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Authors: Fern Michaels

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BOOK: Annie's Rainbow
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“That's exactly my point, Tom. We're adults now, and we think and act like adults. Now tell me what it is you don't want to talk about.”
“Ah, it's Mona. I don't want my kids having a stepfather. Guys never treat other guy's kids the way they'd treat their own. Ben's immature, and he's sensitive. Jack is mouthy and going through a phase. Mandy is growing up so fast. She wants to be like Mona. Mona is too permissive. I was the disciplinarian. If Mona and the guy she's seeing decide to get married, where does that leave my kids? Even if I lived in California in a house two doors away, Mona would only let me see them on the days the court agreed on. She says I can have them. That's just the way she said it—you can have them if you give me a hundred thousand dollars. Do you believe that! She'd sell her own kids for a hundred grand. I must have been deaf, dumb,
and
stupid when I married her. Even if I had the money, I wouldn't be a part of that. I know Ben heard her that day on the phone when she said it, because he asked me to buy him. I had to do some fast talking to convince the kid he heard wrong.”
“That's terrible, Tom.”
“Tell me about it. Right isn't always might as they say. If it's meant to work out, it will. If it isn't, it won't. That's the way I have to look at it. You know, Annie, that's a damn good-looking Christmas tree. What's on our agenda for tomorrow?”
“I think I'm going to go clothes shopping in case I decide to go to Hawaii. You need to meet with Elmo and, if you have the time, take a ride up to Clemson and look it over. Elmo knows the area and will be glad to go with you. Tops, it's a two-hour ride.”
“Sounds good. I guess I'll say good night again. I love you, Annie. I really do. If there were times when it didn't seem like I did, I'm sorry. I just had too much on my plate back then.”
“I know that, Tom. Sleep tight.”
“Where's Rosie?”
“Sleeping on my bed. That long walk before dinner knocked her out. She slept through Daniel's visit.”
“That will never happen when she's full-grown. See you in the morning.”
“Okay, it's your turn to make breakfast.”
“Not a problem.”
Annie waited, hardly daring to breathe until she heard Tom's door close, before she beelined to the laundry room. She stared down at the bulging soggy pillowcase full of money. She could buy her niece and nephews from Mona if she wanted to. All she had to do was count out one hundred thousand dollars and hand it over to Tom's soon-to-be-ex-wife, and the kids would be his. There was something so barbaric about the thought she slammed the top of the machine so loud she winced. Then she crossed her fingers that Tom didn't hear the sound. She took a deep breath and held it. When she was satisfied Tom would stay upstairs, she expelled the air in her lungs in a loud
swoosh.
Using every muscle in her body, Annie struggled with the wet pillowcase until she had it on top of the machine. Her heart pounding with the effort, she managed to get it into the dryer with a loud thump. Huffing and puffing, she turned the knob to high heat and waited to see if the drum would turn. She sighed her relief as the dryer tumbled and turned.
With nothing to occupy her, Annie cleaned the kitchen while she waited for the money to dry. Maybe she should have tried to dry smaller amounts in the microwave. But, to do that, she would have had to handle the money. This way all she had to do was dump the money in a box along with the bearer bonds and mail it back to the bank.
An hour later she cried her frustration when she opened the dryer to find the money almost as wet as when she put it in. She opened the pillowcase to see clumps of bills stuck together. It was obvious that she needed a bigger pillowcase. She turned the dryer back on and sat down on the floor, Indian fashion, to wait, tears dripping down her cheeks. Being a thief wasn't easy.
Three hours later the money was finally dry.
Annie slung the pillowcase over her shoulder and made her way to the second floor, where she tossed it into the closet. She fell into bed and was asleep in minutes, the tears still on her cheeks.
Annie woke slowly, aware of a strange noise in her room. She reached out to touch Rosie, but she was gone. She squinted at the bedside clock: 5:10. It was still dark outside. She switched on the lamp. Rosie bounded onto the bed, a twenty-dollar bill clutched in her teeth. Annie's head felt like it was going to explode right off her neck when she saw the littered money on the floor of the bedroom. Bits and piece of different denominations were everywhere. Her flowered carpet was now a sea of green.
Rosie barked once as she leaned over the side of the bed to inspect her handiwork. Annie gave her a swat as she struggled with the twenty-dollar bill she was planning to chew. It ripped in two. She cursed, using every swear word she'd ever heard her brother Tom use in his hellion days. Any minute now she was going to lose it and have a nervous breakdown.
Annie slid from the bed, her eyes wild with panic. How could she send shredded money back to the bank? On her knees, she tried to gather up the bits and pieces of money to try and determine how much the pup had chewed up. At eight o'clock, with socks on her hands, she counted the money in the pillowcase, finally deciding Rosie had chewed up $23,420. She could send it all back with a note saying ... what? Did she dare wash the bits and pieces again.
A headache, the likes of which she'd never experienced, thundered inside her head. Rosie bellied over to where she was sitting and crept onto her lap and started to lick her face. She hugged her. The murderous headache subsided almost immediately. “This is a setback. A big one. I'm going to work this out. I know I can work this out. I will work this out.”
Rosie leaped off her lap and ran to the door when Tom knocked, and shouted, “Breakfast in ten minutes!” “Okay. Be right there,” Annie responded, her eyes wild. She was a lightning bolt then as she ripped the pillowcase from her pillow. On her hands and knees, she crawled about the room picking up the tattered money. “I know you ate some of this money. I know it. You're going to be pooping twenty-dollar bills all day. If this wasn't so serious, it would be damn funny.”
This time, Annie closed the closet door before she bent down to pick up the pup. “Bad dog, Rosie. Now I'm in hock to the bank for more than twenty-three thousand dollars. Oh, well, life is going to go on no matter what I do. I'll find a way to pay it back. I wonder if they'll let Tom bring you to jail when he visits me,” she muttered. The pup yipped her pleasure at being carried down the long staircase.
“Oh, it smells good, Tom. What are we having?”
“The works. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh brewed coffee, and I squeezed the orange juice myself. I know my way around the kitchen. How'd you sleep?”
“I didn't. I had a terrible dream.”
“Couldn't be worse than mine. Share.” Tom grinned as he filled his sister's plate.
“I dreamed Rosie chewed up twenty thousand dollars I was going to put in the bank,” Annie blurted. The moment the words were out of her mouth she wanted to take them back.
“That's not a dream, that's a nightmare. I had this dream that Ben put an ad in a yuppie magazine offering to sell himself to the highest bidder.”
“It was the turkey sandwiches and all those pickles we ate before we went to bed,” Annie said. “I'm not doing that again.”
“Twenty thousand, huh? In your dream did Rosie eat the money or chew it up?”
“Both,” Annie said, guilt riding her shoulders like a yoke.
“What'd you do in the dream?”
“I woke up. I don't want to talk about it, Tom. It was a stupid dream. Rosie had been chewing on the newspaper in my room the other day. I guess that's what triggered the whole thing. Great breakfast,” she said, pushing her plate away.
“I cooked, so that means you clean up. Get rid of that turkey. I hate eating it for a week after a holiday.”
“Bossy, aren't we,” Annie said as she got up from the table.
“Just playing big brother, Annie. Twenty thousand? Wow. Wonder what it means. I'll be in the living room studying Elmo's business plan if you need me.”
Annie wondered why her legs were so shaky. She'd never quite heard that tone in Tom's voice before. Was it her imagination or guilt? She needed a quiet place to think and plan. Maybe she would walk Rosie down to the Daisy Shop, open it up, and sit in the back room and ponder her immediate problem. Yes, that's exactly what she would do.
“I'm taking Rosie for a walk, Tom,” Annie called from the kitchen.
“Want some company?” Tom called back.
The last thing she wanted was company. “Nope. It's just me and Rosie.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“Yeah, much later,” Annie muttered as she hooked the leash onto the frisky pup's bright red harness.
CHAPTER SIX
Annie was tired and cranky. It seemed like she'd been traveling for days. Her eyes felt like they were full of grit, and she knew all the moisture had been sucked out of her face. Her hair seemed to have a mind of its own, and her smart linen dress was limp and wrinkled. Her feet and ankles were swollen, and she was getting a headache. If she could have any thing on earth, she would opt for a hot shower and clean hair.
Annie tipped the skycap and looked around for someone who appeared to be looking for her. All she could see were busy travelers in bright-colored garb wearing leis. She felt cheated as well as annoyed that she didn't have one. She'd heard the scent of plumeria was exquisite.
It was hot. Hotter than it was in Charleston when she left. Still, it was the middle of July. Even so, where were the warm, gentle island breezes the brochures touted? Island breezes scented with flowers. All she could smell was diesel fuel and exhaust fumes. “This is not going to endear me to you, Parker Grayson.” On the phone, the coffee king had said someone would be waiting for her the moment she got off the plane. “Ha!” she snorted. Two hours later she mumbled, “I'm giving you five more minutes of my time, Mr. Coffee, then I'm outta here. I'll get my coffee from Sumatra. I always wanted to go there anyway.”
“Five minutes are up,” Annie muttered to no one in particular. Her hand in the air, she hailed a cab. It always paid to have Plan B at one's disposal. “Take me to the nearest hotel, please,” she said to the cab driver.
An open-air jeep sailed to the curb the moment the taxi pulled away to enter the steady stream of traffic leaving the Maui Airport.
So much for island hospitality
, she thought sourly as she leaned back in the seat of the cab.
It wasn't just hot, it was sultry hot. The linen dress now felt like a damp dishrag. She winced when she remembered how much she'd paid for it.
“Are you visiting our wonderful island for the first time, miss?” the driver inquired.
“Yes, and it's probably my last.”
“Long flight?”
“Very long. I had a four-hour layover in San Francisco. I started out in Charleston, then flew to Atlanta, and from there to St. Louis to San Francisco and from there to your Big Island and then the puddle jumper to here. Someone from the Grayson Plantation was supposed to meet me.”
“Their jeep pulled into my parking space when we left. Everyone knows the Grayson jeep. I can turn around and go back if you want me to. I went to school with Roy Alabado. He's the driver. Maybe the jeep broke down or maybe he had a flat. Mr. Grayson is mighty particular about his guests being picked up on time. He treats his guests like royalty.”
“The royalty theme doesn't seem to be working today,” Annie snapped. “And, no, I don't want to go back.”
“I can call Mr. Grayson for you, miss.”
“Don't bother. I'll call him myself when I get to the hotel.”
“Mr. Grayson usually isn't on Maui at this time of year. He spends most of the year in the Kona district of the Big Island. This is a small island where all the locals know everyone else's business.” The driver laughed. “You must be an important guest for Mr. Grayson to come here now.”
Annie wasn't impressed or amused. “Do you know Mr. Grayson?”
“We say aloha when we meet. Everyone says aloha to everyone else. It is a custom here in the islands.. Mr. Grayson has a fine reputation, and his coffees are sold all over the world. He treats his workers well and all the ladies like him. He's a bachelor with many nieces and nephews on the mainland. He is going to be very upset that you didn't wait for his people to pick you up.”
“
He's
going to be upset! Is that what you said? No, no, that's all wrong. I'm the one who is upset. What I should do is buy my damn coffee from the Piggly Wiggly. Oh, we're here. How much is the fare?” Annie counted out money and added a generous tip to offset her surliness, after which she trudged wearily into the hotel, registered, and headed for her room. She showered, washed her hair, turned the air conditioner as high as it would go before she crawled between the crisp, cool sheets. She was almost asleep when she bolted upright to ring the front desk. “Don't put any calls through to my room until I tell you otherwise.” A minute later she was sound asleep.
On the ride back to the airport to pick up another fare, the driver stopped to call the airport and have his boyhood friend paged. “This is Miki, Roy. I think I just took your guest to the Royal Hawaiian. That was one pissed off lady. How long you been waiting? Dump the leis and let's catch a beer. Okay, your loss. What do you mean, what should you do? Tell Mr. Grayson you had
two
flat tires. On the other hand, the truth is always an option. Yeah, see you around.”
Golden sunshine found its way into Annie's room just as she opened her eyes. She reached for the small travel clock on the nightstand. Ten minutes past six. She closed her eyes to see if she needed more sleep. When her lids snapped open she dialed room service and ordered breakfast and a newspaper. “No, I do not want to know about my messages. No, I am not interested in any guests sitting in your lobby who are waiting for me. Leave the tray outside the door please.” Annie stomped her way to the shower.
Thirty minutes later, Annie opened the door for her breakfast tray. She peeped under the lids. Just as ordered. The paper was folded neatly, there were fresh flowers on the tray, and the coffee smelled heavenly. As she munched and crunched the crisp bacon, she placed a person-to-person call to her brother.
“This was a mistake, Tom,” she said the moment she heard her brother's voice. “He left me cooling my heels at the airport for over two hours. He could have paged me. Why is it you guys always stick together? This is not acceptable business behavior. I am calm. I'm eating my breakfast on the balcony and staring at the incredible blue Pacific Ocean. Now I know why they call it a jewel. You want
me
to call
him?
Not in this lifetime, big brother. I'm going to go shopping. Maybe I'll go to the beach and get a sunburn. That's what you're supposed to do when you come to Hawaii. Does Rosie miss me? No kidding. Your whole shoe or part of it? The whole thing? That dog has great teeth. How's business? Ohhh, I like the way that sounds. I have to get dressed. I'll call you tonight. Remember now, there's a five-hour time difference. Don't lecture me, Tom. I think the way I do business has been satisfactory so far. Too bad more people don't operate the way I do. Good-bye, Tom.”
At ten minutes past ten, dressed in sandals and a pale blue sundress, her hair piled high on her head, Annie sashayed down the hall to the elevator. When the door swished open on the ground floor she found herself staring straight into the most incredible blue eyes she'd ever seen in her life. The owner of the blue eyes was also the most handsome man she'd ever seen. She knew exactly who he was.
In the blink of an eye, Anna Daisy Clark fell in love with Parker Grayson. She walked toward him, her eyes appraising him. “Daniel was right. You really do have incredible blue eyes.”
He was at her side in an instant, his hand outstretched. Annie clasped it and crunched his hand.
“That's no mean handshake, Miss Clark.” Grayson grinned, showing perfectly aligned white teeth that had never seen a set of braces.
“My brother taught me to do it that way. We used to arm wrestle. I always won. You look, Mr. Grayson, like I felt yesterday while I waited for two hours in this blistering heat for a driver who never showed up.”
“I apologize. My driver had two flat tires. Not just one but two. I've been sitting in this damn lobby since six-thirty last night. That's why I look like this. No matter how you look at it, I'm twelve hours up on you.” Annie smiled sweetly. “Is this one of those tit-for-tat things my sisters always talk about? If so, I need to know, so I'll know how to proceed.”
In spite of herself, Annie laughed. “I think we're starting out even now.” She waited. He was more than handsome, he was—she searched her mind for just the right word—exquisite. Tall, six-three or -four, muscular, perfect tan, amazing dark hair with just a touch of wave or curl. Khaki shorts, deck shoes, and a pristine white shirt. She wondered what their children would look like. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Daniel said you were my destiny. I think he might be right. What's your feeling on the subject?” Parker teased lightly.
Her face flushed, Annie said, “I was wondering what our children would look like?”
Grayson's tan turned pink, then red. “If you get your baggage, we should be on our way.”
“Then I guess you're going to have to wait a while longer.”
“My time is your time, Miss Clark.”
“Call me Annie.”
“Okay. Annie it is. My mother's name was Anna.”
“It's an old-fashioned name. When I was younger I wanted a name like Tiffany or Angelique. When I was sixteen I wanted to change it to Barbarella.” Parker laughed as he motioned her to head for the elevator. “Is this where you tell me time is money?”
“Exactly.”
Annie jabbed the elevator button. “
Two
flat tires defies belief.”
“I knew you would say that. I saw them with my own eyes. The flat tires I mean.”
“Really.” The elevator swished shut. Annie's closed fist shot in the air. “Yesssss.”
 
 
“What do you think of my home, Annie?”
Annie looked around, her eyes wide. “It's breathtaking. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so beautiful. Did you grow up here?”
“Yes. I live on the Big Island most of the year, but I come back for a day or so at a time. I get homesick. My father built the house himself, brick by brick. My mother planted the gardens. The banyan tree that stands sentinel there at the front was the first thing my mother planted after I was born. My mother said my father took one look at the land and knew exactly where to build. It sits on the broad crest of a sloping meadow. If you look you can see the Haleakala Volcano, and if you look down you have a vast view of the North Shore. I surfed there as a youngster. Still do at times with my nephews. They like to take on this old man but invariably they wipe out. I'm still the Big Kahuna as far as they're concerned.”
“I never learned to surf,” Annie said. “Who tends to the house and all these gorgeous flowers? What is that gorgeous tree?”
“I'll teach you. A couple takes care of it while I'm away. Mattie cooks and cleans while George gardens. That tree is a monkeypod tree. I used to play under it when I was little. My mother read me island stories in the afternoons. I didn't know any other life but this until I was eighteen and went to the mainland to college. I hated being away. I used to count the days until it was time to come home for a holiday or summers, then I fought like a tiger not to go back. To me this is paradise. I don't think there's a prettier place anywhere on earth. I don't know that for a fact. That's what my parents said, and they were world travelers.
“We're within walking distance of freshwater pools and waterfalls. Every afternoon around three o'clock, we have rainbows. Brilliant, perfect rainbows that can be seen for miles. If you like to windsurf, Hookipa Beach is just fifteen minutes away. Five minutes from there is Paia, the Aspen of Hawaii. It's commercial, shopping, excellent restaurants, and a great white-sand beach. Paradise just twenty minutes from the airport. Do you like to wish on the rainbow?”
Annie's heart started to flutter. Just fourteen months ago she'd sat on the floor in her bedroom congratulating herself on the pot of gold at the end of her own personal rainbows. “No. No, I don't. Sometimes you get what you wish for,” she said flatly.
Parker laughed. “I know that statement has some deep, dark meaning known only to you. Perhaps you'll share it with me someday.” Annie knew the smile on her face looked sickly at best. “Tell you what. I'll have Mattie fix you a nice cool drink. You can walk in the gardens or check out the house. It's much cooler inside. I need to take a shower and change my clothes. Would you like to freshen up? Mattie will show you to your room.”
BOOK: Annie's Rainbow
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