True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,21

I’ll be out.”

By the time Quinn changed into shorts and a T-shirt, Alani had returned with the girl next door. They waited outside the cottage, their appearances total contradictions to one another with their blonde and dark heads tilted together in a giggling conversation.

“This is Junie,” Alani said, then led the way, the girl right on her heels.

Quinn followed, clutching her hat to keep it from blowing off in the strong trade winds. They followed a short trail that led straight from the cottage area to a wide span of beach. Quinn felt a thrill at how close her new home was to the water. At least that would make Ethan happy. If he could ever get past feeling like she’d betrayed him by buying it.

People were in the water, and Alani dropped her towel and ran out as fast as she could, taking on the waves like a daredevil. Her friend followed, falling in right beside her, the two splashing like tiny mermaids in the surf.

Their laughter was like a salve to the soul.

Quinn put her bag down and spread out her towel, then sat and searched the surf for Alani’s pink suit and Junie’s blue one. She found them both, then kept her eye on them, ferociously diligent to be sure neither of the girls disappeared beneath a wave.

If they did, however, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Scream? Wade in and search, as long as the water didn’t go past her ankles? Obviously, Maria didn’t know that Quinn would make a terrible lifeguard, or she wouldn’t have trusted her to watch over the girls.

The girls played for at least half an hour before Alani turned toward Quinn. She held her arms up, waving.

“Come on out,” she called, a smile in her voice. “The water is warm!”

Quinn shook her head. “You girls go ahead. I’m fine here,” she yelled, loud enough for her voice to carry to Alani.

She wished she could go out there and be as carefree as Alani. She loved to look at the water, smell the salty spray, and imagine herself enjoying it like others did. She wondered what it would feel like to just drop her fear and embrace one of nature’s biggest gifts.

Small steps, though. She’d stood up to Ethan that day, and that was one shark too many.

Slowly, she breathed out. Then in. Then out again, letting the fresh air fill her. Revive her spirit. It truly did feel peaceful, and she wondered how her mother had ever decided to leave. The powerful harmony of Maui felt like a sure fit for her mother’s laid-back personality. Quinn was old enough now—or at least mature enough—to know that something bad must’ve happened for her mother to up and leave such a magical place. Maui was her mom’s home, her birthplace. Could it really only be infatuation with a boy that had led her away?

Unless that was a lie too.

Quinn hadn’t even thought of that. If her mother had lied about who her father was, maybe she’d lied about where she’d come from.

No. Something in Quinn’s gut felt the pull of Maui so strongly that she felt she had to have blood ties there somewhere. If it turned out she didn’t, she’d be devastated. She wasn’t sure why, but the small island spoke to her, somewhere deep within.

Quinn wanted to claim it too.

Down the beach she saw a family gathered under a flimsy cabana tent. An old woman sat in a chair right in the middle of the gathering, children and a few adults on towels around her. Something about them made Quinn think they were locals. Dressed in worn beachwear, they fit into the scene naturally.

They were people who could very well be related to her mother. To her.

Every native Hawaiian she saw now made her wonder.

Quinn needed to make time for more research.

She returned her gaze to the girls. Alani and Junie were coming out of the water, their small legs lifting high to step over the waves as they clutched each other to keep from falling.

“Quinn?” said a voice from behind her.

Quinn turned to find Maria coming from the other direction. She had one hand on her hair, trying to keep it from flying into her eyes.

“Kupuna’s friend is here. Do you want to come up and hear what he has to say about the kitchen counters?”

Quinn nodded, then stood and gathered her things. Alani had seen her mother, knowing their water time was being cut short. She and Junie ran