“Do you need further assistance aboard?” she asked.
“No. Thank you.
“We’re going to have to leave the wheelchair here for them to stow,” Megan told Grace at the door to the aircraft. “Do you want me to carry you?”
“No. I can walk,” she insisted.
Despite the stress and turmoil of the day, she wanted to hug her brave, wonderful, independent daughter who had come so far. Grace stood up from her chair and moved with her careful, stiff-hipped gait down the aisle.
“Look for Row 14, and seats C, D and E,” she said to Grace.
“There’s a coincidence,” Shane said behind her. “I’m in Row 14 as well. Seat F.”
The jet had two aisles, with two seats by the window, four in the middle and two more across the other aisle. She and her daughters and Shane were assigned the middle seats.
Since the girls didn’t like to be separated, she took the aisle for herself and settled Grace beside her, with Sarah on the other side next to Shane. At least the girls would provide a little buffer between them.
It was a good plan, in theory—until their grandmother boarded and settled into the seat across the aisle from Megan.
“Grandma, guess what?” Sarah said. She leaned across her sister and Megan to launch into a story about her soccer game that week, all while other passengers filed past.
“You’ll have to wait to finish your story,” Megan told Sarah, when she saw her daughter growing frustrated at each interruption.
“Why don’t you change seats with her, my dear?” Jean suggested. “It’s a long flight, and you surely won’t be able to entertain the girls by yourself.”
She wanted to argue, but knew she’d sound ridiculous explaining that she couldn’t spend the four hours until their Los Angeles connection sitting by the brother of the bride.
She forced a smile. “Sarah, do you want to sit by your grandmother?”
“Yes!” her daughter exclaimed. Aware of Shane watching the interaction with interest, she and Sarah traded places.
“I think we’re settled now,” she said, after swapping Sarah’s backpack for her own tote bag. “Sorry for the chaos.”
“It’s fine. You must be a brave woman to trek nine hours to Hawaii for your ex-husband’s wedding.”
She was fiercely aware of him beside her, edgy and uncomfortable, which didn’t bode well for the long flight to LAX.
“Nick’s a good father and our girls love him,” she said. “It didn’t seem fair to deprive them of the chance to see his wedding just because it would be hard.”
The flight attendants made an announcement about boarding quickly and storing luggage. She could see Grace and Sarah both growing increasingly nervous about the flight. By necessity, she turned her attention to calming her daughters while the flight crew prepared the cabin for takeoff.
A short time later, they were in the air. “There. You made it, girls. That was fun, wasn’t it?” She forced more enthusiasm than she really felt, since she wasn’t all that crazy about flying herself.
“I forgot how it made my tummy tickle when we went to Disney World,” Grace said.
“I like it!” Sarah exclaimed. “Can we do it again?”
“You’ve got four more takeoffs before we’re done—one more today and two on our way home.”
The flight attendant came on a few moments later and announced that it was now safe to use electronic devices. Sarah immediately asked for Megan’s tablet.
“Hey, Grace, want to play a game?”
Grace was always willing to play, and soon the twins were engrossed in the game, blonde heads close together in concentration. Megan pulled out a magazine from her tote, still strongly aware of Shane beside her in the cramped space.
She was going to have to talk to him, to explain and apologize for her actions. Why not do it now, while her daughters were distracted? She opened her mouth but he beat her to it.
“So, for the last hour I’ve been trying to figure everything out. Was it because of your daughters?”
She could feel heat rush to her cheeks. “My...daughters?”
He made a face. “I called that fake number you gave me three times, hoping each time I’d made some kind of mistake dialing. The elderly-sounding gentlemen on the other end of the line was not amused, by the way.”
Oh, she had been such an idiot. If she could go back and relive any moment in her life, it would be that night in the ER. She hated working a shift on the night of a full moon. Everybody acted out of character, including her.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I was so stupid.”
From the moment he walked in with a gunshot wound—not on a stretcher but on his own two feet—she had known the handsome police officer in the bloodstained uniform was trouble. He’d been charming and sweet and obviously interested in her. Something about the late shift and the crazy night and the way he looked at her had her acting completely unlike herself. She’d been fun and flirty, laughing and teasing him.
And then he’d asked for her phone number and reality had crashed back down. She couldn’t go out with him. She didn’t even know the man, and he certainly didn’t know the real her, the stressed-out, overscheduled mother of twins.
Then she’d been called into a trauma, and in a panic she’d scrawled a fake number.
“So?” he asked now. “Did you brush me off because of your daughters?”
“If it’s any consolation, at the moment I did it I felt terrible,” she admitted. “As soon as the trauma crisis was over, I went back to give you my real number, but by then you’d been discharged.”
Under other circumstances, she might have been tempted to look up his information but that would have violated privacy laws and she could have been fired.
“You could’ve just told me you weren’t interested,” he said. “I’m a big boy. I can handle a little rejection—but for the record, I prefer outright rejection to that kind of sneaky thing.”
She winced. “I know. You’d think I was in high school or something. All I can say is, I messed up. I’m really sorry.”
CHAPTER TWO
SEEING THE EMBARRASSMENT in her gaze, Shane wasn’t sure what to think about Megan McNeil.
She was either crazy or had considerable grit to show up for her ex-husband’s wedding to another woman. He wasn’t sure which yet.
Even a month later, her rejection stung.
He had really liked Megan. Okay, he might have been a little woozy from pain medication—even a through-and-through round from a .38 hurt like hell—but he could have sworn they’d forged a connection.
His mind replayed their interaction. While she’d helped him out of his uniform she had been sweet and solicitous, a beacon of warmth on a bitter winter night that had turned to hell.
When she asked if he wanted her to call someone for him, he had floundered. His parents weren’t in Chicago, Mom was on one coast, Dad on the other. Having them at the hospital would have been a nightmare of drama and accusations. He could have called Cara, of course, but this was only a minor injury and he didn’t want to bother her.
When he told Megan he didn’t need her to call anyone, she had become even more solicitous and kind. He’d noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring and at some painkiller-induced moment had asked if she was dating anyone. She’d blushed in a way that had completely charmed him, and said that she was divorced but she didn’t have time to date.
He’d never thought to ask if a couple of cute twin girls were the reason she was so busy.
“Was it something to do with hospital policy?” he asked now. “Are nurses not supposed to date patients?”
“I wouldn’t strictly be breaking any rules. But that wasn’t it. Not really.”
She glanced briefly at her daughters—the smaller one
with the twisted limbs and her active, inquisitive sister—and then back at him. “As you’ve probably figured out, my life is...complicated. I haven’t dated anybody seriously since the divorce. I’m out of practice and, I’ll admit, I panicked.”
He shifted his long legs in the uncomfortable space, surprised at her candor. “I can be a scary guy, I guess. That’s not necessarily a bad thing when you need to get information out of a perp, but it has its disadvantages when it comes to the dating scene.”
A hint of a smile peeked out at him. “You didn’t scare me. I liked you. A little too much,” she confessed.
“I felt the same way,” he answered. “Which is why I hounded some old guy in Irving Park three times, hoping I’d only misdialed.”
She sighed, and he saw more of that entrancing blush seep over her soft features. “Please, can’t we start over? I’m so embarrassed about the whole thing. It would be great if we could pretend we only met at the gate before boarding the plane. I really don’t want to have to spend the whole wedding trying to avoid you.”
After a moment’s thought, he stuck out his hand. “Hi there. I’m Shane Russell, brother of the bride.”
She gave him a relieved smile and held out a small, capable hand. “I’m Megan McNeil. I, er, used to be married to the groom.”
They shook hands briefly, before her attention was diverted by a question from her daughter.
Shane picked up his book again, aware of a strange mix of relief and disappointment. While his ego was a little appeased to know he hadn’t been completely wrong about the attraction that had simmered between them, it was more than a little disappointing to discover that attraction was doomed to die a fruitless death.
As much as he was drawn to her lush mouth, those blue eyes, those lovely, sweet features, he wouldn’t do anything about it. A month ago, he might have, but she was right. Her situation had just become too complicated.
* * *
THE FLIGHT BETWEEN Chicago and Los Angeles was far easier than Megan expected. The girls were both relaxed and comfortable. She read to them for a while, they watched a movie, they played a game or two, and before she knew it, the flight crew announced they were preparing to land.
“What can I do to help?” Shane asked as they taxied to the gate.
While Nick was a great father, she handled most things on her own these days. The chance to lean on someone else was as novel as it was welcome. “If you could help me with the bags, that would be great. It might take a while, though. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for the wheelchair to be brought up from the cargo hold.”
“I don’t mind.”
He traded knock-knock jokes with the girls while the rest of the passengers filed out. When they left the plane, the wheelchair was waiting for them.
“This is quite a complicated procedure,” Shane said, as Megan pushed Grace into the terminal.
“I guess you can see why we don’t travel much. The kids and Nick and I went to Disney World a few years ago, but that’s as brave as I’ve ever been with them. Car trips are actually much less complicated than flying.”
“Except we can’t drive to Hawaii,” Grace offered. “Grandma said so.”
“Unless you’re a really good swimmer,” Shane said. “Or know how to ride a dolphin.”
“I rode a horse, once,” Sarah chimed in. “It was brown and had a black tail and mane. It was super fun, but we didn’t go swimming.”
He grinned at her daughter, and Megan’s stomach started whirling as if she were riding a dolphin in wild circles. He really was gorgeous, with sun-streaked brown hair and eyes the deep green of a mossy forest. Add to that how sweet and charming he was with her daughters, and she was in serious danger of making a fool of herself.
They made it to their gate just in time to board the connecting flight that would take them to Lihue.
He again stepped in to help her stow their bags in the overhead bin and settle Grace into her seat.
“Looks like I’m behind you a couple of rows for this leg of the trip. If you need my help on the flight, I can see about trading with someone to be closer.”
Megan told herself she wasn’t sorry for a little space to catch her breath, regain equilibrium. “You’ve done more than enough already. Thank you for all your help. I would have been sunk without you. Girls, can you tell Cara’s brother thank you for helping with our bags?”
“Thank you,” Grace said, her voice soft but her smile genuine.
“Thanks!” Sarah held out a little fist to give him a bump, something she did with Nick all the time.
He chuckled and obediently pressed his knuckles against hers, then added a complicated little side twist and top pound that made Sarah grin.
“Safe flight,” he said, before moving a few seats behind them to allow the other passengers to board. She did her best not to feel a little bereft.
“He’s nice, Mom,” Grace said. Her eyes drooped with fatigue, and Megan hugged her close, making room for her daughter to rest her head in the crook of her arm.
“Yes. Yes, he is.”
To her relief, Jean again sat near them to help entertain the girls on the long flight. By the time the captain turned off the seat belt sign, though, it was obvious the excitement and anticipation of the day were taking their toll on the girls.
They started to become petulant and cranky with each other and with her. The mood might have shifted quickly into frustration if she hadn’t pulled out their story again, ducked her head to theirs and read quietly to them. After only a few pages, both girls’ eyelids grew heavy. They fell asleep at almost exactly the same moment, as they often did.
She decided to follow their lead and steal a moment to close her eyes while she had the chance. When she awoke, she found the girls playing quietly with their Barbies, and she realized they would be reaching Lihue in only an hour.
There. Like so many other things in her life, the reality of a transoceanic flight had turned out to be far less painful than she’d imagined.
Still, by the time the plane landed, she and the girls were more than ready to escape the tight confines of their seats.
“We’re going to Hawaii.” Sarah started chanting her little song again.
“We’re gonna swim in the ocean,” Grace added.
“We’re not going to Hawaii anymore,” Megan told them. “We’re here!”
“Can we go swimming in the ocean today?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t see why not. But we have to make it to our hotel first.”
They were again last to leave the airplane. She was deeply grateful when Shane stopped to help them.
“You made it!” he said to the girls.
“Finally!” Sarah said with an exaggerated, long-suffering tone that made him smile.
They walked down the concourse to find Nick and Cara waiting for them with magenta-edged flower leis. “Welcome to Hawaii, girls!” Nick said. He put one over each of their necks with a kiss on the cheek and then added one for Megan, too.
“Thanks again for dragging them all the way out here. You’re the best ex a guy could ever want.”
She rolled her eyes as the heady scent of plumeria drifted to her. “I do my best.”
The bride and groom were distracted by others in the wedding party, and Megan began heading toward the baggage claim area.
“Oh, look at all the flowers. It’s so beautiful,” she exclaimed as they moved through the open-air terminal.
“Is this your first trip to Hawaii?” Shane asked.
She nodded. “You’ve been before, I take it.”
“A few times. Only once to Kauai, when I was a kid.”
He waited and helped her retrieve their checked luggage, and even carried the bags outside for her into the sweetly scented air. “You’re staying at the resort with every
one else, right?”
“Yes. That’s the plan. Cara made all the arrangements for us.”
“I’m renting a car. I can give you a lift to the resort.”
“Nick and Cara have arranged for a wheelchair taxi to pick us up. Thank you, though.”
“I’ll see you there, then. Girls, aloha.” He made the hang loose sign.
“What does that mean?” Grace asked.
“That’s called a shaka. It’s a Hawaiian greeting that kind of means hello, howzit, thank you, aloha. All that stuff.”
Sarah caught on immediately and did the same gesture back to him, twisting her wrist back and forth with delight, but Grace struggled with the fine motor skills necessary to stick her thumb and pinkie out at the same time.
“That’s not right,” Sarah told her sister, and Grace huffed a little with frustration.
“Here, like this.” The big, rangy cop bent down to her level and took her little hand in his to help her make the gesture.
“There it is. That’s it. Perfect.”
She beamed at him, and he grinned right back and kissed her on the forehead. As Megan watched them, something warmer and sweeter than the Hawaiian breeze settled in her chest.
Off the airplane, the girls seemed to gain a fresh wave of energy. All the way to the resort, they chattered excitedly with their driver, Pete, a big, warm native Hawaiian who was delighted to show them around his beautiful island.
“There it is! There’s the ocean,” Sarah said every time the road to their resort passed through the dense trees that opened up to that impossibly blue water.
The resort was beautiful, lushly landscaped with fringy palm trees, banyans with tangled, twisting trunks, bright explosions of colorful flowers. Megan had never seen anything as exquisite.
“You girls have a great time, now,” Pete ordered them after he helped them out and handed their bags to a waiting bellhop. “I’m gonna be checking to make sure you are.”
Sarah and Grace giggled at him and did their best shakas, which earned a wide grin and the gesture in return.
“Shootz. That means I’ll see you lateh.”
Island Promises: Hawaiian HolidayHawaiian ReunionHawaiian Retreat Page 2
