Page 37 of Wired Fear

Esther patted her shoulder. “It’s not me you have to apologize to. Besides, you are here now to make up for it.” She held Sophie at arm’s length. “I hear good things about your investigation into the disappearance of the Merrie Monarch funds. Myhaumana, Kim Kauwa, my student, speaks highly of your agency and your work.”

Sophie nodded, relieved to be moving away from personal topics. “Yes. In fact, I left detailed information for an update for Kim and the Tourism Authority Board with Jake, my partner. But if you would like to hear some of that in person, I’d be happy to update you.”

“No, no. Now is not the time.” Esther pushed one side of the huge door wide. “E komo mai!Welcome. Make yourself at home, and I’ll let Alika know you are here.”

“Tutu.” Alika’s voice came from the other side of his grandmother. “I don’t need you to be my butler.”

“No such thing, mo’opuna. I know you were doing your exercises, and I wanted to say hello to Sophie myself.” Esther’s warmth, as she squeezed Sophie’s arm, nearly brought tears so Sophie’s eyes. The older woman left them standing facing each other.

Sophie assessed Alika. He had lost a good deal of weight since the bomb attack at Sophie’s father’s building, and his bold cheekbones stood out in sharp relief. He was paler and reduced in size from his usual muscularity, but he stood straight, brown eyes calm and steady. Sophie finally allowed her gaze to rest on what was left of his arm.

Severed above the elbow, the left side of him seemed unbalanced, asymmetrical. The stump was still wrapped in some sort of bandage. Sophie felt nausea roll through her belly.

Alika opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, and the movement of his damaged shoulder was as easy and natural as it had always been. Her mind almost filled in the missing limb as he stepped forward to embrace her, though his expression remained serious. “Good to see you, Sophie. I’m glad you came.”

Once again, Sophie was rigid. One hand came up to pat Alika’s back as he continued to hold her lightly but firmly, not crushing her close or taking any further liberties.

“I’m so sorry, Alika,” she said against his shirt. “I should have visited you in the hospital. I should have been there for you.”

He shook his head. “It is what it is.”

Sophie gradually relaxed. Her face was pressed against the shoulder of his mutilated arm.

Memories of the bomb’s explosion swamped her. He’d looked so magnificent standing in the doorway of the elevator, that fateful box tucked against his side. She blinked away more tears. “I let you down.”

“It’s okay. I was bummed, but not surprised you didn’t want to see me. I know you, girl, and I knew you’d feel bad.” He let go and stepped back, gesturing towards an open seating area done in refined bent bamboo furniture covered in Hawaiian print fabric. “Come, have a seat. As you can see, I’m just fine. I appreciate your coming all this way, though, just to tell me that.”

“That was the first, and most important thing I came to say. But there is something else.” Sophie gazed around the gracious room with its huge window that showcased the magnificent mountainscape of Hanalei. “This place is so beautiful.”

“Thanks. I have a good architect,” he grinned.

They seated themselves. Esther reappeared from the kitchen, carrying a small lacquered tray with a couple of glasses of yellow juice resting on it. Ice cubes clinked gently in the glasses, and Sophie could smell the tangy-sweet scent of passion fruit as Esther set down the tray. “Made this lilikoi juice myself this morning.”

Sophie picked up her glass and sipped to swallow the lump in her throat. “Thank you, Mrs. Ka`awai. It’s delicious.”

“Esther, please. And now I’ve got a few more chores to do around here.”

“Thanks, Tutu.” Alika gestured toward the tray with his stump. “I’m adjusting to doing a lot of things one-handed. Balancing a tray with full glasses on it is a little out of my current skill set, but I’ll get there eventually.”

Sophie had expected him to be at least a little bitter, but there was none of that in his expression or demeanor as he picked up his glass. Esther left the room, and he smiled at Sophie over the rim. “Tutu has elected herself to be my chief cook and bottle washer. Who am I to argue, when she does it so well?”

“Men. You all just like to be taken care of,” Sophie said, a ghost of a smile tugging at her own lips. She looked away, out the window of the great room. “I love your home.”

“Thanks. Let me show you what I did with the koa wood I picked up on the Big Island when we saw each other last.” He stood up. “It’s in the kitchen.”

Sophie followed Alika into the open, modern space with its granite counters, steel sinks, and wraparound windows. A banquette filled one corner, and the wood of that table gleamed with the unique iridescence of native Hawaiian hardwood. “I love it.”

“I had cabinets made, too.” He gestured to the storage areas above a large, shining range. “There was just enough wood for three kitchens like this.”

Sophie admired the sleek design with its small brass canoes as hardware. “Really unique. It’s hard to believe this came from those logs I saw in the back of your truck.”

“There were many steps between the logs and what you see here. But I have a good crew.”

Sophie wiped her hands on her skirt again, realizing as she did so that, though she was nervous about her news, the feelings she’d had for Alika, prior to the bomb attack, were gone. Any romantic interest she’d had in him must have been quenched by the guilt and worry she’d been carrying—and by her deepening involvement with Jake. Somehow that realization made it easier to face Alika head-on and look directly into his warm brown eyes.

“I came to see you, to apologize for how I acted when you were injured. But also, to tell you that I’m pregnant.”

Alika’s brows flew up and his eyes widened. “What?”

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