Speaking of . . . “How’s Callie? I haven’t seen her in awhile.”
We’re on his front porch, eating flavored ice. “Believe it or not, she’s jumped back into the dating pool.”
Whoa. I did not see that one coming.
“Some non we knew back in Maine. I guess they hooked up when she went home for a weekend.”
Huh. “Does she like him?”
“It’s still new.” He sets his empty cup down. “She hasn’t really thought that far ahead. Cal is all about living in the moment. She says if you look too far down the road, things get blurry.” He smirks, but it’s sad. “Says she learned that from my brother.”
Live in the moment. I like that. Too much of being a Magical means always looking down the road ahead. I tell this to Kellan and he nods.
“I’ve tried to adopt her philosophy lately,” he admits, toying with his spoon. “One day at a time. Sometimes it makes life more bearable.” He doesn’t let me respond to that, because he and I both know I’d just apologize like I always do, and everyone involved knows it never make anything better anyway. “You ought to check your voicemail.”
It’s short and sweet: Hey honey, just got your text. Um, I was really looking forward to lunch, but I understand. Thought I’d let you know I’m going surfing with Karl and Raul. Should be home late.
“Interesting,” I murmur, slipping the phone back in my bag.
“What? He mad?”
I jab at him with my spoon. “You don’t know?”
“As he and I aren’t speaking . . .”
That sobers me. “He’s gone surfing with friends.”
This prompt my very favorite half-grin to surface. “You mean I have all day with you, if I’m so inclined?”
Resistance is pointless, but at least I’m aware of it.
“I want to show you something,” he tells me as we drive the coastline in Joey’s old Jeep. “One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.”
We don’t drive too far up the highway before he turns off the main road, parking in a dirt lot. We hike a short distance up a hill before he angles us towards a cliff. Below us is a craggy, gorgeous emerald valley that drops into the ocean. It takes my breath away, leaving me speechless for nearly three minutes.
“What is this place?” I finally ask, unable to actually tear my eyes away from it.
“The Nā Pali coast. It’s usually best seen by boat or helicopter, but I didn’t really have a lot of time beforehand to set one of those up.”
“Have you ever done that?” I ask, still staring at the beauty before me.
He’s so close to my back I can feel the heat radiating off his body. “When Cal and I vacationed here last year, she insisted we go snorkeling so we could hang with sea turtles. She liked the place so much that she had us see it by helicopter, too.”
Lucky girl. I sigh my out envy. “I bet it was amazing.”
He touches my shoulder briefly. “I think I left something in the car. Hold on a moment?”
I nod, but I’m distracted by the valley below me. I feel very small, so very insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Which is ironic, because if I wanted to, I could create such a scene anywhere I wanted. But I hadn’t known about something like this before, hadn’t ever really thought about these random spots in the worlds, places where nature itself has created beauty out of nothing, taking something like lava and letting it twist and change over time into something so incredibly breathtaking that its mere existence is proof that Magic is overrated.
Kellan nudges my shoulder. “Time to go, wahine.”
I whine when I say I don’t want to, and have no shame doing so.
He taps an imaginary watch on his wrist. “Tick-tock, C. We’re on a schedule here.”
“What schedule?” I demand as he herds me towards the Jeep. But he stays maddeningly silent as we drive away. None of my efforts to get him to talk about where we’re going work.
We don’t go to the house, though. He turns off in the town of Hanalei, parking in front of a row of shops. “I’ll be right back. Stay here,” he orders before jumping out and heading around the corner of the stores and toward the back.
The shops are all fairly indistinct: clothes, clothes, souvenirs, small coffee shop, toys. What could he be looking for here?
He’s gone for nearly ten minutes before returning. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
He rolls his eyes as we hit the highway. “Live in the moment, C. Didn’t you say you wanted to try that?” And yet, he ends up taking me back to his house.
“Well, this is something new to see,” I mutter as we walk in.
“Just sit down and wait.” I think he heads to his bedroom. Something heavy hits the ground somewhere in the house; I stand up immediately, but he yells out, “Just sit down, will you?”
By the time he emerges, I’m dying of curiosity. I crane my neck toward the hallway. “What were you doing?”
He plops down in a chair opposite me. “So. Seen any good movies lately?”