Catastrophe at Castaway Cove (Kristi Cameron Book 8) Page 4

  What if someone is still out there? she thought. The person who ransacked Mrs. Manoa’s room. Maybe he’s out there in the dark, watching the house—and the cottages. Do I really want to open the window? Doesn’t do any good to lock the door if you open the window, Chunky Monkey! She wasn’t giggling now. She drew her hand back and slowly closed the curtain. She tiptoed back to the bed. She would listen to the surf and feel the ocean breezes in the morning. For now she would just go to sleep.

  __________

  CHAPTER FOUR

  __________

  Just Another Day in Paradise

  “I already have the paint,” Mrs. Manoa said the next morning as they were finishing breakfast. “I bought it last week while I had the opportunity on the big island. I hope I’m doing the right thing in painting the guest quarters in these bright tropical colors like Uncle Paulo did. People seem to have more sophisticated tastes these days.”

  “Well, I think this place has an old-fashioned charm all its own with its little touches of whimsy and hominess. There is still plenty of the natural wood and bamboo to give them that rustic feeling, but the tropical colors are cheerful and say, Whoopee! We’re on vacation!” Rachel encouraged her. “Trust me—the tourists who are going to come here aren’t the sophisticated type, Mrs. Manoa! Besides, the colors you chose for inside the cabins are much softer and more restful—perfect in which to relax and get a good night’s sleep!”

  “Yeah, I slept like a log!” Skeeter chimed in. “Didn’t even bother me that Dan and Pete were snoring enough to raise the roof!”

  “Oh, you’re full of beans, Skeeter!” Dan said as he and Pete threw their wadded up napkins at the younger boy.

  “Okay, let’s put these guys to work, Mrs. Manoa! Looks like they have plenty of energy!” Steve said. He looked at his daughter and frowned. “What’s the matter, Kristi? You’re the only one who seems to be dragging this morning.”

  Kristi didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t slept well at all, and that when she finally had fallen into a restless slumber, that it had been full of nightmares. “I’m fine, Daddy,” she said. “You know I’m not much of a morning person. Just give me a few minutes to wake up.”

  Mrs. Manoa looked down at the list in her hands, “Well, I think we’ll start you men out painting the exteriors of the guest cottages. If all four of you work together on each one, you could probably do a couple a day! Ladies, we will paint the inside of the cottages. Leilani and I already did the three that you all are staying in, so it won’t take as long. If we finish before the guys, we can start on the dining room and lobby inside the big house. Does that sound okay to everyone?”

  There was a buzz of cheerful acceptance as they all jumped up and headed for the equipment and cans of paint. “Wait! Wait!” Leilani’s grandmother cried. “I wasn’t through!” They stopped and looked at her. “I just want to say, there are some ground rules that I must insist upon! Number One—everyone stops work at 2:00 every afternoon, if not before! I absolutely do not want all you wonderful people spending your entire vacation working! It would make me most unhappy if that were to happen, and you don’t want to make me unhappy, do you?” She smiled. “I didn’t think so! Number Two—if you don’t feel like working at all, then don’t work! This is Paradise! That’s the rule in Paradise! And Number Three—just have fun while you work, okay? I feel guilty enough about putting you all to work here, and if I thought you weren’t having fun…”

  “Stop worrying about it!” the Camerons and their friends suddenly said all in unison.

  “We want to do this!” Kristi added.

  “There will be plenty of time for surfing and sightseeing later,” Dan said.

  “Yeah—I think this is cool!” Skeeter agreed. “Makes me feel like a real hotel tycoon!”

  Mrs. Manoa laughed. “You’re so sweet, but I—”

  Rachel grabbed a paint brush and shoved it in the older lady’s hand. “Here! Let’s get started!”

  They painted all morning, taking a quick break for lunch, and then painted a little longer until Mrs. Manoa made them stop. When they were done, the Hula Hut and Hibiscus Hideaway were sporting new coats of paint in pink and coral. Leilani, Kristi, Robyn and Anna had painted the interior of the Pineapple Palace in the same soft yellow of Banana Cabana, and Coconut Cottage looked brighter and fresher with its new sandy-colored walls. Mrs. Manoa showed Rachel the bedding and draperies she had picked to go with it—little coconut palm trees woven into a cream background.

  “How did you get two whole cottages done in just a few hours, Daddy?” Kristi asked as they were washing out their brushes and rollers.

  “Well, with four of working together, we each took one wall and before you knew it we were done and moving on to the next one! How did you girls do?

  “We finished the Pineapple Palace and Mom and Leilani’s grandmother did one of the others. It actually was kind of fun!”

  “Sure! Anytime you divide the work, you multiply the fun!”

  Kristi laughed. “Did you just make that up, Dad?”

  He chuckled. “I’m not sure. I may have heard it in math class a long, long time ago!” He tapped the water off his roller and said, “Here, Kristi—I’ll finish that for you. Why don’t you get ready to go? We’re going to run into town and see if we can get those new locks for Mrs. Manoa and do a little sightseeing—if there’s much to see! It’s not your typical tourist town.”

  “Hey, Dad—they have a general store. That means shopping to us girls and we’re always ready for that!”

  Mrs. Manoa had decided to stay home and get dinner started for that evening. “I’ll be fine!” she assured Leilani when her granddaughter objected to her staying by herself. “I’ll lock the doors—and really I won’t be totally alone. Kimo is up on the roof, doing some repairs, and I think he’s planning to work on the plumbing in a couple of the cottages, too, if he has time. If I have a problem, he’ll be here to help.”

  “Kimo?” Leilani said doubtfully. “But he—”

  “Just go with your friends, Leilani! I’ll be just fine. If we’re going to live here, honey, we can’t live our lives in fear. Trust the Lord! He is the One in control, you know!”

  Leilani did not argue. She glanced up at the man on the roof as she climbed into the SUV with the others. Kimo was a native Hawaiian and older—maybe not as old as Great-Uncle Paulo had been, but still old, in her estimation. What good would he be if someone tried to harm her grandmother? Well, Grandmother was right. God is in control and she would just have to trust in Him—not in some old Hawaiian man.

  Steve took the long winding road down to the beach very carefully, but once they were down and on the open road back to Palekaiko the teens’ excitement rose. The village was still somewhat new to even Leilani, so she was looking forward to the little excursion, too. “We’ve spent most of the last few weeks back at Castaway Cove working our fingers to the bone!” she laughingly said. “I’ve been to the store once or twice, and to the church, which is where I met some of the other teens on the island, a couple times. Other than that, the only other person we’ve seen is old Kimo!”

  “I can’t wait to check out that general store!” Robyn said.

  “Well, don’t expect too much,” Leilani warned. “It’s mostly just the basics—food, toilet paper, laundry soap, a few racks of clothes, a small hardware section, a few souvenirs…”

  “Souvenirs!” Skeeter said. “Any snacks?”

  “Well, yes, they have an ice cream counter. It sells frozen bananas and pineapple kabobs, too. That’s about it.

  “Pineapple kabobs!”

  “Uh—it’s Hawaii! Remember? The only other place to eat out in Palekaiko is the little café. Although soon, if all goes well, there will be a new place to eat on Paradise Island—the dining room of Castaway Cove!”

  “Look, we’re almost there!” Anna pointed out. They were passing a few houses similar to the cottages up at Castaway Cove. They had the wraparound porches and wooden shutters th
at were common to beach homes, and none of them looked in any better condition than the old resort up on the cliff. Soon they came to the main street—the only street, really, in town, and Steve found a place to park right outside the general store. Several old men were sitting on the porch and they watched with interest as the teens jumped eagerly out of the SUV and swarmed into the little store.

  An elderly Hawaiian woman behind the counter smiled easily at the young people as they came in. “Aloha auina la!” she called out. “Good afternoon! Pehea `oe? How are you?”

  “Maika`i mahalo! Fine, thank you!” Leilani called back. The rest of the teens waved and called Aloha and then followed Leilani past the groceries to the back of the store where there were a few souvenir T-shirts and knickknacks. Rachel and Steve had entered just behind them, but Steve headed for the hardware section and Rachel wandered down one of the two aisles of groceries.

  Leilani was right. The little general store was more for the convenience of the locals than to provide shopping opportunities for tourists. There were only two or three kinds of T-shirts, although they were in a variety of colors and they were each able to find one they liked that was different than the others. Robyn found a little hula doll that swiveled her hips, and each of the girls bought a necklace of puka shells, as well.

  They wandered the store for a while before taking their purchases up to the counter. The old lady was friendly and, to their surprise, spoke English very well. “You are Mrs. Manoa’s granddaughter, aren’t you? The lady who took over Castaway Cove? I’ve met her in the past when she came to visit her uncle. Very nice lady! How is the work coming along up there?”

  “Great! These are our friends who came to help us this week,” Leilani said, indicating the other teenagers gathered around her. “We’re doing a lot of painting and repairs, and even some remodeling.”

  “That is very nice! I hope it will be a success for you. Your `Anakala Paulo was a wonderful man, and very well-loved here on Palekaiko, but everyone knew he had let Castaway Cove go downhill the last few years. It couldn’t be helped, though, I suppose, as he got older and less able to keep up with it.”

  Leilani nodded and then paused. “Uh, you haven’t seen any strangers around lately have you? I mean, someone who might look a little suspicious or seem to be up to something?” The rest of the kids knew she was thinking of the break-in they had had the day before.

  The old woman’s eyes grew big. She lowered her voice. “Why, yes! Yes, I have!”

  “You have? Do you know who they are? Or where they are?” Leilani asked.

  The shopkeeper shook her head. She leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t know who they are. I never saw them before. But I know where they are!” she hissed.

  “You do? Where are they?” The young people all leaned toward the old woman.

  “Right there! Never saw those two before in my life! They look a little shifty to me!”

  The teenagers turned to look where she was pointing. There was a stunned silence for a moment, and then they burst out laughing. Steve and Rachel were standing at one end of an aisle looking at the locks Steve had found. They didn’t look up and had no idea that everyone was staring at them.

  “That’s my mom and dad!” Kristi giggled. “Oh, yeah! They’re a couple of shifty characters, alright!” Her parents looked up just then at the sound of the teenagers’ laughter and smiled. Rachel waved to them and then went back to the conversation with her husband.

  “Oh! So sorry!” The old lady looked crestfallen.

  The young people assured her that no offense was taken, but they couldn’t stop laughing as they paid for their souvenirs. Skeeter felt bad for the old woman. She refused to say any more and just went about her business checking them out. Finally he gallantly said, “Ma’am, could we each get an ice cream cone over here? The treat is on me, everyone! And Ma’am, could I please treat you to some ice cream, too? It’s a great day here in Paradise and I’m feeling good!”

  The old lady smiled and nodded. She hurried over to the ice cream counter and soon everyone was enjoying their ice cream and insisting that she join them. It wasn’t long until she was happily chatting with them once more as they waited for Rachel and Steve to finish their shopping.

  The Camerons brought their selections over to the counter finally and the old woman shuffled over to ring up their purchases. She couldn’t look them in the eyes, but every now and then she would glance over at the teenagers and a little grin would break out. “Don’t worry about it,” Kristi whispered to her when at last they were finished and were leaving. “They may not be shifty, but they are a couple of characters!” The teens waved goodbye, calling merrily Aloha to her as they left the store.

  The old men were still on the porch, watching as they climbed back into the SUV. “Well, where to next, Leilani?” Steve asked when they were all buckled in. “We have another hour or two before we need to return to Castaway Cove. Or would you all rather just go back now and do a little swimming and surfing before supper?”

  “I’m happy to do whatever the rest of you want to do,” Leilani said shyly, “but there is one place I’d like to show you all—if not now, then sometime later. It’s my favorite place on all the island. We have time if you would like to see it now.”

  “I vote we go see Leilani’s favorite spot!” Kristi said promptly. “You’ve got my curiosity up now, and you know that’s not fair!” she said to her friend.

  “I have a feeling I know what it is,” Anna said quietly, “and if it is what I think it is, it will be my favorite place, too!”

  Robyn looked at her curiously. “Huh? How could you know, Anna?” Anna just smiled and winked at Leilani.

  “Leilani’s favorite place has my vote, too!” Rachel said.

  “Well, that’s good enough for me!” Steve said. “Whatever Rachel votes for has the majority! Which way should I go, Leilani?” She directed him out of town and out onto the open road again.

  They passed a sign that said Palekaiko Natural Preserve and Leilani told Steve to turn to the right. A small road, barely wide enough for the SUV, led in under the trees. They followed it until they came to a point where they could go no further. Steve stopped the vehicle, turned it off and then asked, “Now what, Leilani?”

  “Follow me!” she said.

  There was a narrow trail, clearly marked and kept free of brush and overhanging branches, which led through the rain forest. The light in under the trees had a greenish cast. It was quiet and still with only an occasional bird hopping from branch to branch. “This reminds me of Fire Island,” Kristi said softly as they followed Leilani along the trail.

  “Me, too!” everyone else echoed.

  “I think I know where we’re going now, too!” Robyn suddenly said.

  She was right. The path ended in a clearing at the foot of a beautiful waterfall. A pool collected below the cascade of water as it tumbled over rocks and rippled out to the fern-lined edges. It wasn’t exactly like the waterfall on Fire Island, but the feeling was the same—a sense of being in a sacred place of worship. The Camerons and their friends stopped at the edge of the pool and without saying a word, they clasped hands with one another and began to sing the one song that came to their minds at the same time.

  O Lord my God,

  When I in awesome wonder

  Consider all

  The works Thy Hand hath made,

  I see the stars,

  I hear the mighty thunder,

  Thy pow'r throughout

  The universe displayed;

  When through the woods

  And forest glades I wander

  I hear the birds

  Sing sweetly in the trees;

  When I look down

  From lofty mountain grandeur

  And hear the brook

  And feel the gentle breeze;

  Then sings my soul,

  My Savior God, to Thee,

  How great Thou art!

  How great Thou art!

  Then
sings my soul,

  My Savior God, to Thee,

  How great Thou art!

  How great Thou art!

  Kristi had tears in her eyes by the time they came to the end of the old beloved hymn. Isn’t God good, she thought, to bring us to this beautiful paradise on earth? To put us all together as a family and give us these wonderful friends who are part of our Christian family? What more could we ask for here on earth? We are so blessed! Thank you, Lord!

  She was still thinking about it that night when she finally lay in bed trying to get to sleep. Once again the others had drifted off before she had. Kristi sighed. It had been a long, busy day. She should have fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow but here she was, wide awake!

  She tried to clear her mind and just let herself float away, but her thoughts went back to the last few hours. They had lingered in the little grotto by the waterfall for a while, just relaxing and talking and even praying. It had been the rest they needed after the busyness and stresses of the days before.

  Their return to Castaway Cove, though, had been anything but restful. Dinner was nearly ready and they had all pitched in to set up the table out on the lawn where they had dined the night before. Mrs. Manoa enjoyed listening to their accounts of the afternoon while they ate and she had laughed with the rest of them when they had finally confessed to Rachel and Steve that the elderly shopkeeper had taken them for a couple of shifty characters! The young people had insisted that the adults sit outside afterwards and enjoy the early evening while they washed up the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

  The “show” was just beginning when they finally finished. They raced for their cabins to change into their swimsuits and enjoy a quick dip in the ocean in the glow of the beautiful sunset. Steve had surprised them all then with a display of fireworks on the beach as night fell at last, and when that was over they had lit a bonfire out on the sand and made s’mores in its warmth. It was midnight before they had finally said goodnight and returned to their respective cottages.