Page 15 of Wyatt
“I guess Dad already told you. Yes. Yes, I have something to tell you. It happened so suddenly, Mom. I mean, I’ve liked him since I was like twelve or something, but I didn’t think he even knew I was alive.”
“Of course, he knew you were alive, Ulani. He’s been watching you as well from a distance.”
“I never saw that,” she frowned. “He was never there for anything of mine. Nothing for school, no graduation, nothing. I mean, I know he was serving and going to school, but still.”
“Honey, he was there,” said Koana. “He was there for your eighth-grade graduation and your high school graduation. He was there for your final volleyball tournament, and he was there when you left for college.”
“What? No. No, that’s not possible. I didn’t see him,” she said quietly.
“He didn’t want you to know. He didn’t want us to know. He’d say he was in the area, or it was a quick trip home. I knew that wasn’t true. So did his mother. Mothers know these things,” she laughed.
“I can’t believe it. I mean, he said that he had feelings for me for years, but I didn’t believe him. I mean, I did, but,” she stopped, shaking her head.
“I know what you mean, sweetie. It happened very fast for your father and me as well.”
Everyone was at the house on Coronado that belonged to Faith and Ian. The guys had gone to get groceries, and Ulani heard the front door open and raced toward them. Wyatt stood there with his eyes wide, both arms full of groceries, as she leaped toward him, wrapping her legs and arms around him.
“What happened?” he asked, still holding the groceries. “What’s wrong?”
Ulani kissed his face, up and down his neck, and back to his lips. The others chuckled, but Wyatt noticed the face of Ethan and was smart enough to clear his throat to get her attention.
“Babe, as much as I am absolutely loving this spontaneous side of you, uh, everyone is watching. What happened?” he asked, concerned.
“Nothing. I mean, everything. You were there. You came for my graduation, my volleyball game, all of it.”
Now he realized. His father gave him a knowing smirk and pushed his way toward the kitchen with his bags. Ethan looked at him sideways.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” he asked.
“She was so young. I mean, she’s still young, but then she was just a kid. At first, it was just that I thought she was cool and such a cute girl. Then one day, she wasn’t a cute girl any longer, she was a beautiful woman.”
“That’s usually how it happens,” laughed Nate.
“Shut up. I didn’t act on it, sir. Never. Seeing her here was the biggest surprise of my life. Then things just happened.”
“Wyatt? Do you love my daughter?” asked Ethan. She looked at Wyatt, smiling up at him. He kissed her lips, tears filling his eyes.
“I love her more than life, sir.”
“Then that’s all I need to know. Have you spoken to your mother?” he asked Ulani.
“Oh, shit! She’s on my phone.” She took off back into the kitchen and grabbed her phone, chattering away at her mother.
HG and the others stared at Wyatt.
“What?”
“You had to pick Ethan Dunvegan’s daughter,” laughed Abe. “You pick the man who passed almost every Special Forces program on the planet and decide to go after his daughter. You’re seriously stupid.”
“I’m not stupid. I didn’t go after her. I waited. I was content to wait longer. She was just sort of there, and I wasn’t going to lose the opportunity.”
“I don’t blame you,” said U-Jin. “She’s quite beautiful, like her mother, and highly intelligent. She would be appealing to any man.”
“Lucky for me, apparently, she was waiting for me as much as I was waiting for her.”
“Well, now that love is all figured out,” said BJ, “we have to figure out who killed your roommate, and who drugged those other pilots.”
“I think we need to interview them,” said Tobias. “Moose, Nate, and I can go speak to them to try and get any information they might remember. I think the rest of you need to visit the bars they were in.”
