Page 38 of Big Island Sunset
“Stop catastrophizing. Go back to life as normal.”
“How can we?”
“What’s actually changed? What in your day-to-day life is different?”
“Well, nothing yet.”
“So, focus on the day to day. That’s plenty to deal with already.”
She let out a humorless little laugh and took a long sip of her tea.
“Give everyone’s emotions some time to settle. Stop trying to figure everything out for everybody else.”
“That’s my job.”
“It’s not, though. Not for Cody. Not anymore.”
She sighed. “That’s a tough pill to swallow.”
“Tell me about it,” Liam laughed. “You think I don’t want Maddie to live on this ranch forever? But she’s set on going to some mainland college. And then, to add insult to injury, she’s talking about working at Yellowstone next summer instead of coming home after her first year of school.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. At least Cody’s staying close to home.”
“I wanted him to go to university in Hilo, not jump right into family life.”
“He still could, Tara. He’s got plenty of time for anything and everything that he wants to do.”
She took a deep breath and nodded, trying to believe him.
Slowly, as they sat rocking their chairs in tandem and drinking their tea, her anxiety began to untangle itself. Theytalked about everyday things, about riding lessons and new recipes and growing calves, and her nervous system quieted.
It was incredible, how much he could calm her in just one hour. Being near him made her feel safe. He helped her to find her steadiness and her strength.
So why did they spend so much time apart?
10
Lani
Lani was working on the couch, sketching ideas for a new mural in Hilo, when Rory crawled up next to her.
“Mama, can we read the whale book?”
“In a minute,” Lani said, distracted.
“We don’t have a whale book,” Olivia said.
“The whale book,” Rory repeated, popping up on her knees to get a better look at Olivia on the other end of the couch. “The book about the whales!”
“This one?” Olivia asked, holding up the novel they had started the day before.
“Yes, the whale book!”
“Those aren’t whales. They’re orcas.”
“She’s a killer whale!”
