Swell (28 page)

‘That would be
doesn’t
not don’t.’

He lowered his hand against my hip and stared into my eyes.

‘And how do you expect me to stop him winning exactly?’ I carried on.

Cain shrugged and pulled back until I could stand upright once more. I exhaled and started to breathe again when he walked slowly away and wrapped his arm around Waipahe’s neck in a mock stranglehold.

‘You work it out. Everybody says he listens to you. I can see you have this’ – he jabbed his fists together – ‘connection. So either you stop him winning or my Tiger Sharks will.’

Waipahe pounded his fist against the hand-dryer, denting the metal without even flinching. I swallowed.

‘You’re serious? You don’t want to win fair and square. You want to bully your way to the top.’

Cain ground his teeth together and for a moment I felt genuine fear.

‘I’ve had to fight my whole motherfuckin’ life, not like that asshole. He’s had it easy.’

I chose not to argue otherwise.

‘I will win this world title one way or another, Sista. So I just wanted to warn you. We don’t wanna go breaking legs but we will.’

Waipahe nodded enthusiastically like a dog that had just heard the words ‘walkies’ and ‘biscuits’ in the same sentence.

Cain ran his tongue along his lips, blew me a kiss and opened the door.

‘I knew when I met you you would come in handy, Sista. Bitches always do. Aloha.’

‘Aloha,’ I growled as the door closed behind them and I grasped the edge of the sink to steady myself.

Cain was not playing games. Jason had told me he had been threatened before and the threats had led to his brother’s incarceration. I feared this time the threats could materialise into something dreadful. Cain’s pride had been dented after the confrontation in France and two subsequent defeats and he was determined he would not lose face in front of his own people in Hawaii. However, if I told Jason what had happened, it could distract him and have the same effect as if Cain had attacked him personally.

While I fought to regain my composure, the euphoric cloud I had been travelling on began to evaporate around me and all I could picture was a fall from a great height. Something bad was about to happen and I did not know how to stop it.

HAWAII

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

‘This is where we’ll have the ceremony,’ said Ruby, skipping along the beach.

She was as tiny as a nymph but with the early signs of a baby bump that gave her body the silhouette of a small snail clinging to a twig.

‘It’s stunning,’ I sighed. ‘Fairytale. Are your family coming?’

‘My parents and my brother and Rory’s mum and step-dad and you guys. We want it cosy, you know, just the people we love.’

‘I’m honoured, Ruby.’

‘Then I hope you’ll do me the honour of being my bridesmaid.’

‘Me?’ I gasped. ‘But…’

‘No buts and no, “but you hardly know me”, blah blah. I know you, I love you and I want you to play a special role.’ She held my hands gently. ‘I’ve had the best year of my life, Bailey, and part of that has been sharing life on tour with another girl who is so great to be around. You’ve really added something to our team. So will you?’

‘OK I will. Just don’t make me wear big sleeves or one of those flower halo things. Although I might agree to kiss the best man if he’s cute.’

Ruby clapped her hands and laughed.

‘I promise and it’s Jason so I’ll leave that up to you,’ she winked.

In just under a month Ruby had achieved the incredible task of planning almost an entire wedding without turning into the bride of Frankenstein. The only other wedding I had been involved in was Joanna and Gerry’s, before which Jo had metamorphosed into a psychotic individual obsessed with every detail. She had insisted on dressing me like a
demented Disney princess and shortly before the big day had become nothing less than certifiable as she ranted and raved about rearranging seating plans and about her shoes having being dyed white with a hint of cucumber instead of with a hint of saffron. In my reserved opinion, if she had spent less time worrying about the details and more time concentrating on whether she was marrying the right man, the whole situation would have righted itself.

Ruby and Rory had restored my faith in wedding preparations. Ruby was marrying the man she adored and she did not need a cake the size of the Empire State Building to prove it. The ceremony would be held on Sunset Point, the tip of the famous Sunset Beach on Oahu. Ruby had purchased a cream suit and a tasteful purple Hawaiian shirt for Rory and an empire line cream chiffon dress for herself that hid her bump and would certainly bring a tear to Rory’s eye on the day. Talented local women had been entrusted with the task of hand-making the orchid leis for the wedding party and a hand-tied bouquet for Ruby. It was promising to be a simple, beautiful celebration.

The wedding date was set for the week after the season ended so there was the small matter of two very important contests to get out of the way first, but Jason and Rory had been free-surfing for hours on end all over the North Shore while waiting for the first contest to get underway. They were fit and mentally prepared, which was exactly what the challenging surf in Hawaii required. Cain, meanwhile, confident to the point of cockiness in his own ability in Hawaiian surf, spent more time studying the form of the local girls, which kept him and Jason apart. At first I was anxious every time Jason went surfing for fear of Cain’s threats coming to fruition, but over time I relaxed. Cain was arrogant and aggressive but, even if he did meet Jason in the water, I hoped he was not
stupid enough to attempt to hurt his rival while hundreds of free-surfers and photographers looked on.

With my mind somewhat at rest, I concentrated on my work. The book was nearly done, although having written fiction up until that point, it was unusual for me to not yet know the ending. In some ways it made the project more exciting but I hoped I would not be in for a nasty surprise. Waking up every morning in a cornflower blue beach house with the tropical ocean just metres from my bedroom window was the perfect inspiration and I wanted the story to reflect the beauty of the setting. However, having the final chapter in sight brought with it mixed emotions. Even though I was delighted to have almost completed my book, as any writer would be, the year on tour had been the most glamorous of my life. I was dreading the thought of it all coming to an end.

‘And this,’ said Ruby, flinging her arms wide, ‘is our house. Jason’s wedding present to us. Crazy huh, darl’?’

I clasped my cheeks and stared at the perfect beachfront home. It was a white wooden house with a pointed roof and a wall of sparkling windows looking out at the Pacific Ocean. A plumeria tree covered in yellow and white porcelain-like flowers formed an arch in front of the door and orange hibiscus flowers framed the decking and lawn. A white picket gate divided the neat little garden and the fine sand of Sunset Beach. The ocean was just a hop, skip and a jump away.

‘Lovely pond you’ve got,’ I said, nodding at the ocean.

A whale shot a celebratory fountain into the sky halfway to the horizon. We then watched mesmerised as a turtle the size of a generous coffee table crawled out of the whale’s playground and settled into the sand in front of us for a sunbathe.

‘This is paradise, Ruby. I never knew people actually lived like this.’

Ruby sighed happily and linked her arm through mine.

‘I can’t quite believe it myself but I think we’re going to be really happy here, Rory, bubba and me. In a few weeks we will be Mr. and Mrs. with a baby on the way and a house of our own. It’s funny how life works out.’

I tilted my head against hers.

‘It’s wonderful. The perfect end to a perfect year. I needn’t have worried about Cain and…’

‘What about Cain?’

Ruby tilted her head to look at me. I turned sharply away so she would not see my cheeks redden. The last thing Ruby needed was the stress of knowing Cain was threatening to destroy our run of luck in any way he could.

‘Nothing, you know just the battle for the world title and everything but it seems fine now.’

I tossed my hair and forced a smile.

‘Bailey, is there something you’re not telling me?’

‘No.’

‘But you look worried. Has something happened with Cain?’

‘No,’ I croaked, ‘nothing really.’

I glanced nervously at my watch.

‘Oh quick, Ruby, we’re late. The heats will have started, we better get a move on. You don’t want to miss Rory surfing at Sunset Beach in the second last contest of the year.’

Mentioning Ruby’s darling fiancé did the trick. Her expression changed and she waved her hands in the air with a grin.

‘Pom-poms a go-go. Let’s get a move on.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

‘How long is left?’ I asked anxiously of Chuck while biting my nails and hopping from one foot to the other.

‘Five minutes.’

‘Damn, come on, Jason.’

Five minutes left in round two of the Sunset Beach competition and Jason was in danger of being eliminated by a relative unknown local from Velzyland. He was a seventeen year-old recent recruit to the Tiger Sharks and had been surfing Hawaiian waves since he could walk. He was extremely talented but to defeat Jason Cross in the first elimination round of the penultimate contest of the world tour would turn him from a promising young professional into the harbinger of the apocalypse.

‘Four minutes, dude,’ Chuck warned.

Either side of us, cars honked their horns either in support of the local giant killer or to notify Jason that a set was approaching from its journey across the Pacific. Jason knew what score he needed and had been waiting patiently for a wave to arrive that had the right scoring potential. However, after almost half an hour, he was still waiting. Luck was an important factor and if it was not on our side, the outcome of the year could change in an instant.

The wave at Sunset Beach was visually awesome and a popular tourist attraction. It broke far out to sea so the surfers had to paddle for ten minutes before they even reached the waves but the peak was generally of such magnitude, the surfer’s ride made for quite a spectacle even at a distance.

‘Set coming,’ said Rory, leaping to his feet.

‘Three minutes,’ Chuck growled, ‘what the hell is up with him, man?

‘Nerves maybe?’

‘Nerves? He’s twelve times world champ, B, he don’t do nerves.’

‘That’s easy for us to say but we’re not the ones under pressure here.’

Chuck clicked the bones in his neck.

‘My wallet will be under pressure if he doesn’t pull his finger out and catch a wave. One minute.’

‘Stop counting. Time flies by when you count.’

I glanced across at Cain and his followers who were now standing on the roof of Cain’s truck howling at the sky while Jason’s hopes of regaining the world title slipped away.

‘Quick, get on the roof. Rory, get up here. Ruby, maybe not you. Everyone else who is not growing a baby, on the roof.’

Rory and Chuck scrambled up to join me and Ruby sat on the bonnet.

‘Now wave your arms and shout as loud as you can.’

‘Set approaching,’ Rory hollered, jabbing both arms straight up towards the cloudless sky, desperately trying to attract Jason’s attention.

‘Go, Jason, go!’ I yelled.

Ruby joined in then surprised us all when she stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled like a construction worker.

‘Man this is like totally embarrassing for real,’ Chuck muttered when half the beach turned to watch us instead of the heat in the water.

I leaned towards Chuck and as I did so I saw Cain staring over at me with eyes of fire. I ignored his stare and whispered to Chuck - ‘Thirteenth world title, book deals, film deals, big commission, HUGE commission, a great big shiny Hummer.’

‘CATCH THE GODDAMN WAVE MAN, I LOVE YOU!’ Chuck screeched.

The commentator began the ten-second countdown and the crowd on the beach joined in.

‘Ten, nine…’

A twelve-foot wave swung wide onto the west peak of Sunset Beach. Jason’s rival was out of position, sitting too deep on the point to be able to catch the wave.

‘Eight, seven…’

Jason’s head spun around and he saw us leaping up and down on the car.

‘Six, five…’

Jason dug his arms powerfully into the water and propelled himself up to speed.

‘Four, three…’

The crowd whooped and whistled, Cain roared, we inhaled sharply.

‘Two, one…’

Jason took off.

The hooter sounded the end of the heat.

‘Our judges have to agree that Jason’s hands both left the rails of the board before the hooter sounded or else this wave will not count ladies and gentlemen,’ Rock O’Rafferty announced, his voice quivering with anticipation. ‘This wave is smooth as glass. Look at Jason go. It’s four times overhead and the drop is endless. Jason cuts back into the foam and then a huge re-entry and another and a massive slash. He’s approaching
the shallow inside bowl. The wave barrels. He’s gone from view, he’s looking for the exit. He’s trying to find the doggy door out and BOOM there he is. Yeah! Give that man a round of applause, show your appreciation, come on!’

Jason stood on his board and sank slowly into the ocean. He held his head and sat motionless in the still water of the channel while he awaited his fate from the judges. He needed an eight-point ride to make the next round. Even I could tell the ride deserved more than eight points but essentially if the judges decided Jason’s hands had still been attached to the rails of the board when the hooter sounded, the wave would not count as part of the heat.

‘Please, please,’ I prayed.

‘Motherfucker, motherfucker,’ Chuck repeated anxiously.

Jason turned to look at the beach. Chuck jingled the change in the pocket of his lemon coloured shorts. I mentally held tight to the final chapter of my book that I had placed on ice.

‘Jason’s hands did leave the rails, ladies and gentlemen and the judges awarded that powerful ride a nine-point-nine-five!’

‘YES!’ we all cried, jumping up and down and hugging each other.