It's All Relative (60 page)

A wave of water splashing across her face tore her attention from the pounding surf. The sun beat on her bare skin as the muggy air kept her warm, despite the slight chill of the deep water. Brushing aside the droplets, Jessie looked over to see Kai laughing at her. He’d spent part of the morning trying to teach her the basics on land, but Jessie hadn’t wanted to be shown up, since Kai had mostly succeeded at skiing. She’d insisted that they head out into the water, and practice surfing for real.

Kai laughed even harder at the look of annoyance on her face. The water droplets gleamed in his slicked back hair and for a moment, Jessie couldn’t recall seeing anything more natural than Kai in the water. Shaking his head, he teased her with, “Not as easy as it looks, is it Mountain Girl?”

Jessie attempted to douse him with a tidal wave of water, and nearly fell off her floating board in the process. Kai tilted his head toward the sand. “Come on, one more try then we’ll go in.”

Jessie sighed, but nodded. She could try one more time. Kai chuckled, then started paddling away. Smiling as she watched his muscles expanding and contracting under that fabulous skin, his dark as night tattoo matching his black board shorts, Jessie slowly started paddling after him. Kai’s shouted some last minute instructions to her, then scanned the break for the wave he wanted. Seeing it, he took off. Jessie watched him effortlessly hop up onto his board and ride the wave toward the shore. He held his position perfectly, his body gloriously tight as he used every blessed muscle to steady himself, until the momentum of the wave dropped off and he slipped into the water.

Wondering if she’d ever be able to do that, Jessie searched…for something. Shrugging, since she really had no idea what to look for, she paddled toward the endlessly cresting water. Balancing on her hands, she mentally prepared to jump both feet up. This was the part that usually had her tumbling into the water. Holding her breath, Jessie went for it. Surprise and shock hit her as she managed to get both feet onto the board at the same time. She nearly fell off in her excitement, but managed to hold it together long enough to slip over what turned out to be a very gentle wave. Mimicking Kai’s body and position, she made minor adjustments to keep the board steady. She was expecting it to feel like skiing, but it really didn’t. The only thing the two had in common was the rush. That was the same.

She dived off the board at the end, when she finally felt herself starting to fall, then grabbed her board and swam back to the shore. Kai was watching her, whistling as he stood on the beach with one hand on his hip, the other on his board.

Jessie giggled as she ran up to him, excited that she’d actually done it. His eyes flicked down her bikini and she felt a different sort of excitement rush through her. Throwing an arm around his waist, she leaned up for his lips. He congratulated her between kisses, and his hand wrapped around her waist drifted down to cup her backside.

Dropping her board onto the soft sand near their feet, she slung her arms around his neck. He dropped his board too, angling it back so it didn’t hit hers. Both hands now free, he grabbed her ass so firmly she squeaked. A pleased noise rumbled low in his chest. “You were right.”

Feeling like they should be somewhere much more private, so it would be completely okay for those miraculous fingers to slip inside her bikini, she murmured, “What was I right about?”

Chuckling between their lips, he said, “The bikini. You do rock it.”

Breaking apart from him, Jessie shook her head in amusement. Gazing at the eyes that were more astounding than the waters she’d just crawled out of, she felt a pressure in her chest that bordered on the edge of pain. Love beyond reason. That was what she felt for him. She was sure, more sure than she had ever been in her life, that the man in her arms was going to be her husband one day. She didn’t quite know how that would happen, since in the eyes of the law they were technically still cousins, but even if it was only a symbolic marriage, she knew Kai was the one she wanted beside her forever.

He grinned crookedly in a way that quickened Jessie’s heart. “We’re heading home tomorrow. Are you ready to leave all of this behind?” He indicated the magnificence of the island paradise around them.

Her gaze never leaving him, she firmly said, “I’m going wherever you’re going, whether that’s staying here on the beach, going back home to the snow…or just making out in the back of your mom’s car.”

Grinning wider, he leaned back in to kiss her. “Well, being wet will make you cold…so let’s get you dry first.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Then we can make out.”

With a laugh, she nodded, then they began collecting their stuff. As they drove back to Kai’s strange sounding hometown, Jessie took a moment to appreciate the bounty of life on display for her. She wasn’t sure when she would be back, but she felt pretty confident that her future with Kai would include a few more trips this way. He would at least want to see his folks once a year. Jessie had a feeling that she would be insisting on it. Smiling at the beauty of the waterfalls tucked behind the emerald green vegetation bursting with tropical flowers so vivid they seemed unreal, Jessie hoped their next visit wasn’t too far in the future.

While they had spent the nights here with Kai’s father, during the day, Jessie and Kai had spent most of their time with his mother. Kai’s relationship with her was different than before, or so Leilani had confessed to her one afternoon, while Kai had been playing in the surf nearby.

Listening to Kai’s mother express her grief over the constant lies and deceptions she’d had to tell him—that she’d had to tell both of Kai’s fathers—Jessie couldn’t stop the compassion she felt for the woman. Yes, she had hurt and betrayed three good men, and what she had been a part of with Kai’s fathers was horrible, but Leilani had gotten in so deeply over her head that she hadn’t been able to see another way out except to lie. Repeatedly.

As Kai drove his mother’s car back to her place near the beach, Jessie wondered if Kai and Leilani would ever have that tight bond again. She hoped so. Even though her own parents had moved away a while ago, Jessie understood the importance of tightknit parent-child bonds. There was nothing quite like knowing that no matter what, no matter who she became or what she did in her life, someone had her back, someone loved her unconditionally. She wanted Kai and his mother to have that again.

As they drove up the gravel driveway, the feminine version of Kai stepped from her porch with a smile and a wave. Her long, dark hair billowed away from her face in the breeze as she gingerly approached the stopping car. Kai sighed as he parked the car, and Jessie twisted to look at him. “She loves you, you know.”

Kai tore his eyes from his mother to look over at Jessie. Smiling, he nodded. “Yeah, I know. Sometimes I don’t feel like I know much, but that, I do know.”

He leaned over and gave Jessie a light kiss. Even with all the time they’d had together, even knowing that they could openly be together now, it still quickened Jessie’s heart when he touched her. She had to force herself to not grab a thick section of his hair and forcibly pull him back to her mouth. That wouldn’t be appropriate, not with his tiny mother opening the car door.

“Aloha, Jessie,” she warmly said.

Jessie returned her greeting. “Aloha, Leilani.” While Jessie’s uncle had some reservations about Kai and Jessie being together, Kai’s mother didn’t appear to. Once the initial shock had worn off, she’d accepted Jessie with open arms, even periodically giving them space to…connect. Jessie had a sneaking suspicion that she was going out of her way to be accommodating because she’d do anything to win back Kai’s devotion. Jessie didn’t blame her, so she wasn’t about to call the woman out for it.

After Kai stepped out of the car, he gave his mother a brief hug. Wrapping her arms securely around his waist, she gazed up at him with hope clear in her eyes; she so wanted Kai to forgive her. “Mason tells me that your flight back is early in the morning tomorrow. I’ll drive you to the airport, sweetheart.”

Kai seemed taken aback by that. “You talked with Mason?”

Leilani flushed and turned her head away from Kai. Jessie could tell she felt guilty for even bringing him up. She could also tell that she still had feelings for the man. It was pretty evident by the way she said his name; it reminded Jessie of the way she often said Kai’s name. “Um, yes. We…keep in touch.” She looked back at him, and in her sparkling eyes, Jessie could see the residual love she had for the man who’d given her such an amazing son. “He’s been worried about you. He calls in nightly to check on you.”

Kai looked away, toward the beach. Jessie had been with Kai when he’d called Mason to tell him they’d landed safely. It had surprised Jessie that he’d done that, and amazed her that he would be so considerate to a man he barely knew. Of course, a lot of things about Kai amazed Jessie. And a lot of things about Mason seemed to amaze Kai. Shaking his head as he watched the surf, he muttered, “I’m surprised he does that.”

Leilani rested her head on his shoulder. Kai reflexively hugged her tighter against him. “Of course he does, Kai. He loves you. You’re his son…even if he just found out about you.”

Kai closed his eyes, and his head drooped. Jessie saw the weariness in his features, and knew it wasn’t from their rigorous morning on the waves. All of this turmoil was getting to him. Jessie couldn’t wait to take him back home, settle him into her bed, and massage away all of the kinks in his body, if not his heart. His heart…she would work on over time.

Opening his eyes, Kai started walking with her toward the house. He had a childhood bedroom here too, and it marveled Jessie how similar his room was to hers at her parents’ old place. They’d even shared the same interest in music, both having Beatles posters on their walls.

Sighing, Kai rested his head on his mother’s as they unconsciously shifted their walk toward the water. “Why didn’t you tell me, Mom? Before I went over there? Why did you tell dad you absolutely didn’t want me to know? Don’t I have the right to know who my father is?”

Leilani paused in her step, removing her head from his embrace to look up at him. “I’m so sorry, Kai.” She shrugged. “Yes, it’s true…I never wanted you to know the truth. I didn’t see how you could not hate me, if you knew what I’d done.” Her eyes watered as she searched his face. “And you…are the most important thing I have. I couldn’t risk losing you.”

With another weary sigh, Kai squeezed her tightly. “You’re not going to lose me, Mom. I love you…regardless of your past.”

Leilani couldn’t stop the tears and hastily brushed them from her cheeks. “Well, Nate insisted that you know the truth, and then he insisted that I contact Mason, and get you a job there with him.” She sighed and looked away, toward the beach, just like Kai had. It seemed to have a calming effect on both of them. “I’ve been a wreck every single day, wondering when I would get the call. Wondering when you would hate me. Wondering what day Nate would finally get his revenge on me for betraying him.” She sighed, the sound both tired and remorseful.

Kai twisted her to look at him. “Dad doesn’t want revenge on you. He didn’t want to hurt you, he just wanted…” He paused, and his eyes drifted back to Jessie. “He just didn’t want to keep living a lie. He wanted the truth released, so he could be free.” Smiling, he returned his eyes to Leilani. “So we could all be free.”

Knowing Kai meant their relationship just as much as he meant his parents’ relationship made tears spring to Jessie’s eyes. They’d been living a lie by trying to deny the feelings between them. They’d attempted to label it as familial love, when it had been so far beyond that. The truth had released them from that lie, just as surely as it had released Kai’s parents. Uncle Nate was right…knowing the truth mattered.

Kai and his mother spent a good chunk of that afternoon opening up to each other. Much to Jessie’s surprise, Kai even told her the truth about how they’d first hooked up. He thankfully didn’t mention the one night stand, but he confessed that their attraction had started while they’d thought they were cousins. Sitting on the golden sand with Kai and his mother, Jessie twisted to look at Leilani sitting on the other side of her son. Leilani gave him a warm, compassionate smile, like she understood being in a hard place, and Jessie supposed that she did.

“That must have been very difficult,” she said, her hand resting on Kai’s knee. “For both of you.”

Kai nodded as he looked at her, then he shifted his gaze to Jessie, sitting so close beside him their hips touched. She couldn’t help the lack of space between them; she just needed his body to be touching hers. Leaning down to kiss her head, Kai murmured, “Yeah, it was…” Looking back at Leilani, he slung his arm around her shoulders. “But we’re good now, Mom. Really good, and even though all of this has been really hard to deal with…I’m okay.” He looked back at Jessie, his eyes putting the ocean to shame with their beauty. “I’m great…because of Jessie.”

Jessie felt her entire body heat with pride and love at his words. In and out of the bedroom, the things he said always had such a strong effect on her. She hoped that never faded.

Leilani’s wistful sigh pulled both of their attentions back to her. Her expression happy but reluctant, she shook her head. “You’re going to stay in Denver, aren’t you? Permanently.”

Kai sighed, too. “I’ll visit as often as I can…and you can always call me.” He grinned and added, “Even at four in the morning.”

Leilani laughed too, then slung her arms around his neck. “I love you, Kai. I’m very proud of the man you’ve become.”

Kai hugged her back, just as tightly. “I love you too, Mom.” When they pulled away from each other, he gave her a crooked smile. “At least that part of my life didn’t change…you’re still my mother.” Leilani smiled brilliantly, her eyes misting. Kai watched her reaction for a second then pulled farther away from her. “You
are
really my mom, right?” He barely got the question out before he started laughing.

Leilani smacked his shoulder before hugging him tight again. “Yes, I’m your mother!” All three of them enjoyed a moment of levity, then Leilani smiled and rested her head on Kai’s shoulder. “I’ll miss you.”