Read Online Spoils of Eden by Linda Lee Chaikin - Free Book Online Page B

conducted over the past two years in China and India. Rafe also knew for a fact that Rebecca had long passed the early stages of leprosy, where even the faintest hope of a cure was possible—except if touched by Christ. Jerome was deceiving himself, which was tragic enough. But to draw Eden into his dream was even worse, for it was a dream that Rafe believed would end badly.
    Rafe turned back to Keno, who was still talking. “I can’t teach, let alone
preach
. What if I forget what I planned to say?”
    “You don’t need to memorize the entire message. You make notes and keep them in your Bible.”
    “What if I drop the notes or get them in the wrong order or lose my glasses?”
    “Since when do you need glasses?”
    “That’s just it, pal. One never knows. I might need them tomorrow or even next week. Then what?”
    Rafe frowned. “What does Candace see in you?”
    Keno slapped a hand against his chest. “She sees a friend and thehandsomest hapa-haole in the islands! And the man she trusts.”
    “Anything else?” Rafe asked dryly.
    Keno pretended to think hard. He snapped his fingers. “It was I, Keno, who led her to know the Savior.”
    “Yes, exactly.” He pushed a thumb against Keno’s chest. “That’s why you should listen to Ambrose. Become a Christian leader, and I’ll back you all the way.”
    Keno looked at him askance. “And you? It was you, pal, who led
me
to the Lord. So you, too, should be a big pastor. I’ll be your assistant pastor. Yes, that’s the answer. That could work.”
    “I’ll grow the best Kona coffee in the islands, produce the sweetest pineapples in the world, and have many sons with Green Eyes to help you around the church. I’ll keep one son in seven to carry on the plantations.”
    Keno whooped in laughter, and Rafe returned to the doorway, looking out at the mountaintops with their blue, green, and purple hues. Clouds were gathering, and there was the feel of more than the usual afternoon mist in the air. Right now, despite his finest intentions to show himself magnanimous toward Eden, he
was
angry. Angry that she had placed their lives on hold while she put Dr. Jerome ahead of him.
    Rafe touched the diamond ring in his trouser pocket. He carried it around, still feeling emotional about his loss, yet knowing emotions would not solve his deep dilemma. He was a practical man, and his practicality always rose to the top. The ring was worth thousands of dollars. And she
had
worn it. For three weeks and five days … or was it six days? Well, she had worn it either way, and there had been tears in her soft green eyes when he had put it there, and tears when she had taken it off. He could still feel the warm splash of her tears against his wrist as she returned it to his palm and walked away. A ruddy mess!
    Relish your freedom
, he told himself.
Get out of here, Easton. You need the cure! The sooner you get away, the better off you’ll be! Then, maybe in a couple of years … No. Forget it. Not again
. If he learnedto get over her, it would stay that way. Permanently.
    “Yes,” Keno was saying, “it is time you mollified your wounds with salt water.” He stared at the map. “The sea!” He lifted his hands above his head. “The blessed sea. A strong ship. And a long,
long
voyage.”
    Rafe laughed. “Stop staring at that map, will you?”
    “Why should I stop when this wondrous map holds the answer to our misery?”
    “You know what you remind me of?” Rafe gritted. “A
kahuna
. Gazing into the innards of a rotting
ahi
trying to figure out my future.” He walked to the table and tapped his finger on the outline of the Caribbean. “If I go back to French Guiana as Parker Judson wants, you’re not coming with me. Candace or no Candace, you’re staying with Ambrose.”
    “Oh, no, pal. You and me are partners, remember? You’ll need plenty of help with another load of slips. You don’t know anything about nursing them down in the deep, dank hull, and I do. Then,