Holly's Heart Collection Two (61 page)

“Very cute.”

“No, really, I don’t think your stepmom’s all that wicked.”

“Shh!”

“You mean she doesn’t
know
she’s a wicked stepmother?” Andie was really sneaky. Trying to get me off the subject.

“Andie,” I tried again. “Just listen to me.”

She was leaning over the dishwasher but remained motionless like a statue.

Exasperated, I turned around, my hands all soapy. “Stand up and listen.”

She cranked herself up slowly like a windup doll. “There, how’s that?”

I turned around and finished wringing out the dishcloth. “You’re hopeless.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, just forget it.” I wasn’t in the mood to approach her about Rico Hernandez. Not anymore. Mostly because I could see she was euphoric. And he was the reason.

We worked in silence, finishing off the kitchen in nothing flat. Andie was smarter than to push the issue. After all, she and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember, so she probably already figured out what I was thinking.

Both of us phoned home to our families to let them know we’d arrived safely. When Andie talked to her mom, I noticed she purposely left Rico out of the conversation. She kept asking her mom to repeat things. Probably because her twin brothers were crying in the background.

After she hung up, Andie cornered me near the refrigerator. “Holly, I want you to promise not to tell my mom about Rico.”

“Sure, fine, whatever,” I said glibly. “What’s to tell?”

“I really like him, Holly. We’re so much alike.” Her eyes, normally quite round, grew narrow now. Almost slits. “I know you’re my best friend, but I need to hear you say, ‘I promise.’ ”

Not only was she glaring at me, she was squeezing my arm!

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, but you know how my mom is…she jumps to all sorts of ridiculous conclusions. So, will you promise?”

“What’s the big deal?” I said.

“It’s important to me, that’s what.”

I could see she wasn’t going to let this go till I gave in. “Okay,” I reluctantly agreed. “I promise.”

“Good.” She looked perfectly relieved.

Tyler called to us from the living room, wanting us to play Monopoly. “C’mon, girls, I’ll take you on.”

“You’re no match for me,” Andie said.

I laughed. “Just you wait.” We settled down for an evening of popcorn and Park Avenue.

Daddy came in later, wearing his robe and slippers. Saundra seemed awfully attentive to him, plumping the cushions behind his overstuffed chair and helping him find just the right position for his footrest. Then she put on some soft music in the background, lit all the candles in the room, and dimmed the lights.

“Mom!” Tyler wailed. “We can’t see our game.”

She tilted her head as if to say she was sorry and turned the lights up just a bit. “There, dear, how’s that?”

“Still too dark,” he said, sounding less spoiled than before. “But we’ll live with it.”

I grinned at Andie. This kid had his mom wrapped around both his little fingers. Not only that, he wiped Andie off the board within the first hour of play.

I hung in there, with some cheering from Andie. Daddy too.

Shaking the dice, I held my breath for a nine. A six, seven, eight, or ten meant certain bankruptcy. Any other number meant I was headed to the poorhouse. Tyler owned so many hotels he couldn’t fit all of them on the board. I wondered if living with a tycoon stepfather had made any difference.

“Throw!” Tyler rubbed his hands together, anticipating his triumph. One die rolled off the board, and Tyler cupped his hands over it. “A six!”

The other die was a two. Game over.

“Once again, I win,” Tyler said, beginning to count his wad of money.

I pushed my remaining dollars together without tallying them. “Here, you can have mine, too.”

He looked surprised. “Don’t you want to know how much you ended up with?”

“Not really,” I said. “Money isn’t everything.”

He snorted humorously. “If you wanna win, it is!”

Saundra shook her head, smiling. “Okay, Tyler, I think a little humility would do well here.”

He looked sheepish, like he’d been caught doing something dreadful. “Thanks for playing my game, girls.”

“Any time,” Andie replied, laughing.

“It was very enlightening,” I said, helping to fold up the board and put away the little green houses and red hotels. It was obvious Saundra hadn’t taught her son about the dangers of greed.

When the game lid was secure, I turned around to ask Daddy something, but he was sound asleep. His head had dropped down against his chest, and his hands were folded across his lap. “Looks like someone’s had a rough day,” I whispered to Saundra.

“Your father’s a tired man.” The gentle, motherly way she said it made me wonder even more.

LITTLE WHITE LIES

Chapter 10

Much later in the evening, Andie and I finally had a chance to have our little talk. Actually, it turned out to be a big deal. Much bigger than I ever dreamed. Andie had totally lost it over a chance encounter on the beach. And on the first day, no less!

I propped myself up with one elbow on the queen-sized bed in Andie’s room, studying her as I lay on my side. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. “Let me get this straight,” I said. “Did you say you think this guy could be your future husband?”

Her eyes sparkled as she rolled over, staring goo-goo-eyed at the ceiling. “In my entire life, I’ve never met a guy like this. And to think he’s Hispanic, just like me.”

I could see that Stan and Ryan had done a number on her back home. “Okay, so he and you have the same ethnic background. So what?”

“Don’t you see?” she said. “This could be the reason God let me catch the plane this morning.”

She’s turning irrational on me!

“You’re kidding, right?” I looked at her. Then I sat up and peered down into her eyes. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

She sat up, nearly knocking me over. “You’re not funny, Holly. I’m serious. I want to get to know Rico while I’m here.” She sighed, her eyes getting that dreamy, faraway look in them again. “Please don’t say I shouldn’t.”

“Remember what our moms discussed about not pairing off?”

She shook her head. “This isn’t like that. Rico’s different.”

Now I was really confused. “He’s a
boy,
right?”

“Double duh…”

“But you hardly know him,” I pointed out. “Besides, do you even know if he’s a Christian?”

“We didn’t talk about that.” Her face looked glum for a moment, then it brightened. “I could witness to him and lead him to the Lord.”

“That’s risky,” I said. “And while you’re spending time talking to him about Christ, you’re getting in over your head. It doesn’t work that way.”

I waited for a comeback, but she was silent. Finally I dealt with the real issue—the thing that was really bugging me. “I thought you were coming here to spend time with
me,
” I said softly.

“Oh, Holly, we’ll be spending lots of time together. Rico won’t be able to come around every day. You’ll see.” She hugged me playfully. “You don’t have to be jealous. No one could ever take your place.”

After several more minutes of guy talk, I excused myself and headed to my own room. Andie had more than flipped; she’d completely lost her ability to reason.

I pulled out my journal and wrote my feelings about this first day at Daddy’s.

Monday, July 11: I’m confused. Andie met a guy on the beach today. His name is Rico Hernandez. She thinks he’s Mr. Wonderful, but I think her objectivity is totally out of whack.

One minute she says maybe he’s her future husband. Why? Just because he’s Hispanic. Then she says maybe she’s supposed to lead him to Christ—that’s why she met him. And last, she thinks maybe this was the reason she got on the plane today. Like meeting Rico is somehow providential.

Whew! She’s got her mission mixed up big-time. And short of locking her in her room, I have no idea what to do with her.

Andie’s trying to convince me that he won’t be hanging around all the time. But the way he looks at her…Well, I’ll guess we’ll find out soon enough.

I closed my journal, feeling dejected. Andie’s mom had put her good faith in me. I couldn’t let her—or Andie—down.

The next day, after Tyler’s summer math class, he convinced us to build a giant sand castle with him. Saundra had several errands to run after lunch, so I agreed to baby-sit. Since she was expecting a call from Daddy, I brought the portable phone out on the beach with us.

Tyler, Andie, and I were well into the blueprint planning when Rico showed up. At least he wasn’t walking around here half naked, like yesterday. Today, he wore a sleeveless blue T-shirt over his bulging chest muscles and a pair of gray nylon surfer shorts. High on his left shoulder, he balanced two Boogie boards, steadying them with his super-tan hand.

“Cool castle,” he said, acknowledging me with a nod of his head. But his gaze quickly found Andie’s, and before I knew it, they were headed for the ocean.

“Who’s he?” Tyler asked.

“Some guy,” I said. “Ever see him around before? His name’s Rico Hernandez.”

Tyler packed the sand hard with his cupped hands. “I think Sean might know about him.”

What was that supposed to mean?

I dropped the subject of Rico but asked Tyler about Sean Hamilton, the boy I’d met last Christmas when Carrie and I came to visit. “Does Sean still come over and hang out with you sometimes?

“Sure,” Tyler said, standing up and surveying his so-called moat. “He’s over here a lot. Dad likes him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we go to his church sometimes.”

Fabulous news!

“You do?” I was dying to know if Saundra ever went along. “What about your mom; does she go, too?”

“Nah, Mom’s not into church much. I’m not exactly sure why.”

I wished he had said she went at least occasionally, but then, I guess I could understand why Saundra wouldn’t want to. Church, after all, was worship, freely giving love and praise to God. Since she didn’t believe in a personal God, she would probably find worship rather tedious. I determined in my heart to pray more often for the new Mrs. Meredith.

The castle was nearing completion when Andie and her possible future husband came racing out of the water and onto the beach. He’d taken his shirt off and was chasing her. He looked intent upon
catching
her, too. They ran down the beach and out of sight.

I sighed, frustrated. Andie was making it hard for me to watch over her. Besides, her mom would be very upset if she knew what was going on.

I tried to focus my attention on my young charge, who seemed eager to finish his castle before suppertime. Since I didn’t want to abandon Tyler and possibly spoil things between Saundra and me—I wanted to show as much responsibility as I could—I tried to forget about Andie and Rico.

More shouts drifted to my ears. Then there was a long silence, followed by giggling. Andie’s giggles!

I raced to the grassy mound a few yards from Tyler’s castle, peering into the distance. The heat of the midday sun beat against my shoulders, and I shielded my eyes from the glare.

My father’s beachfront property was rather small compared to his sprawling house. I could see Andie and Rico sitting on a boulder overlooking the ocean, and judging by the distance, they were probably trespassing on someone’s property.

Just then the phone rang. I hurried back to the beach blanket and grabbed it. Pressing the On button, I said, “Hello, Meredith residence.”

“Is this Holly?”

“Yes, it is.”

“This is Rosita Martinez. How’s everything there?”

Oh, great, she probably wants to talk to Andie.

My heart was pounding. “We’re having a great time,” I said, trying to remain calm.

“Is Andrea nearby? I’d like to talk with her.”

I gulped. There was no way Andie would ever hear me calling this far away. “I’m sorry, Andie can’t come to the phone right now,” I managed to squeak out.

“Oh, she’s tired? Bless her heart.”

I didn’t want to lie. Mrs. Martinez thought Andie was taking a nap.

“May I have her call you later?” Smart move. This would buy me some time.

“No, no,” she insisted. “I’ll call her back in about an hour.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her. Good-bye.” I zapped the Off button and flung the phone back on the beach blanket.

Tyler noticed my anger. “What’s wrong?”

“Stay here; I’ll be right back.” I stormed down the beach, avoiding the tide foam as it crept close to my bare toes. “How dare Andie put me in this situation,” I whispered, feeling the anger rise in my face.

I could see the cozy twosome half snuggling on the giant boulder. Well, they weren’t really touching, but their shoulders seemed somewhat connected. When I reached yelling distance, I held my hands up to my mouth and shouted her name.

Andie turned to look.

Good. I’d gotten her attention. Now I was too stubborn to holler out the message. Instead, I motioned to her with my hand, making large round motions over and over until I was sure she would catch on. But she didn’t respond instantly, as I’d hoped. And I was too angry to stand there and wait for her. Turning back, I headed into the salty wind.