by Kay Bratt
She considered for the millionth time that day how surreal it was that if things hadn’t changed drastically for her when she’d come to Maui a year before, it might be her own wedding she was planning, instead of the vow renewal for her favorite guests.
One thing she’d always done well was compartmentalize, but in this case it was proving to be more difficult than usual. It wasn’t that she had any second thoughts about leaving her fiancé to pursue a different life, but she had been planning her own wedding since she was a small girl, and letting go of that dream had been harder than letting go of the relationship.
Still, she had a job to do and she wanted it to be perfect.
The flowers would be delivered in the morning, and the housekeepers were going to weave them into delicate garland leis. She’d secured a white carpet to lead up to a flower-covered arbor, and the rep said it would be wheelchair friendly, just in case. Liam had arranged a local Hawaiian band to play soft music off in the corner, and best of all she’d gotten a promise that one of the local kahunas would be there to officiate.
Just like she’d promised, the ceremony would be simple but elegant. And afterward there would be an intimate reception. David had asked her to invite some family members and friends so that it felt celebratory. He said Julianne loved people and would be pleased.
Quinn and the chef had worked out a proper menu, and it included kalua pig, the traditional roasted pork with Hawaiian sauces. There’d be plenty of fruit, too, in case Julianne didn’t feel like eating anything heavy.
For dessert, she’d called the first friend she’d made in Maui. Maria made the best cookies and had branched out into other things now. She was going to put together a special cake.
Quinn put Jules on the task of rounding everyone up, though whether she could manage getting Kira on board was still in question. Secretly, Quinn was glad for a reason to bring everyone together, as it might be the last special event she would attend with her family before she headed off to Montana. She’d called Helen that morning and insisted she was going forward with her relocation plans and taking the opportunity in Montana. It would be the best way to settle things down and at least try to give her family some semblance of peace.
Liam would know tonight, after everyone left. He’d already told her he was staying over, but Quinn had a feeling that after their talk, he might change his mind.
That thought brought a whole new wave of fatigue over her. While David and Julianne held a private second honeymoon, more than likely Quinn would be sleeping alone.
As for the inn, it pained her to leave her baby, but she’d made two appointments with possible candidates to take her place. First interviews would be video chats; then if they passed that, she’d meet them in person. Both candidates knew this was on a fast track and had agreed to drop everything for the opportunity.
Then she’d be headed to Montana. She wondered how rough the winters would be. Maybe she could finally learn how to ride a horse. She forced herself to think about this as an opportunity and not a tragedy.
A soft knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts about cowboy country, and Quinn rose and crossed the room.
“Who is it?” She leaned against the door, glad she hadn’t yet taken a shower and climbed into pajamas. She might look like an exhausted mess, but at least she was dressed.
When no one answered, she called out again. “Jonah?” Her brother was usually the only one who bothered her in the evening. He hated phones and, more times than not, just showed up if he needed to talk to her.
“It’s Ano,” a voice said.
“Who?”
“Liam’s father.”
Quinn opened the door slowly, unable to keep the look of shock from her face when she saw the man standing there. Liam had said he rarely ever left his land, so what was he doing coming all the way to Hana to talk to her?
“Is Liam all right?”
He nodded. “Everything is fine. I would just like to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”
She was still trying to figure out how he knew which room to find her in when she heard a familiar voice.
“Would you rather talk to him in the lobby? Or on the patio?” Jonah stepped out from the shadow. “Or I can stay.”
“What are you doing here?” Quinn said. At least now she knew how the man had found her room. She was going to have a talk with Jonah.
“I found him walking around the hotel grounds,” Jonah said.
“I was trying to get up the nerve to come ask for you,” Ano said.
“Please, come in.” Quinn held the door open. She didn’t ask Jonah what he was doing walking around the grounds after dark, but she sure would later.
Ano came in and took a seat at the small dining table, but Jonah hesitated.
“He and I had a long talk, and if I didn’t think this was important, I wouldn’t have brought him to you,” Jonah said, keeping his voice low. “He’s a good man, Quinn.”
“You don’t know everything about him, but I’ll let him talk,” Quinn said. His story wasn’t hers to share, even with her own brother.
“He’s told me a lot. I don’t need to stay unless you just want me to.”
Quinn hesitated. “No, I’ll be fine.”
Jonah nodded, then disappeared down the hall, as quiet as he’d come.
“Does Liam know you’re here?” she asked, taking a seat across from Ano.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“This sounds serious,” Quinn said. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“A glass of water would be appreciated.”
Quinn remembered that he didn’t drink alcohol and was glad she hadn’t mentioned it. She rose and made them both a tall glass of ice water.
She took them to the table and set them down, then sat.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Ano laughed softly. “You act like I’m here to give you bad news.”
Her face flushed red.
“I’m not really sure why you’re here.”
“Can I tell you a story?” he asked.
She nodded and he took a sip of water, then began.
“Many years ago when my sons were younger, I made a decision that turned out to be tragic. It affected many lives—the hardest ones hit were strangers. However, my own family suffered as well.”
Quinn kept her face expressionless. She’d never tell him that she already knew his deepest shame.
“Everything in me was sorry for what I had done, but remorse isn’t enough. I felt I should be punished further. So it took me some time, but I finally decided to stay in the place that you visited and not allow myself to partake in the joys of fatherhood. It hurt my sons. And it hurt me. What father doesn’t want to teach his sons how to be a man?”
His eyes glistened and his voice took on a new thickness, yet he continued.
“Liam took it the hardest. He visited me, begged me to come down and join the family again. I told him maybe one day. That’s how our exchange went for many years until he stopped asking. During those years, he stepped into a role that was far too mature for him. I wanted to stop it, but I just couldn’t come back. Liam slowly took on every responsibility that a man of the house would.”
Quinn’s heart felt sad for the boy that Liam lost too fast in his decision to fill the empty hole his father left.
“He took care of maintenance on the house, the car, and even keeping the yard clean and manicured. He was gifted with his hands but was also smart. With his grades, he could’ve gone on to college. But instead he worked a job after school, helping a local carpenter on projects, learning skills that even I could not teach him. When he graduated high school, he worked full-time and still took care of the home, never considering leaving his mother alone to pursue his own life.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Quinn finally asked. It wasn’t her story, but it brought her pain as though it were. She didn’t want to hear any more about how much Liam had given up to help his father find his penance
.
“I’m telling you because he has never brought a woman up to see me. And I’ve never seen the look in his eyes that he had when he looked at you.”
Quinn blushed.
“He’s a very caring man,” she said, struggling for the right thing to say to a man she barely knew. “He’s special.”
“Yes, he is. More than you can imagine. I’ve been a horrible father and husband. I was blinded by shame and didn’t see that my penance was also theirs, for a crime they didn’t commit.”
“I’m sorry, but I agree,” Quinn said softly. It wasn’t fair, and she wouldn’t pretend like she understood. Liam deserved more than that from her.
“My wife has also seen how Liam looks at you,” he said. “And she came to see me yesterday. She told me how my absence has hurt her over the years and how lonely she has been in her bed at night. She doesn’t want that for Liam.”
“I can’t imagine any mother would want that for a son,” Quinn said.
He nodded. “You know, marriage isn’t really about the physical things. It’s about having a friend for life. Someone you can turn to when you feel everyone else has let you down. Someone who will back you up even when you are wrong. My wife, she’s done that for me. Even when she has turned to her empty bed year after year, cold and lonely, she has never spoken to me in anger.”
“She talks about you fondly,” Quinn said. That much was true. She’d been there many times when the woman had reminisced about the old days, before one fateful night had taken her husband from her side. She only spoke about him in affectionate terms.
“Yesterday was the first time that she told me everything she has felt. She bared her soul to me, and I thought that I would die right there in front of her, the pain in my heart was so bad. I’m telling you now, this is the truth, I knelt before her and I cried like I’ve not cried in all these decades of feeling alone and guilty. She let me cry, and she patted my head. But she said she couldn’t forgive me.”
Quinn was taken aback. Liam’s mother was not the type to hold a grudge.
“She said that there’s still time for us to share our golden years. To be together to welcome grandchildren and watch sunsets over the ocean. To enjoy the bounty that Maui has given us.”
“And you rejected her,” Quinn said, feeling hollow as she traced the rim of her now-empty water glass.
“I did not.”
She looked up in time to see one tear slide down his face.
“She convinced me that continuing to dwell on what I did in the past is defining who I am now. But I know I’m not that same man. So I’ve decided to forgive myself.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He smiled. “My wife is going to join me at my property. She’s going to make that empty house a home. Not only for us, but for all the generations to come. It will be a place to build new memories. Happy ones that hopefully will help heal the sad ones.”
“That’s wonderful, Ano,” Quinn said.
He smiled slowly. “It is. But I came here to tell you because I know how Liam feels about you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Liam wasn’t totally yours before. But you need to know, he is free now. It is time for him to stop feeling responsible for his mother’s well-being. I’m strong and healthy, with many good years ahead of me. I’ll spend the rest of our lives making sure she knows she is the most important thing to me in this world. Not the canoes and not the penance I’ve been seeking, but her. My punishment is over, and I’m just glad she made me realize it before it was too late.”
Quinn was crying now.
Not only for Liam’s mother, but for him. What a burden would be released from his shoulders. Not that he didn’t want to take care of his mother, but he knew there were the lonely parts of her that he just couldn’t fill. And that knowledge grieved him.
She also cried because it was too late for her.
Montana was the best option for her in order to keep her family’s privacy intact.
Her phone rang before she could form a response to Ano’s declaration.
“Excuse me,” she said, reaching to rub away a wayward tear as she picked up her phone.
It was from a number she didn’t recognize. She sent it to voice mail, and immediately they called back. She knew it could be a reporter, but something felt weird and she answered. “Hello?”
“Quinn?”
“Who is this?”
“It’s Colby. Have you heard from Maggie? She was supposed to be home an hour ago, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“No, I haven’t,” she said, then heard a pounding at the door. “Hold on, Colby. Someone’s at the door. Maybe it’s her.”
She went to the door and opened it to find Jonah there again. This time he looked alarmed. He looked around and saw that Ano was still there.
“I’m really sorry to interrupt, but Quinn, have you heard the news at all this evening?”
“No, what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure, but there’s some kind of standoff going on down at the vet’s office that Maggie works at. Maui PD has it surrounded.”
Quinn looked at the phone she still held in her hand. She could hear Colby, his voice frantic as he demanded to know what it was that Jonah had said about Maggie.
She handed the phone over to Jonah because her hands were shaking badly. She didn’t trust her voice either. Something told her that Maggie was in that building.
And she wasn’t alone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Maggie scooted back against the wall and watched Andrews pace back and forth, ranting about the sirens that were getting louder. Above him the parrot squawked, stuck on his favorite phrase.
“Here we go. Here we go,” it repeated, a mantra that felt too ironic at the moment.
Andrews picked up a stainless-steel tool tray and threw it at him but missed the bird. It jumped, squawking louder as it flapped its wings, then settled a little higher.
Maggie could see the lights flickering around the open door, and it sounded like dozens of cars screeching to a stop, one after another. Was the entire Maui police force coming to her aid?
That was good and bad. She hoped their arrival didn’t push Andrews over the edge before she could figure out what to do. She considered trying to make a run for it, but she knew he’d probably overtake her before she could even get to the door. He’d already proved he was strong and had fast reflexes. She needed to be strategic and plan an escape that would work.
“She called them, didn’t she? Didn’t she?” he screamed. He was holding his bloody hand to his chest, obviously in pain.
“I—I don’t think so. I think a silent alarm was activated when you took the door off.” Maggie knew there wasn’t an alarm system, but she was terrified that Andrews might go after Juniper, who no doubt was probably sitting in her car with Cinder and Woodrow, too stubborn to leave.
He stopped and stared at the door. Maggie saw the sweat dripping from his face. He was losing it. And fast.
She thought about Charlie. He’d hugged her legs that morning, so happy that his dad was there. He looked like he was just bursting with joy. It was bedtime now, and she wondered if Colby had gotten him to sleep. She forgot to tell him that Charlie likes his night water in his turtle cup with two ice cubes.
Her throat choked up. Would she ever get to see that smile again? Feel those warm, chubby arms around her and listen to him call her mama? And Colby. How would he be as a single dad? Would he find a good woman right away to step in and be a mother, to replace her?
“What do you want to do?” she asked, trying to divert herself from thinking about Charlie, Colby, and all the possible outcomes of her current living nightmare. That was a road to despair.
“We have to get another room,” he said finally, coming at her and holding his good hand out. “Come with me.”
Woodrow was safe, but Maggie knew to save herself, she’d have to keep up the game. She didn’t like to think that Andre
ws was crazy enough to really hurt her, but who ever knew what was going on in someone’s head? Especially someone like him.
“Yes, and I’ve got to clean up that nasty bite.”
She took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. His fingers were cold and clammy, and Maggie felt like she would be sick. She let go as soon as she could, but when she looked at him, he had that strange grin on his face again.
He liked her touch.
His made her shudder.
“Let’s go in the surgical room. That’s where the bandages are,” Maggie said. She led him there and he closed the door behind them, then locked it.
When Maggie heard the click, she flinched. It would make her escape that much harder, but it wasn’t hopeless yet. She was slowly forming a plan. She led him over to one of the surgery tables where a crash cart was parked nearby.
“Sit up here,” she gestured.
He looked around suspiciously but followed her direction.
“You better know what you’re doing,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, I agree.” She hoped she knew what she was doing—more than he knew.
While sirens screamed outside the building, Maggie worked on cleaning and bandaging Andrews’s hand.
“We can’t have a vicious dog,” he said, staring down at the bloody cotton balls.
Maggie felt like screaming at him that there was no we, but she remained calm. “What kind of dog would you like to have?”
“A Lab. I had one when I was a kid, and he was my best friend.”
She dabbed some antibiotic on his wound. “What was his name?”
“Diablo.”
“Oh, why call him a devil if he wasn’t vicious?”
He shrugged. “My dad gave him the name. I don’t know why. He never liked him.”
“How can someone not like a Lab?” Maggie asked as she started rolling the bandage around his hand. “They’re eighty pounds of pure affection.”
“I don’t know. That’s what I asked him after he put a bullet in his head for pissing on his truck tires.”
