Page 26 of Big Island Horizons
“Let’s take the kids to Kona. We can all hike down to Captain Cook. Maddie loves it there.”
“I think my kids would love that.”
“And you?”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“We’re nearly there,” he said as the trail narrowed again. They followed it down a steep slope and then walked up a stream until, finally, she could hear the waterfall.
The trees parted in front of them and there it was, a rush of white pouring down from a cliff. Gorgeous blue water rippled out from the bottom, filling a deep pool.
Liam set down the backpack, stripped off his shirt, and jumped into the pool. After a moment’s hesitation, Tara shed her own shirt and dove in after him.
The water was shockingly cold after the heat of their hike, but she was used to it by the time she surfaced. They swam and splashed until she started to shiver, and then they climbed out of the pool and sunned themselves on a rock like a pair of lizards.
After a while, Tara laid out the picnic she had thrown together.
There was a container of greek yogurt topped withliliko’icurd, another of homemade hummus, and a big bag full of sliced veggies from the garden.
“This is the best hummus I’ve ever tasted,” Liam said after his first bite.
“You say that about everything that I make.”
“It’s always true. Your new business was a lifesaver for Maddie and me. She was getting so sick of eating the same three things on repeat that she decided to take things into her own hands and learn to cook.”
“Well that’s good.”
“You’ve never had Maddie’s cooking,” Liam laughed. “God bless her for trying, but she’s a disaster in the kitchen. Raw chicken and steaks so badly burned that I nearly broke a tooth. I might cook the same handful of meals all the time, but at least they’re edible.”
Tara’s heart ached for Maddie, fumbling her way through her first attempts without anyone to guide her. She had lost her own mother too young, but not nearly as young as Maddie had. Not before she had at least learned the basics of how to take care of herself.
“Maybe we could all cook together sometime,” she suggested.
“I love my daughter, but I can’t let you invite her into making meals that you sell to people.”
“I could come up to your place and show her how to make something.”
“You really want to cook in your free time?”
“If it’s with you and the kids? Sure I do.”
“I think Maddie would like that.”
“Cody’s a pretty good cook, but I can hardly get my girls into the kitchen. If they were cooking with Maddie, though, I think they’d have a good time. They adore her.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Liam’s voice dropped an octave, and from the way that he was looking at her, she could tell that his thoughts had moved on from the kids.
She felt a blush come to her cheeks, and she looked out across the pool at the waterfall as she ate her passionfruit yogurt.
They finished their lunch and swam again before starting on the long walk back out.
“Do you need to get home?” Liam asked as they drove south. “Or do you have more time?”
“What were you thinking?”
“We could stop in Hilo forpokeand eat it by the water.”
“You’re thinking about food already?” she teased. “We just ate lunch.”
