“Mom?”
“Jenna, what are you doing up so late. Is everything okay?”
Everything was fine. In fact, it was excellent. One of her classmates invited her to the Winter Ball, which entailed the purchase of not only a new dress, but also shoes, a manicure and a pedicure. She guaranteed she would not let any pre-party planning interfere with her SAT test the same day.
Knowing how goal-oriented my daughter could be, I never worried her social life would interfere with her concentration. Jenna could shop and formulate mathematical theorems simultaneously. She could also calculate every discount combination imaginable long before the register finished totaling her purchases.
My daughter’s analytical abilities would have been a huge plus in the Mortgage Underwriting department at Hangtown Bank where I work, but for some odd reason, her current career choice was aeronautical engineering. Not mortgage banking.
Go figure!
By the time Jenna and I hung up, it was close to one in the morning West Coast time. Too late to call Tom. I washed and moisturized my face and covered every inch of my body with the lotion provided by the hotel. The blurb on the bottle guaranteed the silky lotion would caress my skin. I slid under the covers, closed my eyes and let the scent of the fragrant macadamia nut oil lull me to sleep. At this point, I’d take whatever caressing I could get.
The melodic tones of my cell woke me from a rapturous slumber. I could still feel Tom Hunter’s arms wrapped around me, his lingering kisses working their way up and down my oiled body, which in my dream was now a svelte size six.
I grabbed my phone before the caller could wake my mother. “Hi, honey,” I said in a husky voice.
“Hi, yourself,” replied a deep baritone. “You sure know how to make a guy’s morning.”
Oops. I focused my near-sighted eyes on my phone and noticed the call was from the local area code.
“Who is this?”
“It’s Steve. I apologize if I woke you.” His tone indicated he was disappointed, not so much that he woke me, but because there was already a “honey” in my life.
“Oh, sorry, I was still in dreamland.” I stretched across the bed to see what time it was. Six-thirty? These ship captains are early risers. “I thought you were my daughter calling. Is anything wrong? Is Dave okay?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s as good as he can be in this situation.”
“I can’t believe they may set Regan’s bail at a million dollars. It’s not like someone can sneak off this island. You’d need a plane to do that.”
“Or a boat,” said the Sea Jinx captain. “It wouldn’t be the first time a suspect used amphibious means for an escape.”
Good seafaring point.
“You’re probably wondering why I called so early. I’m privy to some information regarding Keiki, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I thought you might be able to give me some advice. Can we meet at your hotel?”
“Sure, when?”
“How about now?”
Chapter 20
Men! They have zero concept of how long it takes a woman to make herself presentable. I flung on a pair of khaki shorts and a sleeveless coral top. A swipe of blush, mascara and lipstick, and I was ready. Mother was still asleep so I left the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door and headed for the elevator.
Even this early, the elevators were crowded with parents, kids, collapsible strollers, and filled-to-the-brim beach bags. When my children were young, Hank and I didn’t have the means to take our kids to a five-star hotel like this one. They were lucky to stay at a campground with a flushable potty and running water.
I squeezed into an elevator filled wall-to-wall with toddlers. The lit-up array of numbers indicated the little ones had engaged in their favorite elevator game. After stopping at all twenty-nine floors, the doors opened and I made a dash for it.
Steve talked on his cell next to an ornate stone pedestal table topped by an enormous tropical flower arrangement. He wore his blue Sea Jinx polo shirt and khaki shorts that displayed trim, muscular legs.
I sighed. I hate when a man’s calves look better than my own. As soon as he noticed me, he finished his conversation and walked over to meet me. Before I could say “Aloha,” Steve engulfed me in a welcoming hug that made my nerves tingle all the way down to my pink-tipped toenails. I was still blushing as he led me to the hotel’s Island Café where the host seated us at a corner table overlooking a tropical garden. A tiny brook meandered through the lush foliage. Flashes of orange and yellow indicated the koi fish were enjoying a morning swim.
“Thanks for meeting me so early,” Steve said. “Our snorkel cruise leaves at nine, and that’s followed by an afternoon outing. This was the only time I had available.”