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

by Jill Brashear

  Color flooded to Keoni’s face as his mind flashed to Sunset Beach when he’d pulled Eddie’s body onto the sand. Eddie’s lips had already been blue, but Keoni had given him CPR for ten minutes trying to revive him. He remembered calling Eddie’s girlfriend, and telling her he was dead. Would someone be calling Lou like that one day?

  “Keoni,” Lou said, grabbing his shoulders. “Look at me.”

  Keoni thought about standing up at Eddie’s funeral and talking about what kind of man he was. A friend. A brother. A son. A role model.

  What would they say about Keoni when he was dead?

  “Keoni.” Lou shook his shoulders until he focused on her. “Don’t do this. Don’t go away.”

  Keoni sighed, realizing it was too late. He was already gone.

  Lou dropped Keoni’s shoulders and rounded on Paul. “I’m tired of you talking for me all the time. You tell me how to wear my hair, what drink to order, what car to drive! Now you tell me what I want in a man!” Lou marched to the door and held it wide open. “Get out!”

  Paul left, saying he would call her later, to which Lou stuck her head through the doorway and yelled, “I’m changing my number!”

  When she came back into the apartment, her color was high, and she held her chin with pride. She dusted her hands as if she was glad to be rid of something, and then she marched over to Keoni and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  He held her for a minute, resting his chin on top of her head. He couldn’t get the image of Pearl at Eddie’s funeral out of his mind. She’d been in so much shock that she hadn’t even cried. She’d spent the entire ceremony staring off at nothing.

  Keoni leaned back and tilted Lou’s chin up to look at him. “Every time I go out in the water, I could get killed,” he said. “I can live with that. Can you?”

  Lou hesitated, and it was long enough for Keoni to have his answer.

  “Yes,” she said. She clutched his shoulders when he tried to pull away. “Yes. I can live with that.”

  Keoni studied her face. Her eyes were wide and he could see all the way down into her soul. He loved Lou too much to cause her the same kind of pain Eddie’s death had caused him.

  “I don’t want you to,” he said, taking a step back.

  Lou’s face darkened. “I can’t compete with a dead man, Keoni,” she said. Tears came to her eyes and she blinked them away. “You have to let Eddie go before you can let anyone else in.”

  “I’ll never let Eddie go,” he said, feeling a flash of anger at the very idea.

  “I don’t mean you have to forget him,” Lou said. “I only mean you have to forgive yourself.” Lou clenched her fists at her sides. “We can’t keep having this conversation, Keoni. You can’t keep holding on to your guilt like it’s a precious memento.”

  “I’m not,” he said.

  “You’re choosing pain over love.”

  “Nah.” He shook his head. “I’m tryin to be smart. I can’t let you give up your planned-out life for the unknown with me. I could die tomorrow.”

  “It isn’t your choice to make,” Lou said.

  Keoni knew he had stepped into dangerous territory when Lou glared at him the same way she’d glared at Paul.

  “Do you want me to come back to Hawaii with you, or not?” she asked.

  It was Keoni’s turn to hesitate. He’d come here for the sole purpose of getting Lou to come home with him, but now he wasn’t sure if it was right.

  “I don’t think it’s best for you,” he said. “You deserve better than worrying about me every day.”

  A blush crept up from Lou’s neck to stain her cheeks. She stared hard at Keoni. “You know what I deserve?” she asked. Not giving him a chance to answer, she continued, “I deserve to make my own decisions.”

  Lou brushed past Keoni and walked into her bedroom. She came out a moment later with his guitar.

  “Here,” she said, shoving it at him. “You should go, too.”

  Keoni took the guitar and walked into the living room. He put the guitar in its case, picked it up, and then slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

  “I love you, nani,” he said. “That’s why I’m leaving.”

  Tears were streaming down Lou’s face as Keoni took one last look at her and walked out the door.

  A Fresh Start

  Seattle, Washington

  March 12

  * * *

  Lou

  * * *

  Lou trudged up the four flights of stairs, cursing the fact that her building didn’t have an elevator. She was tired. Every step felt like climbing a mountain. She had been feeling a little better that morning. She’d woken up earlier than usual, showered, and gotten dressed in normal clothes, and she hadn’t even thought about Keoni until she was brushing her teeth. It was an improvement from dreaming of him and waking up with him in her head.

  Lou had been feeling pretty proud of herself for getting outside and walking to the market. She’d bought fruit, and milk, and a loaf of fresh crusty bread. She hadn’t been hungry in days, but the bread had smelled delicious and she was actually looking forward to eating it.

  She finally made it to her door and heard the phone ringing as she fit the key in the lock. Lou raced inside and grabbed the phone off the wall before it stopped ringing.

  Maybe it was Keoni. Maybe he had finally called. Every time the phone rang, Lou had the same hope, and every time, she was disappointed.

  “Hello?” she asked breathlessly, both from anticipation that it was Keoni and running through the apartment to the phone.

  “May I speak with Lou Hunter?” asked a woman’s voice.

  Lou’s heart sank, and the hope that had been flapping its wings crash landed. “This is Lou,” she said.

  There was a long pause on the other end, and then the woman spoke again. “This is Lou Hunter, the photographer?”

  Lou froze, and the grocery bag she’d been holding slipped to the floor. She nodded and then realized that the woman on the other end of the line couldn’t see her. She cleared her throat, and said, “This is Lou Hunter, the photographer.”

  It was the first time the words had come out of her mouth, and she felt the smile that accompanied them cross her face.

  “You’re not a man?” the woman asked.

  “No,” Lou said, some of the pleasure disappearing from her voice. “Are you?”

  “Of course not,” said the woman. “Hold one moment, please.”

  The line went silent. Lou cradled the receiver between her ear and her shoulder and bent down to retrieve her dropped groceries, hoping nothing had been ruined.

  A moment later, a man’s voice came over the line. “Hello?” he asked.

  “Hello,” Lou said.

  “This is Lou Hunter, the photographer?”

  “Yes, it is.” Lou thought they had already established that, but she played along. “How can I help you?” she asked.

  “This is Terry Orlandi calling from Los Angeles. I’m an editor at Surfing Magazine. I’m calling about your submission.”

  “My what?”

  “This is Lou Hunter, the photographer, right?”

  “Is this some kind of prank?” Lou asked, bewildered. “I didn’t submit anything to you.”

  “Oh?” Mr. Orlandi said, clearly caught off guard. “Well, it must be a mistake. My apologies.”

  “Wait,” Lou said before he could hang up. She hadn’t submitted one of her pictures, but perhaps someone else had. “What do you want with the picture?”

  “I want to buy it,” he said.

  Lou’s knees went weak, and she leaned against the counter for support. She tried to speak, but words didn’t come out. She must have made some sort of noise because Mr. Orlandi spoke up again.

  “Listen, lady,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of stuff to do today, so tell me, is this your picture, or not?”

  Lou cleared her throat and answered, “Yes.”

  “Okay. Good. I want to buy your picture and print it in my magazine,�
�� he said, enunciating slowly and carefully as if Lou was a small child. “Do you want to sell it?”

  Lou wet her lips. Her throat was dry, but her hands were damp with sweat. She gripped the phone tighter and answered clearly. “Yes,” she said.

  “Good,” he sighed. “What’s your address?”

  Lou recited her address automatically.

  “You should get something from me in the next week. Sign the consent form, and I will get a check to you as soon as possible.”

  “Okay,” Lou said. She had a million questions, but she was too excited to ask any of them.

  “We want to do an interview with the man in the picture. Can you give me his name?”

  “The man in the picture?” Lou asked.

  “Yes. The man in the picture,” Mr. Orlandi said, his voice stretched thin with impatience.

  “Can you describe him?”

  There was silence for a minute, and then he said. “He’s tall and dark-haired. Looks like something out a Hawaiian history book.” He went on to add, “The board I recognize. It’s a Dick Brewer model, the Himalaya. He only made about a dozen of those in ’63.”

  “That’s Keoni.” She felt a stab of pain in her heart as she said his name. “Keoni Makai.”

  “Do you know how I can get in touch him?”

  “He lives in Hale’iwa, Hawaii.”

  “Wait, let me write that down. Holly-what?”

  “Hale’iwa,” Lou said, slowly and clearly, pronouncing it the way Keoni did, with the glottal stop and the w like a v. Ha-lay-ee-va.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Lou held the phone to her ear for a long moment after Mr. Orlandi hung up in California. Finally, the dial tone sounded, snapping her out of her daze. Lou pressed the button to disconnect, then found the Seattle phone book and dialed up Pacific Camera. Her finger shook as she spun the oscillating dial on the face of the phone. She felt like she might faint.

  Until she spoke with Mr. Tollison, she wouldn’t believe this was really happening.

  When Mr. Tollison answered the phone and confirmed that he had been the one to send in the photo of Keoni, Lou sighed and slumped against the counter.

  “I hope you aren’t angry,” Mr. Tollison said, sounding embarrassed.

  Lou was far from angry. She was ecstatic. She hung up the phone with tears of joy streaming down her face and sank down to the kitchen floor. She was still sitting there staring into space, not quite believing her luck when Penny came in the front door.

  Lou hadn’t cleaned up the mess she’d made when she’d dropped the groceries. Oranges had spilled out of their container and rolled across the kitchen floor, and the carton of milk was lying on its side losing its chill.

  “Lou?” Penny asked, coming into the kitchen. “You left the front door open.” She looked down and saw Lou crumpled on the floor, and her mouth dropped open. “Jesus! What happened?”

  Lou transferred her glazed stare from the tile floor up to Penny. Tears blurred her eyes, and she blinked them away, looking up at her friend.

  “I’m going to be in a magazine,” she said, swallowing the thick lump of emotion in her throat. “Well, Keoni is,” she corrected.

  Penny squatted down next to Lou and picked up the milk carton. “What are you talking about, honey?”

  “Mr. Tollison sent in one of my photos, and they want it. They want to publish it.” Lou pushed herself to her feet and paced across the room. Her blood started flowing again as she moved, and she was struck with the urge to break into a run. She settled for climbing on top of the sofa and yelling, “They want my picture!”

  Penny stared at Lou for a moment and then she dropped the milk and ran to join her on the sofa. They jumped up and down, hugging each other.

  “Congratulations,” Penny said. “I knew you could do it.”

  Lou’s smile spread across her face. “I have to tell Keoni!”

  After the words came out of her mouth, Lou’s smile crumpled. Her first thought had been to share her joy with Keoni. He would be so proud of her. But then she remembered how he’d felt about the photo of him in the tourist pamphlet. He’d been embarrassed by it, not even wanting her to see it. How would he feel about being featured in an international magazine? He might not be pleased at all. He might be angry.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Lou said, sinking down to the sofa.

  Penny sank down beside her. “Call him,” she said.

  “I’ve tried,” Lou said. “He never answers.”

  “That’s because you hang up before he gets the chance.”

  Lou squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears threaten. She had called Keoni several times and even waited for it to ring once or twice, but she had always hung up before he had the chance to answer.

  “If I talk to him, I’m never going to get on with my life.”

  “You call this living?” Penny asked. “You’ve been moping around here for almost a month. You haven’t looked for a real job. You haven’t even taken any pictures.” Penny took Lou by the shoulders when she tried to look away and pinned her with a glare. “Have you even brushed your hair today?”

  Lou winced. Penny’s words cut deeply. She’d just been feeling so proud that she’d bought oranges and milk and hadn’t thought about Keoni until five whole minutes after she’d woken up.

  “The world isn’t over just because your plans didn’t work out the way you wanted,” Penny said.

  Lou stared at Penny, who had seemed to shake off her misery over losing Bones with admirable resilience. She’d sworn off men and had been focusing all her energy on her career.

  “The way I see it,” Penny said. “We got a gift when we went to Hawaii. Our eyes were opened.”

  Penny’s voice sounded strange, and Lou took a closer look at her friend. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that there is a whole world out there for us to explore.”

  Lou shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you this yet, but I guess now is just as good a time as any.” Penny hesitated and then said, “I’m leaving Seattle.”

  Lou’s mouth dropped open. “When?”

  “Next month.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? I need a change. A fresh start.”

  Lou stared at Penny, her mouth still hanging slightly open.

  “I can’t believe this,” Lou said, feeling a burst of anger. “We were supposed to be a team, Penny. And now everything is ruined.”

  “It isn’t ruined,” Penny insisted. “It’s just different.”

  Lou stood up and walked down the hall to her room. She closed the door and then went straight to the record player on the dresser. She picked up the needle and started the record that was already on the turntable. The first strains of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” filled the room as Penny opened the door.

  “Not this song again,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t bear to hear it one more time.”

  “So leave,” Lou said. “What’s stopping you? You’re leaving me anyway.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” Penny said. “I’m leaving Seattle.” Penny took Lou by the shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “You should think about leaving, too. There’s nothing here for you.”

  “Where would I go?”

  Penny gave Lou a pointed stare. “You know where.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Of course you can.”

  “What am I supposed to do, show up at Keoni’s door and beg him to change his mind?”

  “Sure, why not?” Penny asked. “He came here for you, Lou. He wants you.”

  “But he left me.”

  “And you let him.”

  “Maybe you should take your own advice and go after Bones.”

  Penny shook her head. “No. Samuel told me he didn’t want me, Lou. He didn’t even call me after he went missing and we thought he was dead. He doesn’t love me. But Keoni lo
ves you. He loved you from the moment he saw you get off that plane. You’d be crazy to give that up.”

  “I have to think about all this,” Lou said, pulling away and pacing to the window that looked out at the brick of another building. She sniffed back tears, thinking of the view from Keoni’s bedroom of the soft sands of Hale’iwa Beach.

  “Don’t take too long,” Penny said, letting herself out. “Men like Keoni don’t sit around waiting.”

  The thought had already struck Lou. Maybe Keoni had already gone back to the woman he’d tried to replace her with once before. Lou had nightmares about Keoni in the arms of another woman.

  After Penny left, Lou went to her closet and opened the door. Keoni’s jacket, which he’d forgotten when he’d so hastily left her apartment, hung next to her favorite dress. Lou touched the sleeve of the jacket, running her fingers along the coarse duck cloth as if she was touching the man and not just the fabric. Although the scent was fading, the jacket still smelled of Keoni. Lou slipped her hand into the pocket and pulled out the photograph she kept there. It showed Keoni on the top of the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout.

  He was facing the camera, leaning against the railing in a relaxed pose. The beauty was behind him in the green cliffs that overlooked Kaneohe Bay and the distant peak of Chinaman’s Hat, but Keoni’s eyes were soft as if he was looking at something even prettier. The wind blew his hair away from his face, revealing the cut on his forehead.

  Keoni had said he didn’t want Lou worrying about him, that’s why he was ending things. He didn’t want her ever to experience the pain he carried over Eddie’s death.

  But Keoni’s argument made no sense.

  Thoughts of Keoni filled Lou’s every waking moment. She dreamed of him at night and woke missing him. Being apart would not make her worry less about him. At any given moment, he could be launching himself off a huge wave, or risking his life to save a stranger.

  Lou would never stop worrying about Keoni, wondering if he was safe, or missing him. And no matter what, she’d never stop loving him.