Page 48 of Big Island Neighbors
“Homemade cookies,” he said as he held the box out to each table. “I made them myself! Well, my mom helped.”
Emma stood and began gathering up bowls, but Patty shooed her away.
“You made all this food, the least we can do is clean up.”
“Okay.” She settled back down on the bench. She had been up since dawn, on her feet all day. First farm chores, then cooking, and now this. She wasn’t in a hurry to get back up again. “Thank you.”
She stayed where she was until Kai was finished handing out cookies, then went to see if Mrs. Rasmussen needed any help with cleanup. There was still a good amount of meatball soup left, and Emma wished that she had brought another box of travel containers.
“What do you do with the extra?” she asked.
“It’s not extra. It’s forkupunawho couldn’t come today.”
“Kupuna?”
Mrs. Rasmussen gave her a look. “Elders.”
“Right,” she murmured. “I knew that.”
Her years of Hawai’i trips with Adam had familiarized her with countless aspects of island culture, but she always felt outside of it. It was easy to forget subtleties and less common words. Her insular life on the land wasn’t exactly helping her acclimate or find community.
“Do you need help with the deliveries?” she asked.
Mrs. Rasmussen’s face softened with relief. “Would you?”
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
“That would be a real help,” her neighbor said with surprising warmth. “I’ll bring Kalea hers on the way home, but there arekupunawho live in the opposite direction…”
“Just give me the names and addresses, and I’m on it.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m grateful to be able to join what you’ve started here, Mrs. Rasmussen.”
She reached out and patted Emma’s arm. “Call me Linda.”
16
Lani
It was still light when Lani left for Tenn’s house, but she put on a pale yellow dress just to be safe. There were no street lights in their neighborhood, and she wanted to be sure that the cars could see her if the walk took longer than expected. The way that the dress hugged her waist and made her golden-bronze skin glow was just a bonus.
Dio whined and looked at her with pleading eyes when she squeezed through the front gate without him.
“Sorry, boy. Next time.”
The sun had retreated to the Kona side of the island, but it was still plenty light out. The sky was streaked with pink and yellow over the mountains, and the orange flowers that grew along the side of the road seemed lit from within.
Lani walked slowly, still processing the emotions of the day.
Zeke wasn’t a real threat to her anymore. He was thousands of miles away. The divorce process was a hassle, but letting him get in her head like this was her own fault.
She felt frustrated with herself.
All of that angst and anxiety over a call that he didn’t even show up to.
Rory was her whole life. Filing for full custody had felt like a direct threat. And itwasa threat, but not one that she should let get under her skin. Zeke wasn’t Rory’s biological father, and Lani knew that everything would be alright in the end.
