Page 59 of Big Island Summer
“No thanks, I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
She was melting butter in the cast iron – and trying to find the right words to ask Juniper how she was doing,really– when Cody came in through the kitchen door.
Juniper’s whole face lit up, and something in Emma’s heart eased.
At leastsomeonewas capable of making her happy.
“Hey Jun.” He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and then smiled at Emma. “Good morning, Auntie.”
“Hi, Cody.”
“This one ready to go?” he asked Juniper, picking up a container of bright purple tea.
“Yep, just needs ice.”
“We’ve got plenty.”
He went back and forth a few times, ferrying out each container.
“See you later, Auntie Em,” Jun said as Cody carried out the last one.
“You’re going too?” she asked.
She gave her a quick smile and a shrug. “Free food.”
“So was the grilled cheese,” Emma muttered after she’d gone.
“Grilled cheese!” Kai shouted, running into the kitchen. His hair was still dripping, and the paint was mostly gone. “Second breakfast is the best breakfast!”
Emma laughed and ruffled his hair as she set his plate down in front of him.
“What are we doing after this?” he asked after he’d inhaled the first half.
“I was thinking we could pick Prince up and go to the keiki beach.”
“For real life?” he exclaimed.
“Sound good?”
“Best. Day. Ever!”
Emma grinned at him, but her heart constricted again as she watched her niece jump out of Cody’s delivery van and close the gate behind them. Juniper was grieving, and Emma had no idea how well she was coping with her mother’s death. Not really.
It didn’t seem to matter whether she reached out or gave Jun her space. Whatever she did, her niece seemed to be slipping further and further away.
18
Nell
Nell felt nervous as she drove her new (to her) car over to Hugh’s house.
It would be the first time she went over there since his daughter arrived for the summer. They had seen each other a couple of times, just casual afternoons at the beach, and the girls had played well together. But their house, their space… that was different.
Mostly she had just given them time to settle in. This would be the first time that Daisy had to share her dad’s attention in their own home, and it had Nell’s stomach in knots.
Hugh’s heart being torn between islands complicated things, and she knew that blending families was rarely easy. It was one thing to risk her own heart, but bringing children into the mix was something else altogether.
