Chapter Ten
If Kenny checked his watch one more time, the thing would probably shout back at him to get a grip.
He’d checked out of the hotel this morning and taken his gear to Nick’s old apartment over the Surf Up Saloon.
Nick’s previous tenants had moved out a couple of days ago and the cleaning crew had finally come through.
His challenge for the day was it was still only one o’clock in the afternoon and he had nothing to do for two hours until he picked Sara up at the hotel.
Having fully unpacked, and not wanting to check out the downtown decorations without Sara, he opted to kill a little time at the dive shop.
Pulling into the parking lot, he looked up at the sign and smiled.
Giving up the Navy had been a tough decision, but it became easier when he realized that retiring didn’t mean he’d have to give up the water.
Pushing the door open, the place was quiet, except for a radio playing a local Hawaiian station. Kenny nodded to Lexi behind the counter.
“Well, look who the cat dragged in!” The dive shop manager set her pen on a pad of paper, and hopping off her seat, hurried up to Kenny for a hug that only an old friend could offer.
“Good to see you too.”
Lexi chuckled and stepped back. “Nick mentioned you were in town for a bit. I was starting to wonder if you were going to come say hello or if we were going to have to go looking for you.”
“That wouldn’t be too hard.” Billy came out from the back room. “He’s been keeping company with Sara Alani.”
Lexi’s brows shot up high. “Really?”
Lord. He really did not like lying to his friends, but if this pretense was going to work with the families, it had to be just their little secret. “She’s a nice girl.”
“No one is going to argue with you over that one!” Billy slapped him on the back. “You joining us for a dive today?”
Kenny shook his head. “Another time. Just popping in to say hello before heading out for some Christmas shopping.”
The bell above the door chimed as a family tumbled through the entrance like a small hurricane of enthusiasm.
Kenny pegged them as related within seconds—they all shared the same animated gestures and that particular brand of barely contained excitement that suggested they were having the time of their lives.
The patriarch, a man in his late fifties with Einstein hair and cargo shorts, made a beeline for the counter. “Aloha! We’re here for the long-term rental gear we reserved. Name’s Thorne.”
“Nice to meet you, Professor.” Lexi stepped away from Kenny and extended her hand to the smiling man.
“This is my wife, Abigail, my son Kurt, and daughter Chloe.”
Kenny’s gaze swept the group. No doubt the family Nick had mentioned at dinner last night.
Two younger versions of the professor—Kurt and Chloe—both in their early twenties who’d inherited his wild hair but thankfully not his fashion sense, were already examining equipment with the focused intensity of people who actually knew what they were looking at.
Definitely fit the description of Marine Biology major and computer whiz.
Beside the man, a slender woman with golden shoulder length hair in white slacks and neatly pressed peach button down shirt, noticed Kenny and smiled politely.
He had to smother a smile. The man appeared to be the typical absent minded professor but his wife beside him looked like she’d fallen off a magazine cover for what to wear when you’re over forty and still look smashing.
“We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow morning.” Lexi held her smile. “Nick, your captain, is just finishing up some of the list you gave him.”
“Wonderful.” The older man pulled out some rolled papers from a pouch slung over his shoulder. “I wanted to go over a few last minute things with him. Is he available?”
“Not right now, unfortunately.” Lexi glanced at Billy. “Perhaps Billy can help you?”
Not losing any of his enthusiasm, the man unrolled the papers on the counter, but his son was the one to step forward. “We’ve been doing a little last minute math, and now that we’re here, we suspect we might have to shift our coordinates a bit.”
The daughter nodded. “My suspicions are that we overestimated some of the silt shift.” She pointed to a spot on the map. “Instead of starting tomorrow’s dive here.” Her finger slid a short distance to the east on the map. “We’d like to start here.”
Lexi studied the map with Billy looking over her shoulder.
Nodding his head, Billy took a step back. “If that’s what you folks would like, I don’t see any problem with it.”
“Perfect.” The man beamed at them. “Then we’ll see you in the morning.”
As the family practically bounced out the shop door, Kenny’s phone buzzed with a text from Sara.
Getting off early. Can you pick me up in twenty?
Absolutely. Slipping his phone into his pocket, he glanced up at Billy and Lexi. “Have to run. I’ll be curious to hear how tomorrow goes.”
Billy nodded. “So are we.”
Knowing they would be going shopping today, she’d changed out of her uniform and eagerly waited for him by the service entrance.
Purse slung over her shoulder, Sara spotted Kenny’s rental car pulling into the hotel parking lot and smoothed the front of her capris then tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
She was feeling ridiculously like a teenager waiting for a first date, which was absurd since this wasn’t a real date.
It was a mission. An operation. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.
Hurrying to the curb, she was delighted when Kenny hopped out of the car and circled round to the passenger side.
“You look lovely.” Kenny held the car door as she slid into the passenger seat.
“Thank you.” She buckled in and suddenly she was looking forward to this afternoon more than she had realized.
“I’ll tell you a secret.” He clicked his seat belt into place and flashed a dazzling smile at her. “I’m a terrible shopper.”
For a moment, she’d held her breath, not sure if she was going to like what he had to say, but she exhaled on a laugh. “I don’t know if that’s much of a secret.”
“You know?” His brows lifted higher than his sunglasses.
She shrugged. “For one thing, you’ve mentioned it before, but honestly, I’ve never met a man who liked shopping, never mind was any good at it. It’s why women used to get toasters and vacuum cleaners as birthday gifts for decades. Fortunately for you… I love shopping, especially at Christmas.”
Kenny pulled onto the main drag and flashed that bright smile at her again. “That’s what I was counting on.”
Down the road a short way, she raised her hand and pointed. “Turn left at the next light. We’re going to hit some of my favorite shops first.”
Already, downtown Kona sizzled with a cheerful tangle of festive energy.
The air smelled of salt, plumeria, and the sweet scent of roasting nuts from street vendors’ carts.
Lights twinkled from palm trees, streetlights, and storefront windows, transforming the small town into a tropical Christmas wonderland.
Easing into a row of angled parking spots along the main street, Kenny looked at the first window and whistled. “Okay,”
“Have you never been here at Christmas before?”
He shook his head.
“Well then, you’re in for a treat. Everyone should experience Kona Christmas Kitsch.”
“Say again?”
She hopped out of the car. “Kitsch. Colorful and whimsical decorations and gifts that reflect tropical and Hawaiian themes.”
“O-kay.” Head tipped to one side, Kenny eyed the first window.
“And that is Kitsch.” A Santa Claus, complete with beard and red coat, balanced on a neon green surfboard while a mechanical wave looped behind him.
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life,” smiling, he shook his head, “but that may top the list.”
“You mean you’ve never seen Surfing Santa before?” She couldn’t contain her amusement.
“I’ve seen Santas. I’ve seen surfers.” He continued to turn his head from side to side. “But never, in all my visits to the islands have I ever seen them together. At least not sober.”
“So you’ve seen surfing Santas after a few drinks?”
“No. Maybe a pink elephant or two,” he joked.
“We might find a pink turtle or two, but I doubt we’ll find any elephants.” She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and urged him forward. “Let’s go inside and see what we can find. If we can’t find anything for Maile here, there are a slew of other shops we can check out.”
Inside, Kenny found an ornament similar to the large surfing Santa in the window complete with a lei around his neck and sunglasses. He held it up as if he were examining a diamond in the light.
“Like it?”
“It’s different. Definitely screams Christmas in Hawaii.”
“That it does,” she agreed. “Thinking of it for yourself or someone on your list?”
“Actually,” he set it back on the rack, “I was wondering why would anyone want to straddle a sliver of wood on the ocean when with a pair of goggles they could be in the water.”
“Sliver of wood? You mean the surfboards?”
He nodded.
“Do you mean to tell me that you’ve never been surfing?”
“Nope.”
“That’s like… like visiting Italy and never eating pasta. Or going to France and avoiding wine.” Sara shook her head in amazement.
“I thought SEALs could do anything in the water, on the water, by the water, maybe even walk on water.”
One brow cocked high and he pinned her with those beautiful baby blues. “Anything, huh?”
Suddenly heat filled her cheeks as she realized that maybe she could have phrased that a little better.
“Sorry,” he took a step back, “I’m sure there are plenty of SEALs who have surfed, I’m just not one of them.”
She reached for the ornament he’d put back in place and held it up in front of him. “We have to fix this.”
“We do?”
“Absolutely. It’s un-Hawaiian not to surf. I think, sailor, it’s way past time someone got you on a surf board.”
“Someone?”
“Well, as fate would have it, pretty much anyone born and raised on these islands knows how to ride a surfboard and I am willing to stake a year’s income that teaching you how is going to be way more fun than shopping.”