The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

Author:Sara Ackerman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises ULC
Published: 2023-11-29T20:42:43+00:00

21

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MAKING FRIENDS

Wren

Three days later, Wren hitched a ride from the airport to Kawaihae docks with a gnarled old man who talked about fishing the entire way. By the time she got out, she knew precisely when the aku and ’opelu were running, and his top secret spots for bottom fishing. He’d made her swear she wouldn’t tell a soul, never mind she only knew one person on the island.

Inside the gates at Kawaihae, her trusty orange truck sat all alone on the smoking-hot asphalt. Everything in the bed appeared to be where she’d strapped it, only now the truck and all its belongings were coated in a thick layer of salt, thanks to the rough wintertime seas.

She set out on the lower road to Hāwī, which paralleled the ocean, running through dry and rocky terrain with a very occasional kiawe tree. It was inconceivable that just up the mountain, and around ’Upolu Point, everything was lush and green. Hot air blasted in on her like she had the heater on. It felt as though she was driving away from one life and toward another. The cassette player was broken and the radio station from Maui played mostly commercials, so she rode in silence wondering what on earth she was doing.

Hāwī town, which she missed the last time around, was less of a town and more of a street with a few colorful old storefronts and galleries, and even more empty buildings. It had old sugar town written all over it. New ventures had been trying to gain a foothold ever since sugar shut down, but so far, nothing had come close. Despite the ghost town feel, it was charming, and Wren could only imagine what kinds of stories these old buildings could tell.

She arrived at the barn in early afternoon. The winds blew from the north, bringing a chill to the air and turning the sky a shocking cobalt blue. The fair weather was like a welcome hug from the island itself. She looked around for the stray, but saw no sign of her. The image of the dog sitting in front of the barn, watching them drive away, had been haunting her, so she’d picked up a bag of dog food along with supplies for herself at K. Takata Store, just beyond the main section of town.

“Hey, friend, I’m back. With real food this time!” she announced to the forest, which was humming with bees and the echoes of chirping birds. The dog didn’t materialize. Maybe she was inside.

Wren pulled the truck into the barn and backed up beneath the mezzanine, taking her time to unload all her stuff and organize it in piles. Clothes, tools, toiletries and boxes of miscellaneous belongings. Before she moved anything upstairs, she’d have to give the place a thorough cleaning. A project that could take days or years, depending. But time was one thing she had plenty of.

For sleeping, she planned on setting up her tent inside in case of rain.

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