The Homecoming Read Free Page B

so she didn’t see his amusement. “I’ll manage.”
    She couldn’t know that he was so filthy rich he could probably call an entire medical staff over if he wanted. But then the amusement fled. If he had to choose between the Crosby fortune that his father had amassed and having his wife and son back again, he’d give away every dime. He shot to his feet. “Stay here,” he said. “I’ll go and hurry my friend along and we’ll be back to take you up to the house.”
    She was in pain, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t seriously disoriented. She’d sounded pretty rational and he thought she understood.
    Then again, he thought as he climbed back down off the boulder and began to lope along the tide line, she didn’t even know her own name right now.

Two
    J ohnny was coming down the steps as Danny ran back toward the house. The two men retraced Danny’s steps to where the young woman waited, then carried her up to the house in a sling made of the blanket.
    Danny put her in a first-floor sitting room, then called over to Kauai. First he spoke to a doctor, who agreed to come over and examine the woman. The man was a relative of Johnny’s—no surprise there—and Danny had met him before.
    Then he called the Kauai Police Department in Lihu’e and asked for the chief. Another relative of Johnny’s, the chief had welcomed him when he’d firstcome to the island, though Danny had had no reason to call the department before.
    After a cordial greeting, Danny said, “Are you missing any female tourists?”
    There was a slight pause and Danny could almost feel the man putting on his official hat. “Why do you ask?”
    â€œI found a woman this morning—”
    â€œAlive?”
    â€œYes. She’s in good shape, just a little banged up. I have a doctor coming over to look at her. Your cousin Eddie, as a matter of fact.”
    The chief chuckled. “Dat Eddie, he take care your little wahine.”
    Danny was familiar with the interesting brand of pidgin spoken in the islands. He knew the chief would never dream of using it with a tourist or a stranger and he felt oddly flattered. “I hope so,” he said. “She’s having a little trouble remembering how she got here.” And by the way, she doesn’t know her name, either.
    As if he were reading Danny’s mind, the chief said, “Sydney Aston. She was staying at the Marriott on Kalapaki Beach. Yesterday she went over to Waimea and rented a boat out of Kikialoa Harbor.”
    â€œAlone?” He couldn’t believe anyone would let a young, single female tourist take a boat out alone.
    â€œAlone.” The chief’s voice held a grim note now. “Ronny Kamehana said he’d take her out. She wanted to go cruisin’ past your island. But Ronny drink toomuch and when she pay up front and say she know boats, he let her go.”
    â€œI might make a point of coming over there and kicking Ronny Kamehana’s butt one of these days,” Danny said in an equally grim tone. “That woman could have died.”
    â€œDon’worry. Ronny goin’ be sorry,” the chief said. “Besides, his boat gone now, yeah?”
    â€œYeah. Make sure he doesn’t get another one.”
    â€œSo what you goin’ to do with your guest? You want Eddie bring her back?”
    â€œNo,” said Danny, “unless she needs urgent medical attention, she can stay here for a day or two until she feels a little better. She’s going to be pretty sore for a while, I imagine.” He didn’t really know why he didn’t just ship her off with Eddie. But he was the one who had found her, and ever since she’d looked at him with those wide blue eyes, he’d wanted to talk to her more.
    â€œOkay,” said the chief. “I’ll let the hotel know where she is. The manager was pretty worried when she was gone all