by Reina Torres
Mary elbowed her husband and Jackson saw the much larger man over-dramatize his wince of pain for comic effect. It certainly put a smile on his wife’s face. “It took a lot of begging from both of them but Rayne and I made honest men out of them.”
Jackson felt his face blanch and it was Truck who came to his rescue when he set his hands on Mary’s waist and pulled her up off of the ground and slanted a big kiss over her lips. When he was done, he leaned back but he didn’t set her back down on the ground.
His wife gave him a good-natured shove and laughed out loud when he finally put her down.
The noise tightened in Jackson’s gut. He’d heard laughter like that before. He’d had a woman wrap her arms around his neck like Mary did, and he’d had a woman lean into his kiss like-
Clearing his throat, he looked at the four. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
Ghost spoke for them. “Nothing really. We were going to have breakfast with you and then see where it goes from there.”
“I was wondering if you wanted to see a concert tonight.”
It was Ghost who answered first. “What concert?”
Letting out a long pent-up breath he looked at the ladies first and then the guys. “It’s more of a showcase. Hawaiian music and dance at the Old Hawaii Theater. It’s this Art-Deco theater downtown that you’ll never forget once you see it.”
Mary and Rayne shared a look before Rayne looked back at him. “You’re a Hawaiian music fan?”
That’s when he felt a muscle in his jaw tick and both of the ladies perked up. He knew he was treading a dangerous line. “I’ve been introduced to some great music since I’ve been here. We have one Country Music station and that one,” he grimaced, “the DJs are jerks and the music repetitious. But since you’re in Hawaii you should at least hear some of the music and see some dancing that might be a little more authentic than some of the shows here in Waikiki.” He let the subject drop and waited for the four to think it over.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t the women that spoke up. Truck, leaned down and looked him square in the face, searching his eyes. “Who is she?”
Jackson pulled back a little and gave him what he hoped was a confused expression. “What are you talking about?”
Truck laughed. “Son, you got it bad for someone. I’m gonna guess that she’s either going to see the show or…” He let his words trail off but his eyes continued to bore through Jackson’s skull.
“Okay, so I know one of the performers. She’s singing and dancing in the show, but I’m not just inviting you because I want to see her, it’s a good show and I think you’ll enjoy it-”
“We’d love to go.” Mary smacked Truck on the arm and while he winced and grimaced at his wife, she rolled her eyes. “I think our men could use a little culture.”
Ghost gave his wife a smile. “We’re here to see the sights and enjoy ourselves. Why not?”
Jackson turned a thankful look at the ladies. “I don’t suppose you ladies wanted to wear something with a local flair?”
Rayne and Mary shared conspiratory grins before they turned back to Jackson and nodded. “Yes!”
Pulling his phone from his pocket he opened the contacts and scrolled through to the T’s. When the call was picked up, he heard the soft spoken words of the store’s owner. “Auntie Lina? This is Jackson Guard, yes… yes… it’s been too long, sorry.” He listened as she prattled on for a moment and he saw the curious looks from the ladies. When she finally came up for breath, Jackson threw himself into the breech like a man ready to protect his team by throwing himself down on a bomb. “Great… that’s great, Auntie. I’ll have the ladies come by the store. My treat.”
Mary leaned back against Truck. “I’m going to like it here in Hawaii.”
The grassy expanse in the center of the Royal Shopping Center in Waikiki was a picturesque spot. It better be, considering the year of construction and the amount of money they spent on landscaping the little ‘park’ at the center of it.
On any given day you could go down, grab a cup of coffee at the adjacent coffee shop and sit under the banyan tree and enjoy the tropical weather. And then, depending on the time of day there could be live music, native crafts, or dance performances and lessons.
Hi`ilani Ahfong was one of their well-loved performers in both music and dance, but some of her favorite moments at the mall were the days she got to teach dance.
Seven little girls and one adorable little boy had been learning a song that was popular among the children of Hawaii. Not only did they love learning the name of the raucous bird that no one could seem to ignore, but they sang with gusto!
“Sassy little mynah bird, with your funny walk,” the little girls in the front row were doing an admirable job of remembering the steps, but there were two girls in the back row struggling a bit, so she moved through the front line and stepped in front of the two, doing the dance backwards so they could follow.
“My you are a noisy bird…”
“Over here, girls!” She heard a bunch of old-fashioned camera clicks and saw a few telling flashes of light. “Smile so I can show your grandma how much fun we’re having!”
One of the girls looked up with a wince on her face and the other beamed from ear to ear.
Hi`ilani moved on down the line and gently turned one of the girls in the opposite direction so she could fall in line with the other children. Looking up with a grin missing her front teeth, the bouncy blonde gushed out a thank you. “This is just like line dancing with different music!”
“Glad you’re enjoying it,” she nudged the girl in the other direction so she’d be back in line with the others. “Don’t forget the ending.”
Stepping around the group and off to the side she crouched down and placed her index finger in front of her mouth when the song ended so that the children remembered the last motion telling the bird to be quiet and everyone sang. “Kuli kuli e!”
A rousing cheer rose up from the curious onlookers and scores of cameras flashed around the eight children. Moments later, Hi`ilani was inundated with requests for pictures and even some autographs. It was a heady rush of movement and smiles, certainly more exhausting than teaching or dancing. Both of those activities were as natural to her as breathing.
Dealing with the public and fans could be fun, but for the last year she’d been struggling to keep that happy face on when it was a matter of these moments. It only served to remind her that there was a hole in her life.
A life that had been so much better. Better when she was with Jackson Guard.
“Hey there, girlie!”
Hi`ilani shook herself from her reverie. She knew that larger than life booming voice and the crazy energetic woman that it came from. CeeCee Fordham was an agent who had blown into her life a few months before.
After performing at a private party at an estate near Diamond Head, CeeCee had approached her about representation, determined to steal her away from whoever was representing her, only to discover that Hi`ilani didn’t have an agent. Yet.
Turning to greet CeeCee, she saw the sparkle in the older woman’s eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Are you sitting down?”
Hi`ilani looked down and then back at her agent. They were both obviously standing, facing each other, but inconsequential things like that didn’t bother CeeCee apparently.
“Because I have some news for you!”
“Ooohkay,” she waited for her to say something. “What’s the news?”
“Remember that audition I sent you on?”
“You mean one of the dozen you’ve sent me to in the last two months?” She shrugged. “I remember, but I don’t know which one you’re talking about.”
When her agent’s eyes widened, Hi`ilani took in a short gasping breath.
“What happened, CeeCee? Tell me!”
“I just got a call back from Jim Hutchins.”
Hi`ilani’s mind was working double time trying to match the name to a memory,
but it wasn’t working.
“Jim Hutchins saw your audition tape and given the notes he got from the casting director, he’s going to cast you in Honolulu P.I.”
The words made it into her ears. She understood them at some level.
But it wasn’t until she realized that the reason she couldn’t breathe was that her agent was trying to suffocate her in a hug that the enormity of that moment really sunk in.
She was going to be on a Network Drama Television show.
“I’m going to be on TV.” The words sounded heavy and dull in her voice. “I think I need to sit down.”
“See?” CeeCee laughed loud enough to scare away a few pigeons that had been milling around their feet. “I told you to sit down!”
Releasing Hi`ilani from her hug, CeeCee wrapped her arm around her protégé’s shoulders and started to walk her toward the locker room to get her things.
“Look, I’ll take you out to celebrate and then we’ll make plans. We’ll have to get you a lawyer to look over the contract and then we’ll get totally drunk at Hula’s bar and hang with the guys for fun.”
Hi`ilani stopped short and looked up at her agent. “I can’t. Not tonight.” She nervously licked at her lips. “I have that showcase tonight at the Old Hawaii Theater. Maybe we can meet tomorrow? I need some time to process this moment.”
“You’re not thinking of passing on this, right?” CeeCee almost sounded panicked.
“No way!” Hi`ilani smiled up at her and gave her a big hug before stepping back. “It’s just out of left field. I didn’t think I had a chance at all of getting the part. It still doesn’t feel real.”
CeeCee nodded. “That’s the difference between you and me, girlie! I knew from the moment I saw you performing that you were destined for big things… HUGE things! And I’m not just talking about men.” CeeCee gave her a wink and raised her brows in a comical expression.
“I’m not talking about men at all,” Hi`ilani sighed.
“Well, that’s going to change too,” CeeCee assured her. “This is just the beginning of the exciting life you’re going to have!”
They paused outside of the locker room door and CeeCee narrowed her eyes at her.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
Hi`ilani blinked back the tears that pricked at the backs of her eyes. Since the moment she’d heard the good news from CeeCee, everything inside of her told her to call two phone numbers. The first, her family. She wanted to tell her dad, her tutu, and her sisters. And then she wanted to call Jackson. It was crazy, right?
He’d dumped her a little over a year ago. Told her he didn’t have a place for her in his life. And seriously, she’d dated after him.
Okay one guy.
And that, well that ended because try as she did to like Kyle. He just wasn’t Jackson.
She sighed and hung her head. She was crazy with maybe just a hint of pathetic mixed in, but it didn’t change the fact that she missed him like air.
But that was her problem.
Try as she might she hadn’t been able to shake him out of her life. And so here she was-
“Wow, even I can hear the gears turning in your head. Look, go, get changed. I’ll drop you off at the theater so you don’t have to take theBus. You know that traffic can be killer at this hour.”
Hi`ilani rose up on her toes to kiss CeeCee on the cheek. “Thanks, CeeCee. Mahalo for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Girlie, you’re worth it.”
Chapter 2
Jackson watched the cab pull up to the curb in front of the theater and then jogged out to open the back-passenger door. Offering a hand to Rayne, he helped her out and then did the same for Mary. The two women looked resplendent in their brand new mu`umu`u from Auntie Lina’s shop.
He couldn’t help the appreciative looks he gave the women. Rayne’s dress was a classic gown with loose belled sleeves that ended up above her elbows, moving graceful around her shoulders and Mary’s dress had a velvet faced neckline and slim sleeves that accentuated her form. Both women’s gowns were made from fabric with dark jeweled tones and simple floral patterns in silhouette. There was just something incredibly attractive about happy people and Mary and Rayne were obviously happy. It wasn’t just because they were on vacation, just one look at either woman, or either couple for that matter, it was easy to tell they were all crazy happy and in love.
Someone clapped a hand down on his shoulder… hard.
“You might want to direct your eyes elsewhere, Ajax.”
He would have laughed if Truck’s hand on his shoulder wasn’t bordering on agony. “They both look amazing,” pain lanced through his shoulder – how the man managed to pinch a nerve with an open hand, Jackson would never know, “I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful.”
“And he wasn’t,” Rayne gave Truck a pointed look. “Besides, it’s nice to know people appreciate the way we look. Let him go.”
His arms started to go numb as Mary stepped closer. Jackson felt the hem of her dress brushing against the leg of his dress pants. She gave Truck a poke right in the center of his chest. “He’s being nice. Stop before you do permanent damage.”
A moment later he had feeling back down to his fingertips, but it was like pins and needles. He contemplated asking Truck to put his hand back on his shoulder before it became unbearable and then changed his mind when Mary touched her hand to his chest.
She looked over his dress uniform and gave him a look of appreciation. “Lookin’ good, Ajax.”
“Come ‘ere, woman.” Truck had her tucked up against his side in a heartbeat. “Don’t make me take the boy apart.”
Jackson wisely kept silent and still even after the ‘boy’ comment. He wasn’t ‘that’ stupid.
“I was just telling him he looks good.”
“I agree,” Rayne earned herself a kiss brushed against her cheek and a murmured comment from her husband that made her laugh. “You stop, too. He’s trying to make a good impression tonight. He doesn’t need you two scaring him before he sees her.”
Truck grunted and looked him over from head to toe. “He looks like he’s got a stick up his butt.”
Mary slugged him on the shoulder and Truck made a good show of rubbing the spot with a wince.
“Careful,” he warned her, “you break me, you’ve bought me.”
Moving his hand away, Mary rubbed at his arm. “Don’t worry, big guy. If I break you, I’ll put you right back together.”
The expression on Truck’s face changed in a heartbeat and suddenly he saw the truth of why the other Delta unit worked ‘with spouses.’ Mary and Rayne, they didn’t take anything away from the soldier they were with. Even if Mary could bring out such a tender emotion in her husband, their love strengthened him. Made him a better soldier as well as a better man because she was there for him and he, for her.
The more he thought about it, he knew he was doing the right thing. He’d cross the line with Commander Chastain when he’d made things right with Hi`ilani.
She deserved that or he didn’t deserve her.
Ghost gave him an appraising look and nodded. “Pulling out the fancy uniform?”
Jackson nodded. “It’s only fair. I told her I couldn’t be with her because of the Army. If I’m going to beg her forgiveness, she should get it from all of me, the soldier and the man.”
“Aww.” Mary leaned against Truck, wrapping her hands around his arm. “That’s just too sweet.”
“Come on, man.” Truck shook his head. “You’re trying to show us up.”
“Not me,” Jackson coughed out a laugh, “I’m trying to learn from your example. You’ve got your lives together. I’ve got to step up my game. If she tells me I don’t have a chance…”
“You can’t think of it like that.” Mary’s voice may have been soft in the din of the gathering crowd, but it reached his heart better than it reached his ears. “Truck didn’t give up on me. I’m afraid to say he could have given up on me a bunch of times and I woul
dn’t have blamed him.”
“Never, babe.” The big man set a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. “I always knew you were mine.”
Jackson felt his heart pound against his ribs as if it was trying to break free of its cage. “I’m glad you’re all here tonight. I feel like I have my team at my back.”
“We’re here for you, Ajax.” Ghost’s eyes met his and Jackson felt the truth of his words. They had his back.
A kind of energy rolled through the crowd as they saw some ushers moving through the theater lobby and Jackson stepped to the side so Mary could see in through the glass doors.
Mary touched Jackson’s arm. “This is kind of exciting for me.” He turned to listen as the crowd shifted near the doors, eager to get in. “I was hoping to see some dancing and hear some Hawaiian music, but I didn’t want to bore Truck.”
Suddenly the space beside him was empty and he heard Mary’s breathy squeal as Truck pulled her into his large body. He half-nuzzled her cheek as he growled into her ear. “Nothing you want to do would bore me, woman. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy.”
Jackson felt his stomach twist and drop like it had climbed into a roller coaster. Those words, that feeling. It was all so familiar and yet it felt like it was lightyears away.
“You okay, Ajax?”
Shaking himself free of his reverie he looked at Rayne and mustered up a smile. “Sure. Thanks for asking. It’s still a little disconcerting,” he confessed. “I’ve been thinking about her for the last year and it’s felt like I was mourning the loss of half of me. I’d just kept telling myself that it was for the best. For her. For me,” he swallowed hard, “it’s been hell.”
He looked down at the bouquet tucked under his arm and blew out a breath. “If I’m lucky, she won’t throw this in my face.”