Page 16 of Big Island Sunset
“I miss the redwoods,” he admitted. “I was looking forward to raising my son in my hometown, close to his grandparents and his cousins.”
“He has a cousin here.”
“One,” he acknowledged, nodding. “And two there. Wherever we live, the family’s split up.”
“Will you move when Juniper does?” Fern asked. She knew that he had only moved to the island to be closer to his teenage daughter, and she wouldn’t fault him for moving back to California if she decided to head home… but on a deeper level, she dreaded it. Any time he talked about Redwood Grove or complained about some small hassle of life in Hawai’i, her fears and insecurities wormed their way down a bit deeper.
She loved Theo beyond all reason, and she was swiftly falling in love with Ethan too… but it felt as though her fears of him leaving were holding her back from truly giving him her heart.
Which was fine, she told herself. No sense in falling head over heels for a man she was still getting to know… except that it seemed she had already.
They spent hours together every day. Falling in love with a neighbor who was always there was a whole lot different than dating someone who could only get together once a week. Their relationship was speeding forward like a bullet train, and she had never experienced anything like it. As much as she might try to convince herself otherwise, her heart was all in already.
Maybe her real fear was that he didn’t feel the same way.
“Juniper’s happy here,” he said after a while. “I don’t think that she’ll leave anytime soon.”
“But?” Fern prompted, hearing the hesitation in his voice.
“But I don’t know if I want to keep Theodore here forever. Not once he’s school aged. And my parents aren’t getting any younger. They’re strong and independent now, but they won’t always be. I don’t want to be an ocean away when they need me.”
“I respect that,” she said, though the fear in her gut twisted a bit deeper.
There was true vulnerability in his eyes when they met hers… and something that looked a whole lot like fear. For some reason, it surprised her to see her uncertainty mirrored in his eyes. She was shocked to realize that he was unsure of whatshewanted, rather than unsure of whether or not he wanted her around – but in that moment, she saw it so clearly that she stumbled to a stop.
“Would you ever consider moving to California?” he asked.
For a moment, all she could do was grin.
“I know that you’re building a business here,” he said uncertainly, “putting down roots. But if you wanted to open a yoga studio in the redwoods, your classes would be overflowing in no time.”
“I like the redwoods,” she said, suddenly feeling shy.
“Yeah?” He reached out and took her hand.
“Yeah.”
Ethan sighed with relief. “Good.”
“Good?”
“I’m not planning to move back anytime soon. Just the opposite – I’ve started studying to get my contractor’s license here in Hawai’i. I don’t have one foot out the door. I’m just… glad that California’s an option for you.”
They had been standing still long enough that the mosquitoes started to swarm, so she pulled his hand to get them walking again.
“No mosquitoes in the redwoods,” he said.
“You don’t have to convince me,” she replied, half laughing. “I love it there.”
“But you chose Hawai’i.”
“I thought that if there was anywhere I could be content to stay in one place, it would be an island that’s constantly changing.”
“You’re a rolling stone, huh?”
“Didn’t you know that already?”
“I knew that you had moved around a lot,” he said, his tone suddenly serious again. “I thought that you were tired of that. Ready to put down roots.”
