Castaway Colt (4 page)

Ellen Kealoha Carter, Darby's mother, had phoned to tell her daughter that the film she was shooting in Tahiti was running behind schedule.

“We've been having these fierce tropical storms,” Ellen shouted, and even though she was inside her trailer on the film set when she added, “They're brutal,” Darby could barely hear her over the hammering rain.

“I just wanted you to know.” Her mother sounded melancholy. “It could mean a few extra weeks.”

“It's okay, Mom,” Darby said. “But I do miss you. A lot.”

A sudden thought bobbed to the surface of Darby's mind. Because she had to give it a minute to take shape, she said, “Mom, cover your other ear and just listen for a minute. I have something cool to tell you.”

For ten full minutes, Darby described Night
Digger Point Beach—which her mother remembered with a longing sigh—and the white colt she'd found there. She told her mother that the colt belonged to Babe Borden's mare, and then she announced the reward.

Darby only detoured from her story to answer, as well as she could, her mother's questions about her aunt Babe.

Her mother said, “Sounds like you're getting a lot more excitement than you did in Pacific Pinnacles. I hope home won't be too tame for you.” It was then that Darby knew what she'd do with the reward money.

“When I get the reward, I'll fly you over for a visit,” Darby said.

“That's great, honey.” Her mother sounded like she was just humoring her.

“Mom, I
am
going to catch him,” Darby insisted.

“Your grandfather must be doing something right. You're getting quite the imagination over there. I hope you're writing all this down.”

“I am,” Darby said slowly. But why wasn't her mother taking her seriously?

“Darby, I believe you,” her mother said. As usual, she was pretty good at reading Darby's silence. “It's just that—how are you going to catch a colt? Sure, it's a small island, but it could run you ragged along the coastline and you'd be wheezing….”

“My asthma is so much better,” Darby protested,
but her mother didn't seem to hear.

“Let's say the colt isn't wild. You haven't learned to rope, have you? Honey, you've only been riding a short time, and even newborn colts can be hard to handle.”

Ellen had spent years hiding her ranch upbringing from her daughter, and Darby hadn't stopped being surprised when her mother said something like that, indicating that she knew a lot more about horses than she let on for twelve and a half years.

“I know. You're right,” Darby told her mother.

But Darby knew she could do it. That night she wrote out plans on a piece of notebook paper. She'd just made a note to learn how much it would cost to fly her mother from Tahiti to Wild Horse Island, when Darby realized she wasn't just hoping for a visit.

At heart, she wanted her mother and Jonah to set aside their problems and have a warm reunion.

Darby stared up at the black rectangle of window over her bed.

If her mother and Jonah got along, maybe they could all live here! ‘Iolani Ranch belonged to the Kealoha family. Jonah had built the little tree house atop Sun House just so that her mother would have separate quarters if she ever came back home.

Darby waggled her pencil between her pointer and middle fingers, and bit her lip.

Would Mom agree to live this far away from Hollywood? Probably not.

Feeling a quick stab of guilt as she thought of Heather, her best friend in Pacific Pinnacles, Darby realized she wasn't even sure that was what
she
wanted.

But here there were rainbows and waterfalls, rain forests and green rolling hills for Hoku to gallop over….

Darby shook her head free of those images. She folded the list and slipped it into the diary stashed under her bed. Then she turned off her light and told herself that what she
really
wanted now was to grab as much sleep as she could so that tomorrow, at her new school, she would be brilliant.

D
arby stared at the inside of her eyelids. She felt like she'd been mulling over her first day at Lehua High School forever.

Should she wear her hair up in a ponytail, or down loose? Should she get up now so that she'd have plenty of time to decide?

Her room was dark, but the glowing numbers on her bedside clock said 4:22. The clock, which had an awful, squawking alarm, was a gift from Megan. “Misery loves company,” she'd teased, adding that she was glad she'd have Darby's company on the drive to school now.

She and Megan were getting to be good friends, but what if Megan's school friends hated Darby
Carter and Megan pretended she barely knew this geeky new girl?

Sun House was silent.

Lehua High School couldn't be as big as her old school, but what if she got lost? Or couldn't open her locker?

Darby rolled over on her back. She made her muscles go floppy, let her hands curl at her sides as she drew a gentle breath, then exhaled twice. She did it four times, because her mother, who was totally devoted to yoga, swore that such breathing smoothed out the most tangled thoughts.

Darby opened one eye. The clock said four thirty.

This was stupid. She might as well get up and go feed Hoku and Francie the fainting goat. But if she went outside now, she'd disturb the dogs. They'd bark and wake Kit and Cade.

Or she could go shower, but she'd probably wake Jonah. And later, she'd get hay all over her clothes and in her hair.

At last, she pulled on some work clothes and tiptoed down the hall. She opened the front door and held her breath, but she only heard the humming of the refrigerator. She slipped outside.

As she passed the dogs' kennel, Jack came out to stare at her. He clawed halfheartedly at the chain-link fence, then turned around and settled back to sleep with a grunt.

Good dog,
Darby thought, and kept walking.

It soothed her to go inside Hoku's corral with an armload of hay and feed her filly that way.

The sweet nudges and gentle whuffling of horse lips over her arms and neck weren't all for the food. Some of them were affectionate gestures just for her.

By the time Hoku had eaten all of her hay, Darby was feeling happy and optimistic about the day ahead.

Animals just make me happy,
Darby thought.
Hoku doesn't notice how I walk or talk or wear my hair. Why can't everyone be as kind and accepting as horses and dogs?

And goats, she remembered with a start.

She forced herself to leave Hoku, bolted the corral gate behind her, and filled a bucket with Francie's breakfast. Once she'd done her morning dance with the playful black-and-white goat, Darby ran toward the house.

Time was slipping away.

As soon as she was back inside Sun House, Jonah called to her from the lanai.

“Granddaughter,” he said.

Jonah gestured her out onto the wooden deck that overlooked the ranch, but he didn't ask if she'd fed Hoku, or if she was up early because she was nervous. He just stood beside her. Together they watched a searing gold edge of sun peek over the hills.

Darby let out a long breath and leaned against the lanai's rail. Whatever happened at school, at least
she'd come home to this.

“If you want to go looking for this colt, take Jill and Peach with you.”

Darby nodded. Jill and Peach were two of the ranch's five Australian shepherds. She'd memorized their names along with those of Jack, Sass, and Bart, with help from Kit. The Nevada cowboy had told her he found it easier to remember the dogs by their talents.

Jack and Jill were both black and helped gather and drive cattle, but Jill was suspicious of strangers. Sass's coat was a combination of black and white called blue merle, and because he was especially good with adult horses, he trotted out with Kit and Kimo more than the other dogs.

Bart was only a year old, black except for brown eyebrows and white boots. He'd been given to Jonah by the Zinks. He was an example of what went wrong with a dog that was bred to work, but kept as a house pet, Jonah said.

Bart had only two expressions: impish or ashamed. Darby had the feeling the young dog was on probation, and that Jonah wouldn't have kept him if Cade hadn't dedicated himself to making the pup a good ranch dog.

Peach was man's best friend. Jonah called him a red merle, but he looked pale orange and white to Darby. Peach considered himself a member of the family. His heart shone through adoring brown eyes, and if he wasn't asleep in the truck, he trailed who
ever was doing the least active work.

“Too bad you can't take your attack horse,” Jonah joked, “but the dogs will have to do.”

Hoku wasn't an attack horse, but Darby knew what Jonah meant. She'd seen Hoku's mustang instincts come down on Black Lava, the wild stallion, and a rabid boar.

“I don't know the dogs' commands really well,” Darby said.

“Hmph.” Jonah flashed her a skeptical look. “You learn without trying. You've got a brain like—what's that stuff?—Velcro.”

Darby swallowed, speechless for a few seconds. Before she found the words to thank her grandfather, he looked away from her.

Staring over the pastures again, he added, “You know plenty. You just forget to use it.”

Darby crossed her arms and felt an unexpected spate of back talk about to escape her lips.

She was saved from such a lapse in judgment when a harsh sound surprised them both.

“Sounds like someone stepped on a duck,” Jonah observed.

“It's my alarm!” Darby said.

She ran to her bedroom to silence it. It really was time to get ready for school.

 

By the end of her first day of school, the faces of two of Darby's teachers—Miss Day and Coach
Roffmore—and two of her classmates—Ann Potter and Duxelles, a scary girl who happened to be her cousin—would be tattooed on her mind forever.

But Darby didn't know that when Aunty Cathy dropped her and Megan off in front of the school and threw them a kiss good-bye.

“You look great. Stop fidgeting,” Megan muttered to Darby as they came onto the campus of Lehua High School.

Darby had brushed her black hair until it was ruler-straight, then pushed it back over her shoulders. She wore tiny shell-shaped earrings that matched her pink polo shirt. Along with her jeans, she wore something she never would have worn at home: smooth leather boots, the color of brown sugar.

“Are you looking at everyone's feet?” Megan asked as they walked.

“No, just watching where I'm going,” Darby answered, but that wasn't quite true, so she whispered, “So far I haven't I haven't seen one other girl wearing boots.”

“That's because you haven't met Ann yet,” Megan told her. “But you will soon.”

“Ann,” Darby repeated as Megan searched the students around them. “Is she mystery girl number one that you're introducing me to?”

“Yeah,” Megan said, slipping past a group of guys who were carrying skateboards. “You two have so much in common. You're in the same grade, you both
love horses, and I can't wait for you to find out her hometown.”

Her hometown? Megan smiled at Darby's confusion, then rushed her along. “We need to hurry. The office is always crowded, and it'll be worse than usual because it's the first day of the last quarter,” Megan said, slipping through the increasingly crowded halls.

“Why does that matter?” Darby asked.

“It's a short day. Classes will all be cut to about half an hour and squeezed into the first half of the day before lunch.”

“You didn't tell me!” Darby said, relieved.

The shortened schedule was an incredible gift, she thought. Even if today was chaotic, they'd be able to get home and find Stormbird before dark.

“That's so cool,” Darby said, crossing her fingers.

“Yeah, but”—Megan started to agree, then broke off to wave at someone who'd called her name—“even the slackers will be here turning in sick notes, so the office will be crowded. And you can't get started until we have your schedule.”

Darby squared her shoulders, took longer strides, and looked straight ahead. Her last glance in the mirror had surprised her—no dark circles purpled the skin under her eyes from staying awake, fighting asthma. And her skin looked golden brown and smooth, more like her mother's than her own.

Of course, she was no beauty like her mother, but she'd changed a lot from the sickly girl who'd arrived
at ‘Iolani Ranch last month.

Darby took a deep breath, and realized that Lehua High smelled of flowers and greenery. Maybe palm trees, she thought, looking at the fronds swaying overhead. The only thing that reminded her of her school at home was the far-off scent of the sea.

And the office.

“Come on.” Megan hooked her arm through Darby's and towed her inside.

It looked like every other school office Darby had ever been in: A counter barricaded students from the secretaries, desks, and computers.

Megan had been right. A long line of students led up to the counter.

When they claimed a place at the end of the line, Megan glanced at the office clock and moaned, “I'm going to be late to Spanish.”

“Go ahead. This won't be hard,” Darby said, but Megan shook her head no.

They'd stood waiting for about three minutes when Megan pivoted toward a girl with unruly red curls.

“Hey, girl!” Megan gave a good-natured shout so loud that everyone looked her way.

But Megan didn't notice.

“Hey, Meggie!” the redhead yelled back, and they high-fived each other.

They must be on the soccer team together,
Darby thought.

“You lost the crutches!” Megan said.

“Yep.” The other girl shifted her weight left, then knocked on her right knee. “No cast, bandages, nothing.”

Darby's gaze darted away from the girl's red curls and freckles, past her knee, and focused on the faded blue-gray Western boots that almost matched her jeans.

“This is Ann, the one I told you about,” Megan began, but just then the line moved up a few steps. When Ann limped to keep up with them, Megan asked, “So do you think you'll be playing again?”

“Don't even ask, or I'll cry,” the girl said, though she didn't sound a bit teary. “My parents say three accidents and four surgeries in two years is enough. They won't sign for me to play soccer, or any other sport, until my growth plates are stabilized.”

Megan looked confused, but Darby nodded and the other girls' eyes shifted to hers. And then they dropped to Darby's feet.

“Your boots rock,” Ann said.

“Thanks,” Darby answered. “So do yours.”

“Oh, sorry,” Megan said, “I don't know why I'm thinking of Spanish verb conjugations when you two need to meet each other. Ann Potter, this is my cousin, sort of, Darby Carter. Darby's from Los Angeles and Jonah's her grandfather.”

Ann gave a thumbs-up sign.

“Darby, this is Ann Potter, the only eighth grader
in the history of Lehua High School to make the varsity soccer team, and you know what? She's from Nevada, just like your horse!”

“No way!” Ann gasped. “You have a horse from Nevada?”

“A mustang,” Darby said, nodding, and she didn't try to keep the pride from her voice.

“No way!” Ann repeated. “Where in Nevada?”

“War Drum Flats, in Darton County,” Darby recited. “It's kind of by—”

Ann grabbed her arm and shook it. She sure didn't have the grip of a girl who'd just gotten off crutches, but she didn't get to say whatever she'd been about to, because a pleasant-faced woman wearing a Lehua High “staff” T-shirt was trying to get their attention.

“Ladies?” she said, a bit impatiently.

Megan turned away from their conversation to explain that Darby was a new student, but Darby only heard the office lady say, “Her school records arrived and she's ready to go,” before Ann spoke up.

“I know exactly where War Drum Flats is. I used to ride there.
We
had a ranch in Darton County!” Ann's face turned thoughtful as studied Darby. “Where did you live? It seems like we would have been in school together.”

“I didn't live there,” Darby explained. “I was at Dream Catcher Wild Horse Camp when BLM brought my horse in.”

“Dream Catcher what?”

“It's new,” Darby told Ann. Then Darby's heart somersaulted in pride as she said, “My filly is a golden-red sorrel and her name's Hoku.”

“Sweet,” the other girl said with a sigh.

“Do you have horses here?” Darby asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Megan put in, over her shoulder.

Darby wondered what it meant that Megan rolled her eyes.

“Ladies!” the office lady said, then laughed, “Oh, it's you, Ann. Perfect. Darby Carter's in your first class, so you can show her the way to Miss Day's room for English?”

Darby took the sheaf of papers the woman handed her. As the three girls left the office together, Darby felt relieved.

Now she knew two people at Lehua High, and her cousin would make three. Today might turn out okay.

“Since you've got everything under control, I'm sprinting to class. I might make it on time,” Megan said.

“No problem,” Ann answered.

Darby just smiled and looked down at her boots. Why did she feel shy when everything was working out fine?

“I'm not giving up on you, Crusher,” Megan whispered to Ann, then she darted down the hall.

With a lopsided smile, Ann looked after her,
then turned to Darby.

“I'm an office aide,” Ann said. “I give new students campus tours all the time, so here's what you need to know….”

As they walked to class, Ann explained that Lehua High's buildings were arranged in an
H
shape. Grassy areas filled in the spaces on each end of the
H
and the bar in the middle was an actual bridge called the Link. Under it were the school office and library.