Page 53 of Trust

“I’m not sure. I had to bring your sister to the ER. She started having contractions about an hour ago. They are doing all sorts of tests, but she wanted me to call you. The doctor said it shouldn’t be too serious, even if she goes into labor. She’s far enough along that we should be out of the woods. But…she’s scared, and I told her I would get her anything to make her feel better. She wants you over here.”

“Of course,” he said, already making his way indoors. “I was going to wait until tomorrow to fly over. I had Felix on standby today. I’ll call him and be over there as soon as I can. Have you talked to Mother or Jensen?”

“No. She wants to wait since they can’t make it over here as easily. She wants to ensure she has some answers for them.”

“Got it. I’ll text you once we have a take-off time.”

“Thanks, Jake.”

He hung up just as the front door opened. Marta stepped in.

“Marta, what are you doing here? You don’t work on Sundays.”

“I thought I would stop by. You said maybe you were going to Maui.”

“I wasn’t, but now I have to. Jules is in the hospital.”

Alarm had her eyes widening.

“She’s far enough along, but they are doing tests to ensure everything is okay. I’m going to get dressed and head out.” He hurried to the stairs and realized he had no way to the airport. “Damn. Can you drop me off at the airport?”

“Of course, Jakob. Go get your things. Do you need me to contact Felix?”

“Yes, thanks.”

He headed up the stairs and tried calling Lani.

“Aloha, this is Lani. I can’t answer my phone right now, but leave a message, and I’ll get back to you.”

Damn. “Lani, I have to head out to Maui. Jules is in labor or having contractions or something. If I don’t hear back from you before we take off, I’ll call you once we land, or I’ll use the communications on the plane. I…I hate leaving like this.” He sighed. “I already miss you.”

He hung up before he started to beg her to understand why he had to leave. He knew Lani would understand; he felt unsettled about not talking to her. Pushing those feelings aside, he started to fill a suitcase. After changing clothes, he grabbed his toiletries. He followed Marta out the door within ten minutes of hanging up with Alek.

He just prayed everything was okay with Jules and the baby.

Lani pulled into the parking garage down the street from the brunch location her brother had texted her earlier. It was a busy Sunday morning, so she’d had to park on the top level. When she grabbed her purse, she checked her phone. She smiled when she saw there was a voicemail from Jakob. The smile faded as soon as she heard the fear in Jakob’s voice. It had been thirty minutes since he’d left the message. She tried calling him, but it went to voicemail. She frowned.

“Jake, call me when you land. Don’t worry about getting hold of me. Jules comes first. I already miss you, too.”

She clicked her phone off. Worry for Jules and her baby made her stomach ache. When she had seen Jakob’s sister acouple of months ago, she was glowing. Her joy had made Lani a little envious, but she had been happy for her, too.

There was another part of her, a small, petty part of her, that felt cheated. It wasn’t important, but after a decade of being infatuated with Jakob, she finally had him in bed…and in the shower…and now she had to wait for more. But what was it that her mother used to say? Anticipation makes things sweeter.

Sighing, she slipped her phone into her pocket and headed for the stairs.

When Lani stepped out of the building, she slipped on her sunglasses and started the three-block walk to the restaurant her sister-in-law had picked. She couldn’t wait to get her car back. It had been over a week. Today was one of those perfect Oahu days, with just enough trade winds to keep cool. She would prefer to have the wind whipping through her hair.

She had thought it odd that Ben hadn’t wanted Jakob at the brunch. It was also weird that they were having it in Honolulu. There was a good chance that someone would recognize one of them, but maybe that was Royal’s idea. Yep, it had to be Royal’s plan all along. At least she would get some food out of it. She had definitely worked up an appetite the night before.

Still, it had been odd that Ben hadn’t said anything to Jakob about it. From what Jakob said, though, they had barely spoken. Ben had been off for a couple of years. It wasn’t until he’d started dating Royal that it really hit her that he wasn’t the boy she grew up with. Hell, he wasn’t even the man he had grown into. And she never understood his infatuation with Royal. In fact, he had been getting bored with her, or at least that is what Lani thought, right before he announced their engagement.

Even after that, she was sure he would call it off. He looked like he’d checked out of the relationship more than once. Her brother would never cheat. That wasn’t his style, but he had been getting antsy up until about six weeks ago.

She’d reached the second-floor landing when her phone pinged. She pulled it out and frowned. It was a text from her brother.

Ben:Not gonna make it today.

She frowned. That wasn’t the way he usually wrote texts. It sounded off. But then, maybe he was still hung over from the night before. He had been drinking a lot of champagne, and that always made him feel like crap the next day.

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