Maui Madness (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 7) (21 page)

“I’ve been meaning to tell you that I
spoke to Pono earlier. Keoke is doing better, although he’s still listed as being in critical but stable condition,” Zak informed me. “Pono is hoping they’ll be able to move him out of the ICU in a day or two.”

“That’s wonderful
.” I wrapped my arm around Zak’s waist. “Do you know if he’s going to be charged with his part in this whole mess?”

“Pono didn’t say. Actually
, I don’t think he knows. With everything that’s happened, there’s a lot to sort out. He did mention that once Judge Gregor and the others were freed, the new judge decided to uphold the original decision and continue with the injunction. From what I’ve been able to figure out, Keoke invested a bundle in the project. It’s going to hurt if he can’t figure a way out of his current predicament. He could even go to jail.”

“And Leia?”

“As far as I know, she didn’t do anything illegal. I suppose once everything is sorted out she could be charged as some sort of an accessory because she knew about the kidnappings.”

I stopped walking as we came to a rock jetty. The otherwise gentle waves seemed to pick up speed as they approached the rugged barrier. I watched as seawater splashed up and over the embankment. I was ready to go home
, but I was going to miss this place.

“I suppose Keoke’s fabulous beach house won’t be avail
able the next time we come.”

“
If he’s charged with his part in the kidnappings, he could very well lose everything.”

“It was fun while it lasted.”

“I suppose we could buy a place of our own,” Zak said.

“Here? In Hawaii?”

“Sure.” Zak shrugged. “Why not? It would be a good investment, and the idea of us having our own tropical getaway is appealing in more ways than one.”

Zak ran a finger down my cheek. He slid his hand behind my head and pulled me forward into a deeply erotic kiss. Just when it felt like my knees might buckle
, he pulled his head back slightly.

“I think you might be on
to something,” I gasped. My heart pounded in my chest and suddenly I had an overwhelming urge to return to the house. To our room. To our bed.

“Then we’ll start looking,” Zak decided.

“I’m afraid buying an oceanfront getaway is more of a
you
thing than a
we
thing; the
me
of the
we
couldn’t afford much more than a mat for the entry,” I said with a smile.

“I’m sure we can work something out
.” Zak lifted me up in his arms and walked me out into the water.

“You don’t say,” I whispered against his lips as I
wrapped my arms around Zak’s neck and my legs around his waist.

“I’ve been thinking,” Zak gently kissed me between each word
as we gently bobbed in the gentle surf.

“Yeah
?” I groaned as Zak’s kisses dipped lower.

“We make a good team.”

“Umm,” I moaned.

Zak stopped kissing me and pulled back slightly. He used his finger to tuck my wild hair behind my ear. He got a serious expression on his face as he looked me directly in the eye.

My body began to shiver, not so much from the cold but as a result of the intensity of the moment.

“Zoe Donovan,”
Zak pulled me into his gaze, “will you marry me?”

1¼ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

¼ cup milk

1 large egg

1½ cups flour

1½ tsp. baking soda

¼ t
sp. salt

½ t
sp. ground nutmeg

½ t
sp. cinnamon

2 cups macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk and egg in large bowl. Mix in flour, baking soda, and spices. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

A traditional loco moco:

Sticky rice

Hamburger patty

Eggs, any style

Brown gravy

This easy sausage variation makes 8 servings:

Minute rice
(4 cups rice/4 cups water)

8
Precooked sausage patties 

8
eggs, any style (I scramble)

*Sausage gravy:

1 package (16 ounces) ground sausage, browned

6 t
bsp. flour, shaken into 4 cups water

(I put water and flour into a plastic container with a lid and shake until flour is dissolved. Add to browned sausage. Simmer and stir until it thickens.)

Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Place ⅛ rice on a plate. Layer on sausage patty over rice. Layer on 2 eggs. Cover with ⅛ sausage gravy.

(I sometimes garnish with chopped green onions.)

1 (6 lbs.) pork butt roast

1
½ tbsp. Hawaiian sea salt

1
tbsp. liquid smoke flavoring

Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt, then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time. Remove meat from slow cooker and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten.

2 large bananas

1
ready-made graham cracker crust (or make your own)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 large box vanilla instant pudding

3 cups milk

1 small container
Cool Whip

1 cup macadamia nuts
, chopped

Slice bananas into pie crust. Mix cream cheese, pudding, and milk together and let set for 5 minutes. Pour over bananas in piecrust. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with macadamia nuts.

1 can crushed pineapple, undrained (20 oz.)

1 box instant v
anilla pudding mix (6 servings)

8 o
z. sour cream

1 9
-inch graham cracker crust

1 small container
Cool Whip

I can sliced pineapple

8 maraschino cherries

½ cup flaked coconut

In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with its syrup,
dry pudding mix, and sour cream. Mix until well combined. Spoon into pie crust. Frost with Cool Whip and decorate top with pineapple slices and cherries. Sprinkle with coconut.

Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 can (20 oz
.) pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved

1 jar (6 oz
.) maraschino cherries without stems, drained

1 box yellow cake mix
, eggs and oil called for on box

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In 9 x 13-inch pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice and arrange remaining cherries around slices; press gently into brown sugar.

Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to match liquid called for on cake mix box. Make batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.

Bake 42 to 48 minutes (44 to 53 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake 5 minutes so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.

Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

Buy them on Amazon
today
.

Paradise Lake Series:

Pumpkins in Paradise

Snowmen in Paradise

Bikinis in Paradise

Zoe Donovan Mysteries:

Halloween Hijinks

The Trouble With Turkeys

Christmas Crazy

Cupid’s Curse

Big Bunny Bump-off

Beach Blanket Barbie

Maui Madness

Derby Divas – coming July 2014

Road to Christmas Romance:

Road to Christmas Past

Kathi Daley
lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and Bernese mountain dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese), and garden (planting and planning, not weeding). She also enjoys spending time on the water when she’s not hiking, biking, or snowshoeing the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home. 

Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries. 

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athi Daley@kathidaley

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