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"I can't believe I'm doing this. I haven't been to Hanalei since before mom and dad..." I trailed off.
"I wish I could get on that plane with you," she said, but I knew that wasn't possible.
Tess was a registered nurse, and she couldn’t drop everything at a moment's notice and skip town. People were counting on her. I was an elementary school art teacher, and it was summer break, so I had some time to hide away, which is what I intended to do.
I didn't want to confront Marcus, and I certainly didn't want to answer any of the reporters who wanted to know what happened between the congressional boy wonder and his runaway bride. I didn't want to hear his lame excuses about why I should forgive his indiscretion. More than that, I needed to stop and figure out why I was about to commit myself to a man who would cheat on me minutes before we were to be married, but also who I had so few feelings for.
When I looked down that aisle at him, a thought occurred to me. It should have broken my heart to see him with Skylar, but my thought was, "Well, that makes sense."
Skylar was his right hand, by his side at all times. She understood all the political gibberish he went on about and was actually interested in it. It just made sense—a lot more sense than me and him.
When it was my turn at the ticket counter, I ordered a one-way ticket to the island of Kauai. From there, I would rent a car and drive to the bungalow my parents and I stayed at every summer. The place where I had so many fond memories, and also where I experienced my biggest heartbreak—even bigger than the one I was going through now.
It didn't matter anymore, I told myself. What mattered was getting away from all this noise and my duplicitous life.
I kissed a tearful Tess goodbye and promised to call her as soon as I landed to give her all the awful details.
Then I was collecting my ticket and finding the nearest duty-free shop where I bought a pair of sweats, and an 'I love California' t-shirt. I asked the cashier for an extra big bag so Icould stuff that god-awful wedding dress into it. The wedding dress was the only luggage I had, and I unceremoniously stuffed it into the overhead compartment after I boarded.
I had nothing but time to think as I made my way to Hanalei. I thought mostly about how I allowed myself to get into this situation and how I lost control over my life.
Marcus was an insensitive, cheating bastard, but I was guilty of a much bigger sin—I had given up on myself. I tamped down the real Haley, her wants and desires, and did everything in my power to mold myself into someone he wanted. I couldn't blame Marcus for that, no matter how much he got wrong.
Truth be told, I had given up on myself the moment I gave Cooper up.
Cooper
As usual, it was another gorgeous day in Hanalei.
I sighed, straddling my board and kicking my legs slowly in the water, enjoying the heat on my back. It’s been slow for local tourism, and most of the visitors to the island were up the road in Princeville, so it was fairly quiet on the water this morning. Hopefully, some of those tourists would visit Hanalei so I could get a few more clients. I've been teaching people how to surf for the last couple of years and I'd just finished up with a client but decided to hang out in the water for a little while longer.
My knee had been bothering me lately, and being in the water made it feel better.
Once I was shriveled beyond recognition, I coasted to the shoreline and made my way back to my bungalow.
This stretch of beach was right behind my parents' old vacation bungalow and I’m grateful every day they bought this place because now it was mine.
The bungalows weren't as fancy as the vacation homes in Princeville, but I think that's what my folks liked about it. It was simpler and melded into the landscape. It’s not very big—only three bedrooms and no closets to speak of. Something my little sister, Tess, pitched a fit over. But she eventually got over it and fell in love with the place too.
I lived for our summers in Hanalei. And when my professional football career ended abruptly, I couldn't think of any other place I wanted to be.
I had come here to get away for a while and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I figured I could rehab my knee by swimming every day, and figure out how I could still be a part of the sport I loved so much. But it’s been two years and I’m still here—and it feels like home now.
I spent so much time on the water that several tourists asked me for surf lessons, and before I knew it, I had a fairly lucrative surfing business. After their lessons, I directed them to Mahina, the woman who has run the General Store for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't dare ask Mahina how old she was, but I remember thinking she was old when I was a kid, and she looked exactly the same now. Sometimes I wondered if she had been born an old woman.
The General Store in Hanalei had everything anyone could ever need. One side boasted a small grocery store, while the other featured sunscreen, wetsuits and surfboards and any other gear tourists might need. Mahina was delighted with the business I was sending her way, so we forged a friendly business relationship over the last few years. She would send tourists my way for surf lessons, and I would refer them back for anything else they needed while in the town.
I trudged through the sand, taking my time getting back to the bungalow. I knew by now not to push myself too hard when my knee was acting up. It made for miserable surf lessons and sleepless nights from all the aching.
I took in the scene of the bungalow. There was another bungalow next door that was connected by a carport. The second summer my family spent here, another family moved in next door, and that's how I met Haley.
I swallowed hard at the thought of her. That was the only thing I didn't like about being back in Hanalei. There were very few places I could go and not have a memory of Haley. The sight of the General Store, where we first held hands. The stretch of sandy shores where we'd first made love, the porches of our respective bungalows, where we had countless midnight talks, whispering while our parents slept, oblivious to the young love blossoming outside.
I tried to shake my head free of these thoughts. It was ridiculous. Haley and I had been a lifetime ago. We were practically children, and here I was giving in to the sweet memories of her that made me smile and ache all over. The only reason I was thinking of her more than usual was because she was getting married. If I was correct with the time difference, then she was already someone else's wife and my sister was there with her, giving her away.
My jaw clenched at the thought of her being another man's wife. That was supposed to be me before she threw it all away. I guess she got what she wanted.
I started up the steps on the back porch, heading for the little half wall that stood in between our porch and the Ellis's porch, where I hung my surfboards. As I was hanging it up, my eyes caught on something that made my heart stop.
