Holly's Heart Collection One (34 page)

I stared at them in disbelief.

“Ho1ly,” Carrie sang, her hand on her hip, “aren’t you going to let us in?”

“Uh, sorry,” I said, stepping aside. Then, remembering my manners, I greeted Paula.

Carrie lugged her overnight gear inside, dumping it on the living room floor. Then she and Stephie disappeared upstairs.

Dumbfounded, I hustled Paula downstairs to the family room. I’d completely overlooked the chance of something like
this
happening. Why hadn’t I realized Paula would bring the girls here with her, freeing Kayla up to meet with Danny? A best friend would do that. So would a twin sister.

“Want to play Scrabble?” I asked.

“I’d love to,” she said, tucking her long hair behind her ears.

I began explaining the rules, going over every possible aspect of the game. “Any questions?” I asked.

“That was very good, Holly, but my sister and I play Scrabble all the time,” she said, her voice sounding exactly like Kayla’s.

I swallowed hard, embarrassed. Along with mismanaging the Plan of the Hour, I’d made a fool of myself, too.

But Paula let me off the hook by complimenting me on my hair. “It’s so long and thick,” she said. “I bet you can fix it a zillion different ways.”

A
zillion
? That was
my
word.

I nodded, wondering what was happening at Danny’s house right now. Was Kayla smiling at him too much? Making him forget
our
friendship?

Uneasy about what I didn’t know, I started the game. Paula knew Scrabble, all right. After three turns she was ahead by ten points. I was so caught up in the game, an hour passed like five minutes. At last, I’d met my match.

Upstairs, I heard Mom getting her peppermint tea ready. “Holly-Heart? You here?” she called.

“Downstairs,” I said.

“It’s raining so hard, the streets are flooded,” she said. “That’s why I’m late.”

I’d hardly noticed the rain or that Mom was late getting home. This was the closest game I’d ever played. While I slid the tiles around on the rack, trying to make a word to outdo Paula, I suddenly remembered Andie.

Yikes! She was outdoors in this mess—sneaking around—spying at Danny’s house. She was probably soaked to the skin by now. No good. Her ordeal in the Arkansas River last Tuesday had left her with a bad case of the sniffles.

“Excuse me a second, Paula,” I said, leaving the Scrabble game. “I have to talk to my mom.”

Mom was squeezing honey from the plastic bear when I raced into the kitchen. “It’s an emergency,” I began. “Andie’s outside in the rain.”

She looked at me funny. “Make sense, Holly. Why is Andie out in
this
weather?”

I pulled a stool away from the bar and plopped onto it. “This is terrible. Everything’s wrong.
Everything!
”

“Why don’t you start over, Holly-Heart…from the beginning.”

I took a deep breath. It was no use. Besides, I could hear someone’s footsteps on the front porch. I stood up to answer the door.

It was Jared Wilkins.

“Is Paula here?” he asked, his blue eyes eager to gaze on the brunette beauty, no doubt.

“In the family room. We were just playing Scrabble,” I said, noticing his clothes were dry. “Did you get a ride?”

“Yeah, Danny’s dad dropped me off.”

“You were at Danny’s?” I felt a tingle of hope.

“Just for a minute. Had to drop off a DVD I borrowed. That’s when the rain started, so his dad offered me a ride over here. Weird, though, we saw Andie walking in the rain. She was drenched, so we picked her up and took her home.”

I felt lousy about Andie but glad the rain cut Kayla’s practice session with Danny short.

Jared asked, “What was Andie doing across town in the rain?”

I ignored his question. No need for him to know how badly my plan had flopped. “How’s Danny doing?”

Jared grinned. “I’ll give it to you straight. Kayla seemed pleased about the sudden change in weather when we left.”

“What does
that
mean?” I tugged hard on my hair.

“Well, think how
you’d
feel,” he taunted.

I shifted my gaze, staring at the overnight bag Carrie had left on the floor. It was none of Jared’s business how I felt about Danny Myers.

“Why don’t you go down and finish the Scrabble game with Paula?” I suggested, trying to hide my frustration.

Jared ran his fingers through his hair as he headed downstairs. I followed close behind, noticing how surprised Paula looked when she saw him.

“Do you mind if I leave you two alone for a sec?” I said, realizing how silly that probably sounded.

Jared jumped right on it. “Take your time.”

I raced upstairs to the phone.

“Andie?” I said when she answered. “Are you okay?”

“Sort of.” She sounded all stuffed up. “You won’t like what I have to tell you.”

“I already know,” I said. “Jared’s here.”

She sneezed. “There’s more. Kayla and Danny had a snack together at Danny’s house. His mom served it to them in the breakfast nook.”

“How do you know?”

“I stood under the trees in the neighbor’s yard and watched through the windows.” Andie coughed and blew her nose.

“Then what?”

“Danny’s mom went out on the porch, tending her flowers, leaving Kayla alone with Danny for a while.”

“Oh great.” I could almost picture Kayla batting her brown eyes at Danny.

“I’m sorry, Holly. Looks like our plan fell through.”

“No kidding,” I whispered. “What a nightmare!”

SEALED WITH A KISS

Chapter 5

I turned a page in my diary and wrote.

Saturday, August 14. The Plan of the Hour failed…absolutely and totally failed, right down to the second it rained, forcing Danny and Kayla indoors. Some cozy setup for Miss Kayla Miller.

It was nearly time for supper. Paula and Jared had just left, and I was pouring out my pent-up feelings of the day on lined paper. I felt sorry for girls who didn’t write in journals. It was the best way to handle life sometimes. And what about people who didn’t talk to God? How did
they
cope?

Sliding off my window seat, I sat cross-legged on the floor. Bearie-O fell forward, his droopy eyes looking sadder than ever. I smiled at him. “Hi-ya, Bearie-O. Are you feeling sad because I do?”

I moved his head to make him nod.

“You’re the best bear a girl could own.”

“You don’t
own
him,” Carrie said, startling me.

“What are you doing in my room?” I snapped.

She covered her mouth with her hands, but the giggles poured out. Then Stephanie stepped out from behind her.

“You!
Both
of you are in trouble,” I shouted. “Why do you keep breaking the rules? You don’t see me in
your
room, do you, Carrie?”

Stephanie disappeared quickly, leaving Carrie only half grinning in the fading light of evening.

“We heard you talking in the dark. It was Stephie’s idea to sneak in. Honest, Holly.”

“You’re
older
than Stephie. Better spell out the rules of our house to her,” I said, putting Bearie-O back on his shelf.

“It’s dark in here.” She flicked on the light switch. “Why are you sitting in the dark talking to your stuffed animals?”

“None of your business.”

“Fine, don’t tell me,” she said. “But I’ve got a message for you from Mommy. She wants you to set the table. Mr. Tate and Zachary are coming for supper.” Carrie left, closing the door behind her.

I stomped over to the light switch. Sitting in the dark was good for the soul sometimes. Maybe when Carrie grew up she’d understand.

Opening the bottom drawer of my dresser, I slid my journal into its hiding place. My notebook of secret prayers was underneath. So were copies of my letters to pen pals, including Lucas Wadsworth Leigh, all stored in an old legal file, a reject from the law firm where Mom was a paralegal. Another folder held
his
letters to me. Writing an answer to his last letter would be my first project tonight after supper.

This whole thing of “snail mail” pen pals had been Andie’s idea. She was so bored last month, she challenged me to a contest. “Let’s see who can get the most pen pals before school starts,” she’d said. “And no fair getting extra money from parents for postage.”

Andie was like that. Very bossy.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I had agreed. Soon
I
was ahead with six pen friends. Then she moved ahead, adding two girls from Panama. Quickly, I sent off for a girl in Rome. Tied!

Counting Lucas, I was actually winning. But for some reason, keeping this
male
pal a secret from Andie was important to me.

One week after Andie’s challenge, I had discovered Lucas Leigh’s name in the personal ads in a writer’s magazine at the library.

Lucas Wadsworth Leigh, nephew to mystery writer Marty Leigh, is interested in corresponding with aspiring fiction writers,
the ad read.

I couldn’t resist. Marty Leigh was tops. I owned every book she’d ever written. If she was even remotely related to this Lucas person, well…I had to know more. So I’d sent my first letter off to Lucas W. Leigh.

Promptly, I received a letter back. A fancy seal was affixed to the back of the envelope with LWL on display in calligraphy, as if he were royalty or something. I’d learned Lucas was a junior in college—much older than I’d supposed. I realized then I’d never declared my own age of thirteen. What difference did age make in a writer, anyway? I’d told myself. Andie’s daring nature was beginning to rub off on me.

“Holly!” called Carrie. “Mom’s waiting.”

I pushed my dresser drawer shut, wishing I could put it under lock and key. Especially with an immature younger sister and giggly cousin snooping around. “Coming, Mom,” I called as I hurried downstairs.

Delicious aromas filled the kitchen. Mom had baked meat loaf with her yummy brown sugar and ketchup topping. And there were two yellow candles lying on the counter.

“What’s the occasion?” I asked suspiciously.

Mom motioned for me to help. “Time to dish up.”

“Celebrating Zachary’s remission?” I asked.

“Good idea,” she said, evading my question.

“Mom, you’re not announcing something important, are you?” I held the forks in my right hand, suspended in time and space, waiting…

Please, dear God, don’t let this be what I’m thinking.

I turned to face her, my heart beating wildly. Did I dare tell her what I thought of Mr. Tate becoming her husband?

The doorbell rang. “It’s Mike and Zachary.” Mom rushed to the door the way she once did when Daddy awaited her.

My heart sank. Was Mom in love?

I wanted to scatter the utensils around the dining room table.

Instead I forced myself to fold the napkins neatly, placing
two
forks to the left of each plate.

“Hi, girls,” Zach said, lugging a duffel bag full of toy planes and missiles and things. It was good to see him looking so cheerful. And healthy.

“Hungry?” I asked him.

He sniffed the air. “Smells good.” He plopped down at the head of the table.

Mr. Tate carried a square white box. Zach pointed to it, acting excited about what was inside.

“What’s in there?” Carrie asked, touching the lid.

“Uh,
that’s
a surprise,” Mr. Tate said, shooing her away.

I hoped it wasn’t a wedding cake. The excitement in my mother’s eyes worried me. She’d met Mr. Tate for breakfast early this morning. Had she gone and eloped?

With a grand wave of her hand, Mom announced, “Please be seated, everyone. Look for your name card beside each plate.”

Name cards? This
was
special.

Zach found his place, next to Mom. Stephie was on the other side of her. Mr. Tate sat at the head of the table, the empty spot where Daddy used to sit years ago.

Mom carried the food to the table. Then Mr. Tate prayed without Mom asking, like he was in charge or something.

When the baked potatoes came around, I unwrapped the foil from mine, scrunching it into a ball. “Please pass the butter,” I said.

I watched, almost jealously, as Mom worked first on Zach’s potato, then Stephie’s. She seemed so fond of Zach.

Mr. Tate waited for everyone to start eating before he tapped his fork lightly on his water glass. “I’d like to propose a toast.”

Propose?
Sounded scary.

He held up his glass. “Children, this is a toast to our new life together as a family. Susan, this is a toast to our new investment endeavor.”

Mom looked scared, like something had just dawned on her. “Ah, wait a minute, Mike,” she said. “I thought you were going to give me time to discuss this with the girls.”

Mr. Tate lowered his glass. “You’d like their permission?” He looked at Carrie, then me. “Well, girls. What do you think?”

Carrie grinned. “When are you getting married?”

Mr. Tate’s eyes shone. “Soon,” he said, gazing at Mom.

Carrie smiled. “Goody. I’ll have a brother,” she said, pointing to Zach, who grabbed his throat, pretending to gag.

“Calm down, young man,” Mr. Tate reprimanded him. “Your little friend is only being polite.”

Now
I
felt like I might choke. Mr. Tate was much too serious. Couldn’t he take a joke?

Mr. Tate turned and smiled at me. “How do you feel about this news, Holly, uh, Heart, is it?”

I coughed, despising him for putting me on the spot like this. Where were
his
manners?

“Excuse me, please,” I said, leaving the table and rushing to the bathroom.

“Holly?” Mom called. “Are you all right, dear?”

All right
was for kids with boring, uneventful lives. Kids with a dad who lived with them. Kids who didn’t have to worry about possible stepfathers like Mr. Tate. Not kids like me.

I closed the door to the bathroom. Locked inside, I felt like I was drowning. Now I knew how Andie had felt with the mighty Arkansas River rushing around her. Pulling her into its powerful current. Grabbing her, thrusting her into its whirling waves, while she worked…pounding, thrashing…fighting to survive.

Exhausted, I sat on the edge of the tub. Why was
I
fighting so hard? This was
Mom’s
choice. If Mr. Tate was right for her, why did I dislike him?