Jesse hugged them both. “I’m going to stay with him. Make sure my older brother doesn’t get into any trouble. Once the nurses find out he’s Kai Brady, they’ll be all over him. I’m going to make sure they don’t rush him into a Vicodin-induced wedding.”
“Good call,” Dallas agreed.
Everyone paused a second, glad Kai was alive, not wanting to even think of the next step: what his long recovery might be like. When—or if—he’d surf again. She glanced at his leg splint, which was held up by an elaborate set of wires and pulleys above his bed. Kai sighed and leaned back in his bed, looking pale and tired.
“Try to get some rest, Kai,” Allie said, squeezing her friend’s hand. He gave her a nod, and his head fell back on the pillow. Keeping awake and upbeat was a struggle, she could tell. Dallas led her out of the crowded hospital and to his pickup truck. As they both climbed in, her worry for Kai bubbled over.
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” she asked.
Dallas shook his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. That leg...”
“You think it will heal all right? Will he be able to surf?”
“I didn’t want to ask,” Dallas said as he steered the truck out of the hospital parking lot. “That’s something Kai will have to talk about with his doctors. I’m just glad he’s alive. For a while there, I had my doubts he’d make it. If we’d found him just a beat later...”
“Don’t think about it.” Allie reached out to touch Dallas. “We got there. That’s what matters.”
Clouds crowded the sky. It looked as though it might rain. Just what we need, more water, Allie thought as a big fat raindrop plunked down on the windshield.
Dallas met Allie’s gaze, and his stark blue eyes sent shivers through her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For coming with me. For helping. With Po and Kai. You were...amazing.” The complete admiration in his eyes took her by surprise. He squeezed her hand.
“It was nothing.” More rain fell, big drops, and Dallas flicked on the windshield wipers. Allie felt uneasy, as if the stress of the past several hours was only now reaching her. The rain didn’t help. She hated driving in the rain.
“It was many things, but nothing ain’t one of them,” he drawled, bringing her palm up to his mouth and kissing it ever so gently. She felt the feather-like kiss all the way to her toes.
Why does he have this effect on me? Allie wondered. It wasn’t long before her thoughts wandered back to the pond, about just what kind of effect he could have on her. She blushed just thinking about it.
“I’m serious, there aren’t many women like you,” he said.
“Like me what?”
“That think of others first, before themselves. You’re a good person, Allie.” She felt herself cringe at the compliment. She always had a hard time with compliments. She always thought the person giving them wanted something.
The rain poured down in sheets, and Allie felt a strong sense of déjà vu. They weren’t on the same road where her father had the accident, but it felt like it. The dark green foliage on the side of the road, the blurring rain on the windshield. Allie felt her chest constrict. She hated driving in the rain, always had since that day, but today, for some reason, the memory felt closer than it had in years. As if it had happened yesterday.
“Allie?”
Her heart rate sped up, and suddenly she felt as if someone was standing on her chest. Why couldn’t she breathe?
“Stop the car,” Allie muttered.
“What?” Dallas asked in confusion. “We’re almost there.”
“Please. Stop the car!”
Dallas did as he was told, pulling over on the muddy median. Allie grabbed the handle of the door and opened it, tumbling out. She bent over her knees, trying to suck in air, the heavy raindrops pelting her body, her face, just like they had on that day. I think I’m having a panic attack.
“Are you sick?” Dallas asked, now worried as he walked over to put an arm around her. The kind gesture undid her. The pressure from her chest lifted, but now the floodgates opened and the tears came. They poured down her cheeks. “I don’t understand.” Dallas furrowed his brow, his blue eyes bewildered. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
But Allie couldn’t. All she could do was bury her face in his chest and cry.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DALLAS CALMED ALLIE down enough to get her back into the truck. They sat, Allie wearing one of Dallas’s oversize sweatshirts he’d found in his truck cab, her damp hair hanging down past her shoulders in dark clumps. Tropical rain ran down the windshield of the truck, the wipers still going, the headlights beaming out into the rain, spotlighting a huge papaya tree growing alongside the road.
“Just take me home,” Allie said, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“We need to talk about this.”
“I don’t want to.” Allie’s jaw clamped down, and Dallas realized she had practice keeping people away. But he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“We’re not leaving here until you tell me why you were crying.”
“We can’t stay here.” Allie’s eyes grew big as she glanced to the side of the road, where the headlights of a car could be seen in the distance. They sat in a little dirt turnaround, but Allie’s face said it all: she didn’t want to just sit.
“If you want to go, then you need to tell me what’s wrong.” Dallas wasn’t above waiting here until she confessed. He took the key out of the ignition to make his point. The lights stayed on; the windshield wipers, however, abruptly stopped.
“Why do you want to know?” The question came out like a squeak. She sat hunched in the front seat of his truck, as if he had just asked her to admit to being a drug dealer, as if she’d done something unpardonable. Dallas wanted to know what it was. He’d known she’d been holding out on him, and now it was time for her to come clean. He couldn’t imagine it was nearly as bad as she thought it was.
“Because I can’t help you fix your problems if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.” Dallas’s tone was matter-of-fact, and that prompted a reluctant smile from Allie. “And if you don’t tell me, I’ll just assume it was something I did, and then you’ll have to deal with that.”
Allie coughed a laugh. She saw the glint of the key in his hand and reached for it. Abruptly, he pulled away, holding it out of her reach. “Give me that!”
“Not until you tell me.”
“Dallas. Drive us out of here.” Allie glanced anxiously out the back window of the truck. “With the rain and the flooding already from the tsunami, we could get washed away or something.”
“We could,” he said. “You’d better start talking, then.”
“Dallas!” Now, she was mad. Good, he thought. Better mad than distraught and crying. He’d take an angry woman over a weeping one any day.
“No.” He shook his head, holding the ignition key far from her. “Tell me why you were crying. Then I’ll start the car.”
“Ugh,” Allie grunted, angrily crossing her arms across her chest. “Fine.” She swiped her sopping wet hair from her forehead angrily.
Allie took a big breath as if bracing herself for a fall. “When I was eight, my dad and I were driving in the rain. I had a stuffed animal, my favorite. I dropped it on the floor and undid my seat belt. Dad was mad, and he was turning around to help me get it. He wandered over into oncoming traffic and hit a truck. We overturned and fell into a creek by the side of the road. I got out with hardly a scratch. Dad didn’t. He drowned in that car. I just stood there. Not helping him. Instead, I went to get my stuffed animal. I could’ve helped him, but I got my toy instead. When the ambulance got there, I was the only one left to take to the hospital.”
Dallas felt his heart constrict, thinking about Allie as a little girl, scared and alone by the side of the road, waiting for help. He thought of the day he’d found out his dad had died. He’d been nineteen, and the news had still hit him like a ton of bricks. He cou
ldn’t imagine what it was like for little Allie at eight.
“Were you okay?”
“No,” Allie said, voice small. “I had a concussion. A bad one. They operated on me to relieve the pressure on my brain.”
“Allie, I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”
“It is terrible,” Allie agreed, staring dully at the raindrops falling on the windshield. “If it hadn’t been for me, my dad would still be alive.”
Dallas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “It’s not your fault he died.”
“It is. I caused the crash. I didn’t go back for him. I sat and stared at the car. I was...I was mad at him for yelling at me. That was the whole problem. The thing was, I didn’t want to help him. I was angry at him, so very mad. I sat there, my arms crossed, angry.” Tears pooled in her eyes, the years of guilt and pain obvious as she furiously wiped at her face.
She really believed it was her fault. Dallas wanted to shake her by the shoulders, make her see reason. Instead, he reached out and grabbed her hand and held it. He looked into her dark, nearly black eyes. “It’s not your fault. You were just a kid.”
Allie half shrugged, not listening or not caring to hear the message. He got the feeling someone else might have told her that before.
“I mean it, Allie. I don’t think you’re hearing me. You...were...just...a...kid. You were hurt and scared and way too young to think you were supposed to save the day. So what if you were mad? Kids get mad, Allie. Kids have fits. They’re kids! I don’t know how many years you’ve been blaming yourself for it, but it has to stop now.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s just not true!” He banged the flat of his palms against the steering wheel for emphasis. “And if it’s one thing I hate most in the world, it’s a lie.”
Allie shook her head.
“Fine, then.” He threw up his hands. “So by your logic, Po is responsible for Kai’s broken leg.”
“What? No, of course not!” Allie sounded almost offended.
“Po wandered off. Kai had to go looking for him, and then because of that, Kai broke his leg. It’s Po’s fault. Let’s go call the police. See if they’ll arrest a three-year-old.”
Allie cracked a reluctant smile. “No. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Don’t you see? You were just a few years older than Po. The crash? Your dad dying? It’s not your fault.” Dallas felt he had to make her understand. The fact that she’d been holding on to this lie her whole life just wasn’t right. He could see understanding dawning a little, but he knew she was reluctant to really embrace the truth. He knew what he’d been through after his dad died, and it was clear to him that Allie still hadn’t processed through all her grief. In the close quarters of the truck, it was obvious. “You couldn’t have gotten your dad out of the car. It would be like asking Po to carry Kai to a hospital. Impossible.”
“But I should’ve tried. I didn’t even try.” Allie sniffed.
The rain continued to pound the windshield. Next to them, cars slushed by on the small, two-lane road, their headlights beaming in the storm.
“A car flipped like that... It’s dangerous. You could’ve drowned. It could’ve caught on fire. Do you think your father would’ve wanted you to die trying to help him out?”
“No, but...” Allie clearly still did not quite want to embrace the parallels of their story. “I survived. He didn’t. It was my fault the car crashed.” She pushed her wet, dripping hair from her eyes with both hands.
“Okay, so even though you weren’t driving, it was still your fault. Fine. You want to take some of the blame? Okay.” Dallas tried a different tact. “But I think that you don’t want to let go of this guilt because then you might have to face some other ugly truths that you might not like too much.”
“What do you mean?” Allie tucked a damp strand of her dark hair behind one ear.
“I mean if it’s not your fault, then you might want to blame your dad.”
“Dad didn’t do anything wrong!” Allie exclaimed.
“Yes, he did.” Dallas moved, reaching out to touch her elbow. She didn’t flinch. “He died, Allie. He died, and he left you, and you were just a little kid, standing on the side of the road, scared and alone. And then he left you alone all the rest of your life, because he died. He left you, even if he didn’t mean to do it. You’ve got every right to be mad at him for that.”
Tears streamed down Allie’s face as the truth of what Dallas said hit her full force. He knew he was getting through.
“I...” Allie shook her head, more tears glistening on her cheeks. Dallas reached over and opened the glove compartment, offering her a wad of drive-through napkins. She took them, wiping her nose.
“But it was so long ago... Why am I crying?” Angrily, she swiped at her wet cheeks.
Dallas pulled her closer to him, and she came, sagging against his side, with his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, sniffling.
“I’m no psychologist, but if you want my two cents, it’s probably because your fiancé betrayed you and that dredged up all kinds of memories from the first, and worst, betrayal you never really dealt with. Not to mention, you nearly died twice! I’d think that’s enough trauma to bring back some traumatic memories.”
Allie tensed in his embrace. “God, I think you’re right.” The truth of it settled on her as she seemed to try it on for size. “How did you...know all that?”
“I’m a good read of people,” he said. “Plus, my own dad died when I was nineteen. I had a lot of anger for a lot of years. I was just old enough to realize what it was.”
“I’m so exhausted, so tired of all this.” Allie snuggled into Dallas’s shoulder.
“You need some sleep. It’ll all look better after you get some sleep.”
“That’s what my dad used to tell me,” Allie said, brightening. She looked up at Dallas, and he glanced down. Her eyes were big and dark, and her thick eyelashes still glistened with tears. She watched him, very still, and suddenly Dallas remembered the pond—and everything he hadn’t gotten to do to her. He’d loved the feel of her sexy body, loved how eagerly she responded to him. She was just delicious in every single way, and he craved her like some kind of drug. Her breast nudged against his rib cage, and he suddenly remembered the feel of her perfectly taut nipples in his hand. Just the thought made his body stand at attention.
All he wanted to do was kiss away her tears, her sadness.
Yet he knew this wasn’t the right time. Kai was in the hospital. Could he go back on his promise to his friend when he was hurt? And then there was Allie herself, so very vulnerable, clearly dealing with some heavy stuff. He shouldn’t take advantage. He hadn’t even meant to let things get so far in the pond, but something about the taste of her just drove him a little crazy.
Like now, as she gazed up at him, all he could think of was tasting her lips one more time.
“Dallas...” she murmured, moving closer to him—or was he dipping down to her? Either way, their lips met halfway, and again, he felt the luscious taste of her as she opened her mouth to greet him. Allie opened herself up to him as their tongues met in an ancient, primal dance. She held nothing back in that kiss, which electrified every nerve ending in his body. Her wanton submission to him, just in that moment, made him wonder how free she’d be in his bed. Dallas pulled her close, and suddenly she was straddling him, her back to his steering wheel. He could feel her warmth between her legs, as she rocked seductively on him, grinding him slowly but mercilessly. Dallas felt so full, so close to exploding, he gripped her hips, almost begging them to stop. The pressure on him felt almost too much, was nearly enough to make him come right there. Their kiss turned even more savage, and Dallas felt as if he was awake in his own best wet dream.
He should stop this. He knew it, but part of him didn’t want to stop, didn’t know how. That part didn’t care they were right out in public near a busy street. He just wanted to be inside her, deep inside her, feel her warm wetness. H
e wanted to make her shudder with pleasure again and again; he wanted to see pure ecstasy on her beautiful face.
He slid his hand up her skirt, felt her warm, taut thigh. He squeezed it, and she groaned, pushing herself into him more as the kiss turned even more furious, more desperate. He cupped her perfectly round backside, and she arched into him, pressing farther into his lap. The pressure drove him mad, nearly made him lose it right then. How could he stop this? Why would he?
Allie pulled back, slipping out of his zipped sweatshirt, revealing her low-cut sundress. He glanced at her perfect cleavage and laid a trail of kisses there as she moaned, throwing her head back.
A hard rap on his fogged window caught them both by surprise. Allie jumped, and Dallas put a protective arm around her and pulled her close, blinking up to the rain-soaked window. He saw the flash of a deputy’s badge and uniform before the bright white of a flashlight blinded him.
“Police,” the man said, tapping once more on the window. Dallas recognized the voice of Kona patrol officer Lyle Lawson. Dallas turned the key in the ignition and rolled down the window.
“Hey, Lyle,” Dallas said, blinking against the bright light. “You trying to blind me?”
Lyle’s face lit up in recognition. “Dallas, you old dog! Didn’t know that was you. Computer’s down and can’t run plates. How have you been, man?” All seriousness was gone; the officer grinned. He’d shared more than one round with Dallas at the local tourist bar off duty. He shone the light on Allie, who blinked and shaded her eyes.
“I see the tsunami hasn’t slowed you down any. Doing what you do best, giving the all-star tour to our visitors, I see.” He gave Dallas a playful punch in the shoulder. Dallas could feel Allie flinch. Dallas thought about correcting Lyle, introducing her as a local, but stopped himself. Was she a local? She had made it clear she didn’t plan to stay. He thought about getting into the complications of the fact she was Misu’s granddaughter, and just let Lyle think she was a tourist. It was simpler.
Allie squirmed in his lap, uncomfortable and embarrassed. Awkwardly, she slid back over the gearshift to the passenger seat. Cool air hit his lap and he felt sorry for it. If he could tell Lyle to go to hell and get away with it, he would. But Lyle didn’t deserve it, not really.
Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) Page 17