by Terri Farley
“I’ve got to go.” Darby pictured the crammed-full pantry. And Aunty Cathy.
The earth had come alive and trapped her in there, alone.
Kit stared into Darby’s eyes. He released her arm as if he’d glimpsed the reflection of everything in the pantry avalanching down on Aunty Cathy.
“Okay, then,” Kit said, but Darby was already running.
Broken glass sparkled in a pool of red. It was the first thing Darby saw as she entered the ranch-house kitchen. She stopped, blinking as her mind tried to make sense of what she saw.
Stepping gingerly, Jonah and Megan moved ahead of her.
Behind her, Kit said, “Ketchup.”
When the word registered, Darby let herself breathe again.
Kit was right.
Earthquake-rattled cabinets had emptied glass, condiments, and silverware onto the kitchen floor. The refrigerator door stood open. Inside it was practically bare. Mangoes, carrots, and greens of all sorts lay over plastic containers that leaked brown, red, and yellow stuff into a puddle spreading from upside-down ice trays.
“Mom!” Megan shouted.
Darby didn’t see Aunty Cathy anywhere.
“Check the pantry,” Darby said.
“We heard something moving in there.” Megan sounded tearful.
“Stuff could be shifting—” Jonah cautioned, but he was cut off by a clatter and clash.
He sidestepped as a huge can rocketed out of the pantry, spinning across the floor.
“Ow!” Aunty Cathy said as she edged out of the pantry and bent to rub her foot. Judging by the can’s velocity, Aunty Cathy had kicked it on purpose.
When she saw the mottled swelling over Aunty Cathy’s cheekbone and around her eye, Darby was pretty sure she knew why.
“Watch out,” Aunty Cathy cautioned. “That stuff that looks like snow is rice.” She stepped over the jumbled canned goods and shards of pottery on the floor. “Before it hit me, that can took out my green rice crock.”
“Are you hurt?” Jonah asked, but Aunty Cathy couldn’t answer. Megan grabbed her mother in a hug and Darby joined her.
“Mom, I was so worried,” Megan said.
Jonah cleared his throat and Darby glanced up and noticed that he looked like he wanted to be part of their group hug.
Instead, he said, “You girls, don’t break any bones the quake missed, yeah?”
“I’m bruised, but nothing’s broken.” The finger Aunty Cathy aimed at the big can was trembling, but her voice was merely exasperated. “Can you tell me why we’re storing a can as big as my head—and I got a good, close look at it!—full of pumpkin?”
“No idea.” Jonah’s black mustache quirked up at one corner.
Aunty Cathy sniffed back tears and Darby knew she’d been using grumpiness to cover her relief.
“Ma’am, you’ll have a black eye, ’less you get ice on that,” Kit warned. He snatched a bag of frozen peas from the heap of food around them, and held it out.
“It’s not even bleeding. Look. It’s a white shirt,” she said, holding it away from her body. “It would show. I don’t think—”
“Ma’am,” Kit said again, “pardon me, but I saw a bull rider get hooked by a head-tossin’ Brahma and he didn’t bleed, either. Still, his face swole up like a red balloon.”
“Mom,” Megan said. Then, tsking her tongue as if she were the parent, Megan took the cold bag and applied it to the side of her mother’s face.
“Thanks,” Aunty Cathy sighed.
She closed her eyes, and Jonah snapped, “See a doctor. Today.”
Darby thought of everything that had happened on ‘Iolani Ranch—pulled muscles, burns, sprains, cuts, and abrasions—but no doctor or vet had been called. She’d never seen Jonah so troubled.
“Competition for medical care,” Darby blurted. When everyone looked at her for an explanation, she added, “There might be some.”
She remembered the phrase from an earthquake-readiness brochure she’d read in Pacific Pinnacles. The section had been illustrated by sketches of broken buildings, and cartoon figures on crutches with their heads swathed in bandages.
Aunty Cathy’s eyes widened. “I almost forgot. Darby, we’ve still got time to talk about…” Her voice trailed off. “What was it, now? You needed it for your…” Aunty Cathy’s hand spun in midair as she searched for the right word.
Megan leaned toward her mother as if she might need help.
Aunty Cathy kissed her daughter’s cheek, then explained, “Don’t worry. I’m just going to be Tutu’s story stand-in for Darby’s Ecology class. She has a homework project due on volcanoes.”
Megan nodded, encouraging her mother to continue these logical sentences, until a thought struck her and she interrupted, “If we even have school today.”
Kit lifted the kitchen radio, dangling off the counter by its still-plugged-in cord, then clicked it on and tuned it to its usual station.
Within minutes, they’d learned that the earthquake had registered 6.0 on the Richter scale with an epicenter in an undersea volcano that was called by a number rather than a name.
“Early reports indicate minor injuries and property damage on the Big Island and Moku Lio Hihiu…,” the announcer said, but soon he was reading off school schedules.
Lehua High School was apparently undamaged, so school wasn’t canceled, but it was delayed by two hours, with a ten o’clock start time beginning with Nutrition Break, and no lunch break.
“Of course they couldn’t give us an extra day for spring break,” Megan complained, but then she took in the mess surrounding them and sighed. “I can help you get started on this, Mom.”
“Me too,” Darby offered.
“No,” Jonah said. “You go down to the lower pastures with Cade. He can check the cattle while you bring up Hoku—”
“What about Tango?” Megan asked.
“With luck, the others will follow Darby. If not, I’ll work something out.”
No pressure, Darby thought, but she didn’t roll her eyes or complain.
Thumbs in his back pocket, the foreman listened patiently, waiting for Jonah to issue his instructions.
“Check the foundations, the weight-bearing walls, pipes, anything that might come crashing down on us, or shift out from under us.”
“Got it, boss,” Kit said. He touched the brim of his black felt hat and turned to leave.
“Kimo should be along to help,” Aunty Cathy put in, as if the job Kit had been given was too much for one.
“Gotta do something with this adrenaline rush,” Kit told her.
Then, as he passed Darby, Kit winked.
As if it’s no big deal that Jonah put the safety of every person on this ranch into his hands, Darby thought, looking after the foreman. As if he didn’t mind that he couldn’t go check on the girlfriend Megan said he had in town.
Just then, scratching and whining came from overhead.
“Pip,” Aunty Cathy and Megan said together.
“I don’t even remember putting her down!” Megan gasped.
Aunty Cathy lowered the bag of frozen peas from her cheek and said, “I’ll just run up there and—”
“Let Megan do it,” Jonah said. “You can, yeah?”
“Sure.” Megan lifted her chin, ignored her mother’s wordless protest, and left.
“Bring me some horses,” Jonah told Darby.
“Sure.” Darby responded as confidently as Megan had, until she realized she still wore her pink nightgown in place of a shirt. “I’ll just go change. And I should call my mom and let her know I’m okay.”
“Do what you like, but don’t give your filly a chance to reach the highway.” Jonah considered the disordered kitchen, then said, “Who knows what it’s like in town.”
“Okay,” Darby replied.
Looking ridiculous was nothing compared with putting her horse in danger.
She grabbed a hair elastic she’d left on the entrance hall table, and was gathering a ponytail, when Jonah�
��s low voice reached her.
“Cathy, how does it look?”
“The can bounced off my cheekbone. It’s swollen and red.”
“Your forehead?”
“Is fine.”
Why would Jonah needle Aunty Cathy like that, asking her to describe what he could see with his own eyes?
When his voice turned even quieter, Darby held her breath to listen.
“Just rule out a concussion. Do me that favor, can’t you?”
“Yes, Jonah,” Aunty Cathy said.
As Darby ran from Sun House to grab Hoku’s lead rope, she decided Aunty Cathy must be in shock. Despite her protests that she felt just fine, there’d been something soft in Aunty Cathy’s voice that Darby had never heard before.
At the bawl of a siren in the distance, Darby forgot everything but her horse.
Chapter 5
Darby still felt a little shaky as she walked down the path to the lower pastures. She was determined to catch Hoku and a saddle horse for Jonah, but she wished she’d called her mother before she’d left the house.
Oh well, she’d do it when she got back.
When she heard footsteps, she glanced back and saw Cade following her.
One glance told her the young paniolo was up to something. Cade was the most unpredictable person she’d ever met. Reading horses’ minds was a million times easier than figuring him out.
As soon as Darby reached the trailhead, she searched the cluster of horses below. Although there were at least thirty horses crowded together, she picked out Hoku and Tango right away.
Weak with thankfulness, Darby leaned forward with her hands on her thighs. Then, she took a deep breath and started down the uneven path.
Even though it meant Cade caught up with her, Darby didn’t run. Tripping would cost her more time than walking fast. Still, his expression was getting on her nerves. What in the world was he smiling about?
“Nice outfit,” Cade said.
“Shut up,” Darby requested. She glanced up from the rough footing at Cade. There wasn’t much she could criticize about his clothes. He wore the same dark green poncho he always did.
Though he hadn’t cracked a real smile, she could tell he was in a good mood. “Why are you so happy?”
“I’m not. Just glad no one’s hurt bad,” he said.
Darby matched Cade’s steps, then noticed his blond braid. Most days, it was tucked up, out of sight. “Where’s your hat?”
“Don’t know.” Cade clipped off the two words as if he didn’t care, but Darby knew he did. Cade had told her he’d bought his hala hat with the very first paycheck he’d earned from Jonah. She was about to sympathize when he said, “Walk faster.”
She did, but that meant ignoring her nightgown’s tendency to come untucked. Instead of stopping to adjust it, Darby gave a huff of frustration.
The horses heard her. Although they were half a mile away, two dozen concerned faces turned to see what was wrong.
“Don’t spook ’em,” Cade warned.
It was a definite possibility, Darby thought. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the horses were grazing when she looked at them. But not now.
Instead, they were milling together, still uneasy from the earthquake.
“You’re the one carrying a rifle,” Darby muttered. Her arms swung at her sides and she’d left her hands empty by tying Hoku’s orange-and-white-striped lead rope around her waist.
“I wasn’t talking about the rope. I meant your snorting.”
Darby didn’t reply. If she opened her mouth, she’d end up yelling at Cade and really scaring the horses.
Besides, he was probably only teasing her because he was relieved.
Aunty Cathy’s reaction to the quake had been to kick the pumpkin can.
Kit had stood by, ready to tackle any job with his adrenaline buildup.
Jonah had shown unusual concern—for her and Megan, and for Aunty Cathy.
Darby shrugged. She guessed her own answer to being out of control of the world around her was to prove she could catch Hoku and bring back the saddle herd.
A blast of hot wind made the trees around her sway, and for a moment Darby felt dizzy again. It wouldn’t hurt to show Jonah that falling off Navigator didn’t mean she’d lost her touch with horses. But she’d better hurry up and do it, before a second earthquake or aftershock made Wild Horse Island sink back into the sea.
Cade looked pointedly at Darby’s feet as if she’d been stomping as she walked.
“What?” she demanded quietly.
“I’m taking the rifle—”
“Did I ask?” Darby whispered.
“—because of what happened last time…”
“…in the rain forest,” Darby finished, admitting to herself that Cade’s skill with a rifle had saved a rabid pig from suffering or hurting her horse, when Cade corrected her.
“No, the last time we had an earthquake,” he said, but he didn’t go on.
Cade was baiting her. If he was trying to make her beg to hear what had happened during the last earthquake, he had a long wait ahead of him.
Darby turned her attention back to the horses. They were much more interesting and Jonah was counting on her to bring them—or at least some of them—back to the main ranch. And she didn’t know how much time she had before she’d have to start getting ready for school.
They looked like a wild herd, Darby thought.
Luna, the big bay Quarter Horse stallion, stood on a knoll, overlooking the mares, foals, and geldings, alert and on guard.
“Pigtail Fault,” Cade said under his breath.
Darby couldn’t help giving him a side glance.
“You haven’t been up to Two Sisters yet, so you wouldn’t know,” he said, lording it over her. “But just as the ground really starts getting steep, there’s a fracture in the earth—a fissure I guess they call it—and it slid open big enough that a herd of pigs, running from the quake, were jumping over it—”
“You saw this?” Darby asked.
“—and one didn’t make it. He went head down into the crack—”
“I don’t like this story,” Darby said, picking up her pace.
“And then an aftershock came along,” Cade said, bringing his hands together in a muffled clap. “And slammed the fissure closed. Left only the pig’s tail sticking up.”
“That’s disgusting,” Darby said.
“All the same, it happened,” Cade said. “You’ll see it—not the tail, but the crack—when you go up to the volcanoes.”
“Shh,” Darby hushed him.
Navigator, Conch, Biscuit, and Joker moved away from the other horses toward Darby and Cade. The horses moved side by side, a gaudy team suitable for a circus.
Look at them! Darby wanted to say, but she didn’t want to spook the geldings. Their bay, grulla, buckskin, and Appaloosa coats caught the sun as they held their heads high. They studied Cade and Darby, weighing the safety of approaching even familiar humans on a day like this.
Kona, Jonah’s big gray, started to follow them, but he stumbled. At the sound, the other geldings scattered. For a few seconds, Kona stopped, holding one hoof off the ground. But then Joker stood alone, frayed neck rope dangling, the only one that hadn’t pivoted back toward the herd.
Just when Darby was telling herself she couldn’t blame Cade because his horse loved him, Cade pretended not to notice. He was still talking about Pigtail whatever.
“And if you don’t want to look, just ask Jonah.”
“I will,” Darby promised, though there’d be nothing left to prove it might be true.
Ten minutes later, Joker had ventured close enough to hear his master’s voice.
“Here, brother.”
The Appaloosa crossed the pasture, lowered his head, and all but begged for Cade’s touch. Cade kept talking, persuading his horse to forget the earthquake.
“That’s it, look at me.” Cade extended his arm and caught a loose bridle rein. Joker took up the slack by mov
ing a few steps away. “Around,” Cade said, then made a clucking sound and Joker circled him at a walk.
Cade looked the gelding over for injuries, watching for pulled tendons or muscle damage as the horse moved.
Brother. Darby had never heard Cade call Joker by that nickname, and she admitted, but only to herself, that she envied the two.
During their best moments, she thought of Hoku as her sister, but she and the filly had a long way to go before they had the kind of relationship she saw before her.
“Halt,” Cade said.
Joker did. Cade stepped close enough to push aside the gelding’s black mane and stroke his crest. Joker closed his eyes, and Darby gasped.
“He’ll be fine,” Cade assured her, preparing to mount bareback.
“Don’t rope anything,” Darby said. “It’ll hurt Joker’s neck.”
Cade stared at her. “Where’d you come up with that?”
“Won’t it? I mean, it’s pretty basic physiology,” Darby told him, but the truth was, well, hard to believe.
“I guess,” Cade said, sounding a little insulted.
He threw himself at Joker’s back, then swung his legs up to fork the gelding. His hands rested on Joker’s withers, waiting.
In the minutes Cade stayed quiet, letting Joker settle down, Darby tried to analyze what had just passed between her and the Appaloosa.
When Joker had closed his freckled eyelids, she’d seen them twitch, showing the soreness under his mane, beneath Cade’s hand.
Anyone could have guessed that, but muscles had actually stiffened in her own neck. She’d felt dizzy as she imagined a taut lariat running away from her. The whine of tightening rope fibers filled her ears, and she winced, afraid the impact of the horse’s weight would wrench her neck.
His neck, she corrected herself.
After about five minutes, Joker’s head drooped a few inches. He shifted his weight off a rear hoof and blew through his lips.
The Appaloosa had gotten over his scare. Darby wasn’t so sure about herself.
Cade leaned forward, patted his horse’s shoulder, then shot Darby a look of puzzled respect.
“We’ll be careful,” Cade said.
“Sure,” Darby said. She lifted one shoulder as if his promise was no big deal, then turned her attention to the other horses, hoping they wouldn’t follow the bouncing spots on the Appaloosa’s hindquarters.