Page 36 of Maliea's Hero

After they entered the little community, Maliea looked back. The sedan hadn’t turned in to follow them. “Think he went on?”

“I’ll zigzag through the streets for a few minutes to make sure,” Reid said.

He made a right on the next street and a left at the following corner. Another left brought him to the road that had led them into the group of homes.

Maliea swiveled in her seat, looking all around for the dark sedan. “I don’t see the car.”

Reid slowed, looked both ways and into his rearview mirror and nodded. “Probably just a coincidence. Even so, keep an eye out in case he shows up again. We don’t want to lead anyone out to the cabins.”

“Right,” Maliea said, on high alert for trouble. Reid might be used to watching over his shoulder, but this was new to Maliea. The situation felt so clandestine, like something you’d watch in a thriller movie.

By the time they reached the cabins, Maliea’s neck ached from constantly looking behind them or checking for dark sedans coming out of side roads. She was ready to be safely tucked into Reid’s cabin, which would lead to another set of anxieties that had nothing to do with bad guys chasing them. Those feelings would have everything to do with her unexpected attraction to the man and the close proximity of living with him in a one-room building.

When Reid drove past the cabins, Maliea twisted in her seat. “Aren’t we going to the cabin?”

He nodded. “After we pick up something for dinner. I don’t know about you, but I think Nani might be hungry and need to call it an early night. We can order a meal to go and take it back to the cabin to eat.”

Maliea relaxed, glanced at her daughter in the back seat and smiled.

Nani lay with her head leaning against the side wings of the car seat.

Maliea was glad Reid had thought ahead about a meal for her daughter. She felt a little guilty that she hadn’t and, even worse, had no money to purchase their meals.

“I’ll pay you back as soon as I get paid,” she said softly.

“Don’t worry about it.” He pulled into the parking lot at the diner and shifted into Park. “Let’s just get something to eat and head back to the cabin.”

“I can stay here with Nani while you order the food.”

He shook his head. “I’ll call in the order and wait with you. They can bring the food out when it’s ready.”

Maliea nodded. The man thought of everything. What a difference from Taylor. He’d expected her to do all the grocery shopping, all the take-out food ordering and make any appointments necessary. He’d never offered to help other than to pick up an occasional loaf of bread on the way, grumbling that she hadn’t taken the time to run to the store since she wasn’t working a day job.

“Do you like working in Hawaii?” she asked in an attempt to fill the silence.

He nodded. “I wasn’t sure I would, but so far, I do. The weather is nice, and there’s a lot to do. It can get hot here, but not like it does in South Texas. At least we get rain and a breeze here.”

Maliea smiled. “I love my home state.”

“Have you ever lived anywhere else?” Reid asked.

She shook her head. “I can’t imagine living anywhere I can’t see the sea. It’s in my blood... my heritage. I think that if I lived in a land-locked state, I’d feel trapped.”

He nodded. “I can see that. The islands are beautiful, lush and green. We’ve had years of drought in San Antonio. It gets dry and dusty.”

“I would like to visit other states,” she said. “Someday. I want to see fall foliage and a real winter with snow. I’ve never seen snow, except in movies or the news. I think it would be great if Nani could experience a white Christmas just once.”

“We didn’t get snow in San Antonio, either. At least not enough to even make a snowball. My folks used to take us on trips to New Mexico during our Christmas vacations. We got to play in the snow, sled down hills and learn to snow ski. We had to drive twelve or thirteen hours to get there, but it was worth it,” he said with a smile. “I had hoped to take Abby someday when she was old enough. I think she’d like the snow.”

Maliea nodded, staring at the building in front of her, thinking about the dreams she’d had when she, Taylor and Nani had still been a viable family. “We’ll do those things eventually. I just need to go back to college, earn a degree and make enough money to support us and have some left over for travel.”

Reid gave her a brief nod. “I believe you will. You seem to be very determined, and you care about your daughter.”

“I’d do anything to make her happy and her life easier.” She turned in her seat to glance at Nani. “She deserves a joyful life full of adventure and discovery. I should never have dropped out of college halfway through my junior year.”

“Why did you?” Reid asked.

Maliea grimaced. “I got married and then pregnant soon after. We decided it would be best if I stayed home to raise Nani.”