Page 30 of Try Easy

“It’s terrible to feel so helpless.”

“I know.”

Their eyes locked, and Lou knew that Keoni understood. They couldn’t stop the war. They couldn’t prevent their brothers from dying.

Lou looked away from Keoni’s knowing gaze. She paced across the tiny porch, stopping at the railing that overlooked the backyard.

“You must think I’m crazy,” she said, glancing back at Keoni. “We’ve just met, and I’ve already cried twice.”

Keoni crossed the porch and stood next to Lou. He put his hand next to hers on the railing but didn’t touch her. “It’s okay,” he said.

Lou stared out into the backyard. It was an idyllic scene, like something out of a story book. A picnic table sat under the shade of a giant mangrove tree. A rope hammock swayed between two palms. The breeze, heavy with the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle, stirred her hair.

This was paradise. The world was a mess, but with Keoni’s solid presence beside her, and the beauty of the graveyard surrounding them, the troubles seemed very far away.

The door to the house opened, and Bones came out onto the porch, making it shrink even more.

“Heh, Keoni,” he said. “Give us a song, eh?” He held a guitar by the neck and thrust it toward Keoni.

It was the second time Keoni had been asked to play since they’d met that afternoon.

“You play?” she asked.

“He’s terrible,” Bones said, urging Keoni to take the guitar. “The only reason we ask him to play is that we feel sorry for him.”

“Shut up,” Keoni said to Bones.

But he took the guitar, and they went back inside.

“How was the view?” Penny asked, coming to stand next to Lou.

“What?”

“The view,” Penny said. “Did you get some pictures?”

Lou had forgotten all about the view. “It was amazing,” she said.

“Uh-huh,” Penny said. She looked across the room at Bones, who was talking to Kimo. “I can’t believe we met the two best-looking guys on the island. That grass shack is looking better and better.”

“Shh,” Lou hushed Penny.

Keoni had started to play, and Lou didn’t want to miss it. The chatter in the room fell away as he tuned the guitar and strummed the first chords of the melody.

When Keoni began to play, Lou stared at him in stunned silence. The music was like nothing she’d ever heard before. It was pure and sensual and soulful. It was as if he was playing with his heart and not his hands.

Bones had lied. Keoni wasn’t terrible at all. He was magnificent.

Then he began to sing, and Lou thought her heart was going to explode in her chest. Keoni’s voice was rich and smooth, the voice of an angel. His dark head was bent over the guitar, and his hair fell over his forehead. The muscles in his forearms flexed as he coaxed the magical sounds from the guitar. Lou stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away. When he lifted his head, their gazes locked, and Lou felt a shiver race down her spine. She could see how a girl who didn’t have her life planned out ahead of her could easily fall in love with a man like Keoni Makai.

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