Page 45 of Pallas & Kawehi

He waved her off. "I'm in no rush. Take your time."

"Okay." She felt her heart kick against her ribs as she tried to ignore the rush of questions in her head. What is going on?

She ran the credit card for the man at the end. She brought him a to-go box. And then made sure to get the merchant copy of the receipt for their accountant.

Then it was a flurry of filling drinks before she made it back to the man at the end.

A couple of high school students were taking care of the bowling lanes and rentals, or she might have gone a little manic.

"I'm sorry," she tried not to bite into her bottom lip as she approached the man who'd used her married name. "Things got a little rushed there."

He shrugged. "When it rains, it pours. Right?"

She smiled. "That's one way to put it."

He opened up his wallet and showed her his military ID. "I'm Paul Hicks. I work at KBAY."

She nodded, trying to calm her heart which was beating a mile a minute. "I call myself Kawehi Phillips. I try not to think about Nick if I don't have to."

"I can see how that might be irritating." He put his wallet back into his back pants pocket. "I had a call from Wolf. He works with Pallas at the base."

Wolf. That was a name that Dom had mentioned once or twice. "He's on Dom's team, right?"

Paul nodded. "Yes. I know Pallas was having his friend look into your husband, but I was able to pull more information through my sources. I have to say," he cleared his throat, "I've never seen a case like this before. Most of our Marines come straight to the base after getting married and get all the paperwork started."

"Nick didn't tell anyone about me." She nodded and tried not to let her disappointment show through too much. "I'm beginning to get the picture that I was used. I just don't understand why."

Paul leaned forward against the counter. "I can't fault the man's eyesight. You're a beautiful woman, Missus Kemper."

"Please," she had to choke back the bile in her throat, "call me Kawehi."

He gave her a quiet nod and smile. "I hope you don't think that my comment was out of line."

She managed a smile. "No. I don't know why Nick married me at this point. It all happened so fast. I had never put any stock in the phrase 'whirlwind romance' until he disappeared. My family tried to warn me off of marrying him, but I was in love. That's what I told them, because that's what I felt. I believed that he loved me, too. But the silence of the last two, almost two and a half years tells me that he didn't feel the same way, even though he declared it every other minute."

She shuddered and then swiped at her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't expect the anger to come back up like that." She took a step back from the counter. "Why don't you tell me what you'd like to eat, my treat, so I can take a minute to myself."

He tried to wave off the offer. "That's quite all right, Miss-"

"Please!" She winced as the sound of her voice sounded harsh in her ears. "Something. Anything. I just need to feel... useful."

Paul nodded. "Okay. A hamburger, please?"

"Regular? Cheese? Teriyaki burger?"

Paul smiled, a little surprised. "Teriyaki sounds great, I spent some time in Okinawa."

She felt some of the tension in her shoulders release. "Great. I'll let the cook know. Thanks."

"Thank you."

She turned around and moved into the kitchen to give the order to the cook and splash some water on her face.

Thinking about Nick was one thing.

Talking about him to a man she didn't know... someone who might be able to find him... made her feel foolish again. Stupid. Ridiculous.