Lucy stared out the back window of the van at the jungle of trees and bushes around them and leaned closer to Aunt Ginger. Brittany sat in front of them beside Uncle Preston, chattering to Chuckles about rivers, mountains and beaches. Larry sat in the front passenger seat, and Helen drove.
Lucy peered over the back of her seat and saw three cars behind them. None were the vehicle she was looking for. “Where are Willow and Graham and Ray?”
Helen glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. “They’ll be along shortly. Steve wanted to stop and get some steaks and salad fixings in Princeville. Now that we have a kitchen, but no restaurant nearby, I plan to cook some of my famous gourmet meals.”
Every few seconds, Lucy caught a flicker of ocean waves and a streak of sand to the right of the road, past the trees. “We can’t swim in that water,” she told Aunt Ginger softly. “The waves are too high.”
“Let’s hope they won’t be so high all the time we’re here,” Aunt Ginger said. “After the storm, things should calm down, and I’ve heard there’s a good place to snorkel near here.”
“Did you all know we’re staying at the edge of a rain forest?” Helen glanced at Lucy again in the mirror. “There’s a mountain near here that gets more daily rain than any other place on the planet.”
Lucy grimaced. Rain? Storms? Rough water? Why would anyone want to spend their vacation in this place? “Why did we have to come here?” she muttered to Aunt Ginger under her breath. “We can’t swim, can’t snorkel.”
Helen glanced in the mirror again. “That mountain rain is farther inland, a couple of mountains away.”
Lucy frowned at her. Why was Helen listening to everything she said?
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Helen continued. “Maybe you’ll get to do some snorkeling at Anini Beach before we have to fly back home. That’s only a short drive away. We might all want to take a hiking expedition while we’re here.”
“There’s a hiking trail?” Aunt Ginger asked.
“Sure is,” Helen said. “We’re close to the Kalalau Trail on the Napali Coastline, though that trail isn’t recommended for children. It’s slick, and there are dangerous drops from the cliffs. Lots of wilderness in these mountains, though, so we could find another trail. Oopsie, here’s the address.” She turned into a muddy, narrow driveway half-overgrown with tall bushes that brushed the windows of the van, like green arms reaching out.
Lucy stared into the shadows of those bushes. This place looked scary. And wet. “I guess nobody’s going to find us here, are they?”
Aunt Ginger put an arm around her and drew her close. “It looks like a pretty good hiding place, if you ask me.”
“But what if they find us anyway?” Lucy whispered. “There’s nobody around to save us.”
Aunt Ginger sighed, but she didn’t say anything. That worried Lucy.
“Larry, didn’t you speak to the owner about opening the house?” Helen asked.
“Yes, and the hotel staff who brought our things were supposed to open the windows and air it out. There are six bedrooms and four bathrooms, two living areas, a game room and a deck on the roof.”
“Is there a swimming pool?” Lucy asked.
“With a beach barely two hundred feet away?” Larry asked. “Not hardly.”
“It should be wonderful!” Helen’s voice sounded too cheerful. “As soon as we get settled, I can send Steve back to the store to stock up while I start dinner.”
Lucy turned in her seat to see if Steve was following with Graham and Willow and Ray, but the overgrown bushes had closed in behind them, swallowing them.
The van plunged from the trees into a wide clearing beside a huge gray house that stood high above the ground on thick columns, set back against a tall mountain.
“It’s got stilts!” Brittany exclaimed.
“That’s to protect from storm surges,” Helen said as she pulled beneath the house and parked.
“What’s a storm surge?” Brittany asked.
“Back home in Missouri, we call them floods,” Helen replied.
“But here they’re like huge waves that blast everything in their path,” Lucy said. “Like when there’s a hurricane or tropical storm, and the ocean drowns—”
Aunt Ginger pressed her fingers over Lucy’s lips and gave her a warning look.
“Sweethearts,” Helen said, “this house is so high off the ground, I doubt any storm surge could reach it. And it looks like we’ll have a great view of the ocean from the deck on the roof. Larry, how did you come up with this place on such short notice?”
“I asked around,” he said. “This time of year a lot of vacation places are empty.”
“I want to go see the waves!” Brittany cried as she scrambled for the door and tried to open it.
“Hold it for a minute, okay?” Larry got out and slid the door back for her. “Give us some time to settle.”
Brittany took Larry’s hand, still clutching Chuckles. “Can we go see those flowers over there?” She turned back to Uncle Preston. “Come on, Uncle Preston, I see a pond. Let’s go see if there’s fish!”
“Why don’t I take the girls for a little walk,” Helen suggested to Aunt Ginger. “We can go down and check out the shoreline, maybe look for some shells while Steve helps the rest of you—”
Lucy gasped. “No!” She turned to Aunt Ginger. “Don’t let her do it, Aunt Ginger. Please don’t let her take us!”
Ginger stared with surprise into Lucy’s frightened face, then cast a confused look at Helen, who met her gaze in the rear-view mirror. The woman’s shoulders slumped as she closed her eyes and sighed.
What’s going on here?
“Sweetheart,” Ginger said to Lucy, “why are you so frightened? Helen won’t let anything happen to you.”
“She might,” Lucy muttered under her breath.
“I think you’re afraid of Rick Fenrow, aren’t you? Do you think Helen won’t be able to protect you from him? If that’s the problem, Larry can go with you, too.”
“No, Ginger,” Helen said as she opened the driver door and slid out from behind the steering wheel. “I don’t think that’s the problem.” She closed the door and circled the van.
Lucy stiffened and clutched Ginger’s arm. “I don’t want to go with her,” she whispered. “I’m scared of her.”
“Why?”
“She and Steve knew my mother, and they’re keeping it a secret.”
“What do you mean? How could they have known your mother?”
“I heard them talking.” Lucy glanced at Helen, who stood outside the van with her arms crossed, watching Larry and Preston with Brittany. “She and Steve were talking about Mama, and she said her name, like she knew her.” Lucy looked up at Ginger. “She shouldn’t know my mother. Why would wedding people know my mother? Why didn’t they say anything? Don’t let them be alone with us, Aunt Ginger.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you, honey. You know that.” Something was definitely strange about this, and it wasn’t Lucy’s overactive imagination. Helen didn’t seem surprised by Lucy’s behavior, she seemed upset.
But she didn’t look dangerous to Ginger.
At last, Steve arrived with the rest of the wedding party. He pulled the Xterra beneath the house and parked. Laughter spilled from the open driver’s window, but Steve sobered when his wife rushed to intercept him as soon as he opened his door.
She spoke a few quiet words to him, and he looked over at Lucy as she climbed from the van.
He nodded and turned to intercept Graham as he and Willow stepped from the vehicle. Ray got out of the passenger seat, and the smile on his face died.
Then Helen turned back to Lucy. “Honey, I think you and I need to have a little talk.” When Lucy started to protest, she continued, “It’s okay, Graham and Willow will be with us.” She sighed, looking tired, even haggard. This trip had not been easy on any of them.
The four adults walked with Lucy toward the outdoor staircase that led to the upstairs entryway. Brittany continued to explore the grounds with Preston and Larry, chattering about the mountain with all the rain.
Ray circled the SUV to Ginger’s side, looking thoughtful. “What do you say to a little exploring?”
“What do you want to explore?”
“How about the roof deck? I saw a stairway at the side of the house, and I bet that’s where it leads.”
“Aren’t you even curious about what’s going on with Helen and Steve?”
Ray watched the front door close behind Lucy and her adult companions. “I’m sure Willow and Lucy will fill you in on all the details,” he teased. “What do you say? Explore?”
“Guess I could.” She glanced at Larry and Preston, who were occupying themselves with an inspection of a flowering shrub with brilliant red flowers.
Brittany now rode on Preston’s shoulders, and she had Chuckles perched on Preston’s head. That man would be a good father someday.
Ginger turned back to Ray. It was time for some major apologies.
He held his hand out. “Come with me?”
She took it. “I’d love to.”
Lucy refused to cling to Willow or Graham as they followed Helen and Steve into the house. Why wasn’t Larry with them? Didn’t he know they could be in danger? She wanted to call out to him, but when she turned to look back down the stairs, he and Uncle Preston and Brittany were busy checking out some flowers at the edge of the yard. Aunt Ginger and Ray stood by the van, talking.
Steve opened the double doors of the house and pushed them wide for the others to enter.
Helen paused on the threshold and caught her breath. “Would you look at this gorgeous place! Steve, I’ve always wanted to decorate our living room with bolder colors. And look at this beautiful hardwood floor! Someone invested a little cash in this place.”
Lucy didn’t really like the wood floors. She liked soft, thick carpets that a kid could lie on while watching TV. But there wasn’t a TV in this living room, there was just Helen and Steve.
Helen suggested they all sit at the dining room table, at the far end of the huge living room.
The wooden tabletop was so shiny Lucy could almost see her reflection in it—and Graham’s and Willow’s as she hurried to the chair between them.
Steve pulled open some blinds along the wall to reveal a huge window that overlooked a garden in back, at the foot of the mountain. A narrow road wound up the side of the mountain. Lucy wondered who ever drove up that road. Or who drove down it from the top. Maybe it was a hiking trail.
“Something unfortunate happened this morning that we need to explain.” Helen pulled out a chair across the table from Lucy and sat down. “Honey, you overheard me say something that could have been taken wrong. I never meant to frighten you.”
Lucy watched her sit down. Steve patted his wife’s shoulder, and a look passed between them. What were they up to?
“You knew my mother,” Lucy said.
Helen nodded her head. “Yes, I did.”
“What?” Willow exclaimed.
“You knew Sandi?” Graham asked. “And you never told us about it?”
“You told Steve that you would never forgive Sandi for what she did to us girls,” Lucy said. “And then he said you didn’t have a choice because she was dead now, and then you said it didn’t have to be that way.”
Willow caught her breath, and reached for Lucy’s hand.
Graham placed his arm over the back of Lucy’s chair. “I think it’s time for some explanations.” His words were suddenly clipped and hard. “And you might try telling us why you’re on this trip under false pretenses.”
“Please,” Steve said, “this isn’t what it seems.”
“So it isn’t a cover-up?” Graham asked.
Steve and Helen looked at each other, then Helen said, “We really are exotic wedding planners and travel guides. I’ve been a professional photographer for thirty-five years.”
“I ran our travel agency until five years ago,” Steve said, “when we decided on a change.”
“Taking this job with you was my idea,” Helen said. “The only difference between this job and any other is that we aren’t as familiar with this island as we are with the others, and with islands in the Caribbean. That’s why we’ve had the glitches here, and for that, we apologize.” Her gaze rested on Lucy. “And we have a special interest in two of our young clients.”
Willow squeezed Lucy’s hand reassuringly. “Helen, why? Who are you?”
Helen clasped her hands together on the table. “Sandi was my niece.”
For a moment there was no sound at the table. Lucy stared at Helen, then looked at Steve as he placed an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“You were right, honey,” Helen said to him softly. “We shouldn’t’ve come, but I couldn’t resist. It was such an opportunity to spend time with the girls.”
“Brittany and I don’t have any relatives,” Lucy said. “Mama told us.”
“Oh, but you do,” Steve said. “Your mama had twenty-two first cousins on her mother’s side. Your grandmother had three brothers and four sisters. Helen was the oldest sister, and Jennifer, your grandmother, was the youngest.”
Lucy stared at him. Why should she believe this stranger? “Why didn’t I know my grandmother?”
“Jennifer died of an…she died when Sandi was twenty,” Helen said.
“Like mother, like daughter,” Steve said.
“What do you mean?” Lucy asked.
“I mean your mother followed in her own mother’s footsteps. She was a—”
“I think that’s explanation enough,” Graham said. “I suppose you have proof of your relationship?”
“I have pictures in my suitcase,” Helen said. “We have letters and copies of medical records, all of which can be authenticated.”
“Sandi cut us both out of Lucy’s and Brittany’s lives when they were tiny,” Steve explained. “Brittany was in diapers.”
“And now look at what’s happened to Sandi,” Helen said, holding her hands out to Willow and Graham in an expression of helplessness. “I did all I could, but I was too outspoken about her lifestyle, and she didn’t appreciate it any more than her mother did.”
“Why did you bring authentication with you?” Willow asked. “Why, exactly, did you agree to book our group?”
“Wouldn’t you have taken any opportunity to spend time with your little great-nieces if you had the chance?” Helen asked. “Especially if you’ve never been allowed to do so before?”
“You wanted to be close to the girls, I understand that,” Willow said. “But why didn’t you identify yourselves to us in the first place?”
“We weren’t sure what your reaction would be,” Helen said. “We didn’t know you then. What would you have said if we’d marched up to your front door and told you who we were, and that we wanted to check you out?”
“We would have thought you were going to try to stop the adoption,” Graham said.
Lucy gasped and jumped from her chair. “No! You can’t do that!”
Graham caught her gently, and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms firmly around her. “The adoption has been approved, Steve. You can’t possibly expect to—”
“We aren’t planning to do anything now that we’ve seen you with them,” Helen said. “Don’t you worry about that. But you must understand why we were worried. We only found out about Sandi’s death in early November. Sandi had changed her last name, and she had done everything she could to make sure no one could track her down.”
“We wanted to make sure Lucy and Brittany would have a good home,” Steve said, looking at Lucy. “This time.”
“Steve and I might be a little old to be raising two little girls,” Helen said. “Steve has a heart condition. But we’d planned to do that, if necessary. We failed them when Sandi was alive, but we couldn’t fail them now.”