Page 11 of Try Easy

“They don’t make them like that in Seattle,” Penny said. “He’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen. I wonder if he’s that big all over?”

“Penny!” Lou said. “You’re terrible.”

The man wasn’t that big, only a little taller than average, a few inches over six feet at the most. He was dressed casually in a worn T-shirt that was fitted to his body and a pair of surf shorts. His dark hair looked wet, as if he’d just stepped off the beach. Lou stared at him, letting her vivid imagination take over. She could easily picture the man with a paddle in his hand, steering a canoe over the open water. Despite the bruises marking his skin, he had a noble appearance, like a prince dressed down for the day. There was something almost majestic about his lean muscular build. He reminded Lou of a sculpture.

“He’s enormous,” Penny said. “Look at his shoulders. They look like mountains.”

“What?” Lou asked. “They don’t look like mountains. They look perfectly normal,” Lou said, eyeing the man’s broad shoulders.

“Not him,” Penny said, following Lou’s gaze. “The other one.”

Lou tore her gaze away from the man in the sunglasses and looked at the man next to him. Her eyes widened. His shoulders did look like mountains. His neck was thick with muscles, and his arms were bigger than her waist. He looked like he could snap her in two without breaking a sweat. Except for his modern clothing, he could have been ripped from the pages of a book on Hawaiian warriors.

“Lou!” Penny said. “I think they’re here for us.”

“What?” Lou asked, feeling her throat go dry.

“Oh, geez,” Penny said as they got closer to the rope. She grabbed Lou’s hand and squeezed it hard enough to make Lou cry out in pain. “That’s me!”

Lou saw that the big man was holding a handwritten sign that said Penny Longchamp.

“Henry said he would send a friend if he couldn’t get off work,” Penny said, dragging Lou forward.

“Who are those guys?” Lou asked. “Are you sure they are Henry’s friends?”

Penny shook her head. “I don’t give a damn whose friends they are.”

“Penny,” Lou said, grabbing Penny’s arm to stop her. “That guy has bruises all over his face. He looks like he’s just been in a fight.”

“Bruises? Oh, you’re right. I hadn’t even gotten to his face yet. I got hung up on the rest of him.And the big one is mine.”

“Penny!”

“I’m just having a little fun, Lou. Don’t be such a prude. Joe will never know if I flirt a little.” She grabbed Lou’s arm and jerked her forward. “Neither will Paul.”

They halted in front of the two tall Hawaiians.

“I’m Penny Longchamp,” Penny said, pointing to the sign.

The huge man smiled. His face changed from warrior chief to boy next door. He had a small chip in his front tooth and a wide, genuine smile. His eyes were an unusual shade of gray, flecked with sparks of silver. They were warm and welcoming.

“Henry sent us,” he said. The words rolled off his tongue in an exotic lilt. “He told us to pick up the two prettiest girls who got offa the plane.” His eyes roamed over Penny from head to toe. “And that’s you.”

Penny blushed, smiling up at him. Lou realized that Penny was speechless. Penny was never speechless. Lou came to her rescue.

“It’s so beautiful here!” Lou said.

The taller man laughed and said, “This is the airport. Wait til you see the beaches, eh?” He offered Penny the lei he was carrying, and she bent to accept it. “I’m Bones Keaukalani,” he said. “An’ dis ugly guy right here is my cousin Keoni Makai.”

Lou glanced away from Bones to look at Keoni. His face was battered, but he didn’t seem menacing to Lou. Up close, he seemed even more like a sculpture. Despite his casual clothing, there was something refined in his stance. He seemed confident, but not arrogant. His features were bold and exotic.

Keoni Makai.

His name suited him. It had a nice ring to it, like somebody famous.

“Welcome to Hawaii,” Keoni said, offering Lou the colorful lei.

His accent called to mind the sultry beaches of the islands. Ha-vhy-ee.

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