Page 25 of Big Island Neighbors
“They’re ready to go.” His voice was low and quiet, and he was gone before she had steadied herself enough to apologize for snapping.
She took a few minutes to finish transplanting the tomato starts… a few more minutes for her hands to stop shaking and her heartbeat to slow to its normal speed. Then she went to join her kids for a ride up the mountain.
It felt strange to sit in the passenger seat. Cody was long past any need for input on his driving, and so she just sat and looked out the window at the verdant Hawaiian landscape.
The kids were quiet on the drive up to the stables, and after a while Tara turned the radio on and clicked it over to an island country station.
It was a hazy winter day with thick fog that wrapped around the van and ate up the tops of the trees. Cody drove with an extra measure of caution, and other cars swerved around them on their way up the mountain.
He turned carefully up the drive of the ranch where the girls had their riding lessons. Massive mulberry trees lined the driveway, and between their trunks she caught glimpses of a large duck pond off to one side. Its surface was green and purple with water hyacinths.
Liam and Maddie were out working with a foal when Cody parked the van. The girls jumped out and ran to the stables to saddle their usual horses, and Maddie went in to meet them. The sixteen year old had been helping with their lessons since the beginning, and these days she took the lead more often than not, often teaching the entire lesson without her father’s input.
“I’m gonna stretch my legs,” Cody said. He walked off with his hands in his pockets, not straying far from the large corral.
Liam walked over leading the yearling, a beautiful chestnut foal. The curious horse nosed at her jacket, and she stroked the side of his neck.
“How are you?” Liam asked. He was a full head taller than Tara - unusual, given that she was as tall or taller than most men. His hair had gone silver years ago but kept its thickness and its shine.
“I can’t pay for their lessons today,” she blurted out, skipping the preamble.
His dark eyebrows rose in surprise, but his expression remained pleasant. “That’s okay.”
“I did bring some of those‘ulubrownies that Maddie likes. They’re in the car.”
“That’s payment enough.” Liam smiled. “I still remember those chicken pot pies that you brought every single week the whole year that Laura was sick. I feel like we’re still in your debt from that.”
“No debt,” she protested. “That’s just what friends do.”
They were quiet for a moment, watching the twins trot around the ring on their matching ponies. Laura was one of her dearest friends from the time that Cody and Maddie were barely big enough to walk.
“That was so long ago,” she said softly. “Before the girls, so… nine years?”
“Ten next month.” From the time that Laura passed, he had raised Maddie all on his own. And done a beautiful job of it, Tara thought as she watched her calling out encouragement to the girls.
“I’m sorry about today.” She turned back to the yearling and stroked the side of his face. “I’ll get the money together as soon as I can.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Liam said. “Is everything okay?”
“Mitch quit his job and moved to the mainland.” The truth spilled out of her, far more than she had intended to share. Her eyes were fixed on the yearling’s shiny reddish-brown coat.
“Wow.” His voice was so low that she hardly heard him; she didn’t think that she was meant to. She wasn’t even sure that he was aware that he’d said anything aloud.
“I’ll figure it out,” she said, as much to herself as to him.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No,” she said reflexively. Then she thought of the overgrown brush down by the gate. “Actually yeah, can we cut some of that white mulberry?”
“Of course.”
She met his eyes - a deep blue gray, like the ocean on a winter’s day - and felt her face relax into a soft smile.
Figuring out the next right step made everything feel less heavy.
She would cut some high-quality fodder to stretch what feed they had and then… she would figure out thenextright step.
“Hey Cody!” she shouted.
