”
“No argument from me there.”
Adam glanced out his side window as he made a U-turn. “Nick reminded me that Fontaine family matters aren’t my concern. He’s right. But I’d already invited you out. I rarely take time off to date, and I’d really like to enjoy tonight. Anyway, we’re almost at the restaurant,” he finished offhandedly.
Noelani sifted through his stilted speech and ended up with conflicting clues as to what Adam was really saying. She decided he regretted asking her out, and wouldn’t do so again. Yet—how different was that from her own repeated refrain? She intended to avoid him. So he wasn’t far off. Not far at all.
She opened her mouth to request that he take her straight home. Her stomach had other ideas, growling long and loud. Blushing, she mumbled, “Okay, so I lied. I’m so famished I could eat an onion. Raw,” she added sheepishly.
His quiet grin flashed as they passed under a streetlight. “Please don’t go to that extreme. The restaurant’s there on your right.” Still smiling, Adam swung into the parking lot and jockeyed his big pickup into a too-small slot.
Noelani opened her door. Heat hammered her in sultry waves, almost stealing her breath. Or was Adam’s quirky smile to blame for the odd catch in her throat?
He vaulted out lightly, rounded the hood and helped her down. The minute her feet touched asphalt, she shook loose from his grasp.
The move didn’t escape Adam, although he knew she had good reason to be touchy. His untimely irritation with Nick had hurt her. Adam felt bad about that. As blowups went, his tussle with Nick was minor. He should’ve kept quiet; he knew the whole family was under a strain. But he hadn’t liked Nick’s barb. After his mother had her nervous breakdown, the unscrupulous owners of her original sanatorium had coerced her into signing over Magnolia Manor and her military allotment under the ruse of paying for her care. Adam had spent too many years thereafter kowtowing to people who had money. He’d hated the feeling as a kid, and it didn’t set any better now. The hell of it was, Nick probably hadn’t meant anything by what he’d said. They’d both come out of a hardscrabble life, which was why they’d become fast friends in college.
But now Nick had someone to champion who meant the world to him. He was like a wild stallion fighting to save his mare. Logically, Nick might understand that Noelani couldn’t help her circumstances. But the part of Nick’s brain ruled by love had kicked in tonight. And maybe Adam was just a little envious of his old friend.
Dammit! Envy was unproductive. He knew that.
The restaurant was crowded, and they had a twenty-minute wait. Excusing herself, Noelani went to the ladies’ room. While she was gone, Adam checked his phone messages to see if he’d heard back from a wiring inspector.
He was talking to a vendor when Noelani returned. “Ross, table for two,” the hostess called. Adam hurriedly said goodbye and tucked his phone in his pocket. Placing his hand lightly on Noelani’s waist, he guided her to a booth in a quiet corner.
After they were seated, she studied him over the top of her menu. “I heard you mention a wiring inspection. It started me thinking. With a house as old as Bellefontaine, they’re lucky the fire didn’t do more serious damage.”
“This one would have if Casey hadn’t seen the smoke. Esme had been knocked unconscious. Casey got her and Toodles outside, then phoned the fire department. She also ran upstairs and helped Megan and Tanya out. I guess Tanya was too rattled to function.”
Noelani let the menu drop. “Gosh, that was brave of Casey. Was anyone hurt?”
He shrugged. “It all happened before I arrived at Bellefontaine. Nick was seeing Casey by the time they’d reached the point of assessing damage. He suggested contacting me. We met in college. Nick studied boat architecture, while I specialized in homes.”
“You shouldn’t have argued with him over me tonight. You all have to live here harmoniously. I’ll be returning to Hawaii.”
Adam turned away to watch the antics of a Cajun band. “I’ll square things with Nick.” Facing her again, he shut his menu. “Did you find anything that interests you?”
“A shrimp Caesar salad sounds good,”
“Not much food for someone hungry enough to eat a raw onion.”
A glimmer of a smile found its way to her lips. “Are you kidding? You must not have seen the size of the portions the waitress brought to that table across the aisle.”
“Hmm. I’m having eggplant and okra with alligator. It comes with onion rings.”
Noelani thought he was kidding, but that was what he ordered when the waitress stopped at their table.
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” he said when Noelani wrinkled her nose. “Gator tastes like chicken, only better.”
She declined to sample it. Granted, the alligator bits looked innocuous, but Noelani wasn’t interested. “All I can say is I’m glad Jackson didn’t put me in charge of an alligator fest. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”
Adam laughed. “Food likes and dislikes are all about what you’re accustomed to. You probably love papaya. To me it looks slimy. As for alligator, you don’t know what you’re missing. By the way—how’s your planning for the cochon de lait?”
“Good. I ordered pigs from the same man who catered last year’s party. He provides four side dishes, plates, glasses, napkins and cutlery, plus he does the roasting, all for a flat fee. I booked the band tonight. All that’s left is making flyers and ordering a keg. Oh, and the ingredients for mint juleps. Esme reminded me today.”
Adam smacked his lips. “No prissy watered-down juleps for that lady. I accidentally knocked one of her drinks into a potted fern at Nick and Casey’s wedding. Next day the sucker had shot up six inches and I watched the plant put out four new fronds—right before my eyes.”
Noelani stopped with a forkful of salad halfway to her lips. She broke into a chuckle. “You southern men do love to exaggerate.”
Adam laughed. Tipping back his head, he laughed. Any lingering tension left over from his encounter with Nick evaporated. Considerably mellowed, he found that the remainder of their evening passed far too quickly to suit him.
“Would you mind driving me past Fontaine’s mill on the way home?” Noelani asked, somewhat abruptly. They’d lingered over dark chicory coffee about as long as they could. “Unless it’s out of your way,” she hurriedly added.
“It’s not, but what can you see at night?”
“They’re not hauling cane twenty-four seven?”
He paid the bill and took her hand as they walked out into the humid night again. “I’m no authority, but Murray’s always hanging around, pontificating on what it’s like to farm cane. He said the mill operates twenty-four hours a day, but they only haul the cane from seven to four, or something like that. I tend to tune Murray out.”
“Wow, I wonder why they’d waste valuable hours.”
“Beats me. Tomorrow you can ask Casey.”
“I’ll ask Jackson.”
“Do you intend to spend the whole time you’re here at odds with Casey?”
“Look, you heard me ask her a straightforward question about the harvester. Did I get an answer? No.”
He separated out a key, weighing what he should say. “Uh, according to Nick, she’s
on emotional overload right now.”
“And Jackson isn’t? He’s at least civil to me.”
“You’re asking me why women act more emotional than men? I have to tell you, I’m the last person who’d know how a woman’s mind works.”
Noelani fumbled with her seat belt. “So you’re suggesting I should imagine myself in Casey’s shoes?”
He started the pickup and shrugged. “You’re poles apart on the subject of Duke. Is it even possible for you to look at the situation from Casey’s perspective?”
She sat gnawing the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, it is. I had the advantage of seeing Duke’s photo when I was ten. For seventeen years, I’ve been aware of the man who fathered me. I knew he was married. So while the news of Duke’s death still came at me out of left field, it wasn’t a total knock-me-off-my-props shock like learning about me had to be for Casey.”
She leaned back and closed her eyes. “If our situations were reversed,” she said in a small voice, “I’d probably hate me, too. I refused to speak to my mother for months after she finally broke down and told me about Duke. Poor Tutu.” She glanced over at Adam. “Tutu is Hawaiian for grandmother, in case you didn’t know. Anyway, Tutu tried so hard to make peace between Anela and me.”
“At the funeral Nick said he thought Casey had finally managed to deal with Duke’s betrayal. But maybe down deep she really hasn’t.”
“Seeing me in the flesh may have reopened an old wound.” She sighed. “I wanted Anela to apologize to me for complicating my life. She never did. In fact, when she was very ill, she said that if she’d had a choice as to whether to repeat that month with Duke Fontaine or give up the time she’d spent with him, she wouldn’t change one thing.”
“Family matters can get tricky. I sometimes wonder if my dad’s living in a remote Vietnamese village. And if maybe he has a new family to replace Mom and me. About the time I went to college, I read a report having to do with American soldiers in Vietnam who chucked their life here and took on new identities. Not long ago, a vet turned up in Australia with a second wife and passel of kids. He was the same age as my dad.”
“At the time, did you know your father well enough to say how he might react?”
The Secret Daughter Page 7