O'ahu Lonesome Tonight? (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series #5) Read Free Page A

mean, if he’s gonna go all harsh on you, I don’t think I want to—”
    “Don’t worry.
He’s too much of a gentleman for trash talk. And besides, we’re good. Sometimes
it’s better to be long-time friends than short-time lovers. That’s how it is
with us.”
    “So you guys
never did, uh, you know?”
    “No, never.”
    “Whew. That’s
cool. I was worried. Nothing more downer than a dude with
unrequired love.”
    “I think the
word is ‘unrequited’.”
    “Yeah, whatever. So, you think I’ll be chill riding on his
boat?”
    “I’m not going
to lie to you, Farrah. It’s a full day’s sail to O’ahu ,
and it can get kind of bumpy. But Ono’s an excellent captain.”
    “Are you
disappointed in me?”
    “Of course not. Why would you even ask that?”
    “Because
compared to you I’m a total wuss . I mean, you’re like
Wonder Woman brave. You do your kung fu and you
worked for Homeland Security and all that. What do I do? I run a gnarly grocery
store. You don’t need to be Brave Heart to card pimply dudes for beer.”
    I took her
hand. “Look, you’re the most courageous woman I know. I can’t count the number
of times you’ve stuck up for me and gotten knocked around for it. You’re a lot
of things, Farrah, but ‘ wuss ’ isn’t one of them. Now
let’s go see a man about a boat.”
    We walked to
the far end of the boat slips where Ono’s catamaran, the Maui Happy Returns ,
was tied up. I had mixed feelings about being back there. I’d loved it when Ono
had taken me out on my first sail out of there, but I’d also had a pretty close
call right there on that very same dock.
    When we got up
alongside the gleaming white hull Ono was standing at attention on the gangway.
    “Hey,
stranger,” he said giving me a big hug as I came aboard. He reached to take
Farrah’s hand. “And you must be my new crew member. Welcome aboard.”
    Farrah shot me
a look and froze.
    “Farrah’s a
little nervous about this,” I said. “She’s worried you’ll want her to do stuff
she doesn’t know how to do.”
    “Oh, I was just
kidding about you being crew,” he said. “I have to report you as a member of
the crew or it messes with my insurance. I take tourists out so my liability’s
pretty steep. They keep tabs on me.”
     Farrah
shot him a tentative smile and climbed aboard.
    “Wow, this
boat’s so groovy,” she said. “Beautiful wood.” She
trailed a hand across the highly-polished teak hand rails.
    “It is. Pali must’ve already told you it’s not mine. That’s why
I’ve got to go to O’ahu next weekend. The owner wants
me to haul some people out on a day sail.”
    “ Mahalo for offering to take me. I’ve got to warn you, though. I don’t get out much. I’ve never been on a boat
ride that lasted more than an hour. And that was a long time ago.”
    “That’s cool.
The ride to O’ahu can get a little rough, but I’ll
have you stay down here in the salon if it gets really rockin ’.
It’s the most stable place on the vessel. If you look out the windows you
shouldn’t get seasick.”
    At the mention
of the word, seasick , I saw a flash of worry in Farrah’s eyes.
    “What if I get
sick anyway?” she said.
    “No worries,”
said Ono. “We’ve all fed the fish one time or another.”
    Farrah asked if
she could explore the rest of the boat and Ono nodded. “Let me know if you have
any questions.” She started down the ladder to go below deck. Ono turned to me.
“Wow, you didn’t tell me your friend was so beautiful. She’s got gorgeous
skin.”
    I doubted it
was her skin he was really taken with. Farrah’s figure boasted some eye-popping
elements that even an eighty -dollar bra could barely
keep in check.
    “Yeah, she’s
very pretty. She’s also my best friend.” I said it to put him on notice that he
better not try anything. It seemed he took it wrong.
    “You got a
little green monkey whispering in your ear, Pali ? I
never figured you for jealous.”
    “I’m not.