Page 40 of Big Island Neighbors
Lani shook her head reflexively, unwilling to leave her baby alone with Zeke.
Then she took a breath and widened her perspective.
She looked at their warm, comfortable kitchen. Emma washing vegetables at the sink. Rory putting aside her blackened flowers and picking up a purple crayon for the spinner dolphins that Lani had sketched.
“Okay,” she said, speaking even as she made the decision. “Thank you.”
She pocketed her phone and walked out the door before she could change her mind.
That voice was the last thing on earth that she wanted to hear, and it wouldn’t make a difference to Rory if she were there or not. It might even be easier without her hovering like a black cloud. And she trusted Emma.
Dio circled her and whined excitedly when he saw her headed for the gate, so she grabbed his leash and took him on a rare jaunt past the fence.
The property was so large that they almost never took the young Belgian Malinois for a walk, but he was always thrilled to get out and smell new smells. She let him pull her to the left and followed him without paying much attention to where they were going.
It was a quiet neighborhood, no traffic save the occasional neighbor coming or going. The street was lush with greenery, perfectly manicured in some places but wholy overgrown in most.
The occasional bare lot stood out like a scab, fresh gravel in front of a new house.
Within a year or so, even the gravel would be covered in green.
Dio turned onto the main road, and she let him. They walked the edge of the busier thoroughfare for a while before turning onto a quiet side road, and it was only then that she realized he was leading her straight to Tenn’s house. She had only walked there with him once or twice, but he wriggled with excitement as they approached the familiar yard.
There was a rambutan tree out front loaded with clusters of fruit. The long, soft spikes surrounding each fruit were green, softening the shape and color of the bright red rambutan. She stood staring at them for a long while, her mind filled with white noise.
Dio sat patiently by her side, tail wagging slightly at the change of scenery.
The rumble of Tenn’s truck pulling into the driveway brought her out of her stupor. Olivia spilled out the door with a happy shriek, and Dio nearly yanked Lani’s arm out of socket in his eagerness to greet her.
“Where’s Rory?” Olivia asked.
“She’s at home.”
Olivia started to ask another question, but her words dissolved into laughter when Dio licked her face.
Tenn greeted her with a full-hearted smile as he walked around the truck. “Hey there.”
“Hi.” She let go of Dio’s leash and stepped into Tenn’s open arms.
He pressed his lips to her sun-warmed hair and murmured, “This is a nice surprise.”
“We just ended up here. Dio remembered the way.”
“Are you okay?” He leaned back to look into her eyes.
“Another court-mandated video chat today,” she said quietly. “Emma took point on this one.”
He pulled her in close, holding her without saying a word. She leaned into the solidity of him, letting her worries drain away. A minute later, his chest rumbled with laughter. He was watching Olivia and Dio wrestle on the front lawn.
“Every time she sees Dio, she begs me for a dog of her own. I keep telling her it wouldn’t be fair to the dog, as much time as we spend at the restaurant. But look at them.”
Dio lay panting on the grass with Olivia beside him. She was using his chest as a pillow. Her tangled golden hair fell across his back.
Lani felt a sudden ache to be near her daughter.
She looked up at Tenn and said, “I should get back.”
“What are you doing later?”
