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?
