Holly's Heart Collection Three (34 page)

“I know.” But I hadn’t prayed in almost a week.

“Well, I’d better go. Don’t be mad at me for calling. Promise?’

I smiled. “I’m not mad. We’re friends, right? Good-bye, Jared.”

“Not good-bye,” he said softly into the phone. “How about— see ya later? That’s much better.”

My heart sank as I hung up the phone. What was Jared Wilkins doing to me? Again.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

Chapter 13

5:05
A.M.

I read the glowing numbers on the bedside digital clock. I’d awakened before the alarm.

Tuesday morning—another day of school. Lazily, I swung my legs out over the side of the bed and sat there, rubbing my eyes.

Yawning, I tried not to think about my conversation with Daddy. He hadn’t called back to talk to Mom. Thank goodness. On the other hand, anticipating his call to her would slowly drive me insane. I could only hope that he’d had a change of heart and wasn’t going to get Mom involved from his end. Man, that would be so awkward. Thorny, in fact.

I went to my window seat and knelt down to pray. “Dear Lord,” I began, “it seems like a long time since I’ve talked to you about what’s going on in my life. I know you’ve helped me many times before, and I’m thankful.

“Lately everyone’s recommended that I come to you with my hopes for joint custody. So here I am, wishing I could say something positive about my life, but unfortunately I can’t. Not right now, at least.

“Things are worse than crazy. I’ve got this baby brother or sister coming along soon. But you know all about that. Anyway, I need help with how I feel toward this kid who’s not even born yet. I resent Mom and Uncle Jack, too, for not including me— not sharing the fact with me early on, when they first found out. Things aren’t the way they used to be with Mom and me. We used to be so close. Unbelievably so.”

Goofey nuzzled against me. I held him gently while I continued my prayer: “I wish this idea I have about living with Daddy half the year wouldn’t be such a big deal to him—or to Mom when I tell her about it. Why can’t things be more simple, the way I view them? I don’t want to hurt anyone; I just need a break.”

I stopped praying. Someone was tapping on my door.

“Come in,” I said, still kneeling.

“Morning, Holly.” Mom studied me with loving eyes. “I’m sorry to disturb you. You were praying, weren’t you?”

“Just finished.”

“We could talk later if you like.” She moved back toward the door, as though she were going to exit.

“Uh, no, that’s okay.”

She tied the belt on her terry-cloth bathrobe more snugly. Feeling uneasy, I motioned for her to sit on my bed. She went and sat down, then patted the spot beside her.

“I don’t want to cause additional problems between us,” Mom began, glancing down as if she was hesitant to speak. “Things have been awfully tense lately. Honestly, I don’t know where to begin.”

I sat next to her, watching her face.
What’s she trying to say?

Without warning, Mom’s eyes were bright with tears. “This is one of the hardest things I’ve encountered in a long time.”

“What is it, Mom? Are you okay?”

“Someone said . . . well, I must confess that I heard this straight from a friend. You’re thinking of going to live with your father . . . you’ve contacted an attorney’s office.”

I thought of the paralegal I’d spoken to on the phone. “I should’ve known she’d recognize my voice,” I muttered.

Mom’s eyes held a strange hurt, almost a disbelief. “Such a thoughtless thing to do, Holly. I’m surprised at you—inquiring about joint custody behind my back.”

I steeled myself. “Lots of kids with split families go back and forth between their divorced parents. What’s so wrong with that?”

“That isn’t something I would have agreed to.”

“Maybe not back when you and Daddy split up, but now . . . now I’m almost fifteen. I should be able to decide certain things. It . . . uh, might help us, you and me, if I lived with Daddy for a while.”

“I wish you would’ve talked to me about it first.” She reached for my hand. “It’s because of the baby, isn’t it? You’re angry with me.”

I glanced over at Goofey, who was curled into a tight ball on my window seat. “Bottom line, I hate the thought of losing my own space—this room. Stan has a huge room all to himself. So should I.”

Mom listened.

I continued. “Daddy built this house for us—you, Carrie, and me. He designed the house with his kids in mind. How could I ever begin to let you take my room and turn it into a . . .” I sputtered angrily at the thought. “Into a nursery for your baby?”

She responded softly, almost sadly. “Holly, do you really think we’re scheming to take away your room? It’s only one of the options we have in mind.”

“I need time to write.” I ignored what she’d just said. “I have an incredible opportunity to become a published book author. This year! But I need my space, and I have to be able to think and write without—”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she interrupted. “When did you find out? How . . . what’s this all about?”

I told her about the initial conversation with Jared.

Mom literally beamed. “What good news! Oh, I’m so excited for you.”

“Do you understand better now?” I said, using the writing project as an excuse for being upset. Of course, that wasn’t entirely true.

“You should have told us immediately,” she said, “when you first heard about the publisher.”

And I wish you’d told me about the baby when you first found out,
I thought, biting my tongue. That was the number-one reason I was so ticked.

She let go of my hand. “I really wish you hadn’t gone behind our backs and called the law office.”

“It might seem like I did that, but I didn’t, not entirely. I talked to Daddy about it. Last night when I called him.”

She gasped. “You mentioned this to your father?”

“He’ll let me come live there. I’m sure of it,” I said with a confidence I didn’t really feel. “I’ll have a large, private bedroom suite and study area. It’s perfect, don’t you see? Besides, Daddy can have his attorney look into it. No hassles for you and Uncle Jack.”

Mom’s face fell. “I’m not an unfit mother, Holly,” she whispered. “No court in the land would change custody based on a whim.”

I was fired up. “They would if I took the stand and testified. Not against you or Uncle Jack but just to say where I wanted to live. How I feel about it. Judges are leaning more and more in favor of kids these days.” I sighed. “What is in the best interest of Holly Suzanne Meredith? Have you thought of it that way?”

“For heaven’s sake, you sound like a spoiled . . .”

“Go ahead, say it. I’m a spoiled brat.”

“Where are you getting such ridiculous, selfish ideas?”

I didn’t dare tell her I’d stayed up late reading
Tricia’s Secret Journey.
Most of my ideas had come from Marty Leigh’s shrewd and conniving characters.

“Where on earth?” she demanded.

Mom had just lashed out at me. Now I had to turn the tables on her. Stick up for what I believed in. “Why shouldn’t living with my father part of the time be an option for me? Why?”

She shook her head. “Please, Holly. Don’t push this.”

“But what if adding another kid to this household destroys my entire future as a writer?” I insisted. “What about that?”

She eased off the bed slowly. “You’re not making sense.”

“I know the feeling,” I mumbled under my breath. “By the way, when can we discuss the phone-calling rule?”

“Maybe we won’t need to.” There was a strange, icy edge to her words. “If you’re moving out, why would you need to call home after school?” With that, she burst into tears and left the room.

I could hear Uncle Jack’s gentle voice at the end of the hall as she went to him for comfort, no doubt.

Whew, was I in trouble now!

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

Chapter 14

I kept running into Jared Wilkins all day at school. Although I felt responsible for breaking Mom’s heart, I felt confident enough in myself to remind Jared again that we were nothing more than friends.

I complained to my friends about him during lunch. “When will he ever get it through his head? He and I . . . we’re through.”

Andie, Paula, and Kayla listened, sympathizing with me.

“You know Jared: If he’s not with someone, he always wants to be,” Andie reminded us. “This will pass as soon as he finds his next victim.”

The twins laughed. “She’s right,” Paula said.

“Well, I hope so.” I opened my carton of chocolate milk.

“So . . . what’s everyone think about the new Marty Leigh book?” I asked.

Andie snorted. “
Everybody’s
not reading that book!”

I grinned. “You’re right, and what a mistake. You’re totally missing out.”

Kayla nodded. “I love how she wraps everything up in the end. It’s really amazingly satisfying and truly wonderful.”

“Don’t tell me what happens,” I said, dying to know, but eager to read it for myself.

Paula fluffed her hair, frowning. “I have a feeling I know exactly where you got your ideas about living with your dad.”

“What do you mean?” I was playing dumb.

“You know—the joint custody thing in the book,” Paula said. “It was Tricia’s idea first, long before it was yours. I’m right, and you know it.”

I thought back to last Saturday at the bookstore, when I’d read the back of the book. Paula was right; I had gotten the idea from the book.

I sighed dramatically. “Look at it this way—maybe it was meant to be. Maybe I was supposed to read
Tricia’s Secret Journey
at this stage in my life.”

“Oh, please! Surely you aren’t saying it was planned by God,” Andie said. “I think you’re stirring up trouble for your mom and dad. They’ve already been through a divorce; why do you have to start something stupid like this?”

“My wishes and desires are not stupid!”

Andie stared at me. “I hardly know you anymore, Holly-Heart. It’s like your personality has been altered somehow.”

“Really? Is that what you think?” I stared back at her, then at the twins. “Do
all
of you think this?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to agree with a personality change,” Paula spoke up. “But I do think you should wait, give your mom a chance to have her baby, and then decide. It’s the kind thing to do.”

Kayla was nodding her approval. “I agree with Paula. Why not wait and see how things go after the baby comes?”

“Seems logical to me,” Andie said.

I took a long drink of chocolate milk. “Then, none of you are on my side?”

“What do you mean?” Paula asked. “This has nothing to do with taking sides.”

“Seems like it,” I muttered into my milk carton.

“Well, why don’t you come to youth group tonight? You missed last week,” Paula said.

“Yeah, we’ll save you a seat,” Kayla offered. “Okay?”

I gave in to their suggestion, realizing once again that they really
did
care. No one was siding against me. Not really.

We had a substitute teacher in French class, and she hadn’t the slightest idea how to either speak or write the language. So she gave us free study time.

Gratefully, I used the fifty minutes to work on my novella. Perfect. I had decided to wait until the very end of the book to think of a fabulous title, but the more I wrote, the more I realized that a good title was essential to the entire structure of the story.

That’s what I’ll do tonight,
I thought.
After youth group.

I would create a sensational title. Titles, after all, caught book editors’ attention first. I certainly didn’t want to lose the opportunity to impress Jared’s uncle, the publisher.

Speaking of Jared, he was waiting for me after French class. “Hey, I found out the deadline for our manuscripts.” He fell into step with me.

“Really? When is it?”

“March 15.”

“That’s good. Mom’s delivery date is still over a month away.” Perfect timing. “I’ll have my story finished long before that time.”

If all goes well at home,
I thought.

“So how’s it coming—the writing, I mean?” he asked.

“Really great. What about yours?”

“Cool.” He flashed a heart-stopping grin. “Thanks for asking.’

“It was just a simple question,” I told him. “Don’t read anything into it.”

“Aw, Holly, stop being so defensive.”

“I think it’s time for me to go.” I turned to leave. No sense hanging around. Jared was still driving me crazy.

“Wait, uh, Holly. Would it be okay if I walked you to your locker?”

I studied him. This guy never, I mean
never,
gave up!

“C’mon, it’s no big deal,” he assured me. “Just a friendly gesture.”

“Oh, all right. Come on.” He had to hurry to keep up—it didn’t turn out to be the romantic hall stroll he might’ve anticipated. Basically, Jared ran behind me all the way to my locker. It was ridiculous what I was doing to him, but I had my reasons. No way was he going to get the wrong idea about me . . . us.