Page 40 of This Could be Love
“A party?”
“Chip invited us. Griffin Chipman.”
For the second time it grew uncomfortably quiet, and I noticed how tense Gabe’s face had grown.
“How do you know him?” Kay asked, her lips narrowed.
“We met last year at the Laureus Awards, and I just happened to run into him here, of all places. I didn’t know he lived on Oahu.”
Again, my words were met by silence, but this time it only lasted around two seconds before one of Kay’s trainers ran up to us.
“Nainoa just twisted his ankle pretty bad. Could you have a look, Gabe?”
“Of course,” he murmured.
“I asked the others to bring some ice packs,” the trainer continued, “but then I saw you all and thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask you to have a look.”
Gabe nodded. “Absolutely, no problem.”
The trainer vaguely pointed toward one of the courts in back. Gabe handed Kay his shave ice and walked off with him. Unsettled, I watched them go.
“Hope it’s nothing bad.”
“Hmm,” Kay murmured pensively.
But something told me it didn’t have to do with Nainoa’s ankle.
“Umm…about all this. Did I…say the wrong thing?”
She didn’t answer immediately, and when she did, her words were careful. “Griffin Chipman is…a tough subject for Gabe.”
“Because of Millie?”
For a second, she looked surprised, and I decided not to mention that Vince had told me about them.
“That too. But above all because of Keiko.”
“I thought the two were friends.”
“They were. Keiko was Chip’s Jet Ski pilot. He always towed him out into those monster waves.”
I was overcome by an uneasy premonition.
“And it cost him his life.”
“It wasn’t a surfing accident?” I blurted out.
“He was out there with Chip. Despite the storm warnings. But Griffin Chipman doesn’t care about that kind of thing.”
I wondered whether those were her words or Gabe’s.
“I didn’t know that,” I whispered.
“Of course not.” Kay shot me an encouraging glance. “Gabe definitely won’t hold it against you either.”
“That means that Gabe holds Chip responsible for his son’s death?”
She tilted her head indecisively. “I don’t know. But the fact remains that Keiko wouldn’t have been out there if it wasn’t for Chip.”
