Josh and Roy got off the plane and made their way to the shuttle outside the Honolulu airport. They stepped outside and stopped in their tracks, taking in the beauty of the island. Having lived in the city for most of their lives, neither had seen such tropical splendor.
“This is beautiful,” said Roy, gawking at the landscape. A group of female tourists all clad in short skirts walked by the men giggling and smiling. “So, so, beautiful,” Roy said, his eyes following the women.
Josh hit Roy on the back of the head. “Come on, stop goofing around. We’re here for business and business only. Now let’s go.” Josh checked his itinerary and looked up the name of the rental car agency where their rental car had been booked. He found the yellow Hertz sign hanging at the end of the terminal and walked that way with Roy on his heels. The contact Roger had given them was supposed to call them with specific instructions of what to do once they arrived at the ranch. But first, they had to get there.
“Hi there,” said Josh, placing his hands on the Hertz counter. He flashed the young Hawaiian girl a smile that was too white to be natural.
“Aloha,” she said, tapping keys on the computer keyboard. “How can I help you?”
“Aloha,” said Roy, smiling wide at the young clerk. Josh slid his elbow hard into Roy’s arm and knocked it off the counter. “What was that for?” Roy said, angry and embarrassed at the same time. He liked the work he did with Josh, especially roughing people up. But sometimes, Josh could be really mean to Roy and make him feel like an idiot.
“We have a reservation,” said Josh. He gave the clerk his information and a few minutes later she handed him the keys to a four door sedan.
“It’s on level 2, row 3B,” she said, pointing to the parking garage attached to the airport. “Is there anything else I can help you gentlemen with today?”
Josh glanced over his shoulder and then leaned in close. “Yeah, can you tell me how to get to Trinity Ranch?” He didn’t want anyone to hear him asking. If there was one thing he had learned from Roger after working for Murphy Ranch for ten years, it was to watch your back. You never knew who was looking, and you never knew who was listening.
“Trinity Ranch? Sure,” said the clerk, smiling broadly. “You must be in the cattle business,” she said, knowing the ranch and the Clemens family name well.
Josh smiled nervously, checking over his shoulder again. “Naw, we’re just friends of the Clemens family,” he said.
The clerk gave Josh directions, and he and Roy headed to the garage to locate their car. They found the blue sedan exactly where the clerk had said it would be. They loaded their luggage and started it up. Roy began playing with the radio while Josh punched the address to the ranch into the GPS, just in case. He grabbed his phone and dialed.
“Yeah, it’s Josh. We’re here,” he said into the phone.
“Good. Now it’s time to surprise the Clemens family,” Roger said on the other end, his sinister laugh filling the receiver. “And don’t let anything get in your way.”
“You got it, boss,” Josh said. He hung the phone up and then slapped Roy’s hand away from the radio. “Cut it out you moron,” Josh snapped, turning the volume all the way down.
Roy sat back and frowned until he found the button for the sunroof. He started fiddling around with it while Josh looked at the GPS. It told him he would arrive at the ranch in 65 minutes. Josh looked at Roy with his stupid grin and then back at the GPS. Sixty-five minutes ... he wasn’t sure if he could make it.
Larry closed Midnight’s gate just as Elizabeth returned to the stable on Penny. “What a great ride,” Elizabeth said, her skin glowing from the exhilaration of riding the beautiful horse. Elizabeth was so much like Lilo. She loved the outdoors, loved adventure and loved her horses.
Larry didn’t say a word. He waited until Elizabeth had dismounted and then he walked Penny into her stall. Elizabeth hung her riding gear on the wall and turned to watch Larry remove Penny’s saddle. She walked over to the half wall and leaned on it as Larry prepared to bed Penny in for the night.
“What’s wrong honey?” Elizabeth asked, sensing that something was weighing heavy on Larry’s heart.
He was brushing Penny and stopped when Elizabeth spoke. He rested the brush on top of Penny, turned and looked at his wife. He had loved her for so long. He trusted her and valued her. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. And yet, it was still difficult for Larry to share his emotions with her at times. He knew it was pride, and he tried so hard to turn that over to God. Now would be a good time to practice that, he thought.
He looked up at Elizabeth with concern. “It’s just, well, I feel bad for Michelle,” he said, uncomfortable being so vulnerable, even with Elizabeth. “I can see how unhappy she has been since Daniel left. I just wish she had met Daniel instead of getting involved with that loser Luke. If she had just met him instead, before he ever met Kimberly ...”
Elizabeth looked at her husband of decades and knew his heart hurt badly for his daughter. “I agree, I wish the same. But we cannot change the past. All we can do is be strong for her and support her. She needs us now more than ever.”
Larry picked the brush up and started smoothing Penny’s silky hide again. “I know I used to worry so much about image. I was so concerned about family heritage and prestige. But I realize now that you were right.”
Elizabeth didn’t flinch when Larry spoke. She knew it took a lot for him to admit he had been wrong, and she was glad he trusted her enough to do so.
“Family is what is important. It always has been important and is the only thing that should matter. I just,” he finished brushing Penny and put the brush on the shelf. Standing on the other side of the wall, he looked directly at Elizabeth. “I was wrong to treat Michelle the way I did.”
“Oh Larry,” Elizabeth said, resting her soft hand on top of his rugged one. “You weren’t always so noble, you know. You had a much softer side when you were younger. Don’t you remember?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“Remember what?” Larry said mischievously as he walked around the wall and closed the gate. Elizabeth wrapped her arm in his and giggled.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” The two walked to the front of the stable arm in arm. “When we first dated, you were so crazy about me that you would make secret visits to my house late at night just to see me.”
“Well, of course I did,” Larry said, mocking defense. “Because I was in love with you!”
“Sometimes love can blind a person to what is best,” Elizabeth said, poking Larry softly in the ribs. “That is what happened with Michelle.”
Larry stepped away from Elizabeth and looked at her, knowing where she was going with the conversation. “Larry, Michelle needs you. She needs her father to love her. The relationship with her father is the most important one in a woman’s life. And you,” she poked him again. “You are her father and the most important man to her.”
Larry smiled, knowing that as usual, Elizabeth was right. “You are right, Elizabeth, you are right.” He reached out his arms to hug her when the earth shook beneath them, knocking them back against the barn wall.
“What was that?” Elizabeth said, stunned by the explosion. Larry put an arm out in front of Elizabeth, keeping her from stepping out into the cool night air as he rushed out of the stable. In the distance, he saw a bright plume of orange flames and a dark cloud of smoke above the irrigation pump.
“Quick, go to the house and get Ano. Call for help!” He sent Elizabeth off and ran to the pump to see what caused the massive explosion. All of his hard work, all of the irrigation that was designed to save the farm, thousands of dollars, gone. His thoughts raced as he neared the pump. The fire was small but hot, burning furiously from the center of the pump system. As Larry got closer he saw two shadows in front of the flames. He wasn’t sure if it was smoke or something else. Then he knew.
“Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?” he yelled at the strangers. Two large men loomed in front of what was left of the irrigation system. They had sabotaged the pump and blown it up, sending pieces of the intricate system scattering across the pasture. The men turned and looked at Larry but didn’t move.
“We’re taking care of your irrigation system,” said Josh, stepping out of the shadows and into the light of the fire.
“Yeah,” said Roy. “It was a bad idea, and we’re just here to make sure it doesn’t succeed.”
Larry stopped, noticing how tall and big the men were. He knew Ano was coming, but at the moment, he was alone with these two men who were much bigger and much younger than he was. As much as he wanted to antagonize them, he thought he would be better off trying to talk this out.
“Who sent you? Why are you doing this?” Larry asked, scared for his safety but even more scared for the future of Trinity Ranch.
“It doesn’t matter who sent us,” said Josh, his enormous head glowing in the light of the fire. “All that matters is why we’re here ... and that’s to teach you a lesson!”
Larry threw caution to the wind, not caring for his own safety anymore. He had to do what he could to save the irrigation system, and the ranch. “Now you listen here. You better get off my property right now! Or ...”
“Or what?” Josh said as Roy pounced on Larry, grabbing his hands and holding them behind his back. Larry struggled to get free, but Roy was far too strong. Josh stepped out of the flames and closer to Larry. As he neared, Larry could see that Josh was holding something in his hand. The object looked like it could have been a tool or even perhaps a part of the pump’s piping system. It wasn’t until Josh raised it above his head and the light from the fire caught it that Larry realized it was a baseball bat.