Paradise Wild (28 page)

He turned her over. She sighed. But when she felt her sarong being loosened, she tensed.

“What are you doing?” Corinne demanded, the mood broken now.

“You’ll catch cold if you stay in that thing much longer,” Jared explained, and there was humor in his tone when he added, “Not that you don’t look adorable in it.”

She looked around and caught him grinning. “I can undress myself, thank you.”

Jared shrugged and stood up. “I was only trying to help, Corinne.”

“I can well imagine what you were trying to do,” she answered tartly.

“Would that be so terrible?”

She caught her breath. Did he really think yesterday didn’t matter?

“Making love is not going to make everything all right. Last time was different, Jared. I thought you cared then, but now I know you don’t.”

“If I didn’t want you, I would have let you go home a long time ago. Don’t you see that?”

“Wanting and loving are not the same.”

“What do you want from me?” he shouted. “I only said what I did to Pierce because he told me that you couldn’t stand living with me any more. I didn’t mean it, Corinne.”

Corinne stared at him with wide eyes. What had Florence said? “It was only his hurt pride talking.” Was that so?
Don’t believe him
, a tiny voice whispered.
He’ll only hurt you again
.

“Why should I believe anything you say, Jared?” Corinne asked softly. “You didn’t believe me when I told you I hadn’t really slept with other men. Don’t ask me to believe you when you won’t believe anything I say.”

“Corinne, I’m sorry. What more can I say?”

She got up, crossed to the bathroom, and closed the door on him. With the click of the lock tears sprang to her eyes. It would have been so easy to forgive him, to make love and call a truce again. But she never again wanted him to hurt her. She had been hurt too much.

“So why does it
still
hurt?” she whispered brokenly.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning. The sea, deep blue and shimmering, formed a perfect background for the flowers in every imaginable color. The sun was warm and welcome, not hot as it would be later. Even so, Corinne wore a wide straw hat over her golden curls as she strolled through the fragrant garden. She was wary of the sun now, after getting burned so easily. Her skin had turned brown and then peeled a few days ago. But it was smooth again now, and she had a light golden tan.

Corinne stopped by a gardenia bush and picked a fat, velvety white bloom to place in her hair. She smiled, thinking of the bouquets of gardenias that Jared had brought to her room each day.

Corinne was finding it very difficult to stay angry with Jared. He was so generous and considerate. He didn’t push her or even make any overtures, but he was obviously trying to make amends.

“Kolina!”

Corinne looked toward the road and saw Leonaka standing between two of the coconut palms, waving at her. Then he shook one of the trunks until a coconut fell. She laughed as he jumped out of the way, then scooped up the fallen coconut and brought it to her.

“For the
keiki
,” he grinned.

“And how is he supposed to eat that with only two teeth?” She laughed, her green eyes sparkling.

“Just tell Aunty to make a coconut pudding. I guarantee he will love it.”

“Thank you,” Corinne said, and took the heavy fruit to cradle in her arms. “Are you looking for Jared?”

“No, I spoke with him last night. I came to get my horse and say good-bye to you.”

“Your vacation certainly went by quickly. We’ll miss you.”

“You’ll have to tell Jared to finish your surfing lessons,” Leonaka suggested.

“Well, I don’t know…” she began.

“He will be glad to,” the big Hawaiian assured her. “He was put out about my having you out on my board. He thought you should have been on his.”

“Did he say that?”

“He didn’t have to.” Leonaka and Corinne started toward the stable. “I know Jared. I know his moods and I know what he feels even before he, as stubborn as he is, realizes it.” Softer, he added, “I know that he loves you, Kolina.”

Elation hit Corinne, but she forced it away from her. This was only Leonaka stating his opinion. She knew better.

“It’s nice of you to say so,” Corinne said quietly.

Leonaka smiled knowingly and bent to kiss her on the cheek. “You will hear him say it one day, and then you will have no doubts.
Aloha
, Kolina. Be happy.”

He disappeared into the stable. She stood for a moment, looking after him, then turned slowly toward the house. Jared met her at the door.

“So there you are!”

“Were you looking for me?”

“Yes. Here, give me that.” He took the coconut from her. “I thought you might like to go on a picnic. You’ve been past Waimea Bay, but you haven’t seen the valley. Some of the most beautiful plants on the island are there.”

“How far is it?”

“Far enough that we’ll have to ride.”

She smiled. “I would love to go, and I’m sure Florence will, too. How soon would you like to leave?”

“Hold on. I meant just the two of us.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to be alone with you for a while,” he said softly.

Corinne slowly shook her head, her eyes locked with his. It was too soon. She simply didn’t want to be alone with him yet. “I don’t think so, Jared.”

“You mean you won’t go unless you’re chaperoned?” She nodded and he sighed. “Then by all means, invite the whole household. We’ll leave as soon as everyone is ready.”

Waimea Valley was breathtakingly lovely and like nothing Corinne had ever seen. The entrance to the valley was bordered by high rocky cliffs, with huge banyan and other lush trees fronting the cliffs. A little way into the valley was a creek. Corinne and Jared, on horseback, rode beside the creek, while Akela, Florence, and Michael rode in the open carriage. Malia had rudely refused to come, but that didn’t dampen Corinne’s spirits. She was determined to enjoy the outing.

Jared had been right about the beauty of the plants. There was quite a variety of trees, short and tall, sandalwood, kukui nut, and the giant monkey pod, not to mention mango, guava, papaya, and breadfruit. But the flowers outshone everything. Every color was there.
From the bright orange-yellow of the kalamona shrubs to the exotic purple ginger plant, the valley looked like a painting.

They rode only as far as the carriage could go, and then Akela unloaded a large basket she had filled with food. Jared started a fire to roast a chicken and yams. Then he settled back under a banyan tree to watch the women cook. Akela had included her delicious taro biscuits and a banana pie she had made for lunch. Corinne poured lemonade from a big jug for everyone, then announced that she would take the job of keeping Michael out of mischief. He wasn’t crawling yet, but the little devil certainly managed to get around and into things. Everything that found its way into his little hands went straight into his mouth. Corinne almost screamed when she saw he had found a dead cricket.

Jared couldn’t help laughing as he watched Corrine try to get the insect out of Michael’s fist without actually touching it herself. She finally succeeded, then put the boy on her lap and cuddled him.

Jared sobered, seeing how natural she looked with the child. The baby didn’t mean anything to him, so he had never really paid much attention to him. But Michael certainly meant a lot to Corinne. She fussed over him more than Michael’s own mother did. And it was absurd that the baby was sleeping in the same room with Corinne. He had wondered why Florence didn’t move the child in with her. Granted, Naneki’s room was small, but still…

Akela motioned Corinne over to the fire and she took Michael with her, unwilling to put him down again after the incident with the insect.

Jared sat up impulsively and called, “Bring him over here, Corinne.”

She turned around very slowly and stared. She didn’t move, but held the boy against her breast.

Jared’s brow furrowed. “For God’s sake, I won’t hurt him.”

Very slowly, Corinne walked to him and then reluctantly handed Michael over. She stood before Jared for several seconds before finally walking away. Every few steps, she peeked over her shoulder at him.

Michael squirmed in his lap and Jared laughed. “You must be mighty special, little fella, to have my wife wrapped around your little finger. What’s your secret?”

Michael seemed surprised by the deep voice and looked up at the man who was talking. Jared sucked in his breath as he looked at Michael’s eyes. They were bright lime green, exactly the color of Corinne’s eyes. Why hadn’t he noticed the eyes before?

The more he looked at Michael, the more thoughts crowded in on him. He could see now why Akela was so sure the baby was Corinne’s. It was the eyes. Obviously, Florence’s husband had had green eyes. It was an unusual shade, but hardly rare.

Jared was satisfied with that conclusion. To reassure himself, he considered the child’s age. He would be six months now, even though he looked small. Five months?

Jared quickly calculated and his eyes darkened to a smoky gray. If the child were really only five months old, he could have been conceived on the night they’d been in the gambling house. But if that were so, it would mean Corinne had left for Hawaii almost immediately after the child was born. The baby would have been too young to travel.

Angrily, Jared shook the suspicions from his mind. He chided himself. Corinne would not lie to him about his own child.

Michael was climbing up Jared’s wide chest. Face to face, he warily reached out and touched Jared’s cheek, then giggled. The sound was infectious and soon the baby settled down and confidently laid his head on Jared’s shoulder.

Jared was touched more than he cared to admit. God, what he wouldn’t give to have such a son! Those eyes haunted him. And the black hair, just like his own. He quickly resolved to write to the one person who could lay his doubts to rest. He hated to ask the man for anything, but Samuel Barrows would know if his daughter had had a baby. It would take at least two months to receive an answer, but that would give him an excuse to keep Corinne a little longer. For now, he would forget about it. It would do him no good to brood about it.

“Come on, I’ve got something I want to show you.”

Jared’s voice brought Corinne’s eyes open. She had been lying in the shade, listening to all the different bird songs around her. She sat up now and stared up at Jared. “What?”

A smile curled his lips. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise. Come on, I gave Michael to his mother and told the others we would be back later.”

“I don’t really care for surprises, Jared,” Corinne said hesitantly.

“You’ll like this one. Come on.” He offered his hand and pulled her up.

“Where is it?”

“A little way up the valley. There’s a trail, so we can take the horses.”

“We won’t be gone long, will we?”

“No.”

They set off, following the creek. It widened in
places, and divided in others, joining again on its path to the bay. The cliffs weren’t as high here, and the landscape was much denser, like a jungle.

The farther they went, the more the valley narrowed and the louder the noises around them became. There were many more birds in this thicker part of the forest, and even the running creek sounded louder.

Suddenly Corinne saw why. The valley ended abruptly before them with a tall concave rock wall that formed an almost perfect curve. And right in the center was a breathtaking waterfall, at least forty feet high, that cascaded into a large green pool of sparkling water.

Jared had been watching her delighted reaction, and she finally looked at him and smiled. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”

“I wish you could see it in the spring, when the royal poinciana and orchid trees are in bloom. The ferns are even greener then, too.”

He helped her down from her mount and they walked over to a flat blanket of fine grass. Jared stood behind her, breathing in the fragrance of her hair.

“It’s like an Eden here,” Corinne remarked.

“Yes, and just as private. Would you go for a swim with me?”

Corinne shied away. “I couldn’t.”

“It’s just the two of us, Kolina. Are you afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”

She
was
afraid of that, but she wouldn’t admit it. “I didn’t bring anything for swimming.”

Jared grinned. “You didn’t come prepared, but I did.” He walked over to his horse and opened a satchel tied to the saddle, pulling out the sarong Akela had given her for surfing. “Will this appease your modesty?”

“You had this all planned, didn’t you?” Corinne said with amusement.

He tossed the sarong at her. “I knew you’d enjoy a swim. And I promise not to peek while you change.”

Corinne stood behind her horse to disrobe. It was just hot enough to make the round pool look inviting.

With her sarong tied in place, her clothes thrown over the back of her horse, Corinne jumped into the water, not waiting for Jared. He had gone off to cut some vines and was surprised to hear her splash. She surfaced quickly and glared at him. “Did you know this water was like ice?”

He chuckled. “It usually is.”

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

He was taking off his shirt. “You might have changed your mind. But it’s not so bad once you’ve dunked yourself completely.”

“I suppose so,” she conceded grudgingly. After swimming a bit and warming up, she moved closer to the edge of the pond. Jared was just stepping out of his pants, revealing shorts beneath. She grinned mischievously. His attention was on what he was doing, so the splash she sent his way caught him by surprise.

“Hey!”

Corinne squealed with laughter and immediately set off with quick strokes for the opposite side of the pool. She heard him enter the water and turned around to see him coming straight for her. He was a much better swimmer, with years of practice in the ocean, and before long he grabbed her foot.

“So you want to play, eh?”

He had both her feet now, and turned her over on her back, making it difficult for her to stay afloat.

“Jared, let me go.” She couldn’t help but giggle. “I just couldn’t resist doing that.”

“Well, I can’t resist doing this.”

And he raised her feet until her head submerged. Then he let go of her, and when she broke to the surface, she saw that he was swimming rapidly away from her.

“Coward!” she called after him. They were acting like children and she enjoyed it thoroughly.

Jared swam toward the falls. He climbed up on the rocky ledge beside it and sat down. He motioned for her to join him, but she shook her head, floating in the center of the pool, watching him.

“Can you dive?” he shouted, but she shook her head again. “Want to give it a try?”

“No, thank you,” she shouted back.

Jared stood up and faced the solid rock wall. The cliff slanted upward. Corinne watched in amazement as he started to climb up beside the roaring falls.

After he had gone about ten feet Corinne became alarmed. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” she shouted. He didn’t answer. “Jared?” Still he said nothing and continued on his way. “You fool, you’re going to get hurt!”

He turned then and boyishly threw her a kiss, then continued his climb. Finally reaching the top, he stood arrogantly right in the center of the falls. And then he spread his arms and propelled himself away from the tumbling water, diving gracefully, beautifully, into the pool. But he didn’t surface, and Corinne became frantic as the seconds passed. She didn’t know how deep the pool was. He might have hit his head on something.

When his hands grabbed her waist and pulled her under the water she wanted to scream. They surfaced together and she quickly wiped the water from her eyes and glared at him.

“That was stupid! Absolutely childish!” Corinne
snapped, her heart still racing. “You could have been killed!”

Jared grinned, still holding on to her waist. “You were really frightened for me, weren’t you?”

“Of course—” Then she caught herself. She refused to admit it. “—not.”