“What did you mean?”
“I just… your family has helped me so much already. You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to.” He paused, watching her closely. “I’d like to invest.”
Laurie just stared at him, stunned.
“We could call it Paradise Books. You know, ‘cause it’s on Paradise Road?” He paused again, his face dropping. “You hate it.”
“I don’t hate it. I just…” She looked around again. “It’s a big job.”
“It wouldn’t cost too much to get this place off the ground. Some basic repairs, some bookshelves. Easy.”
“We could stock it with mostly used books,” she mused. “Maybe some new books on consignment from local authors.”
“I like the way you think.”
“Do you really think we could do this?”
“I know we can. Our generation is putting Pualena back on the map. You saw what Tenn Nakamura did with the diner,right? And my sister totally revamped the community center. The Thai place is always packed, and so is my shave ice place.”
She looked at him in shock. “Youown Haumona Shave Ice?”
“You don’t have to look so surprised,” he teased.
“I’m not, I just… that place is great.”
Kekoa grinned. “Thanks.”
“Who did your mural?”
“That was my cousin Lani.”
“You think she would paint one here?”
“I know she would.”
Laurie slowly turned three hundred and sixty degrees.
She pictured bookshelves filling the empty space and a counter up front with a big mural behind it. She imagined Mia reading in a cozy chair in the corner, chatting with other kids who came in looking for books.
“Okay,” she said, meeting Kekoa’s eyes. “Let’s give it a try.”
12
Anne
“It’s time to talk about our next steps,” Anne told her kids. They were sitting on the floor around the coffee table, playing a card game and waiting out the midday sun.
“I want to stay here,” Pete said immediately. “I thought about taking Rikki on a plane, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t believe me if I tell them that he’s a kitten. Maybe it would have worked as soon as we found him, but he’s too big now.”
“You are so weird,” Claire muttered. Pete ignored her.
“Anyway, I like it here! I like going to the beach and watching movies with Grandma and playing with my cousins.”
“Your cousins go back to school soon,” Anne told him. “Hayden and Harper go to school way up in Waimea, but Mia’s going to start at a homeschool co-op right here in Pualena. A friend of ours runs it out of the community center.”
“At the playground?!”
