Castaway Colt (12 page)

Before tourists began strolling the beach and before she unloaded Hoku, Darby went over everything with her cousin.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Duckie looked cranky. She'd told Darby she did not get up this early on weekends.

Strangely, without her anger to cloud her judgment, she'd realized swimming among a horse's hooves could be dangerous.

“Horses are natural swimmers and they like it. The only reason she got panicky, there at the end, was because you scared her.”

Duckie put her hands on the hips of her white bathing suit, implying there was no way she'd apologize.

“I don't want you to say you're sorry,” Darby told her. “Just help me teach her she's okay out there.”
Darby stared out at the ocean. “Usually. Oh, and make sure she sees you coming before you go diving near her.”

“And if I do this, I've got the Water Babies all to myself again?”

It was a weird way to put her swimming-star status, but Darby said, “Right, but I'm also assuming that you said that awful stuff about Stormbird not because you'd really hurt him but—”

“Just to make you mad, so you'd get in trouble with Coach.”

“Okay,” Darby said.

The sun sent streamers of light through the clouds as Darby led Hoku toward the ocean.

Alert and cautious, Hoku held each hoof up for an extra second before she set it down. She raised her head high, sighting over the waves, but every few steps she'd lower her chin to graze the top of Darby's head.

They were still in shallow water, but directly out from where Duckie had pulled her “prank,” when Hoku made a clacking sound with her teeth.

“Poor baby,” Darby said, stroking the filly's neck.

She'd read that when horses did that, it was a submissive gesture. It meant,
Please don't hurt me; I'm just a baby.

“I won't let anyone hurt you, Hoku.”

“Stop hugging,” Jonah called from the shore.

His timing was perfect. Hoku gave up fear to turn
her flat-eared glare on the interfering male. Then she strode on, beside Darby.

“Give her plenty of rope when you get out there, yeah?” Jonah yelled.

Darby turned, cupping her hand at her ear so that he'd speak up over the waves.

“She's gonna need her head and neck free. Some guy in the Caribbean drowned his horse, riding with a tie-down or martingale or one of those things. Dumb. Horse shoulda taken the guy with him.”

Darby waved a sign that she'd gotten the point of the story, and kept walking.

When they were chest deep, Hoku recognized the sea she'd enjoyed before.

She gave a long neigh, as if this was a window to the world she'd known before, a range that just happened to have waves instead of sagebrush.

She began swimming, hardly noticing when Darby let go of the lead rope and clung to Hoku's mane instead.

Darby floated. Swept along by Hoku's motion, Darby's swim-strained muscles didn't work at all. She glided through satiny waves as Hoku stretched out in a streamlined position of her own.

Then Hoku gave a snort, and Darby noticed that the filly's attention was focused on movement farther out.

Somehow Duckie had gotten ahead of them.

She was saying something. Or…singing?

As Duckie drew closer, Darby realized her cousin was imitating the “shark music” from the old movie
Jaws
.

“Not funny,” Darby said. But it was, just a little bit.

For someone who claimed to have zero interest in horses, Duckie had good instincts, Darby thought.

Her cousin swam a huge circle around Darby and Hoku, decreasing its size so gradually that at first Darby didn't notice.

Then, as she came closer, Duckie swam underwater, but she kept a hand visible—raised at first, then trailed atop the sea.

“Good job,” Darby said softly, and Hoku must have thought the appreciation was for her, because she slowed long enough to nibble the shoulder strap of Darby's new red tank suit.

The pause was enough to make the sorrel's body dip in the water. Blinking, Hoku seemed to understand that no shore underfoot meant she had to keep moving.

As decisively as if she and Darby had discussed it, Hoku swam in an arc. Her powerful strokes raised a swell of water that washed over Darby. The mustang was headed back toward the beach.

Duckie must not have realized how preoccupied the filly was with her return to solid earth, because she picked that moment to zip toward Hoku, underwater.

“Here she comes, girl,” Darby warned.

She pointed, as if Hoku would follow her gesture. It didn't make sense that she would, because it didn't fall into any of the horse communication categories Darby could think of, but she did it anyway.

Hoku's water trot slowed and her head and neck swung toward the white object arrowing toward them.

“It's just Duckie,” Darby said in a teasing tone, but Hoku arched her neck and fixed her eyes on the thing.

If the tension in the filly's body was equal to her concentration, Hoku was trying to figure out whether this white thing matched with the one that had been humming and swimming circles around her.

Duckie swam past about six feet away from them, then turned around and came back closer.

Darby couldn't tell if her mustang was trembling from fear or anticipation, but when Duckie skimmed up close to the horse's belly, where Darby couldn't even see her, she found out it was neither.

It was curiosity.

Hoku plunged her head and neck underwater, dragging Darby along with her.

Darby opened her eyes. For a few seconds, she stared, as Hoku did. A blue-green world surrounded a glowing figure.

“It was just Duckie,” she told Hoku as they lifted their heads.

Hoku snorted. She shook her mane. Darby just
dodged the horse's heavy, wet head before Hoku thrust it underwater again.

This time Darby didn't go with her.

The filly blew bubbles through her mouth and nose, and when Darby jerked at the lead rope, afraid something was wrong, Hoku only grudgingly came back up.

“Doesn't that sting—”

Hoku snorted saltwater in Darby's face. Once more she brandished her slippery head like a weapon and Darby was lucky to get out of the way.

“I've had enough fun,” Darby said, laughing at the horse.

Hoku seemed to understand, because she struck out for the beach, towing Darby right beside her.

Jonah and Duckie were waiting, about ten feet apart, when Darby and Hoku came ashore.

Hoku shook again, splattering them all with saltwater, then gave a satisfied nicker.

“She's not glaring at you,” Darby said to Jonah, but he didn't get as excited as she was.

“Get water up her nose?” he asked, nodding back out at the sea.

“Yeah,” Darby said, laughing. “But she didn't seem to mind much.”

“Lead her around some,” he said. “I'm gonna take a look at those weak-eyed cremello horses of my sister's so she'll leave me in peace.”

Darby didn't see Aunt Babe anywhere around,
but she said, “Okay,” and began walking Hoku, cooling her out as if she'd just had a long run.

To Darby's surprise, Duckie walked beside them for a minute.

“It's okay if you call me Duckie,” she said. “It's not like it's some major secret, but I hate you doing it behind my back. Since it kind of goes with my swimming, I like it better than my other nicknames.”

“Okay,” Darby said, but she was talking to her cousin's back, because Duckie was already walking away.

Then she turned back, hands on hips, and said, “Just don't think this means we're friends, though.”

“Okay,” Darby said again.

Duckie seemed to regret being civil, because she added, “If you go changing your mind about the swim team, I'll make your life miserable. Count on it.”

And then, appearing more satisfied, Duckie strode across the beach toward the resort building.

Hoku flipped her wet forelock away from her eyes and nudged Darby.

The filly's eyes danced with sunlight reflections, and if a horse could laugh, Darby thought, hers was.

She looked around quickly for Jonah, and when she didn't see him, she circled Hoku's neck with a hug.

“This is the only swim team I want to be on. I pick you, Hoku. Always.”

I
n 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, and for another, it's not alphabetized 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.

 

‘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

 

‘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

 

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

 

ali'i
—AH LEE EE—royalty, but it includes chiefs besides queens and kings and people like that

 

pupule
—POO POO LAY—crazy

 

paniolo
—PAW KNEE OH LOW—cowboy or cowgirl

 

lanai
—LAH NA E—this is like a balcony or veranda. Sun House's is more like a long balcony with a view of the pastures.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

pali
—PAW LEE—cliffs

 

ohia
—OH HE UH—a tree like the one next to Hoku's corral

 

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.

 

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.

 

kapu
—KAH POO—forbidden, a taboo

 

tutu
—TOO TOO—great-grandmother

 

menehune
—MEN AY WHO NAY—little people

 

honu
—HO NEW—sea turtle

 

hewa-hewa
—HEE VAH HEE VAH—crazy

 

ipo
—EE POE—sweetheart, actually short for “ku'uipo”

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.

 

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.

 

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.

ANIMALS
!

Hoku
—my wonderful sorrel filly! She's about two and a half years old, a full sister to the Phantom, and boy, does she show it! She's fierce (hates men) but smart, and a one-girl (ME!) horse for sure. She is definitely a herd-girl, and when it comes to choosing between me and other horses, it's a real toss-up. Not that I blame her. She's run free for a long time, and I don't want to take away what makes her special.

She loves hay, but she's really HEAD-SHY due to Shan Stonerow's early “training,” which, according to Sam, was beating her.

Hoku
means “star.” Her dam is Princess Kitty, but her sire is a mustang named Smoke and he's mustang all the way back to a “white renegade with murder in his eye” (Mrs. Allen).

 

Navigator
—my riding horse is a big, heavy Quarter Horse that reminds me of a knight's charger. He has Three Bars breeding (that's a big deal), but when he picked me, Jonah let him keep me! He's black with rusty rings around his eyes and a rusty muzzle. (Even though he looks black, the proper description is brown, they tell me.) He can find his way home from any place on the island. He's sweet, but no pushover. Just when I think he's sort of a safety net for my beginning riding skills, he tests me.

 

Joker
—Cade's Appaloosa gelding is gray splattered with black spots and has a black mane and tail. He climbs like a mountain goat and always looks like he's having a good time. I think he and Cade have a history, maybe Jonah took them in together?

 

Biscuit
—buckskin gelding, one of Ben's horses, a dependable cowpony. Kit rides him a lot.

 

Hula Girl
—chestnut cutter

 

Blue Ginger
—blue roan mare with tan foal

 

Honolulu Lulu
—bay mare

 

Tail Afire (Koko)
—fudge brown mare with silver mane and tail

 

Blue Moon
—Blue Ginger's baby

 

Moonfire
—Tail Afire's baby

 

Black Cat
—Lady Wong's black foal

 

Luna Dancer
—Hula Girl's bay baby

 

Honolulu Half Moon

 

Conch
—grulla cowpony, gelding, needs work. Megan rides him sometimes.

 

Kona
—big gray, Jonah's cow horse

 

Luna
—beautiful, full-maned bay stallion is king of ‘Iolani Ranch. He and Jonah seem to have a bond.

 

Lady Wong
—dappled gray mare and Kona's dam. Her current foal is Black Cat.

 

Australian shepherds
—pack of five: Bart, Jack, Jill, Peach, and Sass

 

Pipsqueak/Pip
—little, shaggy, white dog that runs with the big dogs, belongs to Megan and Cathy

 

Tango
—Megan's once-wild rose roan mare. I think she and Hoku are going to be pals.

 

Flight
—this cremello mare belongs to Aunt Babe (she has a whole herd of cremellos) and nearly died of longing for her foal. She was a totally different horse—beautiful and spirited—once she got him back!

 

Stormbird
—Flight's cream-colored (with a blush of palomino) foal with turquoise eyes has had an
exciting life for a four-month-old. He's been shipwrecked, washed ashore, fended for himself, and rescued.

PLACES

Lehua High School
—the school Megan and I go to. School colors are red and gold.

 

Crimson Vale
—it's an amazing and magical place, and once I learn my way around, I bet I'll love it. It's like a maze, though. Here's what I know: From town you can go through the valley or take the ridge road—valley has lily pads, waterfalls, wild horses, and rainbows. The ridge route (Pali?) has sweeping turns that almost made me sick. There are black rock teeter-totter-looking things that are really ancient altars and a SUDDEN drop-off down to a white sand beach. Hawaiian royalty are supposedly buried in the cliffs.

 

Moku Lio Hihiu
—Wild Horse Island, of course!

 

Mountain to the Sky
—sometimes just called Sky Mountain. Goes up to 5,000 feet, sometimes gets snow, and Megan said there used to be wild horses there.

 

The Two Sisters
—cone-shaped “mountains.” A borderline between them divides Jonah's land from his sister's—my great-aunt Babe. One of them is an active volcano. Kind of scary.

 

Sun House
—our family place. They call it plantation style, but it's like sugar plantation, not Southern mansion. It has an incredible lanai that overlooks pastures all the way to Mountain to the Sky and Two Sisters. Upstairs is this little apartment Jonah built for my mom, but she's never lived in it.

 

Hapuna
—biggest town on island, has airport, flagpole, public and private schools, etc., palm trees, and coconut trees

 

‘Iolani Ranch
—our home ranch. 2,000 acres, the most beautiful place in the world.

 

Sugar Sands Cove Resort
—Aunt Babe and her polo-player husband, Phillipe, own this resort on the island. It has sparkling white buildings and beaches and a four-star hotel. The most important thing to me is that Sugar Sands Cove Resort has the perfect water-schooling beach for me and Hoku.

ON THE RANCH, THERE ARE F PASTURES WITH NAMES LIKE
:

Sugar Mill
and
Upper Sugar Mill
—for cattle

 

Two Sisters
—for young horses, one-and two-year-olds they pretty much leave alone

 

Flatland
—mares and foals

 

Pearl Pasture
—borders the rain forest, mostly two-and three-year-olds in training

 

Borderlands
—saddle herd and Luna's compound

 

I guess I should also add me…

 

Darby Leilani Kealoha Carter
—I love horses more than anything, but books come in second. I'm thirteen, and one-quarter Hawaiian, with blue eyes and black hair down to about the middle of my back. On a good day, my hair is my best feature. I'm still kind of skinny, but I don't look as sickly as I did before I moved here. I think Hawaii's curing my asthma. Fingers crossed.

I have no idea what I did to land on Wild Horse Island, but I want to stay here forever.