Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [72]
“I know she’s on Maui because I tracked her this far. I spoke with the woman who drove her to the airport. Seems Annie gave her her pocketbook.”
“If it’s the same woman she spoke to me about, Annie offered her and her husband a job. Where are you, Parker?”
“In some dive waiting for a sandwich before heading home. I’ll start out tomorrow to look for her.”
“How come you never told me you were in love with my sister, Parker?” The silence went on so long, Tom had to prod the voice on the other end of the wire.
“Business is business and pleasure is pleasure. Love’s a funny thing. I don’t remember saying I was in love with Annie. I never confuse the two. I didn’t know if Annie had said anything to you or not. I didn’t want to seem like I was trading on our business relationship. I wanted to call her a hundred times. Hell, maybe it was a thousand times. I even went to Charleston three years ago when Daniel got engaged. I went by the Daisy Shop, but an old gentleman said she was out of town for two weeks. I didn’t leave my name either. What the hell am I telling you this for?”
“I’m a good listener.”
“Yeah. Maybe. Listen, I gotta go. They just brought my sandwich.”
“Parker.”
“Yeah?”
“This is just a guess on my part, but I have a feeling Annie will find you. It’s just a feeling.”
“I know all about feelings. Talk to you soon.”
Parker slid into the booth and stared at the sandwich and fruit platter. Neither appealed to him. He swigged from the beer bottle. He’d gotten along just fine these past years. He’d gotten past Annie’s blistering tirade, made peace with his sisters, and was actually a man of leisure several days a week. Now, all of a sudden, with Annie Clark back in the islands, his whole world was upside-down again. With what he had going on in the lab, he might well turn out to be richer than Warren Buffett. Goddamn it, leave it to a woman to screw things up.
Parker slid some bills across the table.
The ride home was uneventful. The first thing he did was check his answering machine. Nine calls from Kiki. None from Annie Clark. Had he really expected one? Hell yes, he had.
Now what am I supposed to do? A voice inside his head responded sourly: What did you do other nights for all those years? You watched television, you read books, you went night fishing. Same old same old. Why isn’t it good enough for you now? Because it isn’t. If Annie Clark cancels her contract, I’m dead in the water. I’ll end up .selling shells on the beach. The phone in the kitchen shrilled to life. He almost killed himself in his wild scramble to get to the kitchen. “Hello!” he said cheerfully. No point in letting the caller know he was down in the dumps.
“Mr. Grayson?”
“Yes,” Parker said, not recognizing the voice. His shoulders slumped.
“This is Stella Kaminsky. You did give me your card. I just wanted to know if you located Annie.”
. “No. She hasn’t called either.”
“Don’t you have a phone book?”
“Of course I have a phone book.”
“Then use it. Sometimes you men are so dense. Call all the hotels on your island.”
Parker slapped his forehead. Shit! He should have thought of that himself. She was right: he was dense. Worse than dense. He was plain stupid. “I’ll do that. I just got in a few minutes ago. I guess you haven’t heard from her.”
“I didn’t expect to hear from her. That’s not the way we left it. She’s too nice a person to be unhappy.”
Parker’s heart soared. “How do you know she’s unhappy?”
“A woman knows these things. Good night, Mr. Grayson.”
Parker let loose with a sigh that could be heard clear across the room when he saw the list of hotels and condominiums he had to call. By God, he’d do it even if it took him all night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Annie flipped through the pages of her address book, looking for the number for the Grayson Coffee Company. When she found the number she placed the call through the hotel operator. She wasn’t at all surprised to hear Kiki Aellia’s voice even though it was only seven o’clock in the morning. “Miss Aellia,