He watched as the wave started to break, and Dagan expertly entered the curl, but Kevin wasn’t so lucky. He made it to an upright position, but the wave was breaking too fast for his inexperience. Kalino watched as the wave crashed down upon him, quickly obliterating both the boy and the board from site.
The wave didn’t stop there though. It was Dagan’s match, and before he could safely exit the tube, the wave took its second victim. Kalino paddled furiously towards where his friend had gone down, but another rogue wave came out of nowhere, lifting him and his board up, and sending him flying some twenty yards away.
He was the lucky one. Several other seasoned surfers had seen what happened and had already paddled out to lend a hand. Someone managed to pull him onto their board and take him back to the beach. They took him to the hospital, where he spent more than three weeks in a coma.
What followed was the stuff nightmares were made of. Two funerals. Two grieving parents who couldn’t understand how she’d let this happen. One father who mourned his only child, even though he’d raised a daughter as his own since birth. One mother who’d taken one look at her disheveled and bruised daughter and thought the worst. One sister who was so consumed with guilt over Kevin’s rage, she actually contemplated taking her own life a time or two.
But killing herself wouldn’t bring Kevin back. It wouldn’t restore her trust in guys, and it wouldn’t heal the rift between her parents that seemed bigger than the Grand Canyon. Only time and distance could do that, so she’d made preparations to leave.
Becca waited around the islands until she was sure Kalino was going to pull through, and then she packed a bag and left. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, but her parents’ house was like a tomb. No one spoke to her, and the guilt and remorse she felt for her part in Kevin’s death was more than she could bear on a daily basis.
The surfers left and her parents quit taking future reservations. It was as if they themselves had died along with her brother. Every time her father saw her, his eyes grew cold, and he turned his face away from her. Her mother’s looks of condemnation and judgment were even worse. In order to save herself, she needed to leave.
She left Hawai’i, her parents, and everything she’d known to make a new start for herself. Running as far away as Colorado had seemed like a good idea, and when she stepped off the plane on a cold wintry day, she prayed and hoped that one day she would be able to forget and move on with her life. One day maybe she could return to Hawai’i and reconcile with her parents and herself.
Chapter 1
Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving Day, Denver, Colorado…
Jessica, Gracie, and Becca were standing in Adelaide’s Bridal Shop, looking at a sea of wedding dresses. So far, Gracie had suggested several dresses for Jessica to try on, but none for herself.
Jessica was marrying Justin Donnelly, and Gracie had just become engaged to his younger brother Mason. Becca was just along for the ride, but she was having fun nonetheless. After a miscalculation on their recent hike to Maroon Peak, Becca had become temporarily stranded in Silver Springs, Colorado. Gracie had been her ride from Denver, but she’d injured her knee in a fall that had required surgery. She’d also gone and fallen in love with Mason Donnelly, a beau from her childhood.
They had announced that they were getting married, and Jessica and Justin had secretly confided they were headed down the aisle of matrimony themselves. Both girls had decided that a dress shopping excursion was in order.
After enjoying Thanksgiving Day at the Three Brother’s Lodge, owned and operated by the three Donnelly brothers, Becca had ridden back to Denver with them. She was dreading going home to her small apartment, knowing that on the morrow Gracie would be returning to Silver Springs. Melanie had been her other roommate prior to her moving out a month earlier, but her husband had finally gotten his discharge papers from the military, and they were already headed to Florida to be with her family.
So here she was, helping the woman who was not only her best friend, but also her savior and counselor, pick out a wedding dress. The only problem was that Gracie couldn’t seem to decide on anything today.
“Gracie?” Becca stood by her friend’s elbow, hoping to help her get things started.
“Hey!” Gracie smiled at her, looking overwhelmed and a little out of sorts. She was normally very organized and together, but today, she was a little scattered. Becca chalked it up to the newness of being engaged, and knowing that her life was getting ready to change for the better.
“What kind of dress are you looking for?” Becca hadn’t thought about marriage for herself since leaving Hawaii, and now that she was in the store, surrounded by yards of lace, satin, and sheer fabric, she wondered if she would ever be able to trust a man enough to make this type of commitment to him. She hoped so, but only time would tell.
Gracie sighed, “I don’t know. I’m a lost cause today.”
Becca smiled at her, “I doubt that. Tell me about the dress you wear in your dreams.”
Gracie grinned, “But that is only a dream dress. And they don’t really exist.”
“Tell me anyway, okay?” Becca insisted. She knew Gracie had always dreamed of a wedding to her childhood beau, and now that her dream was getting ready to come true, she might as well have the dress to go with the rest.
“Velvet. In my dreams, my wedding dress is white velvet. It has a scoop neckline and lone sleeves with those little strings than hook over your middle finger to keep them in place. And a long skirt that swirls around my ankles when I walk, but drapes along the ground behind me.”
“It sounds gorgeous. Tiffany, do you have anything like that?” Becca asked the store attendant Gracie hadn’t known was standing behind her listening in.
Tiffany smiled, “I have the perfect dress for you. Head on back to the dressing room and I’ll bring it to you.”
Gracie looked at her, hope shining in her eyes, “You really have a dress like what I described?”
“Go on back and you’ll see. It must have been made just for you.” Tiffany turned to Becca and grinned, “This is weird, but she could have designed the dress I have hanging in back. It was sent here, by accident, from a European designer, and is a one of a kind. The shipping to send it back was going to be astronomical, so we decided to keep it.”
Twenty minutes later, Gracie emerged from the dressing room, and everyone stopped and gasped at the picture she presented. She was stunning in the dress, and a more perfect fit didn’t exist.
“Oh, Gracie! Look at yourself!” Jessica and Becca urged her.
Gracie took a breath, and turned to face the three-way mirror. She gasped and felt tears spring to her eyes. “It’s perfect! Just like in my dreams.”
Becca wrapped an arm around her waist, “Who was your perfect groom in your dreams?”
“Mason,” Gracie whispered.
“A match made in heaven. She’ll take it.” Becca turned to Tiffany with tears stinging her own eyes. Gracie had been her saving grace more than once, and she was so happy for her friend, and yet – she knew she was going to miss her terribly when she returned to Silver Springs tomorrow. She fought back her tears, not wanting her own neediness to overshadow the day.
“Perfect.” The store attendant was beaming as she walked away to start the paperwork.
“Now we have to find Jessica the perfect dress,” Becca said.
“Well, I don’t think I’m ever going to find anything as perfect as that one, but I have several to try on.”
“Then get to it,” Becca told her with a laugh.
An hour later, both girls had found the dresses of their wedding dreams, and they were heading back to Jessica’s apartment. The same one she had shared with Becca and Melanie. They arrived to see the boys loading the last of the boxes into the trailer.
“All done?” Gracie asked in wonder, glancing at her watch.
“How about we go get some pizza?” Kaillar suggested, making sure that Bec
ca knew she was invited as well. She liked Kaillar, and part of her wished she could get rid of her distrust and give him a chance. He was the middle Donnelly brother, and the most handsome in her opinion. He also seemed to like her. You know better, he likes you – a lot. He’s also hoping for – what she didn’t know.
While she was thinking about these things, plans were made to go get pizza from a place just a few blocks from the apartment, and Becca headed for Mason’s car. She was halfway across the yard when her cell phone rang, stopping her in her tracks.
Upon leaving Hawaii, she hadn’t changed her cell phone number. She’d kept it, even keeping the unique cell phone tones for her family members, hoping that one day her mother or father would call her and ask her to come home. It hadn’t happened in four years. Until now.
With shaky hands, she turned and walked a short distance away. She pulled the phone from her pocket, and slid her thumb across the screen to answer the call, “Hello?”
“Becca?”
“Mom?” Becca asked, her voice going soft with disbelief. Her mother was calling her after all these years. Why?
“Becca, something horrible has happened.”
Becca felt her heart crack a little more, the brittle pieces already in ruins. “What?” she whispered, closing her eyes as she willed the bad news away.
“Your father had a heart attack this morning. He’s gone.”
Becca heard her mother crying over the phone, and she felt her hand tremble. “What?” she asked incredulously.
“The funeral is Sunday. I’d like you to be here for the funeral.”
Becca felt the world start to spin around her, dark spots forming in front of her eyes as she dropped the phone from lifeless fingers to the ground below. She tried to keep the darkness from taking her, but it rushed at her.
She moaned, and began to come around a few minutes later. Kaillar and Gracie were both peering down into her face, looks of concern on their faces. She looked around and realized that she was in the back seat of the car. She could hear Gracie’s voice coming from the front seat. What’s going on?
“Becca, you fainted. You’re in the car with me. Who was on the phone?” It was Gracie speaking to her, softly and with compassion for her friend evident in her voice.
Becca stared straight ahead, “My mom.”
“Your mom in Hawaii?” Gracie asked.
Becca nodded, “My dad’s dead. The funeral is Sunday and she wants me there.” She heard her voice, but it really didn’t sound like her. The words she was speaking couldn’t be coming from her mouth, and yet – they were. Her father was dead, and her mother had called…
Gracie’s wrapped her in a hug, “Oh Becca. I’m so sorry. Honey, what can we do?”
Becca wasn’t crying. Not yet. “She wants me to come for the funeral. I…”
“If money is a problem, I can lend you as much as you need.” Gracie was a problem solver, and she’d never met one she couldn’t handle. Especially if the problem belonged to someone else. Gracie wanted everyone around her to be happy with life; it was one of the things that had originally drawn Becca to her. Gracie generally seemed happy, while Becca had been simply existing.
“No. I can…I just…,” she looked up at Gracie with tears and fear in her eyes. “I can’t go back there like this. Weak. I just can’t. Not by myself. I…”
Becca felt horrible for even voicing her fears. She wasn’t normally weak, but the recent assault had taken a greater toll on her psyche than even she wanted to admit. She saw Gracie’s silent communication with Kaillar, and then he was speaking directly to her.
“Becca, darling. Do you want someone to go with you?” Kaillar had squatted down to peer into the vehicle, and she tried to meet his eyes and failed. He deserves so much more than I can give him. But I don’t want him to quit trying. I really don’t.
Becca’s mind was almost numb, but she heard Kaillar talking to her and it sounded like he was offering her a lifeline. One she desperately needed right then. Do I want someone to go with me? Yes, please! She nodded her head, raising teary eyes to his own and watching them soften with compassion and something else she couldn’t identify.
He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and held her eyes, “I’ll take you home. Will you let me do that? Will you let me take you home to say goodbye to your dad?”
Becca shivered once, but she didn’t look away from him. “Yes.”
“Good. Justin, we need a ride to the airport.” Kaillar didn’t hesitate and Becca sat there numbly, her mind replaying her mother’s words over and over again. He’s gone. Her dad was dead.
And just like that, Kaillar had stepped in and orchestrated everything. A quick trip by her apartment for clothing and toiletries. A quick shopping trip at a local clothing mall had yielded several outfits along with a small suitcase for Kaillar.
Then it was off to the airport where they caught a flight before dinnertime was over. Kaillar had stayed right by her side in the terminal, watching her carefully as if he expected her to breakdown any minute.
Becca purposefully shut her mind off. She thought of Gracie’s last words to her, and she was amazed at the comfort they provided her. Family. Family was more than just who you were biologically related to. Family was whomever you became attached to. People you would do anything for. People who stuck by you in the good times and the bad.
Family was what she’d found in Colorado. So what was she to do with the family she’d left behind in Hawaii?”
Chapter 2
Saturday, Honolulu International Airport, Oahu, Hawaii …
Becca Edwards watched the approaching tarmac with a sense of sadness so overwhelming that she wasn’t sure if she would survive this trip home. So many memories…
She’d left the islands a little over four years ago. Four years that seemed like an eternity to her. She’d moved to the mountains of Colorado, figuring they were about as different from the lush tropical landscape of the Hawaiian Islands as she could get. She hadn’t been wrong.
Mountains were the norm in Colorado, but unlike Hawaii where more often than not they were covered in cooled, or cooling lava, the mountains here were covered in snow for at least six months out of every year. She still remembered the first time she’d watched it snowing outside. The large flakes falling from the sky, so silently and peaceful looking.
She’d grabbed her camera and captured the moment. The first of many over the last four years. She’d always been interested in photography, and was a hobby writer, so majoring in photojournalism had seemed to be the perfect career choice for her once she landed in Denver. Becoming roommates and friends with Gracie and Melanie had also been perfect.
She’d been looking for a place to live, close to her classes, and Gracie and Melanie had been looking for a third roommate to help share their home and pay a third of the bills. The trio had hit it off from the very first, and Becca had thanked her lucky stars for meeting the two women who had helped her through one of the toughest times in her life. Even if they hadn’t known what she was going through.
Everything in her life seemed to have been coming together, so much so that she’d stopped feeling so adrift on the sea of life. She’d seen some pictures taken by the Division of Wildlife personnel, and decided right then and there that was what she wanted to be doing. Getting out into nature and taking photographs that showed the beauty of life all around.
She’d still missed her family, but she’d not received one phone call from either of her parents since leaving Hawaii. She’d left them a letter, explaining that she couldn’t live in a place surrounded by memories of what might have been, and that she was going somewhere to start over. She’d promised to come home when the time was right, but so far, thoughts of returning to Hawaii left her in a cold sweat. The only concession she’d made was once a year, a week before Christmas Day, she sent a postcard to let them know that she was still alive and not ready to come home yet.
She hadn’t
even chosen the postcard she was going to send this year, and now it seemed that she wouldn’t be following that ritual for a fifth time. She rolled her head from side to side, trying not to let the questions of the past swamp her thinking.
What if her dad still felt the same way as he had when she’d left? What if her mother still had that look of condemnation in her eyes?
Either of those would have destroyed her, so she’d stayed away.
Not even after the assault had she considered calling or going home. She knew that Gracie and Melanie were both worried about her, but when she’d been grabbed in that parking garage, and the men had held her down, one with his hands around her throat, her brain had instantly reverted to the other time that had happened. And the horrible aftermath when her brother had found out what Dagan had done.
Her attackers had grabbed her from behind, muffling her screams for help. They’d dragged her off to a waiting car, where her nightmares had taken on new meaning. There had been three of them, all Hispanic and all speaking in what she thought sounded like Spanish.
They’d ripped her clothes, pinching and slapping her body to the point that she had feared for her life. One of them had produced a knife and tormented her by dragging the blade over her exposed body. He’d cared not that he’d broken the skin in several places, seeming to take great joy in the beads of blood left behind on the welts.
Becca had been sure she was going to die that night. But then, a security car had driven through the parking garage and had spooked her attackers. They’d kicked her to the garage floor and sped off. She’d been found moments later, and transferred by ambulance to the hospital. The nurses in the emergency room had all been very kind, and after treating her physical wounds, and ascertaining that her attackers had been disrupted before they could sexually assault her, they’d called in the resident shrink.
She’d been leery of trusting him, after her last mental health fiasco, but she’d also known that she needed to release the memories so they could start to fade. She’d told him everything that had happened and that had been said to her. After she’d finished, he’d wanted to know why she hadn’t taken more steps to protect herself. After all, walking through a parking garage, at night, by herself, was practically begging someone to mistreat her.
Three Brothers Lodge - The Complete Series Box Set Page 20
