Page 71 of Try Easy

Patterson’s Point

Lou

After breakfast,Keoni took Lou to Patterson’s, where he’d learned to surf. It was a small break near the foot of Diamond Head, named after the people who used to live there.

They stood barefoot on the soft sand in the same clothes they’d worn the night before, looking out at the waves. The waves were thick and dark blue, with peaks that jumped up at random and crashed down with a violence that made Lou shudder.

She was still shaken by the experience at Makaha, and she leaned closer to Keoni, who sensed her fear and put his arm around her shoulders.

“This is where I first met Declan,” Keoni said. He pointed out to the whitecaps beyond the reef that spilled into the turquoise sea. “Right out there.”

“What was he like?” Lou asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

Keoni smiled crookedly. “He was short and skinny.”

Lou laughed. “That isn’t what I meant.”

They walked along the shoreline under the shadow of Diamond Head Crater.

“Do you want to know the real story of how Diamond Head got its name?” he asked.

“Do I have a choice?”

“There’s always a choice,” he said, sounding serious.

“Okay,” Lou said. “But Henry already told me the story.”

“Not the one for tourists,” Keoni said. “The real story.”

Lou tensed at the way Keoni said the word tourist like it was dirty. She decided not to be insulted and brushed it off good-naturedly.

“It wasn’t named because the sailors thought the sparkles in the crust were diamonds?” she asked.

“No.” Keoni led her over to a patch of grass under a palm tree. “A long time ago,” he began, settling in the grass with his back to the tree, “there was a prince who wanted to find a wife.”

Lou rolled her eyes, and Keoni pulled her down into his lap and kissed her.

“It’s true,” he said, tucking her against his chest. “I swear.”

Lou laughed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Go on,” she said, thinking she was going to miss the stories Keoni spun. She’d never known anyone quite so entertaining.

“The prince decided to go to every island and search for the most beautiful woman he could for his bride,” Keoni said. “He took a double-hulled canoe with forty men to navigate the seas. Every time he dropped anchor, he lost a few men. They went off with local women for their own wives. By the time the prince got to Oahu, he only had a dozen men left.”

“They didn’t get attacked, did they?” Lou interrupted.

“No,” Keoni said. “Nothing like that. Try listen.” He tucked her hair behind her ear as had become his habit in the last few days. He dipped his head to kiss her. After a moment, he went on. “The men were tired of sailing, tired of eating fish, and tired of each other. They all hoped their prince would find a wife, and Oahu would be their last stop before home.”

“Keoni?” Lou interrupted.

“Yeah?”

“What does this have to do with Diamond Head Crater?”

“I’m getting to it,” he said.

Lou sighed. “You’re making all this up as you go along, aren’t you?”

Keoni gave her the crooked smile that made her heart lurch. “It’s a true story,” he said, kissing her again.

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