Page 4 of Big Island Sunset
That made Jun smile, even while more tears streaked her red-splotched face.
“I’ll be back in ten minutes, and we’ll take it from there. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice came out strangled, but there was a gleam of fierce determination in her hazel-green eyes.
“Whatever the result,” Emma said, reaching forward to take Juniper’s hands, “whatever your decision, I’m with you. I’ve got you. You can lean on me, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, steadier now.
Emma stood to leave, and Juniper rose with her.
“Auntie Em?”
“Yeah?” She turned back to face her.
“Thank you.” Juniper wrapped her in a rib-cracking hug and buried her face in her shoulder.
“I’m here.” Emma put her arms around her niece.
Even though she was itching to run down to her car, eager to indulge the faint hope that there was no baby, that this was all just a big scare… she knew that wasn’t what Jun needed from her right at that moment. She neededher. She needed to know that she wasn’t alone.
“I’m here,” she said again, holding her tight. “I’m not going anywhere.”
They stood like that for a long time, until Juniper finally dropped her arms and stepped back.
“Can I come with you?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I’m just going to wash my face.”
Juniper disappeared down the stairs, and Emma stood for a while looking out the window.
If it were just the two of them, it wouldn’t be so complicated. They would take things one day at a time. A baby was a blessing, after all. In her heart of hearts, Emma truly believed that.
It was other people who complicated things. She dreaded her brother’s reaction… and her mother’s. Then there wasthe teenage boy next door andhisalready overwhelmed and overworked mother. And then there was a whole world’s worth of judgement that would be heaped upon a single mother.
There was a tremendous amount of stress coming Jun’s way, and Emma felt horribly ill prepared to support her niece through it all. If only she had Adam to lean on, this new weight on her shoulders would feel a thousand times lighter.
She let out a heavy sigh and turned towards the stairs.
Juniper would be fine. Everything would work out.
They just had to take it one step at a time.
2
Tara
It was eighty degrees outside and probably ten degrees hotter in Tara’s kitchen, where the oven radiated heat and huge pots simmered away, filling the air with steam. After hours of work, she reached a lull in between chopping. She could finally just lean against the counter and sip an iced coffee while she kept an eye on everything that she had cooking.
When she’d started her own business at the beginning of the year, it had felt empowering. Exciting. She had figured out a way to keep her family afloat, and she did it by feeding her neighbors while supporting local farmers. It was everything that she wanted and needed.
Her business continued to grow, entirely through word of mouth at this point. And that was great, because she needed that extra income to replenish her emergency fund. It gave her room to breathe, knowing that an unexpected vet bill or fallen tree wouldn’t ruin her financially.
Except that she didn’t havetimeto breathe.
Even before she started her own business, running her little family farm had been a fulltime job. Add in her three homeschooled kids, and she worked from the first crow of the rooster until she fell into bed exhausted some hours after sundown.
