Water Lily Page 10

  “Ridiculous,” Aunty Cathy said to the girls. “I’m going to ride with him. I’m sure there’ll be something for me to do and at least if he falls off, I’ll be there to catch Biscuit.”

  “Want us to do something while you’re gone, Mom?”

  “Stay here,” Aunty Cathy said. “With all that plastic pipe, I didn’t have room for the hay, so the feed store’s delivering it. The driver will have an invoice marked ‘paid,’ and all you have to do is count how much hay I paid for and how much they leave. They’ll match, and then you just sign for it.”

  “It’s not as complicated as it sounds,” Megan told Darby as her mother left. “I’ve done it lots of times.”

  While the girls waited, they played with Blue Moon once the rain stopped. The foal looked happy and healthy and he’d learned to trade snorts with Hoku, even though their corrals were some distance apart.

  Fun made the time go fast. It wasn’t long before they heard a motor. A big flatbed truck piled with hay was rumbling up the road.

  Shading her eyes, Megan studied it.

  “Can you believe it?” she asked.

  Darby followed Megan’s stare. Sun glazed the truck’s windshield, but she could see through it clearly enough to identify the driver.

  “Dee’s delivering hay,” Darby said.

  A minute later, with a noisy grinding of gears, the truck jerked to a stop.

  “Hey there, girls,” Dee said as she vaulted to the ground. “Got some hay here for you. Where’s that son of mine? Tell him to come and help us unload it.”

  Darby and Megan exchanged glances. They couldn’t blame Dee for wanting Cade to see her working, but they hadn’t even had a chance to tell him she’d been hired yet.

  “He’s up in Flatlands pasture,” Darby told her. “We’ll help you unload.”

  Dee’s face drooped in disappointment, but when Peach, the sweetest of the Australian shepherds, came up and nuzzled her hand, Dee shrugged.

  “Oh well, then,” she said, then climbed onto the truck bed and began tossing bushels of hay down to Megan and Darby.

  Darby didn’t know why she’d thought Dee was soft. Cade’s mother moved with quick strength that made Darby believe the woman really had helped Manny work his taro patch.

  In fact, Darby and Megan worked hard to stack the hay as fast as Dee threw it down, and Darby had the feeling Dee had done most of the labor on their hardscrabble farm.

  At last Dee stopped. She dusted her hands together and climbed back down to the ground. She leaned into the truck cab and withdrew some papers.

  “Which of you wants to sign this invoice?” Dee asked.

  “You can,” Megan said, so Darby took the papers.

  Remembering what Aunty Cathy had told her, Darby quickly counted up the number of bales they’d stacked while Dee threw a stick for Peach.

  “There’s a mistake,” Darby said to Megan. They did a second count, then Darby called to Dee, “We’ve got four bales too many.”

  “Well, look at you, all checking the invoice and like that,” Dee said, but she didn’t seem surprised.

  Darby grabbed the twine around one bale. “It’s okay. We’ll just throw them back on the truck.”

  Dee held up her hand to stop Darby. “Don’t bother. The feed store has lots more where that came from. They won’t miss it. Tell Cade it’s a gift from me.”

  “No, really,” Megan protested. “Take it back. My mom wouldn’t want it if we didn’t pay for it.”

  “But it’s a gift. You know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

  “Actually, I don’t,” Megan said.

  “They say don’t do it,” Dee snapped. She got back into the truck cab. “Tell Cade I’m staying with my friend Lisa Miller in town if he needs me. Manny’s truck broke down, and I’d have no way to get to my new job if I stayed out in Crimson Vale. Be sure to tell him because I know how worried he got last time he couldn’t find me.”

  “Who’s taking care of Honi?” Darby asked.

  “My smart little pony takes care of herself,” Dee said. The engine roared to life, but then Dee shouted out the window. “Come to think of it, since you don’t want it, maybe Cade can drop one of these bales of hay over there for Honi.”

  Darby opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

  Dee had been on the job less than a day and she was already stealing from the feed store. She called it a gift, but Darby wasn’t so sure Dee hadn’t thought of the gift as pony food on her way over here.

  Waving, Dee revved the truck engine. Then, she backed up so fast, Darby covered her eyes.

  “Don’t hit the fence. Don’t hit the fence. Please don’t hit the fence,” Megan chanted.

  When a full minute passed without the sound of a crash, Darby peeled her fingers away from her eyelids. Dust rolled up from the flatbed’s back tires, and it was going too fast, but Dee had missed the new pasture fence.

  “Did we just receive stolen goods?” Megan asked.

  Darby stood staring after the truck. It made a left on the highway and drove out of sight. “I’m not quite sure what happened.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  That evening after the dinner dishes had been cleared, everyone assembled on the Sun House lanai to discuss driving the horses up to the mountains the next day. While Kit, Aunty Cathy, Kimo, Megan, and Cade sat talking, Darby kept silent.

  She’d phoned Patrick just before dinner, and they’d conspired to have Patrick’s mother drive them to the school tomorrow at dawn. Together, they’d get to the top of the bleachers with binoculars, and at least that way they could see the wild horses leave, even if they couldn’t go along.

  Darby sighed, then caught Jonah’s wink. He motioned for her to follow him inside the house.

  “You know why you’re not riding along, Darby Leilani, yeah?”

  “I’m too inexperienced. I get that, but right after the tsunami I helped drive the wild horses from the kipuka to the high school,” she reminded him.

  “You did good that day,” he said, “but this will be a tougher drive.”

  “I know,” she said, and though it took some effort to keep the whine out of her tone, Darby knew in her heart that he was right.

  The riders would have their hands full. They’d have to be alert for drop-offs, holes rooted by feral pigs, and the sudden appearance of anything that could spook the horses. If she got into a situation she couldn’t handle, she’d ruin everything.

  But logic didn’t make Darby feel any better. She felt let down and a little embarrassed to be singled out as the only one on the ranch who wasn’t up to the challenge.

  Her feelings must have shown on her face. “Hey, there will be other things like this for you to go on, yeah?” Jonah said in a voice that was—for him—unusually gentle. “It’s just that you haven’t been riding long enough. That’s all.”

  “I understand,” Darby said.

  Jonah put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. “We’ll need you and Kimo here to look after the ranch.”

  She knew he was giving her his vote of confidence, telling her she had to stay behind, so that she couldn’t even go stand in the bleachers with Patrick and—

  “Me and Kimo?” Darby asked.

  Jonah nodded and Darby winced. If she felt put down and abandoned, Kimo must feel a hundred times worse.

  “Your tutu’s overdoing it.” Jonah looked angry instead of worried. “I want someone here who can drive her to—” He made a vague gesture. “She’s a madwoman, but if she suddenly comes into some good sense and gives that poor old paint horse a rest, Kimo can drive her on her rounds.”

  Darby stepped out the front door of Sun House and inhaled the warm, moist air.

  Longing wrapped around her and she suddenly missed her mother, even though it hadn’t been very long since Ellen was at the ranch.

  Since Ellen was across the ocean in Tahiti, Darby walked toward Hoku’s corral. She and the wild filly had a heart-to-heart communication
that was as good, or better, than speech.

  When the filly saw Darby, she came to her right away, shaking her head and snorting in greeting. Even in the dusky glow of the day’s last light Hoku’s sleek skin gave off copper glints.

  Sliding the bolt on Hoku’s gate, Darby stepped inside. “Hey, pretty girl. Are you okay?”

  “Blue Moon just has colic,” she reassured her horse, but Darby was thinking that in epidemics the young and old went first. She thought of Judge and Prettypaint and tried to shake the image from her head.

  Selfishly, she was glad Cade hadn’t agreed to bring Honi up to ‘Iolani Ranch. She ran her hand along Hoku’s side and took in the mustang’s smooth warmth.

  “I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you,” she said softly.

  Hoku stared at her.

  “Aren’t we communicating tonight?” she asked her horse.

  Hoku pawed at the ground, then nudged Darby nearly off her feet.

  Too much drama, the filly seemed to say, and then she swished her tail and walked to the other side of the corral.

  Laughing, Darby started walking back up to Sun House. Hoku always knew what she needed, and this time it had been a signal to get a grip. Her life was practically perfect, and she and Hoku would have plenty of rides together.

  Darby’s steps slowed as she realized that in all the excitement about driving the horses to Sky Mountain, she and Megan hadn’t found time to tell anyone about the extra bales of hay Dee had left behind as gifts.

  She wondered if she should say anything. It was stealing and Cricket should know about it. But she was nervous about being the one to tell.

  Through the dim light Darby saw Jonah approaching.

  Should she tell him what Dee had done? Jonah erased her impulse in a hurry.

  “I’m done arguing. If Kimo shows up at the school tomorrow planning to drive horses, he’s fired.”

  The next morning, everyone was up before dawn for the horse drive. Yawning, Darby pulled herself out of bed, slipped on her robe, and came out of her room.

  Megan was already standing in the hall dressed in chaps and a denim shirt. “I told Cade about Dee’s job,” she reported to Darby.

  “What did he say?”

  “He said, ‘Good for her.’ He seemed happy.”

  “Did you say anything about the…hay?”

  Megan shook her head. “Do you think I should?”

  “Not yet. I’ll figure something out today.”

  “Okay. Have you seen my heavy riding gloves?” Megan asked. “The black ones?”

  “I think you stuck them inside your boots at the door the last time you rode Tango. Remember?” Darby recalled.

  “That’s right. Thanks,” Megan said and was off to get them.

  Darby heard a brief clatter of dishes from the kitchen and the sound of animated voices. The door opened and closed a few times, and then there was quiet.

  Outside, every truck left towing a horse trailer. Every truck except Kimo’s, Darby corrected herself.

  The night before, Jonah had bullied Kimo into staying in the bunkhouse overnight, so he could help out Darby during the day.

  As she walked around the empty house, she decided he wasn’t up yet.

  After a brief volley of barking, the dogs were quiet and the ranch yard seemed just as deserted as the house.

  Darby dressed, ate a quick bowl of cereal, and went outside to free the five big dogs from their kennel and feed the animals.

  Twice, she thought she heard the phone ringing, and the third time she sprinted back to the kitchen to double-check.

  She wasn’t hearing things. Darby rushed to pull off her boots and answer it. She had time, because whoever was calling had decided to let it ring until she finally answered.

  “Hello?” Darby gasped.

  “Darby Leilani!” Tutu shouted.

  “Are you all right?” Darby asked. Thank goodness Jonah had insisted Kimo stay behind.

  “Can you hear me?” Tutu’s voice was so loud, it was as if she didn’t trust the phone lines to do the job of carrying her voice. That made sense, Darby figured, since Tutu didn’t even have a phone.

  “Darby!”

  “Yes, I can hear you.” Darby held the receiver away from her ear a little.

  “Get someone with a horse trailer. Have them meet me at Dee’s pond.”

  Oh, no. Jonah had said Tutu was searching for a sick horse. It had to be Honi.

  “Dee’s pond! Did you hear?”

  “I heard,” Darby said. “Dee’s pond, with a horse trailer. But Tutu—”

  Her great-grandmother hung up before Darby could tell her that every horse trailer on the ranch was gone.

  Darby ran toward the bunkhouse. Kimo met her halfway.

  “Aloha,” he greeted her. “When I took Blue Moon and Blue Ginger back to their pasture, I brought up Baxter for me and Lady Wong for you.”

  It took Darby a few seconds to realize Navigator, Kona, Biscuit, and many of the other horses were gone. But it didn’t really matter, since the next thing she’d be riding, if she was lucky, would be a truck.

  Darby gave Kimo a quick once-over. His color was normal and his eyes were no longer dull.

  “You look better,” Darby said, but she was thinking, Healthy enough to drive, at least. “And it’s a good thing. Tutu just called and said to meet her at Dee’s pond with a horse trailer. She has a really sick horse that she wants to bring here—”

  “All trailers’re gone?” Kimo asked, scanning the ranch yard.

  “Yes, but…” Darby paused as her brain spun. Then she stared at Kimo’s battered burgundy Ram Charger. Wishing she was better at math so she could estimate the square footage of its cargo space, she went on hesitantly, “I’m almost positive it’s Honi, Dee’s pony. I think she might fit in the back of your truck.”

  “Mo’ bettah we try than give up,” Kimo said. Then, without explaining what he was doing, he ran back into the bunkhouse and reemerged with an armload of black plastic garbage bags and pointed to the back of his truck.

  They didn’t exactly organize all the CDs, newspapers, and food wrappers that they found in the back of Kimo’s truck. Instead, they just shoved everything into the bags and then Darby jumped up into the back with a broom while Kimo ran to get some tattered blankets from the bunkhouse.

  “That’ll have to do ’er,” he said, and then they piled into the truck.

  It had been twenty minutes since Tutu had called.

  As they drove, the radio blared, and they heard a news story about pockets of salmonella being found all over the island among animals and humans. Darby was pretty sure the reporter said that the condition could be contagious between humans and animals, but it was hard to tell because every time Kimo hit a bump, his radio lost the signal for a few seconds.

  Kimo was about to turn toward Crimson Vale, and Darby was remembering the sickening drive that he’d taken her on on the day of her arrival, when a Jeep that looked like it had barely survived a garage fire barreled halfway through the intersection and stopped right in front of them.

  With luck, Kimo wouldn’t hit it broadside.

  Chapter Fourteen

  There were just the two vehicles—Kimo’s and the Jeep—so when the Jeep began honking and flashing its lights, Kimo and Darby looked at each other.

  Kimo raised his hand to give the crazy driver a cautious shaka just as Darby recognized Cricket. But what was Cricket doing here? Why wasn’t she helping to drive Black Lava’s herd to Sky Mountain?

  Cricket drove toward them and pulled up next to the driver’s-side window.

  “We have to quarantine them in a separate corral. They’re really afraid it’ll spread like wildfire across the island.” She broke off, seeing their confusion. “You are coming to volunteer, yeah?” she asked hopefully, but she didn’t give Darby a chance to answer. “Ann’s already there and we could really use your help. The Department of Ag is sending us more sick animals than we can handle. It’s insane here. Tha
t’s why I stayed behind.”

  Darby’s mother might not want her among the sick horses. Neither would Jonah. And Hoku—

  “Go,” Kimo urged Darby. “I’ll pick you up once I have Tutu and the pony.”

  “Okay,” Darby said.

  She opened the door and jumped out of the truck. For a minute she thought she might have to chase after Cricket, but she hopped into the ugly Jeep just in time.

  Once inside, Darby tightened her seat belt a little snugger than usual. This morning Cricket’s messy bun was stabbed into place by a red lacquered chopstick, and she was talking to herself as she drove.

  They almost passed the Animal Rescue barn, and Cricket cranked the steering wheel so hard to the right, the Jeep tilted up on two wheels.

  “I don’t usually drive like this,” Cricket apologized, and then, while Darby was catching her breath, Cricket said, “We’re here.”

  The place was a madhouse.

  Behind the barn there was a field where most of the horses were kept.

  All around, volunteers and vets worked in teams to tend to the sick horses.

  “Darby!” Ann’s curly red hair was like a beacon amid all the people who’d gathered to help. She bolted out of the crowd and hugged Darby. “I’m going crazy from boredom and I’ve missed your face!” She pressed her cheek to Darby’s.

  Then they both looked for Cricket. They spotted her watching a woman who was mopping down a feverish mare. A few yards away, five young men threw their weight into the side of a bay gelding, trying to keep him from lying down.

  “What should we do?” Ann asked, but at the same time several other people saw Cricket, recognized her as the boss of the frantic situation, and began shouting questions at her.

  A gray-haired man extended a bucket handle toward Darby.

  “Could you fill this with water?” he asked.

  “No, she can’t!” Cricket said, blocking Darby’s reach. “I want you two to stay in the office answering phones. There are maps taped to the desks. Give volunteers who call directions on how to get here. And if they just want to drop off money, take it. Hey, Lisa! Lisa Miller!”