Courageous Love: A Christian Romance Novel (The Hawaii Love Series, #1) (6 page)

“No,” Michelle whispered as she walked up to grab her bags. “No, I won’t do this, not now.” She wiped away a rogue tear with one hand and reached for her larger bag with the other. Wow, she thought. The bag was heavier than she remembered. Maybe she was just tired from the flight. Or the pregnancy. More thoughts of her past mistakes and uncertain future gripped her as she fought with the bag.

“Let me help you with that,” an older man said, grabbing the side handle of the bag and effortlessly hoisting it off the belt and onto the ground next to Michelle.

She looked up, embarrassed that she couldn’t lift it herself and also ashamed of the tears staining her face. “Thank you,” she whispered, avoiding eye contact.

“No problem,” said the kind gentlemen as he grabbed her second bag, identifying it quickly by the bright pink ribbon. “Any more or is this it?” he asked.

Michelle wiped another tear away and looked up quickly, flashing the stranger a smile. “No, this is it. Thank you again.” She released the telescopic handles and moved quickly toward the exit, rolling the bags behind her. When she got outside, she glanced over her shoulder, making sure the kind man wasn’t waiting to offer her more pity help.

Finding a bench in the warm Hawaiian air, she sat down to get herself together. She looked around and took in all the tropical beauty. Michelle let the island breeze, the scents and the tropical sounds soothe her as she slowly breathed in and out. She had to get it together. She only had a shuttle and a bus ride left and then she would be at Trinity Ranch. Or would it have been more respectful for her to go straight to the hospital to see Lilo?

The shuttle from the airport to downtown Honolulu was quick, maybe fifteen minutes. The hospital wasn’t far from there so Michelle thought about stopping there first. Either way, she had to go to Honolulu to catch the bus to Haleiwa, the small town on the north shore of the island of Oahu where the family farm was located. The ride from Honolulu to Haleiwa was about 40 minutes. Ordinarily, the inconvenience would have bothered Michelle. But she was grateful that she would have time to compose herself before she confronted her father. Michelle was unsure what to do and decided to wait until she was on the shuttle to figure it out.

But which shuttle was she scheduled for? She pulled out her itinerary and began looking for her tickets. She rifled through her airline tickets and baggage claim tickets until she found her shuttle passes. The shuttle number and destination were clearly printed on the tickets, but Michelle couldn’t find a departure time. She looked around at the displays outside of the airport entrance, saw the sign for the shuttle stop, but didn’t see a schedule.

“Shoot,” said Michelle, realizing she would have to return inside the airport with all her baggage just to see when the shuttle left. She placed her carry-on bag on top of her rolling luggage and with tickets in hand entered the airport doors again. Turning to the right, she headed down the corridor, past the ticket counters. Michelle looked to her right, glancing at the different rental car and shuttle service counters, walking hastily, not wanting to miss the shuttle. Michelle scanned the schedules above the counters and was completely unaware of the other passengers around her when her body slammed into something hard. The tickets went flying out of her hands as her bags spilled to the floor a second before she did.

“Oh my gosh,” said Daniel, realizing instantly what he had done. “Oh, no! Let me help you.” He dropped his duffel bag to the ground and reached his hand out to help Michelle up. “I’m so sorry!”

Michelle sat on the floor not knowing what had just happened. She saw her bags lying next to her and piles of paperwork scattered around. “Great,” she said out loud. It wasn’t until she looked up that she saw a long, strong arm attached to a very handsome man, outstretched to her. Michelle blinked twice, unsure why this very attractive man was putting his hand out. She thought she had tripped and spilled all of her belongings. Maybe it was her day to be pitied, she thought. First the baggage claim, now this.

“I’m so sorry,” Daniel said again. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I was looking for my gate and ...” He wandered off, realizing that the woman wasn’t paying any attention. Or was she? Daniel stopped and looked directly at the mess he’d created. There were bags, tickets, and personal belongings all over the airport floor. And in the middle of them was the most beautiful, captivating pair of large brown eyes he had ever seen. Daniel stared for a split second, then turned away, slowly glancing at the rest of the woman he had just knocked to the floor.

He held his hand out again, and Michelle grabbed it. Daniel took his other hand and put it under Michelle’s elbow, helping her up gently. Getting to her feet, she dusted herself off. “Oh, thank you,” she said, looking up at the stranger. Wow, she thought. He was even better looking close up. “Um, I’m sorry,” she began, but Daniel cut her off.

“No, no, it was my fault, really. I’m sorry.” The two stood fixated on each other for what seemed like minutes. Michelle felt her skin grow warm and quickly turned away, grabbing her belongings off the floor. Daniel bent down next to her and the strong scent of his aftershave swirled around Michelle, causing her to become even more distracted.

“I’m, I was, I mean ...” Daniel stammered like a schoolboy. “I was looking for my gate, and I didn’t see you. Are you alright?”

“Yes, no,” Michelle said, trying to ignore the delicious smell of this very good looking man. “I mean, yes, I’m alright. No, I think it was my fault. I’m in a bit of a rush, and I wasn’t watching where I was going either.” She finished gathering the contents of her purse and stood up. “I’m sorry, too,” she giggled, feeling silly and awkward.

Daniel grabbed the paperwork off the floor, grabbed his tickets and handed Michelle hers. “Where are you headed?” Daniel asked, unsure why.

“I’ve got to catch a shuttle to Haleiwa. My grandmother is sick.” Michelle didn’t know why she was sharing this information with a complete stranger, but she felt safe doing it.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Daniel fumbled with his tickets. “Okay,” he said. He was probably already late for his flight, but something held him frozen in Michelle’s gaze. “Alright,” he said, not wanting to go. “Well, I hope your grandmother gets better soon.”

Michelle blushed and pulled her eyes from Daniel’s. “Okay, thanks again.” She ducked past him with her luggage, hoping this stranger would continue to offer her help, and took a few steps toward the shuttle desks before looking back over her shoulder. But when she did, Daniel was gone. She turned back toward the counter and saw the sign for the Honolulu shuttle. Within ten minutes, Michelle was on the shuttle and headed toward the city. As she sat in the back of the shuttle, she wondered where that handsome stranger was going. And she wondered who he was.

Daniel looked up, found his gate and darted to it. When he rounded the corner, he stopped, thinking about the woman on the floor. He quickly shot his head around the corner and looked toward the shuttle counter. He saw Michelle hand the clerk her ticket and exit to the shuttle. Honolulu thought Daniel. Hmmm.

“Final boarding call for flight 3045 to Los Angeles.” Daniel snapped his head back and looked up at the gate. He saw the flight attendant standing behind the counter holding the intercom to her mouth. Another flight attendant stood by the door ushering in the last few passengers for the flight. Daniel picked up his pace to a slow jog, waving his tickets above his head to get the attendant’s attention. He arrived just as the last passenger entered the jet-way.

“Sorry, so sorry I’m late,” Daniel said as he handed the attendant his ticket. She smiled politely and swiped the paper boarding pass through the machine. A loud beep put a frown on her face, and she looked up at Daniel.

“Let’s try that again,” she said; her smile reappeared as she took the paper ticket and ran it through the machine a second time. The beep seemed louder this time and the woman’s frown returned. Grabbing her reading glasses from around her neck, she rested them on her nose, holding the ticket out in front of her.

Daniel looked at the jet-way, anxious to get on his flight. “Oh,” said the attendant. “Well, it seems you’re not booked on this flight.”

Daniel’s head snapped back toward the attendant. His face said everything, but the words came anyhow. “What? Of course I’m booked on this flight. It’s a return ticket.” He watched as the older woman dropped the corners of her lips and tilted her head slightly.

“No, this is a one-way ticket to Honolulu for a flight that landed 35 minutes ago ...” the attendant said. “Ms. Michelle Clemens,” she finished, making sure Daniel understood that he had the wrong ticket.

That woman, thought Daniel. That very pretty, captivating woman that he had bumped into. Daniel must have accidentally mixed up their boarding passes when he handed her back her tickets. Daniel paused, unsure what to do. He looked one more time at the jet-way. He wanted to make that flight. He wanted to get back to California. Didn’t he? He knew what was waiting there for him: Kimberly, the wedding and a life of boredom.

Well, no matter how he felt about California or what was waiting there for him, Daniel wouldn’t be going anywhere until he got his ticket back. He snatched the boarding pass from the attendant, flashed her a movie star smile and ran back down the corridor toward the shuttle counters, hoping he would be able to find out where that woman ... Michelle Clemens, had taken his ticket. He found the shuttle counter, and even though the clerk couldn’t share any passenger information, he informed Daniel that the bus to Haleiwa would leave within thirty minutes from Honolulu. And that by the time Daniel took the shuttle from the airport to downtown Honolulu first, the bus would already be gone. There was nothing Daniel could do but wait till the next morning.

“Tomorrow morning?” Daniel asked, shocked that he wouldn’t be able to get his return flight home that evening. “Are there only two buses to Haleiwa a day?” His eyes grew wide.

“Haleiwa is a small rural town. It is on the north shore of the island, which is usually pretty packed with tourists. But,” the clerk went on, “last week was the biggest surfing tournament of the year.”

Daniel stood, unsure why the clerk was explaining all of this to him. What did surfing have to do with buses?

The clerk apparently saw the confused look on Daniel’s face. “You see,” he continued, trying to clarify things for Daniel. “When the tourists leave, the locals take a break. Now that there aren’t that many people visiting the north shore, the drivers have cut the buses back. So, you have to wait until the morning ... unless you want to rent a car.”

Daniel stood still, contemplating his choices. A rental car would cost him three times more than the bus. But if he stayed at the airport and tried to catch another flight to California, he would have to pay for it out of his own pocket, even if he could get a flight out today. Or, he could stay in Honolulu and take the bus to Haleiwa in the morning and go reclaim his ticket tomorrow.

He thought about Kimberly and how she would react to him staying in Hawaii another day. He laughed to himself. She would be just as mad if he spent the extra money to head home today. “Darned if I do, darned if I don’t,” said Daniel.

“What?” the clerk asked. Daniel shook his head, smiling. He thanked the clerk for his help and made his way through the streets of Honolulu to find the hotel the counter clerk had recommended. As he walked the few blocks, he looked up at the palm trees and crystal clear sky. Well, he thought, Fred did tell him to spend more time on the island and see the sights.

Daniel thought about the girl, Michelle, and what a sight she was. He cursed himself for even entertaining thoughts about another woman, but there was something about this girl. He couldn’t shake her pretty face and mystical smile. He felt drawn to her in a way he hadn’t to anyone else before, not even Kimberly. He found the hotel, checked in and made his way to his room. Once inside, Daniel locked the door, threw the bag on the bed and walked outside to the balcony. He put his hands on the railing and looked at God’s handiwork.

He thought about the wedding, thought about Kimberly and their future together. And then he thought about his hesitation to return home to that life. “Is this your answer to my prayer? Relaxing in the beauty of your creation?” Daniel tilted his head back as he waited for a divine revelation from God about his marriage to Kimberly. “Is this the sign?” But only the sound of the distant ocean waves answered his cry for help.

Daniel laughed and shook his head as he sat back in the chair. Maybe God knew this side trip was what he needed. No wedding distractions, no job distractions, no Kimberly distractions. Just Daniel, God, the island. And a beautiful stranger named Michelle.

M
ichelle got off the shuttle and found an empty bench at the bus stop. She had about an hour until the bus for Haleiwa and decided to take the time to get prepared for the encounter with her parents. Even though her beloved Lilo was a patient at Kahuku Medical Center, Michelle thought it best to wait and go with the support of her mother or sister rather than visiting alone.

A few locals and tourists meandered past the bus stop. Michelle could spot the visitors right away. They wore straw hats and brightly colored Hawaiian shirts. She thought how funny it was that people thought locals wore Hawaiian shirts the same way they assumed all Jamaicans wore dreadlocks. It just wasn’t so. Haoles was what the locals called tourists, whether they were from the mainland or another country. Anybody not of Hawaiian, Japanese or Samoan descent was referred to as a Haole. But because Michelle was a native or kama’aina, she blended right in.

She found a bench at the far end of the covered entrance to the bus station, piled her belongings next to her and pulled her sunglasses over her eyes. The past 24 hours had been a whirlwind of emotions, and Michelle was utterly exhausted. She thought about checking in with Tracy while on the bus but knew the cell service might be spotty. She decided it would be better to call her friend now while she was still in the city and there was a strong signal.