Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) Read Online Free Page A

County planning board, over in Hilo.”
    “Well, I’m here to tell you these things take months, even longer over here, from what I’ve heard. You should have plenty of time to come up with objections.”
    “From what we’re hearing, they’re working hard to speed things up.”
    “And you just found out? Your family must have friends over there, people who’d let you know about something like this. Anyway, aren’t they supposed to have public hearings for adjacent landowners, anyone affected by the development? Or is this just some bed-and-breakfast, some real small thing?”
    Malu snorted humorlessly. “I wish. No, it’s a major resort. Main lodge, cabanas, golf course, the whole deal. On a par with the Hilton Waikoloa up on the west shore. As for the permits, they’ve been mysteriously rushed along.”
    Jack whistled slowly. “What about shore access?”
    “That’s the best part,” said a deep, rough voice behind Jack, heavy with irony. “They want to punch a road right past my house and build a huge marina.”
    Daniel Ho’omalu walked around the loungers to join them. He wore a forbidding scowl on his tattooed face as he gestured at the pristine reef where Gabe and Sara bobbed along, flippers catching the sun. “All this? Crowded with boats, a big breakwater, noise and people. Our privacy, gone.”
    “I can’t believe that,” Jack said. “For one thing, aren’t there laws here, something about native Hawaiians having first choice when land is up for sale?”
    Daniel snorted contemptuously, turning to face him. “Supposedly. In reality, very little of our land falls into the Homestead classification. Even Hawaiians with money to buy a house can wait decades to get a chance.”
    “But doesn’t your family own some good chunks of land here?”
    “We do,” Malu put in. “We have the farm up on the mountain, some land on Maui, the marina and some other small places.”
    “Including the Ahupua`a that includes Nawea,” Daniel added. “An Ahupua’a is a strip of land running from the top of the mountain, clear to the sea, widening out at the base. The islands were once entirely divided this way, with an ali’i, or chief in charge of each one. The chief and his people had access to every kind of resource, from farm ground to the sea.”
    “How the hell did these people manage to get title to any of that without you knowing?” Jack asked, morbidly fascinated.
    Daniel shook his head. “The Great Mahele , back in the 1800s. They registered all the land, some of it too vaguely. Now there are lawyers suing on the grounds the old contracts aren’t valid because they weren’t filed properly.”
    “Jesus.” Jack pushed himself out of his chair. “I need another beer.” His mind worked furiously as he grabbed another bottle from the melting ice in the cooler, twisted the top off and took a long pull.
    “Hey, the girls are here.” Daniel levered himself out of his lounger, tossing his empty bottle into the recycling basket waiting on the sand beside the cooler. “Better go up.”
    “And I’d better carry whatever Melia bought,” Malu said, rising to follow his brother.
    “Can I help?” Jack offered.
    “Here come Suzy and Benton Choy. You mind playing host for a few minutes? I’ll be back.”
    “No problem. We’ll talk more about this land deal later, okay?” Jack took another drink of his beer. He was reeling from his friends’ horrifically bad news. He needed time to process, think about the implications.
    As Suzy Kai tiptoed across the lanai on her escort’s arm, Jack nodded politely. The two wore their dress clothes, obviously not here for a swim. He felt underdressed in his damp trunks, as if he should whip a shirt on. Except they were on the damn beach.
    “Here, sit in the shade.” Jack gestured at the two upright chairs on either side of a small table. “Can I get you something to drink?”
    “Water, please.” Suzy smiled as if conferring a favor on him.
    “And for me,”