Page 11 of Rough Ride

She shrugged. “Mom didn’t give a place, just said here. In the ocean.”

He watched her for a second, trying to decide how far to intrude in her privacy. Her mother had been Hawaiian and there were certain things they did for a burial at sea.

“You should change and we need to hit up a lei stand.”

She glanced at him with confusion lighting her eyes. “Lei stand?”

“Your father and you need to get something on that will work in the water. Something you don’t mind getting a little wet. It’s customary to put leis in the water with the ashes.”

Her face softened. “Thank you. I think Mom would have liked that.”

The scent of breakfast cooking and a woman looking at him like he had hung the moon wasn’t making him feel very comfortable. His fingers itched to touch. It was odd and intoxicating at the same time. He was just about to take a step, as the need to be close to her almost overwhelmed his better senses. Thankfully, he was saved from embarrassment when her father slammed back into the kitchen.

“Dad, Eli says we need to have some clothes we can get wet when we take the ashes out on the water. And we need leis.”

Ham studied Eli enough to make him nervous. “Of course. I didn’t think about it. Do you know where we can get a canoe?”

“I’ve got one, and I have a good bay you can paddle out on for this.”

Ham nodded. “Let’s get some food in us and we can head on out.”

* * *

Crysta couldn’t seem to come to terms with spreading her mother’s ashes. For years, they had moved her from house to house, from state to state and country to country. She had been a constant reminder of what was missing in their lives, but it had been a comfort that she was there with them, like she was watching over them.

Eli had taken them to the bay, but allowed them their privacy. She and her father now sat on the canoe and looked out over the water.

“She always loved it here. We’d always talked of returning to the islands,” her father said holding the urn. “She said it was in her blood.”

Crysta nodded, having heard it all before. Her father had never tried to hide his feelings about his wife. Not from Crysta. They had shared their grief. Since she’d become an adult, she realized how rare and beautiful that was.

“I think part of this situation was my fault. When I was in the hospital, the one thing I told Joe I regretted, other than losing your mother when she was so young, was that you never got to know your roots.”

“And so, Joe took action.” She smiled thinking about the big man with the loud voice. He had pushed his way into their world and refused to leave. “I guess I could complain about it, but well, I get to live in Hawai’i for six months and work with horses. That’s worth it.”

Her father smiled. “So much your mother’s daughter. It’s hard to believe there is so much of her in you since you knew her such a short time.”

She smiled. “Joe would have said it was because she was Hawaiian and her blood runs through me.”

He nodded and opened the urn. Gently, he lowered it to the water and let the ashes fall out. When he was done, he set the box between them, then he lifted his lei from around his neck and Crysta followed suit. They laid them in the water and watched them drift away.

For a few moments, they sat in silence, water lapping against the canoe. The scent of the plumeria leis faded as the scent of salt water filled her senses.

“I guess we should get back,” her father said to her.

She blinked away tears and looked up at her father. His attention was fully fixed on the shoreline where she knew Eli waited. Crysta looked behind her and sighed. He was leaning against the hood of his truck. Her heart quickened as her blood heated. It was just a normal reaction, she told herself. He was gorgeous and any woman would get that jolt. He was wearing a pair of blue board shorts with white flowers and a plain white t-shirt. The cowboy hat should have looked out of place, but it didn’t for some reason.

“Crysta?”

She turned back to her father. He looked so healthy, if still a little underweight. The fear that had held her at his side for months was now dissolving…although not completely.

“Yeah, we better get back. We have a plane to catch.”

“And you have a move to prepare.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

As they headed back to shore, she realized she had just closed the door on one part of her life and she was ready for the change. They neared the shore and she concentrated on her companion for the next few months. It was hard not to. Just by existing, he demanded attention.

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