Page 90 of Big Island Summer
“Very cool,” Juniper said.
“It’s new to me,” Cody put in. “I can’t remember the last time I hiked a trail I’ve never seen before. It might be the biggest island, but it starts to feel small after a while.”
“There’s always more to explore,” Jun told him.
“Onward?” Fern looked to Ethan, who was still catching his breath.
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
Dense tropical plants gave way to ferns and ?ohi?a as they hiked up the narrow trail. Kai was a trooper, keeping pace long after Emma was fighting to catch her breath.
Finally, she caught sight of a waterfall in the distance. It was tall and thin, a silver streak of spray against the green jungle and black cliffs. She lost sight of it after the trail dipped, but she could hear the sound of crashing water as they got closer.
“Aloha.” A familiar voice up the trail made her stumble. “You go ahead.”
Her family continued on with Emma still bringing up the rear.
“Hey Keith!” Jun chirped.
“Juniper! Headed to the waterfall?”
“Yep!”
“Have fun.”
“Mahalo!”
Kai hiked past the stranger without glancing away from the trail; he was determined to keep up with Jun and Cody.
When Emma looked up, Keith’s eyes were on her. Self-conscious, she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her hair was a frizzy mess, mostly pulled into a bun, and sweat dripped down the side of her face. She wiped at it with her shoulder. As usual, she was wearing an oversized t-shirt that had once belonged to Adam.
“Good to see you.” Keith’s voice was quiet, almost camouflaged against the rush of the waterfall in the background.
“You too.” The words were reflexive, and Emma was surprised to realize just how much she meant it. His summer-blue eyes and warm smile provoked an unexpected rush of feeling in her chest. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed seeing him every week.
“Family hike?”
“Yeah. You?” She glanced around, but there was no one else. Just Keith standing off in the weeds, making room for their group to pass.
“I’ve been foraging.” He shrugged off his backpack and opened it up to reveal a bag of mushrooms.
“Very cool,” Emma said, feeling very lame. Why had her words completely deserted her?
His smile faltered. “Well, I’ll let you catch up.”
She glanced ahead and realized that her family had disappeared around the bend.
“Take care.” Keith tried to move past her, but she reached out reflexively and put a hand on his shoulder. A spark of attraction, sharp and shocking, moved up her arm. Even then, she didn’t drop her hand.
He looked at her with a question in his eyes.
“I miss seeing you every week.” There. She’d admitted it.
His smile came back at full power. “Ditto.”
“Can we be friends?”
“Sure.” His smile dimmed, but only a little.
