by Conn, Claudy
David couldn’t keep a straight face. “I love you, kid, but I’m glad we live thousands of miles apart. Jack and Sandy would learn way too much from you.”
“I would never,” she gasped in horror, “those little munchkins are my niece and nephew. My job is to protect them and keep them safe. You should be happy I know all the tricks. If I lived close by, they wouldn’t be able to get away with a thing.”
Under Erika’s sweet exterior held a wily mind. If there was an angle to be found, this young lady would find it.
Erika’s new beau popped his head around the corner. “Is it safe for me to join this conversation, or should I settle Turnabout down?”
Ben looked to be a Pacific Islander. David hadn’t looked into their family’s ancestry, but knowing there were less than eight thousand pure Hawaiians left on the planet, it would be interesting to find out if this family was one of them.
Erika grabbed the boy’s arm. “We’re cool. Ben, this is my brother-in-law, David Crandall. He’s the private detective I warned you about.” Ben’s eyes grew wide and she rushed to reassure him. “Don’t worry. We’ve come to an agreement. As soon as he sees this is a safe place, he will give my parents the Crandall seal of approval.” She tilted her head coyly. “Do you have time to give him a private tour? He wants to see the birds.”
Ben’s head bobbed up and down.
Erika already had the boy wrapped around her little finger. David shouldn’t have been surprised. She was her mother’s daughter, and Erika watched Hannah Turner manipulate everyone around her up until the day the ink dried on the unusual family contract.
An unpleasant suspicion crossed his mind, and he didn’t like the direction his thoughts were traveling. He couldn’t shake the idea that perhaps the crush Erika had on the kid across the street was a ruse to throw Annie and Terence off the track of something a little more devious. David hoped to hell the girl didn’t have anything to do with the marijuana growing in the kid’s backyard.
He had to find the guilty party as quickly as possible. If his young sister-in-law was complicit in any way, he wasn’t sure they would be able to save her.
“Thanks anyway,” David said, bowing out of the tour. “I’ve seen enough seagulls to last a lifetime.”
Ben snickered. “You might like to see the place, Mr. Crandall? We don’t have seagulls in Hawaii.”
That was a relief, but birds would be birds and he wanted his ball cap to stay pristine for a few more days. “Some other time, kid.”
16
KAP STOOD ON the bluff and looked out over the sea. The full moon hovering in the midnight sky cast a shimmering glow across the waves. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A few minutes later, the spinners appeared and danced playfully in the water below. Kap released a heavy sigh. The Winter Solstice was almost upon them.
The Javier family had once again touched his heart. Lena brought him such joy. The body and face he portrayed, was different from the dying man she married all those years ago, but the soul was the same. Kai felt blessed to have another chance to bring her a little happiness.
He wasn’t the only thing sporting a new identity. The family farm was now a Bed and Breakfast. The changes Lena made were impressive, but running the business made it difficult for her to foster friendships of the male variety. The one thing he wanted most, but couldn’t provide, was for this very special woman to find a love to call her own.
Lena would never know the depth of his appreciation, loyalty, and never-ending devotion. He wished he could tell her the truth, but it wasn’t allowed. His goals had to be accomplished in the shadows. Lena had to find her own way, but he hoped he had been of some service to Brittany and Grady.
It was up to David Crandall now. The pending full moon signaled Kai’s return to the depths. As soon as it made one more rotation around the Earth, it would be time to leave.
• • •
“I CAN’T BELIEVE it’s the twenty-first already,” Lena pouted as Kap packed his suitcase. A hole deep as the Grand Canyon formed in the pit of her stomach at the mere thought of him leaving. “Please stay through the New Year. If money is the issue, I’d be happy to comp you the room.”
Mr. Kaplinger tucked another pair of pants inside and snapped the case shut. “I wish I could. I hate to leave when Grady and the girls might still need my help, but I don’t have a choice.”
Lena brushed the tears that had welled in her eyes away. “We appreciate your help, but that’s not why I’m sorry to see you go. I like having you around. You’re one of us now. I hope you come back soon.”
Kap pulled the owner of the B&B into his aged arms. “When I planned this vacation, I thought I’d spend the majority of my time sightseeing. Instead, I found myself perfectly content to look out at your beautiful ocean view, help a couple of kids in the garden, and play nursemaid to a baby bird.” He squeezed her just a little tighter and kissed the top of her forehead. “It’s been a long time since I felt this at home. Your family has graciously accepted me into the fold, and I will never forget your generosity.”
The chaste hug and kiss tore at Lena’s heartstrings and completely unsettled her. “But you’re our lucky stranger.”
Kap’s eyes went soft. “Would you believe me if I said your story was a myth and nothing more?”
The warmth spreading throughout her abdomen longed to be stated, but the idea of making love to the old gentleman was outrageous. She could just imagine the shocked look on his face if she dared to proposition him. Needing to cool the raging fire, Lena stepped out of his embrace and said, “I guess you’re right. We thought Warden was one of the lucky ones, but he jumped ship days ago. I suppose it’s time to let go of my mom’s bedtime story and grow up.” Unable to control her lusting fingers, Lena reached out and touched his shoulder affectionately. “But it was fun while it lasted.”
The old man sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her down beside him. “Young woman,” he said firmly, “don’t you dare grow up. This has been the best vacation a man could ask for. I am one of the lucky ones, not because of what I could do for you, but because of what you did for me. You and your family have enriched my life beyond belief.”
The mattress was the last place Lena wanted to be, but his eyes seemed so familiar. She let her fingers explore the lines of his brow and the crags of his wrinkled jawline. Lena wasn’t sure what she was searching for, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“You’re a mystery, Mr. Kaplinger. On the surface, you appear to be open about your past, but upon closer examination, I don’t believe you’ve revealed anything personal about yourself. You say you feel like one of the family, but you’re leaving without giving me a forwarding address. We won’t be able to contact you.”
“Just talk to the spinners,” he whispered in her ear. “They’ll get a message to me.”
The moment she stopped believing he was the benevolent stranger in her mother’s stories, Kap brought the tale back to the forefront and made her question it again. Lena scratched her neck and realized he was about to leave several questions unanswered.
“Kap?” she implored, “The day you and Annie found Turnabout down by the pier, Erika said her ornament display was full, but Annie insisted she sold out. Do you know anything about that?” Before he could answer, she pushed on, “And all the new tools in the shed... we don’t know where they came from. Then Annie said you told her to hurry when she received the phone call from Marissa asking her to track Larry down. How did you know it was an emergency?”
His bright eyes beamed with joy. Kap crossed his heart with his finger. “I swear, I have no knowledge about the tools in the shed, but I saw Brittany and Terence offloading his truck the day they arrived. I always assumed that’s where they came from.” He lowered his voice and pressed a hushing finger to his lips. “Keep this on the down low, but I caught Brittany hanging the ornaments on Erika’s display when Annie was calling out to the baby bird. Britt told me Erika taught her how to make them the night before and sh
e wanted to surprise her. I find it hard to believe anyone thought I was involved. As far as Annie and Larry Wright are concerned, I could tell something was wrong by the look on Annie’s face. Besides, Marissa is a loud phone talker. I could hear the worry in her voice. I simply encouraged Annie to investigate.”
There were a lot of holes in his explanation. A large part of her wanted to keep the magic alive, so Lena let it drop.
It wasn’t unusual for a guest to leave a lasting impression, but this man was special. “At least wait until tomorrow,” she begged. “Let me invite the family over. We’ll have a fish fry down on the beach, and everyone will have a chance to say goodbye.”
With sad eyes, Kap declined the offer. “I’m not good with goodbyes. I’ve grown quite fond of those young people. You might end up watching a grown man cry.”
Lena couldn’t let him leave. This man had sparked something inside her that she couldn’t let go. He felt like a love she once had and their easy banter reminded her of how life used to be. The day they scoured the Internet for a place for Turnabout to live, the tiny flicker exploded into something more. She refused to let it be extinguished so quickly. If this was her only chance, she was going to take it. “Lucky stranger?” she asked, taking his hand. “Would you like to get lucky?”
Kap blinked. “Are you serious? I’m as old as dirt.”
Lena never saw herself being attracted to an older man. It had taken her days to come to the realization that she honestly wanted him. With quiet determination, she nodded her head firmly. “I am.”
A smile crinkled at the corners of his lips. “It’s been so long. I might have forgotten how.”
Lena wasn’t worried. The magic he carried would see him through. “I haven’t had sex since before I married my late husband. I’m sure we’ll muddle through somehow.”
Kap leaned in and kissed her forehead. Lena responded by lifting her chin and waiting.
His lips touched hers.
The kiss began entirely too timidly for her taste, but she gave him a moment to shift gears away from their friendly relationship to one of a more carnal nature.
Their kiss deepened and Lena ran her hands down his arms. Firm muscles resided under his thin dress shirt. Every fiber in her being wanted to rip the material from his chest, but she daintily undid each button and gingerly slid his shirt off.
Kap’s hands were just as busy and within moments, their clothing was scattered about the room. He looked down at her bare bosom and gasped. “Oh, my. Lena Javier, you’ve just made me a very happy man.” He lifted the edge of the comforter and invited her to join him under the covers. “Shall we?”
Lena was done being gentle. She ripped the blanket out of his hands and brought him down with her when she fell onto the mattress.
It was just like riding a bike. When Kap stopped thinking and started feeling, the old guy came on like gangbusters. With each passing moment, the years separating their age diminished. He was no longer the old guy who happened to be staying at her B&B, but a viral man who knew how to treat a woman. The experience he brought to the bed was phenomenal and Lena took advantage of every aspect of his vast knowledge.
They shifted seamlessly between aggressor and recipient. It wasn’t the clumsy first time coupling she had known in the past. She anticipated his every want and Kap anticipated hers.
Spent and completely satisfied, they fell exhausted into their pillows.
A horn honked in the drive announcing Mr. Kaplinger’s ride to the airport.
Lena embraced him one last time. “Don’t be a stranger,” she demanded. “You come back and see us.”
Kap tittered slyly. “I’ll take it up with the dolphins.”
The horn honked again and cut off Lena’s smart retort. “I guess this is it. You better get going before the cab driver has a conniption. He must be an import. An island boy wouldn’t be in such a rush.”
Far slower than the cabby wanted, the couple dressed and walked downstairs. Neither wanted it to end, so Lena stayed on the front stoop and let Kap make his way to the cab without her.
The trunk popped open. Kap tossed his bags inside and waved one final goodbye.
Lena wagged a sad reluctant shaka in reply.
The moment the old guy was securely inside the vehicle, the cab driver glanced over his shoulder and pulled away from the curb.
Shocked, Lena squinted at the disappearing cab.
She couldn’t absolutely swear the driver was her former yard boy, but the cab was definitely a late model Chevy Caprice.
With shades of the mysterious strangers lingering in her mind, Lena turned around and headed back inside the B&B.
• • •
“YOU CAN’T BE serious,” Marissa exclaimed at David’s outrageous theory. She raised her sunglasses from her eyes and leveled him with a vicious glare. “Just because you haven’t found the guilty party does not make my little sister a drug dealer.”
Not even Marissa’s angry tone could diminish his loving appraisal of his wife’s beautiful body. Clad in nothing but a dark blue bikini, his eyes raked hungrily down her long, firm limbs. David glanced around the pool area to make sure their conversation was unheard by any other pool goers, but he had nothing to worry about. No other humans inhabited the immediate area. Only a single gecko scampered up the wall. It was hard to be certain with all the mystical, magical strangers and dolphins hovering about, but David was practically positive the reptile would be discreet.
“You didn’t see how she worked that Kaʻuhane kid,” he explained. “It was Hannah all over again. If we were here under any other circumstances, I would warn Terence and Annie they were in for a world of trouble.”
Marissa shoved her shades back over her eyes and eased her body into the lounge chair. “Erika probably doesn’t realize what she’s doing. I’ll talk to her. Who knows how many men she saw Hannah manipulate, use, and discard. Some of it was bound to rub off.” She covered her face with a wide floppy hat. “But that doesn’t mean she had anything to do with the weed growing in Grady’s backyard. You’ll have to explain that leap just a wee bit better, because I don’t buy it.”
David sat down in the all-weather recliner next to her. He had absolutely no proof. It was a gut feeling. Marissa usually trusted his spidey sense, but Erika’s big sis wasn’t having any of that today. He let his mind run back over the facts. Erika had the means and opportunity. The motive had to be money, but she was busy running her own little ornament business.
He supposed it was possible she didn’t have as much opportunity as he originally thought. Larry and Eleanor would have kept her extremely busy with school, and afterward she worked a few hours at the B&B with Lena.
David couldn’t shake the feeling something was up with Erika, but growing pot across the street probably wasn’t it. She was supervised too much. It was only since Larry’s passing and winter break from school that freedom rang for the teen. The timetable didn’t add up. David let it go. Marissa’s gut was probably more right than wrong this time around.
“What did you find out about the girls in Grady’s little black book?”
Marissa relaxed deeper into the lounger. “Not much. They are all a little older. I assume Grady planned it that way so he’d have someone to buy him alcohol. They all hang out at the same beach. I went down and talked to a few of them while you were out bird watching. What I find odd is none of them cared that he used them. It seems Grady’s most appealing feature was that he had his own place. They liked him, but what they liked more was having a place to party.”
“Girls have changed since we were in college.”
Marissa’s hat shook when she chuckled. “How would you know? We got together our first semester and married the third. We didn’t hit the party scene. We nested in our tiny apartment, worked, and went to school.”
“You’re right again.” His fingers brushed his wife’s silky calf. “We focused on our future and making love. Nothing else mattered. My only regret is that we didn’t
take a little more time to be just the two of us before we had kids.”
One eye peeked out from under the huge hat. “We appear to be childfree right now. Want to go up to our room and pretend we’re back in college?”
He did, but it wasn’t going to happen. “We don’t have a lot of time. I better hit the computer. Since we struck out with the Tapped That list, I think it’s time to dig up more information on the kid’s dead parents.”
“His parents!” Marissa’s hat fell off, and her long blonde hair whipped across her face when she jumped up to look at him. “I never considered that possibility.” A look of total admiration swelled in her eyes. “You’re good. Do you need me for anything or can I stay here and bask in the sun?”
“Just don’t burn. I have plans for that body after we get this all sorted out.”
Marissa readjusted her hat. “Have fun, and don’t let Agent Tam find out you’re invading her territory,” she said, calling out an unnecessary warning.
• • •
MARISSA ROLLED ONTO her tummy and closed her eyes. Staying under the radar was tiring stuff. All she wanted to do was sleep. It was an ingrained part of every trip to the island. The first two days they powered down, slept in, and let Lena cook for them. They didn’t even watch their own kids. Jack and Sandy would go off with her dad and Eleanor or hang out over at Terence and Annie’s. Her body didn’t understand she wasn’t here on vacation.
She worried about Brittany. After Annie moved to Hawaii, Marissa made a point of checking up on the girl every few months just in case an intervention was necessary. Although far from stellar, Darleen and Carl Sutherland never crossed the line into a prosecutable case of child abuse. Agent Tam was undoubtedly aware of Brittany’s tragic family history in San Diego, and the beach buddy potheads she called friends.
As Marissa began to drift off, a shadow crossed her face. She was irritated that her nap was being interrupted, but someone either wanted to talk or was in the process of slipping her wallet out of her beach bag. Marissa reluctantly opened her eyes and saw a brown-skinned girl hovering over her. Her breasts were just beginning to bud and Marissa estimated she was around Erika’s age.
