by Reina Torres
That got his attention. He dropped his hand from his face and looked up at her with a big grin on his face. “I love her too. So much.”
“That’s why you came all the way out here last night for that flower?”
“I don’t normally drink that much to begin with and when Robert brought out this bottle, he just kept pouring me drinks.”
“Ahh, the dreaded peer pressure.”
James started to shake his head and stopped short on a moan. “Yeah, I guess. Robert’s successful.”
“So are you,” she challenged.
“I guess,” he blew out a breath, “but he’s further in his career. He has more money. He just got a promotion.”
“Hey,” she tapped him on the shoulder and tried to ignore how awkward it was to be straddled over him in the dirt, “you’re telling me all these things about Robert. What am I missing here?”
A flicker of something crossed his features and Ku‘uipo waited patiently for him to speak. They had time until the helicopter came back. They had to retool the harnesses and set up before they could take off again.
“Hilarie’s mom was trying to put them together at first. She invited Robert to the lake house so he could meet Hilarie. She held dinners with Robert on the guest list at the penthouse in San Francisco.”
“Wow,” her eyes widened at his admission, “so what happened?”
The look of love in James’ eyes was hard to see. No man had ever had that look in his eyes for her.
“Robert brought me along. He wasn’t ready to settle down so he thought if he brought along a friend, like a buffer, it would be easier to keep things platonic with him and Hilarie.”
“And there you were,” she smiled at him, “the right guy and the right girl at the right time.”
“Yeah,” James moved a little and winced at the pain, “and then I went and got stupid last night. Somehow I got it in my head that I had to prove that I was the better choice.”
She couldn’t help the silent shake of laughter in her shoulders, but James saw it.
“Hey.”
Ku‘uipo held up her hands in surrender. “I’m not laughing at… no, wait. Yes, I am laughing at you.”
“Oh great,” he rolled his eyes.
“I’m laughing because you don’t have to prove a thing to Hilarie. She’s here to marry you, in front of Robert. I doubt she needs you to prove anything.”
It was almost cute to see a guy in his late twenties pouting.
Almost.
“And I bet you’re going to tell me that it was crazy to come all the way out here to get the flower for her.”
She held her tongue for a moment or two before she spoke. “Do you want the truth or something to make you feel better?”
Another groan. “The truth.”
The sound of the helicopter rotors caught her attention. They were getting closer.
“Okay,” she grinned, “the truth, and then you’re going to let me handle the rest of this rescue, no grumbling, no pouting, because the faster we get this done, the faster we get you to Hilarie. I bet she’ll still give you a hero’s welcome.”
“Okay,” he gave her nod, “take your best shot.”
“There’s a few really pretty naupaka plants in the parking lot at the beginning of the trail.”
James looked stunned.
And then he looked pissed.
And then he laughed and his laugh was really good to hear.
“I’m never drinking again.”
The wind started to whip around her face and Ku‘uipo lifted a hand to shield herself from the onslaught. “I admire the declaration, James, but I think if you just stick to a glass or two, here and there, you’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks, Miss.”
“You’re more than welcome, James. Now, close your eyes so you don’t have anything flying in them. And remember, once they get the helicopter above us, they’re going to lower the harnesses. I’m going to put mine on and then I’m going to maneuver the double sling around you. One around your upper body, under your arms. The other one under your thighs.
“After that, you and I are going to take a little ride like those cars overhead at Disneyland and straight to the hospital.”
“Is there anyway I’m going to avoid seeing myself on the news looking like an over-sized baby?”
“That’s the least of it, James. You’re on your way back to Hilarie. What’s better than that?”
He smiled up at her. “Nothing is better than that.”
“All right then. Let’s get you off this mountain.”
The hospital was crazy busy. Local news had sent cameras and a couple of reporters, but all Ku‘uipo wanted to do was get back to her house, climb into the bathtub and pretend she didn’t ache all over.
Almost as good as her dream was finding a little corner in the lobby and an empty chair. Stretching out her legs, she leaned her head back against the wall.
She was trying to force her mind to relax. Trying to tell the drone rattling off the list of things that needed to be done to take the night off.
Yeah, it didn’t work, but it was worth the try, right?
“That doesn’t look very comfortable.”
Her eyes flew open as she looked up into a handsome face. Much too handsome for her peace of mind. “No, it isn’t.”
Efrain sat down beside her. “You’d think they could have let you camp out in an empty bed.”
“Empty? There’s no room at the inn tonight.” She grinned at him. “That and I have my own bed not that far away. I just have to find the energy to get up and go check in on James and Hilarie before I get a ride back to the hotel.”
She turned her head and looked at him. He was watching her, his eyes intent on her face.
Ku‘uipo expected him to say something. What? She had no idea. But something.
Then again, maybe it was better that he was quiet. She wasn’t sure she’d like to hear what he had to say. She didn’t have a lot of luck when it came to guys.
“Why do you have to check in with happy couple? The last I saw of them she was trying to kiss him senseless, but the nurses had to put a stop to it because it was making his heart monitor go off like a Sousa March.”
Ku‘uipo stared at him. Had to. She just didn’t know what else to do. “You went to check on them?”
He shrugged and leaned back against the wall, stretching out his legs just like she had. “Why not? They were important enough for you to climb down the face of a mountain to save him. Why wouldn’t I check on them?”
“The face of a mountain…” she laughed, “you make it sound like I climbed down Mount Rushmore.”
“It might have been.” He let out a breath. “And it was all for that flower thing?”
“Yes,” she let her eyes close as she sat there, smiling a little more than she should, “it was all for that ‘flower thing,’ but don’t think I put him up to it. I would have taken him to get one if he’d just told me… when he was sober.”
Efrain’s laugh was a beautiful thing.
Warm and gentle.
“Can you tell me about it?”
If he kept talking to her with that rumbly kind of tone, she’d tell him anything he wanted.
“You want to know about the legend?”
“Why not?” He shifted on the chair and his arm brushed up against hers. “I like legends and stories. Probably why I’m a huge movie buff.”
She turned in her seat, tucking her legs up under her and looking into his face. He wasn’t kidding. He wanted to know.
Shrugging, she smiled at him. “Then it’s a good thing that I like to tell stories. It’s a legend about two people falling in love. Naupaka was a Hawaiian princess and she fell in love with a fisherman. What they felt for each other meant more than the differences between them so they told a priest about their love so that they could marry.
“But the priest told them that they would not be together. The gods were against such a relationship, for she was a royal
and he was a lowly makaʻāinana.”
A nurse moved through the hallway and waved at her.
Ku‘uipo waved back before she turned to look at Efrain.
“That means, he was a commoner.” She saw the quirk of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Which you probably guessed.”
He shrugged. “Basically, but it’s good to know I guessed right.”
“Unwilling to give up so easily, Naupaka and her love prayed to the gods hoping that they would change their minds and give them a chance to be husband and wife.”
“I’m guessing the gods didn’t give their okay.”
She shook her head. “No. And the princess knew that they would never allow her to be happy.” A strange feeling came over her. It happened every time she told the story, as if the sadness of Naupaka was aching through her heart. The pain and sorrow seemed to settle in her chest. Lifting her hand, she reached up to her hair. “The princess tore the flower from her hair and rent it in half. Handing her lover half of the flower she told him that they couldn’t be together. He would have to go back to the sea and she would live apart from him on the mountain.”
“So, the plants that grow in the mountains and at the sea are half-flowers,” he wondered aloud, “and James wanted to bring the mountain half to Hilarie.”
“Exactly.” She sighed. “Sweet, but dangerous. If he had just called me, I would have told him what I told him earlier when we were hanging out on that ledge. That there were bushes near the trailhead.”
“I know.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know what?”
Yawning wide enough to make her have to stifle her own, Efrain got up from the seat beside her. When he was up, he held out his hand. “Come on.”
She looked at his hand and felt the ache in her legs almost double. “Where do you want me to go?”
“You said you wanted to check on the couple. I’ll go with you.”
It struck her as odd that he wanted to go… again, but if she didn’t get up on her feet, she was likely to fall asleep right where she was sitting. “Okay.” Taking his hand, she let him help her up onto her feet, but she didn’t keep holding onto it. That would have been weird.
Right?
Or maybe what was weird was that she wanted to keep a hold of it to begin with.
Together they walked down the hall to James’ room and just as he said, Hilarie was doing her best to love him back to health. Ku‘uipo couldn’t help but wonder what kind of medicinal value kisses had for a broken leg, but James didn’t look like he was suffering, so she wasn’t going to point that out.
Efrain knocked on the doorframe and Hilarie jumped back from the bed, her cheeks blazing with color. It was a good look on the young woman.
“Hi!” She waved and looked down at James. “We were… um… we were-”
“We just wanted to stop by and make sure that the two of you were okay.”
Ku‘uipo heard Efrain’s self-assured voice and nodded in agreement.
Efrain continued, gesturing toward her, “Ku‘uipo said that James went up to the mountain last night to get you something. Did he tell you what?”
A strange look passed between the couple, but it was Hilarie’s confusion that made the most impact. She looked down at James and Ku‘uipo saw the anxiety on his face. “What did you go up to get?” She shook her head. “I thought it was Robert who made you go up there.”
Then it was James’ turn to look confused. “Who told you that?”
“Robert!” Hilarie gave James a sweet smile. “He felt so bad that he got you drunk and drove you up there. He said if you want him not to be your best man, he’ll understand.”
“He doesn’t have to do that. I was feeling a little worried, that’s why I was so easy to push.”
Hilarie edged closer to him, smoothing her hand over his forehead. “Why were you worried?”
“I’m not who you should be with, baby. Your mom wanted you to have someone like Robert. Someone with a really good job and lots of money in the bank. He’s the right kind of guy for you.”
The admission dropped the room into silence.
And it was in that silence that they heard Hilarie’s voice clear as a bell. “You are so sweet, James. Crazy and silly, but so sweet. If I wanted to marry Robert that would be something, but I want to marry you, you dope. When you were missing and I didn’t know where you were, I went crazy worrying. Don’t you ever… ever do that again. I love you James Kimball.”
James looked over at Ku‘uipo. “I feel like a dope.”
She shrugged. “You’re a man in love. If that’s the stupidest thing you’ve done, I’d say you’re going to be okay. Just don’t do it again.”
He held up his hands and pointed at his leg cast. “I won’t be doing much of anything for a while.”
Efrain chuckled. “I think you’re grounded for a while, that’s why I brought you this.”
Reaching into the pocket of his pants he pulled out a little box. He walked it over to James’ bedside and put it in his hand. Shrugging, Train stepped back. “Sorry about the presentation, it’s all we could scrounge up in the van.”
James lifted the top of the box and the smile on his face could have lit up all the torches on the lawn of the Palms. He looked up at Efrain as if he was Santa Claus himself. “Thanks.”
Efrain held up his hands to wave off the gratitude. “You were the guy who went up the mountain to conquer the giant and get a flower for your lady. I’m just the delivery boy.”
Hilarie couldn’t agree more. “You’re so romantic.” She leaned over the bed and planted a big kiss on his mouth.
When she didn’t show any sign of coming up for air, Ku‘uipo took hold of Efrain’s arm and leaned in toward him. “I think this is our cue to leave.”
He leaned in toward her as well. “Sounds like a plan.”
She didn’t know what to think when he turned around so she didn’t have to let go of his arm. And the fact that she didn’t want to let go, well she wasn’t going to look at that too closely either.
This was new.
And new was as disconcerting as it was exciting.
She could get used to this and that was a problem.
Five
Waking up the next morning, Ku‘uipo felt the ache all over, but she knew the best thing to do was get up and get moving. With a longing look at her tub she stepped into the shower and put on the hot water like it was free and let it beat itself into her aching limbs.
Getting dressed afterwards felt like wrestling with a straitjacket, and losing pitifully, but by the time she grabbed her mug full of tea and jogged down the steps to the lush green grass she was feeling human again.
And that’s when she ran into Miles.
“Good Morning, Miles.”
“Oh, hey,” he barely looked up from his phone, “I’m going out for a few hours.” With that said, he turned and headed back in the other direction, leaving her staring after him.
“Miles? Hello?” She jogged after him. “Hey!”
He didn’t stop until she grabbed his shoulder and made him stop.
“I never said you could go.”
“I didn’t ask.”
Petulant. That’s the one word that always came up when he made ‘that’ face. The face he was making at that very moment.
“Miles,” she put a smile on her face, “you’re scheduled to work all day. If you need to do something during work hours, you are welcome to go on your day off or take care of whatever it is at night.”
“I’m only here because it will look good on my resume.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Then again, how would she know? He was staring at his phone.
“The resume is only part of it, Miles. When you apply for a job they’ll ask for references.”
“Oh?” He finally lifted his eyes from the phone. “That’s so sweet. You think I need references.”
The tone of his voice felt like a slap. “You’re getting credit for this
in the TIM program. What are they going to say when I decide to boot you from the program? Don’t you care about this?”
“Again, don’t you know? I don’t need a degree in Travel Industry Management. It was just something I told my mom so I could come to Hawai‘i. Take half-assed classes that I could teach in my sleep.”
“Then you should know that leaving me high and dry for the next few hours isn’t recommended, Miles.”
“The kind of stuff you need done around here, doesn’t need me.”
Her watched beeped and she blew out a breath. “I’m needed at the lobby. Miles, I need you to-”
“Too bad for you, Miss Ornellas. I’m busy. Give one of the students who needs his program a chance to make a good impression. I don’t need it.”
And then he was gone.
She wanted to run after him and kick him in his blasé backside, but she couldn’t quite give him the time. She had work to do.
She started toward the lobby, her strides eating up the ground. When she pushed through the glass doors, she was surprised to see that someone was entertaining her group.
Oh, thank goodness.
Easing up her stride to look a little less frantic, she let out a breath.
And maybe that was the reason that Efrain turned to look in her direction.
Wow. Had it only been a few hours since he’d dropped her off at Kailani Palms and now, he was standing there in her lobby looking way too handsome in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
A t-shirt that was stretched around his biceps like it was painted on. He looked better than he did the day before and she had to resist the urge to lean in and smell him.
The poor guy probably had no idea what kind of crazy thoughts she had in her head.
That, she decided, was a very good thing.
“Thanks, Uluwehi.”
He was a gorgeous man in his own right, but Uluwehi had been a good friend from day one. They were thankfully like brother and sister, but the man was hot. Tall, lithe, and sure, his grey eyes were colored contacts but that didn’t take away from the sheer beauty of the man.
“Miles just let me know he had to go and take care of something for the next few hours. I was wondering-”