Page 64 of Tiki Beach
“We should get going,” Keone said, checking his watch. “Tiki gets cranky if her dinner is too late, and it’s been a long day.”
“Such a demanding creature,” I said fondly, as Tiki purposefully headed toward the door ahead of us. “Give me a hug, Aunt Fae.”
“Aw, girlie. I miss you,” she whispered in her ear. “But I’m happy if you’re happy.”
“I’m happy,” I whispered back. I’d moved in with Keone the previous week, and we were all still getting used to things.
She kissed my cheek. “Good. Then you won’t mind if I move a gentleman caller into your old bedroom next to mine, will you?”
I laughed. “Getting onto the dating websites, are you, Auntie?”
“I’ve still got tread on my tires,” she said, and winked. “Drive safe.”
Outside, the night was clear and star-filled, the ocean visible as a darker expanse beyond the trees surrounding the park.
Keone drove us along the coastal road toward the cottage with Tiki curled contentedly in her carrier in the back seat. Soon, the familiar shape of Keone’s seaside cottage came into view, nestled beside his mother’s larger home.
The two properties shared a garden that sloped to a steep bluff overlooking the ocean. This was now illuminated by solar-powered path lights that cast a warm glow across the native plantings of fruit and flowers.
“What are you thinking about?” Keone asked, glancing over at me as we pulled into the driveway.
“Everything, really,” I admitted. “How Pearl is managing to move forward despite what Kawika did to her. How the Heritage Garden is finally becoming reality after all these years. How different things might have been if we hadn’t found that final piece of evidence in her safety deposit box.”
Keone nodded, parking the truck in park in the lean-to garage. “It’s been an intense few months.”
“That’s an understatement,” I smiled, reaching back to unbuckle Tiki’s carrier. “When Tiki uncovered Pearl’s poisoning, I had no idea where it would lead.”
“A case like this reveals the connections that were always there, just beneath the surface,” Keone said as we made our way up the gently lit path to the cottage door. “Between past and present.”
“Like Pearl’s clever use of carved boxes,” I said, setting down Tiki’s carrier outside the cottage’s screened porch. Mango, Ilima’s old cat, had long since been driven off by my much fiercer calico, who exited the carrier and went up the steps ahead of us. “The truth was waiting for the right alignment of light and perspective to become visible.”
“Poetic way of looking at detective work,” Keone said, opening the screen door and holding it for Tiki and me. We crossed the orchid-lined porch and went inside—no one locked their doors here.
Tiki immediately headed for her food bowl in the kitchen, meowing indignantly about the delayed dinner service. “Yes, your highness, right away,” I said, setting down my bag and moving to the kitchen to attend to her demands.
Keone switched on lamps around the living room, casting a warm glow over the space we now shared. Through the window, I could see lights on in his mother’s house next door. Ilima had been working late most evenings, preparing for her transition to the mayor’s office.
“Mom’s going to be up awhile,” Keone said, following my gaze. “Probably reviewing budget documents. She’s determined to understand every aspect of the town’s finances before she officially takes office.”
“She’ll be an amazing mayor,” I said, measuring out Tiki’s food. “Hana and Ohia couldn’t ask for a better leader right now.”
“Agreed,” he said, moving to the refrigerator. “She’s already talking about establishing a community reconciliation commission to address lingering issues from the corruption investigation.”
“That balance seems to be Pearl’s core message throughout all of this,” I observed, watching Tiki attack her dinner with enthusiasm, forgoing her usual prissiness. All that socializing at Aunt Fae’s must have helped her work up an appetite. “Acknowledging painful truths without becoming defined or consumed by them.”
Keone poured us each a glass of water and led the way to the house’s front lanai, where we often ended our days listening to the waves and watching the stars. Night air carried the salt scent of the ocean mixed with the sweet fragrance of blooming ginger from the garden.
“It’s still hard to believe how much has changed,” I said, settling into one of the comfortable chairs. “Your mother becoming mayor, Pearl’s garden finally being approved, the Santos family facing justice after generations of corruption.”
“And you,” Keone added, his voice softening as he sat beside me. “Moving to Ohia for a fresh start, getting pulled into one major investigation after another.”
“And finding you,” I said. “That wasn’t exactly in my plan when I took the postmaster position.”
“A fortunate side effect,” he smiled, reaching for my hand. “Though I maintain it was inevitable.”
“It’s a pretty small dating pool out here,” I agreed. “Now we’ve got to find someone for Aunt Fae.”
We fell into comfortable silence, listening to the rhythmic sound of waves breaking on the shore below. Through the open door, I could hear Tiki moving around inside, probably settling into her favorite spot on top of the refrigerator, after completing her evening meal.
