Anne’s expression was anxious, but she didn’t argue. “Okay. Thank you for picking us up today.” She pulled her in for a hug and then stepped back. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too. I’ll see you again soon, okay?”
“Okay. See you soon.”
She could feel Anne’s eyes on her back as she walked out the door.
3
Oakley
It was a gorgeous day in Waimea, vivid blue skies punctuated by fluffy white clouds and glowing green hills. Oakley’s heart was light as she pulled up to the martial arts studio and waved to her eight-year-old daughter.
“Hi Mom!” Harper bounced into the back seat.
“Hi, baby. How was capoeira?”
“It was so much fun! They let me play the berimbau!”
“That’s great!” Oakley grinned at her daughter and then straightened in her seat to start the car. “Buckle up.”
“Is Hayden still at soccer?” Harper asked, clicking into her seat.
“Soccer’s tomorrow.” Oakley drove out of her parking spot and down the street. “Today we’re picking her up from rehearsal.”
“Right.” Harper drummed on her knees. “Hey, are Pete and Claire here yet?”
“Yep! Their plane landed in Kona last night. They should be at grandma’s house by now.”
“Are we gonna go see them?”
“Of course! We’ll drive down to Pualena as soon as we get Hayden.”
“Sweet!”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes!”
Oakley grabbed one of the lunchboxes from the front seat and handed it back. A moment later, the air was filled with the smell of humus and the crunch of carrots. They drove past the huge, colorful playground where Oakley had spent countless hours pushing her girls on the swings and chasing them across bridges. She felt the bittersweet pull of nostalgia thinking of those days when her girls were still so little and the three of them were together all day long.
The playground had undergone a massive rebuild shortly after Oakley and Trent bought a house just down the street. There was an amazing private school right there too – the perfect place to start a family.
Oakley lost her first baby while the house was in escrow. She lost her second just after they finished the nursery. They tried to adopt a newborn, and the birth mother changed her mind at the last possible moment.
What had originally felt like kismet slowly morphed into a cruel joke as Oakley drove past the school and park day after day. Not one to wallow in self pity, she had opened her heart to foster kids instead. One stayed for six months, others for just a night or two, but filling the empty room gave her a sense of purpose.
The new playground opened the same week that Harper and Hayden came to her, and it felt like fate. From the first momentthat she met them, those girls felt like hers. And eventually, miracle of miracles, they were – officially – hers.
Pualena was her first home, but there was no place on Earth that she loved better than Waimea. The weather was perfect, all crisp mountain air instead of the humid damp of Hilo or the brutal heat of Kona. She couldn’t imagine a better place for her girls to grow up.
It took just a few minutes to drive across town to the community theater. Hayden waited outside with a few of her friends. Oakley gave the horn a quick, cheerful double-tap, and Hayden came running.
She was nearly identical to her sister, just with an extra two years and two inches. At eight and ten, they both still had baby-round faces and cheeky smiles. Hayden’s glossy black hair hung straight down her back; Harper’s was in a messy braid with escaped pieces plastered to her face.
“Mom!” Hayden rolled her eyes in a friendly sort of way as she buckled her seatbelt. “You’re staring.”
“Sorry!” Oakley grinned at her in the rearview mirror. “You’re just so precious!”
