Galloping Gold (2 page)

T
he ground really did rush up to meet her, and Darby's chin took the force of the blow.

Grass scrubbed her chin, and somehow the momentum of her body made her tuck and roll as if she'd planned it.

She heard yelling. Her shoulder glanced off a white fence post. Hooves were above her, beside her, in front of her, and behind her,
everywhere
as she rolled and Sugarfoot slid to a stop.

Dirt clods hit her face. She'd closed her eyelids, but not her mouth, and when she tried to breathe, she choked.

Darby bolted to her feet in time to see that Mrs. Mookini, cringing away from Sugarfoot's charge,
had fallen off Soda.

It's my fault for trusting a horse I didn't know,
Darby thought.
That's a beginner's mistake.

She had to catch her breath, had to rush over and apologize, but she couldn't stop coughing. She choked, trying to spit out what felt like a whole gardenful of dirt and grass. It didn't help when she saw that Mrs. Mookini's leather jacket was split up the back.

That's my fault, too.

Mrs. Mookini's arms swung in distress, but at least she was standing.

“I'm so sorry,” Darby began apologizing before she reached the gate, but no one heard her.

Except maybe Sugarfoot. Sidestepping and tossing his mane, he'd followed her. “Haven't you—?” Darby didn't finish her accusation because the horse ducked his head in confusion. He looked sorry for what he'd done, and bewildered at how it had happened.

But she couldn't stop to comfort him now.

Ann and Ramona had trusted her to control Sugarfoot and she'd failed, big-time.

“I'm sorry,” Darby said to Mrs. Mookini when she reached her and the others. Before the woman replied, Darby swiveled toward Ann. “I was coming to open that.” She gestured toward the gate that was blocking the passageway. “Sugarfoot looked completely engrossed in eating,” she said, turning away from Ann to plead for Ramona's understanding. “By every sign I know—eyes, ears, all his body language—he wasn't
interested in what you…”

Until that moment, Darby didn't know she could feel worse. But the vortex of guilt turned into dread when she really looked at Mrs. Mookini.

One moment Mrs. Mookini's eyes and mouth were wide with fear. But when her eyes narrowed and her lips flattened into an angry line, Darby knew why the woman's last name had sounded familiar.

Tyson Mookini was a kid in her class. He had called Darby a “haole crab,” had mocked her for caring about her Hawaiian heritage, had made it clear to everyone at Lehua High School that he couldn't stand her. This small, chubby-cheeked woman with glossy bowl-cut hair must be his mother.

“I should have put a halter and shank on him,” Ann said.

A sharp look from her mother hushed Ann, but Darby repeated, “I really am sorry.”

“It's okay, you couldn't see his mood change,” Ann said.

Darby welcomed her friend's support, but she could tell Ramona wanted her daughter to quit saying things that were making Mrs. Mookini feel more justified in her anger.

“Ann, go ahead and put Soda in the empty pasture,” Ramona said, then looked down at Mrs. Mookini's hands. “You can let go now.”

Mrs. Mookini released her stiff-fingered grip and let Ann take Soda's reins. A minute later, the horse had
been stripped of his tack and released to explore the empty pasture.

“What presence of mind you showed—keeping hold of his reins when you fell,” Ramona complimented the other woman.

“I didn't fall!” Mrs. Mookini shrugged off the arm Ramona tried to drape over her shoulders. “I
didn't
! That horse knocked me off!” She pointed at Sugarfoot, although the gelding hadn't left his pasture and couldn't have pushed her off Soda. “And look what he did to her!”

Me?
Darby thought.
Is she pointing at me?

Ann motioned for Darby to wipe her chin. She did, and noticed a smear of blood on her hand.

“It's nothing,” Darby said, but the woman didn't believe her.

“Why keep a vicious animal like that one here, where you're supposed to help people?” That demand drained Mrs. Mookini of energy. Her voice faded as she repeated, “Why?”

“He was just playing,” Ann answered. “I know it didn't look that way, but Sugarfoot's like a big, goofy dog. It's his way of having a good time.”

Darby admired her friend's honest reply, and it looked like Mrs. Mookini was thinking it over. Things might have taken a turn for the better if the woman hadn't wrapped her arms around herself and felt the changed fit of her jacket.

Frowning, she lifted her shoulders. Then she took
the jacket off, looked at its ripped leather, and moaned, “It's ruined.”

“What a shame. Of course we'll replace it,” Ramona said. She reached to take the jacket and examine it, but Mrs. Mookini hugged it closer. “And your entire course of treatment, whatever your doctor advises, will be complimentary.”

Sugarfoot dawdled on the other side of the fence. Head bobbing, he vied for human attention. He pawed, and then snorted, unable to understand why even Ann ignored him.

“Well then,” Mrs. Mookini said, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

Just then Ann's father, Ed, came from the house to see what was happening.

“Gemma, this is my husband, Ed,” Ramona said, nodding between her husband and their guest, then added, “Gemma handled Soda like a pro when he shied.”

“How'd that happen?” Ed asked. He turned to Mrs. Mookini. “You fell clean off?”

He sounded so sympathetic that she nodded.

“Soda's darn near bomb-proof,” he said in disbelief, and when Mrs. Mookini looked even more alarmed, he went on, “What I mean is: He's a good horse, usually.”

“It wasn't Soda. It was that horse. He—” Mrs. Mookini pointed at Sugarfoot.

“—charged the fence,” Ed finished in a disgusted tone.

“He charged
me
!” the woman insisted.

Ed Potter patted Mrs. Mookini's shoulder, comforting her as gently as he would have one of his small sons. Something about the gesture made her eyes fill with tears.

But only for an instant.

Was Mrs. Mookini embarrassed by her teary eyes? Did embarrassment plus fear equal anger? Maybe that's why she glared at Sugarfoot as, hands shaking, she yanked her car keys from a pocket and started to walk away.

“Gemma, would you like me to drive you home?” Ramona offered.

The woman's sudden flush told them that Gemma Mookini's tumble was turning into a far larger problem.

“I'm not a helpless child—or crazy!” Mrs. Mookini snapped.

“Of course not!” Ramona's eyebrows arched in surprise.

“Then don't act like I am. I'll drive myself home, and I'll…”

Darby looked at Ann's father just as Mrs. Mookini did. Darby winced, wishing Tyson's mother hadn't caught the pity that showed on Ed's face.

Mrs. Mookini drew herself up, pinned her shoulders back, and lifted her chin. “On my drive home, I'll think about what I'm going to tell everyone on this island!”

Her head snapped in a decisive nod before she headed for the safety of her car.

 

Ed, Ramona, Ann, and Darby stared after Gemma Mookini's car.

“That never shoulda happened,” Ed said finally. “I don't know why we haven't got rid of that crazy horse before now. He contributes nothing but trouble.”

It sounded just like something Jonah would say, Darby thought. Everyone on a ranch, including animals, was supposed to help out.

“Dad, you know Mom and I will turn him into a good therapy horse. We've really made progress in helping Sugarfoot—”

“—shake off this bad habit,” Ramona insisted.

“I can see that.” Sarcasm quaked through Ed's words.

Ann and Ramona looked at each other, hoping they could come up with something helpful.

It wasn't a good time for Darby to blurt, “She's a
legal
secretary,” but that's exactly what she did.

“Meaning she could do a lot more than just gossip,” Ramona said. Her hand went to her forehead. Then her fingers gripped her temples.

“Nothing really happened.” Ann sounded as if she was trying to convince herself, too. “She was fine.”

“She wasn't injured,” Ramona corrected her daughter, “but for most people, falling off a horse isn't an everyday thing.”

“Cheer up,” Ed Potter said. “She seemed like a nice lady. It'll probably come to nothing once she settles down, but I'd better make a phone call.”

As he walked away, Darby noticed that Ed's shoulders were slightly slumped.

A nice lady.
Darby really hoped so, but Tyson was mean. He didn't tease, he tormented. She just hoped he hadn't learned his ugly temperament at home.

If the Mookini family sued…

If the Potters lost their ranch…

If…

“Darby, honey,” Ramona said kindly. “We can't climb into Gemma's mind and change it. All we can do is prepare.”

“If I'd been able to—”

“No, it's not your fault.” Ann shook her head. “If we'd accelerated his training, this wouldn't have happened. That's what we've got to do.”

“Now?” Darby asked.

“Not right this minute. He needs to settle down a little bit,” Ramona said. “But soon.”

They watched Sugarfoot prowl up and down the fence, ears flicking in all directions.

“Since school's out, working Sugarfoot will be my first priority,” Ann promised.

“Absolutely,” Ramona said. Then she and Ann began brainstorming ways to cure Sugarfoot.

Normally, Darby would have soaked up every word of new horse knowledge, but guilt pounded in
her mind. She couldn't think of anything except the trouble she'd caused.

There was no way to undo what she'd done, but maybe she could help with Sugarfoot's training.

When Ed came back from the house, he looked resigned.

“What is it, Dad?” Ann asked.

Ed shook his head slowly, indicating it was nothing Ann would like.

“I talked to our insurance man. He said Sugarfoot's a ‘proven liability' and we should get rid of him.”

“No!” Ann shouted.

“Oh, Ed.”

“What's that mean—a ‘proven liability'? Usually I can figure things out, but this one's tricky,” Ann chattered nervously. “Liability…but wait. He said we
should
get rid of Sugarfoot. That doesn't mean we
have
to, right?”

“If we had a dog that bit people, and we already knew it was dangerous and kept it around, and then it hurt someone…”

“It would be easy for someone to sue us and win,” Ramona finished for her husband.

“Yep.” He nodded. “He said it would serve us best—if the Mookinis do sue—to be able to document in court that we've removed all threats to ranch visitors.”

“But why?” Ann demanded. “We just won't let him do it again.”

“We thought we could keep him from doing it
this time,” Ramona said.

“You could have them sign something like we have for guest riders,” Darby suggested, “a form that says they ride at their own risk.”

“We could, but there's more,” Ed told them. “If we knowingly keep a menace, it could invalidate all of our ranch insurance.”

Before moving to Hawaii, Darby hadn't thought about insurance. It was no more than another bill in the stack her mother tried to pay each month. But earthquakes and tsunamis had taught her that adults paid those bills for a reason. If the Potters had no insurance and another earthquake opened zigzag fissures under their house or a storm flattened their riding arena, they'd have to use all their savings to protect Heart of Hawaii.

What if they ran out of money and moved back to Nevada, just when Darby and her mom were settling here? Darby closed her eyes and wished it was yesterday, and none of this had happened. She couldn't stand the idea of losing her best friend.

“But wait,” Ramona said. “What if he was cured?”

Ed looked puzzled. “There's no cure for crazy.”

“Ed Potter, you've been around horses as long as I have,” Ramona pretended to scold her husband. “You know something causes a problem like this. We just haven't figured out what it is yet.”

“We can't give up on him, Dad,” Ann added.

“If she did take us to court—and really, I just don't
see that happening”—Ramona looked thoughtful as she continued—“but if she did, what if we could demonstrate that he was over this…” She searched for a word but only came up with “This thing.”

“We'll bring in an expert,” Ann declared.

“We have pret' near a century of horse expertise standin' right here”—Ed gestured at the four of them—“and I'm not payin' for a horse psychiatrist, Anna Susannah! That's just the last straw.” Darby was just thinking she'd never heard Ann's entire name when her best friend put her hands on her hips and faced off with her dad.

“Why not?” Ann asked.

Darby took a deep breath as Ann's glance flashed between her father and Sugarfoot. Ann usually thought before she spoke, but Darby was afraid Ann was getting carried away.

“Why not?” Ann repeated. “We can afford it!”

“Well, we won't be able to for long, if our insurance company cancels us!” Ed's voice grew louder with each word.

Darby wanted to cover her ears. She shouldn't be here in the midst of this family turmoil. Even if she had caused it.

“It wouldn't have to be a horse psychiatrist,” Ramona said. Her voice was conversational, as if no one had been shouting, and she was looking at Darby. Then Ann began nodding, too.

Why?
Darby wondered.
I'm only a couple months of
that century of horse experience Ed mentioned.