Page 70 of Try Easy

“He left without me.”

“Looks that way,” Clyde agreed.

Keoni glared at Clyde, then turned away to stalk down the dock. “I cannot believe he would do something so stupid.”

“What’s going on?” Lou asked.

Keoni took a deep breath and then sighed it out. He reached out for Lou’s hand. “Bones left without me.”

“Where did he go?” she asked.

Keoni looked up at Clyde, who was observing them with interest. He pulled Lou closer. “Come on, I’ll tell you over breakfast.”

At that moment, the bright side of the situation became clear: Keoni could spend more time with Lou.

He opened the door to the VW for Lou and decided to take her to Arthur’s Diner, his favorite place at Waikiki.

A few minutes later, they were sipping hot coffee and waiting on pancakes. Keoni thought about how much he would tell Lou about the dive. Usually, he wouldn’t share the details with anyone. Not even Henry knew all of it. But Keoni asked himself why it mattered when he wasn’t likely to ever see Lou again. So what if she knew the details of a hidden treasure? She was never coming back to Hawaii.

The thought depressed Keoni but made his decision easier.

“This was no ordinary dive,” Keoni began, keeping his voice low.

Lou stopped stirring her coffee and looked up at him. Her eyes were more green than blue and fringed with long lashes. They were wide with curiosity. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“We were hunting for black coral,” Keoni said.

Lou raised an eyebrow and sipped her coffee. “Why?”

“The jewelry stores pay top dollar for black coral. They turn it into fancy bracelets and earrings that cost a fortune. It’s very rare and grows at the bottom of the ocean.”

Lou put down her coffee and leaned closer. “What aren’t you saying, Keoni? Is it dangerous?”

Keoni shrugged. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Bones is the best diver I know.”

Keoni fell silent as the waitress brought their food. He had been starving a minute ago, but as he looked at the plate, all he could think about was Bones on the dive—alone. Bones should have waited for him. It was never a good idea to go on a dive solo. Diving that deep without a partner was reckless.

He remembered the first time they had found the coral. It was an accident. The depth finder on their boat was on the wrong scale, and they thought they were at 200 feet. It wasn’t until they came up that they realized we were closer to 300 feet. The deep ocean had made an impression on Keoni that he’d never forget.

Keoni pushed his food around on his plate. “It’s like an alien planet under there that deep,” he said, his voice hushed.

“I’d love to see it,” Lou said.

Keoni thought of how much Lou would love the tall trees of bright coral, the strange-looking fish, and the rocky bottom of the ocean that looked more like a mountaintop than the deep sea.

“I wish you could,” he said.

They smiled at each other, both knowing the chances of it ever happening were little to none. Lou had never been on a dive before, and diving that deep was for experts only. Managing the time without air, the heavy equipment and the threat of predators were too much for all but the most skilled divers.

The ball of dread that had woken Keoni that morning grew bigger.

“He should have never gone alone,” he said.

“He’s not alone if Henry is with him,” Lou pointed out.

Keoni shook his head. “Henry isn’t good for anything but driving the boat.”

Lou pushed her plate aside, she said: “This is all my fault. I kept you up all night.”

Keoni glanced up from his plate of uneaten pancakes. “It’s not your fault,” he told Lou. “Besides, I kinda liked the way you kept me up all night.” Keoni reached across the table and cupped Lou’s face in his hands. He leaned over the table and kissed her mouth. “One good thing came outta Bones leaving me,” he said. “I get to spend more time with you.”

Lou smiled. Her eyes turned up, and her dimple winked. “That is nice,” she said.

Keoni grinned and sat back in the seat. He pointed to her plate. “Eat,” he said. “You’re gonna need it.”

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