Holly's Heart Collection One (20 page)
“Hurry,” Jared said in a silly voice, pulling on the strap to the binoculars.
“Just a minute,” I snarled, swinging away from him. As I did, I lost my balance. The binoculars fell from my hands and my feet slipped away from me. Desperate, I grabbed for the canyon wall. Anything to keep me from falling.
Andie screamed, “Holly, no!”
SECRET SUMMER DREAMS
For a terrifying second the sky spun above me.
Then I felt a strong hand grab my arm. “I’ve got you, Holly.” Danny reached for me with both hands and pulled me away from the drop-off. “Here.” He set me against the canyon wall. Shaking, I leaned against the rock, my hands wet with fear. I refused to look down into the great chasm below.
Andie took my hand. “Holly, you scared me,” she said. “Are you all right?”
I nodded slowly, trying to catch my breath. She and Danny looked at me, concern written on their faces. Jared hung back, knowing it was his fault.
Closing my eyes, I took a few more breaths. I could still feel my feet slipping out beneath me, the sky tilting to meet me….
I shivered and opened my eyes. “I’m fine, really,” I said when Andie and Danny didn’t look convinced. “Danny saved my life.”
I pressed my hands against the canyon wall. The solid rock felt reassuring under my fingertips. Suddenly, I remembered. “The binoculars. They’re gone!”
Jared held them high over his head. “Never fear, Jared’s here.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Danny said, frowning. “If you hadn’t been here, clowning around like that, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Well, let’s hear it for Mr. Responsible,” Jared mocked. “If Holly hadn’t been looking through
your
binoculars…” His voice trailed off.
What a ridiculous comparison, yet Danny said nothing. The two boys glared at each other.
“Can we go back now?” I asked, still shaken up.
Jared started to argue, but Danny gave him a stern look and he stopped.
“I’ll go behind you, Holly, and catch you if you slip,” Danny said.
“Thanks,” I said.
Jared led the way again, with Andie following. My knees still shook from the close call as I started up the trail, watching my step and staying close to the right side of the path, near the wall. Whenever I even glimpsed the edge of the trail, I shivered deep inside.
The climb up took us longer than coming down. Soon I was breathing hard.
“Can you make it all right?” Danny asked behind me.
“Yeah,” I said, not turning my head. We didn’t talk the rest of the way. I was still too rattled to concentrate on anything except getting out of there.
At last we arrived at the top. I turned around for one last look, and then the four of us headed for the bus.
A tassel-eared squirrel darted across our path. We stopped to watch as it shimmied over the rocks and disappeared. “What kind of squirrel is that?” I asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it in Colorado.”
“I have an animal guide back in the bus,” Danny said. “We can look it up there if you want.”
“Sure,” I said.
Andie flashed me a knowing smile. I knew what she was thinking.
Mr. Keller was waiting for all of us beside the bus door, counting kids as we boarded the bus.
“One more day before we head home,” Mr. Keller told us. “We’ll spend tonight at Flagstaff, and then we’ll leave for Colorado bright and early tomorrow.”
Danny offered his hand to help me into the bus. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, pointing the way to his seat.
I nodded, aware of my stomach flutters as we sat side by side.
From his backpack he pulled out a handbook. “You were so interested in the animals back there, I thought you’d like to check this out.”
He turned to a picture of a Kaibab squirrel. Its tail was completely white, and the caption said it was rare and endangered and lived only on the north rim.
“The squirrel I saw had a gray tail with white underneath,” I said. “Must not be a Kaibab.” I paged through his book. “This is too cool.”
“You can have it,” Danny said, his eyes dancing.
I wondered why he was giving the book away. Had he already memorized it?
“Thanks,” I said, holding it. “And for saving my life, uh, back there.” I started to feel a bit shy. There wasn’t much more to say. “I’d better get back to Andie now. See you later.”
Heading down the aisle, I saw Andie give me her thumbs-up sign. She eyed the book Danny had just given me. “What’s that?”
I showed her the animal guidebook. “Isn’t it terrific?”
She whistled. “So tell me everything,” she said as I sat down. “What’s going on between you two?”
“How should I know?” I said, puzzled at my own excitement over Danny. “I mean, he’s like a big brother. That’s all.”
“That’s
not
all,” she insisted. “He kept you from being a skinny little grease spot at the bottom of the Grand Canyon!”
There was no denying that. Andie was absolutely right, and I couldn’t hide my smile.
When we arrived in Flagstaff, Andie and I settled into our hotel room. All of us had supper at a McDonald’s nearby, then a few of the kids went swimming while others played a game of Rook on the pool patio.
I searched for a pay phone. It had been days since I talked to Mom. I found one in the hotel lobby and punched in the number for my phone card.
The baby-sitter answered. It was Marcia Greene, a straight-A student from school.
“Hi, Marcia,” I said. “It’s Holly. Is Mom home?”
There was an awkward pause. “Just a minute,” she said. “Here’s Carrie.”
“Hi, Holly,” Carrie said when she got on the phone. “Where are you?”
“In Arizona. We’ll be home tomorrow night.”
“Goody! Can’t wait to see you. It’s real boring here without you.”
Carrie’s voice made me homesick. “Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“Out on a date.”
I almost choked. “A date? Who with?”
“Some man,” Carrie said.
“Do I know him?” I said, feeling like a parent screening a prospective suitor.
“His name is Mr. Tate. He’s new at church. Mom went out with him to dinner somewhere real fancy.”
I coughed. “How do you know all this?”
“Well, Mom never dresses up to go to the Golden Arches, does she?”
“I guess you’re right,” I said, laughing only on the outside. “Tell Mom I called. See you tomorrow night.” I hung up.
What a nightmare! Mom had never loved anyone but Daddy, at least until he left us and got remarried. I actually thought she was okay with being single. But now, while I was hundreds of miles away on choir tour, she’d started to date. What on earth was going on?
Slowly I climbed the stairs to our hotel room. Andie was out swimming, so I took a long shower, then climbed into bed without waiting for her to return to the room.
When my watch beeped out the time at six o’clock the next morning, I woke up immediately. My first thought was of Mom. I couldn’t wait to get back home, where I wish I could’ve been last night. I was desperate for a heart-to-heart talk with Mom. Where was her good sense?
I leaped out of bed and stuffed my clothes into an overnight bag.
“What’s the rush?” Andie said, rubbing her sleepy eyes. “You’re not homesick, are you?”
“No.”
“Hey, what’s bugging you?” She sat up, stretching. “You’re always so cheerful in the morning.”
“Mom’s started dating.” I bunched up my pajamas and thrust them deep into the bag.
Andie scrunched her nose. “She’s what?”
“You heard me.”
“Did I miss something? How do you know?” She took her brush from the nightstand and began counting the strokes out loud. Stopping at fifteen, she said, “Come on, Holly. Talk to me.”
I wanted to cry. “I called home last night, and Carrie said Mom was out on a date,” I explained. “Out with some guy she met at church: Mr. Tate.” I swallowed hard. “I’m just upset, that’s all.”
“How come?” Andie looked puzzled. “You should be happy for your mom. Doesn’t this mean she’s growing past her pain—you know, accepting the divorce and all that?”
I shrugged. I didn’t think Mom needed to grow. She seemed fine just the way she was.
Andie persisted. “Well, it
is
a good sign, isn’t it?”
I didn’t want to talk about this. Besides, Andie had no idea what it was like to lose a father to divorce and possibly a mother to remarriage.
No idea at all.
SECRET SUMMER DREAMS
Carrie and Mom were waiting in the church parking lot when our bus finally rolled into Dressel Hills. It was dark, but in the streetlight I could see a purple and pink balloon bouquet floating out of our car window. Grinning, Carrie was waving the balloons back and forth.
The bus came to a stop, and the kids began gathering small pieces of luggage under their seats.
“Hey, Holly,” called Jared from the middle of the stampede. “Need any help?”
“No thanks,” I replied. I’d made sure to avoid him ever since my near-death experience in the Grand Canyon.
Andie poked me. “Are you
sure
you don’t want the finestlooking boy in Dressel Hills to help you with your bags?”
“
He
almost got me killed.” I stashed the nature book from Danny into my backpack.
“You’re guarding that book pretty close, I see,” she teased.
“It’s full of interesting stuff.”
“Well, if you can’t find all the facts in there,” she said, tapping the book through the backpack, “I know a guy who’s a walking encyclopedia.” Andie jerked her head toward Danny.
I blushed.
Loaded down with backpacks, we squeezed through the swarm of kids exiting the bus. At last we were outside. We gathered around as the driver opened the huge luggage compartment.
My eight-year-old sister jumped out of the car. “Holly!” she cried, running toward me. “Look what I got you with my own money.” She held out the balloon bouquet.
“What a sweetie,” I said. “Thanks!”
Surprisingly, Andie’s and my suitcases were among the first to be unloaded from the bus. Mom had already opened the car trunk, and Andie lugged her stuff to our car while Mom stood smiling at me. No, she was literally grinning. “Welcome home, Holly-Heart.” She hugged me close. Maybe my eyes were pulling tricks on me, but Mom looked happier than she had since Daddy had divorced us. I mean,
her
. My stomach tightened. What did it mean, this strange glow?
“How was the choir tour?” Mom asked, arranging my luggage in the trunk.
“Fabulous,” I said.
“Let’s hear all about Disneyland,” she said as Andie and I climbed into the backseat, the balloons bobbing between us.
Carrie turned around and peered over the front seat. “Did you get a Mickey Mouse for me?”
“Wait and see,” I teased.
I wanted to fire my questions about Mom’s new love interest, but I bit my lip. I’d just have to wait till Andie and Carrie weren’t around.
When we stopped at a red light, Carrie asked, “Did you see your daddy?”
“He’s
your
daddy, too,” I replied.
“I don’t have a daddy.”
Andie looked surprised. “What does she mean?” she whispered.
“You do so,” I insisted, ignoring my friend’s question.
Mom tried to explain, probably for Andie’s benefit. “Carrie doesn’t remember her father because she was so young when he left.”
“Well?” Carrie wouldn’t let it go. “Did you see him?”
“Uh-huh,” I said slowly, not wanting to let on just how important my visit with Daddy had been.
“What’s he like?”
“Carrie, honey,” Mom interrupted. “Maybe Holly would like to wait to talk about this later.”
“It’s okay,” I said, sticking up for Carrie.
Seemed obvious to me that
Mom
was the one who didn’t want to discuss it. Her attitude upset me. I decided to get right to the heart of things. “I’ve made a decision,” I announced. “I’m going to spend the summer with Daddy.”
“You’re what?” Carrie said.
“Wait a minute,” Mom said. “We haven’t talked over any of this.”
“Yeah,” Carrie said. “I won’t let you go away all summer.”
Andie glared at me. “Neither will I,” she said softly.
Let
me? Nobody seemed to care what
I
wanted. Even Andie seemed too close to blowing up over my decision. Fortunately, we turned into her driveway before she had time to have a hissy fit.