15. Tara
15
Tara
“ H urry up, Mom!” Piper sprinted up a steep section of the trail, leaving Tara huffing and puffing behind her.
“For someone who’s on her feet all day every day,” Cody said lightly as he walked past her, making quick work of the trail with his long legs, “you’re sure out of shape!”
“Rude!” Tara said to his back as he disappeared up the trail.
“I like your shape,” Liam said in her ear.
Tara laughed. “He’s right, though. I’m so busy, I don’t have time for exercise. My arms and hands are decently strong, but I never get any cardio in.”
“I have a solution to that.”
“I know, I know.”
“Whatever obstacles are in your way, I could help.”
“There are a lot of them,” she said breathlessly, still fighting the incline.
“Tell me.”
“We would need an aviary for my parrots. Not just a cage — a real aviary like they have at home.”
“I’ll build one.”
She looked at him askance. “That’s a huge investment.”
“You’re worth it.”
She chuckled in disbelief, shaking her head.
“What else?”
“There are a hundred different moving pieces, Liam.”
“That’s true of your life even without a move.”
“That’s what makes the move so overwhelming.”
His expression turned serious. “If you want me to back off—“
“I want to, Liam. I do. I’ve been researching commercial kitchens in the area, because I really want some separation between my work life and my home life. Selling the house would give me money to invest in the business so that I could hire help, which would make it possible for me expand to the point that the business is paying for itself and then making a profit — hopefully without me having to work fourteen-hour days and miss out on the last of Paige and Piper’s childhood. Sometimes I feel like I should just give up on the business altogether, but that feels a whole lot like failing.”
“Transition isn’t failure.”
“But then what? I go back to being a housewife?” She felt herself flush. “If you’ll excuse the word…”
“If you’d like,” Liam said, unbothered. “But I know there isn’t a lazy bone in your body. You would be my partner in life and in business. Once you’re there on the ranch, I’m sure you would see a hundred different opportunities. Ways that we could expand, projects you could take on.”
They crested the ridge, bringing them into view of the waterfalls. Tara hadn’t been to Hikuwai in months, and the sight of the deep blue water soothed her tired soul. Down below, the kids were already crossing the river. Piper held Cody’s hand, and Paige held Maddie’s.
“Can we table this discussion for today?” she asked.
“We can table it for as long as you’d like,” Liam responded, putting a hand on her back.
“Thank you.” She kissed the stubble on his jaw and then set off down the path to catch up with the kids.
The river water was blessedly cool on her legs and feet as she walked across, and the sound of the waterfalls drowned out all the overwrought worries that crowded her mind.
As much as she loved being outside on her own land, there wasn’t much peace to be found there. Anywhere she looked, she saw a dozen different tasks that were half complete or overdue. Out in nature, she could breathe easy for the first time in ages.
“Mom!” Piper waved at her from the top of a waterfall. “Look!”
“I see you!” Tara waved back.
Piper leaped from the top and seemed to hang in midair for a moment before landing in the deep pool with a splash.
When her head appeared above the surface of the pool a few seconds later, Tara cheered.
Paige, Maddie, and Cody all took turns jumping as Piper swam back to the rocks and clambered up beside Tara.
“Jump with me, Mom!” Piper’s short red hair was plastered to her forehead, and her hazel-green eyes were bright.
Tara grinned at her daughter. “Okay.”
Piper gasped. “Really?”
“Let’s go!”
They climbed around to the top of the waterfall. It was the smallest of the seven, but still a good twelve feet or so above the surface of the water.
“I haven’t done this in a while,” Tara said, peering over the edge. It looked higher from the top than it did from a distance.
“Want to hold my hand?” Piper asked.
She grinned and held out her hand. “Sure.”
Piper took it, her water-cool skin a stark contrast to Tara’s, still overheated from the hike.
“One,” Piper said.
“Two,” Tara murmured, stepping up to the edge.
“Three!” They leaped off together, screaming through a moment of freefall before the river rose up to swallow them. The cold water was a shock, and Tara lost Piper’s hand as they both swam towards the surface. By the time they burst back up into the sunny day, gasping for air, Tara was already used to the cold water.
“Again!” Piper said. “Let’s go again!”
Tara laughed and swam for shore.
All six of them spent the next hour climbing the rocks, jumping from the cliff, and swimming in the clear river water. Eventually, they gathered up their stuff and hiked a short distance to the next waterfall, where they took in the view and settled down to eat their lunch.
The kids sat down by the river, cooling their feet in the water and chattering happily while they ate. Liam and Tara sat a bit higher, soaking in the warmth of the rocks like a pair of lizards while the sun baked their clothes dry.
“Life could be like this every day,” Liam said as Tara unpacked their food.
“Waterfalls every day?” She shot him a teasing grin. “Who would look after the livestock?”
“All six of us together every day,” he said quietly.
That made her pause. She looked down at the kids, who were laughing and shining with happiness. Cody looked more like himself, younger and more carefree than he had been in weeks. For the space of an afternoon, he had shed his worries.
Was it just the waterfalls? Or was there something about Liam being there that allowed Cody to be the kid again? He had taken on so much responsibility when his dad left, and she knew that he worried — about their finances, about his mom and his sisters, about all of it.
No wonder he felt old enough to support Juniper and their baby. He had been doing so much to support the family he already had.
But he shouldn’t have to. Tara didn’t want him to carry that emotional burden, feeling like he had to support two families at seventeen. That was far too much for someone his age to carry, even someone as extraordinary as Cody.
“I know it’s a big change,” Liam said softly, “but Maddie and Cody are only home with us for a little bit longer. I’d like to spend that time together, all six of us. If we can.”
“Okay,” she said, turning to look at him.
“Really?” His eyes were as blue and deep as the pools beneath the waterfalls, and they were filled with a frightened sort of hope.
“Really. Let’s do it. Whatever hurdles there are… we’ll figure them out. Together.”
He leaned forward and kissed her full on the mouth.
“Ewww!” Piper shouted — but she sounded delighted.
“Dad, gross!” Maddie said.
Paige just giggled. Cody was quiet, sitting with his back to them.
Tara’s cheeks burned as she turned her attention back to their picnic lunch.
“Tara?” Liam said her name quietly.
“Yeah?” She looked up at him again.
“I love you.” He said the words solemnly, and her heart did a little somersault.
He communicated his love so clearly every day; it startled her to realize that he almost never said those three words… not since that first declaration when he put it all on the line, standing there with two hands braced on her front gate.
She was ashamed to realize that she had never said it back. The chaos of her life had overwhelmed her, and Liam had patiently supported her through all of it, without ever asking her for anything except for more time together.
She leaned forward and kissed him again, ignoring the ruckus and teasing from their kids down below.
“I love you too.”