Page 38 of Big Island Moonlight
“I really do. Adam and I did. We were even younger than them when we met.”
“You two aren’t the norm.”
“No, we’re the gold standard.” Emma grinned, accustomed to the mixed emotions that flooded her chest whenever she talked about her late husband. She held tight to her gratitude and let the rest drain away. “But Jun’s exceptional, and so is Cody. They’ve got a real chance, I think. As much as anybody.”
“I can’t tell if having a baby makes their chances better or worse.”
“It’ll be hard. It’s hard on anybody. But it’s probably easier when you’re young and full of energy – provided that you have a good support system, which they do.”
“Speak of the devil,” Lani muttered as they walked up the kitchen steps.
Emma blinked at her in confusion. “What?”
She gestured through the carport towards the front of the property, where Tara had just pulled up in her big white van.
“Tara’s a friend,” Emma reminded her dryly. “We like Tara.”
Lani wrinkled her nose. “Tara disappeared off the face of the planet the second Jun showed her a positive pregnancy test.”
“She did not.”
“She totally did!”
“Okay, maybe a little.”
“I haven’t seen her in months!”
“She’s been busy.”
“We’re allbusy, Em.Shepulled a vanishing act.”
“She’s got three homeschooled kids, a growing business, and she moved her whole menagerie up to Liam’s ranch. She’s been busy.”
“She bailed on Jun. Probably encouraged Cody to bail too.”
“Lani, stop. She did not.”
“We’re just supposed to smile and pretend that she didn’t disappear for the duration of the pregnancy?”
“Jun is still pregnant, last time I checked. And she’s here for the baby shower. And she’s ourfriend.”
“Eh.” Lani moved her hand in a so-so gesture.
Emma laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”
She winked and disappeared into the house. Emma went to meet Tara, who was pulling food out of the back of her van.
“Need a hand?”
Tara grinned at her over the gate. “That would be great, thanks.”
As soon as the gate opened, Dio bolted through and sniffed at Tara’s feet, his whole body wriggling in excitement as he greeted their long-lost neighbor. Then the twins came out of the van, and his excitement doubled.
“It’s been a long time,” Emma said, lifting a stack of containers.
“It has,” Tara acknowledged. She glanced at her own property and looked quickly away. “I’m happy where I am, but it still hurts to be here. It’s so weird to see our old home from the outside. I don’t like seeing the yard all overgrown.”
“Then don’t look,” Piper said, running through the gate ahead of them. Tara rolled her eyes and they walked through the open gate, leaving Paige to close up behind them.
