Page 17 of Big Island Summer
“That’s great.” A squeeze of his hand sent tingles up her spine. “I really admire you. You get a bit of a break from work,and your first thought is to go volunteer with kids who are going through a hard time.”
Nell’s cheeks burned and she looked out the window, at a loss for words.
Volunteering at A Place of Refuge wasn’t some selfless act of charity; she was just floundering, searching for a sense of purpose and community.
She wanted something that would help her feel empowered, less like a charity case… but she doesn’t know how to put any of that into words.
“I just want to give something back to the place that sheltered us when we needed it.”
“Well I think that’s beautiful.”
A call came through Hugh’s phone to the fancy screen in his dashboard, and Amy’s name popped up: his ex-wife.
“Sorry,” he said, popping an earbud in, “that’s Daisy.”
“Go ahead,” Nell encouraged him.
Hugh tapped the green button and grinned. “Hi there, baby girl! Are you excited to come to the Big Island next week? Your room’s all ready for you.”
Nell couldn’t hear Daisy’s voice, but she watched Hugh’s face fall.
“What happened?” A pause. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. School’s almost over.”
Apparently the bullying that his six year old was experiencing at school still hadn’t let up. Nell’s heart ached for both of them. She couldn’t imagine being so far from her babies – but Hugh’s ailing mother was here in Hawai‘i, and so was his business.
He parked at the playground in Pualena, and Cassie flew out of the car as soon as it stopped. Nell spotted Rory on the slide and a couple of other playschool kids on the swings. Everett started to fuss, and she gave Hugh an apologetic look. He wasstill trying to console his daughter as Nell lifted Everett from his seat and gently closed the door.
Hugh was amazing. Despite all of her trauma and reservations, she could see a real future with him. Shewantedto build a future with him. But living so far away from his only child was tearing him up inside.
How could she go all in with a man who might move off island at any moment?
So far, he had stayed in his hometown because his mother’s mind was failing her and she had no one else. But his daughter needed him too, arguably more than the woman who was well looked after at a senior center in Hilo.
Nell loved him, but he wasn’t hers to keep.
6
Emma
Juniper was silent as they coasted along the highway, over the golden hills that lay above Kona.
Emma had invited her to choose the music, and they’d ended up with an autotuned mess that grated on her nerves, but she would put up with just about anything if it helped Jun feel better.
The seventeen year old had been half comatose since hearing the news about her mom. Instead of going to work or spending the weekend camping with Tara’s family like she’d planned, she’d retreated to her tower room and slept for days.
Juniper wasn’t lazy by any stretch of the imagination; she was always going, always working and playing with the kids and sketching out plans for her next business idea. So for her to retreat this fully, to sleep and sleep and barely come downstairs for the occasional meal before retreating again…
Emma was gutted for her, but she wasn’t overly worried. Juniper’s body was shutting down to deal with the shock, and Emma knew exactly what that felt like. As long as this phase didn’t stretch on and on – and Emma had definitely stayed in the near-comatose stage of mourning longer than she should have – there was no harm in retreating for a while to process her grief.
And if she wanted to listen to terrible music on the drive to Kona, well… Emma would put up with that too. And gladly. At least Jun was out of her room.
The sun was blazing over Kona, and she cranked the AC higher as they drove down into the flat expanse of black lava rock that made up the island’s western coastline.
Ethan had called with less than twenty-four hours’ notice to tell her that he’d booked a flight and would be landing in Kona the next day. He’d made a half-hearted offer to rent a car and stay in a hotel, but of course Emma wouldn’t consider it.
Juniper hadn’t taken the news well. She had shut down completely and gone to bed before seven. But the next morning, when Emma got up at dawn to drive across the island, Juniper was waiting for her in the kitchen with two travel mugs full of chai.
Emma understood her brother’s desperation.
