The Secret Daughter

Noelani sat at the opposite end, near the lamp. She found the place where Megan’s daddy had left off, and she began to read.

Little by little, Megan edged closer. Until finally she wriggled right up next to Noelani, who used various voices for the characters, from tiny to gruff to scary. Megan started out not smiling. Ten minutes later, she was giggling out loud.

They were both laughing when Tanya Carson rushed into the room looking as if she’d thrown on her clothes haphazardly.

“Megan! You gave me a scare, disappearing right out of your bed like that. It’s time for you to dress and go downstairs for breakfast. Oh, my, how…where did you find that pitiful thang?” Tanya shoved her glasses up her nose and glared accusingly at Noelani.

Megan edged closer, shifting the doll, whose threadbare dress was badly torn and whose button eye was missing, into the space between her and Noelani.

“Isn’t it lucky Megan found her favorite toy, Tanya?”

“But Jackson bought her a perfectly beautiful new doll. She has long blond curls, eyes that move and three changes of clothes. Oh, you don’t understand. Jackson wants her to play with her new doll.”

“Jackson wants his daughter to be happy here,” Noelani said flatly. “This morning he asked if I’d seen this doll anywhere.” She crossed her fingers below the book and silently begged forgiveness for such a blatant lie.

“He did?” Tanya blinked several times.

Noelani smiled at Megan. “Honey, I have a sewing kit in my room. If you’ll leave your baby with me while you go with Tanya and get dressed, I’ll mend her so she’ll be almost as good as new.”

Tanya stuck up her nose. “There’s not enough thread in the universe to accomplish that miracle.”

“You’d be surprised what a little cosmetic surgery can do. How about it, Megan, would you like me to sew up Emmylou’s rips?”

The four-year-old gave her doll one last squeeze before placing her trustingly into Noelani’s hands. “Please,” she said in a very small voice. “Take good care of her. I was so afraid Emmylou got taken somewhere far away—like Mommy.” Little face sober again, Megan slid off the couch and walked sedately from the room.

Even as Tanya flounced out and snatched the child’s hand, Megan kept darting glances back at Noelani, as if checking to make sure her most cherished possession was safe.

Anger mounting for that poor, motherless girl, Noelani leaped up the second she heard the door at the end of the hall slam. Hurrying straight to her own room, she made a mental note to have another talk with her half brother. Megan needed to be able to ask honest questions about her mother. The child needed to know she hadn’t been abandoned. Noelani could attest firsthand to the fact that avoiding mention of an absent parent only led to frustration, mistrust and outright dislike on the part of the child.

She found her sewing kit and stitched quickly. A button for the missing eye presented the biggest problem. Her kit had come with white buttons in three sizes and an assortment of safety pins. The doll’s eyes were half an inch around and black.

The black suit she’d worn on the plane had exactly the right-size buttons on the jacket cuffs. “Emmylou needs this more than me.” A snip of the scissors and Noelani had her button.

After she’d finished, she held the doll at arm’s length and eyed her critically. With felt and yarn maybe she could fix the shoes and the hair. But she had none, and anyway, Megan loved the rag doll exactly as she was. Tucking the doll under her arm, she went off in search of the little girl.

It turned out she didn’t have to go far. Noelani opened her bedroom door and practically fell over the child. Tanya leaned against the wall by the stairs. “There you are. Thank goodness! Megan refused to go have breakfast without her doll. Betty’s going to throw a hissy fit ’cause we’re so late.”

Noelani tuned Tanya out. She focused in on the beautiful smile slowly blossoming on Megan’s face.

“Emmylou’s all well. You found her a new eye, No’lani. Oh, thank you. I’ve worried and worried ‘bout her not being able to see so good.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Maybe one of these days, you and I can go to town and find yarn to spruce up her hair. Give her a new look.” She smiled gently at the child.

Tanya pretended to stick a finger down her throat and gag, but Megan kissed her doll and nodded, making her own curls dance.

“Emmylou, it’s time for us to go eat,” she said, darting off ahead of Tanya.

Noelani buried her hands in her shorts pockets and watched them disappear down the stairs.

“That was a nice thing you did for Megan. First real smile I’ve seen outta her.”

Noelani whirled and saw Adam standing quietly a few feet away, his fingers tucked loosely under his leather belt.

“Must you always sneak up on me?” she demanded. “Where on earth did you come from? We’ve been standing right next to the stairs.”

“I came up the back steps. I had to check something for Jackson in his office. He phoned the kitchen wanting you, actually. I transferred him to the library, but you didn’t answer. Now I see why. He’ll be pleased, you know. He worries a lot about his kid. Cut Tanya some slack, though. She watches Megan okay. It’s just that Auntie E is always harping at her, and those two clash. Tossing the doll was probably Esme’s doing. I suspect she was trying to erase Megan’s background.”

“That child’s hurting. Jackson should put his foot down. By the way, what did he want me for?”

“Oh, here.” Adam took a folded message from his pocket. “He ran into Nick downtown. Nick said the White Gold has a new Cajun group performing a couple of nights a week. Jackson thinks you should check them out and maybe book them for the cochon de lait.” Adam grinned. “Nick said they can be had cheap.”

Noelani read the message. “Is the White Gold a night club?”

“A riverboat casino. Building and staffing them is what Nick does.”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve barely begun to read through the notes on what the family did in the past. I’d just noticed the date he gave me is only two weeks away. I’d hit panic mode when I heard Megan crying. She found her doll in the trash.”

“So I gathered.”

“Really? You spied on us that long?”

“I came down the hall about the time you left your room. You walked over to the stairs to talk to Tanya. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Likely story.” She stuck the note in her pocket.

“That band’s performing tonight. I’ll run you downtown.”

“Thanks, but you have your own work to do. I’ll phone a cab.”

Adam fidgeted. “We’re talking about the waterfront. At night,” he added.

She considered his subtle warning, glad he hadn’t felt the need to make a big deal about her being a defenseless woman. In truth, she didn’t know the area. They warned tourists against going into some parts of Honolulu at night. Her seat companion on the commuter flight from Dallas had mentioned that crime was on the rise in New Orleans. Perhaps it was also true for Baton Rouge. “If you’re quite sure it won’t disrupt your schedule, I may take you up on that offer.”

“No problem. I can’t do a lot until the wood for the cabinets arrives or the roof is finished. With any luck, both will be sometime next week.”

“What time, then? Is it all right if I wear jeans? I may have packed a white pair, but my wardrobe leaves a lot to be desired. I hadn’t planned to stay. Since I’ll be here until they divvy up the property, I phoned Bruce and asked him to ship a better assortment of clothes.”

“Who’s Bruce? I never thought to ask if you had a boyfriend or a live-in.”

She elevated an eyebrow. “Not that it’s your business, Mr. Nosy, but Bruce is a contemporary of Duke’s. I work at his sugar mill, as did my mom and almost everyone else in our town. I live in one of his rentals. Bruce has a master key, and that’s why he was the person I called. Although his secretary, Midori, would have a better eye for choosing shoes and accessories. Oh, well.” She grimaced. “It’s already done.”

“So you worked in sugar? Doing what?”

“I set up Shiller’s computerized vat and fermentation system. Most recently I developed a program to speed up the creeper feeders. They carry the cane to be crushed, in case you aren’t familiar with the process.”

“I’m not. But it sounds interesting. Do Jackson and Casey know they have all this experience under their roof? I’d think they’d want you overseeing the mill instead of coordinating a party. Not that I have anything against parties, mind you.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”