Try Easy: A Slow-Burn Vacation Fling Love Story (Aloha Series Book 1)

by Jill Brashear

  “You live in a graveyard?” she asked.

  Keoni nodded. “A Chinese graveyard.”

  The Graveyard

  Keoni

  * * *

  Keoni had been ten years old when they’d moved to the graveyard, and the stone lions with their all-seeing gray eyes had scared him half to death.

  In their country home in the mountains of Maui, Keoni had run free and wild. In Honolulu, they lived in an apartment with two bedrooms for seven people. In Maui, his father couldn’t find work, but there was plenty of work at the docks of Honolulu for a strong, hard-working man like Keoni’s father. Loki Makai was used to working the ranches of Maui from sunup to sundown. He was tall and broad, and even though he was uneducated, he was smart. Loki worked at the docks for a few months before he found out about a job where his family could live rent-free on thousands of acres of land. The only catch was that they had to maintain the property, and it was a cemetery.

  Keoni and his siblings had been scared at first, but they had learned to love the cemetery. The land stretched out like their own private park, with the Ko’olau Mountains as the backdrop. Views of Waikiki and Kane’hoe Bay could be seen from the tops of the hills. Keoni could ride his bike five miles and arrive at the cliff-side beaches of Black Point or Diamond Head.

  But it wasn’t all play for the Makai children, they had to work hard to keep up the grounds of the cemetery. The sprawling acreage didn’t take care of itself, and the family had to put in a lot of hours of work. Keoni and his brothers and sisters had spent countless hours doing mundane chores like weeding and mowing. And then there were the less ordinary jobs of digging up graves to excavate the bones and prepare them for the Bone House according to Chinese customs.

  Once their work was done, they were free to do as they wished. They didn’t have a television, but five thousand acres of land was plenty to keep them entertained.

  Like most Hawaiian families, the Makais were poor, but they never went without. There was always food to eat. Mango, papaya, and guava trees dotted the hills of the graveyard, and the ocean was a short drive away. There was an ancient fish pond, with curving walls made of stone at Black Point. Fish swam in through the sluice gates at high tide and became trapped. Keoni or his brothers and sisters would be sent down to collect fish if food was short, and his mother canned enough fruit to feed everyone in their extended family.

  Whether it was work or play, there was always something to do on the graveyard. The Makais became well known on the island for their hospitality. Keoni had grown up with a revolving door of guests and relatives. There was always an extra seat at the table. There was always food and drink to share. There was always aloha.

  And the graveyard became the center of Keoni’s world.

  He glanced over at Lou, wondering what she thought of his universe.

  She was looking out the window. The breeze caught her hair and tossed it into her face, and she shoved it away with an impatient hand. Feeling his stare, she turned to look at him, and Keoni saw that her eyes were ablaze with curiosity.

  “You grew up here?” she asked.

  He nodded, plucking a strand of her hair that had stuck in the short hairs of his beard.

  “What was it like?”

  Keoni smiled, his eyes softening. “It was everything.”

  He had nothing but fond memories of growing up in the graveyard. It had been hard work for him as a kid, and it still was for his parents, but it had been full of joy. He felt guilty sometimes that he had left and moved to Hale’iwa.

  It helped that Keoni’s older brother, Tau, had built a small house on the property and lived there with his young family. There was a whole new generation of Makais to grow up on the cemetery.

  “It’s beautiful,” Lou said.

  Keoni felt a surge of pride. “Thanks.”

  “It didn’t spook you out living here?” Penny asked.

  “Nah,” Keoni said.

  “Keoni has all kinds of crazy stories about growing up here,” Bones said.

  Penny and Lou both turned to look at Keoni. Bones met Keoni’s eye in the rearview mirror, and they shared a smile. One of the most entertaining stories was the one of Bones’s nickname, but that wasn’t Keoni’s story to tell.

  They drove along the narrow road that cut through the manicured lawns of graves until they reached the center of the valley, where several small houses were built in a clearing. Half a dozen cars were already there. Keoni recognized Kimo’s truck among the others. He gritted his teeth and looked away.

  Keoni would be glad to see Kimo one last time before he left, but he wasn’t looking forward to another confrontation with his bull-headed brother. Suddenly feeling cooped up in the small back seat, Keoni couldn’t wait to jump out and stretch his legs. Bones had barely rolled to a stop next to the other cars when he opened the door and climbed out.

  “How big is this place?” Penny asked.

  Keoni glanced over the top of the car to look at Penny. “Five thousand acres,” he said.

  Lou climbed out of the car and walked to the far end of the gravel drive, staring up the hills at the tombstones.

  “She’s gonna want to take some pictures,” Penny warned.

  Keoni glanced up at Lou, who seemed to have forgotten everyone else as she gazed around with wide eyes. Keoni thought she would love the view from the top of the hill.

  “I’ll show you the view,” he said impulsively.

  He wanted to see Lou’s face when she saw the cityscape surrounded by blue ocean and sky.

  Penny laughed. “Not in these shoes,” she said, pointing to her heels.

  Keoni glanced from Penny’s shoes back to Lou, who still didn’t seem to notice that no one was following her.

  “I’ll go with her,” Keoni volunteered. “You go on inside. We’ll be right along.”

  “Okay,” Bones said, holding his elbow out to Penny as if they were entering a ball.

  Penny giggled and took Bones’s arm. Keoni watched them walk away, then he went over to join Lou.

  Her face brightened when she saw him. “This place is unreal,” she said.

  “Do you want to see the view of the city from the top of the hill?”

  “Yes.”

  They started off up the hill with Lou stopping every few minutes to take a picture.

  “Will you tell me a story about growing up here?” Lou asked, squatting down to take a picture of a leaning tombstone.

  She stumbled when she tried to stand up and Keoni offered her his hand. Lou took his hand with a quiet thanks and dropped it as soon as she got her footing.

  Keoni noticed the color in Lou’s cheeks and wondered if she’d felt the same jolt of electricity that he had when they touched. He cleared his throat and began a story about a ghost that he and his brothers had been determined to trap.

  About halfway through the story, Lou laughed and said, “You’re making this up.”

  “Nah. It’s true.”

  Lou shook her head. “You’re only trying to scare me.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  She shrugged and lifted her camera to her face, focusing on the tree-lined path in front of the graves, and then turning in a circle, she aimed her camera at him. He smiled and held up his hand in the shaka sign, fingers tucked against his palm and thumb and pinky spread wide.

  Lou froze and then slowly put down her camera.

  “What?” Keoni asked. He knew he probably looked pretty bad with his busted lip and blackened eye. He pressed his tongue to the cut on his lip self-consciously and took his sunglasses out of his pocket. Sliding them over his eyes, he asked, “Afraid I’ll break your camera?”

  “No. It isn’t that,” she said.

  Lou pulled the tourist brochure out of her bag and flipped to the back cover. She jabbed her finger at the picture of a man sitting on a red surfboard in the blue waves of Waikiki.

  “That’s you,” she said.

  Keoni ran his hand through his hair, making it sta
nd up in disheveled waves. “Yeah,” he said.

  “You’re famous,” Lou said.

  “Nah,” Keoni said.

  “You’re embarrassed,” Lou said, teasing him.

  Keoni turned away and started up the hill. “Do you want to hear the rest of the story, or what?” he asked.

  “Not unless you have a better one,” she said, her nose crinkling.

  Keoni smiled and held out his hand to Lou. “Come on, we’re almost there. Wait till you see.”

  Lou took his hand and Keoni felt that spark of awareness again. He wondered if he’d feel it every time he touched her. Then he wondered about kissing her. If touching her hand felt this good, what would it be like to kiss her mouth?

  Keoni dropped Lou’s hand. It wasn’t smart to think thoughts like that, not when Lou was only here for a few days. Keoni didn’t seduce tourists, even ones as pretty as Lou.

  They were almost to the top of the hill when Keoni halted. “Close your eyes these last few steps,” he said.

  “Why?” Lou asked, tilting her face up to his.

  Keoni looked at her mouth. It was wide and sensual. Tempting. He looked back to her eyes. Blue-green, the color of the deep seas of off-shore Maui. The color of his childhood.

  “I want you to be surprised,” he said. “I’ll lead you.”

  “Okay,” Lou said.

  She closed her eyes. Keoni put his hand on the small of Lou’s back and turned her toward the top of the hill. He walked her nearly to the edge of the hill, and then stopped her before she could take another step.

  “K’den,” he said. “Open your eyes.”

  The View from the Top

  Lou

  * * *

  Lou’s eyes fluttered open, and she gazed upon the magnificent view of the city of Honolulu. It looked smaller than she’d expected, more like a child’s drawing of a city than the actual thing. Lou had never seen a panoramic view of downtown Seattle before, but she suspected it would be much bigger, with more buildings, interstates, and of course the space needle, which looked like a giant flying saucer hovering over the buildings.

  Honolulu was a single row of buildings that seemed no bigger than a line of toy blocks anchoring the horizon. Rising from both the left and right were the verdant slopes of the mountains. Above and beyond the mountains and the tiny skyscrapers were the navy sky and the turquoise sea.

  The sight was charming. It touched something in Lou’s heart to see the clash of nature and humanity. She found herself at a loss for words, and tears burned her throat. She swiped her hand under her eye as the first tear fell.

  “Heh,” Keoni said, stepping closer. “Are you okay?”

  The softness in his voice made Lou’s throat constrict even more. The only time Keoni had said more than a few words at once was when he’d been telling the ghost story. The rest of their time together, he had been curt almost to the point of being rude. She was surprised to hear the concern from him now as tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just so…” She trailed off, not knowing what to say about the view.

  It was spectacular, but in a way, Lou hated it. She wished she could wipe out the buildings and look at the view before it had been spoiled.

  Keoni touched her shoulder. Lou felt the warmth of his hand seep through her cotton blouse. His hand was solid. Lou took comfort in the pressure. They stood side by side in silence, gazing out at the view.

  What had it looked like before the buildings? Lou wondered. It was a fascinating thought, and one she wished she could capture with her camera. Could she take a picture that would resonate with people, make them long for the days of old?

  Lou took a step forward and raised her camera to her face. She focused her long lens on the distant shores and snapped a few pictures. It was beautiful, but it was also sad. Tears blurred Lou’s eyes as she lowered her camera and looked back at Keoni.

  “I’ve seen a lot of people look at this view before,” Keoni said, his voice thick with emotion. “But I never saw no one cry. It’s sad, isn’t it?” he asked.

  Lou looked up at him, her heart breaking for him. What must it be like to watch your world be taken over by tourists who turned your culture into dime-store trinkets?

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Why?” Keoni asked, stepping toward her. He reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers. “You didn’t do nothing.”

  Lou nodded. Her heart began to race as Keoni reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. His fingers were calloused and rough as they brushed against her neck. He dropped his hand and turned to look out at the view.

  Lou studied the chiseled line of his profile. She could have been looking at the face of a Hawaiian prince.

  “Take off your glasses,” she said.

  “Why?” Keoni pulled back, surprised by her command.

  “Because I want to see your eyes.”

  Keoni hesitated and then took off his glasses. Blood pooled in the corner of his left eye, and his cheek was swollen.

  “Not as pretty as the view, eh?” he asked.

  He started to put the glasses back on, but Lou reached out and stopped him. Even though it was hard to look at the damage to his face, Lou didn’t want Keoni to cover his eyes.

  “It’s fine,” she lied.

  The air was full of honeysuckle and mango, but she was near enough to smell the ocean in Keoni’s hair. The scent was heady and seductive.

  Lou took a step back. She had nearly lost herself in Keoni’s eyes. Luckily, she came to her senses. She remembered Paul, who she had completely forgotten about. If she wasn’t careful, the romance and beauty of Hawaii would infect her blood.

  Lou fiddled with her camera, trying to focus her thoughts on something other than Keoni.

  “You ready to go back down?” he asked.

  Lou nodded. Taking another step back, she raised her camera for one last shot of Honolulu. Hiding behind the safety of her camera, Lou was able to convince the butterflies in her stomach to land.

  They started down the hill back to the valley, and Lou stayed a few paces behind Keoni. She stalled, taking more pictures than necessary to give her time to clear her head.

  There were certainly plenty of opportunities to fill rolls of film. Everything was lush and green. Some of the trees reached for the sky, but others broke off in different directions, stretching their gnarled and twisted roots back toward the ground.

  Tombstones carved from granite and limestone marched up the hills. Green mountain peaks rose behind the grave sites and disappeared into a thin layer of fog.

  Lou looked up from her camera and saw Keoni’s back. His shirt was threadbare, so thin that she could see the flex of his muscles underneath the fabric.

  Keoni turned and waited for Lou, catching her stare. She glanced down at her camera again, taking comfort in the cold metal resting against her chest. It wasn’t wrong to appreciate beauty, she thought to herself, justifying her attraction to Keoni. She enjoyed beauty all the time. It was called art. And Keoni was nothing if not a work of art.

  The door to the house opened and the sound of laughter and conversation drifted over the gravel drive.

  Bones stood at the door, looking out at them. “You coming, or wot?” he asked.

  “Yeah. In a minute,” Keoni said.

  “I’ll put my camera away,” she said, walking toward the station wagon.

  It was time for her to join the rest of the world. Lou remembered Paul’s advice to make sure she looked around some while she was in Hawaii, and she cringed. She knew he didn’t mean looking at Keoni.

  Lou tucked her camera back in her bag and leaned through the open window of the station wagon to put it on the back seat. When she straightened, she noticed the shiny surfboards on top of the car. She couldn’t imagine trying to balance on one of those over the giant waves she’d seen in the movie. The red board was longer than the blue one—it had to be ten feet long. Lou reached up to touch it. Her finge
rs barely grazed the slick surface of the board when Keoni came up beside her and grabbed her hand. Lou felt the strong vise of his long fingers around her palm and also the spark of frisson that accompanied his touch.

  “Don’t touch my board,” he said in a low voice.

  Lou’s eyes snapped from the red surfboard to Keoni’s face. She thought he might be joking, but when she saw his eyes, she knew he was serious. Gazing up at Keoni’s chiseled face, Lou felt the stirrings of anger. A steely glint in his eyes warned Lou to back down, but she refused.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “It’s bad luck.”

  Lou laughed. Surely, he was kidding, now. Keoni took a step closer, erasing the distance between them. Lou stopped laughing. He was serious. She’d never met someone so hard to read. She looked into his eyes, glancing from his perfect left eye to the bruised and bloodied right eye. Then she looked down at his mouth. His lower lip was swollen and split, and Lou had the irrational urge to heal him with a kiss. She wanted to stretch up on her toes and kiss the cut on Keoni’s mouth, to taste him.

  She pictured Keoni’s mouth sliding over hers, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight in her belly. Her heart began to beat double-time.

  At home, Lou let Paul set the pace. But she wasn’t at home. This wasn’t the bustling, damp city of Seattle. This was Hawaii. Languid and warm, this place was rugged and raw. The rules were different.

  And so was Lou.

  She raised up on her toes. She saw the quick flash of desire in Keoni’s eyes before she brushed her lips over his. It was a soft kiss. She only wanted a brief taste of him. She only wanted to satisfy her curiosity. Lou knew it was wrong of her, but she couldn’t stop herself. She felt the spark that exploded between them, and she sighed as she dropped down to her heels.

  Keoni’s hand slid up Lou’s arm, and he pulled her against his chest. He’d moved so quickly that Lou hadn’t seen it coming. The air escaped her lungs as his mouth closed over hers. His kiss wasn’t light. It was firm and demanding. Lou had started the kiss, and now Keoni was finishing it.