From Glowing Embers

  ~ ~ ~

  Julianna expected Gray to be waiting in his seat when she passed through his cabin to exit the plane. To her relief, however, he was gone. She didn’t doubt that he would confront her again, but she was glad it wasn’t going to be here. She nodded politely to the flight attendants standing at the door before she stepped down on the jetway and followed the carpeted ramp into the airport.

  The first thing she noticed was the absence of voices. The Honolulu airport was always a jumble of people, a cacophony of sound, no matter what time of day or night. This evening there were few people milling about, because no other planes were landing. The noise of tourist throngs had been replaced by the loud roar of the wind outside the glass-walled corridors. Julianna could see sheets of rain whipping against the glass. The downpour was so heavy that she couldn’t see far enough to tell if the streets were flooding, but she imagined they were. Where could the water run off to at this rate?

  “This is no place to spend the night.”

  Julianna nodded at Dillon, who was walking beside her toward the baggage claim. “With all this glass, it’s not safe in this kind of a storm.”

  “Do you have a place you can go?”

  She had been asking herself the same question since they had landed. She wanted a room with no windows and a bed to cry on, but she hadn’t been able to think of any place at all.

  “When I’m on Oahu,” she explained, “I stay in a condo near my factory. But it’s on the windward coast. I’d never get there in this.”

  “Have you got friends you can ring?”

  “Nobody within an easy cab ride. And nobody I’d want to call to come and get me. I think I’m going to get a hotel room.”

  “If you can.”

  She turned worried eyes on him. “Do you think there’ll be a problem?”

  “Well, I’m no expert, but if this turns into a cyclone like the flight attendants were saying—”

  “Cyclone!”

  Dillon shrugged. “Cyclone. Typhoon. What do you call it? Hurricane?”

  “Hurricane.” Julianna stopped. “What do you mean, hurricane?”

  Dillon put his hand on her shoulder and moved her out of the stream of people coming along behind them. “One of the flight attendants told me the storm is probably going to be upgraded into a cy—hurricane. Whether it is or not, they’ll be evacuating the northern part of the island because that’s where they think the storm is heading, and no matter what they end up calling it, it’s a bad one.”

  “But we don’t have hurricanes here.” The moment the words left her mouth she realized they weren’t true. “Well, rarely,” she said lamely. “There was one called Iwa, but I was on the mainland.” Julianna shut her eyes and tried to imagine living through a hurricane. It was a nightmare come true. She couldn’t face it.

  “Are you all right?”

  She wasn’t, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “Surprised, that’s all.” She forced herself to open her eyes.

  “Good on ya.” Dillon squeezed her shoulder sympathetically. “It may get wet enough to bog a duck, but you’ll be fine.”

  “If they’re evacuating the north end of the island, and if travelers are stranded, too, the hotels will be full. What are you going to do?”

  “First let’s get our bags, then we can check with the airline. They’ll be able to suggest something.”

  Julianna kept her eyes open for Gray as they walked along the corridor. Unless he was traveling light, he would have to go to the baggage claim area, too. She just hoped he would be concerned enough about the impending hurricane that he’d leave her alone.

  When they arrived Gray was nowhere in sight. Julianna watched Dillon sling a duffel bag off the carousel and over his shoulder. “That’s it for me,” he told her.

  “It doesn’t look like any of mine’s off the plane yet. I shipped most of it ahead, so I don’t have much.”

  “Do you need a hand?”

  She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll manage.”

  “Then I’m going to have a go at the airline office. See if they’ve got any advice for us.” He smiled, pushing his hat up a notch as he did. “Shall I try and get you a room if I can?”

  “Would you please? It would be a big help.”

  Julianna watched Dillon walk away. She had become used to men wanting to help her. Despite her independence, she seemed to be a woman who inspired men’s protective instincts. She had never been sure just why.