SUN AND SAIL
By Vrinda
Chapter 1
The ballet was any day more interesting than sitting around with a bunch of old navy officers, smelling their cigar ashes, and listening to them tell the same war stories over and over, in between off-color jokes. Rite of Spring, as the ballet was known, would have been a better alternative, but something was keeping Steve McGarrett from making the obvious decision. When he heard Kate Holbrook ask him if he wanted to go, he still hesitated.
Should I, or will it end up like last time? Steve thought. He had not dated any woman in a long time. It was three years since Cathy, his previous girlfriend, had been killed and Steve was framed for it. The pain and shock of losing her, and the added horror of being accused of her murder nearly made Steve go off the deep end. If not for the diligence of his men – Danno, Chin, and Duke – Steve would have lost his badge, gun, and position and been in jail now, where he most surely would wind up dead. That was the intent of the gangster who masterminded the plot. That was all behind Steve now, but the future was uncertain. He knew one thing, though: He couldn't keep Kate Holbrook waiting.
"I'd love to come, Kate," he said. "What time would you like me to pick you up?"
"How about seven?" she asked.
"Seven it is," Steve said, his face now beaming as he heard Kate speak once more.
"See you then," she said, and hung up. Steve put down the receiver and stared out the window. The palm trees and bougainvillea were not the objects of his viewing pleasure at that moment but rather, what he was thinking. He had to force himself to get out of this dire state in which he was. He couldn't go on mourning Cathy forever. She would want him to live and go on. Kate's phone call jolted Steve back into reality. There was no going back now.