by Kathi Daley
“Okay, so what’s with the FBI? I haven’t mentioned a single thing that would get a person investigated.”
Shredder paused but only briefly. “There were individuals in the FBI, like Kensington, who believed Luke didn’t make his fortune legally. Or at least not completely legally. He seemed to have a knack for deciding when to buy and sell specific stocks that was so incredible, they believed he had access to inside information.”
“The FBI thinks Luke was involved in insider trading?”
“A very quiet investigation was opened to study Luke’s trades. So quiet I’m not sure Luke even knew he was being investigated. I looked into it a bit and I know he was sent some forms asking for specific information, but Kensington and the agents working for him wanted to be sure they had what they needed before they alerted him as to what was going on.”
“Are you saying Luke is the subject of an open investigation?”
“No. The initial inquiry didn’t turn up anything and he has since been cleared, but Kensington, as I’ve indicated, had totally gone off the deep end. He most likely would have continued to investigate Luke after he was cleared, but then he disappeared.”
I remembered Luke telling me that after he made his fortune he quit his job and traveled the world, never staying in one place very long.
“In Kensington’s mind, Luke wasn’t simply on vacation. He felt he’d intentionally disappeared to avoid prosecution. Luke swears he took off out of a need to put some distance between himself and a lifestyle that was choking the life out of him. I believe him, but Kensington didn’t. He continued to try to track Luke down for quite some time. Eventually, he gave up.”
“But then he saw him on Oahu when he was here to investigate Whitmore and jumped right back in where he’d left off,” I supplied.
“Basically.”
“And you were helping him?”
“No. Not helping. I was actually putting Kensington in a position where I could get the proof I needed to help put him away.”
My eyes grew ten sizes when the light bulb went on. “You used Luke as bait!”
“I did.”
“He could have been killed.”
“He wasn’t ever in any real danger. I was with Kensington the entire time.”
I frowned as I tried to work things through in my head. “Luke knew you sent Komo to Maui so I would spend the whole week looking for him, therefore staying out of your way?”
“Not at first, but yeah, eventually I explained everything to him.”
“When?”
“Wednesday afternoon, after he realized his office had been broken in to.”
If Shredder was with Kensington when he broke into Luke’s office I supposed that explained why they dogs didn’t go all Cujo on the intruder. Duke and Dallas adored Shredder. “The text he received was from you, not from a man interested in a horse?”
Shredder nodded. “It’s not his fault he didn’t tell you. I swore him to secrecy. We didn’t want anyone to do or say anything to tip Kensington off. He had to believe Luke was guilty and that I was helping him prove it.”
I let out a long breath. “You knew Kensington would try to kill Luke if he didn’t get the proof he needed.”
“We hoped he would.”
I just stared at Shredder.
“I know you’ve been hurt by this and for that I’m sorry, but having Kensington go after Luke in a controlled situation was our best bet at nailing him.”
I lowered my eyes and looked at my hands, which where clasped in my lap. “Why did you have to lie to me? Why did you have to send me off on a fool’s errand? You should have trusted me. I could have helped.”
Shredder once again put a finger under my chin and lifted my eyes to meet his. “You’re an amazing woman. You’re strong and caring, intelligent and athletic. But you don’t know how to follow orders. You’re a loose cannon who rolls around changing direction at will. You’re impulsive and spontaneous and, as far as the FBI was concerned, a liability. They wanted to detain you while we ran the sting. It was Jason who came up with the idea of keeping you busy instead.”
“So sending Komo to Maui was my brother’s idea?”
“Yes, but the surfing competition was mine, though it wasn’t planned. I could see you weren’t going to leave things alone and I couldn’t have you following me or Kensington around, so I improvised. Actually you improvised. I just had to stand there while you went off on one of your tangents and came up with the prefect plan.”
“And you made sure I got a spot in the competition?”
Shredder nodded.
That explained how I got in when there were qualifiers who clearly were better than me. Shredder had figured I’d be busy at the competition during the time the sting was set to go down. And I would have, if Dad hadn’t run into Komo and my mom hadn’t mentioned it to me.
“Look, I know you’re mad at all of us and I can understand that,” Shredder continued, “but you shouldn’t be mad at Luke. He was against lying to you from the moment he became involved. It wasn’t until I threatened to detain you if he didn’t cooperate that he agreed to our plan. He loves you. He’d never intentionally hurt you.”
I didn’t respond, but I did think about what he’d said. I hadn’t told Luke about the fake smuggling ring when Shredder told me not to, and I hadn’t had half as good a reason to keep my secret from him as he’d had to keep his from me.
“I should go to him.”
“Yes.” Shredder smiled. “I think you should.”
I hugged him and then headed into the condo to get my keys. I tossed a couple of things into a bag and then got in my Jeep. The drive between the complex and Luke’s ranch was both too long and too short. While I couldn’t wait to make things right between us, I had no idea what I was going to say to him to do it. I’d told him that I never wanted to see him again. The fact that he hadn’t followed me was proof he’d taken me at my word.
I know I’m sensitive about people not treating me as a capable adult who can take care of herself. You can say it’s one of my hot buttons. It doesn’t help that not only am I petite but also the only girl and the youngest child in my family. My dad and brothers have treated me like a fragile flower since the day I was born. I know they think they’re looking out for me, but what they’re really doing is diminishing me. I don’t want to be protected. I don’t need to be protected. What I need is for the people who claim to love me to treat me as an equal.
I pulled onto the ranch road and slowly approached the house. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I mean really, what could I say that would make things better? What would Luke say?
When I came to the end of the drive, I parked and slowly got out of my Jeep. I climbed the front steps, rang the bell, and then knocked on the door for good measure. In the several seconds it took Luke to answer my heart beat faster than it ever had before. Sure I’d been hurt, but I really didn’t want to lose the only man I had ever loved.
I stood perfectly still when Luke opened the door. He started to take a step toward me, then paused. I struggled to find the words necessary to apologize, but all I could come up with were tears. Luke opened his arms and I walked into them.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered against my hair. I buried my face into his chest and he tightened his arms around me. I found I still couldn’t speak, so I pulled back slightly, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him gently on the mouth.
Chapter 13
Saturday, April 1
Luke and I stood across from each other with the minister between us. I wore a yellow dress that matched the flowers I held and he wore a white dress shirt with black pants and a black tie that made him look like a dashing James Bond. My heart pounded as the music began and all eyes turned to the end of the lawn, where Janice stood waiting to make the long walk toward the man she would marry. I’m not sure how they managed it, but somehow Tammy Rhea and Emmy Jean had talked Janice and RJ into a big wedding with all t
he trimmings. Janice and RJ had asked Luke and me to serve as best man and maid of honor because neither had family on the island.
I looked Luke in the eye as Janice and RJ recited the vows they’d written. I couldn’t help but wonder if one day it would be Luke and me professing our love for each other in front of our family and friends. Our relationship was still evolving, but I hoped deep in my heart that we would weather the bumps until we found our own happily ever after.
I glanced at my mom and dad, who sat with Tommy between them in the second row. It turned out Dad and RJ were old friends, something I hadn’t been aware of until I’d seen my parents’ names on the guest list. All three looked happy, although they still hadn’t found out who Tommy was or where he had come from. He’d told my parents he didn’t remember ever having a mother. He mentioned a man who used to take care of him named Roger Pitman who he assumed was his father, but he didn’t know that for certain. Roger was homeless and liked to move around, so Tommy had never lived in a real house or gone to school. Tommy said Roger had disappeared a year or so ago, which was when Buck had started watching out for him. Buck also wandered off for days at a time, so Tommy ended up mostly looking out for himself.
Tommy’s fingerprints weren’t on file and the woman from Child Protective Services hadn’t been able to track down any information on either a Roger or a Tommy Pitman. There were no missing persons reports indicating anyone was looking for Tommy, so my parents had been made temporary foster parents while those in charge tried to sort everything out.
I smiled at Luke as the minster declared Janice and RJ man and wife. He smiled back and I knew that despite everything that had happened we were going to be okay. Vince Kensington had been arrested and an official investigation had been opened to determine whether he was responsible for not only Blaze Whitmore’s death but the deaths of the three other men he’d been investigating as well. Jason and I had chatted, and even though I was still pretty peeved, I’d decided to forgive him. He was, after all, my brother. I’d wanted to stay mad at Shredder, but he was so dang charming when he wanted to be that it was nearly impossible. He still hadn’t told me exactly who he’d worked for, but I supposed there were some secrets that needed to be kept even from curious people like me.
Luke and I followed Janice and RJ back down the grassy aisle that had been created by the rented folding chairs. It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temps in the seventies, which was perfect for the party the Southern sisters had organized.
“That was really nice,” I whispered to Luke.
“It wasn’t as spectacular as a horseback wedding, but yes, it was nice.”
I rolled my eyes. I honestly couldn’t tell if Luke was just teasing me of if he was serious, but there was no way I was getting married on the back of a giant fleabag who had the potential to stomp me to death. I glanced toward the pasture where several horses, including Lucifer, were grazing. Despite my general dislike of horses, I was more than a little relieved that Luke’s vet had isolated the bug causing Lucifer’s illness and the black beauty was going to be all right.
“I was thinking that maybe the two of us should take a trip this summer,” Luke commented. “If you can get the time off, that is.”
“I have vacation time coming to me, although spring is a slower time at the resort, so maybe that would be better. What did you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking a little cabin on the lake. Just the two of us with no family or jobs or murder investigations to distract us from focusing on each other.”
“Do you have a particular cabin in mind?”
“Actually I do. I have an uncle who owns a quaint little cabin right on a lake in a charming town called Ashton Falls.”
Next from Kathi Daley Books
Head to Ashton Falls with Luke and Lani as they join Zak and Zoe in a murder mystery treasure hunt over spring break
https://t.co/04R4z38Mbc
Recipes
Recipes from Kathi
Banana Cheese Pie
Supereasy Hawaiian Pie
Pineapple Upside-down Cake
Recipes from Readers
Margarita Pie—submitted by Jeannie Daniel
Aggression Cookies—submitted by Joanne Kocourek
Vanilla Cream Pie—submitted by Connie Correll
Pecan Turtle Candy—submitted by Vivian Shane
Banana Cheese Pie
2 large bananas
1 ready-made graham cracker crust (or make your own) 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 large box vanilla instant pudding 3 cups milk
1 small container Cool Whip 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Slice bananas into pie crust. Mix cream cheese, pudding, and milk together and let set for 5 minutes. Pour over bananas in piecrust. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with macadamia nuts.
Supereasy Hawaiian Pie
1 can crushed pineapple, undrained (20 oz.) 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (6 servings) 8 oz. sour cream
1 9-in. graham cracker crust 1 small container Cool Whip I can sliced pineapple
8 maraschino cherries
½ cup flaked coconut
In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with its syrup, dry pudding mix, and sour cream. Mix until well combined. Spoon into pie crust. Frost with Cool Whip and decorate top with pineapple slices and cherries. Sprinkle with coconut.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved
1 jar (6 oz.) maraschino cherries without stems, drained
1 box yellow cake mix, eggs, and oil called for on box
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In 9 x 13-inch pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice and arrange remaining cherries around slices; press gently into brown sugar.
Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to match liquid called for on cake mix box. Make batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
Bake 42 to 48 minutes (44 to 53 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake 5 minutes so brown-sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.
Margarita Pie
Submitted by Jeannie Daniel
1 tbs. unflavored gelatin ½ cup lime juice
½ cup tequila
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten 2 tsp. grated lime peel 3 tbs. orange-flavored liqueur 1 9-in. prebaked pie shell
Dissolve gelatin in a little of the lime juice in a saucepan. Add the tequila, the remaining lime juice, sugar, and salt and cook over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved completely. Add the egg yolks and continue cooking until mixture starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the lime peel and orange liqueur. Chill this mixture in fridge for a half hour or so. Spoon into baked pie shell and top with whipped cream. Return to the fridge and chill for an hour or until good and firm.
Aggression Cookies
Submitted by Joanne Kocourek
An allergy-friendly oatmeal recipe (eliminate nuts and chocolate chips if allergic).
Sometimes we get mad, and sometimes kids get mad, and that’s okay. The problem comes when kids can’t figure out how to channel their anger, but this cookie recipe can fix that. So, if you have mad kids, make aggression cookies! I don’t know where this recipe originated. My grandmother made them with my brother and me.
6 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (not quick oats)
3 cups brown sugar
1 tbs. baking soda
3 cup
s flour
3 cups butter
2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
1½ cups chocolate chips (white, milk, or semisweet) (optional)
Granulated sugar for flattening cookies
With a spoon, mix all your dry ingredients together in a gigantic bowl (the largest one you have might not be big enough).
With your hands (ha ha! Here’s where the aggression comes in!) mix all your butter in with your dry ingredients. This may take quite a bit of time as you mush it all together, or just think of it as a minimanicure of butter/oatmeal for your hands. Keep going until the whole mixture is as mixed as it can get. It’ll be a little dryer than regular cookie dough, but kids can eat it without being sickened by the eggs…because there aren’t any!
Place spoonful-sized balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
Butter the bottom of a small glass, dip it into granulated sugar, and mash the balls flat. You may need to rebutter the glass a few times during the process, but redip in sugar for each ball, otherwise the dough will stick to the glass (or flatten cookies with a fork).
Bake at 330 degrees for 9 to 12 minutes.
Let cookies cool completely before handling.
Note: If you aren’t feeling aggressive, or if you just want to be a party pooper, you can use a mixer, but we won't guarantee the results.
Vanilla Cream Pie
Submitted by Connie Correll
Mix in medium saucepan ⅔ cup sugar, ½ tsp. salt, 2½ tbs. cornstarch, 1 tbs. flour.
Gradually add 3 cups milk.
Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten.
