“I’m not sure.”
“What’s to decide? I thought you were going to ask your friend back in Glenbrooke for the tamale business start-up money and get that whole dream in motion. Dan is certainly convinced.”
“I do think it’s a good idea. It’s just that …”
“That you don’t know where things stand with me? I think I’ve made my intentions about as clear as can be. I want you here, babe.”
Instead of feeling more secure and stronger about her relationship with Scott, she found herself shrinking back and thinking, You want me here, but I don’t know what I want. It also bothered Teri that he had started to call her “babe.” Was that to avoid any more name misunderstandings?
Scott stopped walking and scooped up Teri’s hand in his. A sincere expression rested on his handsome face. “Do you remember what I said awhile ago about relaxing and just letting us happen?”
Teri squeezed his hand. “You’re right.”
He looked into her eyes and in low voice whispered, “Come on, babe. Just let us happen.”
Teri let her eyes speak her response. She felt sure Scott would take her in his arms and kiss her. But he didn’t. He tightened his grip on her hand and slipped his fingers into her hair. They stood silently in the vastness of the hollow volcano, staring into each other’s eyes.
“We better get going,” Teri said.
Scott released her hand without a word. She felt a little uncomfortable with the way he mesmerized her, playing her emotions to elicit just the right response. She followed him down the trail and tried to sort out her feelings.
Am I feeling these things naturally, or is Scott somehow manipulating me? Our relationship is so intense. I wish I knew what he was really thinking and feeling. I hear his words, but somehow I don’t think I’ve seen his heart yet.
Teri silently made that her goal. Before this journey was over, she wanted to see Scott’s true heart, like Gordon had displayed his when he had said, “Good job, God!” as they were swimming. That’s how she wanted to see Scott’s.
The trail took a turn at a sign that said Silversword Loop. Gordon stood waiting there for them.
“I’m acting my role as the tour guide,” he said. “Have you heard about the silversword yet?”
“I haven’t,” Teri said.
“Do we have to take this loop?” Scott said. “It looks like the trail goes straight here.”
“The loop brings you out on the same trail, but it adds about a quarter mile.”
“Let’s just keep going,” Scott said, forging ahead.
Teri let go of his hand. “I’d like to see this, Scott. I didn’t come all this way to miss all the good stuff.”
“It’s just a bunch of plants. You can see them anywhere.”
“Actually,” Gordon corrected, “this crater is the only place in the world where the silversword grow. True, they are sprinkled throughout the crater, but this is the most concentrated bunch of them on the planet.”
Teri gave Scott an “I told you so” look and turned to join Gordon. “I’m not going to miss this,” she said.
Scott reluctantly followed her.
“Right,” Gordon said, clearing his throat and beginning his tour-guide speech. “Well, you can see the silverswords at various stages of growth.”
“They look like yucca plants,” Teri said. She scanned the silver-colored, cactus-like plants scattered around them. Some were tiny sprouts just popping up from the volcanic soil. Others were as tall as she, with a wide variety of sizes between the tiny and the tall.
“Members of the sunflower family, actually.”
“Really? They look more like cactus.” Teri stopped to look at the silver spikes that stuck out from around the base and curled up. “They look like little porcupines dressed in tutus!” She caught a glimpse of Scott out of the corner of her eye. He looked annoyed.
“These little ‘porcupines,’ ” Gordon continued, apparently unperturbed by her remark, “take anywhere from four years to twenty to grow in that mass of stiletto-shaped leaves. Then, at some mysterious point, they send up a stalk … there, like that one.”
“What are all those purple things?”
“The blossoms. They can have more than a hundred blossoms and shoot up to nine feet tall. They bloom only one time. It lasts about a month, and then the plant dies.”
“That’s amazing,” Teri said. “Think of having to wait up to twenty years to bloom and then dying after only a month.”
“You make it sound as if you’re talking about a person,” Scott said, edging on down the trail, trying to lead them onward.
“Oh, that would be tragic,” Teri said, automatically falling in line behind Scott. “To wait twenty years to fall in love, only to have it last a month, and then you die.”
Scott turned and gave her an “oh, brother” look.
“Come on, Scott!” she teased, swatting at the back of his pack. “Where’s your sense of romance?”
“It got tired of waiting around here listening to ‘Nature Boy’ and ran on ahead of us to the end of the trail.” He quickened his pace. “We better try to catch up with it. You wouldn’t want me to lose my sense of romance now, would you?”
Teri glanced back at Gordon, who was right behind her. She gave a little shrug and sheepish grin as if to apologize for Scott’s comment.
Gordon’s intense blue eyes fixed on hers. “I’d wait twenty years,” he said just loud enough for her to hear.
Shifting her backpack and focusing on the trail, Teri thought, Wait twenty years for what? To fall in love? I don’t think you have that much time, buddy! Twenty years, and you’ll be …
“Gordon, how old are you?”
“Thirty-four.”
Thirty-four sounded old to Teri. She couldn’t imagine being thirty-four and not married. Or being thirty-four and saying she would wait twenty more years for the right person. The more she thought about it, the better off she was with Scott.
She allowed herself a leisurely daydream in which she and Scott were married and had two or three kids. They were hiking down this same trail with their little ones. The boys had on hiking boots and were trying hard to keep up with their daddy’s long strides. Little Emily, their two-year-old, rode on Scott’s shoulders. She had blond hair like her daddy’s, and it hung in wild curls like Teri’s. In her daydream she was pregnant with their fourth child and healthy and trim as possible for being four months along.
Teri thought about how wonderful it must feel to be pregnant, to carry a tiny life inside that was a part of herself and a little part of … Scott? Scott. Yes, Scott’s children would be gorgeous, no doubt.
But could she marry him? Was he really the one? He had certainly made his intentions clear. If only it didn’t feel so forced.
Teri watched his hulking frame as he strode down into a valley in the crater that was lined with dark cinders. They crushed shiny black obsidian rocks beneath their feet. He was the essence of strength and confidence. Scott Robinson could have any woman he wanted, and he had chosen Teri.
Come on, Scott, just show me your true heart, and then I’ll know for sure.
Chapter Twenty
We were about to send out a search party for you three,” Dan said when Teri, Scott, and Gordon finally reached the cabin. It was evening and all the others had obviously been there a long time. Some of the guys were feeding bread to some geese-like birds that had gathered around the front steps of the Kapalaoa Cabin.
“I see the nenes have found you,” Gordon said as he pulled off his backpack. “Did you know this is the only place on earth these birds are found?”
Teri heard Scott mutter, “If Nature Boy gives me one more fun fact about this volcano …” Scott’s face was red as he clenched his teeth and jerked off his backpack.
For the past several hours Gordon had played his role as tour guide. Scott obviously had become impatient with him. Reaching the cabin had been Scott’s goal. Teri, on the other hand, loved hearing all the natu
re information. But she had stopped asking Gordon questions about an hour ago and, for Scott’s benefit, pushed herself to walk faster.
The last hour had seemed longer than the rest of the day put together. While Gordon was talking the time had gone quickly, but Gordon’s amiable nature talk was the part that had driven Scott crazy.
“So what’s for dinner?” Teri said, hoping to diffuse the tension she felt radiating from Scott.
“We were waiting for you guys,” Dan said.
“What? So that I could fix dinner for all of you?” Teri said. “Guess again.”
“No, so that we could all eat together,” Dan said. “Relax, Teri. I have the spaghetti ready to put in the pot. I didn’t want to start it until you arrived.”
“Thanks, Dan.” She lowered herself to the wooden steps that led to the rustic cabin and released a weary sigh. All the men were looking at her. “What?” she asked, eying them back.
“What took you guys so long?” one of them asked.
“We were enjoying the journey,” Teri said. “Did you guys take the Silversword Loop?”
They all looked at each other. “No.”
“What is the point of going on a trip like this if you just bulldoze your way to the end of the trail?”
“Beer?” one of them ventured, holding up his half-empty bottle.
“You guys have been holding out on me!” Scott said. “Who was smart enough to pack the Bud?”
Teri watched as Scott opened a bottle of beer and buddied up with the other drinking guys. She didn’t think it bothered her that Scott drank. Still, she wasn’t sure. Gordon joined them without accepting the beer offered to him. He entered into their conversational circle, and Teri suddenly felt left out. She quietly rose and carried her backpack into the cabin.
It was dark inside. Dan was stirring a pot over a wooden stove at one end of the efficient cabin. A long table filled the center of the room and a bench sat on either side. Along the walls were built-in bunk beds, three levels high. The lower beds already had gear thrown on them.
Teri found an empty bunk on the very top by the door and climbed up to make her bed. She felt a little as if she were at summer camp.
The door opened, and soft evening light poured over Teri’s bed. Gordon entered and looked up at her and smiled. “Top perch, aye?”
“I think that’s all that’s left,” she said.
“Could you use a hand, Dan?” Gordon asked.
Teri unfolded her wool blanket and watched the two men trying to wrestle the big pot, which Dan had filled too full of spaghetti noodles. They had to take it outside to pour off the excess water. The minute they exited, the lid on top of the spaghetti sauce began to flutter and then clang. Tomato sauce started to bubble over. Teri scrambled down the side of the bunks and took over in the kitchen, the very thing she had promised herself she wouldn’t do.
Dinner turned out fine, with plenty for everyone. She ate quietly, watching the men and the way they interacted with each other. The room was full of individuals. For the most part, they acted as if Teri weren’t there, and the topics of discussion were dominated with sports.
Then Dan and Gordon began to talk about being a “one-woman man” with Kai. They talked about being committed for a lifetime to one woman.
Dan, of course, was such a man. Teri wondered about Gordon making such statements, this man with motorcycle scars who opened beer bottles with his teeth. But even more, she wondered about Scott.
Scott must have been thinking of Teri at the same time, because he moved from his spot across the table and came around behind her. In a low, husky voice, he whispered, “Come outside with me.”
She felt uncomfortable, making such an obvious exit. As she stood up, Dan turned and gave her a long, hard look. Teri remembered his brotherly advice, and patting him on the shoulder, she said, “Anyone else interested in going for a walk with us?”
No one responded. Teri exited the cabin with Scott, feeling a little less like they were sneaking out.
The minute they closed the door behind them, Scott slid his arm around her waist and said, “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Invite the rest of them. I asked you to come outside, not them.”
“I guess I felt we were being sort of obvious.” Scott looked at her, his clear gray eyes waiting for an explanation.
“I just feel funny being the only woman.”
“You don’t feel uncomfortable being my woman, do you?”
She couldn’t answer. Her mind was processing the thought of being the one woman for Scott Robinson.
“Come on,” Scott said. “I want to show you something.” He led her several hundred yards down the trail to where it was dark and still. Stopping in an open, flat area, Scott took Teri in his arms, pulled her close and began to sway back and forth, humming in her ear.
“What are you doing?” Teri pulled back with a nervous giggle.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never danced under the stars before?”
“I’ve never danced at all,” Teri said.
“Never?”
Teri shook her head.
“You have led a more sheltered life than I realized. Okay. We can deal with this. First, look up.”
She did. The black satin sky was alive with twinkling stars. “It’s beautiful,” she said softly.
“So are you,” Scott whispered. “Now put your hand here on my shoulder. That’s right. Let me hold your right hand like this. There, now follow my lead.” He began to hum and move his feet smoothly back and forth in the sand and gravel beneath them.
Teri tried hard to relax. This is what you wanted, she told herself. Just let us happen. Don’t freeze up. He’s trying to show you his true heart.
Scott calmly held her, humming in her ear. Teri felt herself begin to melt. All the rigid rules from her childhood no longer applied. She could dance. Nothing was wrong with dancing. Especially with someone she loved.
I must love him, she told herself. I wouldn’t feel this for him if I didn’t love him. This is good. As I loosen up and become a little more like Scott, he’ll respond more to me and become a little bit more like me spiritually. That’s what Dan was just talking about, blending two lives to make them one.
“We’re really good together,” Scott murmured in her ear. “Don’t you think so?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Teri murmured back.
“I don’t want to lose you. Tell me that you’ll move here so we can start our lives together.”
“Okay,” Teri said.
Scott stopped dancing and pulled back a few inches to see her face. “Do you really mean it?”
“Yes,” she whispered up at him in the shadowy night. “I really mean it.” This is it! The new, improved, no-longer rigid Teri. “I’m ready to let us happen.”
“Good,” Scott said, drawing her back to himself, humming again and picking up the dance where he had left off.
Teri could feel her heartbeat echoing off his chest. “You don’t mind taking things slowly, do you?” she asked.
“As slow as you want, babe.” Scott leisurely took their waltz to an even slower pace. “As slow as you want.” Then he bent his head and kissed her on the lips, slowly, gently, and for a long time.
Teri needed no further proof. Scott was the one for her. She was ready to become his woman.
Chapter Twenty-One
The sweet dream played itself over and over in Teri’s mind the next day as the group hiked down the trail. Dancing with Scott under the stars, deciding to stay on Maui, and being kissed slowly and tenderly were images that waltzed through her mind again and again. No way was she about to analyze the romance out of this.
Scott seemed different from the impatient man of yesterday. Of course, he was in the lead with Teri right behind him, and they weren’t stopping at any points of interest to hear Nature Boy. Instead, Scott and Teri talked freely and with a new openness.
“When we get back,” Scott said, “we need to check on a
business license for you. But first we need to come up with a name. And open a checking account. Wouldn’t hurt to have some business cards made up and some letterhead, too.”
“Do you really think this will work?” Teri asked.
“It’s worth a try, isn’t it? How will you know unless you take the risk?”
Are you talking about the tamale business or our relationship? Teri realized she wasn’t afraid to try either of them, and that felt good.
They hiked only four miles that day. During the last mile or so they tromped on muddy trails through a rain forest in which giant fern jutted from the smooth, black rocks. They were surrounded by towering green foliage, which seemed all the more incredible in contrast to the hot, sandy bleakness of yesterday’s trail.
Since the jaunt to the Paliku Cabin was a short one, they arrived in the middle of the day. Rain and water seemed to be everywhere. A card game broke out inside the cabin where they all gathered around the long, wooden table.
Teri lasted for about three hands and then gave up. Cards were another “vice” forbidden in her youth. She was too many years behind the guys to play competitively, so she slung her day pack over her shoulder and ventured outside to explore on her own.
The rain had stopped. The cabin looked dwarfed by the wall of black volcanic rock that had frozen in place on its way from the center of the earth to the ocean. Now the catatonic lava sprouted great, green ferns and wild orchids free for the taking.
With her boots plodding through the mud, Teri walked several yards down the trail. She stopped and looked up. Two perfect rainbows arched over her in the clearing sky of the late afternoon.
The sight made Teri catch her breath. Yet no one was around to share this glorious moment. She wished Scott were there, standing with her. At a moment like this she would hear his true heart. He would wrap his arms around her, and she would feel warm and secure.