18.

People who grew up with siblings close to their age make great Marines. They know how to handle combat situations, psychological warfare, and are good at sensing suspicious and nefarious activity.

Text from Kiki to Tama'i

T AMA'I

"I'm not sure I'm ready to meet Tutu, Tama'i," Amethyst argued as I settled down in front of her on my motorcycle.

"I've got your mom and your dad in my corner on this, sweetheart, and none of us think you should be alone tonight."

"But I'm not looking my best, and I'm not really sure I'll be good company."

"You've had a very stressful day, and she understands that. Believe me. She even had quite a shock or two herself."

"If I'd have known they took you into the station, I'd have put a stop to that much quicker."

"What would you have done about it?" I asked.

"I'd have found Uncle Nick and given him a piece of my mind and then busted you out myself if he didn't act quickly enough."

"Uncle Nick as in Chief Cardenas?"

"Yes. He's my niece's father and . . ."

"How? Hold on. Esme said she was his daughter and . . ."

"Emerald is Esme's birth mother, but she was very young when she was born, so Uncle Nick and Aunt Cindy adopted her."

"Oh. That's good," I said, trying to do the math in my head. Amethyst had said that her older sister was about ten years older than her, and Esme looked to be about Amethyst's age which meant that . . .

"I can hear the abacus in your brain clicking while you try to figure out how that is possible, so I'll just say that Emerald was not quite thirteen when Esme was born."

"Holy shit."

"Our families are very close, and I was raised with Esme as if she were my sister, and Emerald got to watch her grow up."

"That sounds like the perfect situation for a scenario like that."

"It really was," Amethyst agreed. Finally, she said, "Take me to your house, Tama'i. I don't have the strength or the energy to argue with you about it especially since I think you're right. I don't need to be alone right now."

As soon as I fired my bike up, Amethyst's arms went around my waist and I felt her lay her head on my back. I was happy that she was comfortable enough to let her guard down with me and promised myself that I'd make this evening as relaxing as possible for her now that we had gotten word her friend was going to be okay.

I pulled into the drive and parked next to Tutu's SUV. I had called ahead and asked her to set an extra plate at the table and listened to her excitedly exclaim that I should have warned her I was bringing a guest so she could have made a special meal. She calmed down when I told her that everything she cooked was special, and Amethyst was a definite foodie who loved to eat. She made me promise to bring her back soon after she'd had time to make something a little more sophisticated.

As soon as I shut the bike off, Amethyst hopped off and stood beside me, looking up and down the street as if trying to get her bearings about where exactly I'd brought her. Suddenly, she lifted her hand and waved, and I looked down the street and found a woman about my age - a neighbor I'd seen a few times before - waving back.

"You know her?"

"That's Rosie. She's an old friend of mine."

"Let me guess . . . you grew up with her?"

Amethyst laughed before she said, "As a matter of fact, I did. She's probably on her way back to the hospital. Her mom was good friends with Zoey's when she lived here as a teenager."

"Let's go in and eat and then we'll relax before bed. I've got an idea of something that might help you sleep."

"So do I, but I'm not sure that's a good idea in a house with your grandmother and the kids."

I burst out laughing and suggested, "If I fuck you from behind, you can scream into the pillow."

"I like how you're thinking. I'm going to hold you to that."

I held Amethyst's hand as we walked up the driveway to the mudroom entrance and then held the door open for her. As I bent over to unlace my boots, I said, "There's a basket of slippers over there if you'd like some, or you're welcome to go barefoot."

"Oh! That explains a lot. I just thought you liked running around in your socks!"

"We don't wear shoes in the house."

"Good to know," Amethyst said as she stepped out of her wildly colored sneakers that matched the cartoon character scrub top she was wearing. Suddenly, she said, "I don't have any clean clothes."

"Your mom said she'd send someone over with a bag for you," I informed her.

"Of course she did," she replied with a smile. "No matter how old we get, she still takes care of us."

"That's what a mom is supposed to do."

"When will I get to meet your mother? Have you told her about me yet?"

"I have," I assured her. "She'll be stateside next month, and she and my dad plan to come visit after they reconnect in Virginia."

"I can't wait to meet her. She sounds like a badass."

"All of the women in my family are. Kind of like the women in yours."

"They are pretty awesome."

"You're pretty awesome," I added. I put on the slides I liked to wear around the house and then took her shoes and set them next to mine beneath the bench against the wall. "Let's go talk to Tutu. She's been anxious to meet you."

"I'm nervous."

"There's no reason to be. She's going to love you as much as I do."

AMETHYST

I was still reeling from Tama'i's offhand remark when we sat down to dinner, but his nephews' reaction to today's events took my mind off of it. Aleki, the oldest, was cheerful and happy while Tamkea, Tama'i's niece sounded excited when she asked if he was going to get an award from the police department.

"I heard he beat a man to death, which makes sense because that's what he does, right?" Kai asked snidely.

The entire table went quiet before Tutu reached over and slapped Kai's arm as she hissed, "You mind yourself, Kai Rubin!"

"I'm not lying. Everyone knows it's the truth."

"I did not kill Leaga," Tama'i said in a tortured voice.

"But you tried."

"If I had wanted to kill him, he would be dead. I wanted retribution, and I got it."

"Whatever. He never did anything to you!"

"Kai!" Aleki yelled. "Shut your mouth before I put my fist in it."

"What? You don't like the truth either? What about you, Meka? He's not such a bright star now, is he?"

"Tameka, go to your room," Tutu said as she nudged Tameka's plate toward her. "I will come get you for dessert when it's ready."

"But I . . ."

"Now," Tama'i growled.

"If she doesn't go, are you going to beat her too?"

"Shut the hell up, Kai," Aleki yelled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know what he did to our father."

"That man is not our father!" Aleki responded.

Kai didn't let Aleki's outburst phase him and said, "You tortured him. What kind of monster does that?"

"Tama'i is not the bad guy in this story," Tutu said reasonably. "Kai, please stop. We don't talk about the past because there's no change to be had."

"No, we don't talk about the past because that might make big, bad Tama'i look like the monster that he is." Kai scoffed before he said, "You broke his arm, his leg, and all of his toes. What did you do? Sit on him with your fat ass, Tiny? "

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Aleki said a split second before his arm swung around and he punched his brother in the eye. Kai's chair flew back, and he sprawled on the floor for a few seconds before he hopped up like he was on a spring. By the time Kai was on his feet, Aleki was ready for him.

Kai slammed into Aleki hard enough to knock him back a step, and he bumped into the table and then into Tutu who wasn't braced for impact and started to fall from her chair. Tama'i knocked his drink off the table as he reached for her and then held her up while she grappled for a hold so she could sit up straight again. She was almost steady when Kai pushed Aleki again and Tutu went flying.

I let Tama'i take care of Tutu and jumped up to usher the boys outside. I used the skills I'd learned as an older sister to my advantage and came up on their blind side as I reached out to grab them by the hair at the nape of their necks. Once I had a good hold, I yanked them apart and then used all of my strength to slam them back together, knocking their heads hard enough to stun them. I did it a second time and then a third until both boys were limp and dizzy. While they were trying to get their bearings, I dragged them to the open sliding door and threw them out onto the patio.

"Take that malarkey outside and finish it, but you're not hurting your grandmother and wrecking this house in the process!" I yelled right before I pulled the door shut and locked it. "Lucky I don't just whoop them like they deserve and . . ."

My voice trailed off when I realized that Tama'i and Tutu were sitting at the table with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open in shock at what they'd just witnessed.

"Peas and rice! I'm so sorry! I overstepped. That wasn't my business and . . ."

Tutu put her hands up and started clapping slowly, and Tama'i grinned as he joined her. Within just a few seconds, they were both clapping as if their favorite music artist had taken the stage. When I heard a shrill whistle, I looked over to find Tameka standing in the mouth of the hall grinning.

I bent my head before I bowed deeply and stood up. Since the mood had lightened, in my best Elvis impersonation, I cracked, "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"Are we just going to let them beat each other up?" Tameka asked worriedly as she looked past me out into the yard.

I turned around to find the boys in the grass, whaling on each other like they were prizefighters going for the title.

"In my experience, sometimes you have to let them get it out of their system," I mused as I watched Aleki hit his brother with an impressive right hook. "Kai is angry about something and his words made Aleki just as angry. Let them fight it out until their bodies wear down enough for their ears to start working again. If nothing else, they'll be too out of breath to argue when you try and talk sense into them."

"Fa'aipoipo ia te ia, a leai o le a ou su'e lou faia'oga faasaienisi i le vasega valu ma fai o ia ma ou tama matua fou."

Tama'i looked horrified, and Tameka burst out laughing at whatever it was that Tutu had just said in Samoan. She said something else, and Tama'i answered her, but for some reason, none of them were willing to translate for me, so I had to make my own assumptions about what was said.

"You just told him that you think I'm barbaric, didn't you?" I asked sadly. "I'll go break ‘em up."

"No, tamaitai lalelei atoatoa. Let them fight."

"What do those words mean?"

"That you're perfect just the way you are."

"But you didn't say I'm not barbaric."

"You're real, and that's what makes you wonderful. Sit down, and let the boys fight it out. I'll wade in when they start dragging ass and then let you doctor them up while they talk like rational humans instead of snarling like rabid animals."

Tameka, who had been standing next to Tama'i's chair, leaned over and kissed him on the temple before she said, "Someday, I'm going to marry a man just like you, Uncle."

"That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Itiiti."

"When you and Amethyst have babies, make sure at least two of them are girls, okay?"

I was shocked when, without even thinking about it, Tama'i agreed, "I'll do my very best."

◆◆◆

"This is going to sting a little, but it will numb the area so that you can't feel the stitches," I warned Kai as I prepared the syringe of lidocaine. Once Tama'i pulled the boys apart, they had injuries that were more than I could handle with a regular first aid kit, so we brought them up to the office. "I'll do a few small shots around your wound and then give it a few minutes to work its magic before I clean it up and start sewing."

"Is it going to leave a scar?"

"Only if you want it to."

"That could be kind of cool."

"But do you really want to have a permanent memory of the time you and your brother tried to kill each other in the yard?"

"Maybe."

"Why do you hate your uncle?"

"He tried to kill my biological father. My grandmother said she's never gotten over how she felt when she saw her son in a hospital bed with broken bones and burns all over his body."

I heard the door open, but no one came inside, so I asked, "I know I haven't known Tama'i for very long, but I can't imagine him doing that."

"He went to prison for it," Kai said forcefully. "They don't send innocent men to prison."

"Hmm. Sometimes they do, but I'd imagine that if your uncle was convicted of that, then he probably had a good reason for his actions."

"Why are you defending him?"

"How big is your father, Kai?"

"I don't know."

"Tama'i is a giant compared to most men. I always thought the men in my family were huge, but he's inches taller than them and more stout and muscular too. Don't you think that a man of his strength and size could easily kill a man if he really wanted to?"

"He killed a man today. Maybe two."

"That man was helping another one try to beat up, and maybe even kill, my very good friend who had the misfortune of catching him speeding. He injured her so badly that they might have to take out a piece of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain from the swelling. She may never be the same, and even if she is, it will take her months - maybe even years - to get back to the woman she was when she woke up this morning. If your uncle hadn't stopped to help her, she'd be dead right now."

"That's different from what he did to my father."

"Have you ever asked him why he did what he did?"

"No."

"Why don't you?" I asked.

"I know why," I heard Aleki say from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder but quickly looked back at Kai's wound that I was working to clean. "If I tell you, will you believe me or are you going to keep being an asshole?"

"Where is your uncle, Aleki?" I asked, hoping that he'd come into the room before I heard something he might not want me to hear or the boys started throwing punches again.

"He got a call, but the reception was bad so he took it outside," Aleki explained as he walked further into the exam room. "Do you want to know?"

"Yeah, but how do you know and I don't?"

"Because you were too young. I remember watching it happen and then sitting in the hospital with Uncle while he cried."

"He cried over our father after he beat him?"

"That man is not our father. Dad is our father and has been since the day he met Mom. The man you're talking about deserved every punch and kick he got and then some, Kai."

"Why? What did Uncle do to him?"

"He broke his arm, his leg, and three of his fingers, busted up his face, burned him with cigarettes on his stomach and legs, broke his toes, and knocked out two of his teeth. He was very specific about how he injured that man, Kai." Kai tried to turn his head to look at his brother, but I had a solid grip to hold him still. I was just inches from his face and saw his eyes widen in shock as his brother kept speaking. "Think about it, Kai. What are those scars on your belly from? What about the ones on your legs? Why does your hand hurt when it rains? And why don't the toes on your left foot look like the ones on your right?"

"He hurt me?"

"When I said I sat on Uncle's lap while he cried, it wasn't that man's bed we were beside, it was yours."

"Oh my God," I whispered as tears filled my eyes. Kai was having the same reaction, and I watched as tears spilled down his cheeks. I remember hearing Tama'i say that he noticed his nephew's toes while he was laying in the bed in front of him and thought that memory must be from the time Kai spent in the hospital after such horrible abuse.

"You were just a baby, Kai. I was four or so, I think, and you'd just started walking. Everything's sort of a blur, but I remember you screaming one day and I saw him hurting you. The next thing I remember is sitting on Uncle's lap while he told me it was all going to be okay, but it wasn't. He went away for a long time because of what he did, but he didn't do it because he's evil like those people are trying to tell you, he did it because that's exactly what that man did to you."

"They didn't tell me that."

"Of course they didn't," I heard Tama'i say. "His mother knew what was happening because you lived in her house with your father while your mother was deployed. She testified at my trial that it was all a misunderstanding and you were just a clumsy little boy."

I sniffed back my tears when I said, "I've seen enough children just learning to walk to know that they're clumsy, but not clumsy enough to break their own bones."

"Or burn themselves," Aleki whispered.

"I believed their lies," Kai whispered. "I turned my back on my family because I believed what they told me."

I finished the last stitch and put my equipment on the tray before I pushed it aside so I could get closer to the young man in front of me. Without a word, I put my arms around him and pulled him closer to my chest to absorb his tears and let my own fall into his dark hair that looked so much like his uncle's. I felt a hand on my back and turned to find Tama'i standing beside me, rubbing Kai's back.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Kai said as he let me go and turned to Tama'i. "I never should have doubted you."

"I'll try to be the kind of man you never doubt again, aloalii."

I moved away so Tama'i could wrap the young man in his arms and took a few steps back until I was standing with Aleki who was almost as emotional as the rest of us. I wiped my tears with one hand as I used the other to grab Aleki's hand. He squeezed it as tears ran down his face, and I marveled at the strength he showed today after all the things he'd witnessed at such a young age.

I already respected Tama'i as the man I'd come to love. However, after hearing why he went to prison, I didn't just love him, but also admired and respected him for what he had been willing to do - and continue to do - for his family.

Maybe, if I was lucky someday, I'd have children who would grow up admiring him too.