Chapter Nineteen

 

We strolled down the beach, his arms holding me up. "How are we going to get all the flowers back to the hotel?" I asked.

We had laid languidly on the beach in each other's arms after we made love again. At nearly ten, it was time to get back to the hotel before they sent out a search party for us.

“I have secret elves retrieving them as we speak.” Sawyer pointed at Gideon's bungalow. "Looks like the boss is up. We should stop and talk to them." He waved my left hand and smiled wide, his laughter carrying across the breeze.

"I don't know, Sawyer. They might be in for the night."

He tapped my nose. "Then they won't answer the door."

He knocked quietly rather than ring the bell and chance waking up Hope. Gideon answered the door, a five o'clock shadow lining his jaw and fatigue lining his eyes. Guilt tore through me at how much my problems were affecting him. I put my arms around him and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Gideon. I didn't realize what a toll this was taking on you."

He held me out by my shoulders and shook his head. "No blame and no guilt, remember? I'm tired, but only because Hope has been up a lot the last few weeks. Her leg hurts terribly at night. We thought at first it was growing pains, but the doctor wants to do some more extensive testing."

Sawyer closed the door behind us. "Poor Hoppy Bear," he said using his pet name for her. 

"Kate is with her now," Gideon said, as I noticed a little head peek around the corner. 

"Daddy, who is it?" she asked in a stage whisper.

"It's Chef Veggie Bear," Sawyer answered in a low, goofy voice.

Hope squealed and half-limped, half-ran to see us. "Auntie Rosie, save me from Chef Veggie Bear!"

I grabbed her and she hid behind me, giggling as she peeked out at Sawyer. 

He knelt and motioned her over, giving her a hug after she limped to him. I glanced up at Gideon concerned, and saw the same fear reflected in his eyes. 

"I hear Hoppy Bear isn't hopping much these days," he said to the little girl. 

She hiked her long shorts up to show him her leg. "I'm tired of the bee stings. It hurts to hop."

Sawyer questioned Gideon. "Bee stings?"

He nodded. "She describes the feeling as bee stings."

"I know it well," I said. "Definitely a nerve problem. Walking, hopping, or putting any pressure on it will make it worse."

I leaned over to talk to Hope. "There are two things bees don’t like, Hope. Do you know what they are?” I asked. She shook her head no and I patted her sweet face. “Hot and cold. Bees like the temperature we always are, so if you heat up or cool down your leg when the bees start stinging, they’ll stop. Do you like to play in the sand?”

“I love it!” she said excitedly.

“Chef Veggie Bear taught me a secret about sand. It’s warm. If you’re out playing and the stinging starts, have your mommy or daddy bury your leg in the sand and it will feel oodles better in minutes.”

She stared at me skeptically. “Dat’s crazy, Auntie Rosie.”

I crossed my heart. “It sounds crazy, but it’s true. If you aren’t in the sand you can ask your mommy for an icepack or a few ice cubes in a washrag and rub it on your skin. Bees hate the cold,” I said, shivering. “They’ll fly right away.”

Hope gazed up at her daddy until he picked her up. “Do you think it would work, Daddy?”

He gave her a palms up. “It’s worth a try, right?”

She wiggled and he put her down. Hope hugged Sawyer and he promised to make her a big stack of pineapple pancakes tomorrow.

She turned and hugged me, her eyes fixed on my hand. “Auntie Rosie, where did you get dat pretty ring?” she asked, touching the diamond at the top.

“From your Chef Veggie Bear,” I answered, winking at him.

She gasped, her hands on her face like the kid from Home Alone. “Did you say yes?” she exclaimed.

We all laughed, and I heard Kate’s voice in the chorus. She must have come in the room when I was focused on Hope. “I said yes.”

Hope squealed and jumped, falling to the ground when she landed, grasping her leg. “Ouch!” she cried, her little lips trembling.

Sawyer scooped her up and hugged her to his chest. “Darn bees, huh?”

She shook her head. “Dat felt like a chicken pecking me.”

Sawyer scrunched up his face. “A chicken pecking you? We had better take an airplane ride into the kitchen for an icepack then! Chickens don’t like the cold either. Ready for takeoff?” he asked in the voice of a pilot.

“Ready,” she squealed.

“Three, two, one,” he called and shot off through the room to the kitchen.

Kate rushed me and threw her arms around me. “I have to go help him, but I can’t believe you’re getting married!” she squealed.

Gideon put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “I’ll help Sawyer get her settled. You talk with Rosie.”

Gideon hugged me and patted my back. “I’m happy for you. Sawyer is one heck of a guy. He’s going to make a great daddy someday.”

I nodded and he jogged from the room, following the sounds of an airplane engine to Hope’s bedroom.

Kate herded me toward the couch, but it was slow going with only one crutch. I sat and laid the crutch down. “You knew, didn’t you?”

She put her hand to her chest, mouthing ‘me’. I shoved her playfully and she laughed into the silent room. “He told me he was thinking about it, but I didn’t know when, and I hadn’t seen the ring. He wanted my permission, which he didn’t need, but he got.”

“Which is what the whole second chance speech was about earlier today,” I finished and she smiled sheepishly.

“I didn’t know how much time I had before he would ask, so I figured I better not wait. Good thing, too,” she said, lifting my hand. She gasped when she saw the ring. “It’s a rose!”

“It’s totally a rose,” I said, my head nodding. “He said he found it in Honolulu last week and bought it when I went to the restroom. Who does that?” I asked, laughing at the thought.

“A man in love,” she answered, letting my hand fall. “I’m ecstatic and excited for you, Rosie. He’s a truly once in a lifetime kind of guy. You’ll always be the most important person to him.”

I hugged her tightly, rubbing her back. “I know you’re happy for me, but you’re doing a poor job of hiding your concern about Hope. I’m worried, too.”

She leaned back on the couch and rubbed her temple. “The doctors think she might have a large arteriovenous malformation under the port wine stain. While the birthmark is from a capillary malformation, an AVM is a much more dangerous situation. If she has one then she needs surgery to occlude it, but there are complications like crazy. I don’t know what to do.”

I rubbed her shoulder. “Have you seen a specialist?”

She shook her head. “We have an appointment this week at the children’s hospital. They plan to do more extensive imaging, which means they have to sedate her. I feel horrible for her.”

I hugged her to my side and rubbed her shoulder. “Because you know what it’s like to deal with all of those tests, which is why you’re such a good mommy to Hope. She adores you and if you explain to her how important it is to treat her leg now to stop the bees from stinging her, she’ll trust you.”

She sighed. “I know, which is my worry. If they can’t stop it or fix the problem she could suffer from the nerve issue and a deformed leg for the rest of her life.” She stared down at me and dropped her head into her hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. You’re worried about Hope, and trust me when I say I don’t want her to go through what I go through. I’m on board with how you feel about this. Don’t feel like you can’t talk to me because of my situation.”

She leaned into me and sighed. “The doctors said sometimes they grow out of it, but sometimes they don’t. Last week they started her on a low dose of the same nerve medication you’re on. So far, it’s not helping.”

“It will,” I promised. “It took about two weeks for me to notice a real difference. Give it a little bit more time and remember, you’re doing everything you can for her. She’s a lucky little girl to have you and Gideon for parents. You fell for her instantly because she was meant to be your little girl. Trust your instincts.”

“The problem is, my instincts say she’s growing and it’s stretching the port wine stain quickly rather than slowly, and causing the nerves to fire wrong,” she said.

“But?” I asked, motioning with my hands.

She shrugged. “But I have to have her checked out. It’s horrible to see your child in pain and not know why.”

“Have you talked to Ellie about this?” I asked. Ellie has the same syndrome Hope does. She has problems with a large port wine stain on her own leg. She’s the one who found Hope one night at the ER and changed Kate and Gideon’s life.

“I did. It turns out she had the same problems as a child. Now, of course, her problems are much more extensive, but she was in an orphanage when she was Hope’s age. Maybe if someone had treated her leg earlier it wouldn’t be almost twice the size of her other one.”

“You’re right, Ellie’s situation is different than Hope’s. Which means Hope has the best possible chance of getting better now that you’ve got her. Take one day at a time and you’ll know the right decisions to make for her.”

“I sure hope so,” she sighed. “All of this makes me respect and love my mom in a way I never have before.”

I rubbed her back to relax her. “You’re going to go through this year after year for the rest of your life, and every time, your gut will be right. Promise me you’ll take care of yourself while you’re taking care of Hope. If you need to sleep, call me and I’ll have the girls keep her at the center for the morning. Hope needs you at one hundred percent, and you’re not right now. I know my problems aren’t helping matters, but I want all your energy focused on Hope.”

“I’ve been telling her the same thing,” Gideon said from the doorway. “She’s trying to do it all, which is why she was sick last week.”

Kate leaned her head back on the couch. “We have two events in the next two weeks. I have to keep going. There’s no choice.”

I twisted on the couch to take her shoulders. “Kate, listen to me. We aren’t wonder women. We will crumble if we don’t rest. The phone call or email can wait an hour while you take a nap. You know what happens when you push yourself.”

Gideon sat down beside her and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder, which told me right there she was exhausted. “She knows, and we’re working hard to make sure she doesn’t have any pacing issues. In the meantime, I think I’ll ask Winnie to keep Hope tomorrow morning for a few hours. I’ll take Hope in with me in the morning and Kate can sleep in.”

I patted Kate’s leg. “Good idea, and you let him. Hope might even forget about her leg if she’s playing with Katie-Bug.”

Kate smiled. “Okay. My day is actually relatively clear tomorrow.”

I glanced up at Gideon. “I’m at a standstill with the center until all the shelving is built. Give me work I can do in the office for the cook-off and the hula event. Phone calls, emails, whatever it may be. If I’m doing it, then she’s resting.”

Gideon saluted and winked. “I’ll have it on your desk in the morning. We’re in good shape save for the last few details. Lei and Ellie can answer any questions you might have.”

I nodded and peeked around the couch looking for Sawyer. “We should go and let you all sleep.”

“Sawyer promised to stay with her until she fell asleep,” Gideon said.

Kate groaned. “He could be here all night.”

“Nah, she just wanted Chef Veggie Bear to tell her the next installment in the mystery of the missing tomatoes. She’s out like a light.” Sawyer sat in the chair opposite me and reached out his hand. “I’m supposed to tell Auntie Rosie the bees don’t like cold and they went away.”

“Excellent,” I said, nodding and I turned to Kate. “Keep some icepacks handy and let her use them at will. Sometimes freezing the nerves is the only thing to break the cycle. Make sure they aren’t too cold though or she might get frostbite.”

Kate sat up and hugged me. “I will, thanks for the idea. I was trying heat, but maybe all it did was aggravate the nerves?”

“It can,” I agreed. “Sometimes heat brings blood to the affected area and we don’t want that if what she has is an arteriovenous malformation. I would stick with ice until you see the doctor on?”

“Tuesday,” Gideon filled in. “I’ll fly us over and back in the same day, but I’ll be out of the office for the entire time. Niko and Flynn are there for backup since Sawyer will be stuck in the kitchen most of the day. I want you within range of all your panic buttons and working from my office.”

“Your office?” I asked. “Why?”

“It’s rigged to security, and there’s a direct line to the cops at the underside of the lip, I’ll show you where. There’s room to spread out and you’ll be more comfortable in my office, which means you’re less likely to roam around the hotel alone.”

“I’ll have a bodyguard by then, right?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, but you can never be too safe.”

“It seems like overkill,” I insisted. “We don’t even know if he’s on the island.”

“Yes, we do,” Gideon said, sitting up.

“We know he’s around here somewhere, but not exactly where. For all we know, he’s still on the mainland,” I said dismissively. “He’s a coward.”

Gideon’s hands went into his pockets. “No, things have changed. I didn’t want to interrupt your night, but since you’re both here, I’ll tell you now. Niko called me earlier. His friend found Jarrett on a plane from SeaTac. He left at 5:07 p.m. on Friday and he flew into Honolulu.”

Sawyer put his arm around me in a protective gesture. “Then where did he go?” he asked.

“Niko is working on it. The trail ended there, but he can’t be staying here alone. He either has help or is camping out. He’s not in any hotels as yet, but we will find him. He can’t stay hidden forever.”

All the poems he’s sent ran through my mind. A shiver skittered down my back. “He could be in Maui already. He could have jumped any number of boats and be lurking here somewhere.”

Gideon nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “He could be. Like I said, Niko is working on it, but I want you to be extremely careful. With any luck, this will be over quickly and we can capture him. Then we can all move on with our lives.”

I swung my head back and forth. “I don’t think so, Gideon. I’ll have to go back to Snowberry and testify against him,” I whispered.

Sawyer kissed my temple and enveloped me in his arms. “I’m going to be here for you, Rosie. He won’t get away with it. If you have to testify we can arrange to do it from here, so you don’t have to be in the courtroom.”

I stared up at his handsome face. “We can?”

Gideon spoke from behind me. “Victims who have been brutally assaulted by the accused get any accommodation they need, sweetheart. All they want is your testimony to put him away for good.”

“You’re stronger than anyone I know, Rosie,” Kate said standing. “You got this. Don’t let him play games with your head. He’s the one going down and you’re the one about to live your dreams. Remember that.”

I stood up and straightened my spine. “You’re right. I got this. Thanks for the pep talk,” I said, hugging her, then Gideon. “We’ll head back to the hotel so you can sleep. Better take advantage of Hope being out.”

They both smiled sleepily and nodded. “I want a text from you when you’re safely in your apartment and then I’ll sleep,” Kate promised.

Sawyer opened their front door and shone a light up and down the beach. “Looks clear, but we’ll be on our toes.”

I waved as we left and wondered if tonight was the beginning of the end. Jarrett’s arrival to the island could mean my days are numbered.