Holly's Heart Collection Two
Holly’s Heart: Collection Two
Copyright © 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2008
Beverly M. Lewis
Revised and updated for 2008 edition.
Previously published in five separate volumes:
Second-Best Friend
© 1994, 2002, 2008 Beverly Lewis
Good-Bye Dressel Hills
© 1994, 2002, 2008 Beverly Lewis
Straight-A Teacher
© 1994, 2002, 2008 Beverly Lewis
No Guys Pact
© 1995, 2003, 2008 Beverly Lewis
Little White Lies
© 1995, 2003, 2008 Beverly Lewis
Cover photograph by Mike Habermann Photography, Inc.
Cover design by Eric Walljasper.
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
®
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
E-book edition created 2011
ISBN 978-1-58558-667-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Contents
Little White Lies The Absolute Truth: How Honest Are You? A Quiz
Only Girls Allowed: More Fun Reads From Beverly Lewis
BEVERLY LEWIS, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, fondly recalls her growing-up years. A keen interest in her mother’s Plain family heritage has inspired Beverly to set many of her popular stories in Amish country, beginning with her inaugural novel,
The Shunning
.
A former schoolteacher and accomplished pianist, Beverly has written over eighty books for adults and children. Five of her block-buster novels have received the Gold Book Award for sales over 500,000 copies, and
The Brethren
won a 2007 Christy Award.
Beverly and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, reading, writing, making music, and spending time with their three grandchildren.
Books by Beverly Lewis
G
IRLS
O
NLY
(GO!)
*
Youth Fiction
Girls Only! Volume One
Girls Only! Volume Two
S
UMMER
H
ILL
S
ECRETS
†
Youth Fiction
SummerHill Secrets Volume One
SummerHill Secrets Volume Two
H
OLLY’S
H
EART
Youth Fiction
Holly’s Heart Collection One
†
Holly’s Heart Collection Two
†
Holly’s Heart Collection Three
*
*
4 books in each volume
†
5 books in each volume
To
Kirsten Brown,
who loves cats so much
she wanted to take Melissa-Kitty
home from Swiggum’s farm.
And…
to the memory of Kitty Tom,
a cool Kansas cat who lived
his life spoiled rotten.
SECOND-BEST FRIEND
“I’m sorry, Goofey, but you have to stay in my room tonight,” I said, bending down to stroke my cat’s motley fur. “Our stepdad’s off his allergy pills for the weekend.”
Goofey looked up at me. A brown patch of fur colored the gray around one eye. “Me-e-o-ow.” It was as if he were apologizing for making my stepdad so miserable.
“It’ll be okay, baby,” I whispered. Not having the heart to tell him Mom’s plan, I softly closed the door. Spending the entire weekend—every weekend—from now till who knows when locked away in a room was not something you discuss with your beloved thirteen-year-old tabby. But it was Mom’s only solution to Uncle Jack’s reaction to his allergy pills. For now.
Hurrying downstairs, I thought about Uncle Jack—no blood relation—who was once married to my dad’s sister, now in heaven. The only allergy medicine that worked for him was making him drowsy. And for an upbeat, fun-loving guy, that was bad news. Tonight, though, things would be back to normal.
“Party time!” Uncle Jack called, tossing a round pillow at me as I entered the downstairs family room.
“Hooray!” cheered eight-year-old Stephie.
“Let’s watch a Meredith home video,” Carrie, my nine-year-old sister, suggested, pulling out one of our family before Daddy divorced Mom.
“Forget that,” I said, playfully tugging it away from her.
“Let’s rent
Deep Space Invasion,
” suggested Mark, my nine-year-old cousin-turned-stepbrother.
Phil, ten, tossed a baseball cap into the air. “Cool! Let’s gross everyone out.”
“Yeah, and when we get scared, we’ll crawl into bed with Mommy and Uncle Jack,” Carrie said. She scooted across the floor on her stomach, making room for me in front of the TV.
“Think again,” fifteen-year-old Stan said, sprawling on the floor next to me. It was still weird having four cousins turn into three stepbrothers and one stepsister overnight. “How ’bout a John Wayne movie?” Stan suggested.
“Not tonight, pilgrims,” Mom said, snuggling up to Uncle Jack. I sneaked a glance at them as they kissed. Still enjoying the honeymoon stage, no doubt.
“So…what are we watching?” I asked.
A comical grin sparked mischief in Uncle Jack’s eyes. “You’ll love this one,” he said, popping a DVD into the player.
Everyone cheered when the title came on the screen. But
102 Dalmatians
wasn’t exactly the kind of movie I was hoping for. Especially with Goofey stuck upstairs in my room instead of here purring next to me.
Halfway through the movie we had intermission. Carrie and Stephie raced upstairs to their bedroom while Mom and Stan went to the kitchen to make ice-cream floats.
Thanks to the movie, I missed Goofey more than ever. I trudged upstairs to my room. When I got there, the door was open!
I scurried around my room, searching the closet and under my four-poster bed. “Here, kitty, kitty,” I called frantically. Man, would I be in big trouble if Mom found out Goofey was on the loose in the house.
And poor Uncle Jack! He’d been off his medicine since this morning, hoping for a stupor-free weekend.
Dashing downstairs, I looked everywhere. The living room, under the dining room table, in the kitchen. Worried, I ran to the lower level. That’s when I saw disaster waiting to happen.
Loaded down with a tray of root beer floats, Mom couldn’t see that Goofey was right on her heels! As she made her turn to the round coffee table, my cat leaped onto the sectional.
I crouched behind the sofa as Mom placed the tray of sodas on the wood surface. Quickly, I tried to grab Goofey before Mom or Uncle Jack noticed him. But he leaped away, out of my grasp.