His puzzled look changed to understanding. “Thank you, Miss Buckley,” he said with mock formality. “But this teacher is temporary. I don’t intend to return after Christmas holidays and may leave sooner if Russell gets a replacement. Besides, it’s a long way for Leia to go to school.”
“She could stay home and be taught by you or your mother in bad weather.”
His expression was amused. “We don’t have bad weather.”
“Oh yes. I forgot. This is paradise.”
“Right,” he said. “We only have tidal waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.”
“By the way,” Jane said, realizing they were headed in a different direction than town. “Where are we going?”
Mak brought Big Brown to a halt. “Sorry. I’m assuming instead of asking. Would you like to see more of the ranch?”
She gave him a big smile. “I was afraid you were escorting me home. Tell you what. Let’s just be really honest and if one of us starts to take advantage of the other’s time or anything, just say so. How’s that?”
He took off his hat and held it against his heart, causing the breeze to stir the waves of his hair. “It’s a deal. Would you like to see Panai’s workout?”
“Look at it this way, Mak MacCauley. If you came to Texas and knew my daddy had a ranch, would you want to go see an oil well?”
With a grin, he returned the hat to his head. The next thing she knew, Big Brown had responded to his leg and hand motion and they were galloping across the green grass.
“One of these days,” he said, “we might stroll through a field of lava and walk along the black sand beaches.”
“Ach.” She pulled the horse to a halt.
Mak stopped. “What’s wrong?”
“You just said the strangest thing I ever heard in my life.”
“What? What did I say?”
“You said we’d walk through lava.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“That’s worse than if I would say, ‘Let’s stroll along the lawn, amidst the cow patties, and listen to the mooing.’ ”
When he could stop laughing, he said with irony. “Ah, our different worlds. Yes, I suppose you’re right. But I bet you my lava setting is more appealing than your cow-patty one.”
“Prove it,” she teased.
“I can.” Then he surprised her by taking Big Brown into a fast gallop.
“I’ll catch up,” she called, bringing Anise to a trot while she took the pins from her hair and loosened it with her fingers.
Mak slowed and looked over his shoulder. She fast-galloped up to him, and they rode side by side. He kept looking over, and his eyes seemed to linger on her long hair blowing out from her head like the tail of a horse.
“Ahhh,” she said.
He pushed his hat back so it lay between his shoulders, ran the fingers of one hand through his dark hair, then grimaced. “Not the same,” he said.
She laughed. Was that some kind of offhand compliment?
The stables, corral, and bunkhouse came into view first. Several men were tending the horses. Cattle and horses grazed in the open fields beyond, but with a wave of their hands, she and Mak kept riding.
Jane was speechless. Lying ahead was a fenced racetrack so huge she couldn’t see the end of it. Chico was leading Panai in a slow trot over to the fence. Jane was off Anise before Mak could dismount.
“Careful,” Mak warned as Panai stuck his head over the top of the white wooden fence.
“He’s inviting me to come over,” she said as Chico dismounted.
“You’re right,” Chico said, climbing over the fence with a broad smile that creased his browned face.
Two other men walked up, and Mak introduced them. She learned that Tomas was one of Mak’s trainers and Clint was the ranch’s foreman. The men seemed to already have heard about her, mentioned her uncle Russell, took off their hats at the mention of Pansy, and asked a couple questions about her daddy’s Texas ranch.
After a moment, Clint said he needed to get back to work. “The boss might catch me loafing.” The next moment, he was galloping off on his horse.
Chico made a strange sound like a grunt, and his hand moved to his stomach as he bent over a few inches.
“Chico?” Mak said. “Something wrong?”
Chico’s hand dropped to his side, and he straightened. His face took on an innocent look, but it seemed to have lost its healthy glow. “No. Why?”
Jane saw Mak look at Tomas, who gazed off across the racetrack like he wasn’t even listening.
“Don’t lie to me,” Mak said, giving Chico a hard look.
Chico shrugged. “It’s only an upset stomach. The cook made pancakes this morning, and it’s just too heavy in my stomach to eat that and come ride. I’ll change my way of living.”
Chico laughed as if it were nothing.
Mak didn’t. “I’ve never known you to have a sick day in your life, Chico. But I don’t want you on Panai if you’re ill. Tomas here can ride Panai and get somebody to keep the time. If you need to see a doctor, see a doctor.”
“I will, Mr. Mak. Now, I need to take Panai around one more time.”
When Mak looked at him skeptically, Jane stuck her arm over the fence rails and rubbed the horse’s neck. “Let me ride him.”
Mak didn’t bother to laugh. “No woman has ever been on that horse.”
She was looking in Panai’s eyes. “He would let me ride him.”
“He’s not just a horse. He’s a trained racer.”
Drawing in a deep breath she lifted her chin. “So am I.”
At his withering stare, she corrected that. “Well, not the kind you and Chico are. But I’ve raced my dad. And as an equestrienne, I’ve not only ridden with speed but had the horse jump. . .” She measured with her hand. “This high.” She added, “I’ve even won awards.”
There it was again. That sinking feeling that she’d never come in first.
He stuck one booted foot on a rail, swung the other up, and over the fence he went. She did the same. “Let me ride with you.”
He mounted the horse, and by that time, Tomas had climbed over and helped Mak lift her onto the horse.
“I don’t believe this,” Mak murmured.
Jane looked at the two silent men, both bug-eyed like they didn’t believe it, either.
“No timing,” Mak said to Tomas. “Just call it a. . .workout.”
“Oh, you beautiful, beautiful, wonderful horse,” Jane told Panai, leaning over his magnificent mane. “You like me here, don’t you?”
Mak started him off slowly, knowing it was a test for them all. Jane wasn’t concerned about herself or Panai but wondered what emotion the horse might sense from Mak. But he knew Mak as his master. She knew Panai didn’t want to trot, then canter, then gallop. He wanted to fly.
As Mak allowed the horse more free rein, she felt the power, the warmth, the strength, the determination. And that’s what she felt sitting in front of Mak with his arms around her. She knew his total focus was on the horse.
She tried to make it hers, but her silly brain kept feeling the warmth of his body leaning against hers, the strength of his arms around her, the sound of his voice touching the top of her head as if it were entering through her hair and it affected her mind as he talked to Panai, saying, “Let’s hold back. Save the best for the race, Panai. Good boy.”
She was flying. Faster than she’d ever flown in her life. Lifted higher than she’d ever been. The wind was in her face. The scenery sped by like a green ribbon. Nothing existed but the wish that this feeling of being completely unfettered might last forever.
It ended too soon.
“How was it?” Mak said, dismounting and lifting his arms to her.
Her chest heaved with excitement. “Exhilarating.” As her feet touched the ground with his hands at her waist, she instinctively wrapped her arms around him, her head against his chest. His heart was thundering, too. “Thank you. Thank you.”
“Do you have your land legs?” he said, taking hold of her arms and stepping back.
She shouldn’t have done that. But so much was going through her mind. She’d just had the ride of her life. She felt tears of joy smart her eyes, and she climbed over the fence to reality.
Later, after riding back to town—without Mak feeling he had to escort her—she could hardly wait to tell Matilda all about it. After gushing like an oil well about the ride, she said, “I felt so free, Matilda. Sometimes, looking at this ring and thinking about marriage, I think I may not be ready. And this is such a breakthrough that Mak allows a woman—a single woman—to be near him.”
Matilda shook her head. “Don’t forget, dear. The reason you’re allowed to ride that horse, to be near Mak is because you’re wearing that ring.”
“Oh, I’ll never get the syllables right,” Jane wailed. “I keep saying
Kalimikika
or
Keli ki ka ma
instead of
Kali. . .Kali. . .
” She threw up her hands. “What’s the use?”
“What’s the use?” Matilda gave her a studied look. “We may need to say it to the queen. Or more important, to children. Now, Rose taught me how to say it, and you girls can learn, too. Let’s try word association.” She took a deep breath. “Think of this sentence: My cart is leaky from spilled milk while I’m riding in my cart.”
Jane’s eyes swung to Pilar, who was shaking her head and covering her mouth to hold back the laughter. Matilda ignored it. “Now think ‘cart leaky, my cart,’ but instead of ‘my’ say ‘ma’ and instead of cart say ‘ca.’ ”
“Okay.” Jane could hardly get the words out while holding her stomach from the laughter that filled her body. “My horse is leaking while pulling Ma’s cart.”
Pilar cleared her throat. “My ma doesn’t have a cart, and I don’t think she leaks.”
Matilda slapped her hands down on the kitchen table. “Oh, you girls are impossible. Now try this.
Kart-liki ma-cart
.”
Jane and Pilar spoke in unison.
“
Cart-leaky, ma-cart. Cart-leaky ma-cart
.”
Matilda moved her hand like waving a baton. “Not bad. Leave out the
r
and
t
.
Kalikimaka
.”
“
Ca-leaky ma-ca
.”
“Perfect. Now add the
Mele
in front of it and you have
Merry Christmas
.”
Uncle Russell walked into the kitchen, laughing. “You could just say
Merry Christmas
. Everybody understands that.”
“Oh, Russ,” Matilda chided. “We’re in Hawaii. The Bible says when in Rome do as the Romans do.”
“It does?” He pulled out a chair. “This isn’t an exact translation,” he said, sitting. “But a phonetic translation. When Christmas first came to the islands, the Hawaiians had difficulty pronouncing
Merry Christmas
. Think about the pronunciation here. It sounds a lot like
Merry Christmas
.”
“Now why didn’t you say that, Matilda?” Jane jested. “That makes it so much easier. She jumped up and hurried to the door. “I think I hear their wagon.”
The rest of them followed. Mak had some of his men take the farm wagon up in the mountains and bring down Christmas trees and cypress boughs to decorate the school and church. Sure enough, there was Mak driving the farm wagon.
Before they got Uncle Russell’s tree unloaded and the boards nailed onto the trunk, Rose and Leia drove up in a horse-drawn cart loaded with greenery and boxes.
A couple other wagons pulled up. This was the day to decorate Uncle Russell’s house, the church, and the school.
When Rose and Mak came in with cardboard boxes, Jane tried out her new words. “Mele. . .” She thought,
My cart is leaking
. “Maca leaky.”
Mak smiled broadly. “Merry Mas-Christ to you, too. And a
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou
.”
She stomped her foot. “I’m going to forget Christmas altogether.” Then she gasped with pleasure as Leia opened a box lid and exposed bright red, silk flowers they would use to make leis. “Oh, I just got an extra dose of Christmas spirit.”
They left some of the greenery at the house, went to the church, and unloaded more. Uncle Russell directed them to a closet where last year’s decorations had been stored.
“Pansy packed them away,” he said. “She labeled all the boxes.”
Leia piped up. “She will have Christmas with the baby Jesus.” She looked at Jane. “Is that right?”
Jane had begun going to the ranch three mornings a week for Leia’s lessons. She was also telling her about the difference between the myths about Little People and the truth about Jesus.
“Yes, she will celebrate Jesus’ birthday in heaven, and we will celebrate it here. By the way, do you know about. . .” She was reluctant to say it. “Santa?”
“Oooh.” Leia clapped her hands. “Yes, I saw Santa another Christmas. He brings presents.” Her eyes grew big and excited. Then a worry line formed above her nose. “Is he a Jesus story or a Little People story?”
Jane looked to the men who had nailed the wooden pieces to the bottom of the tree trunk and set it on the stage. Mak glanced over his shoulder at her, as if wondering what she’d say. Rose and Matilda were hanging garland. They didn’t offer to answer. Okay, she’d try.
“It’s a story, like the stories of the Little People.” She looked around, hoping to signal the others to step in at any moment because she wasn’t even sure what she would say. “Santa is a symbol, like Little People are a symbol. Do you know what a symbol is?”
Leia shook her head.
“It’s like the lei is a symbol of Hawaii. You greeted me with one. It’s welcoming me to Hawaii. Santa is a symbol of someone giving gifts because God gave us the gift of His Son, Jesus, to the world.”
Leia smiled. “Okay.”
That seemed a little too easy. Looking around, Jane saw that others smiled. They seemed to think it was okay.
Good. She’d take it further. “In America, Santa comes down the chimney.”
“The chimney?”
Mak tossed out, “We don’t have chimneys here.”
“What’s a chimney?” Leia wanted to know.
“Well,” she said to the eager little girl. “There’s a fireplace where we burn logs and the smoke goes up the chimney.”
“Won’t he get burned up?”
“He doesn’t really do that. It’s just part of the story.”
“Oh,” Leia said. “Santa could come down our stovepipe. If he was”—she brought her hands close together—“about this big, like the Little People.”
When nobody disagreed, Leia added, “He would be a little symbol.”
“Okay,” Jane said. Maybe Leia wasn’t ready for theology.
When Leia delivered an ornament to Rose, Mak stepped up to Jane. “Not bad,” he said, “for a woman.”
She jested, “Maybe you should dress up like Santa and make the message clearer.”
“Not a bad idea. Maybe next year.”
Jane felt good about him. He was making an effort to become more involved with people and his own family. Yes, maybe next year. . .a lot of changes would have taken place.
The thought hit her like a thunderbolt.
Next year.
What would she be doing next year?
Jane looked down, and her gaze landed on her ring. Next year, would she be in the U.S.A., celebrating Christmas as Mrs. Austin Price?