Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) (24 page)

Lalei shrugged. “You just can.”

Malu looked at his brother’s bearded, tattooed face. “You could stand to have some work done. Got a little wrinkle starting right here.” He pointed at the corner of his own eye.

Daniel made a ferocious face at him. Laughing, Claire leaned into her huge husband. “He’s perfect just the way he is.”

There was a crash nearby, followed by exclamations and bustle.

“Tell that to the waitress,” Joel said, peering past them. “I think he just scared our drink order right out of her hands.”

The Ho’omalus laughed. Lalei joined in, and Jack watched her, enjoying the chance to see her relax. She was a different woman than she’d been when they’d met. Seemed like a long time since David’s wedding, but in fact it had been less than two months.

He leaned back, his arm across the back of her chair. He’d have to make some big decisions soon. Santa Barbara, his office there, his condo…all seemed so far away, not only across an ocean but part of another part of his life.

Lalei spoke of her life in Honolulu as being another life as well. Could it be that this island was common ground for both of them? He thought of being able to stay here with this sexy wahine, by turns feisty and vulnerable, by his side, in his bed, and was seized with a surge of longing so powerful he ached.

The waitress bustled back, setting a large beer before him and Daniel and distributing iced tea and sodas for the others. Jack picked up his glass of golden, foaming beer and took a long drink. It prickled down his throat, settling in his belly. He waited for the usual glow of relaxation.

But instead, an odd depression dropped on his shoulders, like a too heavy blanket. What was he doing here? Why did he think he could help the Ho’omalus? They had a team of great lawyers, but the TropicSun lawyers were tough and savvy. They knew how the game was played. Face it, he was out of his depth here. He couldn’t even handle his own business. What was he doing meddling in Hawaiian real estate?

Lately he’d found himself on a downhill slope, and as such, he had no right to ask Lalei to share anything more than what they had now—a quick tropical fling.

And he had no way in hell of knowing if he’d come out of this or if he’d just keep sliding.

She deserved a better man. He finished his beer and signaled the waitress for a refill.

Lalei wasn’t sure what was going on, but she felt Jack slip away during their lunch. He was there beside her, he ate and listened and talked, but part of him was just…gone. Her stomach tightened with a queer, panicky feeling. She put down her fork, giving him a sidelong look as she picked up her iced tea. She took a quick drink to get her last bite of food down.

The day before had been wonderful. They’d discussed the case, but they’d also spent time snorkeling, driving to Kona for lunch and shopping, and returned to make love in Jack’s big bed. He’d made a point of placing her in the same position she’d been in that first night, on her hands and knees with him leaning over her—only this time he’d wrested two orgasms from her before coming himself.

Jack was staring at Daniel, who was talking about the case, without really seeming to see him. She nudged his sandaled foot with hers, angling her foot so her bare arch brushed against his, warm and dusted with fine hair. He started and then glanced at her as if he was surprised to see her there.

She gave him a look, asking silently if he was okay. His sexy mouth flattened, the corners pressing in. Reaching under the table, he patted her hand, his big and warm, and then gone. Leaving her…bereft.

Even with Benton glowering at her from the other side of the courtroom, she’d enjoyed the morning, proud of Jack as he testified so confidently. Proud of her cousins and their clever lawyers for showcasing their Hawaiian heritage. Now she wondered what she was doing here. Was she really part of this family, or just a hanger-on that everyone would just as soon go home?

Malu looked at his watch. “We should get back,” he said. Everyone moved, chairs scraping back. Lalei walked out of the café ahead of Jack, into the warm, rainy afternoon that was typical Hilo. She hugged her short sweater around her ribs, but she felt like shivering.

They drove back to the courthouse with Daniel and Claire. Everyone was quiet. Lalei stayed on her side of the car and watched the scenery instead of Jack, afraid she’d do something really stupid, like beg him to talk to her.

Back in the courtroom, Jack stood back to let Lalei into the row of seats ahead of him. She sat beside Bella and crossed her legs, her back straight. The years of inflexible training and her Ho’omalu pride kept her face serene, but in her lap her hands clenched on her little purse, her short nails digging into the soft leather.

Outwardly, the afternoon was much like the morning, with both sides presenting evidence and taking testimony. The beefy man at the TropicSun table took the stand. His name was Frank Decker, a name which caused Jack to stiffen beside her. Lalei looked at him, but he was leaning forward to listen, his hands clenched between his knees.

Decker spoke at length about the project and all the jobs it would provide for Hawaiians, both in construction and for generations afterward. Some members of the audience beamed; some scowled and moved restively.

Lalei watched, barely breathing, trying to divine whether the Ho’omalus were presenting the best case, or the suave, slick team from TropicSun. The other team seemed very confident to her, especially when they spoke about the modern section surveys and the computerized records.

Then the Ho’omalu team arrived at the evidence investigators had gathered about where the money had come from to back TropicSun. The Ho’omalus shifted in their seats, leaning forward in anticipation. But the judge held up his hand, stopping Ned in the act of handing over the papers.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “After consideration, I have concluded that any discussion of the funding for the proposed development is not within the purview or the jurisdiction of this court. That is a matter for the courts of California. We are here to decide whether TropicSun has the right to go forward with their development, or whether the Ho’omalu lands have been infringed upon.”

Jack groaned, and Lalei heard the sound echo in those around her. Daniel tensed, as if he would roar out of his seat. Claire turned to him, leaning close and whispering to him. Lalei understood just how he felt. She wanted to spring from her seat and let out a scream of rage. She wanted to wrest a storm from the skies and bring it down on the judge and the lawyers on the other side of the room who were leaning back in their chairs with smiles of triumph.

On her way out of the courtroom, someone snagged her elbow. She turned, startled. It was Benton. Lalei looked after Jack, but he was already moving through the big doors into the foyer. He certainly hadn’t waited for her.

“Lalei,” said Benton. “May I speak with you?” It was not a request. Lalei braced herself for another reprimand. Was this never going to end? Maybe she and Jack did need to have sex in public.

She moved with Benton to the side, out of the way of the other Ho’omalus. Homu looked searchingly from her to Benton, but he passed on without interfering.

“We’ll be right outside,” Daniel said to her, glaring at Benton over Claire’s head.

Lalei nodded and folded her arms around her middle.

“You must realize by now,” Benton said stiffly, “your family is going to lose this case.”

“You don’t know that,” she protested.

He shook his head as if she were not very bright. “Of course I do. The judge has thrown out part of the case that your family’s lawyers were obviously hoping would make a great difference. With the funding out of the case, the Ho’omalus have nothing left.”

Lalei swallowed hard, her stomach tying in a familiar knot.

Benton looked at her imperiously. “Tomorrow morning you will sit with me.”

She gaped at him. “I most certainly will not. The Ho’omalus are my family.”

If possible, he stiffened even more. “And I am your suitor. I will be able to take care of you—and your mother—in the way to which you are accustomed.”

Lalei was so angry she thought her head would explode. This was it—she was sick and tired of this.

She leaned closer to Benton and poked her finger in his chest. “Benton, listen to me carefully. You are the one who’s on the wrong side here. And if there were a hurricane tomorrow and you had the last shelter available, I wouldn’t enter it. How much more plainly do you need me to say it?”

He stared at her, for once silenced, and realization rolled through her like a wind chasing thick clouds away. Jack was right. She’d used him and risked offending the Ho’omalus, all because she’d been afraid to speak up. She didn’t know who she was more sick of right now—her mother or herself.

“Stop listening to Suzy on this, Benton,” she said. “She thinks very highly of you. But you and me? It’s not going to work. I just don’t think of you that way, and I never will.”

He continued to stare at her, his face inscrutable but color washing across his cheeks.

Lalei shook her head. Whatever, she was tired of this. “See you tomorrow, Benton. I have to go.”

Everyone was quiet on the helicopter ride back across the island. Lalei stared out at the incredible view unfolding beneath her, but after the disappointment of the judge’s ruling, Jack’s silent treatment and the draining encounter with Benton, she felt disconnected. It was like watching a movie—beautiful but not personally involving.

At the airport, she said good-bye to Joel and Bella and climbed into the back of Malu’s big truck. The four of them drove back to Nawea in near silence, with only occasional remarks between the men. Lalei stared out the window of the truck, trying to ignore the man beside her. She wasn’t cut out for love. It hurt too much, this seesaw of intense emotion as if all her nerve endings were exposed for him to step on.

Leilani had supper laid out in the kitchen and the big table set. Lalei took one look at the food and turned away, into the shadows of the hallway. She ran out through the quiet sitting room and down across the lawn to the refuge of the trees.

Jack knew he was being an ass. But he was so encased in dark depression that he couldn’t bring himself to break out of his silence. He downed two more beers in quick succession, dumped food on a plate without caring what it was, grabbed a third beer and walked down to the beach with Malu and Melia.

He realized when he sat down that Lalei wasn’t there. He looked around, waiting for her to come down from the house. She couldn’t afford to skip another meal.

“You need to eat,
ku’u ipo
,” Malu said to his wife, echoing Jack’s thoughts.

She shook her head listlessly and lay back in her lounger. “I’m not hungry. I’ll just rest.”

Malu opened his mouth to argue and closed it. “Damn, there’s my phone.” He leaned back, straightening one leg to grab a phone from the pocket of his trunks and snap it open. “Huh, it’s Lenny Liho’o.” He rose to walk away a few paces, phone to his ear. “Hey, Lenny. Howzit?”

Jack took a long swig of beer, looking out at the sea. Heavy clouds were building to the south, a dark line of rain sweeping down to the horizon. He watched them, uneasy even through the buzz of alcohol, wondering if they held another freakish storm like the one a few days ago. Man, he’d never seen anything like that.

“What?” Malu demanded. “Now? You sure they’re not just hauling away the damaged tractor?”

Alarm penetrated Jack’s fog of depression.

“Okay,” Malu said. “Okay, mahalo. I’m on it.” He lowered his phone and stared at Jack. “TropicSun is back,” he said furiously. “With a backhoe and two graders and a bunch of guys. Lenny’s watching them from his place.”

Jack levered himself out of his chair, knocking over his plate. It thumped into the sand, his uneaten food spilling. “No way in hell. Come on, we gotta get up there. We’ll call the sheriff on the way up. If your lawyers have an injunction filed, they can’t start work.” The bastards had sat there smiling in court, all the while planning this?

“David?” Both of them turned at the sound of the plaintive voice. Melia was looking at her husband with one hand on her belly, her face so white her freckles stood out like paint spackles. “I’m sorry, but…I don’t feel so good,” she slurred.

The huge Hawaiian froze and then surged into motion. “Okay, ku’u ipo
,
sweetheart. Just let me carry you.” He squatted and slipped his arms around his wife, lifting her high in his arms. “Enough of this. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“You want me to drive?” Jack jogged along as Malu bore his wife up the lawn with long strides.

“No. Just get my wallet for me. It’s on the bedside table in our room. Meet me at the truck.”

“You got it.” Jack made an end run into the house, through the sitting room. He stumbled on a footstool, cursing as he nearly crashed into the wall. He righted himself and jogged up the stairs to the big corner room. The detritus of a married couple was scattered around, a paperback open on a chair seat, another on the table by the window, a pretty nightie across one of the pillows on the big bed. A slim wallet lay on the rattan bedside table, and Jack grabbed it, then went back for the pair of big leather sandals sitting on the floor below. Malu had been barefoot.