Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) Read Free Page B

both men turned, staring at the path, half hidden by the tall, treelike coffee plants growing in thick rows together. A small, compact white rental car gently nosed its way up the drive. Allie, Dallas assumed.
    Linus the goat ambled around the corner, and the driver, skittish, veered hard right—too sharply. The tiny compact tire went off the driveway into the ruts on the side of the road with a hard thump, and splattered the trunks of the coffee trees with mud. Dallas straightened his hat as he walked out to save the damsel in distress.
    That was when she opened the door and got out to inspect the stuck wheel.
    This was no gangly preadolescent girl, like the one in the dated photo on Misu’s fridge. This was a full-blown woman, late twenties, with long, lean legs in formfitting jeans, and thick raven-black hair that fell long and straight past her shoulders. She did look like Misu’s kin, had the same chin and pronounced cheekbones. But she was clearly an ethnic mix: not wholly Japanese, but not wholly something else, either. She had flawless olive skin and dark eyes, her thick lashes magnified by mascara. Her thin, just-defined arms that jutted from her short-sleeved T-shirt showed just how fit she was. She had a sweater wrapped around her tiny waist, a wool remnant from Chicago, no doubt, as were her high-heeled leather ankle boots. She flicked a long, shiny strand of hair from her eyes, and as she inspected the damage, the muddied wheel sank three inches into the dark muck. If she were out on the main road, at least three cars would’ve stopped, men stumbling over themselves trying to help her.
    Allie watched Dallas’s profile carefully as he tried not to look worried.
    Allie slipped her hand in her pocket, finding the forgotten pieces of Teri’s mango candy there. Absently, she pulled two out, offering Dallas one.
    “Do you think Kayla was there? When the tsunami hit?”
    “No. I...saw her at the evacuation center. She made it out.” Dallas gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
    “Good.” Allie felt genuine relief as she unwrapped a piece of mango candy and ate one. She was glad the kids got out. The idea of a wall of water demolishing a place filled with little kids...she shuddered at the thought.
    “Still, I should’ve gone to check on her,” Dallas said, voice sounding ragged.
    Allie recognized the guilt in his voice. She knew what it meant to feel as if you hadn’t done everything to save someone you love.
    “We didn’t have twenty minutes, Dallas,” Allie said, hoping her reasoning would get through. “All the news reports said we missed the water by maybe minutes . We were lucky to get out, and to get Teri and her stylists and Jesse out in time. If we’d stayed even five minutes longer, none of us would’ve made it.”
    Allie saw the hard, glassy look in Dallas’s eyes and realized her words might not matter. How many times over the years had she been told it wasn’t her fault that her father had died? When had she ever believed it?
    “Besides, you said yourself, she was fine,” Allie said.
    “I know.” Dallas ran a hand through his thick blond hair, and it jutted out in all directions. Allie wanted to ease his worry, but wasn’t sure how. “But I lived with her for nearly three years. I was there when she had her first day of preschool. And, then... Well, I know she’s not my responsibility anymore, but...”
    “You still care about her,” Allie finished. Allie wondered just how deeply his feelings for them still ran.
    The streetlights beside them were out, and the houses along the ridge were dark. Another power outage, added to the many. Dallas studied the road intently, the bright beams of the truck lighting the way.
    “I nearly adopted her. If we had gotten married, I would’ve been her stepfather. Her own dad hadn’t been involved at all.”
    “What happened with you and Jennifer?” Allie had to know. He said he hadn’t cheated, but she couldn’t