Yuletide Stalker. Irene Brand
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Название: Yuletide Stalker
Автор: Irene Brand
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Love Inspired
isbn: 9781408967317
isbn:
Groaning inwardly, Linc wondered how to deal with the unbidden emotion that had suddenly filled his heart. If he thought the attraction was one-sided, it would be easier, but he was convinced that Maddie had experienced a similar reaction. He would have to keep reminding her and himself of the eleven years difference in their ages.
He turned to Roselina who stared at him—speechless for a change. Clearing his throat, he said, “Are you going to keep us in suspense? Have you made one of your special omelets?”
“Of course, Mr. Linc! Special food for a special guest.”
She took the lid off the serving dish and swept the tempting omelet onto the table between them. “You like omelets, Miss Maddie?”
“I’ve bought them in restaurants lots of times. I’ve never eaten a homemade one.”
“Then you’re in for a treat,” Linc said. The difficult moment passed, but it wasn’t forgotten by any of them.
After they finished the meal, Linc pushed back from the table and propped his right ankle on the opposite knee. Roselina poured another cup of coffee for him and brought hot tea for Maddie. Preparing a cup of tea for herself, she joined them at the table.
“This is as good a time as any to tell you what I know about your father’s death,” Linc said. “He was sent to Hawaii on a short-term assignment to test a new plane the navy wanted to purchase. While he was here, he investigated and brought about the arrest of some Hawaiian employees who were stealing military supplies and technology and selling them to foreign governments.”
Shocked at this disclosure, Maddie gasped, “I’ve never heard that. I’m sure Mother didn’t tell me.”
“She probably didn’t want to worry you,” Roselina said. “Mothers are like that.”
With a somber face, Linc continued, “A father and two sons were involved in the theft. The father was killed resisting arrest at the time. The sons were imprisoned, but they escaped from prison a few days ago. The oldest son was recaptured and died from wounds he’d received while trying to escape. Before he died he confessed that he’d been involved in the death of Commander Horton. He’s a member of an ancient Polynesian cult that practice ‘a life for a life’ religion. To his way of thinking, Stanley Horton had caused his father’s death, so he sabotaged the plane Stanley was flying.”
“That’s sounds medieval,” Maddie said, shocked. “I didn’t know anything like that went on anymore.”
“Not many people in the islands hold to the old ways, but there are a few. The police think the other escapee was injured, but he hasn’t been captured yet.” Getting up from the table, he reached his right hand to Maddie. “Don’t think about it. Let’s get started so you can see Honolulu.”
But he wasn’t sure he wanted Honolulu to see her. Well rested, she was even lovelier than she’d been when she’d arrived yesterday.
Since they had two hours before they could enter the Pearl Harbor memorial, he drove to the Punch Bowl Cemetery. Maddie took several photos of the whole area and close-up shots of the towering memorial to World War II veterans.
A motor launch quickly took them from the mainland to the site of the USS Arizona. Maddie’s lips trembled and tears misted her eyes as she looked at the pieces of the ship still visible through the waters after more than fifty years. She scanned the long list of those entombed in the wreckage during the air raid that had plunged the United States into World War II. The deaths of these servicemen made more vivid poignant memories of her own father’s death.
Linc had been aware of the sadness Maddie was experiencing. When they returned to the launch to take them back to the main island, tears slowly slid down her cheeks. He wiped them away with his handkerchief, and throwing caution to the wind, he put his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. When they reached the dock, she looked up at him with grateful eyes. “Thanks,” she said, and he squeezed her hand as he helped her out of the boat.
“I’m not sure I can write a paper on this subject,” she said. “It’s such a sad chapter in the history of our country, I don’t know if I can deal with it.”
“Don’t make up your mind now. Every war has had its tragedies. Too bad nations can’t learn to live in peace.”
He left the parking lot and turned toward the city of Honolulu, thinking it was time for Maddie’s mind to be diverted from the horrors of war. She’d had enough tragedy in her young life. Had he made a mistake to take her to the war memorials before she saw the lighter side of Hawaii?
Maddie had heard of Waikiki Beach all of her life, and when she knew she’d be coming to visit Linc, she’d rented a travel video about the beaches of Hawaii. But the film hadn’t prepared her for the beauty of this area—the tall, swaying palm trees, the wide sandy beach, the sun shimmering on the tranquil water.
They accessed the beach on the western end, and the first thing to catch her eye was Diamond Head a few miles down the coast. Then she looked seaward at the blue, placid Pacific where people were swimming, surfboarding or riding in outrigger canoes. Others lay on the beach under tents, and numerous visitors sunbathed in lounge chairs.
“Oh, I love it! I love it!” Maddie said. “Makes me wish I lived near an ocean. I can see I’ve missed a lot of fun things.”
It seemed natural for them to hold hands as they strolled along the walkway.
“I’ll see that you experience Hawaii to the fullest before you go home.”
So intent was Maddie on looking at everything, she didn’t notice the frequent stares of the men along the walkway. But Linc noticed, and he didn’t appreciate their attention.
When they approached a man holding two gaily plumaged birds, Linc asked, “Do you want to have your picture taken with one of the birds?”
Maddie nodded and her eyes gleamed with excitement when the man placed one of the birds on her shoulder.
“How about you, sir?” he said. “Get in the picture.” Linc held out his arm and the other bird perched on it. “Stand close to the young lady.”
The man snapped two pictures on his instant camera, and when they developed he handed them to Maddie for viewing.
“Do you like them?” Linc asked.
Maddie didn’t like the tense expression in her eyes—just as the man had snapped the picture, the bird had squeezed her ear with his beak. Surprise shone from her eyes, and her body was tense—as if she was ready to jump out of her skin. But Linc’s picture was perfect. “Yes,” she said. “They will make good souvenirs.” She would have that picture to add to the other one she’d had for years.
Linc handed the man a ten-dollar bill, and Maddie held the still-moist pictures carefully as they went on their way.
They bought colas and hot dogs and ate in a picnic shelter that faced the water. Maddie purchased postcards to send to Miss Caroline and her friends, Lucy Harrison and Janice Reid. Linc rented two beach chairs under an umbrella made of dried palm leaves, and while she wrote to her friends, he dozed in the shade. She’d never felt more at peace with the world.
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