Chapter Fourteen
If it hadn’t been for Tim’s reassuring bulk right in front of her — or the powerful roar of the motorcycle engine he gunned down the road — Hailey might have burst into tears. Instead, she nestled her head between his shoulders, letting the scenery blur in the periphery of her vision. The helmet muffled sound, giving her even more of a cocoon to hide away in. And instead of breaking down, she fumed.
Her own mother, an accomplice to a crime. And Jonathan — the arrogant bastard. Had he really thought she would embrace his plan?
Apparently so, because he had turned a shade of red she’d never seen before and stormed out of the teahouse after her. Too bad Tim’s friends had stopped him. She’d missed the perfect opportunity to kick Jonathan in the balls.
She dug her fingers into Tim’s leather jacket and rocked her head from side to side. Connor was right. Her life had become a circus.
Tim let go of the handlebar long enough to cover her right hand with his, and his words echoed through her mind. Not any more, it isn’t.
She smiled, if only briefly. The truth was, that circus had at least one more hoop she’d have to jump through when the press found her — the nasty, prying Hollywood press, not that sweet woman from the Maui Times. But after that, maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Want me to go faster?” Tim shouted over his shoulder.
She laughed. Was that man-therapy for times like this? Well, she was ready to give anything a try. “Yes, please.”
He revved so hard, the front tire nearly peeled off the ground, and she shrieked. A good kind of shriek, which she followed up on by clamping onto his back as tightly as a baby baboon.
She couldn’t actually see Tim grin, but she could feel it, and it made her smile too.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Too softly for him to hear above the whipping of the wind, but heck — maybe he could sense it the same way she could sense things about him.
“Too bad,” she sighed when he finally parked at the plantation barn.
He turned to look over his shoulder. “Too bad?”
“I was enjoying that ride. Feeling free,” she admitted.
He grinned, and a tiny bit of the bad boy showed. “Want to go back out?”
She did, but she shook her head. “Time to face the music, I guess.”
He took her hand. “You already did, and you were amazing.”
She snorted. He was the amazing one. She was the one with dysfunctional relationships and a mess of a life.
Her eyes strayed over the property. Lucky Tim. Smart Tim. He kept to himself way out in this quiet corner of Maui. Would she ever find a way to do the same?
She slid off the back of the motorcycle, reluctantly releasing her grip on him. It was time to make some plans and get on with her life.
“Hey,” he called as she walked off. “Where are you going?”
She stopped, looked around, and gave a bitter laugh. “Good question. I have no idea. But you’ve done so much for me. It’s time I stopped imposing and moved on, don’t you think?”
Her heart beat a little faster, and she strained for the protest she was dying to hear. Something like, No. Please, Hailey, don’t go. Stay a little longer so we can see where things between us go.
Their chemistry was undeniable, and she’d give anything for a chance to get to know Tim more intimately — ideally, when her mess of a life calmed down. She was sure he wanted that, too, but something always seemed to put on the brakes.
Tim’s eyes grew so bright, she could swear they glowed, and he opened his mouth to reply. She leaned forward, stiff as a board, telling herself not to wish or hope too hard. But then Tim froze and hardened up all over again. When he spoke, his voice was gruff.
“I guess so.”
Hailey swallowed hard, but the leaden feeling of disappointment still pressed on her chest. Okay, he didn’t want her. Or he did, but he wasn’t ready to go there. Had he been burned by some heartless woman in the past? Was he turned off by the realities of who she was?
She was about to force her chin up and breeze away when Tim took her hand and smiled that bittersweet I wish things were different smile. Then he murmured, “Come on. Coffee time.”
He waited, giving her every opportunity to resist. But she didn’t have any resistance left in her — especially not for him.
“Coffee sounds good.”
They walked side by side to his house, where he led her around the back. There was a little lean-to there that he’d turned into a patio, with one chair, a rickety table, and a gorgeous view of the dips and rises of the plantation, all leading to a triangle of incredibly blue ocean visible between the slopes.
He waved around apologetically. “Someday this will be a nice terrace, with sliding doors to the living room. But for now, I have to walk around.”
She stepped to follow him, but he shook his head. “You sit. Relax. Think. I’ll be right back.”
Seconds later, he returned, carrying a second chair that didn’t match the first, yet somehow fit perfectly. Like the table, which looked like a recycled strip of fence laid sideways over a sturdy frame. Obviously, Tim had a penchant for repurposed woodwork.
“Just one more second…” he said, disappearing again.
Hailey stood at the edge of the patio, fingering the leaves of a coffee plant that grew near the roof post. She leaned over, sniffing its sweet scent. Small green beads were starting to form amidst the tiny white flowers. Someday, Tim would be able to pluck coffee beans right from his patio.
“Cool,” she whispered into the wind.
If only she could stay and watch those buds grow.
A finch flew over the bushes, showing a rose-colored belly and pink beak. Hailey watched, trying to relax and not think.
When Tim came out with two steaming mugs and coffee cake, her eyebrows shot up, but he just shrugged. “My mom did this when I was little. When she’d had it with everything, including us.” He flashed a half smile as he set the mugs and plates on the table. “Connor and I were kind of a handful, in case you didn’t guess. So she would order us to go outside and give her ten minutes of peace. And she’d just sit there, holding a mug of coffee. We’d sneak over to watch her, and neither of us got it. She didn’t drink the coffee — she’d just hold it with both hands and watch the steam swirl in the air. And she barely touched the cake.” He laughed. “That’s what we found totally crazy. But sometimes, I catch myself doing the same thing. Every time we lost a guy on a mission—”
His eyes clouded over, and his face turned dark.
Hailey’s throat went dry. She’d been so wrapped up in her own troubles, she’d forgotten to put things into perspective. She looked down, studying Tim’s callused hands, if not his face. What awful experiences might he have endured? What memories still cropped up in his dreams?
Tim cleared his throat. “Anyway, I do it now too. I get the coffee and cake out, just like her. Not as good as your coffee, of course.” He faked a smile, trying to lighten the mood.
Hailey smiled, hiding the sadness inside. Both of them needed to start a whole new chapter in their lives. Too bad it wasn’t in the cards that they could try that together.
She cupped her mug in both hands and took a sip. “It’s great,” she said, looking deep into his eyes. Then she set the mug down and picked up the coffee cake. “But there’s no way I’m just looking at this cake.”
He laughed and picked up his own, watching her. Daring her, almost.
She took a huge bite and nearly moaned at the taste. “See?” she mumbled through the crumbs. “You’re corrupting me.”
He shook his head. “Nah. Just helping you find freedom again.”
Finding freedom for the first time was more like it, but she wasn’t about to spoil the moment with those details.
A minute ticked by peacefully, and she wished it were an hour. Life was so much clearer from a place like this. A modest place in peaceful surroundings with a huge view. Her eyes slid over to Tim, already regretting the future she would never have with him. Her mouth filled with a bitter taste — not the coffee, but the memory of Jonathan.
“You okay?” Tim murmured, tuned in, as ever, to the slightest change in her mood. Hurrying to make things better if he could.
She made a face. “Just wondering what I ever saw in Jonathan.”
A few quiet seconds ticked by before Tim spoke. “Freedom?”
She sighed. “Obviously, I was kidding myself. But, yes.” She closed her eyes, remembering. “I think I saw a way back to a quieter, simpler life. He has a ranch in Montana. Two thousand acres of peace and quiet. Kind of a play ranch, but still. It was easy to picture myself there.”
“Why not buy your own ranch?” Tim asked softly.
She frowned. “And live way out in the middle of nowhere alone?” She shook her head. “I like the idea of settling down in a quiet, out-of-the-way place with someone special.” Someone like you, she nearly said. “But not alone. Besides, a ranch is a lot of work.” She smiled faintly. “I do have a little land way out in northern Montana. My great-grandparents lived there for years. Just a little cabin.” She laughed out loud as a new realization came to her. “My mother was always pushing for something bigger and better, but I guess all I really want is a small, cozy place. Like my great-grandparents’ cabin.”
“Like the house at Pu’u Pu’eo,” Tim added with a smile.
She nodded and waved around. “Like this house.”
Tim’s eyes caught hers, and she saw an entire happy future unwind in them. A future she’d love to share, but oops. He’d already made it clear the answer was no. And if she didn’t respect that, she’d be no better than Jonathan.
“Anyway,” she said, moving on quickly. “Maybe that’s where I’ll start. That place in Montana. I could fix it up and finally do it justice.” Then she frowned. “What does it say about me that I love the idea partly because my mother hated the place?”
Tim shook his head. “It just says you’ve had enough. Nothing wrong with that.”
She took another bite of coffee cake, moving it slowly around her mouth with her tongue. She’d had enough, all right. Enough of strict diets and harried schedules. Enough of other people running her life.
A footpath led down the center of the property, and the sight of Dell sauntering toward the main house brought back the memory of what she’d seen that morning.
“That,” Hailey said without thinking. “That’s what I want.”
Tim looked skeptical. “You want Dell?”
She play-kicked his foot. “No, I do not want Dell.” I want you. “I want to be able to tune everything out. To concentrate on me.”
Tim laughed. “Dell is good at that, all right.” He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands. “What else do you want?”
She snorted. “Where do I start?” But then she caught herself. “No, that’s not fair. I already have so much. Shouldn’t be greedy, you know.”
But Tim insisted. “Seriously. Run with it. What do you want?”
She stirred her coffee and licked the spoon, watching the liquid swirl. “Peace, I guess. Quiet. Time to think.”
Tim nodded her on.
She considered. “I want to be normal. Meet normal people. Do normal things.”
He tilted his head. “Like what?”
It was funny how fine company and fresh air got her thinking. “Going out for a meal. Just something simple, like we did on the beach. Before Lamar came along.” She frowned then pushed away the bad parts of that memory. “I’d go for a walk through town, just because. Window-shop. Maybe even look at the stars.”
“The stars, huh?”
She sighed. “Yeah. Kind of hokey, huh?”
He shook his head. “No. Not in the least.”
Licking one finger, she collected the last of the crumbs from her plate and held it up. “See? Greedy.”
He laughed. “If everyone used your definition of greedy, the world would be a better place. Want another piece?”
She did, but she’d already overindulged and was about to say as much when Tim spoke.
“One more day.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Stay. Please. Just one more day. It will give you a little more time to figure things out, and it will give me time to…uh…” A sly look came over his face as he trailed off.
“To what?”
He shook his head and stood quickly. “Not telling. Not yet.”
She stared. What was he up to?
“Do you trust me?” he murmured.
She snorted. “Do you have to ask?”
He grinned. “Okay, then. You stay one more day and figure out what you’ll do next. In the meantime, I have some planning to do too.” He checked his watch. “Two hours, maybe three. You okay with that?”
She stared. “And then what?”
He flashed a mysterious smile. “Leave it to me.”