Chapter 1

I considered peeking one eye open to make sure nothing had changed overnight. To verify that my Sheriff Jayne persona really could stay in hibernation and not worry about solving crimes. Nothing minor, like a dispute between quarreling neighbors. Nothing major, such as yet another dead body showing up. Our village had a bit of a problem with that last option.

Fear that I wasn’t really on vacation, or perhaps my sense of responsibility, won out, so I looked and instantly relaxed. There were still palm trees swaying outside the window. A second later, a soft breeze blew across my face. That little puff of wind was the single biggest sign that we were no longer in frozen-over Whispering Pines, Wisconsin. We wouldn’t be opening windows there for another few months. I inhaled, and the aroma of tropical flowers and a hint of seawater filled my senses. Heavenly.

At that moment, a small furry paw tapped my nose. I ignored it.

Maybe I should get up and experience my very first Hawaiian sunrise. No. The sun would rise again tomorrow. I had time for that. This was our first of ten glorious days on Maui. Ten days of balmy breezes instead of frigid polar gusts. Ten days to walk along the beach and hike through the jungle in shorts and sandals rather than trudge through piles of slush in parkas and snow boots.

The paw appeared again, and this time the tap was more of an insistent press. I ignored it again.

Nope, not getting up. Tripp and I could sleep in as long as we wanted because neither of us had to go to work. We could spend every waking moment together, just the two of us. Except for when we were hanging out with his Aunt Addie and Uncle Jim, of course. I smiled, hugged my pillow tighter, and snuggled deeper into bedsheets so soft I now knew exactly what the term “sleeping on a cloud” meant. No, for the next week and a half, I could be Regular Jayne whose only worry was which pair of flip-flops to wear.

A furry white face appeared a few inches from my face. A little pink tongue hung out, expanding and contracting the tiniest bit in time with its owner’s panting. Dog breath replaced the sweet, exotic scent of hibiscus, plumeria, and whatever all those other beautiful flowers were.

“Gross, Meeka,” I whispered so as not to wake up Tripp, who looked more peaceful than I’d ever seen him.

I’d considered leaving my pup at home. Tripp insisted she’d have a blast playing in the ocean waves, which was true. Besides, I’d miss her too much. That meant I couldn’t sleep as long as I wanted. Not when she needed to go out to do her duty.

“Hang loose, furry one. We’re supposed to be operating on island time.”

I rolled out of bed and tiptoed down the carpeted stairs of the two-story, luxuriously appointed condo, donated by our dear friend River Carr for our vacation. He had also arranged for his company jet to fly us here. We were even free to use the Range Rover parked in the garage. The only expenses we would incur were food, entertainment, and souvenirs. Shame that River and Morgan couldn’t come with us. Their baby was due in mid-May, only three short months from now, and Morgan hadn’t wanted to travel so far. More likely, she didn’t want to leave her mother for that long. Not in the middle of winter when a blizzard could blow up at any time and make it a challenge to get back to northern Wisconsin.

Outside, the scent of flowers on the wind was even stronger. I stepped onto the grass, wiggling my naked toes through the blades and relishing the feel of a warm breeze on my winter-white skin even this early in the morning.

“Where are you going?” I asked my dog as she crossed the yard and stood on the curb by the street. She wasn’t looking for a place to leave a deposit, something had captured her attention. “Meeka, come.”

She ignored me and, in a blink was across, the street and nosing around a neighboring condo. We’d have to have a little training session about that. Meeka wasn’t used to crossing streets anymore. Since vehicles weren’t allowed in the village, and we cross the two-lane highway via a bridge, it seemed she’d forgotten to be wary of traffic. And as if trespassing in the neighbor’s yard wasn’t bad enough, she started barking. I glanced both ways and jogged across the thankfully empty road.

“Meeka, silence,” I whisper-ordered. “You’re going to wake the neighbors.”

She wagged her tail triple time and looked pointedly from me to the window of the condo. There, a beautiful dark-gray parrot with white patches around its eyes sat in a large white metal cage. It stretched its wings wide, almost like it was greeting my dog, then it barked. The bird, not Meeka.

I stared at the bird, my head cocked to the side. “Do that again.”

It made the barking sound again and then squawked, “Here, doggie.”

I burst out laughing, and a voice from somewhere in the condo called, “You’re not a dog, Hulu.”

As if disputing that fact, Hulu the parrot barked again.

A woman appeared on the other side of the cage and jumped, startled, when she saw me standing there. A few seconds later, the front door opened, and the woman, dressed in running shorts and a sports bra, stepped outside.

Five foot five, yellow-blonde hair, very muscular build, early twenties.

“I’m so sorry.” I crossed my arms over my chest, remembering I hadn’t put a bra on yet. “Did my dog wake you?”

“No. I’ve been up for an hour.”

“She must’ve heard your parrot and shot over here to investigate. Not every day you hear a bird bark.”

“Common occurrence in my life.” She held out a hand to me. “I’m Gemi Kittredge. That’s Hulu. He’s an African Gray and, as you can probably tell, very chatty.”

I held out one hand, keeping the other in place. “Jayne O’Shea. This is Meeka. She’s a West Highland White Terrier, not all that chatty, but very nosey. Nice to meet you both.” I gestured across the street. “I’m staying in that condo with my boyfriend and his aunt and uncle.”

“River’s place?”

Another surprise. “You know him?”

Gemi held her hand six inches above her head. “Tall, dark, and mysterious? He’s not here often, but when he is, we all notice. I guess that’s his business’s place, so lots of different people stay there throughout the year. River always sends the residents an email to let us know when people will be staying there, so we don’t think it’s squatters or that he’s abandoned us. In other words, we knew you were coming. Where are you from?”

I explained Whispering Pines and my position as sheriff and co-operator of Pine Time Bed-and-Breakfast. “It’s a tourist town. We’ve been in the off-season since Halloween. Things are really dead right now, but it’ll pick up again with the Memorial Day weekend. And it’s been freaking cold, so we’re happy to be somewhere warm.”

“You’re a sheriff?” She arched an eyebrow, apparently impressed by this. “Guess I know who to call if I have a problem.”

I held my hands out to her, forgetting my semi-undressed state. Gemi didn’t flinch. “I’m on vacation. No problems, please.” Then I relented. “Of course, if it’s something serious, I’m happy to do what I can.”

Why did I say that? I had my badge, I brought it everywhere, and could assist with a problem if I wanted. But Kahului, Maui, was far outside of my jurisdiction. More importantly, I was on vacation.

“And you?” I asked. “What’s your story?”

“I live here with my sister, Ashlyn. We’ve been on Maui for four years, California before this. I’m a student at Kahului college, studying nursing, and teach kids’ and women’s self-defense at a local MMA gym called No Mercy.”

Hulu the bird said, “Hi-ya!” as though attacking an opponent. Meeka yipped, pranced her paws, and looked up at me. She reminded me of a cat chattering at a squirrel outside the window. Except her chatter was physical, not verbal. She was obviously dying to get closer to this feathered creature, but what did she expect me to do about that?

I turned back to Gemi. “MMA? That’s like boxing, isn’t it?”

“Stands for Mixed Martial Arts, so boxing and martial arts. I fight bantamweight, which is one hundred twenty-five pounds to one thirty-five. That’s probably more than you wanted to know.”

That explained her massive biceps. “Are you good?”

She shrugged and pulled her right foot up behind her to stretch her equally massive thigh. “I do all right.”

As impressed by her as she seemed to be by my sheriff status, I echoed, “Guess I know who to call if I want to learn self-defense. Over the next ten days.”

Gemi perked up at that. “Are you interested?”

“In self-defense?”

She nodded and stretched her left thigh.

It wasn’t often that I ended up in a physical altercation, not since moving to Whispering Pines, but that didn’t mean I never would. “I had some training while I was in the academy and kept my skills fresh when I was a police officer. Now I walk all over the village. For five months of the year, I get in a ton of steps every day. So my cardio is decent.” Although, it wasn’t as great now as it was in October.

She blinked at me.

“Not that any of that has anything to do with self-defense. I could probably take down a bad guy, though.” I pointed at my K-9 and laughed. “If Meeka tripped them first, I could jump on them.”

“My gym is doing a demonstration today,” Gemi volunteered, ignoring my rambling. “I’ll be teaching short, basic skills lessons to kids and women. Some of our other members will teach men and seniors. You mentioned a boyfriend, aunt, and uncle. It’s all free to the public. We’ll have a couple food trucks set up in the parking lot too. You should come. The gym is about three miles from here. I’ll email you the address.”

“I didn’t bring a laptop.”

She blinked at me. “Do you have a cell phone?”

My face flushed hot. “I do. We have no reception in the village. None. I only use my phone as a camera so tend to forget about it.”

Gemi pulled her phone out of a slim turquoise pack at her waist, and I gave her my email address. She nodded as the message sent. “A sheriff should know how to protect herself.”

“I’ve got a K-9 and a Glock.”

Unamused and deadly serious, she scolded, “There have to be times when you’re not armed, and your sidekick isn’t with you. That’s when things happen. When you’re alone, unprepared, and unaware.”

It was easy to see she was passionate about self-defense. There was something else, though. Something personal was usually hidden beneath that kind of passion. If I had to guess, Gemi had been a victim at some point. Whatever had happened, I was glad she had taken control of her life. My physical skills were far from up to date, but I knew from personal experience how empowering it could be to take charge of your life.

“I’ll talk to the others in my group and see if they’re interested.”

Gemi stepped into the running shoes she’d been holding, presumably to go for an early morning run. “Even if they don’t, you should come. With your job, an investment of a few hours in learning to defend yourself could save your life someday.”

How could I argue with that? It was only day one of our Maui adventure. I had nine more days to spend with Tripp, Addie, and Jim. I could spare a couple hours. Besides, Gemi Kittredge intrigued me.