I'm Kona Love You Forever (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series Book 6) by JoAnn Bassett Page B

noises of app roval, but my mind was back at “Naturally Kona.” I felt lousy about dragging up memories of Loke’s private hell in such a clumsy way.
    “Do you think I’m insensitive?” I said.
    “What? You?” Hatch’s brow creased. “Nah. You’re the nicest person I know. You want to see insensitive? Come down to the station some night when we’ve got a new rookie onboard. The guys spend days, weeks , coming up with stuff to torture them with. Did I ever tell you about the time the guys froze a probie’s car keys in a block of ice? When the dude’s shift was over, he couldn’t find his keys…”
    He went on but I wasn’t listening. I was thinking about how my entire adult life I’d managed to avoid getting a tattoo—on my heart or anywhere else.
    ***
    That night we went to dinner at Jackie Rey’s. The concierge at the B & B claimed it was a Kona institution, with a huge following and great food. We arrived during “aloha hour” which meant we got a few bucks off our mai tais as well as a plate of some of the freshest-tasting ahi poke I’d had in quite a while.
    As w e headed back to our room something popped into my head. We got inside and I took out my cell phone.
    “Sorry,” I said to Hatch. “I’ll just be a minute.”
    He ripped off his T-shirt and started unbuttoning his shorts. I smiled and went on, “Okay, make that thirty seconds. ”
    “ Aloha , Loke,” I said when the caller picked up. “Sorry to bother you again so soon, but I have a question about the midwife who signed your daughter’s birth certificate.”
    There was a pause and Loke said, “Now isn’t a good time for me. C an we talk about this tomorrow?”
    “I’m sorry, of course. Tomorrow will be fine.”
    “How about we meet at Lili’s gravesite?” she said. “I usually go there on Sunday mornings.”
    It was about the last place I ever wanted to go. But after my clumsy lack of aloha earlier that afternoon and then interrupting her evening, I felt obliged to agree.
    “Sure. Where ’s the cemetery? And what time is good for you?”
    She gave me directions and told me she normally got there early. We made plans to meet at eight o’clock at Kona Memorial Park off the Mamalahoe Highway. Hatch was sanguine about getting up so early. He’d made tentative plans to go surfing with his wanna-be firefighter friend and he said the best swells and fewest people would be right after daybreak.
    As we were getting ready for bed—me in my naughty see-through nightie , Hatch in a pair of boxers featuring romping Dalmatians—he reached out and took my hand.
    “I’ve been thinking about something,” he said.
    “Yeah?”
    “You think Farrah and Ono are happier than they were before?”
    “Of course. Don’t you remember all that stuff Farrah went through last year?” I said.  “And Ono—well, Ono literally wound up face down in a ditch. I’d say they’re probably both a lot happier since they found each other.”
    “But how about the marriage thing? Do you think they’re glad they got married instead of just living together?”
    I had an inkling where this was headed.
    “I don’t know. Farrah seems over-the-moon, but that’s pretty typical of newlyweds.”
    “You ever think about it?” he said. “You know, about marriage?”
    We locked eyes. I loved Hatch and I knew he loved me. But for me, marriage was one of those “tattoo” things. It was for life. I wasn’t about to paint myself in a corner so I deflected the question.
    “Are you kidding? I’m a wedding planner. Marriage is pretty much my life’s work.”
    He sighed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
    We enjoyed each other’s company for the next hour or so and I fell asleep a few minutes after midnight. Six-thirty a.m. would roll around long before I wanted to get up. But then, I figured no matter how long I slept I’d never be ready to visit a baby’s grave.

     
    CHAPTER 13
    Hatch leaned in and kissed me good morning. It was still dark