Holly's Heart Collection Two (15 page)

She giggled, allowing me to glob the alien-green stuff on her nearly flawless face.

“You just wait,” I whispered, thinking how funny Jared would look with the identical treatment. Lucky for him I’d sent him home. Besides, all the cucumber facials in the world wouldn’t bring a smile to his face.

When it was time for Paula’s facial mask to come off, I brought a hot towel over from the sink. She carefully patted the hardened green crust. In minutes, Paula’s face was glowing and makeup free. I couldn’t believe how much better she looked minus the dark eyeliner.

“Nice,” she said as I held the mirror up to her. She puffed out her cheeks, gazing into the mirror.

“Now we can see your natural beauty,” I said, admiring my work. “You have very clear, even skin, Paula, and if I were you, I’d go with only a little foundation and a touch of light blush. No eyeliner.”

“You sound like a MAC saleswoman.” She giggled as I applied a light base of foundation and a hint of blush. To accentuate her big eyes, I applied sable brown mascara and silky tan eye shadow.

“Hold still,” I said.

Paula inspected her face again. “I…I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “I don’t look like myself.”

“One thing’s for sure,” I said. “You look a lot less like your twin. You’ll get used to less makeup. You’ll see.”

Mom brought over a plateful of apple and orange slices. Without asking, she poured a glass of milk for each of us. I noticed a little frown line. Was she upset about something?

“Enjoy,” she said, taking a steaming cup of peppermint tea out of the microwave. “Nice seeing you again, Paula.” She headed downstairs to the family room, where Stephie, Carrie, Mark, and Phil were supposedly doing their homework.

“Your mom is really sweet,” Paula said. “You’re lucky she’s home all the time now.”

“Yeah,” I said, wondering what was bothering Mom. I settled onto the barstool across from Paula, reaching for an apple chunk. “It wasn’t always that way. After Daddy left, she had to work all the time.”

“I’m sure your uncle Jack makes things easier on the family’s finances,” Paula said.

“No kidding.” I thought about my allowance. Uncle Jack had tripled it recently. At least that was one thing I could count on staying the same if we moved.

“Just think,” Paula added, “if your mom hadn’t remarried, you might not be leaving Dressel Hills at all.”

“Probably not. But our family always sticks together, no matter what.” What I really meant to say was: Mom, Carrie, and I always stayed together, no matter what. Uncle Jack could take a flying leap for all I cared.

Paula’s voice grew softer, “Last year, when we first moved here, it was real hard making friends. For the longest time, Kayla was the only friend I had.”

“What was it like moving away from your home in Pennsylvania? Paula looked up at the ceiling fan, as if doing so would help her remember. “Back east, my very closest friends and relatives lived within a few blocks of us. We grew up in the same neighborhood and attended the same school and church. When we told everyone we were moving, they promised to keep in touch. But I guess it’s hard staying in touch with friends you don’t see anymore.” She paused for a moment, finishing off a piece of fruit. “There’s one person who has never forgotten to write, though, especially by email.”

“Really?” I leaned forward, eager to hear of Paula’s secret love in Pennsylvania. Had she been holding out on me?

A broad smile danced across her shining face. “My grandma still remembers to write.”

I slumped back, a little disappointed. “What about guys you knew?”

“Well, one of my guy friends emailed me every other day, but when school started, I was too busy to answer,” she said with a grin.

I didn’t need to be told who had distracted her. From the time she’d laid eyes on Jared Wilkins,
he
had been her focus. And I’d become furious. But everything changed drastically a month ago when Paula made repeated efforts to win my friendship. Now I knew in my heart that she could be trusted.

I offered her a choice of sheer lipsticks. She chose my favorite, for her coloring, at least: Cinnamon Toast. I watched as she held the mirror up to her face, applying the lipstick.

“Wow,” I said, stepping back to view my handiwork. And hers. “You really look fabulous.”

Paula gazed into the hand mirror. “I think you’ve missed one of your talents, Holly,” she said. “You should consider becoming a makeup artist. You know, for movie stars and models.” She reached down and hugged my cat good-bye.

We laughed together as we walked to the bus stop down the street. The way I always had with Andie. It was fabulous having more than one best friend!

“Thanks again for the new me,” Paula said, waving as the bus screeched to a stop.

“Anyone who sees you will think you’re the brand-new girl in town,” I called to her.

She grinned as the bus doors swooshed open.

I hurried back to the house wishing a hearty farewell to my memory of the old Paula Miller. Inside and out.

When I closed the front door, Mom was sitting on the sofa, sipping tea. “Got a minute?” she asked. Her face looked drawn. Her eyes lacked their usual brightness.

Instantly, a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. I sat down. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you.” She placed her teacup carefully into the saucer on the round coffee table. By her precise movements and the tone of her voice, I knew trouble was brewing.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.” She studied me. “I’m hoping you can fill me in, Holly-Heart.”

“About what?” I felt the knot tighten.

Her fingers strummed the coffee table, and her eyes were squinty. “Exactly who is Sean Hamilton?” she asked.

GOOD-BYE, DRESSEL HILLS

Chapter 5

“Sean?” I repeated his name as Mom pulled something from her pocket.

“This came today.” She held up a letter. “Your father will be skiing in town next week,” she said.

I didn’t tell her I knew all about Daddy’s plans from Sean. The last I’d heard, though, Daddy was coming during spring break.

Mom continued. “Evidently, your father’s bringing Tyler, your stepbrother, too.”

I nodded.

“And…” She paused, rereading the letter. “A boy named Sean Hamilton.”

I smiled, remembering the tall surfer I’d met last Christmas on the beach while visiting Daddy. “He’s just a friend I met when Carrie and I were out in California,” I explained. What I didn’t say was that Sean had just started writing to me. I had talked to him on the phone after my birthday, when Tyler called, and he’d sent a letter soon after that. It was just a friendly letter, telling about his classes and his niece and nephew. Nothing heavy, though he’d asked to exchange email addresses.

She fingered the envelope from Daddy. “By the way your father refers to him, he sounds older than you. Is that correct?”

“A little, yeah.” I set the record straight. “Sean’s going on sixteen, and he baby-sits for Tyler sometimes. That’s why Daddy knows him so well.”

“Really? A
guy
baby-sitter.” Mom wasn’t making this easy for me.

“He’s good with kids. He adores his niece and nephew,” I volunteered, not sure why I was trying so hard to convince her. “Just ask Carrie. She really liked him.”

Mom’s eyes got squinty again. “Your father let Sean baby-sit Carrie?”

“And Tyler…just for one short afternoon,” I said. Why was she making such a big deal over this?

“Well, I’d like to meet this boy before you go off skiing with him.” She adjusted her earring. “Your father has asked permission for you to spend the day skiing with Sean…and Tyler and him, of course.” She referred to the letter again.

“Well, it won’t be like a date, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said quickly. I could hear Uncle Jack coming up the porch steps, and I didn’t want
him
poking his nose into this conversation.

“I certainly hope not,” she said with an air of finality. “Still, I want to meet him.”

Uncle Jack was knocking the snow off his boots before he came in the front door. Quickly, I got up and left the room. He was the last person I wanted to talk to. My life, and possibly my future, lay in his hands.

I felt a blast of cold air as Uncle Jack came in. “Whoo-whee!” he said to Mom. “It’s getting cold. The weather reports say there’s a killer blizzard headed our way.”

Who cares about blizzards?
I thought, closing the door to my room. I snuggled down on my window seat and picked up my latest Marty Leigh mystery novel. But I had a hard time keeping my mind on the plot. I kept thinking about moving.

After supper, Jared called. He sounded depressed. “Hey,” he began. “I couldn’t pass up a chance to talk to you for free, you know.” He chuckled a little, but he didn’t sound like himself.

I sighed into the portable phone. “I know how you feel.” I paused, hoping he wasn’t hurt about this afternoon. “I’m sorry about today, it just didn’t seem—”

He interrupted me. “It’s okay, Holly-Heart. Honest.” He was silent, then came the question I was expecting. “Have you heard anything more about the move?”

“Nothing.”

He was quiet again.

“You okay?” I asked.

Sadly, he answered, “Call me the minute you know something.

“You’ll be the very first,” I reassured him. “I promise.”

“I’ve been praying every minute, you know…that something will happen so you won’t leave.”

I smiled. “That’s very sweet. And listen, Jared. I’ve been praying about it, too.”

“That’s good.” He seemed to brighten a bit. “Isn’t there a verse in the Bible about that?”

“Yeah, it’s something about when two people pray for the same thing, it can happen.” I swirled my hair around my finger. “Where’s that verse found?” I asked, thinking of Danny. He would know.

“The Gospel of Matthew somewhere,” Jared said. “Hold on, I’ll grab my dad’s concordance. Every word in the Bible is listed in it—linked to a verse.”

“Perfect.” I could hear the pages turning as he flipped through them, searching.

“Here it is,” he said. “Listen to this.”

“Hold on a sec.” I walked to my desk, the portable phone still at my ear. I pulled out a pen from the center drawer and ripped off a piece of scratch paper to jot down the verse. “Okay, what is it?”

“Matthew 18:19,” he said. “Wow. It says, ‘If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.’ ”

“That’s incredible,” I said, switching the phone to my right ear.

“Keep praying, Holly-Heart,” he said softly.

I shivered at his words. “See you tomorrow.” Hanging up, I thought about what Andie said—about Jared getting too mushy over me. Maybe she was right. But for now, it was okay, I hoped.

Sean’s second letter arrived on Thursday after school. He wrote about how excited he was to come to Colorado to ski, and how much fun it would be to see me again. I’d been putting off writing to him because I really wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to encourage him too much, especially feeling the way I did about Jared. But I didn’t want to snub him, either. After all, he was coming next week. So I wrote:

Dear Sean,

Thanks for your letters. I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner. I’ve been busy with homework and other things.

My sister can’t wait to see Tyler again. He’s coming along, right?

I was just curious—how well do you ski? I’m sure my dad will coach you if you need help. He’s the one who taught me when I was little.

Dad wrote Mom a letter about bringing you to Dressel Hills with him, and now she wants to meet you. Mom’s like that with all my friends, so don’t worry, it’s no big deal. Well, I better get going.

Your friend,

Holly Meredith

The doorbell rang as I finished rereading the letter to Sean.

“Holly, it’s Andie,” Carrie called up the stairs.

“I’m coming!” I slipped my letter to Sean into the bottom drawer of my dresser and hurried to meet my friend.

She wore heavy black sweats and a purple ski jacket. “Did you hear?” she said, out of breath. “A blizzard’s heading toward Dressel Hills.”

I led her up the stairs to my room. “Yep, I heard,” I said, thinking about Uncle Jack’s announcement yesterday. I wished he would come home announcing something worthwhile for a change. Like that we were staying in Dressel Hills, for instance.