| |
Holt pulled into Leona’s. Dude made a beeline to his bike. While he checked it out, Holt strode through the restaurant, scanning for Joely.
He didn’t see her. Frustrated, he turned back to the parking lot and saw Dude talking to a figure in a black hoodie. That had better fucking be her.
As he walked up, some of the tension left his back when he recognized her voice.
“Bring it into the shop. The transmission hitched when I shifted into fifth gear.”
“Are you sure you didn’t lug the motor? Or broke something when you hotwired it?”
Dude was so pissed, he forgot he was supposed to be a stoner idiot instead of a billionaire stock broker hiding out from responsibilities.
“Positive,” Joely said, hands on her hips. “I was at 3,000 RPM doing 75mph before I shifted into fifth. It wasn’t redlining when I got it up to 90.”
“I don’t want to hear anything else. La la la, I’m not listening to you.” Dude stuck his fingers in his ears.
She took one hand and yanked it down. “I’m sorry I borrowed your bike without asking.”
Dude shrugged. “I heard it was a pretty epic escape.”
Making a face, Joely said, “Yeah, it would have been if my entire life wasn’t upset by it.”
“Don’t worry, wahine. We’ll figure something out.” He tried to ruffle her hair under the hoodie, but she smacked his hand away.
Holt smirked.
“There’s a pie with your name on it inside.” She pointed.
“Sweet.” Dude grinned.
And with that, all was forgiven. Dude didn't hold a grudge and he had been just as worried as the rest of them when Amelia broke the news to him that Joely "borrowed" his pride and joy.
Dude had wanted to kick Timothy out on his well-padded ass, but Holt had convinced him to let him stay in order to keep a better eye on him. They agreed to tell Joely's ex that Holt and Joely had been fired. Because if Timothy thought that they were in the wind, hopefully he'd leave and never come back.
Joely grabbed Dude in for a quick hug. “Tell Amelia I’ll call her.”
“Shoots.” Dude nodded. "We'll see you in a few weeks."
Giving him a tight-lipped nod, she turned to Holt and he didn’t quite recognize the woman in front of him. Yeah, it was Joely. And yet, it was also Annie, and she looked tough and wary. She reminded him of a feral cat that had the intelligence to know she couldn’t make it out in the woods without help, yet wasn’t sure she could trust being domesticated.
“I packed you a bag,” Holt said.
“Where’s Timothy?” She fiddled at the string tie of her hoodie, but followed him to his car.
After they got in, she slumped down in the seat and locked her door.
“Amelia and Makoa were keeping him occupied while I got Dude and your things.”
“He’ll never leave now. He’ll have people watching the airports. I’ll have to take a boat to the big island and try to lose his trackers. Except now he’s got my new name and information. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stay hidden.”
“Just give me two weeks. Same plan.”
“Same plan?” Joely straightened up in her seat and her hoodie fell off. Her hair scattered over her face and shoulders. She brushed it back in aggravation. “He’s not going to do touristy things. He’s coming for me.”
“He won’t find you. And if he does, he can’t get to you on the ranch.”
“I can’t stay there forever.”
Holt wondered if she could. She could be a housekeeper there. Her ex would have to get through ten pretty ornery cowboys to get to her. “Let’s just try it for two weeks.”
“He won’t leave. Not without me.”
“He’ll have to see reason with Amelia and Makoa working on him, and the fact that you ran away from him. They're going to tell him that you and I got fired and ran away together.”
Joely sighed. “He’ll tell lies about me. He’ll make you all doubt me. You don’t understand how charismatic he can be.”
“Maybe not, but I know Makoa and Amelia. You’re Makoa’s friend. He’ll believe you over any haole. You’re Amelia’s friend too. She’ll make Timothy wish he had never been born if he starts on you. Don’t forget Micheala. She can charge him with slander.”
Joely gave a half smile, and he thought that was better than nothing. “I guess,” she said, grudgingly. She looked up at him through her lashes. “What about you?”
“Me?”
“What if he tells his lies to you? Who would you believe?”
“I would believe you.”
She shook her head. “He’s damned convincing, and you’re naturally suspicious.”
“I’d hear your side of the story before I did anything rash. Of course, it would help if I knew your story to begin with.”
“I told you my story,” she said hotly, maybe a little desperately.
“Not everything.”
She flinched.
“You can tell me when you’re ready, but I think you should tell me sooner rather than later.”
Joely didn’t say anything else and while they drove she stared out the window. Holt wished he could get a better read on her.
As they entered old town Makawao, the traffic was at a standstill. It was a busy day with tourists checking out the shops and galleries. There was a line down the block outside of T Komoda Bakery. Holt glanced at the clock. He was surprised there was anything left this late in the afternoon, usually they were sold out by eleven.
“Have you ever been Upcountry before?” he asked. He didn’t know much about Joely’s personal life. She never seemed to leave the Palekaiko resort, unless she was with one of the staff.
“Yeah, briefly. We went up to the Haleakala for a picnic one night.” She grinned. “Makoa thought he should make an offering to the island spirits so the volcano wouldn’t erupt for another nine hundred years.”
“I appreciate his efforts,” Holt said. Makoa was a gentle giant. He wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he had a good heart.
“He wasted a good bottle of rum, pouring it into the ground.”
“I’m sure there was enough rum for everyone, including the spirits. Was it just you two?” Holt noticed that out of all the other staff members, she spent a lot of time with the hulking bell boy.
“No, Hani and Theresa were there too. And a few of their family. It was nice of them to invite me.”
“I wasn’t invited.”
“You were probably off saving the world from evil or something,” she said lightly.
“Is that how you see me? A superhero?” There were worse things.
“Boy Scout,” she said.
His ego deflated like a balloon, complete with the raspberry sound of air escaping. “I’m no boy. Haven’t been for a long time.”
Unzipping her hoodie, she shrugged it off. Holt was glad. The black color made her look sad. “Well, man scout sounds ridiculous. You're so straight and narrow, I bet you starch your Hawaiian shirt so it doesn’t wrinkle.”
“In this heat?” He arched an eyebrow at her.
“You know what I mean.”
“You’re calling me a tight ass.”
“I never said those words,” she protested. Then chuckled. “But if the shoe fits, feel free to lace them up.”
“If you had an uncle like mine, you’d understand why following rules and obeying the law is so important to me.”
The soft amusement fled from her face and he got another zing in his intuition. Maybe she did have someone like his uncle in her past. He cleared his throat and said, “Not that Tetsuo has been anything but generous and kind to me and my brother.”
“What’s Mike up to anyways? I haven’t seen him since he left the resort,” she asked.
“That’s a good question,” Holt said, scanning the streets as if he might see his brother. He might. The family ranch wasn’t too much farther away. “I don't worry too much about him. Mike had an idea to “live off the grid” a few years ago, and a couple of the paniolos nearly ran over him and his yurt with their ATVs.”
“ATVs? Isn’t that cheating?”
Laughing, Holt shook his head. “They use the horses for the work close to the ranch, but it’s more efficient to use the all-terrain vehicles when hunting down a wandering calf.”
“Still seems like cheating. So, what did they do to Mike when they found him?”
“Kicked him out of the pasture. Made him go back to the ranch house. My uncle dealt with him. Got him a job in Hana.”
“What was he using for food? Did he go diving for fish?”
Holt shook his head. “Too far away. I think he was living off ramen noodles and the money my mother would send him.”
“Where’s she?”
“Kyoto. She had enough of the cowboy life and the resort life. She works in a glass and metal cube farm in the business district.” Holt shuddered. He had trouble breathing just thinking about it.
“What does she do there?”
“She works for an insurance company processing claims. It’s a good job. She loves it. Loves being in the city.” Loves being out from her brother’s thumb, and divorced from her husband. He didn’t want to talk about his family anymore. It always made him edgy and restless.
Holt pointed down a road. “There’s a block party next Friday. They close off the street. We should go, if you like.”
She blushed. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Would you be more comfortable if we just went as friends?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
It wasn’t a resounding yes, but it sounded encouraging.
A few miles later he made the turn off to the Hojo ranch. So many feelings bounced around inside him and he clenched his jaw to keep them from doing damage. They were only memories and they didn’t have the power to hurt him anymore.
“You all right?” Joely asked, laying a hand on his arm.
“It’s weird being back after all these years. I was born here.”
“What’s a born cowboy like you doing security on a beach resort then?”
It hurt being back. Holt acknowledged that. The green rolling hills called to him and the red gusts of dirt that covered his car were familiar as a pair of faded jeans.
He snorted. “I’m going to need a few beers before we get into that story.”
“We should have stopped to get some,” she said.
“You don’t know paniolos very well. Beer is the last thing we’ll be missing.”
The farmhouse was just coming into view in the distance. For a moment, time reversed and he could see himself and Mike running down the path. He had been ten and Mike had been five. They hadn't wanted to leave the farm and go live on the beach where there weren't any horses. But the ranch hands caught them and threw them screaming into their father's beat up truck.
“Holy shit, Holt. When you said you’re taking me to a ranch, I didn’t picture anything so huge.”
Joely's exclamation broke him out of his thoughts. He wasn't ten anymore. He made his life away from the horses and cattle on the beach. This was just a vacation.
"It's been in my mother's family for decades." Holt pointed up to the window on the far left of the farmhouse. "That used to be me and Mike's bedroom."
He parked next to the garage.
Joely got out and gaped. "I could spend forever looking at the scenery. Haleakala is gorgeous.”
Holt smiled at the enormous dormant volcano. “Maybe we can take a bike ride up there this week?”
Her face lit up. “You have a motorcycle?”
“Wilwil,” Holt said sheepishly.
“Nah, that’s way too much like work.” She giggled. “Hiking maybe. As long as there’s a stocked picnic basket afterwards.”
“I think I can arrange that.”
“So, that’s two dates.” She held up two fingers.
“We are on vacation.” He reminded her with a wink, watching as she twirled around in a circle.
“I can’t believe how gorgeous this place is. It goes on forever.”
“Four thousand acres.”
Joely did a double take. “You’re kidding, right? You’re rich.”
“My uncle is rich. I work security for the Palekaiko Beach Resort.” Holt didn’t want anything to do with how Tetsuo made money to keep the ranch in the black. His father tried by the sweat of his brows and nearly bankrupted it.
“You should tell Amelia about this. She’d go crazy setting up horseback riding tours.”
“She’d go crazy working with Tetsuo.” Holt said. “Do you ride?”
“I did the touristy meanderings on an old nag when I first got here. Almost got dumped into the ocean.”
“You won’t have to worry about that here. Hookipa is the closest beach. We can go surfing too.”
“Date number three. This is getting serious,” she joked.
Holt hoped so. “Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”