by Terri Farley
Still, Tutu credited Darby with forging a truce, if not peace, between her mother and grandfather.
Whether it was reconciliation, truce, or simple love, the next morning, before daylight, before Ellen’s plane returned her to Tahiti, she, Darby, and Jonah were driven over to Sugar Sands Cove Resort by Kit to retrieve the herd of cremello horses.
Darby looked out the back window at the horse trailer. She could just glimpse the black-and-white face, and the sorrel one, inside.
It was thanks to the truce—and Patrick—that Ellen had gotten her way, Darby thought, smiling.
Patrick had sounded just like his usual self when he’d called from the hospital.
“My leg’s not broken, thanks to all of you, but I’m on ‘infection watch’ for forty-eight hours, and after that, riding may be out of the question for some time,” he’d told Darby. Then he’d begged her to coax Ellen into riding Mistwalker at least once before she left.
Ellen didn’t need much coaxing. She’d called Patrick back with her promise, then started working on Jonah.
“No one has to know you bred her,” Ellen had promised, and Jonah gave in.
Getting him to bring Hoku along, too, had been a bit more difficult. Why should they trailer two extra horses halfway across the island when they already had plenty to ride and some to herd in front of them? he’d demanded.
But Ellen had won. She and Darby were fidgeting with excitement by the time they reached Sugar Sands.
Aunt Babe wore mango-colored lipstick and a long dress that fluttered like a sheik’s robe, even though none of her guests were out of bed yet.
“This is a good decision,” she said.
“I made it weeks ago. You know that,” Jonah grumbled as he backed Mistwalker out of the truck.
“You won’t be sorry,” Aunt Babe added.
When she moved close enough to pet the paint mare, Darby couldn’t imagine why Mistwalker didn’t shy at Aunt Babe’s billowing garments.
“Don’t gloat,” Jonah said.
He shifted the saddle on Mistwalker’s back. Since Patrick had been riding her both bareback and with an endurance saddle, the paint was equally comfortable with either. Then, Jonah handed Ellen the mare’s black leather reins, watching to make sure the horse he’d trained still behaved. But he stood farther off as Darby coaxed Hoku out.
“You’re amazing,” Darby whispered to her filly. Even though Hoku’s ears flicked in all directions, she’d actually backed into a strange situation without protest.
Darby wasn’t the only one who noticed. She saw Kit nod and give her a thumbs-up before he got back into the truck. He looked out the driver’s window and said, “I want to get on ahead of you all, so I can see the picture you make, driving the horses home.”
Darby’s heart was soaring and she was so amazingly happy, she almost missed the conversation between Jonah and her mother.
“What made you decide to take them?” Ellen asked as she petted the mare’s satiny neck.
“Money,” Jonah said gruffly, watching Kit drive away, as if that were more interesting than their talk. “I want these cremellos on the place before summer, to start earning their keep carrying my sister’s tourists.”
“Of course, they’ll do that for you,” Babe said, but Darby thought her great-aunt was studying Jonah as if she knew there was more to his decision.
“I’m socking away some money to build another house on the place,” Jonah admitted.
Another house! Darby couldn’t believe it! That could only mean that she and her mom and Hoku—
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Jonah,” Ellen cautioned him, but she was smiling when she turned to hold Darby by the shoulders. “We’re still working things out, your grandfather and I.”
“Sure,” Darby said, nodding wildly. “Of course. I won’t count my chickens, either.”
“However, if everything goes as planned—and you know—Darby, look at me.”
She did, widening her eyes.
“You know, with Hollywood, that’s a huge if. But I’m planning for us to live in Hawaii for the next two years.”
“Or longer,” Jonah said, winking at Darby as he saddled the tallest cremello.
“He’s impossible,” her mother said, and when she threw her hands up in mock despair, Hoku shied. “Sorry.”
“No big deal,” Darby said, but she’d bet no one understood her, because she was talking through the world’s biggest smile.
Her cheeks hurt even after she’d pulled herself up on Hoku’s sleek sorrel back.
When Jonah was mounted, too, Mistwalker put on a show of eagerness to be off—with or without her rider.
“You used to know how to do this!” Jonah said when the paint shied as Ellen reached for a stirrup with her borrowed boot.
Darby looked anxiously at her mother, but her mother was grinning, too, taking Jonah’s words for teasing.
And once she was settled and sitting up straight and graceful, Ellen rode Mistwalker right up to Jonah’s cremello mount, caught her father’s face in gentle hands, and gave him a kiss on each cheek.
“I used to know how to do a lot of things,” she said. “Now it’s time to see if I remember.”
And then they were off before Jonah could say a word in response.
Tropical wind pulled Darby’s black ponytail out behind her. She smelled sea salt, greenery, and the glossy horses they herded toward ‘Iolani Ranch.
Darby’s heart sang as Hoku loped between her mother and grandfather, and Darby remembered the words Patrick had written on his cast.
Darby leaned into her filly’s golden mane and whispered, “This is what I was born for.”
Darby’s Dictionary
In case anybody reads this besides me, which it’s too late to tell you not to do if you’ve gotten this far, I know this isn’t a real dictionary. For one thing, it’s not all correct, because I’m just adding things as I hear them. Besides, this dictionary is just to help me remember. Even though I’m pretty self-conscious about pronouncing Hawaiian words, it seems to me if I live here (and since I’m part Hawaiian), I should at least try to say things right.
ali’i—AH LEE EE—royalty, but it includes chiefs besides queens and kings and people like that
‘aumakua—OW MA KOO AH—these are family guardians from ancient times. I think ancestors are supposed to come back and look out for their family members. Our ‘aumakua are owls and Megan’s is a sea turtle.
chicken skin—goose bumps
da kine—DAH KYNE—“that sort of thing” or “stuff like that”
hanai—HA NYE E—a foster or adopted child, like Cade is Jonah’s, but I don’t know if it’s permanent
haole—HOW LEE—a foreigner, especially a white person. I get called that, or hapa (half) haole, even though I’m part Hawaiian.
hapa—HA PAW—half
hewa-hewa—HEE VAH HEE VAH—crazy
hiapo—HIGH AH PO—a firstborn child, like me, and it’s apparently tradition for grandparents, if they feel like it, to just take hiapo to raise!
hoku—HO COO—star
holoholo—HOE LOW HOW LOW—a pleasure trip that could be a walk, a ride, a sail, etc.
honu—HO NEW—sea turtle
ho’oponopono—HOE POE NO POE NO—this is a problem-solving process. It’s sort of cool, because it’s a native Hawaiian way of talking out problems.
‘iolani—EE OH LAWN EE—this is a hawk that brings messages from the gods, but Jonah has it painted on his trucks as an owl bursting through the clouds
ipo—EE POE—sweetheart, actually short for ku’uipo
kanaka—KAH NAW KAH—man
kapu—KAH POO—forbidden, a taboo
keiki—KAY KEY—really, when I first heard this, I thought it sounded like a little cake! I usually hear it meaning a kid, or a child, but Megan says it can mean a calf or colt or almost any kind of young thing.
kupuna—COOI POO NAW—an ancestor, but it can mean a grandparent too
lau hala—LA OO HA LA—some kind of leaf in shades of brown, used to make paniolo hats like Cade’s. I guess they’re really expensive.
lei—LAY E—necklace of flowers. I thought they were pronounced LAY, but Hawaiians add another sound. I also thought leis were sappy touristy things, but getting one is a real honor, from the right people.
lei niho palaoa—LAY NEEHO PAH LAHOAH—necklace made for old-time Hawaiian royalty from braids of their own hair. It’s totally kapu—forbidden—for anyone else to wear it.
luna—LOU NUH—a boss or top guy, like Jonah’s stallion
mahalo—MAW HA LOW—thank you
malihini—MUH LEE HEE NEE—stranger or newcomer
menehune—MEN AY WHO NAY—little people
ohia—OH HE UH—a tree like the one next to Hoku’s corral
pali—PAW LEE—cliffs
paniolo—PAW NEE OH LOW—cowboy or cowgirl
pau—POW—finished, like Kimo is always asking, “You pau?” to see if I’m done working with Hoku or shoveling up after the horses
Pele—PAY LAY—the volcano goddess. Red is her color. She’s destructive with fire, but creative because she molds lava into new land. She’s easily offended if you mess with things sacred to her, like the ohia tree, lehua flowers, ‘ohelo berries, and the wild horse herd on Two Sisters.
pueo—POO AY OH—an owl, our family guardian. The very coolest thing is that one lives in the tree next to Hoku’s corral.
pupule—POO POO LAY—crazy
tutu—TOO TOO—great-grandmother
wahine—WAH HE NEE—a lady (or women)
Darby’s Diary
Ellen Kealoha Carter—my mom, and since she’s responsible for me being in Hawaii, I’m putting her first. Also, I miss her. My mom is a beautiful and talented actress, but she hasn’t had her big break yet. Her job in Tahiti might be it, which is sort of ironic because she’s playing a Hawaiian for the first time and she swore she’d never return to Hawaii. And here I am. I get the feeling she had huge fights with her dad, Jonah, but she doesn’t hate Hawaii.
Cade—fifteen or so, he’s Jonah’s adopted son. Jonah’s been teaching him all about being a paniolo. I thought he was Hawaiian, but when he took off his hat he had blond hair—in a braid! Like old-time vaqueros—weird! He doesn’t go to school, just takes his classes by correspondence through the mail. He wears this poncho that’s almost black it’s such a dark green, and he blends in with the forest. Kind of creepy the way he just appears out there. Not counting Kit, Cade might be the best rider on the ranch.
Hoku kicked him in the chest. I wish she hadn’t. He told me that his stepfather beat him all the time.
Cathy Kato—forty or so? She’s the ranch manager and, really, the only one who seems to manage Jonah. She’s Megan’s mom and the widow of a paniolo, Ben. She has messy blond-brown hair to her chin, and she’s a good cook, but she doesn’t think so. It’s like she’s just pulling herself back together after Ben’s death.
I get the feeling she used to do something with advertising or public relations on the mainland.
Jonah Kaniela Kealoha—my grandfather could fill this whole notebook. Basically, though, he’s harsh/nice, serious/funny, full of legends and stories about magic, but real down-to-earth. He’s amazing with horses, which is why they call him the Horse Charmer. He’s not that tall, maybe 5’8”, with black hair that’s getting gray, and one of his fingers is still kinked where it was broken by a teacher because he spoke Hawaiian in class! I don’t like his “don’t touch the horses unless they’re working for you” theory, but it totally works. I need to figure out why.
Kimo—he’s so nice! I guess he’s about twenty-five, Hawaiian, and he’s just this sturdy, square, friendly guy. He drives in every morning from his house over by Crimson Vale, and even though he’s late a lot, I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.
Kit Ely—the ranch foreman, the boss, next to Jonah. He’s Sam’s friend Jake’s brother and a real buckaroo. He’s about 5’10” with black hair. He’s half Shoshone, but he could be mistaken for Hawaiian, if he wasn’t always promising to whip up a batch of Nevada chili and stuff like that. And he wears a totally un-Hawaiian leather string with brown-streaked turquoise stones around his neck. He got to be foreman through his rodeo friend Pani (Ben’s buddy). Kit’s left wrist got pulverized in a rodeo fall. He’s still amazing with horses, though.
Cricket—is Kit’s girlfriend! Her hair’s usually up in a messy bun and she wears glasses. She drives a ratty old truck and said, to his face, “I’m nobody’s girl, Ely.” He just laughed. She works at the feed store and is an expert for the animal rescue in Hapuna.
Megan Kato—Cathy’s fifteen-year-old daughter, a super athlete with long reddish-black hair. She’s beautiful and popular and I doubt she’d be my friend if we just met at school. Maybe, though, because she’s nice at heart. She half makes fun of Hawaiian legends, then turns around and acts really serious about them. Her Hawaiian name is Mekana.
The Zinks—they live on the land next to Jonah. They have barbed-wire fences and their name doesn’t sound Hawaiian, but that’s all I know.
Wow, I met Patrick and now I know lots more about the Zinks. Like, the rain forest—the part where Tutu told me not to go—used to be part of the A-Z (Acosta and Zink!) sugar plantation and it had a village and factory and train tracks. But in 1890, when it was going strong, people didn’t care that much about the environment, and they really wrecked it, so now Patrick’s parents are trying to let the forest take it back over. They hope it will go back to the way it was before people got there. I still don’t know his parents’ names, but I think Patrick said his dad mostly fishes and his mom is writing a history of the old plantation.
Oh, and that part Tutu said about the old sugar plantation being kind of dangerous? It REALLY is!
Patrick Zink—is geeky, super-smart, and seriously accident-prone. He looks a little like Harry Potter would if he wore Band-Aids and Ace bandages and had skinned knees and elbows. He says he was born for adventure and knows all about the rain forest and loves Mistwalker, his horse. He’s not into his family being rich, just feels like they have a lot to pay back to the island for what their family’s old sugar cane plantation did to it environmentally. He likes it (and so do I!) that they’re letting the rain forest reclaim it.
Tutu—my great-grandmother. She lives out in the rain forest like a medicine woman or something, and she looks like my mom will when she’s old. She has a pet owl.
Aunt Babe Borden—Jonah’s sister, so she’s really my great-aunt. She owns half of the family land, which is divided by a border that runs between the Two Sisters. Aunt Babe and Jonah don’t get along, and though she’s fashionable and caters to rich people at her resort, she and her brother are identically stubborn. Aunt Babe pretends to be all business, but she loves her cremello horses and I think she likes having me and Hoku around.
Duxelles Borden—if you lined up all the people on Hawaii and asked me to pick out one NOT related to me, it would be Duxelles, but it turns out she’s my cousin. Tall (I come up to her shoulders), strong, and with this metallic blond hair, she’s popular despite being a bully. She lives with Aunt Babe while her mom travels with her dad, who’s a world-class kayaker. About the only thing Duxelles and I have in common is we’re both swimmers. Oh, and I gave her a nickname—Duckie.
Potter family—Ann, plus her two little brothers Toby and Buck, their parents, Ramona and Ed, and lots of horses for their riding therapy program. I like them all. Sugarfoot scares me a little, though.
Manny—Cade’s Hawaiian stepfather pretends to be a taro farmer in Crimson Vale, but he sells ancient artifacts from the caves, and takes shots at wild horses. When Cade was little, Manny used him to rob caves and beat him up whenever he felt like it.
Dee—Cade’s mom. She’s tall and strong-looking (with blond hair like hi
s), but too weak to keep Manny from beating Cade. Her slogan must be “you don’t know what it’s like to be a single mom,” because Cade repeats it every time he talks about her. My mom’s single and she’d never let anyone break my jaw!
Tyson—this kid in my Ecology class who wears a hooded gray sweatshirt all the time, like he’s hiding his identity and he should. He’s a sarcastic bully. All he’s really done to me personally is call me a haole crab (really rude) and warn me against saying anything bad about Pele. Like I would! But I’ve heard rumors that he mugs tourists when they go “off-limits.” Really, he acts like HIS culture (anything Hawaiian) is off-limits to everyone but him.
Shan Stonerow—according to Sam Forster, he once owned Hoku and his way of training horses was to “show them who’s boss.”
My teachers—
Mr. Silva—with his lab coat and long gray hair, he looks like he should teach wizardry instead of Ecology
Miss Day—my English and P.E. teacher. She is great, understanding, smart, and I have no idea how she tolerates team-teaching with Coach R.
Mrs. Martindale—my Creative Writing teacher is not as much of a witch as some people think.
Coach Roffmore—stocky with a gray crew cut, he was probably an athlete when he was young, but now he just has a rough attitude. Except to his star swimmer, my sweet cousin Duckie. I have him for Algebra and P.E., and he bugs me to be on the swim team.
