Allie's Bayou Rescue Page 3

  I threw my hand out in the middle, and the girls put their hands on top of mine. I think Ruby’s was shaking a little.

  “Okay,” I said. “Each of you come up with one task that Hunter will have to perform during his initiation. It has to be hard. A Carroway thing. Get your idea to me by tonight. Got it?”

  “Got it!” everyone said.

  “Okay, Carroways on three.”

  We pumped our hands up and down.

  “One, two, three . . .”

  “CARROWAYS!”

  Then we all ran down the steps of the Diva and over the hills to our individual houses to search for our dove hunting clothes. By the time I got to my house, I was breathing hard, my head felt fuzzy, and my hands shook. I noticed that the tips of my fingers were turning a little blue, but I shoved them into my pockets.

  No time to think about anything right now but changing clothes.

  On my way in the door, I practically ran right into a tall, skinny man dressed in a business suit. He carried a book bag and looked like a computer nerd.

  “Oh, hello,” he said. “Hey! You’re Allie, right? I watched your show last night. The one where you brought your class duck home for the weekend, and it got away, and you were afraid your dad was going to shoot it and serve it for dinner? Hilarious!”

  The man doubled over with laughter. My family has that effect on people.

  I tried to be polite. I mean, as polite as I could be after finding a complete stranger in my house.

  “I’m sorry, who did you say you were?”

  The man stopped laughing and straightened back up.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here in your house.”

  “Yes sir.”

  He reached in his pocket and pulled out a business card.

  “Ed Castro, home appraiser. My company sent me over. Your mom said to come on in.”

  This happens a lot. People show up and do things in our house. Film crews, maintenance people, decorators. But something about this guy made me nervous.

  I grabbed the card and looked at it.

  “What exactly does a home appraiser do?”

  “Oh, well, it’s simple, really. An appraiser looks around a house and decides what the whole thing is worth.”

  “What for?”

  Mr. Castro shrugged. “For lots of reasons. But mostly because a family wants to refinance or sell.”

  My mind stuck on the word “sell.”

  I frowned.

  “I’m sorry,” Mr. Castro said. “I’m invading your privacy. I can come back another time . . .”

  I gently shook my hands out. The color was back in the tips of my fingers.

  “Oh, no, you can stay. I’m sorry if I seemed rude. Go ahead, and look at the house all you want.”

  Then I got an idea.

  “Mr. Castro, can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” He bent down and pulled a tablet out of the book bag.

  “Well, I’ve always worried about this. As you probably know, since you watch the show, I have these two big brothers who have been wrestling in our upstairs den for years. Seriously, we’re talking hours and hours, and sometimes I would be down here in the kitchen, and I would worry about the floor breaking away and them falling through. Could that happen? I mean, the floor really creaks up there now.”

  Mr. Castro shook his head. “You Carroways. You’re such a crazy bunch.” Then he looked up at the ceiling. “You’re saying the den is right above here?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He pulled our stepstool over from the corner, climbed up on the top step, and poked the ceiling a few places.

  “Seems okay,” he said.

  “And then there was that bathtub overflow incident.”

  Mr. Castro climbed back down and started laughing again. “I saw that episode too! When you and the cousins decided to give that goat a bath, right? And it got away and ran down the hall, and you left the water running . . .”

  “Well, I thought Ruby was going to turn it off. I had a crazy, soaped-up goat to catch.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t trying to make fun.” Mr. Castro adjusted his glasses. “It was just so entertaining! So, are you saying this was the house that had the flood?”

  “Yes, sir. The bathroom is right down the hall from the creaky-floor den. First door on the right.”

  “I’ll check that.”

  “Good. I really want the appraisal to be fair.”

  “You’re good, honest people.”

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  All of a sudden, I remembered the Nerf gun, and I imagined Hannah arriving at my door at any second.

  “I’ve gotta go. I’m running out of time. I have to go find my dove hunting clothes before I’m the one being hunted down and stuffed by our wardrobe manager.”

  Mr. Castro laughed again.

  “Oh man, this has been the best afternoon. I can’t wait to tell the people at work that I met you.”

  I smiled. “Tell them I said hi. And good luck checking out the house.”

  “Thanks. It’ll be fun.”

  I ran toward the stairs but then turned back around.

  “Mr. Castro? I forgot, there’s one more problem with the house.”

  He scrolled on his tablet and then looked up.

  “What’s that?”

  I put my finger to my chin and thought a minute.

  “Uh, never mind. I’m sure you’ll find it. It’s hard to miss.”

  Mr. Castro pointed his finger at me and winked.

  “You’re one of my favorites in the show. And my family has been praying for you and all those allergies.”

  I grinned.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’m sorry, I gotta go.”

  He waved.

  “See you soon, Allie. If not here, then on TV.”

  I waved back, then hurried up the stairs. I flew into my room, threw open the closet door, and pulled out the hangers marked Dove Hunting Clothes.

  It was just a black T-shirt with black pants, but Mom marks everything so there is no doubt. And I’m grateful, because I never want to get Hannah mad at me—even if she is just faking about the Nerf gun thing. At least, I’m pretty sure she is.

  I pulled on the clothes and checked the clock. Five minutes left till call time. I breathed a sigh of relief. And I actually got a really good, deep breath.

  Maybe Mr. Castro’s family’s prayers were already working, and we wouldn’t have to sell our house and move to Arizona.

  CHAPTER 6

  Dove Love

  Allie, I knew you’d be here on time.” Hannah is sweet in person. She’s petite and has the cutest short red hair, cut to make it fall every which way—a perfect bed-head style. She also looks like she wouldn’t hurt a fly. But that loudspeaker does something to her. I do have to give her credit—she always scares us into being on time.

  Except maybe today. I stood there, watching the time tick away on my phone, while Kendall, Ruby, and Lola all came skidding into field three—all wearing black clothes like mine. But it was five minutes past the call time, and no sign of Hunter.

  “We’ll wait another five minutes, and then send someone to go find him.” Hannah paced back and forth, but she still wore a grin, so I guessed we were okay for now.

  “Did you see him on your way over, Kendall?” Ruby fidgeted with her braid with one hand and twirled her dark-green camo beanie on her other hand.

  “No, last time I saw him was the frog war.”

  “He’s got to be around here someplace,” Lola said. “I hope he’s not hurt. Let’s go find him, Allie.”

  Lola grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me forward. Hunter didn’t have his own phone yet, or we could just call him. And if he were loud like the rest of the Carroway boys, we’d just have to listen for a while. But Hunter’s a thinker and a little bit more quiet. He could be hiding out anywhere.

  And now he was late.

  I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “Hu
nter!”

  “Where would you go if you were a boy?” Lola pulled her beanie off and shook her short, dark mop. The pink streak caught the sunlight and looked pretty cool.

  “Hmmm. I guess I would go somewhere I could get dirty. But I don’t think Hunter likes dirt.”

  “Hunter!” I called again, and I scanned the horizon. Nothing.

  The loudspeaker crackled to life.

  “Hunter Carroway, this is HANNAH! You are LATE, buddy-boy! If you do not report in five minutes, you will be cut from the dove-hunting episode! Lola! Allie! Turn around and report to field three. That’s ONE . . . TWO . . . THU-REE!”

  That’s when we saw him. He had his head down as he climbed up the hill from the creek. He was dressed in black and walking slow. His short, blond waves bounced on top of his head. He took his dark-framed glasses off, wiped them with his shirt, and adjusted them back on his nose. When he saw us, he stopped walking and wiped his chin with his sleeve.

  “Hunter?” Lola ran over to meet him first and put her hand on his shoulder. I caught up just in time to hear what the problem was.

  “I don’t like hunting. There. I said it.” Hunter looked up at us—his super bright green eyes clouded. His right cheek was wet. “I don’t want to shoot doves.”

  “What?” Lola covered her mouth and looked to the sky.

  “But your name’s Hunter,” I said. “And you live in Louisiana. With . . . our family.”

  “Yes, I know. It’s quite unfortunate. Not the family thing. The name thing.”

  “What’s your middle name?” Lola asked.

  “Buster.”

  I laughed a little.

  “Nuh-uh. Hunter Buster? Really?”

  Lola shook her head.

  “I suppose you don’t like busting things up either.”

  “I’m more of a builder,” Hunter said.

  “Well, that’s admirable.” I wanted to tell him right then that he could help us build the new duck blind. But first, he had to earn the privilege.

  “But it does present a problem,” Lola said. “Because right now you’re expected to go dove hunting.”

  Hunter shook his head, turned, and started back down to the creek.

  “Just tell them you couldn’t find me. I’ll be down here preparing for my punishment.”

  “Now you just wait a minute, Hunter Buster Builder.” I grabbed Hunter by the back of his shirt and held on until he stopped walking. “We’re going to help you figure something out.”

  “But I don’t want anyone to find out. At least not today. I couldn’t take the humiliation.”

  “Who says there has to be humiliation?” Lola said. “Everyone in this family is different. I don’t particularly love hunting, you know.”

  Hunter grinned. “Really?”

  “Sure,” Lola said. “The wardrobe is horrible. Take this beanie, for instance. Messes with my hair. And dirt gets under my fingernails.” She held out her fingers with a dramatic pink tone splashed on each nail. “But I do like to shoot,” she said. “So maybe you just have to figure out what part of dove hunting you do like, and focus on that.”

  Lola always knows what to say to comfort people. It’s like she can feel their sadness and knows just what to do. While she talked, she walked toward field three, and Hunter walked side-by-side with her.

  “I actually really like guns,” Hunter said. “The machinery and how they work fascinates me.”

  “And do you like to eat?” Lola almost had him all the way to Hannah.

  “Yes.” He was even smiling now.

  “So you’re not against people hunting for food, you just don’t want to be the one to do it, right?”

  Hunter shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Okay, then, here’s the plan,” Lola said. “When they cue you, shoot the gun up high so you’re sure to miss. Act frustrated. Then when they cue me to shoot, cheer me on. I’ll drop a few doves out of the sky, and we’ll high-five each other. How does that sound?”

  Hunter grinned. “Sounds like reality TV at its finest.”

  We all laughed.

  “Please don’t tell anyone what I told you about the hunting,” Hunter said. “Not even Ruby and especially not Kendall. Promise?”

  “Promise,” I said, and I held up my hand like I was taking an oath.

  “Promise,” Lola said, and she held her hand up too. And as Hunter ran toward field three, Lola turned to me and gave me a look.

  I knew right then what she was thinking.

  How am I supposed to keep a secret from my sister?

  CHAPTER 7

  Initiation List

  What to include in Hunter’s initiation was the secret conversation between us girls during dove-hunting filming. Since there are lots of takes and breaks during any filming, we’ve invented some ways to communicate while pretending to pay attention.

  One of those ways is writing in the dirt.

  Between the first and second takes, we sat clustered on a dirt hill. Kendall picked up a stick and wrote:

  #1. Hunt for food. Cook it.

  Ruby nodded her head and clapped her hands together without making a sound.

  Kendall scratched the words out just as soon as we all saw it, erasing the evidence.

  Then she whispered, “All Carroways have to hunt, right? And you sure can’t eat raw food. So he’s got to cook it.”

  I swallowed hard and glanced at Lola, who fidgeted and fussed with her beanie.

  “That shouldn’t be number one,” she said. “Can’t we start him off with something easy and fun? How about . . .”

  Lola grabbed the stick and wrote: #1. Sing with our group.

  Lola’s brilliant. She hit Kendall right in the heart with that one.

  Kendall grabbed the stick and drew a happy face.

  We Carroway girls have a singing group. Kendall is the lead, of course, and she writes most of the songs. Lola, Ruby, and I are the back-up girls, but we can sing some mean harmonies. We’ve sung at church, in school talent shows, and recently, we’ve sung a little on stage when we go to speaking events with our family.

  We’re pretty good.

  “Cut!” Zeke, our director, called for the end of the scene they were filming with Uncle Wayne a few yards away. “Girls and Hunter, your turn. Come get your guns. Hunter, yours is loaded, so stay right there with Thomas and Turbo.”

  Safety is a huge thing on the set of Carried Away with the Carroways. The only loaded gun is the one that belongs to the person who’s going to pull the trigger, and if it’s a kid—in this case, Hunter—then Thomas, our weapons specialist, sticks with him like chewed-up gum on a shoe. Oh, and Turbo is a Golden Retriever—he retrieves all the birds we shoot.

  Hunter—like all of us—has been through several hours of gun safety training, and he’s a good shot too. He destroys targets and loves it. But for this scene, he must have been shaking in his boots, since there were going to be real-live doves in front of him. I noticed him hugging Turbo’s neck a bunch of times, most likely for comfort.

  “On my cue,” Zeke said, “you all walk forward, slowly. Girls, stay behind Hunter. Lola, mention that your beanie itches. Allie, sneeze a couple of times, okay?”

  I rolled my eyes. This allergy stuff was starting to define me a little too much.

  “Kendall, hum a little song. Whatever comes to mind. Ruby, stop and admire those wildflowers over there.” Zeke pointed to a purple patch of hollyhocks that grow like weeds around here.

  Much of what Zeke tells us to do are things we would already do, without being told. So I think it’s funny that he has to cue us and give us lines to say.

  “Hunter, as soon as you get close to that pack of doves, start running toward them, and when they fly, shoot away. Got it?”

  Hunter nodded and gave Zeke a shaky thumbs-up. Then he turned back to look at Lola, who pointed her index finger straight up and pretended to pull a fake trigger with her thumb.

  “Action!” Zeke stepped away and let the film crew move in with their
cameras and microphones on wheels.

  We all moved forward. I sneezed, but for real. I must have hit a mold-pocket with my boot.

  Kendall hummed, and Lola shushed her while she adjusted her beanie. Ruby knelt to pick a wildflower and stuck it in her braid. I love how we add artistic touches to the show.

  And all of a sudden, Hunter became Tarzan! He rushed forward, screaming a war cry. You need to really make a racket to get doves to move. His voice cracked, which was hilarious. Thomas ran forward, right behind him. The doves stirred. Hunter yelled again, and his voice cracked again. The birds finally flapped their wings and flew for their lives.

  Hunter raised his rifle, a little too high, just like Lola said.

  He pulled the trigger, and the shots rang out. Turbo barked and ran forward. Most of the doves flew on, safe for another day.

  Except for one.

  “YEAH!” The crew cheered, and a couple of them jumped up and pumped fists in the air.

  It was Hunter’s first TV kill.

  “Cut!” Zeke ran over and slapped Hunter on the back, a huge smile on his face.

  Thomas grabbed the gun from Hunter, who stood there, staring up at the sky.

  I said a quick prayer that he wouldn’t melt down too bad in front of everyone, especially after Uncle Wayne ran over to Turbo, got the dead dove out of his mouth, and carried it by the tail over to Hunter.

  “Great job, son!” he said, and he patted Hunter on the shoulder. “You’re a natural!”

  Kendall came up to me and whispered, “Singing might be the hardest thing for him after all. Did you hear that voice? How are we going to work that crackle into our quartet?”

  “Okay, everyone take a break! Lola, you’re up next.” Zeke called the film crew over and pointed in different directions. Then they were off to set up for the next Carroway kid hunting scene.

  “Let’s get a cold drink.” Uncle Wayne put his arm around Hunter and walked him over to the refreshment tent.

  Kendall pulled us girls back over to our dirt hill, and told us to sit down.

  “We have to make it harder!”

  “Make what harder?” Ruby asked.

  “The initiation!” Kendall adjusted her camo choker. “We can’t just hand over our beloved Diva. He needs to struggle a little. Be forced out of his comfort zone. Clearly hunting isn’t a challenge.”