Mistwalker by Terri Farley Page A

try.
    â€œAnd I guess for once, I was in the wrong place at the right time, instead of the opposite.”
    â€œWhatever that means!” yelled Ann from the audience.
    Darby took that as her cue to stop.
    And she really would have, if people hadn’t started talking and looking over their shoulders again.
    Suddenly, Darby saw why they were chattering.
    Everyone was staring at a beautiful woman in red high heels, but the woman was staring at her .
    â€œMom!” Darby shouted.
    As Ellen Kealoha began working her way through the crowd, she blew Darby a kiss.
    If it was possible to feel sunlight beaming from the inside out, Darby did.

Chapter Six
    D arby’s joyous shout pretty much ended the award ceremony.
    â€œGo ahead. Go see your mom.” Megan gave Darby a nudge, then turned to Cade. “We’ll take care of Stormbird, yeah?”
    â€œSure,” Cade said.
    â€œThanks, you guys!” Darby said, then leaned over and kissed Stormbird between his oversize ears.
    â€œKiss the horse to thank us,” Megan said, rolling her eyes, but Darby had already jumped off the stage.
    Crab-stepping past a line of palm trees, Darby appeared right in her mother’s path.
    â€œYou are gorgeous!” Ellen said, hugging Darbyand then holding her at arm’s length.
    Darby laughed. “I can breathe,” Darby said, since her mom always worried about her asthma. “That helps, I guess.”
    â€œLet me look at you,” her mom said. She spun one finger and Darby obeyed, turning around even though her boots hampered her twirl.
    â€œLet’s go over here,” her mother said. Whisking Darby away from all those staring as if this were a performance, she guided her into a corner.
    â€œI’m not as pale, am I?” Darby said when they stopped.
    â€œIn ten weeks…” Her mom shook her head. “Not pale, not weak, not bent over trying to drag in a breath.”
    For a second, Ellen’s eyes filled with tears, reminding Darby how they’d sat in the car at the Los Angeles airport. You’ll love the ranch…you’ll be in heaven…I’m not worried about you…. But her mom had been worried.
    â€œI got contact lenses, did I tell you?” Her mom fluttered her eyelashes, then squinted against her tears of relief, pretending she didn’t quite recognize her daughter. “Still a bookworm?”
    â€œTotally,” Darby said. She rubbed her cheek, though the line from falling asleep on her book was long gone.
    â€œGood,” Mom said, and as her arms opened, Darby noticed her mom looked just like she always did—longblack hair swooping against amber skin, sparkling almond-shaped eyes—but less tired. Less stressed.
    The tropics agreed with Ellen. They were her home. And she looked more Hawaiian than ever as she kissed Darby’s cheeks.
    Inside their second hug, her mom whispered, “What about your huge reward?”
    â€œA third of five thousand dollars,” Darby whispered back, through a smile.
    â€œA nice addition to your college fund,” Ellen said, giving Darby an extra squeeze. “But you can spend a little of it if you do it wisely.”
    â€œI was going to spend it on your airfare. That’s wise,” Darby pointed out.
    â€œOf course it is. I’m just lucky that our producer sprang for a weekend in Honolulu for the whole cast—because we’re almost finished shooting—and all I paid for was the hop from there to Hapuna.”
    Darby didn’t care about the details; she was just glad her mother was home.
    â€œAnd how’s Hoku?” her mom asked.
    â€œYou won’t believe the difference in her. She’s so smart. Hapa kanaka, that’s what Jonah called her when—” Darby stopped, not ready to tell her mother about Hoku holding up a hitching rail so that it wouldn’t crash down and hurt her. “She does this smart stuff,” she finished lamely.