They came up on a curve, and Liam pulled to the side, allowing the large truck on their tail to go around.

“Hana people,” he said. “They might live in paradise, but they still have to go back and forth to work, and nothing ruins their day more than getting held up by sightseeing folks. The polite thing to do is pull over and let them by.”

The truck blew its horn as it went by, and Liam held up a hand in the familiar Hawaiian gesture she’d seen him do earlier to another driver.

The horn scared her, and she jumped. Just inches from where the truck was, she could see a steep drop-off. Another foot and they could’ve been rolling down the cliff to their deaths. She concentrated on keeping her expression neutral, trying not to show how nervous she was, but her stomach clenched under the damp shirt she wore.

“What’s the hand signal mean?” she asked, deflecting the thought of death.

“What? A shaka?” He did it again, shaking it at her. “It means hang loose, or to just chill. Was started because of the surfing culture here, but now everyone uses it.”

Quinn pushed the hair back from her eyes. Liam didn’t use air-conditioning as they rode. Apparently none of the locals did. They liked the clean Hawaiian air flowing through their windows, cleansing the soul, he claimed. Air-conditioning was poison, he said, laughing when she pushed back the sweaty strands of hair that the wind had blown out of her twist.

In town it had felt brutally humid and hot, especially considering it was only just before nine, but now it was cooling down the higher they climbed. She took a sip from the bottle of water he’d pulled from behind the seats. It wasn’t cold, but just the moisture against her tongue brought relief.

“We’ll help finish up the painting tomorrow,” Liam said, breaking the lull in conversation. “I’ll have to demote Pali, but he’ll live.”

“I can be up early to help too. I just hope he won’t be angry that I’m here.”

“If he is, he won’t show it. He knows if he disrespects you in front of me or Kupuna, he won’t be able to sit down for a week,” Liam said.

Quinn felt her face flush. She hated the thought of someone not liking her. Years of being a people pleaser were too ingrained for her to just shake it off.