Annie's Rainbow (20 page)

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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Annie's Rainbow
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Parker stared at his sister. He knew his answer was very important to her. “I would have waited to talk to you. I think the two of you overreacted. Perhaps Tom and I can patch this up, and we can retain the account.”
After I figure out the
business
with the purse,
Parker thought sourly. His gaze went to the window and the streamlined building directly in his line of vision. Very soon that building was going to make all the difference in the world to the Grayson Coffee Company.
“One of us should go to the Monarch and talk to her in person,” Kiki said.
“I already did that. She checked out. I got the name of the guest who drove her away. I left a message for the woman to call me. Until we know where Annie is, there's nothing more we can do.”
“Do you call her Annie, Parker?”
“Yes, Kiki, I call her Annie.”
“Is she ... Miss Clark is ... she's the one Mattie told us about?”
Parker was on his feet. “Don't step over that line, Kiki.”
“Parker, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do ...”
“I'll let you know. I'm going back to the Monarch to wait for the lady that drove Annie to wherever she was going. Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone.”
Kiki burst into tears.
Parker sighed. “I'm sorry, Kiki. That remark was uncalled for. Hold the fort, okay? It's not the end of the world. We'll make it come out right.” Kiki nodded miserably.
It was almost noon when Parker slowed to a crawl in the circular driveway that led to the Monarch.
“Hey, mister, you need to watch where you're going. I almost hit you! I hope you carry good insurance,” a shrill voice wafted toward him.
“Can't you read? The sign says ten miles an hour,” Parker shot back. “You're going at least forty.”
The shrill voice retaliated. “This coming from a man who's at a dead stop in the middle of a busy driveway. I-don't-think-so!”
Parker slid to the curb just as the woman with the shrill voice bounded out of her open-air jeep. He watched as a husky young man with a beard, baseball cap, and cutoff shorts embraced her. “I've been waiting, you sweet thing. Let's me and you go in the pool and do some underwater swimming.” The girl's tinkling laugh made Parker smile. A head taller than the husky man, the girl wrapped her arm through his, and said, “Boy, Joe,do I have something to tell you. I swear, in a million years, you aren't going to believe this. We were just offered the dream of a lifetime!”
Parker strode over to the valet, realizing he was never going to know what the dream of a lifetime was. He felt cheated.
“Did Miss Kaminsky return yet?”
“That's her. The tall skinny lady. She just went into the lobby. They're honeymooners,” he said, as if that explained everything. Parker groaned as he forked over another ten-dollar bill.
In the tacky-looking lobby there was no sign of the honeymooners. “Which way to the pool,” he asked the desk clerk.
“Go around the corner, down the hall, and the pool door is to the left.”
Parker took a seat at one of the beach tables to wait. Twenty minutes later the newlyweds, toting beach bags and towels, set up shop two tables away. He waited until they were settled before he sauntered over to their table.
“Are you Miss Kaminsky?”
“I'm Mrs. Kaminsky. This is my husband Joe. Hey, you're the snail crawler I almost hit in the driveway. You need to learn how to drive, mister.”
Parker nodded. “I'm sorry. I was wondering if you could tell me where you took Miss Clark. The valet said you gave her a lift someplace.”
Stella inched closer to her husky husband, who was glaring at him. “Who wants to know?”
“I do,” Parker said patiently.
“Who is
I?
I need a name here. For all I know you could be a pervert.”
“I've been called many things in my life, but no one has ever called me a pervert,” Parker said tightly.
“I didn't say you
were
one. I said you could be. Who are you and why do you want to know where I took Miss Clark?”
“My name is Parker Grayson. I own a coffee plantation here on the island. I've been trying to locate Miss Clark since yesterday with no success.” .
“Maybe she doesn't want to be found. I need to have a little more to go on before I tell you anything. We were going swimming. We're on our honeymoon,” Stella said pointedly.
“If you would just tell me what I need to know, I'll leave. What kind of purse is that?” Parker asked, eyeing the Chanel bag dangling from Stella's shoulder.
“You sure do ask a lot of questions. It's a Chanel bag,” Stella said authoritatively. “Miss Clark gave it to me. Not that .it's any of your business.”
“Look, we're getting nowhere fast. I really need to find Annie. I love Annie Clark. We had ... things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. It was my fault. I never had the guts to do anything about it. She's here now, and I need the chance to make things right. I need your help to do that.”
“Then why didn't you say that in the first place?” Stella said.
“Because I felt like a ... jerk.”
“Yeah, I understand that,” Stella said. “I took Annie to the airport. She's going to Maui.”
“Maui? That's where I live.”
“Yeah, I know,” Stella said, leering at him.
Parker reached for Stella and kissed her soundly on the cheek. “Thanks. Thanks a lot. I'll send you free coffee for the rest of your life,” he said, pumping Joe's hand vigorously.
The Kaminskys watched as Parker raced to the door. “There must be more to this coffee business than we thought,” Joe mused. “You ready for our swim, sweet cheeks?”
“Ready, Joe. Boy is Annie gonna be happy. We did good, Joe. Whoever would of thought me and you would play cupid. I hope they're as happy as we are.”
“Nobody is as happy as we are. So there, Stella Kaminsky.”
“You're right, Joe. You're always right.”
 
 
Annie walked around the spacious condo she'd rented. It was so gorgeous, it took her breath away. It was all done in soft shades of green, yellow, and off-white. In her life, she'd never trampled such a luscious white carpet. She wiggled her toes and giggled as the carpeting tickled her toes and caressed her insteps.
As she walked around, touching this, staring at that, she came eyeball-to-eyeball with four watercolors on the wall. Her eye went immediately to the signature: Jane Abbott. “Way to go, Jane,” she chortled. She continued her tour of the luxury apartment. State-of-the-art kitchen, marble-and-tile bathrooms complete with telephone, king-size bed, walk-in closet, French door leading to a balcony from the bedroom and living room. Deep comfortable furniture on the balcony and the heady scent of flowers everywhere, along with a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket. Compared to the Monarch, this was heaven.
Annie draped one of the fragrant leis she'd found on the bathroom vanity around her neck. With a glass of champagne, she retired to the balcony, where she settled into one of the chairs and propped her feet on the railing. She needed to map out a plan of attack. First, though, she had to call Tom.
Annie sipped at her champagne as she listened to Tom regale her with his children's antics: Someday she would have children and would love them the way Tom loved his kids and the way her parents had loved both her and Tom. Someday.
“So, where do we stand, Tom?”
“Parker called after you did. I told him what happened, and he was pissed to the teeth. It seems he was in Waikiki entertaining some college friends for two days. The sister didn't know until the last minute, she says, that you were making the trip instead of me. She was under the impression that Parker was going to entertain me. I just spoke to him a second time, about an hour ago. He said there had been some kind of problem with one of Kiki's children at school, and she was running late. Neither he nor I can figure out what your hat and pocketbook have to do with things. Guess it's one of those things only women understand. Do you know what it's all about?”
“What are you talking about, Tom?”
“Your pocketbook and your hat. Parker thinks they pissed off Kiki. Now, for whatever this is worth, he's willing to cut his price by a buck and a half, roasted, if we order our package coffee from him. He said he and Kiki talked it over and agreed. The ball's in our court, and it's your call.”
“I need to think about it.”
“Don't think too long or too hard, or the guy's going to have a heart attack. He wants to know where you're staying. I told him I didn't know. By the way, where are you?”
“I am in the most gorgeous, the most luxurious condo you have ever seen. There's a phone in every room, even in both bathrooms. I can sit on the balcony and see the ocean. The air is so sweet you almost feel like you're drunk. I rented a car. I'm going to explore tomorrow.”
“What about business, Annie?”
“Can't I have a few days to myself, Tom? We aren't on some deadline, are we? This is my first vacation in a long time. I'd kind of like to savor it even if it's just for a few days.”
Tom's voice gentled. “Take all the time you want, Annie. When you're ready to make a decision, call me. What do you want me to tell Parker if he calls?”
“Tell him anything you want but don't tell him where I am. I mean it, Tom.”
“Understood.”
“Are you feeling okay? Did Elmo call you?”
“About ten minutes before you did. Elmo's fine, and the dogs are fine. He said he was going to take a nap and then work on the daisy coffee bags. End of story.”
“Tom, four of Jane's watercolors are hanging in this living room. Will you call her and tell her?”
“Sure.”
“Then I'm going to hang up and sit here and drink my champagne and read that new mystery novel I brought with me. I'll have room service send up some dinner, take a nice bubble bath, turn in, and be up at first light to explore.”
“Sounds kind of lonely to me.”
“It does, doesn't it?” Annie said, her voice breaking. “I'll call you tomorrow.”
 
 
Disgusted with his inability to locate Annie Clark, Parker stopped at the first restaurant he came to, where he ordered a fruit platter, a mahimahi sandwich and a cold beer. Knowing it would take at least twenty minutes, he pulled out his portable phone and placed a call to his sister advising her of the situation. Then he called Tom.
“Did you hear from Annie?”
“She called earlier this afternoon. She said she was going to vacation for a few days and didn't want to think about business.”
“I know she's on Maui because I tracked her this far. I spoke with the woman who drove her to the airport. Seems Annie gave her her pocketbook.”
“If it's the same woman she spoke to me about, Annie offered her and her husband a job. Where are you, Parker?”
“In some dive waiting for a sandwich before heading home. I'll start out tomorrow to look for her.”
“How come you never told me you were in love with my sister, Parker?” The silence went on so long, Tom had to prod the voice on the other end of the wire.
“Business is business and pleasure is pleasure. Love's a funny thing. I don't remember saying I was in love with Annie. I never confuse the two. I didn't know if Annie had said anything to you or not. I didn't want to seem like I was trading on our business relationship. I wanted to call her a hundred times. Hell, maybe it was a thousand times. I even went to Charleston three years ago when Daniel got engaged. I went by the Daisy Shop, but an old gentleman said she was out of town for two weeks. I didn't leave my name either. What the hell am I telling you this for?”
“I'm a good listener.”
“Yeah. Maybe. Listen, I gotta go. They just brought my sandwich.”
“Parker.”
“Yeah?”
“This is just a guess on my part, but I have a feeling Annie will find you. It's just a feeling.”
“I know all about feelings. Talk to you soon.”
Parker slid into the booth and stared at the sandwich and fruit platter. Neither appealed to him. He swigged from the beer bottle. He'd gotten along just fine these past years. He'd gotten past Annie's blistering tirade, made peace with his sisters, and was actually a man of leisure several days a week. Now, all of a sudden, with Annie Clark back in the islands, his whole world was upside-down again. With what he had going on in the lab, he might well turn out to be richer than Warren Buffett. Goddamn it, leave it to a woman to screw things up.

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