Chapter 19
Elodie stood at the end of the dock and hugged Scott, hard.
It was Sunday, normally her day off, but she’d had no problem doing Perry and Kahoni the favor of taking a client out on a fishing trip.
They’d taken a chance and hired her even though she’d had no experience, which meant a roof over her head and food to eat.
And the job had allowed her to stay in Hawaii and eventually run into Scott.
She’d do anything for the owners of the Fish Tales.
“You’re really going into work?” she asked Scott. He’d had a couple days off after his mission, and as much as he enjoyed her company when she wasn’t working, she knew he was itching to get back to work himself.
“Yeah, just for a bit. We did our after-action review the day after we got back, but I want to read it through and make sure we didn’t leave anything out.”
Elodie was impressed by Scott’s thoroughness. He took his job as team leader very seriously, and she loved him all the more for it. “Okay.”
“I’ll be here around noon to pick you up though. Maybe we’ll head up over to Makapuu today. What do you think?”
Elodie nodded. Makapuu was one of the best body-surfing beaches on the island, but she wasn’t getting in the water. No way.
Scott chuckled. “I know you’re just humoring me, but I appreciate it. You can read a book while I body surf for a while, then I’ll take you to Waimanalo and we’ll eat at Smokey Ranch Barbeque. Guarantee it’ll be the best barbeque you’ve eaten.”
“Guarantee? You seem to forget that I’m a chef who’s eaten at some of the best restaurants in the country,” Elodie told him.
“I haven’t forgotten. But I promise you’ll love this place.”
“All right, but I want lunch first. You’ll get carried away at Makapuu and by the time you’re done, I’ll be starving.”
“Deal,” Scott said with a smile. “For the record, I was gonna bring you a snack to tide you over, but we can still eat first.”
“You’re so good to me,” Elodie told him.
“I love you, it’s my job to be good to you.”
She’d never get tired of hearing him say he loved her.
Elodie no longer worried about what was “right” and “normal” in a relationship.
When it came to Scott and her, normal didn’t apply.
She was content with how things were going and had the utmost confidence that they would make it as a couple. “I love you, and I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun and be safe,” Scott said.
“I will. I’m looking forward to being a little more relaxed today. With it being just me and Kai and only one guest, we don’t have to be as formal with things. Hopefully the guy’ll be cool.”
“I hope so too, for your sake.” Then Scott leaned down and kissed her. They’d started out the morning with lots of easy cuddles and caresses in bed. They were both tired from making love the night before and hadn’t felt the urge to do more than talk quietly before getting up and starting their day.
Elodie gave Scott another hug, then picked up her backpack and started down the dock. She turned and gave one last wave before turning her attention to the Fish Tales. Kai was already onboard and he greeted her with a hearty “aloha!” when she came aboard.
She spent about twenty minutes getting the boat ready while Kai did paperwork and checked everything over to make sure it was seaworthy. The last thing they wanted was to get stranded in the middle of the ocean.
Their guest for the day showed up right on time.
“Hello?” a deep male voice called out.
Elodie went out on the back deck and waved at the man standing at the end of the small gangplank.
“Aloha! Are you Steven Miller?” she asked.
“That’s me!” the man said jovially. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, not exactly fishing gear, but Elodie had seen guests show up in just about everything, so nothing surprised her anymore.
Steven had dark hair that looked like it had been greased back with some sort of oil.
His nose was a bit long and kind of hooked at the end, and his teeth were rather yellow.
He was clean shaven and his brown eyes were bright, and he looked eager to start the day.
He was also holding a takeout container. “I brought doughnuts and coffee,” he said as he came onboard.
“That was nice of you,” Elodie told him. “But you didn’t have to. We have snacks and coffee onboard.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. I’ve never done this before,” Steven said. “I’m super excited though.”
“That’s great. I’m Melody, and Kai will be our pilot and the other guide helping us today.”
Elodie got Steven seated and gave him the liability paperwork to fill out. She also handed him the rules and regulations for the trip. No smoking, an explanation of what would happen if he caught a fish, as well as his one-day fishing license to sign. The cost was included in the charter.
He laughed and joked with both her and Kai as he finished filling out the paperwork and they got the boat ready to go.
“So your family wasn’t too keen on fishing?” Kai asked after Elodie had given Steven the safety briefing and then showed him where the life jackets were stored and how to put one on in the case of an emergency.
“Nah, Margaret and the girls are still sleeping. They aren’t morning people and would rather spend their time shopping in Waikiki and hanging out on the beach.
They were more than happy to let me do this on my own.
I can’t wait to catch a marlin. The guys back home in Massachusetts will be so jealous! ”
The small talk continued as they began to head out toward the Pinnacle, the fishing spot Kahoni had suggested they try first. Kai was up in the small wheelhouse and Melody was entertaining Steven, passing the time until they could put out the lines.
He was actually very interesting. He’d said that he was an insurance salesman, and she could totally see that.
He was outgoing and gregarious and frequently made her laugh.
He told her stories about his wife and daughters, and explained they’d come to Hawaii on a business trip slash vacation.
He’d gone to a few meetings and made some contacts while his family shopped.
The only thing that seemed off about the man was the fact he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Elodie didn’t think too much about it, as there were lots of reasons a man didn’t wear a ring. Steven wasn’t hitting on her, so she didn’t think it was because he was trying to pick up women.
When they reached the spot where they’d had good luck fishing in the past, Kai came down, and he and Steven baited and set the lines.
Fishing wasn’t exactly Elodie’s favorite thing to do.
It was actually quite boring, waiting to see if a fish took the bait.
Then the boredom turned to excitement as the guests tried to reel it in.
She sat in the shade and did her best not to look too unenthusiastic.
Usually on these trips, she’d be occupied with talking to and entertaining children or the other guests who weren’t actively fishing.
But since it was just Steven on this trip, and Kai was discussing the different kinds of Hawaiian fish in the area, she was left to her own thoughts. And of course they turned to Scott.
She’d much rather be spending the morning with him, but she couldn’t really complain when she was in Hawaii, earning overtime, and it was such a beautiful day.
When Kai came inside a short while later and headed for the stairs to go up to the wheelhouse, she frowned in confusion. “We’re leaving?”
“I talked about heading out to the Penguin Bank and he was all for it. He seems eager to go out to deeper water, and when I mentioned the possibility of seeing sharks, his eyes lit up.” Kai chuckled. “I don’t know why you tourists get turned on by sharks so much.”
Elodie shuddered. “I’m not a tourist, and besides, I could go my entire life without seeing a real-live shark and be perfectly happy.”
“He doesn’t seem too interested in fishing anyway,” Kai went on.
“All he’s talked about is how different things are here compared to Massachusetts.
He’s also curious as to how you came to be working on a charter fishing boat in Hawaii.
” Kai grinned. “You have to admit, it’s kinda funny, you aren’t exactly the typical employee. ”
“You mean I’m too white and too old and not into surfing,” Elodie said with a chuckle.
“Exactly. Your turn to entertain while I get us farther out into the deeper waters,” Kai said.
“Thanks,” Elodie muttered. She wasn’t concerned that Steven had talked about her to Kai, she knew she wasn’t what people expected when they signed up for the charter.
For some reason, people always seemed surprised to find a woman on the boat when they arrived, as if women couldn’t be fishermen or employed by a fishing vessel.
As long as she was under the Columbus family’s radar, she didn’t care if the tourists wondered what her story was.
Thirty minutes later, the Fish Tales was bobbing in the deeper waters far off the coast of Waikiki.
Elodie didn’t particularly like it when they came out this far, but it was all a part of the job.
At least this trip would be done soon. They only had two more hours before they’d need to head back in.
She was somewhat lost in her head, thinking about going to Makapuu with Scott later and making a mental note to reapply her sunscreen. Her skin had definitely gotten darker since she’d been in Hawaii, but she still burnt way too easily, and she wanted to protect herself as much as possible.
A weird noise from the back deck where the poles were in the water made her turn around.
Steven was standing on the back deck with his arms at his sides, staring at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher.
A shiver went through her, and for the first time, she felt uneasy. Elodie took a step toward the doors separating the inner seating area from the back deck—then froze when she saw what Steven was holding.
A gun. It had a longer barrel than she’d expected.