Page 66 of Big Island Sunrise
Tenn smiled and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She watched him go, feeling lighter than she had in years. Once he had climbed out of sight, she pulled her phone out of her discarded shorts to check the time and her messages. Nothing from ‘Olena, and they still had a couple of hours before they needed to pick up the girls.
There was a red notification on her emails, and she opened it automatically. Her mind and heart were still out with the dolphins, and it took a minute for the text on the screen to sink in.
An email from Zeke’s lawyer.
She took deep breaths and reminded herself that she had been expecting this. She had filed for divorce on her last day in Alaska, and it was past time for a reply. Breathing slowly, she sorted through the attached documents full of legal jargon.
He denied all claims of abuse. She had expected as much.
All the same, her blood pressure climbed as she read on. He had never struck her, the document claimed. Never punched holes in the walls or smashed a glass vase on the kitchen tiles while she stood there barefoot. And fool that she was, she had no proof of any of it.
Near the bottom of the document, there was a checked box next to the wordsSole Decision-making.
She stared at it for a long time, her mind empty with shock. At the same time, her heart thumped so hard that her vision went black around the edges.
He was suing for full custody.
He was trying to take her daughter from her.
Slowly, her shock gave way to a steely resolve. She would never let that happen.
20
Emma
“I miss my mama,” Rory said mournfully. She was on the floor, half draped over the dog. Dio’s tail thumped uncertainly, and he turned his head around to lick her hand.
“Do you want to color?” Emma asked.
“No.” She let out a sad little sigh and lay her head on Dio’s fur.
Lani had gone into work last minute to cover for someone who normally worked Saturdays, and Rory had been devastated to hear that her mom was leaving again, on a day they were supposed to be together. She’d screamed and wept and Lani had been uncharacteristically frazzled. She’d tried to comfort, cajole, bribe - and eventually just had to pry Rory’s hands from her shirt and run out the door.
“I want to go to work too,” Rory said.
“Me too!” Kai ran in to the the living room. “Let’s get shave ice!”
“Yeah!” She jumped to her feet and so did the dog, barking and bouncing with excitement.
“We can get shave ice at the end of the day,” Emma said. They would go at the very end of the workday so that there wouldn’t be a big scene when Rory had to leave her mom again. Worst case scenario, they could stay and help her close up.
“Why not now?” Kai asked.
“At the end of the day,” she repeated, and Rory collapsed to the floor in despair.
Dio whined and nudged her with his nose. Then he started licking her face, which set off a fit of giggles.
“Can I watch YouTube?” Kai asked.
Emma took a fortifying breath. “How about the park?”
“Fine,” Kai said in the tone that one might expect for a trip to the dentist.
“Rory, are you up for a trip to the park?”
“Okay,” she sighed.
