by Elle James
She was washing plates in the sink when Hawk entered, carrying more dishes.
“You don’t have to help,” she said. “Ule doesn’t usually like anyone else in his kitchen, but I don’t like leaving him with all the work.”
“I don’t mind help in the kitchen.” Ule reached around her for a washcloth. “I just don’t like it when whoever helps doesn’t know where I keep everything.”
Kalea chuckled. “That’s why he doesn’t mind me helping. I know where he hides things.”
Ule harrumphed. “She put my potato peeler in the drawer with the spatulas.”
“Once,” Kalea added. “I know not to do that now.” She shook her head. “He’s impossible.”
“You’re impossible,” Ule shot back. “Little Ali’i.”
“I’m not a princess,” Kalea said.
Ule left the kitchen to return to the dining room, washcloth in hand.
“I’ll dry, if you can find me a towel,” Hawk offered.
She fished one out of a drawer and handed it to him, thinking, just like this. Partners in all tasks, from washing dishes to castrating steers.
“What did you say?” Hawk took a china plate from her hands.
A rush of embarrassment filled her cheeks with warmth. “Did I say something?” Had she spoken out loud?
“Yeah, something about partners in castrating steers.” He chuckled. “Did I hear that right?”
Kalea mentally kicked herself. God, she had to be better at hiding her emotions and keeping her comments about the perfect partner to herself. She cast a glance at the man who was quickly ticking off the long list of criteria that had kept her from finding that man of her dreams.
Chapter 9
Kalea handed Hawk the last plate to dry, reached around him and lifted the stack of dry plates. “I must be daydreaming. Wanna go for a walk when we’re done?”
Still curious about her comment involving castrating steers, Hawk thought it better to let the subject drop. “Sure it’s safe to wander around outside?” He dried the plate, laid it on the stack, and then took them from her. “Lead the way.”
Kalea led him back into the dining room where the china cabinet stood at one end. “My mother ordered this china for their five-year anniversary. She wanted fine dinnerware for when they entertained guests.” She chuckled softly. “They didn’t often have guests. My father prefers to have dinner with just his family.”
“How often does he invite Miss Sanders to have dinner with you two?”
Kalea frowned. “I’m not exactly sure he invites her. I think she invites herself. Perhaps I need to have a talk with her.”
“I’m sure your father can handle his employee.”
Kalea opened the cabinet and held the door while Hawk placed the plates in the stack where they belonged. “Yeah, but he shouldn’t have to handle her.” She closed the cabinet.
“Your father seems like a man who would tell someone how he feels if he felt strongly enough about it.”
“You’re right.” Kalea nodded. “Shall we go out and prove to Clarise and Mr. Beckett that we’re more than just strangers faking a relationship?”
He nodded, held out his arm and waited for her to slip her hand around his elbow. When she did, he realized how much he liked it there and had to remind himself this was all just for show.
They left the house through the back door that led onto the porch.
Mr. Parkman, Clarise and Mr. Beckett were seated, looking out over the pasture with several horses grazing contentedly on fresh green grass.
Clarise had chosen to sit on the porch swing beside Mr. Parkman, while Beckett sat in a seat nearby.
“Going for a walk?” Parkman asked.
Kalea nodded. “It’s a lovely evening.”
“Don’t forget Lani will be here in thirty minutes for your hula lesson.”
Kalea’s body sagged. “Right. I’ll be back in time for it.” She tightened her hold on Hawk’s arm and hurried him down the steps and out toward the barn. Once they were beyond earshot, she shook her head. “Hula lessons. If I hadn’t promised my mother I’d continue the tradition, I’d have given up on the dance a long time ago.”
“Hula?” Hawk laughed softly. “I can’t picture you dancing in front of anyone.”
She stopped short, bringing him to a stop with her. “Why?”
Realizing his mistake, he backpaddled. “Not that I think you’d be bad at it, but it seems odd for someone who’s an expert horsewoman and prefers to be out riding over anything else.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I do prefer riding to dancing. It’s just that I’ve done the same dance year after year for the annual King Kamehameha celebration. I know it by heart. I shouldn’t have to practice it every year.”
He couldn’t hold back a smile. “This, I have to see.”
“If you’re still around, I’ll give you front row tickets so you can laugh at little Kalea trying to dance the hula.” Her lips twisted into a smirk. “You’ll get a good chuckle. And the costumes are so…”
“Sexy?”
“Not jeans,” she ended on a flat note. “But hopefully, you won’t have to endure the celebration. By then, I hope they will have captured the attacker and put him away. You won’t have any reason to stay in Hawaii after that. You can go back to your precious Montana where it snows six months out of the year.”
“Seven,” he corrected. “In fact, I’ve known it to snow in July.”
“There you go. We don’t get snow that often, unless you count Mauna Kea.” She nodded toward the mountain peak, rising toward the heavens in the distance. The sun was slipping into the horizon, making the mountain a dark silhouette in the evening sky.
“It’s pretty impressive. I remember the first time I saw its snowcapped peaks when we were flying over the island on our way to practice extractions.” He remembered staring at the mountain through the open door of the Osprey helicopter. It had reminded him so much of his home in Montana, he’d had a sudden bout of homesickness. Thankfully, the training took his mind off home and brought him back to the task at hand.
Funny, the mountain didn’t make him homesick this time. After riding horses with Kalea that day, he’d felt more at home there in Hawaii than he’d ever thought he could. Definitely more so than when he’d been stationed on Oahu among the palm trees and city lights.
“Montana is your home?” she asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“When I was in school in San Diego, all I could think about was finishing quickly so that I could get back home to the ranch. I was so homesick, I finished college in three years.”
“I get that.”
“Was it that way for you?”
“I spent fifteen years on active duty, thirteen as a SEAL. I looked forward to my visits home, but it wasn’t until last year that I knew I had to get out or lose who I was. I needed the wide-open spaces and something besides sand and dust in my eyes. I think I deployed once too often. I saw too many of the people I cared for die.”
She leaned against his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s that part of the job description, they don’t advertise well.” He came to a halt by the fence where they’d stood the night before. He scanned the surroundings, growing shadowy as the sun sank below the horizon.
“I bet you were looking forward to going back to Montana,” she said softly.
“I admit, I was surprised when Hank sent me here instead of Montana.”
“Surprised and disappointed?” she quizzed, looking up at him, her dark eyes liquid pools of ink in her face.
“At first.”
“And now?”
He shook his head. “I never expected a place like this ranch could exist here in Hawaii. It reminds me of the ranch I grew up on. It has all the requisite animals.”
“Horses and cattle,” she filled in.
“What about you?” He turned to her. “You wanted to get back home after school. Have you ever thought of living a
nywhere else?”
She shook her head. “I want to visit other places. I’d love to travel. But I always want to return to where I belong. Hawaii is my heritage. My mother’s people have been here farther back than written records. My father’s people made this their home over two hundred years ago.” She smiled. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I might complain about dancing for the King Kamehameha celebration, but I really look forward to honoring the king that united the islands into one kingdom. I love the traditions and the stories we tell through dance. It’s part of my family, my heritage…me.”
He turned her to face him. “You’re an amazing woman. Sometimes, I don’t know if you’re the rough and tumble cowgirl or the Hawaiian native filled with the charm of your people.” Hawk tipped her chin up to the lingering light, fading to black as night crept over the land. “I think you’re both, all wrapped in one beautiful package. And here I go again, about to break the rules. Please tell me to stop, and I will. Otherwise, I’m going to kiss you.”
“Don’t,” she said, placing her hand on his chest.
He hesitated, his lips so close to hers, he could feel the warmth of her breath.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, bringing his body closer. “Don’t stop. You need to take one for the team. I think they’re watching.” Then she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
He gathered her into his arms and held her close, returning the pressure on her mouth until her lips parted. Then all restraint failed him, and he dove in, caressing her tongue with his in a gentle glide. For a long moment, they stood melded together in the darkening gloom.
When at last, Hawk lifted his head, he leaned his forehead against hers. “That ought to convince anyone watching.”
“It convinced me,” she said, her voice airy, as if she couldn’t quite catch her breath.
“We should call it a night.” He smoothed her hair back behind her ears. “I know I’ll be sore from riding today.”
She nodded. “You’ll be sore for a couple of days. That’s why it’s important to get back as soon as possible so we can ride again. The more you ride, the sooner your muscles relearn. We’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow. I want to get to Oahu before noon.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He held out his arm again.
“For appearances sake, you should call me Kalea,” she said.
“Kalea,” he said, his tongue rolling over her name like he was trying it on for the fit. “It suits you.”
They walked back to the house, arm-in-arm. When they climbed the porch, they found Kalea’s father standing in front of Clarise and Beckett, who were just rising to their feet.
“Are you leaving?” Kalea asked.
Clarise nodded. “Tyler is driving back to Hilo tonight, and he’s dropping me off in Waimea before he heads out.” She turned to Mr. Parkman. “John, will I see you tomorrow for lunch?” She touched his arm with more familiarity than an employee to her boss.
Hawk looked toward Kalea.
Her brow wrinkled for a moment, but then smoothed.
Was she jealous of Clarise’s casual flirtation with her father?
If she was, did it matter?
Would she feel the same about staying in Hawaii if her father remarried and she moved down in importance in John Parkman’s life?
A father remarrying had a way of upending the lives of his children from his previous marriage, even if they were grown. If John Parkman remarried, his assets not attached to his trust would go to his wife, if he hadn’t specified in a will that they were to go elsewhere.
Hawk would hate to see Kalea shifted to second place by a potential stepmother. Especially if that stepmother was closer to her age than to her father’s.
After the pair departed, Mr. Parkman entered the house and moved toward his study. “I have work to do. Please excuse me.”
“Daddy, you work too hard. You need to take it easier, or you’ll give yourself a heart attack.” Kalea grabbed his arm and turned him toward a sitting room. “Come, sit with us and relax.”
“I suppose I could,” he said, allowing his daughter to steer him into the sitting room with a couple of sofas and a lounge chair all in shades of gray and white.
No sooner had they entered the room than a phone rang on a table by the door.
Parkman lifted the phone out of its cradle. “Parkman Ranch, John speaking.”
Hawk didn’t like to eavesdrop, but they were all in the same room. Short of walking out, he couldn’t help but hear one side of the conversation.
John’s grip on the phone grew tighter. “You found the ATV? Where? Do you know who it belongs to? Nathaniel Bowman. I know him. He’s been in and out of trouble all his life. I’m surprised he’s even out of jail. Last I heard, he was serving time for assault and battery when he robbed a convenience store in Hilo. What’s he doing back here?”
Parkman’s face paled. “Damn.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How?” The ranch owner appeared to have aged in the few short minutes he’d been on the phone. “Thank you for letting me know. Please keep me informed about the investigation.” When he finally ended the call, he looked toward Kalea. “Nate Bowman was the guy on the ATV who attacked you this afternoon.”
Kalea stepped forward and laid her hand on her father’s arm. “That’s good they found him.”
Her father shook his head. “They found him dead.”
“Dead?” Kalea’s brow furrowed.
Nodding, her father pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “He was murdered,” he whispered.
Kalea hugged him back. For a long moment, they held each other.
Hawk felt superfluous in the family moment but couldn’t leave. His job was to keep Kalea safe. After a long moment, Hawk asked, “Did they say how he was murdered.”
John Parkman looked up, his eyes haunted, the lines in his face deeper than before. “Shot in the chest. Point blank.”
* * *
“Wow.” Kalea stepped out of her father’s embrace and paced across the room and back. “Do they have any idea who might have done it?”
Her father shook his head. “None.”
“Did they find the bullet?”
“They did. And they sent it to the state crime lab to identify the type weapon.” Kalea’s father’s hands tightened into fists. “I don’t think you should go to Oahu tomorrow.”
Kalea shook her head. “Just because someone shot Nate, doesn’t mean they’re going to get to me. We don’t even know why Nate was after me in the first place. What if whoever killed him was trying to protect me?”
Her father snorted. “Nate wasn’t smart enough to rob a convenience store without getting caught. Why would he try to kill you unless there was something in it for him?”
“Someone could have paid him to attack Kalea,” Hawk reasoned.
Her father nodded. “Kalea, someone murdered him because he tried to kill you and failed.” Her father raised his hands toward her. “Whoever is behind all these attempts is still out there.”
“I can’t hide away in the house. Who knows how long it will take to figure out who killed Nate?” Kalea took her father’s hand. “I have to keep on living. Besides, if I hide, whoever is doing this will just wait until we think the threat is gone. As soon as I come out, he could be waiting.” She turned to Hawk. “You hired Hawk to protect me. Let him do his job, and let me do mine. Maybe between the three of us, we can smoke out the killer sooner rather than later.”
“I don’t know,” Hawk said. “Your father could be right. One person can’t have a three-hundred-sixty-degree view of what’s going on.”
“You can’t cover me in bubble wrap,” Kalea protested. “I can’t live like that.”
“But I can’t lose you,” her father said. “You’re all I have.”
She squeezed his hand. “You’re not going to lose me. Between Hawk and I, we’ll manage. And maybe, getting away from the Big Island will take me away from the threat for a couple of days.”
; Her father’s brow wrinkled. “You might have a point. All the attacks have been on this island. If you take our private plane, you’re getting out before he can. He’d have to take commercial…assuming he doesn’t have access to a private plane service.” Her father nodded. “Leaving the island would give the police detectives more time to canvas the people surrounding Nate and find out who he’s been in contact with.”
Kalea let go of her father’s hand. “So, I’m heading out to Oahu tomorrow as planned.”
Her father nodded. “Maleko and I will come with you and Hawk to see you off.”
Kalea smiled. “That would work.” She tipped her head toward Hawk. “I’m going to change and get ready for my dance lesson with Lani. Tomorrow will be a long day of flying and meetings.” Turning back to her father, she gave him a big hug. “I’m going to be all right. Hawk will take good care of me.”
“He’d better,” her father said. “I’m counting on him.”
With her father calmed and her plan still in place, Kalea left the two men, climbed the stairs to her bedroom and stood staring at the walls without seeing them.
Nathaniel Bowman had been the man behind the attempts on her life. He was now dead…murdered. Possibly because he’d failed in his attempt to kill her. Who had killed Nate? Would that person now attempt to kill her himself?
Chapter 10
Hawk paced the length of porch, drinking in the balmy night air, searching for answers. After the ATV attack, he’d been nervous, afraid that by himself, he wasn’t enough to keep Kalea safe. New to the task of being a bodyguard, he wondered if Patterson had chosen the right man for the job of protecting the ranch owner’s only daughter.
He pulled his cellphone from his pocket. He’d tapped into the ranch’s WIFI as soon as he’d arrived, giving him the connection he needed to contact his boss back in Montana. He dialed Patterson before he did the math, realizing that with a four hours’ time difference the man might have already gone to bed.
“Hawk, I was just thinking about you,” Patterson answered on the first ring.
