Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Casey
Luau season was Hawaii's own kind of holiday, and my favorite weekend of the year.
Native drums had been thundering since two in the afternoon. The air over Kahala Beach was thick with roasting pork fat and the faint sweetness of coconut carried on the breeze, a smell that existed nowhere else. This place, after six years, was the only real "home" I'd ever had.
I gripped Tommy's pudgy hand tight, weaving through the crowd. He was wound up today, the crooked little straw hat on his head bobbing with every bounce.
"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" He jumped, pointing with his free hand.
The hula stage. A dozen young women in golden grass skirts, flower leis wrapped around their wrists and ankles, bodies rolling like waves, arms carving graceful arcs through the air. Sunlight hit their skin, making it glow.
"Their skirts are dancing!" Tommy's eyes sparkled. His head bobbed to the rhythm, nearly knocking his hat loose.
I crouched down to straighten it, planting a kiss on his soft cheek. "That's right, baby. It's the dance of the ocean. Hawaiians believe hula is a gift for the gods."
Tommy nodded like he understood, eyes still glued to the stage. One of the dancers noticed the little boy in the straw hat staring and winked at him. He immediately buried his face in my skirt.
My heart melted.
This was my whole world. My only salvation on this earth.
Across the way, Lina waved from a booth, wearing a bright orange tank that made her tan skin glow. "Ella! Get over here! I saved you fresh-cut pineapple!"
I started to answer, but my hand went empty.
"Shells! Mommy! Look at that shell!" Tommy yanked free and bolted toward a nearby stall hung with shell necklaces and handmade crafts.
"Tommy! Slow down!" My heart skipped. In crowds like this, losing your kid was every mother's worst fear. I didn't even look where I was going—just spun and chased after him.
I slammed into someone. A solid chest. The impact sent me stumbling backward, about to hit the sand.
Just before I fell, a scent wrapped around me. Cedar. Cool and steady. Paul's favorite cologne.
My breath stopped. For six years, I'd woken up in cold sweats, half-dreaming I smelled it. I froze, numb, and slowly lifted my head.
Paul stood in front of me.
Dark suit, tailored perfectly, collar open.
Against this beachy backdrop, he looked absurdly sharp.
Behind him stood several European men in similar suits—some kind of business tour.
Hawaii had been pushing tourism development lately.
The Vincent Family's real estate empire reaching the Pacific wasn't exactly shocking.
But what were the odds?
Six years ago, I'd fled Boston, picked the farthest, least-American place I could find. I thought I'd never see him again.
The moment our eyes met, all sound vanished. Drums, cheers, waves—gone. Just him. Those impossibly deep eyes.
In them I saw shock, disbelief, and something else—longing so intense it bordered on madness.
His throat worked. His lips trembled. A hoarse sound came out.
"Casey..."
That voice tore open a wound in my chest. The pain from six years ago, the humiliation, the hell I went through to escape him. It all came flooding back.
I wanted to cry. But more than that, I wanted to run.
Just as the emotion threatened to crush me, a memory flashed—him looking down at me in the Four Seasons.
"Casey, you have to understand."
My heart went cold. That feeling of being humiliated and dismissed, it was sharper than any longing.
"Mommy! Look at this!" Tommy's voice cut through. He ran back, clutching a big shell, and crashed into my leg.
I snapped awake and scooped him up like I'd been electrocuted.
He couldn't see Tommy.
Tommy's eyes were identical to Paul's. If he saw this child, six years of work would mean nothing. What would he think? That I'd had the baby to trap him? Or would he use his family's power to take Tommy from me?
Either way, I couldn't bear to imagine it.
"Casey! Wait!" Paul reached for my arm as I turned.
"Get away from me!" I shouted, clutching Tommy and diving into the hula troupe that happened to surge past.
The dancers' swaying skirts blocked Paul's view. I shoved through the crowd, running blind. I heard him yelling my name behind me, desperate, almost pleading, but I couldn't look back.
I burst into Lina's surf shop and slammed through the back storage room door.
Cold air hit me. Gasping, I ducked behind the farthest shelf, back against a rack of wetsuits, palms soaked with sweat.
My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my throat. I hadn't felt like this in years.
"Mommy," Tommy looked up, confused, "your face is white. Are you sick?"
I forced a smile. "No, baby, I'm fine. Just ran too fast. Got hot."
"Was it because of that man?"
My heart skipped. "What man?"
"The man in black. He called you. Then you ran." Tommy tilted his head, analyzing. "Teacher says if a stranger calls you, don't go with him. Run away. You did it right, Mommy."
I almost laughed. This little person, with his innocent logic, had just given my panicked flight the most legitimate excuse. But my eyes stung anyway.
"That's right. Mommy did the right thing," I knelt and pulled him close, burying my face in his soft hair. "Tommy's so smart. You know the rules."
Lina emerged from behind the shelves. When she saw me looking like I'd barely escaped a shark, the surf wax nearly dropped from her hand.
"Casey? Jesus, what happened?"
Tommy reached up, trying to pat my chest, worry in his eyes.
I closed mine, trying to steady my breathing, then crouched and hugged him tight. "It's okay, baby. Mommy just ran too fast. Go help Lina sort the little shells in the back room, okay? Mommy needs to talk to her."
Tommy looked at me, then Lina, and nodded. He ducked through the shelves toward the back door.
When it clicked shut, I met Lina's eyes. My voice shook. "He's here. Paul. He's outside."
Lina's eyes went wide. She rushed over, voice low. "You mean that Paul? Tommy's father? How could he possibly find this place?"
"I don't know. Some goddamn coincidence. Or maybe his empire finally stretched to the Pacific." I closed my eyes bitterly. "He grabbed me, Lina. He recognized me."
Lina gripped my hands, trying to steady me. "What are you going to do? Did he see Tommy?"
"No," I said. "I ran fast enough. He didn't... I mean, I don't think he saw clearly."
Lina stared into my eyes. I looked away, feeling guilty.
Because I really wasn't sure. Before I crashed into him, before I ran, had he noticed the child holding my hand? Had he seen Tommy's face? I didn't know.
"Casey." Lina used my real name, voice serious. "Listen to me. Calm down. What's your plan?"
I took a deep breath. "Lina, you know me. I never want anything to do with that Vincent again. I'm terrified... I'm scared he'll think I had Tommy to get back into his life, for the money he assumes I'd want. People like him measure everything by value. He'd never believe I just love this child."
"And more importantly," my voice caught, "what if he tries to take Tommy? Someone like him—if he knew he had an 'heir' out there, he'd use everything to take him away. Lina, I can't lose Tommy. He's my life."
Lina didn't speak. She just hugged me tight.
"Let's go home," she said, pulling back and squeezing my shoulder. "We'll talk there. Just go home today. Figure out the rest tomorrow."
I nodded, then brought Tommy out from the back room and headed for the rear exit.
Lina pushed the door open, checking the alley. "Clear. Go."
I carried Tommy out, glancing back with every step.
The alley was empty. Just distant drums and voices. No one following.
I knew I shouldn't spiral, but the question I'd avoided for six years kept surfacing. I had to face it.
What if he came looking? What if he recognized Tommy?
My whole body started shaking. I was so scared.
Tommy rested his head on my shoulder, patting my back like he was comforting me.
"Mommy," he said softly, "what's for dinner?"
My eyes burned. "What do you want, baby?"
"Cheeseburger," he said instantly. "With double cheese. And fries. You can't say fries aren't healthy. It's a holiday."
I breathed deep and held him tighter. "Okay. Cheeseburger, double cheese, all the fries you want."
He squirmed happily on my shoulder. "Mommy's the best!"
Tears nearly fell. I looked back one last time at the empty alley. Sunset painted everything gold. Palm trees swayed in the breeze. It all looked like a gentle dream.
Paul Vincent, what the hell are you doing in Hawaii?
I'd spent six years becoming a person again here. My son was happy here. My best friend ran the coolest surf shop on the island. I had work I loved. This was my life.
I didn't need him to wreck it.
I buried my face in Tommy's hair and walked into the golden dusk at the end of the alley.
Whatever happened, I wouldn't let anyone take my son.