Paradise Wild (29 page)

“That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.”

He dunked her again and she came up sputtering and grasped his neck.

“So it takes torture to get you in my arms, eh?” Jared chuckled.

She wriggled until she was at arm’s length, then brought her feet up, planted them against his stomach, and pushed away from him. She knew she hadn’t hurt him. He was too firmly built. But she did reach the edge of the pool before he could catch up to her.

She climbed out, ready to quit while she was ahead. Jared let her go, swimming by himself while she lay in the grass and let the sun dry her off.

The day had turned out to be quite enjoyable, more than Corinne would have guessed. Were it not for those few agonizing moments at the picnic, it would have been perfect. God, how terrified she had been when Jared had asked for Michael! It was the first time he had showed an interest in the boy. What if he had seen what Akela saw? But apparently he hadn’t noticed the resemblance.

And Michael had actually been reluctant to leave Jared. It almost broke her heart to see how naturally they took to each other. Oh,
why
couldn’t it have been different? She could have had a blissful life with Jared. She really loved being with him when he was the way he had been today. And she loved his lovemaking. She could not deny that to herself anymore.

But it really was hopeless, she knew that. There was
just too much between them, too many things that neither could forgive in the other.

She lay there musing wistfully, and didn’t hear Jared move quietly out of the water and come to sit beside her. He took her hand, slowly and tenderly.

“We’ve had a truce today, you and I. Haven’t we, Kolina?”

“What good is another truce?” she sighed, near tears. “You know we can’t stay together. You’ve said you’ll never forgive me, Jared, and I’m tired of trying to convince you of my innocence.”

“Don’t bring that up again, Corinne.”

“You see? You’re too pig-headed to even listen to my side. I want you to let me go, Jared. There’s no reason for us to remain together anymore.”

“No.”

His face was set.

“When, then? When you get tired of playing with me? I’m not a toy!”

“You’re my wife, damnit!”

“Your
wife
is a whore—remember?”

She watched his eyes turn slate-gray and instantly regretted her taunt. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders.

“Yes, I remember. It eats away at me every single day of my life.” He stared hard into her face for a second, then abruptly released her and stood up.

“There was a time—” He would not let himself dwell on their wedding night. “—when we were able to enjoy each other even though there was anger between us. Why can’t we enjoy each other any more? Why do we always have to reopen old wounds?”

“Everything’s different now,” she said brokenly.

“Since when?”

“Since—”

Oh, God! Since I fell in love with you!

She turned her face away from him and finally allowed the tears to fall. She sobbed openly. She loved him. But she couldn’t tell him. Never, never would he know he had that much power over her.

“You didn’t answer me, Corinne.” He knelt beside her again. “Why does it matter now?”

She stumbled to her feet and ran for her horse.

“Will you answer me?” Jared had come up behind her, but she wouldn’t look at him.

“Stop being so damn childish.” Anger was unmistakable in his voice.

She turned and met his eyes. “Will you allow me the privacy I need to get dressed?” Understanding that she wouldn’t answer, Jared turned and left. Corinne quickly dressed and mounted her horse. She started back down the valley without waiting for him. She no longer noticed the beauty all around her. Tears blinded her.

Jared was cruel without realizing it, arrogant, and much too proud. But didn’t those used to be her own traits? Was she paying for her own sins? Sins she saw in the man she loved?

She was still shocked by the sudden realization. She loved Jared, but that love could only make her miserable.

The next morning, after feeding Michael, Corinne dressed with particular care, choosing a frilly morning gown of soft yellow, which made her eyes seem almost golden. She tied her hair loosely with a matching ribbon. Yellow was one of her best colors.

Satisfied with her appearance, she went to the bassinet and kissed Michael, then went to the kitchen. Akela was there alone, shredding the coconut Leonaka had shaken down yesterday morning. She looked up and smiled.

Corinne came over to the table and asked casually, “Have you seen Jared?”

Akela looked back down at what she was doing. “He gone, Kolina.”

“Oh? Did he say what time he would be back?”

“He no be back today. Not tomorrow either, I think. Don’t know when.”

Corinne felt her heart sinking. “Don’t you know? Where did he go?”

“Back Honolulu.”

Corinne’s shoulders fell and she asked hesitantly, “Did he say anything before he left, Akela? Did he leave me a message?”

Akela shook her head. “I sorry, Kolina.”

“Not as sorry as I am,” Corinne whispered. Shocked, she left the room. She moved through the day like a sleepwalker.

Jared entered his offices on King Street and went directly to the safe next to his file cabinets. He withdrew two long, slim boxes and one square box from his coat pocket. He put them in the safe and locked it. He had returned to the city too late yesterday to make the purchases, but he had gone to his jewelers the first thing this morning.

In a long box were gleaming white pearls for his sister. Presents always cheered Malia, and her mood needed a drastic change. He was sure the pearls would improve Malia’s disposition.

In the same way, he hoped to please Corinne. For her he had been more extravagant in purchasing hundreds of the finest opals in long double strands.

Jared had also bought her a solid gold heart on which he had asked the jeweler to inscribe,
I would marry you again, and without regret
. He knew what that meant. Would she understand the depth of his feelings? He prayed that she would, and that they could begin all over again. Was it possible?

There was an abrupt rap on the door and Jared looked up to see Russell Drayton enter the room. Jared realized that he shouldn’t be as surprised as he was. Why had he assumed Drayton would be long gone by now?

“So, you finally decided to show up again,” Russell began.

Jared was too amazed at the man’s rudeness to speak for a moment, but at last he demanded, “What are you doing here, Mr. Drayton?”

Russell was standing directly in front of his desk, glaring at him. “Corinne’s been missing for a month
and I finally figured out that you have her hidden somewhere—I want to know where,” Russell said, placing his fists on the desk and leaning forward. “And it’s no use denying it. I want to know where she is.”

Jared smiled, but it wasn’t a warm smile. “And you really expect me to tell you?”

“By God, you’d better, Burkett!” Russell shouted. “You’ve ruined too many of my plans. I’m going to make sure you don’t interfere again.”

Jared was actually becoming amused. “Maybe you have forgotten that Corinne is my wife.”

Russell sneered. “She can’t stand you, Burkett. She’ll thank me for making her a widow.”

Too late, Jared saw the gun Russell pulled from his coat pocket. He expected to hear an explosion, but there wasn’t one. He realized that Russell was planning on savoring his triumph.

“So you’re not the spineless coward Samuel Barrows thought you were, eh?”

“Hardly.” Russell was glad for a chance to clear himself. “That was the only kind of man Corinne would show an interest in, so I played the role. She will meet the real me once we’re married.”

“If she’ll marry you.”

“Oh, she will. She may not love me, but I’ll convince her that she needs me. It’s really too bad my aim was off when I shot at you at the church. It would have saved so much time if you had died then, and I would have had Corinne’s money a long time ago. Speaking of money, I’ll take whatever you have here. The landlord came around a few days ago.”

Jared let his words sink in. The man was broke. He was also the scoundrel who had tried to kill him the day of his wedding. Jared cursed himself for passing that incident off as an accident, meant for someone else.

But right now he had to stall Russell and manage somehow to get the bottom drawer of his desk open He kept his own gun there and would feel a lot better with his hands on it.

“I’ll have to disappoint you again. I’m afraid I don’t have but a few dollars on me.”

“Don’t try that with me.” Russell scowled. “There’s always money in a safe, and you have a large one right behind you. Open it.”

“There’s nothing there but business papers,” Jared said calmly. He couldn’t afford to leave his desk. “Contracts, account books, that sort of thing. No money.”

“Show me, damnit!” Russell growled impatiently.

Jared got up and slowly opened the safe. Russell had followed him around the desk and now motioned him to open the safe door wide so he could see inside with out getting too close to Jared. There were the boxes Jared had put in earlier, two stacks of business documents, and, on the bottom shelf, two stacks of petty cash amounting to less than a hundred dollars.

“I thought so,” Russell snarled. “Hand it over.”

Jared took the money out, but he held onto it, still kneeling, while he closed the safe.

“Being careful even though you’re about to die?’ Russell chuckled as he waited for Jared to straighten up. “Maybe you don’t think I mean business? But you’ll see. Now I want to know where Corinne is.”

“And why should I tell you, when you plan to murder me anyway?”

Russell grinned. “You’re right, of course. No matter. She’ll be back in the city as soon as she learns of you death. Now hand over the money.”

Jared extended his arm, and when Russell reached for the money, he dove straight for Russell’s feet, lifting them out from under him. The thinner man was stunned
by the fall and that gave Jared time to yank the gun from his hand.

Jared stared at the weapon for several moments, itching to point it at Russell and fire. The urge was almost overpowering, but he fought it.

Russell watched Jared as he debated whether or not to use the gun. His eyes bulged with terror, his gut turned sour. But finally Jared tossed the gun aside, grabbed Russell by his coat, and pulled him up. He drove a ramrod fist against Russell’s nose, knocking him down again. Russell scrambled to his feet, realizing the man had decided to kill him with his bare hands. His nose was broken, and he didn’t duck quickly enough to escape the next blow. He felt his jaw snap, and then a fist slammed into his middle and ribs cracked.

He moaned as he tried to get up, stumbled, landed on his face, then tried again. Finally Russell was on his feet, but two viselike hands were around his throat, and though he fought with all his might to break the hold, he couldn’t. Lights shot through his eyes and oddly, he thought of God just before he died.

But he wasn’t dead. He was in a broken heap on the floor and a giant stood over him with a rope in his hands.

“I’m not going to kill you, Drayton, but I will if I ever see your face again.”

His wrists and feet were bound and through a mist of pain he still heard that cold, merciless voice. “I will give you a free ride to the docks, where you will be dumped on whatever ship is leaving first. You can work off your passage, cause I’m not feeling that generous.”

Russell was picked up and thrown over Jared’s shoulder, then taken out of the office and dumped in a carriage. Icy gray eyes bore into his.

“Consider yourself lucky today, Drayton—I really
wanted to kill you.” And then, “Don’t ever come back. The moment you set foot on this island I’ll know it and you’ll be a dead man.”

The carriage took off. Russell believed the threat. He wouldn’t be back, not ever. He wanted Corinne’s money and had expected to get it for quite some time. But no fortune was worth that kind of risk.

Naneki returned to Jared’s north shore house, fully intending to remain there. Florence had to leave Naneki’s room and return to her own, which forced Corinne back into Jared’s. Naneki did not like Corinne’s presence in Jared’s room, not one bit.

Corinne assumed that Jared had sent for his mistress. It wasn’t improbable. He had probably given up on Corinne after their last encounter at the waterfall, and wanted his mistress to warm his cold bed.

Naneki fell into a routine, spending time with Akela in the kitchen. But most of her time was spent with Jared’s sister. The two became inseparable, and Malia acquired a new, superior attitude.

Then strange things happened that Corinne couldn’t manage to ignore. Food occasionally made her sick, while no one else was affected. She couldn’t help but wonder about that. And then one evening, when she returned to Jared’s bedroom, she found a large centipede crawling out from under the bed. The size and ugliness of the poisonous creature made her scream and run from the room.

Fortunately, Michael was still with Florence. Akela came running in with a broom and killed the creature, and at Corinne’s insistence, searched the room. There were three others, one in Corinne’s bed. Corinne didn’t sleep that night.

She might not have questioned one centipede, for
Akela said they did sometimes sneak into the house. But four? And all in her room?

It took a long time before Corinne could enter her room without going over it thoroughly.

Time passed and she grew even more miserable. Why didn’t Jared send her a message? But there was no word from Jared. It was as if he had forgotten all about her and his north shore home. What was keeping him in Honolulu?

Corinne had become quite good at surfing. She had gotten into the habit of going out every morning when the waves were reasonably high, and going back to the house as soon as Malia and Naneki brought their boards into the water.

She had begun to openly dislike Malia, though she realized it was Naneki’s influence that had turned Jared’s sister into a shrew.

One bright, clear morning Florence brought Michael out to watch his mother surf. Corinne smiled at him sitting on the beach, slapping at the sand. He was over six months old already, and so adorably chubby. Michael was the light of her life.

She was writing again to her father, but she had yet to receive any mail from him, and knew it would be more than a month before she could expect any. She had told him about her dilemma. She’d mentioned nothing about being a prisoner, for she knew her father would come to rescue her if he knew that. But she told him that she had fallen in love with her husband. He was, after all, her parent. Could he help her? Probably not.

Lost in her thoughts, Corinne had not noticed when Malia and Naneki entered the water. But their giggling
beside her drew her attention and she grimaced. She looked to the beach and saw that Florence was still there with Michael. Noelani had joined them. That was one suspicion Corinne no longer harbored. Akela had assured her that the little girl was not Jared’s daughter. She told Corinne about her daughter’s husband, Peni. It was sad that the girl had lost her husband after so short a time, but her wanting Jared made it hard for Corinne to sympathize for long.

She waved to Florence and started paddling to shore. Through the corner of her eye, she saw that Malia was going to catch the same wave. Corinne didn’t pull back. She had a nagging suspicion, but she was fed up with Malia’s pranks.

The two stood up at about the same time, but then Malia started crowding her, cutting purposefully toward Corinne’s board. When the two boards hit, Corinne lost her balance and tumbled to the right. The surf took her straight down and then something struck her from behind and she was no longer aware of the ocean, the sun, and the sand.

Someone was crying. It sounded so pitiful. Not the sobs of a child, but a young woman crying. Who? Corinne started to open her eyes, but a stabbing pain shot through her head and she clamped her eyes shut against it. The pain throbbed viciously. She thought surely she would faint, but she didn’t. Through a haze she still heard the sobbing, and now voices that she recognized.

“I’ve never seen anything so surprising as the way those two surfboards collided.” That was Florence.

“Which boards?” Corinne recognized Akela’s deep voice.

“Why, Cori’s and Malia’s,” Florence answered. “When the boards hit, Cori fell off to the side and
Malia tumbled backwards, away from the large wave they were riding. And then one of the boards shot straight up in the air and, God! I was terrified when I saw it coming down right where Cori had fallen. When I didn’t see her come up, I started right in after her, but it was Malia who pulled her to the surface. She probably saved Cori’s life.”

“I—I didn’t mean for her to get hurt,” Malia sobbed.

“Of course not, dear,” Florence soothed her. “It was an accident.”

“I wonder!” Akela growled darkly.

Corinne was so surprised by the anger in Akela’s voice that she managed to open her eyes a little. The two older women were standing at the left of her bed, facing Malia, who stood on the right, sobbing, with her head in her hands. Akela pointed an accusing finger at the girl.

“You go too far this time, Malia! You make me shame, cause I raise you. But you no learn right from Aunty!”

“What are you saying, Akela?” Florence whispered, shocked.

“Not accident. Malia not have accident in water. She ride board all her life.”

“I didn’t mean for her to get hurt!” Malia was crying hysterically again. “I only meant to frighten her!”

“She maybe die, and why? Because you jealous of your brother.”

“My God!” Florence gasped.

“And I think maybe this not first time, huh, Malia?” Akela went on, voicing Corinne’s half-realized suspicions. “I no like believe you put those centipedes in Kolina’s room. I say, no, my Malia not that bad. But I wrong!”

“Naneki said—there would be no danger.” Malia
tried to catch her breath. “That’s why we found the largest ones we could, so she would be sure to see them.”

“
Auwe!
My own daughter help you? You both need the stick against your backside. This terrible thing!”

“We only wanted to scare her so she would leave!”

“She leave? Your brother the one keep her here.”

“What?”

“You hear good, Malia! She want to go, but he no let her.”

“But she is not good enough for Jared. She—”

“Malia, you blind just like Ialeka!” Akela snapped. “Can you no see Kolina not bad?”

“That’s right, Malia,” Florence spoke up. “Cori was so furious with your brother that she planned the whole charade before we came to Hawaii. I told her not to do it, but she was very headstrong back then. It was all an elaborate ruse to make people think—she was a—” Florence paused, still unable to say the word. “—an immoral woman.”

“She took men to her room.”

“Yes. She got them drunk, and then sent them home with promises for the next time. But there were no next times because she never saw the same man twice. The only man she’s ever been with in—in that way—is your brother.”

There was a silence and then Malia said weakly, “She told me, but I didn’t believe her.”

“Your brother wouldn’t believe her either. That’s the tragedy.”

“Jared must actually love her then if he still wants to keep her even when he thinks—”

Florence sighed. “I believe so, yes, but no one really knows what’s in his mind.”

“I’m so sorry.” Malia started sobbing again.

“Mo’better you tell Kolina that,” Akela said gruffly.

“I will. I didn’t understand. And I never meant for her to get hurt.”

“It’s all right, Malia,” Corinne whispered from the bed.

The three faces turned to her. “So you’re awake?” Florence said.

“So it seems.”

“Don’t try to get up. You’ve got a pretty mean bump on the side of your head, but that seems to be the only injury. You don’t hurt anywhere else, do you?”

“No.”

“I sent for doctor. He live Haleiwa, so be a while yet ’fore he come,” Akela said.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Corinne protested.

“Of course it was. You gave us all quite a fright.” Florence said sternly. “I don’t know if I’ll let you do any more surfing.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It was an unusual…accident.” They all fell silent. Corinne looked at Malia. The girl was standing with her head lowered, afraid to face her. “It really is all right, Malia. I’ve been awake for quite a while and heard everything. And as far as I’m concerned, it
was
an accident. We will forget it.”

Malia looked up sheepishly. “I’m so sorry, Corinne.”

“I know. Maybe we can be friends now.”

Malia smiled faintly, then turned away and left before she started crying again.

Akela started after her. Soon, Corinne turned to Florence. “You have got to do something for me if the doctor says I have to stay in bed a few days.”

“Of course, dear.”

“Tomorrow, get Akela to take you to the nearest store. There were a few stores in Wahiawa, remember?
Or maybe Akela knows if there’s one closer. Anyway, I want you to buy Jared a Christmas present for me. Something really special.”

“And just what am I to use for money?”

“Take my rubies—no, the diamonds are more valuable. Take all of them, the necklaces, rings, the bracelets.”

“Cori, really! Those diamonds are worth a fortune!”

“For God’s sake, I don’t care about the money. And you won’t be able to get what they’re worth anyway. But whatever you can get for them, spend it all. This is Michael’s first Christmas. Get him lots of toys, and some clothes if you can find readymade. He’s outgrowing things so quickly.”

“As if I hadn’t noticed!” Florence chuckled.

“And get something for Akela and Malia, and—oh, find a little something for Naneki and her daughter too—Christmas is no time to be carrying a grudge. And don’t forget yourself. But make sure you get a perfect gift for Jared.”

“I’ve never bought anything for a man before.”

Corinne frowned. “If only we could get to the city. Look for a ring maybe, or a—a sailboat!”

“Cori!”

“No, I don’t suppose you would find one in Wahiawa. Oh, I don’t know. Just find something special. It’s got to be a gift he will like.”

“I’ll try, dearest. Now you rest.”

Florence shook her head as she closed the door. It had been ages since she had seen Cori so excited. Who would have guessed she would have fallen in love with the very man everyone thought she hated?