Page 56 of Big Island Neighbors
“No, I’m starved.” He looked at the cafe across the street. “Could I get a hamburger instead?”
“Of course. Let’s go.” She put an arm around his shoulder and took Paige’s hand.
Cody held his hand out to Piper, and she took it.
Linked together, they crossed over.
18
Emma
“Turn right there.” Lani pointed to a gap in the brush that Emma hadn’t even noticed. The greenery had nearly swallowed a sign that readPunalu’u Black Sand Beach.
She turned onto a narrow road that led down to the coast. It opened up at the end, with a long dirt parking lot on the right and a large concrete area on the left. She spotted Mano’s truck at the end and drove through.
People had set up their camping gear all up and down the pier. Tents and hammocks, even foldable tables and chairs were set up between the cars.
The large concrete platform was built directly on the water, and their family had scored a spot at the end with an unobstructed view of the ocean.
“Hey sis!“ Kekoa appeared in her window and waved her through. “We set up a spot for you.“
He shifted a pile of chairs and firewood aside, making space for Emma to park next to their truck.
Rory was out the back door before she’d even turned the engine off, and Lani hurried to follow her.
Even with the doors closed, Emma could hear Rory shouting to her cousins. She turned to look at Kai.
“Come on, kiddo. Let’s go check it out.”
“No.” He folded in on himself, head down and arms crossed over his chest. “I didn’t even want to come.”
“We haven’t spent a night away from home since we moved in,” she coaxed. “It’ll be fun.”
“Itwon’tbe fun. You didn’t even let me bring Dio.”
“Cody will take good care of him. It’s just one night.”
“Ihateit here.”
Irritation simmered beneath the surface of her skin, and she took a deep breath before replying. “I’m going to get out and take a look around. You come out whenever you’re ready.”
The susurrus of breaking waves greeted her as she opened the car door and unfolded herself from the driver’s seat. Warm sunshine bathed her face, peppered with cool drops of mist from the ocean. She took a deep breath, relishing the salt spray of the air.
How ridiculous to live in Hawai’i and go weeks without visiting the beach. Lately, her only outing was driving a few miles to the community center each week to help her neighbors pull together their weekly meal. Beyond that, she never really went anywhere.
She loved her garden, and life on the land felt all encompassing. The hours between morning milking and a second milking at sunset slipped by so quickly that she rarely left the Kealoha property at all. She found herself unexpectedly suited to a life that tied her to the land… at least for now, whileshe licked her wounds and recovered from the devastating loss of her husband.
Still, she was grateful for the change in scenery. The Big Island offered every kind of landscape, and she wanted to get out and explore more often. Even just a couple times a month.
When Mahina had invited them on a family camping trip, Emma had jumped at the chance to spend the night away from the farm.
Beyond the deep blue water, a long strip of black sand stretched from the camping area to a rocky peninsula in the distance. Palm trees provided the beach with ample shade, and she caught a glimpse of a lagoon on the far side of the sand.
She wanted very much to go play and explore with Kai, but she knew from experience that trying to hurry or pressure him into doing something only made him dig his heels in deeper. So she busied herself with unloading their camping gear, a mix of new items and old things that had belonged to John.
She could see Adam in her mind’s eye, Kai’s age and camping with his dad up in the eucalyptus groves to escape the summer heat. Or camping down here, fishing with his cousins. She must have heard every story that Adam had to tell over the twenty years they had spent together, but she couldn’t remember any about camping with his folks.
“There you are!” Mahina came up and pulled her into a hug. Her bathing suit was wet and cool. “Kekoa said you were here. I’m so glad you could make it.”
