“She said Molli told her you were, but not where. No one is willingly going to tell her where you are, but I don’t see how you can hide for too long. She’s always been a determined little wench.”
“Fuck,” I shout.
A hand on my shoulder reminds me I’m not in private and I whip around, coming face to face with Kai. “Are you okay?” she mouths.
I shake my head and hold up my finger, asking her to wait a minute.
“Anyway, I just wanted to get ahold of you as soon as I could. I’m sorry, Den.”
“Don’t say anything to Mom and Dad, okay? I don’t want to worry them,” I tell her.
“I wouldn’t. Dad would probably go after her, and yeah ... that won’t end well.”
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree there. Dad was in the tail end of Vietnam, so we’re more alike than I’d like to admit sometimes. No one gets in the way of his family, and he will do just about anything to make sure of that. When Isla left us a couple of years ago, he went searching for her, determined to break her down and change her mind, in hopes of saving Aya from the pain her rejection would cause, but Isla was good at two things—running and hiding. As for me, I’m good at letting things go and moving forward, leaving the unwanted behind. It was the perfect storm for a broken family, and it left little hope of future reconciliation. Anyone who hurts Aya or me even just once, they’re done in my life. I don’t give second chances.
“Thanks, Bri. I’ll keep you updated. Just let me know if you get any more calls from her.”
“I will. Love you, brophy. Tell Aya I’m sending her kisses and nail polish.”
I roll my eyes at Brielle’s signature blonde comment. “Will do. Later.”
“What’s going on?” Kai asks. “Are you okay? You’re all red.”
“Are Noa and Lea gone already?” I ask her.
“No, they’re over by the fire pit at the pool bar.”
“Can they watch Aya for a few?”
Kai looks concerned in reaction to my question. “Yeah, I’ll go take Aya over there. Just stay put.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kai
Ipull Lea aside privately while Noa is performing some kind of magic trick for Aya since she was unsettled when I brought her over. “Something happened, or something’s going on with Denver, and he didn’t want to talk about it in front of Aya. Can you keep her occupied for a few while I go find out what’s going on?”
“Of course,” Lea says. “I’ll make her a smoothie. Or, I’ll let her help me make a smoothie!” I swear Lea is still a child sometimes, but I know she’s trustworthy and spent years babysitting our neighbors’ kids. She has a young personality, so she’s a good person to win kids over too.
“Great. That sounds fun. I’m sure Aya will love it. Don’t go anywhere else, though. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“No problemo,” Lea says. “Aya, do you want to do something super fun?”
“Depends,” Aya says with curiosity.
“Aya, I’ll be back in just a minute okay. Can you keep Lea and Noa company while I go get your dad?”
Aya shrugs. “Okay, I guess. Do I get paid to babysit them, at least?” I close my eyes and laugh because she apparently already knows these two are immature adults in some ways. That’s pretty perceptive for her age … and hilarious.
“How does a dollar an hour sound?” I ask her.
“Like a ripoff,” Aya says. “But I’ll do you a favor.” She covers her mouth and giggles. “Make sure Dad is okay. He doesn’t look right, and I heard him say a bad word.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
I jog back down the path that leads to the beach’s walkway. The luaus are just down the beach a ways. They’re away from the general public area since they’re paid events. By the time I get back to the event space, I find Denver seated in the sand, staring out into the dark ocean.
I take a seat next to him and rest quietly, waiting for him to talk first.
