Kaillar (Three Brothers Lodge #3) Read online

  Kaillar

  Morris Fenris

  Kaillar, Three Brothers Lodge #3

  Copyright 2015 Morris Fenris

  Changing Culture Publications

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Prologue

  Four and half years earlier, Pe’ahi, Maui, Hawaii…

  Becca Edwards sat silently as her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend parked his Jeep at the top of the beach. Without even looking at her, he slammed the vehicle off and jumped from the driver’s side. He grabbed his surfboard from the back, then stopped at the door to the vehicle, and she could feel him staring at her.

  It took everything she had left in her to keep her eyes forward and not look at him. If I look at him, I’m going to throw up. Don’t look at him. Just ignore him and he’ll leave, and then you can deal with it.

  “Becca, do yourself a favor and wash your face before you come down to the beach. You look awful.” He waited for her acknowledgement, and when it didn’t come, he slammed his fist on the side of the vehicle, the unexpected noise making her jump and emit a soft cry of fear.

  “Whatever!” He grabbed his board, and headed towards the beach, and the blue water beyond.

  Becca stared straight ahead, willing the tears brimming in her eyes not to fall. He’d already made her cry once; she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry a second time today.

  Dagan Carlson was an up-and-coming surfer, coming in second place in the World Championships the year before. This year, he was pushing himself to take on bigger and stronger waves, determined to come out on top at the end of the season.

  Becca had met him at the end of the previous season, but since she wasn’t even out of high school yet, they’d done nothing more than flirt a bit. He was a star, and had gorgeous, bikini clad girls throwing themselves at him all the time. Something that had bothered Becca immensely.

  They’d started emailing each other over the summer months, and then he’d announced that he was coming back to Hawai’i to train during the winter. She’d done everything in her power to persuade him to stay on the Big Island, and it seemed to have worked. He’d booked several bungalows at her parents’ resort for himself and his surfing buddies. Becca had been ecstatic when she’d heard the news.

  She’d done what she could to keep track of him once he arrived. Her brother, Kevin, and his best friend Kalino had helped in that regard. At the age of fourteen each, they were the reigning Island Junior Champions, and showed great promise for taking on the bigger waves once they became more mature. Getting to surf alongside someone of Dagan’s caliber was every teenage surfer’s dream.

  Hawaii was full of great surf spots, and since Kalino’s dad happened to own and operate a charter flight service, getting around the islands was cheap and easy. Today the boys were surfing at Pe’ahi. The islanders and surfers alike reverently referred to the waves that crashed upon her shores as ”Jaws” because if you weren’t prepared, she would chew you up, and you’d be lucky if she spit you back out.

  The waves at Pe’ahi were some of the strongest and biggest in the world, and both Kevin and Kalino had been warned by their parents to stay inside on the smaller waves. The boys weren’t stupid, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they would take great care in these more dangerous waters.

  Becca had tagged along for the day after making plans to meet up with Dagan for an early lunch. He’d been island hopping for the last month, training, but also playing quite a bit. He’d taken an interest in Becca, and she’d returned it wholeheartedly, much to her parents’ dismay.

  Her mother had been adamantly against her spending any time with the cocky surfer who was four years older than her daughter was. But Becca had a big case of puppy love, and hadn’t taken any of her mother’s warnings to heart. Warnings that had come to fruition just a short while before, forever changing her life in a not so pleasant way. Innocence almost lost, and trust and a belief in happily ever after seemed very far away right now.

  Realizing that she’d been sitting in the Jeep too long, she carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks, wincing when she touched the spot on her cheek that would probably show a bruise in the morning. She swallowed carefully, her throat sore from where Dagan’s hands had wrapped themselves around it while he…

  She took a deep breath, and then slipped from the vehicle. I should be grateful that park ranger came along when he did, or I’d have more than a sore cheek, split lip, and sore throat.

  Dagan had been pushing her to move forward with their physical relationship for the last week, but Becca had held fast to her convictions. Convictions that Dagan hadn’t even tried to honor not even an hour ago. He’d become another person, shoving her down into the soft sand, and choking her as he tried to pull her clothing off her body. Come on Becca. I promise you’ll like it if you just try it. Don’t be such a prude!

  Her thin cotton shirt and cut off jean shorts over her bikini were little barrier to his searching hands. She’d struggled, and he’d slapped her across the face to keep her quiet. She’d yelled anyway, bringing her knee up in an effort to get him off her, and that’s when the park ranger had called out.

  Dagan had quickly risen to his feet, chuckling when the park ranger had looked at them as naughty children. Becca had been so embarrassed; she’d kept her face hidden until the ranger had left. She’d rushed back to Dagan’s rental Jeep, and demanded that he take her back to the beach.

  Dagan had assured her they would have plenty of time to finish things later that evening. The surfers were planning to camp out on the beach so they could catch the early morning waves. Becca and the two boys had gained permission to do so as well, with a promise that Kalino’s dad would be heading back to the Big Island around suppertime should they change their minds.

  Becca didn’t mention to Dagan that she was grabbing her brother and Kalino and heading straight for the airport. Even if they had to wait on Kalino’s father to pick them up for hours, she wanted nothing to do with Dagan Carlson. Ever again. Whatever infatuation she’d had for him was gone, right along with her ability to trust.

  As she walked down to the beach, searching for her brother, she found him, but she hadn’t realized how badly bruised her face had already become. Kevin knew she’d taken off with Dagan, and he instantly jumped to the right conclusion.

  “I’ll kill him!” He’d turned, searching the beach, and then he’d taken off running for the water. For being her younger brother, he was fiercely protective of his sister, and with that went a lack of self-control that oftentimes scared Becca.

  “
Kevin! Don’t! Let’s just leave!” Becca chased him towards the water, “Kevin!”

  He didn’t listen to her. Kalino came running over to see what had upset her so much.

  “Becca! What’s wrong?”

  When she’d turned to look at him, his eyes went wide, and his face took on a furious expression. “Kalino! Go after him!”

  “No! Dagan deserves whatever he gets. Kevin’s going to kill him!”

  “No! Dagan’s heading out to the big waves! You know Kevin can’t handle waves that big. Go get him. Please!”

  Kalino immediately realized that Kevin wasn’t thinking with anything other than the fury consuming him. He grabbed his board, and started paddling furiously after his best friend. He reached the first break point, and then watched in horror as Kevin kept going.

  Dagan was already sitting on his board, waiting for the next big wave to form, and Kevin was headed straight for him.

  “Oh no! Kevin!” He cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled until he was hoarse, and then he watched in horror as the wave formed and Dagan paddled for it. Kevin wasn’t in the right position to take on the monster wave, but he still kept going after Dagan.

  The wave was the largest that Kalino had ever seen, more than fifty feet in height, and with a speed that had him fearing for his own safety some hundred yards away.

  He watched as the wave started to break, and Dagan expertly entered the curl, but Kevin wasn’t so lucky. He made it to an upright position, but the wave was breaking too fast for his inexperience. Kalino watched as the wave crashed down upon him, quickly obliterating both the boy and the board from site.

  The wave didn’t stop there though. It was Dagan’s match, and before he could safely exit the tube, the wave took its second victim. Kalino paddled furiously towards where his friend had gone down, but another rogue wave came out of nowhere, lifting him and his board up, and sending him flying some twenty yards away.

  He was the lucky one. Several other seasoned surfers had seen what happened and had already paddled out to lend a hand. Someone managed to pull him onto their board and take him back to the beach. They took him to the hospital, where he spent more than three weeks in a coma.

  What followed was the stuff nightmares were made of. Two funerals. Two grieving parents who couldn’t understand how she’d let this happen. One father who mourned his only child, even though he’d raised a daughter as his own since birth. One mother who’d taken one look at her disheveled and bruised daughter and thought the worst. One sister who was so consumed with guilt over Kevin’s rage, she actually contemplated taking her own life a time or two.

  But killing herself wouldn’t bring Kevin back. It wouldn’t restore her trust in guys, and it wouldn’t heal the rift between her parents that seemed bigger than the Grand Canyon. Only time and distance could do that, so she’d made preparations to leave.

  Becca waited around the islands until she was sure Kalino was going to pull through, and then she packed a bag and left. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, but her parents’ house was like a tomb. No one spoke to her, and the guilt and remorse she felt for her part in Kevin’s death was more than she could bear on a daily basis.

  The surfers left and her parents quit taking future reservations. It was as if they themselves had died along with her brother. Every time her father saw her, his eyes grew cold, and he turned his face away from her. Her mother’s looks of condemnation and judgment were even worse. In order to save herself, she needed to leave.

  She left Hawai’i, her parents, and everything she’d known to make a new start for herself. Running as far away as Colorado had seemed like a good idea, and when she stepped off the plane on a cold wintry day, she prayed and hoped that one day she would be able to forget and move on with her life. One day maybe she could return to Hawai’i and reconcile with her parents and herself.

  Chapter 1

  Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving Day, Denver, Colorado…

  Jessica, Gracie, and Becca were standing in Adelaide’s Bridal Shop, looking at a sea of wedding dresses. So far, Gracie had suggested several dresses for Jessica to try on, but none for herself.

  Jessica was marrying Justin Donnelly, and Gracie had just become engaged to his younger brother Mason. Becca was just along for the ride, but she was having fun nonetheless. After a miscalculation on their recent hike to Maroon Peak, Becca had become temporarily stranded in Silver Springs, Colorado. Gracie had been her ride from Denver, but she’d injured her knee in a fall that had required surgery. She’d also gone and fallen in love with Mason Donnelly, a beau from her childhood.

  They had announced that they were getting married, and Jessica and Justin had secretly confided they were headed down the aisle of matrimony themselves. Both girls had decided that a dress shopping excursion was in order.

  After enjoying Thanksgiving Day at the Three Brother’s Lodge, owned and operated by the three Donnelly brothers, Becca had ridden back to Denver with them. She was dreading going home to her small apartment, knowing that on the morrow Gracie would be returning to Silver Springs. Melanie had been her other roommate prior to her moving out a month earlier, but her husband had finally gotten his discharge papers from the military, and they were already headed to Florida to be with her family.

  So here she was, helping the woman who was not only her best friend, but also her savior and counselor, pick out a wedding dress. The only problem was that Gracie couldn’t seem to decide on anything today.

  “Gracie?” Becca stood by her friend’s elbow, hoping to help her get things started.

  “Hey!” Gracie smiled at her, looking overwhelmed and a little out of sorts. She was normally very organized and together, but today, she was a little scattered. Becca chalked it up to the newness of being engaged, and knowing that her life was getting ready to change for the better.

  “What kind of dress are you looking for?” Becca hadn’t thought about marriage for herself since leaving Hawaii, and now that she was in the store, surrounded by yards of lace, satin, and sheer fabric, she wondered if she would ever be able to trust a man enough to make this type of commitment to him. She hoped so, but only time would tell.

  Gracie sighed, “I don’t know. I’m a lost cause today.”

  Becca smiled at her, “I doubt that. Tell me about the dress you wear in your dreams.”

  Gracie grinned, “But that is only a dream dress. And they don’t really exist.”

  “Tell me anyway, okay?” Becca insisted. She knew Gracie had always dreamed of a wedding to her childhood beau, and now that her dream was getting ready to come true, she might as well have the dress to go with the rest.

  “Velvet. In my dreams, my wedding dress is white velvet. It has a scoop neckline and lone sleeves with those little strings than hook over your middle finger to keep them in place. And a long skirt that swirls around my ankles when I walk, but drapes along the ground behind me.”

  “It sounds gorgeous. Tiffany, do you have anything like that?” Becca asked the store attendant Gracie hadn’t known was standing behind her listening in.

  Tiffany smiled, “I have the perfect dress for you. Head on back to the dressing room and I’ll bring it to you.”

  Gracie looked at her, hope shining in her eyes, “You really have a dress like what I described?”

  “Go on back and you’ll see. It must have been made just for you.” Tiffany turned to Becca and grinned, “This is weird, but she could have designed the dress I have hanging in back. It was sent here, by accident, from a European designer, and is a one of a kind. The shipping to send it back was going to be astronomical, so we decided to keep it.”

  Twenty minutes later, Gracie emerged from the dressing room, and everyone stopped and gasped at the picture she presented. She was stunning in the dress, and a more perfect fit didn’t exist.

  “Oh, Gracie! Look at yourself!” Jessica and Becca urged her.

  Gracie took a breath, and turne
d to face the three-way mirror. She gasped and felt tears spring to her eyes. “It’s perfect! Just like in my dreams.”

  Becca wrapped an arm around her waist, “Who was your perfect groom in your dreams?”

  “Mason,” Gracie whispered.

  “A match made in heaven. She’ll take it.” Becca turned to Tiffany with tears stinging her own eyes. Gracie had been her saving grace more than once, and she was so happy for her friend, and yet – she knew she was going to miss her terribly when she returned to Silver Springs tomorrow. She fought back her tears, not wanting her own neediness to overshadow the day.

  “Perfect.” The store attendant was beaming as she walked away to start the paperwork.

  “Now we have to find Jessica the perfect dress,” Becca said.

  “Well, I don’t think I’m ever going to find anything as perfect as that one, but I have several to try on.”

  “Then get to it,” Becca told her with a laugh.

  An hour later, both girls had found the dresses of their wedding dreams, and they were heading back to Jessica’s apartment. The same one she had shared with Becca and Melanie. They arrived to see the boys loading the last of the boxes into the trailer.

  “All done?” Gracie asked in wonder, glancing at her watch.

  “How about we go get some pizza?” Kaillar suggested, making sure that Becca knew she was invited as well. She liked Kaillar, and part of her wished she could get rid of her distrust and give him a chance. He was the middle Donnelly brother, and the most handsome in her opinion. He also seemed to like her. You know better, he likes you – a lot. He’s also hoping for – what she didn’t know.

  While she was thinking about these things, plans were made to go get pizza from a place just a few blocks from the apartment, and Becca headed for Mason’s car. She was halfway across the yard when her cell phone rang, stopping her in her tracks.

  Upon leaving Hawaii, she hadn’t changed her cell phone number. She’d kept it, even keeping the unique cell phone tones for her family members, hoping that one day her mother or father would call her and ask her to come home. It hadn’t happened in four years. Until now.