It's All Relative (58 page)

While Kai absorbed every feature on the face he loved, he heard his grandmother chuckle and say, “Well, since I seem to be such a frail, near-death woman to the both of you, how about you stay and make sure I eat something.” Kai looked back at her; she was smirking. “You wouldn’t want me to die of malnutrition, would you?”

Kai kept his face as serious as possible as he nodded, then he broke into a soft laugh. Gran laughed with him. With a shake of her head, she watched Kai stand up, then help Jessie to her feet. “I suppose I’ll have to stop trying to set you both up with people?” she said.

Raising one corner of her lip, Jessie sullenly replied with, “Please do. I don’t need any more Simons calling me twenty-four seven.”

Wait, what?
Kai looked back at Jessie with a small frown on his face. “Who’s Simon?”

Jessie and Gran shared a look of secret knowledge, before Jessie smiled coyly at Kai. “No one important, sweetheart.”

Kai’s frown deepened until Jessie leaned forward and gave him a light kiss. Then he let it go. Didn’t matter anyway. Kai knew without a doubt where Jessie’s heart was. Gran sighed as she watched them, and Kai looked back at her. “I don’t know how I missed the signs,” she murmured, her face full of wonder. “Just goes to show you, no matter how old you get, life can still surprise you.”

As Jessie stepped into his arms, Kai had to agree with his grandmother’s comment. Yes, life could be very surprising at times. And as he was sure his grandmother would agree, that was what made waking up every day worth it.

K
ai stretched back in his padded seat and sipped the remainder of his champagne. The roar of engine noise was faint to his ears as he reclined as far as the seat would go. Kai had never flown first class before, but as the meticulously put together woman walking down the aisle stopped, took his glass, and asked him and Jessie if they needed a refill on their drinks, he thought he might never fly any other way again.

Smiling, he shook his head at the stewardess. “All right, let me know if you do need anything.” Her voice was bubbly and bright as she fluffed his pillow before stepping off to help another passenger.

Kai’s eyes drifted to the windows. All he could see out of the tiny ovals were swatches of wispy, white clouds, but he knew that below the cloudbank they were quickly approaching his hometown, his home island.

Jessie squirmed in excitement, her eyes glued to the window immediately to her right. Kai smiled at her enthusiasm. She was just as eager to see the ocean as he’d been anxious to see the snow. It was something that was remarkably odd to both of them, since he’d lived all his life near the water and she’d lived all of hers near the mountains. Kai loved that he could give this experience to her, even if landing back home was coating his stomach with a black tar of dread.

He wasn’t worried about his parents accepting his relationship with Jessie. After Gran had given them her blessing, his stress on the matter had eased considerably. Besides, after what his parents had done to him, and to each other, they really didn’t have any room to talk on the subject of love. So far as Kai was concerned, they didn’t have a say on who he dated, even if that person had always been seen as a family member. His father would have an especially hard time with that, since he was Jessie’s legitimate uncle. There was no getting around it though.

But Kai had come to terms with that situation. What was weighing down his stomach, sizzling his nerves, was the thought of confronting his mother and father on the lie that had permeated so much of his childhood. Rationally, he understood the reasons why he’d been kept in the dark, but his heart was screaming and protesting, yelling at the top of its loud, thumping voice that he had been betrayed. Betrayed by the very people who were supposed to be his rock.

He hated that his body was in such disagreement. That wasn’t his style. He saw facts and made a logical conclusion based on those facts. That was how he worked his job. That was how he tried to live his life. If he had come across this situation in the wild, say, a gorilla female had duped a strong male into accepting her child as his own, Kai would have been awed by the miraculous ingenuity and perseverance of mother nature. But when the subjects in question were human…when they were
him
…the detachment of science flew right out the window, leaving only emotion and pain.

As Kai’s clammy fingers tightened on the leather seat, he marveled over the fact that Mason had purchased these tickets for him. When Kai had returned to Jessie’s placed after their visit with their grandmother, there had been a message on her machine from Mason, leaving the details of the flight.

Not only had he arranged for them to leave the very next day, but he’d booked them first class. And it made Kai smile that they were round-trip tickets. It made him surprisingly happy that his birth father wanted him to stick around. He’d been so sure the man hadn’t liked him that it was still shocking to know that Mason might actually
love
him. It blew Kai’s mind. He wasn’t sure if he loved the man in return yet, he was still practically a stranger to Kai, but he was willing to give him a chance. He was willing to get to know him. It seemed like the least Kai could do after all this.

Kai exhaled a slow, steady breath as the cloud cover broke and the dark blue depth of the Pacific Ocean erupted into view. He knew that before too long those near-black waters would shift to a bluish-greenish color that sort of matched his eyes. Then he’d be back home. Mason had also told him in his message that he’d spoken with Kai’s mother again. She was meeting them at the airport.

Jessie squealed and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. His stress relieving exhale turned into a light laugh. She was so excited about arriving that it took away a great deal of his tension. When her face turned back to his, her wide, chocolate eyes were glowing in their delight. She giggled and grinned, but her smile faltered as she looked over his face. “Hey, you okay?”

Kai forced the smile to return to his face but her frown only deepened; clearly she saw right through it. Knowing he couldn’t keep his emotions from her, he sighed; she knew him far too well. Shaking his head, he shrugged. “I’m just…a little nervous about this.”

Her hand squeezed his tight as she leaned over and placed a light kiss on his lips. “I know.” Pulling back, she gave him those smoky eyes that quickened his heart. “I’m here for you.” Smiling, Kai moved in for another kiss. He was glad to hear it. He had a feeling he would be leaning on her a lot this trip.

Reveling in the light, languid sensation of kissing her, Kai glanced out the window over her shoulder. Seeing something he knew would interest her, he pulled apart from her mouth. “Hey,” he whispered, nodding toward the window. Her eyes were burning like she no longer cared about any view that wasn’t him, and she leaned in to find his lips again. Laughing, Kai kissed her then muttered, “Jess, you’re missing it.”

“No, I’m not,” she mumbled in a low voice.

Kai laughed again, then forcibly turned her head away from him. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he looked out the window with her. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her mouth fall open as she gasped. “God, Kai…how could you ever leave this place?”

They were still a ways away, but the closest island in the string of islands that collectively made up the state of Hawaii, was quickly growing larger and larger in the glass windowpane. The innate beauty of his home made a peaceful smile grace Kai’s lips. Green was the first thing he noticed. It was green in a way that most places weren’t anymore, green with the lush life of jungle vegetation. Fog ringed the taller mountain peaks, mere hills compared to the mountains of Colorado, and the blue-green water endlessly lapped against the white-sand beaches. It really was, as Jessie was constantly telling him, paradise, and Kai sighed in contentment. He might be coming home to a bittersweet reunion, but he was still coming home, and a part of him had really missed it here.

Jessie’s face was glued to the window as they finally started their descent. She giggled as she watched the emerald island growing and expanding, until the only thing visible in the window was the lushness of life. As the more urban areas drew near, she finally turned back to him. “We’re here!”

Kai nodded as he felt the plane begin to slow down. Yes, they were here and his parents were waiting for them. Smiling at Jessie, Kai clenched her hand as the plane lowered to the ground, lightly bumped against the pavement of the runway, and then forcefully screeched to a stop. He was immensely happy that she had decided to go on this little trip with him. As much as she’d wanted to, she hadn’t been sure if work would let her go, especially since she’d called in sick so many times already this week. But the last phone call she’d made had ended with them telling her that another masseuse would cover her clients and it was no problem if she wanted to take the rest of the week off. Kai had her until Monday…and he was really happy about that.

The plane disembarked, Kai’s section exiting first, and Kai clenched her hand even harder. He’d never in his life imagined that seeing his parents would cause him so much stress. But he supposed that was part of the problem—they weren’t both his parents, and they’d hidden that fact from him. His dad was a genetic stranger and his mom…well, she sort of felt like a stranger after all he’d learned about her.

A beautiful Hawaiian girl greeted them as they exited the plane. She gave them the standard “aloha” greeting and draped a couple of leis over their necks. Jessie thanked her as she fingered her flowers. Her smile was so bright, her delight so clear that Kai momentarily forgot his discomfort. He thanked the greeter with a quick, “Mahalo,” before pulling Jessie toward baggage claim.

He wanted to whisper in her ear that she’d just been lei’d in public, but as they approached baggage claim, his eyes locked onto a pair of people that he’d known very well for most of his life. He instinctually straightened as he met gazes with first his father, then his mother. They’d surprisingly come together; they generally avoided being at the same place if they weren’t at work, and Kai knew exactly why they did that now.

Jessie stopped when she felt his stance change and twisted to look at what had his attention. “What is it, Kai? Are your parents here?”

Kai wasn’t sure how to answer that simple question anymore. Knowing what she meant though, he only said, “Yeah.”

His feet felt encased in cement, but he made himself trudge over to the people who had shaped his formative years. Stopping well before them, he gave them each a polite nod. It surprised him some that he managed to move at all; his entire body felt like one rigid, immobile piece. “Mother…Nate.” Kai noted the chill in his voice. He wished it wasn’t there, but he couldn’t do anything to alter it, either. These people had sent him thousands of miles away, so that someone else could tell him that his childhood had been a lie. They would have to excuse him if he felt a little bitter about it.

His mother began to cry once she heard his tone. Kai’s eyes drifted to the dark-haired woman, her deep skin color an identical match to his own. The sight of her cheeks wet with tears cracked Kai’s resolve, dulled the hard edge of his anger. Regardless of what they had done to him, Kai didn’t want to hurt them. They were family.

Nate Harper, the man Kai had always known as his father, cleared his throat. Kai reluctantly swung his gaze to his. There was so much of Jessie in the color of Nate’s eyes that a lump formed in Kai’s throat. He watched those deep brown eyes water and felt his own sting in response. He’d loved this man so much, his entire life. Their bond had been unbreakable, but now…it felt worn, frail.

The aged face staring back at him was so familiar it was calming. Seeing Nate reminded Kai of everything he’d wanted to be when he grew up—strong like his dad, smart like his dad, adventuresome and funny like his dad. While Kai’s hair was pitch-black like his mother’s, and his skin was just as deeply tanned as hers, when young Kai had envisioned himself as a man, he’d always imagined himself with sandy hair and pale skin. He’d always seen himself as a spitting image of Nate Harper. Was all of that simply because he’d believed they shared the same DNA, or was it because they’d shared an immense, impenetrable love for one another? Kai firmly believed it was based on love.

As his father struggled with words, Kai cleared the knot that was choking off his voice. “Dad?” he whispered.

Kai had never seen his father cry before—truly cry—not until today. Tears streaming down his face, he stepped up to Kai and engulfed him in a tight embrace. Kai’s own tears were unstoppable then, and he hugged him back just as fiercely. Love. DNA. Family. Between a parent and a child, genetics wasn’t what fueled the bond. While Nate might not technically be his father…he was love, and love made him family.

“I’m so sorry, Kai. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you myself. I’m so very sorry, son.”

That was repeated over and over into Kai’s ear, until Kai heard himself responding with, “It’s okay, Dad. It’s all right, I forgive you.”

Finally pulling back from his father, both of them wiping their eyes, Kai looked over at his mother. “I forgive both of you.” He shook his head at her and shrugged.