Page 67 of Big Island Horizons
He looked worse for wear, haggard and tired. His clothes were filthy, his hair was oily and matted, and there were dark bags under his eyes. She sat frozen, starting.
Then his eyes met hers, and a jolt of fear went through her.
She shrank down in her seat and pulled up the hood of the sweatshirt, a useless reflex. He had seen her; she knew he had. Quickly, she hit the automatic lock on the doors.
Crouched down her seat, she peered up through the window and watched Tenn at the pump. When he went to open his door, she quickly unlocked it from the inside.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he started the car up again.
“Just drive.”
His frown deepened, but he did as she asked.
She looked over her shoulder, feeling sick and miserable.
Zeke was still there. And he had seen Tenn.
23
‘Olena
“Hey sis,” ‘Olena said. “You about ready to go?”
“Yeah, almost.” Lani looked up from her work at the counter. She was bottling a fresh batch of syrup. “Where are the girls?”
“They’re still with Nell at New Horizons. I figured I’d come walk you over.”
“Thank you. I just need about ten minutes to finish this and clean up real quick.”
“No rush.” She stepped back and stretched. “I’m going to grab a cane juice at the cafe. You want one?”
“Always.”
“You’ve got it.”
‘Olena gave a cursory glance up and down the street as she went to cross, but there was no one. It was a quiet weekday evening in Pualena, late enough that the sun was gone behind the mountains but early enough that there wasn’t much of a dinner crowd at the cafe.
Just before she reached the front door, a familiar face gave her pause.
Nate was there on the other side of the glass, eating a bowl of ramen. That was the last thing that she needed. She just didn’t have the energy to keep calm around her ex-husband, to have the force of his charm turned on her and make sure that she didn’t accidentally smile back.
No sense in giving the man the wrong idea.
‘Olena walked away from the window before he could look up and see her.
She circled back through the alley to the kitchen door. It wasn’t busy; the guys in back wouldn’t mind grabbing her a couple bottles of cane juice. If Tenn was there, he wouldn’t even let her pay.
A sudden shout made her pause as she reached the corner.
“What’s so special about you, anyway?”
Some drunk, by the sound of it. His voice was slightly slurred. ‘Olena edged around the corner to see what was going on. She stood just beyond the parking lot, half concealed by a hibiscus bush.
Ahaoleswayed back and forth, glaring. He had lank yellow hair and a bottle of liquor in his hand. ‘Olena couldn’t see who he was talking to, but she wanted to make sure they were alright.
She crept forward unnoticed.
Tenn was backed into a corner, trapped between the building and the dumpster. Zeke – it could only be Zeke – stood between him and the kitchen door.
