Hazard in Hawaii (A Doctor Danger Mystery Book 1) by Silvio Heather

Author:Silvio, Heather [Silvio, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781951192136
Publisher: Panther Books
Published: 2021-08-17T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park stayed open 24 hours a day, but Dan and I had no intention of hiking in the dark. My alarm blared at 7 AM, and despite happy hour the previous evening, I jumped out of bed. Excitement mounted at the thought of hiking Kīlauea again. And, I’ll admit, I was ready to do some more sneaking around.

I pulled on a hiking outfit that mirrored yesterday’s, remembering the conversation with Jeff when he invited me on the trip. I’d asked how much clothing to bring, given that investigations could last a week, if not several weeks if a trail went cold for a time. He’d laughed and replied that the client wouldn’t pay for weeks of a Hawaiian investigation. We tossed around the idea of 3-5 days, then settled on 7, to be safe. We couldn’t imagine not having an answer by then; or that medical science wouldn’t have one.

A knock on the door sounded while I was in the galley kitchen, pulling down cups and plates. The coffee pot burbled as it prepared to release the nectar of the gods. I crossed the terracotta floor to admit Dan, who was meeting me for breakfast before our hike.

Entirely too attractive for his own good, he smiled when he saw me. He also wore a replica of yesterday’s hiking outfit, except the shirt was an earthy brown shade. Sunglasses perched on his head. I’d bring mine too, and hope the clouds would part to let the sun through for at least some of the day later.

“Come on in,” I invited, heading back to the kitchen with Dan following.

“Can I help with anything?”

“Nah. I’m keeping it simple. Eggs and toast?”

“Perfect.” He sniffed the air. “And I’ll take some of that coffee if it’s ready.”

A glance confirmed it was, so I poured us both cups. We chatted about nothing while I cooked breakfast. Once we sat, he directed a small smile my way.

“You look good this morning.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Today could be a date.”

“I’m ten years older than you.”

“So you keep saying.”

“And you’re kind of an employee.”

“When does the pay hit my bank account?”

We both laughed, knowing our little flirtation would never go anywhere. And not because of the issues I’d brought up. His personality was so earnest, he was like a puppy. I snorted and he looked inquisitively at me. “Let’s plan our adventure,” I said in response, and grabbed the park map I’d placed on the side of the table earlier.

I spread the map out between us, to review the best approach to the off-limits section of the volcano. “We’ll basically do what I did last time. We’ll drive on Crater Rim Drive as far as possible toward Kīlauea Overlook. Unless it changed, it should be the Steam Vents.”

From there, we ate while we worked out our plan. A lot of it would depend on if there’d been any new fissures or cracks along the road, but I felt ready. We finished the last bites of our food before carrying the dishes to the sink.

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