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"Oh, Cooper," Haley said in tears. "Look at all this. How are we ever going to get this put back together? Look at these buildings. They didn’t get boards up in time and the windows are blown out."
We saw people cleaning up, looking exhausted and worried. We checked in with a few neighbors as we walked, promising to be back to help. It was going to take everybody in town to get this cleaned up.
The closer we got to our bungalows, the quieter Haley got, and I was worried. Especially when we saw that a couple of her windows were broken and water had gotten into the house.
"That's an easy enough fix," I reassured her. "We'll get everything dried out and cleaned up. I'll cover the broken windows with boards temporarily. There may be a bit of a delay to get you new windows, but we'll make sure you're tucked in safe and sound. And if it makes you more comfortable, you can come stay with me."
She sighed. "Oh, Coop, that's not what I'm worried about, although I appreciate it."
"What is it?"
"It's everybody else. It's such a mess out there. How are we going to rebuild this town? There's so much to do."
I put my hands on her shoulders. "I know it's daunting. But trust me when I say we are used to it around here, and if you'regoing to live here, you'll get used to it, too. But I also know you’re my little list maker, so we'll get organized and help everybody get squared away, okay?"
"Okay," she said, and I could see she was already itemizing a list in her head of supplies we’d need to acquire.
I wish I could say my thoughts were that noble, but mostly, I was just thrilled she was right there beside me—and she was mine. I knew she and I could face anything together. But my immense relief took a hit when we both looked at our cell phones. There were messages from several hours before, most of which were from Tess. Text messages wanting to know where we were, if we were okay and telling us to get a hold of her ASAP.
I looked at Haley. "You know, if we just call or text her, it's not going to be enough."
Haley nodded. "FaceTime?"
So we huddled together in front of the screen and called Tess. I thought we were just letting her know we were both safe and unharmed. I didn’t know this phone call was about to change everything for us.
I dialed Tess's number, and when her face popped up, her eyes widened. "Oh, thank God you're both there. This storm is all anyone is talking about and when you didn't pick up, I started freaking out. How is everybody?"
"A little worse for the wear. There's a lot of damage in town, but you know the drill. We'll clean it up, always do. Haley and I are both safe and sound," I assured her.
Tess leveled her gaze at me through the phone screen. "You're lying to me, Cooper."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I got a cut on my hand and my knee is killing me, but other than that, I am fine and so is Haley."
"I am so glad to see you two are safe. But while I have both of you, I got a strange call earlier."
"Let me guess, Marcus or one of his minions?" Haley asked.
Tess looked troubled. "No, it was Bo," she said, meeting my eyes, and a knot of dread formed in my stomach. "I thought it was odd when he called me and at first, I thought he was worried because he couldn’t get ahold of you either, but then he kept going on and on about how I needed to talk some sense into my big brother."
"Over what?" Haley asked.
The worry lines in Tess's eyebrow deepened. "He said I needed to talk Cooper out of getting involved with you, Haley. He just rambled on about how it would be the end of Cooper’s career and he thought he had nipped this in the bud, but he was going to need my help. Any idea what the hell he’s talking about?"
I looked at Haley. I wasn't sure there was a way out of this. Tess was a smart cookie and she could see both of our faces. She’d know if we were lying. So when I looked at Haley, I hoped she would give me silent permission to tell Tess about our secret.
Haley looked at me, then at the phone screen. " Tess, he is referring to the fact that I'm in love with your brother... and I have been for a long time."
"I'm sorry what?" Tess said, shock written all over her face.
I saw Haley swallow hard. "It's something I should've told you a long time ago, Tess, and I'm sorry I kept it from you. We fell in love one summer when we were in college. We wanted to tell you, but then things didn't work out between us, so we figured it would be best to not say anything at all. No point in dredging up the past. But since I've been back in Hanalei, I’ve realized that I never stopped loving him and... we want to be together, Tess. We hope you can come to accept us and please know we love you very much. I know this is a lot to take in."
"You think?" Tess bit out sarcastically.
I saw Haley blinking back tears, so I jumped in. "Tess, I want you to know that I am all in, too. We understand you might be upset, but I don’t want you to blame Haley. I’m as much atfault here. I love her, I've always loved her, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But we love you too, and we hope you can be happy for us."
I squeezed Haley’s hand, so proud of her for taking this step. This secret had been eating us alive for ten years and finally the weight toppled off our shoulders and it felt amazing.
That was until Tess’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes strayed away from us, as if she was having to fix on a focal point other than us to keep her cool. I recognized that look. It was one she often employed when she was about to blow her lid.
