He hesitated. “You still mad at me?”
A smile tugged at Kaia’s lips, and she finally raised her eyes. “I can never stay mad at you for long.”
Mano’s smile burst forth. “Great. I’ll come along for the ride.”
“We can always use some extra help,” Jesse said. “You’re off duty for the weekend?”
“Yeah. I was bored and didn’t want to hang out with Bane and let him hammer me.”
“He doesn’t hammer you,” Kaia said.
“You’re not the one getting ragged on.” Mano wore khaki shorts and a T-shirt that advertised Lappert’s Ice Cream. He slung his backpack to the deck. “Where are we going tonight?”
Jesse exchanged a glance with Kaia. “Just trolling back and forth in front of the base.”
“Sounds fun.” Mano settled into a seat and propped his feet on the railing. “Maybe we’ll go for a swim with the dolphins later.”
The other two dolphins had joined Nani, and the three raced along beside the boat. The trade winds’ silky touch blew along Jesse’s body, and he lifted his face into the wind and breathed deeply of the scent of the sea. Very little kelp washed onto beaches here, and the fresh scent was unique to Hawaiian waters.
He dropped onto a seat beside Mano. “How are your duties going?”
“Okay. I’m getting a little tired of training and ready to get out and do something.”
Jesse and Kaia exchanged a quick look. Mano was a good liar. Too good. What else was he hiding?
They dropped anchor just off where the Na Pali coastline began. Black, green, and red converged into a breathtaking collage of sheer rock cliffs that rose vertically to touch a blue sky with a special glow that came just before twilight.
Jesse glanced at the sun beginning to sink into the ocean. “Have you ever seen the green flash?” he asked Kaia.
“A couple of times. You?” Jesse shook his head. “Let’s watch for it tonight,” she said. “You have to look away until only the very top of the sun’s disk is about to disappear below the horizon. Then it’s just for an instant you see a brief splash of green color, kind of like a prism.”
They stood quietly as the sun sank lower and lower into the sea. Kaia frowned. “I think there were too many clouds to see it tonight.”
“Maybe tomorrow.”
“I think I’ll go for a swim,” Kaia said. She kicked off her slippers and dove into the water, her sleek body slicing into the waves with precision.
In the water, she became the mermaid Jesse had seen the first day they met. Her black hair streamed out behind her, and the tinkling sound of her laughter blended with the rush of the waves in a mesmerizing sound that made him want to jump into the water with her.
Mano joined her, but Jesse stayed aboard the boat. Kaia took DALE into the water and worked with the dolphins for about an hour. Jesse admired her patience as she went over and over the words she was trying to teach. At one point, he could have sworn Nani was repeating the sounds back to her.
“Sounds like she’s got it,” he called.
Treading water, Kaia flung her long hair over her shoulder then shook her head. “She’s just trying to repeat it so far, and it’s not exact either. We’re not there yet.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Jesse told her. The genuine enjoyment on her face was a welcome change from the pinched expression she’d worn earlier.
“At least she’s quit knocking the camera off her back.”
She finally got out of the water and stood dripping seawater onto the deck. Wrapping a huge beach towel around herself, she went to stand by the rail to watch the dolphins. Mano got out too, then grabbed a towel and rubbed his hair. He dropped back into his chair and leaned his head back.
Jesse joined Kaia at the railing. “I love watching you with the dolphins. They’re really something. They’re all so different. How did you find Nani?”
“Her mother was caught in a tuna net and died. Nani was caught too, but my tutu kane was aboard a nearby boat and saved her. He brought her to me just as I was beginning my doctorate. Perfect timing. That was three years ago. I bottle-fed her, and I’ve been with her every day since then.”
“Amazing.” A light snore startled him and he glanced back at Mano. “He’s not prying much,” he whispered.
“I noticed. Maybe he’s waiting for the right time.”
A light rain had fallen earlier in the evening then stopped, but a mist still lingered in the air over the ocean.
She squeezed water from her hair and began to braid it. “The mist over moana is lovely tonight,” Kaia said, referring to the sea by its Hawaiian name.
“Yes, it is,” Jesse said, his gaze lingering on her face. Kaia meant sea as well, and she looked as beautiful as the sunset touching the coastline with gold. He wished he had the nerve to touch her hair, but she exuded an almost other-worldly appearance. She could be a Hawaiian princess from an earlier time, standing there surveying her domain.