Page 12 of Big Island Moonlight
“I think so. Does Piper get one too?”
Juniper grinned and pulled Piper’s jumper out of her basket. This one was a blue pullover with an orange dragon winding around one arm.
“That’s amazing!” Kai said. “Can you make me one too?”
“For your birthday.”
“Aw man. That’s not until forever from now!”
“It’s only a few weeks away,” she laughed.
He perked up. “Really?”
“Really really.”
“Thanks, Jun.” He gave her an impulsive hug, leaning over one arm of the chair. “You’re the best.”
“You’re welcome.” She watched him go with a warm feeling in her chest.
Being an auntie to all of her little cousins felt so natural… maybe taking care of her own baby would come easily too.
She pulled up her favorite website for knitting patterns and started to browse, looking for the perfect sweater for Kai. That would be a lot of knitting in a short time, but she could manage it. She had already been warning her customers that she would be taking a break over the next couple of months, and she had managed to sell a lot of extra dried herbs to people who would miss their weekly tea. Cody planned to fill in for her for a while,but they had agreed that they would both take a break from the markets when the baby arrived.
Their baby. A whole person.
The closer Jun got to meeting him, the more surreal it all felt.
“Are you done with your cards?” Emma asked Kai.
Juniper looked across the room and smiled. Her aunt had been out in the garden all morning; her face was streaked with dirt and sweat. Jun liked this new and improved Auntie Em: more grounded, more connected to the people around her. They were much closer now than they had ever been in California.
“Almost,” Kai was saying. “These horses just need some more flowers to snack on.”
“Okay.” Emma grinned. “Try and finish up in the next five minutes or so. I’m just going to jump in and out of the shower, and then we need to head up to the ranch.”
“You shouldn’t jump in the shower,” he told her solemnly. “You might slip.”
“Noted.” Emma turned to Jun and frowned at her pajama-clad legs. “Are you coming?”
Juniper swallowed and looked down at the sweater in her hands. “I don’t know.”
“The girls would love to see you.”
“I thought that maybe you could give them these for me.”
“Are you not feeling well?” Emma crossed the room and sat down on the foot stool in front of her.
“Just tired.”
Emma was quiet, looking at her.
“I don’t feel welcome,” she admitted, too quietly for Kai to hear.
“What do you mean?”
Juniper raised her gaze to Emma’s eyes and gave her a hard look.
“Tara?”
