Page 85 of Big Island Sunrise
“A big one,” she confirmed.
“I brought my chainsaw. We’ll get it clear of the fence in no time. Tomorrow we can fix the poles and stretch new fence.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t suppose you’d let me pay you for your time?”
He just chuckled and shook his head as he went to the back of his truck and lifted out an old chainsaw.
Kekoa climbed out of the passenger side, looking down at his phone. The man had a business to runanda young son, and here he was, always showing up for his cousin’s widow. The way that family showed up for each other in Hawai’i never failed to astonish her.
She had a similar level of support in California. She could count on her twin brother to show up for her when she really needed him, and her sisters had nearly smothered her with their support following Adams death.
But this was something else entirely, extended family that went beyond blood, community coming together again and again because it was simply what you did for each other.
Kai still stood just beyond the gate, calling for his dog with his hands cupped around his face. His voice warbled and cracked as he stretched it to its limits.
“What are you yelling about?” Piper asked over the fence.
“Dio’s gone.”
“For how long?”
“All day.”
Piper made a face. “It’s, like, nine o’clock.”
“He’s never been gone this long.”
“Okay, just a sec. We’ll help you look.”
“We need a grownup.”
“Cody’s grown. Or close enough. Be right back.”
Tara’s son Cody, the elusive teenage boy who lived next-door, followed his sisters through their front gate and over to Kai.
“Your dog get out?”
“He’s gotten out lots of times,” Kai said. “He always comes back. He’s been gone a long time. Something’s wrong.”
“I’ll help you look,” Cody offered. “Let’s walk up towards town and ask around. Maybe somebody found him and took him inside. Does he have a collar?”
Kai shook his head, and tears spilled down his face. “My mom got him a collar, but it kept getting stuck on sticks in the bushes. It almost choked him, so I took it off.”
“I get it. Our farm dogs don’t wear collars either. Let’s go find him.” He looked at Emma. “If that’s okay?”
“Yes, thank you. Let me give you my number so you can text me if you find him.”
“Okay, I’ll just grab my phone and let my mom know.”
“You’re not coming?” Kai asked his mom.
“I can walk in the opposite direction. You’re welcome to come with me, or you can walk with Cody and the girls.”
“I’ll go with them,” he decided.
“I figured.” She smiled and pulled him into a hug. He was so tall now that his head came in just under the sleeping kitten in her backwards hoodie. “We’ll find him, sweetheart.”
“If you want to go north,” Lani said as she walked up, “I can walk towards the water. I’m just going to drop Rory with ‘Olena, and then I have a couple hours before work.”
