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6. Emma

6

Emma

T he sun hovered just behind the tops of the trees as Emma stood at the sink washing breakfast dishes. A starburst of morning sunlight filtered through the distant branches of the ?ōhi?a trees, dazzling her every time she looked up.

"I think two thousand will be enough to start." Juniper sat at the kitchen table, poring over her notes and numbers. "That should cover a tent, tables, drink dispensers, and market fees. I can paint my own sign, and most of the ingredients I'll use for tea and lemonade are growing here in the yard."

Emma dried her hands and sat down across from her niece. "Are you going to take Toni up on her offer of a loan?"

Juniper shook her head. "That was really sweet of her, but she doesn't have that kind of money. She's still working on expanding her own gardens after having to move. Whatever money she has to invest should go back into her business."

"I could loan you the money," she offered.

"Thank you, but you're doing enough for me already."

"I would love to invest in your business," she pressed, but Juniper shook her head. "It's no big thing."

"It is to me," Juniper said firmly. She met her gaze with hazel green eyes that were just like Emma's… but with a ferocity that was all Jun. "I want to do this myself."

She nodded solemnly. "So what's the plan?"

"I've got some money saved already. Picking lychee and selling it, I can probably earn the rest by the end of the month. I'll buy supplies as I go so that I'm ready to hit the ground running once I have everything. I'll start with cold drinks this summer while it's hot and expand from there."

"Sounds brilliant."

Juniper grinned, a quick flash of teeth as fierce as it was bright. Then she sobered. "What I really need is a driver's license. Luckily I can ride with Cody to pick lychee, but I don't want you carting me to every farmer's market."

"I don't mind," Emma said quickly. It wasn't as if she had a job of her own to go to. The amount of work that the Kealoha place required was heavy, but it was also flexible. Aside from morning and evening milkings, she didn't have a strict schedule.

"But I do, though," Juniper said softly. "I want to do this myself."

Emma's heart twisted as she wondered how much of this independence was a healthy part of growing up and how much of it was born of how deeply Juniper's parents had failed her. With an unstable mother and a father who was more concerned with his wife than his daughter, Juniper was desperate to stand on her own two feet.

Emma was happy to support her, as was Toni… but she supposed it was healthy that Juniper didn't want to live off of her aunts. She was remarkably driven for seventeen, not unlike the boy next door. Emma was grateful that her niece had found a friend her own age; with no school and no interest in sports or clubs with other teenagers, she didn't know how else Juniper would have found one.

Hopefully she would meet other homeschooled teens through Cody; Emma made a mental note to ask Tara if Liam could bring his daughter by sometime. Maddie was the same age as Cody and Juniper… but then again, she didn't suppose that her fiercely independent niece would appreciate Emma setting up playdates like she was six years old.

"My mom still hasn't signed the parental consent form that I need for a learner's permit," Juniper said miserably. That yanked Emma's attention back to the present.

"Still?" she repeated incredulously.

Juniper nodded and huffed out a sigh. "I have to have both parents' signatures. And because they won't be here in person, the forms have to be notarized and mailed to me."

"I'll talk to your dad."

"He has to send my birth certificate too."

"He'll come through for you, Jun. Maybe they just haven't been able to get an appointment with a notary yet."

"I don't even know if it's worth it." Juniper leaned back and scrubbed a hand over her eyes. "I still don't know if they'll let me have a permit, because my parents live out of state and the proof of address forms are supposed to be in their names."

"I hadn't thought of that." Emma worried that she was failing her niece already. She wasn't used to parenting a teenager, with all of the complications that involved. She wanted to be better than Ethan and Laurel, because Juniper deserved better, but she was already falling short.

"I might just have to wait until I'm eighteen. Then I can skip the provisional license and just get the real thing. I can open a bank account; that counts for proof of residence. And maybe you could write up a rental agreement for the second piece of proof that I need."

"Of course."

"Thanks," Juniper said, but she still looked upset. "I hate not being able to drive to markets myself."

"Let me help you. We'll see if we can find a way around the DMV paperwork. If not, I'll be your market driver until you can get your own license."

"Okay." Juniper's shoulders slumped, somewhere between acceptance and defeat. But when she looked at Emma, her gold-flecked green eyes were grateful. "Thanks, Auntie Em."

"Anything for you, kiddo." She stood and planted a kiss on Juniper's temple. "If you need me, I'll be next door."

"Okay."

Emma stretched as she walked out through the front yard. The lush garden gleamed with water from its nightly shower and sparkled in the sunlight. Broad leaves shone pink and red and every shade of green.

She stopped at the jaboticaba tree that she had planted over Adam's ashes and stared at the white flowers that had sprouted from its narrow trunk.

By all accounts, the sapling was too young to flower. And yet here it was, branches covered in bristling white stamens that looked more like sea creatures than blossoms. They made her think of sea anemones, or living coral.

She stood with her hand on the tree for a long moment, and then she moved on.

Chaos surged around her as she walked through Tara's yard. Dogs, goats, and four different kinds of birds mobbed her like a low-lying hurricane of farm life. The goats bleated anxiously and the dogs nosed her hands, looking for attention.

Emma paused for a moment on Tara's doorstep to pet the old German Shepherd, and then she slipped inside.

"Perfect timing!" Tara called from her kitchen, which was a straight shot through the living room from the front door. "I just finished the ‘ulu salad."

"You're a rockstar."

"It's not coming out of my pocket," Tara said modestly. "It's touching, really, how many people opted in when Cody added the meal donation feature to the website."

"He's also a rockstar," Emma acknowledged. "If Kai grows up to be as kind as your son is, I'll be proud."

"I am proud. He even added something to the digital payments for the produce stand, however that works. When people scan to pay, they get prompted to donate to the community food stability program, the way you get prompted to tip at restaurants."

"That's brilliant."

"People have been so generous. Between the soup kitchen and the postpartum program, nearly half of this food is going to people who didn't pay for it themselves."

"I love that."

"This bowl here is for the soup kitchen, and I have some actual soup too, in a fridge in the garage."

Emma looked at the stacks of reusable containers waiting to be filled with ‘ulu salad for deliveries the next day. "Do you want a hand with that?"

"I would love a hand." Tara's shoulders slumped with exhaustion and gratitude.

Emma washed her hands and grabbed a serving spoon. "You've been working crazy hours ever since starting this business."

Tara's smile was thin. "Price of owning a small business. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. I'm so thankful that things are going this well. But I can hardly keep up."

"Time to hire some help." Emma started scooping the ‘ulu salad into containers, and her stomach rumbled at the inviting smell of breadfruit and sweet onions.

"I'm not quite there yet." She sighed as she started slicing vegetables for the next dish on the docket. "I'm making enough to pay the bills, but hiring someone would eat most of that up. Cody's been a huge help, but I try not to lean on him too much. He already does all of the deliveries, and now he's got that summer job selling lychee."

"An industrious seventeen year old."

"Very. I worry sometimes that he forgets to enjoy himself. He was always a serious kid, but ever since his dad left… I worry he's taken on too much responsibility. And I let him."

"He'll be all grown up soon."

"Don't say that!"

Emma laughed. "He will, and it's good that he's such a responsible go-getter. He'll have a much easier transition to adulthood than most kids."

"Here's hoping," she murmured. "He starts college in the fall, you know."

"At seventeen?"

Tara nodded. "He'll still be living here at home, but he'll be taking classes in Hilo."

"That's amazing!"

Tara just nodded, her expression caught somewhere between pride and anxiety. It was a complicated thing, watching your first child and only son get ready to leave the nest. Emma could hardly wrap her head around the thought of Kai being that age, taller than her and ready to launch himself out into the world.

Her phone buzzed, and she paused her packing to check the screen. It lit up with a picture of Teddy with a huge smile that showed off his new teeth. She grinned and turned the phone towards Tara.

"Aw, look at that face! Your nephew?"

"Yep. Juniper's baby brother."

"How's she doing?"

"Really good." Emma registered the surprise in her own voice as she pocketed her phone and got back to work. "Moving here was a tough transition, but she's adjusted beautifully. That kid is resilient."

"Do you think she would be up for some part-time work? I know that she's working that lychee job too, but…"

"And hatching plans for her own market stand besides. She needs money for that, and she's determined to make it herself. I think she'd be game."

"I can only afford minimum wage, which isn't enough for most people – but considering there's no commute and she doesn't have any rent to pay…"

"What else are teenagers for? Couldn't hurt to ask."

"Even one or two days a week would make a huge difference."

"If it's too much for her, you can always lean on me until lychee season is over. It doesn't last long, if I recall correctly."

"Not long at all. But no, I couldn't impose on you like that."

"It's not an imposition! You saved my butt when I moved here. Even before we got here, you were taking care of the goats and chickens and all."

"And letting the grass overtake the orchard."

"One person can only do so much. You had your hands full over here already."

"And I didn't even have a business yet." Tara laughed, but the sound was full of overwhelm.

"Let me help. I'm not the cook you are, but I take direction well. And I'm good on an assembly line." She put the lid on the last container and asked, "Was that all of them?"

"Yeah, that's all for the week."

Emma tilted the huge mixing bowl her way. "Still a couple of servings left."

Tara chuckled. "Want a glass of iced tea with your ‘ulu salad?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll just put these in the fridge."

"The middle fridge in the garage has space."

"Roger that."

Tara reached out to squeeze her arm. "Thank you."

"What else are friends for?" Emma asked lightly. "We'll take a lunch break – I'm guessing you need one – and you can tell me what we're making next."

"Sounds like a plan."

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