“Well, I didn’t,” she says.
“I’m aware of that too.”
“Okay, so evidently, Isla still has my phone number.”
Hearing Isla’s name sends a shooting pain into my stomach. “What are you talking about?” My voice sounds like someone just kicked me in the gut.
“She called me, Den.”
“What the fuck does she want from you?” I ask, with anger seething through me.
“She went searching for you at Kaneohe Bay, I guess, and no one would give her any information other than that you had separated from the Marines.”
“They won’t tell her anything,” I say, trying to make myself feel better, but I know Isla, and nothing will stop her from finding out what she’s looking for.
“They didn’t. That’s why Isla called me. She wants to know where you and Aya are.”
“Why?” I snap.
“Dad, what’s the matter? Why did you say a bad word?” Aya asks.
I wave her off and stand up from my chair, placing my finger against my other ear so I can hear Brielle better.
“Kai!” Aya yells, running off toward her. I take the opportunity to turn around and walk in the opposite direction, not wanting Aya or Kai to hear this.
“She said she wants to talk to you about custody. She’s prepared to take care of Aya now or something.”
“No way in hell,” I tell her.
“I know, Den. I know. I’m not sure about the laws in Hawaii, but while she’s in the process of looking for you, I’d find a good attorney.”
“She left us two years ago because she didn’t want to be a mother anymore,” I remind Brielle. I know this isn’t her fault but I’m so angry I don’t know what else to do other than yell at the one person who will listen to me.
“I don’t think she stands a chance of gaining custody, but you should be prepared.”
“Did you tell her anything at all?”
“No, I told her I wasn’t getting involved,” Brielle says.
“Does she think I’m still in Hawaii?”
“She said Molli told her you were, but not where. No one is willingly going to tell her where you are, but I don’t see how you can hide for too long. She’s always been a determined little wench.”
“Fuck,” I shout.
A hand on my shoulder reminds me I’m not in private and I whip around, coming face to face with Kai. “Are you okay?” she mouths.
I shake my head and hold up my finger, asking her to wait a minute.
“Anyway, I just wanted to get ahold of you as soon as I could. I’m sorry, Den.”
“Don’t say anything to Mom and Dad, okay? I don’t want to worry them,” I tell her.
“I wouldn’t. Dad would probably go after her, and yeah ... that won’t end well.”
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree there. Dad was in the tail end of Vietnam, so we’re more alike than I’d like to admit sometimes. No one gets in the way of his family, and he will do just about anything to make sure of that. When Isla left us a couple of years ago, he went searching for her, determined to break her down and change her mind, in hopes of saving Aya from the pain her rejection would cause, but Isla was good at two things—running and hiding. As for me, I’m good at letting things go and moving forward, leaving the unwanted behind. It was the perfect storm for a broken family, and it left little hope of future reconciliation. Anyone who hurts Aya or me even just once, they’re done in my life. I don’t give second chances.
“Thanks, Bri. I’ll keep you updated. Just let me know if you get any more calls from her.”
“I will. Love you, brophy. Tell Aya I’m sending her kisses and nail polish.”
I roll my eyes at Brielle’s signature blonde comment. “Will do. Later.”
“What’s going on?” Kai asks. “Are you okay? You’re all red.”
“Are Noa and Lea gone already?” I ask her.
“No, they’re over by the fire pit at the pool bar.”
“Can they watch Aya for a few?”
Kai looks concerned in reaction to my question. “Yeah, I’ll go take Aya over there. Just stay put.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kai
I pull Lea aside privately while Noa is performing some kind of magic trick for Aya since she was unsettled when I brought her over. “Something happened, or something’s going on with Denver, and he didn’t want to talk about it in front of Aya. Can you keep her occupied for a few while I go find out what’s going on?”
“Of course,” Lea says. “I’ll make her a smoothie. Or, I’ll let her help me make a smoothie!” I swear Lea is still a child sometimes, but I know she’s trustworthy and spent years babysitting our neighbors’ kids. She has a young personality, so she’s a good person to win kids over too.
“Great. That sounds fun. I’m sure Aya will love it. Don’t go anywhere else, though. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“No problemo,” Lea says. “Aya, do you want to do something super fun?”
“Depends,” Aya says with curiosity.
“Aya, I’ll be back in just a minute okay. Can you keep Lea and Noa company while I go get your dad?”
Aya shrugs. “Okay, I guess. Do I get paid to babysit them, at least?” I close my eyes and laugh because she apparently already knows these two are immature adults in some ways. That’s pretty perceptive for her age … and hilarious.
“How does a dollar an hour sound?” I ask her.
“Like a ripoff,” Aya says. “But I’ll do you a favor.” She covers her mouth and giggles. “Make sure Dad is okay. He doesn’t look right, and I heard him say a bad word.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
I jog back down the path that leads to the beach’s walkway. The luaus are just down the beach a ways. They’re away from the general public area since they’re paid events. By the time I get back to the event space, I find Denver seated in the sand, staring out into the dark ocean.
I take a seat next to him and rest quietly, waiting for him to talk first.
“She left us two years ago. Never said goodbye or gave us a reason. Divorce papers were on the kitchen table with her signature. She wanted nothing, so we didn’t need lawyers. All I had to do was sign the papers and mail them.”
“Was that her on the phone?” I ask, feeling a pain my chest, wondering what she could want if it was her, and if it’s him she wants back. I haven’t known Denver long enough to be confident that he’d give up a past to be with a potential future.
“No, it was my sister,” he tells me.
I want to say that eases the tension I’m feeling, but it doesn’t. Denver wouldn’t have brought his ex-wife up unless whatever the problem is related to her in some way. “Oh, okay.” I don’t want to push him. His silence is deafening, and it’s clear he needs a minute.
“She wants custody of Aya. She’s hunting me down and knows I’m somewhere in Hawaii.”
His words gut me—not just for him but for Aya. How could this woman consider putting her child through that after disappearing the way she did? “I don’t see a court ruling in her favor, Denver.”
“There’s so much to consider, Kai. The courts always rule heavier on the mother’s side. That part isn’t in my favor. My job is not in my favor, either.”
“Being an absent mother for two years is not in her favor,” I add in.
“I will do everything I can to keep full custody of her.”
“I know you will,” I tell him.
“I’m unlisted, but the damn Internet more or less shows where people are standing at any given moment.”
“Has this happened before? Has she tried to come back?”
“No, but I changed my phone number last year. The year prior, there wasn’t one attempt to reach me. Isla, my ex, she hurt Aya so much, Kai. I can’t let Aya go through that again.”
“Can I help you in any way?” I don’t know what I can possibly do for him, but I know I’ll do whatever he needs.
He
takes my hand and holds it between his, then pulls in a long inhale. “I don’t know. I have to find a lawyer and a new job real fast.”
“The front desk just had an opening for the morning shift. I know it wouldn’t be as much as you were making, but the hotel pays fairly well.”
“I don’t know. Standing in a suit every day doesn’t feel like a good fit for me. Plus, I have nowhere to take Aya.”
“What about security for the beach?” It’s not through the hotel, but the county is always hiring security for the beaches.
“I didn’t even think of that.”
“I know someone who can help,” I tell him. Dad worked for the police force in Maui. He was friendly with the security branches for the public recreational areas. They’ve kept in touch over the years to make sure Lea and I were okay and getting by.
“Kai, that would be amazing.”
“I’ll make a phone call tomorrow,” I tell him. “I also know of a good law firm downtown. I had to go through them when dealing with my parents’ will. They were very accommodating.”
“Good. Okay. The court can’t take her from me, can they?” he asks.
I fold my free hand over his. “Denver, I have never seen a dad as caring as you are. That little girl absolutely loves you, and any judge would see that. Your ex-wife hurt her, and maybe it wasn’t physical pain she caused, but everyone knows emotional abuse can be just as bad.”
“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d have to worry about this. I figured she was gone for good. It’s been two years—two fucking years without seeing her daughter. What kind of person can do that?”
“An unstable one,” I tell him. “Remember that.”
He leans over and places a soft kiss on my cheek. “I don’t want to put you through my crap, Kai.”
“You’re not going to put me through anything. I told you I was in this to try and make something good work between us, and that wasn’t conditional.”
“You haven’t even known me that long, and you’d stand beside me with this? I don’t understand what I did to deserve that much care.”
“Does time matter when your heart can’t decipher between a day and forever? I feel like my parents died yesterday, yet it was ten years ago. All that matters is what we feel in the moment because no amount of time can define that.”
Denver releases my hand and runs his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want Aya to know anything. I have to be inconspicuous, or she’ll know something is going on. I’m going to need to call Isla and try to handle this on my own before things go further. I don’t want her showing up out of the blue and ripping the rug out from below Aya’s feet.”
Part of me considers it wrong to stand between a mother and her child, but she ran away. She left. That doesn’t make her a mother. It makes her a coward. Aya doesn’t deserve to feel that type of loss again.
“I agree. I think that’s the best way to go about this. That way you’ll know what you’re dealing with before you talk to a lawyer.”
“Do you know how stupid I felt after she left? The thought never crossed my mind that she’d leave. It should have, though. She didn’t want kids. She was so detached from Aya and never motherly toward her. I did everything, even with the little time I had in between shifts at the recruitment center.”
“Why do you think she’d suddenly change her mind?” I ask.
“Money. She’s money hungry. She convinced me to marry her, so she could utilize the military benefits when I was deployed. Unfortunately, it’s common for women to pick up military men just to collect the benefits.”
“But you’re out now. What could Isla be expecting?”
“Child support, I guess. She’d take what she could and would take care of herself instead of Aya.”
Personally, I’d like to handle this woman. She doesn’t deserve to get anywhere near Aya. “Do you know where she was living?”
“Her family is in Oahu. She lived there her whole life. I never ran into her, and I didn’t hear from anyone except her stepsister who she had no relationship with. She could have left the islands for all I know.”
“Denver, you’re going to be okay, and so will Aya. It won’t be hard for anyone to see the facts and act accordingly. Trust me, okay?” I wrap my hand around his stubbly cheek, forcing him to look at me. “You have fought through worse and survived. You will make it through this and win.”
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. “Aya has been my world, Kai. I have to protect her.”
“You have a plan to do that, and I will help however you need.”
Denver stands up and brushes the sand from his shorts and reaches his hand out for me. “Thank you,” he says, wrapping his arm around me as we head back toward the pool bar.
“Don’t thank me. No one was there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on, and I promised myself if I ever knew someone who needed support, I’d be there so they wouldn’t have to go through shit alone. Plus, it’s a bonus that you’re hot and I kind of like you a lot.”
“It is a bonus that I’m hot. Maybe that’ll help with the judge too,” he says.
I nudge him with my shoulder. “Your jokes get worse when you’re in a bad mood.”
“Are you saying my jokes are good when I’m not mad?”
“Eh. We’re getting there,” I tell him.
We walk up to the bar, spotting Aya dangling her legs from a barstool, sipping on a smoothie. “I hope there’s no alcohol in that drink she’s sipping on,” Denver says.
“There’s no alcohol in there,” Noa shouts over to Denver. I take it Noa knows Denver pretty well. Either that, or Noa has a track record of doing dumb things.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Denver says.
Lea is making a flower out of a napkin, and Noa has his three cups and a ball trick out. I see they’ve kept her well entertained.
“Is everything okay, Dad?” Aya asks.
“Yeah, what’s going on?” Lea asks.
I try to give her a look, but Lea is as subtle as a bull in a China shop. “What’s with the faces, Kai?”
“I think we’re going to head home,” Denver says. “Ladies, the show was amazing. We loved it. Thank you for inviting us.” Denver was excited to experience a luau, and Aya was even more excited. I’m sad the night has to end like this.
“I’ll walk you guys to your truck,” I tell them.
“Goodnight,” Denver says, waving at Lea and Noa.
“Goodnight, Bro. Good night, Princess Aya!” Noa says.
“They think I’m a princess,” Aya whispers as we walk off. “I didn’t want to break it to them that I’m not, so I let it slide.”
“You’re my princess,” Denver tells her.
“Yeah, that’s what Kai told me last night too. She said little girls are always princesses to their dads and the most important person in their lives.” I did say that. Dad used to tell Lea and me that every night before we went to bed.
Denver places his hand on my back as Aya continues in front of us. His fingers scratch up and down against my skin, a subtle gesture that says a lot.
“I wish Kai could tell me another bedtime story tonight. No offense, Dad, but her stories are way better than yours.”
Denver laughs. “Thanks a lot. It took me a long time to get good at my storytelling skills.” He scruffs up Aya’s hair, and she lets out a high-pitched scream. “Don’t touch my hair, Dad!”
“If you want me to follow you home with my car, I can tell her a quick story and head home. You’re on my way,” I tell Denver quietly, hoping Aya doesn’t hear me. In case he doesn’t want me to come over, I don’t want to get her involved or excited.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he responds just as quietly.
“I’d love to,” I tell him.
“Okay, Aya, Kai will come in quickly and tell you a bedtime story, but that means you have to go right to sleep after that. It’s late.”
“Deal,” she says, shooting her thumb up
above her head.
Maybe I’m pushing too hard, or I’m letting my guard down too fast. It’s unlike me to be hasty or jump into situations partially blindfolded, but I feel like my mind is working on its own accord, and I can’t seem to think straight when I’m talking to Denver or interacting with him. I feel like my brain has been taken over by my emotions.
This is probably why people date and test the waters out before they’re in their late twenties. I have no idea how this all works. This relationship stuff is all new to me. I have no clue if I’m doing things right, and now he’s not even thinking straight, either, with all this crap sitting on his shoulders.
I’m feel like I’m following in Lea’s footsteps by rushing into something, but my heart beats harder when he’s around, and a smile naturally finds my face. Denver makes me feel like I’m something more than I’ve ever seen myself as. That’s what Lea told me Noa made her feel like, and I said she was crazy for falling for him so quickly. I’m questioning myself now. Maybe I’ve been wrong all along.
When we arrive at Denver’s new house, all three of us step out of the vehicles at the same time. “I can unlock the door,” Aya says as she runs toward the front of the house with Denver’s keys in her hand.
“I hope I didn’t put you on the spot back at the hotel. I don’t know how this dating thing works, and I don’t want to be too much or overbearing … too forward … you know?”
“Wow, so I guess me asking you to spend the night would be a bad idea, huh?” he asks.
“Well,” I say, unsure how to respond. I left last night, worried Aya would find me staying over and expect it after that. “I don’t know.”
“I fully believe if something feels right, we shouldn’t fight it. Plus, don’t tell anyone I said this, but I don’t want to be alone tonight. I have a sick feeling in my stomach, and I’ve had enough lonely days in my life over the last eight years. I’m kind of over it right now.”
“What about Aya?”
“I have to wake her up every morning. She’s not an early bird. We’ll be safe.”
Man Buns Page 18
