Checking Holly Twice, page 7
“Me, me,” Ruby shouted.
“Me too.” Dane shrugged as if dismissing what he’d just heard.
“I…I should probably go on up to my room,” Holly said. “It’s been a long day.”
“What? No, please don’t go,” Ruby said, sounding as if she were about to burst into tears. “After ice cream, Uncle Forest is going to read us The Night Before Christmas.”
“Don’t you want to hear that?” Dane asked. “He does the voices really good.”
She looked over at me. “If it’s all right with your uncle.”
“It’s all right with me,” I said, smiling. “Mrs. Knight’s ice cream is kind of famous in this house.”
Holly smiled back. “I used to love peppermint ice cream when I was a kid.”
“Yay,” Ruby said. “I’ll go get the book. He reads it to us in front of the fire.”
“I’ll get the ice cream,” I said.
The ice cream was in my big freezer in the garage. Once there, I opened the lid and let the cold air cool my flaming cheeks. What had just happened? I needed to pull myself together. This was a night for the kids, not me and my lustful cravings for our guest. What was wrong with me? I was acting like a teenager.
I grabbed the silver tin of the homemade ice cream and closed the freezer. Before going back, though, I wanted to do a quick search on my phone. I typed in Holly Turner. Immediately, the browser listed a half dozen stories about the scandal. I took a good look at the bastard who’d hurt her. Yes, he was pretty. One of those assholes who would get better-looking with age. The woman he’d cheated with? Very young and yes, beautiful. Nothing on Holly, obviously. Holly was a classic beauty, whereas this woman had more of porn-star vibe. Fake boobs and hair extensions, if I had my guess.
I tucked my phone into the pocket of my jeans and went back into the kitchen. Dane had gotten down four bowls from the cupboard and was leafing through one of his comic books. Holly was gone. Had she bailed on us? I hoped not. Dude, you’re in so much trouble, I thought. If you’re this bereft after knowing her for six hours, then when she leaves after the holidays, devastation was inevitable. “Where’s Holly?” I asked.
“She went upstairs to use the ladies’ room. That’s what she called it.” Dane giggled. “Girls are so weird.”
I chuckled and scooped the first chunk of ice cream into the bowls. “Grab that tray for me, kiddo.” I gestured toward the serving tray I’d set out earlier.
“Okay, got it.” Dane fetched it for me and soon we had the bowls arranged nicely along with four spoons and napkins.
By the time we got out to the living room, Holly and Ruby were on the floor in front of the fireplace. Holly was braiding Ruby’s hair. Not the type of braid I knew how to do but one of those French braids my niece was always begging me to master. I’d even watched a video online, but my fat fingers were no good with her slippery hair. I set the tray on the coffee table. The radio was playing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
“Uncle Forest, do you see my hair? Does it look pretty?”
“It looks great, honey. Thanks, Holly. She always wants a French braid, but I’m no good at it.” I held up my hands. “These mitts were not made for fixing hair.”
“I’m sure they have other talents.” Holly tossed me a flirtatious smile that made my stomach flutter. I had a few ideas for my hands. All of which involved some part of checking Holly twice. Did I even remember how to use these paws? I was willing to take a chance to find out.
I grabbed one of the bowls of ice cream, hoping to distract myself. The girls remained on the floor to eat their ice cream. Dane had settled in one of the easy chairs and scooped his ice cream using one of the cookies as a tool. We were all quiet as we enjoyed Mrs. Knight’s phenomenal treat with real bits of peppermint candy cane intermixed.
“This is really good,” Holly said. “I should not be eating it, but it’s Christmas, right?”
“Why shouldn’t you be eating it?” Dane asked.
“I’m always watching my figure,” Holly said. “Actresses are supposed to be thin, so I don’t eat dessert that often.”
“I’m not going to be an actress then.” Ruby smacked her lips. “Ice cream is too good to give up.”
“You might be onto something.” Holly put her empty bowl back onto the tray. “But a treat every once in a while is just fine. Especially one this good.”
By the time the rest of us finished, the hour was nearing nine. Usually the kids went to bed around eight, but since it was Christmas, I knew they’d be too excited to fall asleep. I wanted them good and worn out so I could sneak their Santa presents in.
“Is it time for the story?” Ruby asked.
“Yeah, sure.” I grabbed the book as the kids scrambled onto the couch to sit on either side of me.
Holly got up from the floor to take Dane’s vacated chair and sat cross-legged, looking as excited to hear the story as the kids were.
“’Twas the night before Christmas…” Ruby’s and Dane’s warm bodies melted against my side as I read. This was the kind of moment worth all the worry and stress of raising them alone. They were my heart. My everything. I had to figure out a way to keep them in this house. My family’s house.
When the story ended, I closed the book. “I guess you two better get upstairs and brush your teeth so Santa can come.”
With some reluctance, they trudged toward the stairs. At the bottom step, Ruby turned back to us. “Can Holly come up to tuck us in too?”
“It’s up to her.” I glanced over at Holly. She was staring into the fire with the same sad expression she’d had earlier. “Holly?”
She flinched as if I’d startled her before turning toward the kids. “I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
“If you’d be able to help me tuck them in.”
“Oh, yes. I’d love to do that.”
“Yay,” Ruby said before heading up the stairs.
I waited until I saw them disappear before returning my attention to Holly. “You okay? You were lost in thought there.”
“Yes. I was thinking about last Christmas.” She stood and wandered over to one of the windows. “It stopped snowing.”
I yearned to ask follow-up questions, but I didn’t want to pry. If she chose to share with me, she would. Pressing her to do so would make her clam up. Or it would me, anyway. “Good. I’d like to take the kids in to the skating party tomorrow. If the roads are bad, I don’t risk it.”
“Especially with drivers like me out there.” A dejected twitch of a smile crossed her face before she twisted back to the window.
“Hey, I’m sorry about how I acted this morning when you hit my truck. I acted like a brute,” I said.
“I deserved it.”
I went to stand next to her. “I’m too hard on people sometimes. It’s this constant stress about money.”
“You don’t have to apologize. We’re way past that anyway.”
“I was obsessing all morning about losing this place and how I could possibly tell the kids that the only connection left to their parents would soon be gone. I’ve worked two jobs to try to keep up, but an appliance or my truck needs a part or one of the kids breaks something and then I’m behind again.” I shivered. I’d had to have the furnace repaired last month, which had taken most of my paycheck. I wandered over to the fire and tossed in another log. “I owe everyone in town money, not just the bank for this house.”
She turned slowly toward me. “How much do you owe, all told? Not the payments you’d have to make to ward off foreclosure, but in total?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets and watched the log catch fire. “Just the house alone is about five hundred thousand. Plus another fifty grand in other debt. I have school loans too. Enough that I have no chance to save the house.” Embarrassed, I stayed facing the fire, warming my hands in front of the flames. “But never mind all that. I should enjoy the last Christmas in this house.”
She joined me by the fire. “Let me pay the debt for you. We can wipe it clean.”
“Are you kidding me?” I stepped away, staring at her. Was she joking? No, not from the look on her face. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Consider it a thank-you for letting me be part of a family. Even if it’s only for a few days.”
“Do you make a habit of this?” Anger surged through me. How dare she drop something like this? She didn’t know us. Didn’t have any ties to us at all. Did she enjoy bailing out grown men? Any thoughts I’d had of a exchanging some sugar plums with her later vanished. Nothing like an offer from the big Hollywood star to castrate a man.
“Make what a habit?” Her brow wrinkled. She tugged on one of her dangly earrings. “Are you mad?”
“Hell yes, I’m mad. You can’t blow into town and offer a man over a half a million dollars and expect him not to be pissed.”
“I don’t understand.”
From the look of confusion on her face, she certainly didn’t. “I don’t need a bailout from some rich woman I don’t even know. Especially not one from California.”
She reeled backward as if I’d hit her. “All right then. I guess I know a little more about you than I did a minute ago.”
“Seriously, who do you think you are?”
Her voice shook. “I’m no one. Just a lucky person when it comes to money. And what good is money if you can’t help your friends?”
“I’m not your friend.”
“That much is obvious.” She’d paled, and her hands shook as she wrapped her arms around her middle in a gesture of self-protection. “Forget I said anything. Go ahead and lose your house. Your stupid, selfish pride is much more important than putting your kids in jeopardy. God forbid you should take help from a woman to keep your kids off the street.”
My fists clenched. I would have loved to have something to smash. She was right. Who was I to turn down an offer that would take care of all my problems? We’d be free. The kids could stay in our family home. I could start to put money away for their college educations. Maybe I could even drop my second job.
“Uncle Forest?” Dane’s frightened voice came from the bottom of the stairs.
Crap. Had the kids heard all that? I turned toward him and rearranged my face into a smile. “Hey, buddy. You guys ready for bed?”
Ruby appeared from where she’d been hiding behind her brother. “Are we getting kicked out of our house?”
“What? No, no.” All anger dissipated in an instant. Dammit all. Why had I allowed this discussion to happen in my living room? I’d done this. Shouting and carrying on like a jerk. A generous offer from someone who genuinely wanted to help us. I was an idiot. Now I’d ruined Christmas. Not to mention that we were losing our house.
Holly swept past me and knelt by the children. “Don’t be scared. Your uncle was helping me with my lines for a movie I’m doing after the holidays.”
I stared at Holly. Where had that lie come from?
“What?” Dane asked.
“Actresses have to learn lines and practice their scenes before the director makes a video,” Holly said. “Your uncle was practicing with me.”
“It sounded real,” Dane said.
“That’s because I’m a good actress.”
“What about him?” Dane pointed at his uncle. “He sounded really mad.”
“Your uncle has hidden acting talents,” Holly said. “Anyway, we were just playing around.”
The kids seemed to buy it. Their shoulders came down from where they’d nearly touched their ears.
“I was scared,” Ruby said. “Uncle Forest doesn’t yell.”
“He’s grumpy sometimes but never at home,” Dane said.
“I’m sorry.” Holly opened her arms. “Come here. Let’s hug it out.”
Ruby hurled herself into Holly, almost knocking her over. Holly held her close with one arm and offered the other one to Dane. “You too.”
Dane, rather stiffly, allowed himself to be brought into the embrace. His back muscles shuddered before he relaxed against her. She kissed each of their heads. “Let’s get you tucked in now.”
The three of them walked up the wide stairwell hand in hand. I followed, reeling from what had just happened. Was I trapped? Did I have to take the money now? My old friend anger crept back in. Holly had saved the day, but at what cost to me?
At the top of the stairs, I stopped at the nook in the wall where I displayed family photographs. I picked up the one of my sister and me when we were about Dane’s and Ruby’s ages. I’d promised her I’d take care of her children. A miracle had dropped into my lap. I had to take it, even if it made me feel like a complete failure. All roads had to lead back to the kids, though. They were the only thing that mattered. Staying here was what we all needed. So that is what I would do.
The kids and I had two small bedrooms at the back of the house. Ruby and Dane had twin beds a few feet apart. We all shared a Jack-and-Jill bathroom that connected our rooms. I liked to be close to them in case one of them needed anything in the middle of the night.
Holly pulled back the covers for a yawning Ruby to climb under, then tucked them around Ruby’s shoulders. My niece always slept on her side curled up like a panda bear. Dane, on the other hand, slept on his back, often with his arms flung over his head, as if he fell asleep while in motion.
I smoothed Dane’s hair away from his forehead and kissed him. “Sorry I scared you, bud.”
“That’s okay. Now that I know you were acting, it’s all fine.” He elongated the word acting, which made me chuckle.
“Would you like me to sing you a song before you go to sleep?” Holly asked after she gave Ruby a kiss on her temple.
“Yes, please,” Ruby closed her eyes. “‘Santa Coming to Town.’ That way he’ll make sure to know you’re here with us.”
Holly perched on the end of the bed and then began to sing in a sweet, clear voice. She could sing, too? Talent oozed from this woman. No wonder she’d had so much success.
Dane smiled before closing his eyes as Holly finished singing. She put her finger to her lips and nodded toward the door. We tiptoed out to the hallway. I shut the door behind us.
I motioned toward her room, not wanting to talk to her this close to the where the kids were. We quietly slipped into her room. She stepped over to the bed to turn on a lamp.
I shut the door behind me. “Would you like the fire on?” I asked.
“Sure.” She paced from one end of the bed to the other and then back again.
I flipped the switch for the gas fireplace. Sometimes I lay awake at night counting up all the money they’d spent on various items, including all the gas fireplaces. Regardless, the rooms were impeccably decorated. It figured that Ruby would suggest this one for Holly. Each of the rooms had a different color scheme and style. The Flower Room as Ruby called it reminded me of a cherry tree in the spring, all light greens and soft pinks.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Holly said.
“Which part?” I asked, grumbly.
“All of it. I shouldn’t have interfered. And then when the kids so obviously heard us, I couldn’t think of what else to say. My improvisational skills kicked in there. I couldn’t stand the idea of them being upset at Christmas.”
“What am I supposed to do? They think everything’s fine.” I collapsed into one of the armchairs, all the energy draining from me. Of all the long days and nights since I’d had to step up for the kids, this was the most tired I’d ever been. “Nothing’s fine. Not one thing.”
She pressed her lips together as if to keep words from slipping out. I knew what she wanted to say. Then take the money, you idiot.
“I’m sorry I reacted with so much anger,” I said.
“I triggered your feelings of insecurity.”
“Yes. Still, I’m a jerk.”
“I understand insecurity better than you think. I’m practically swimming in it every day. Anyway, it wasn’t my place to offer.” She plucked at the cuticle of her thumb and spoke without looking at me. “I can’t stand the idea of you worrying about anything after all you’ve done for these kids. That’s all. I wanted to fix something. Everything in my life is out of my control most of the time, and this was a tangible action I could take that would make a difference to your family. I’ve never had anything to offer but money. To my mother. To anyone else. I thought Rhett was different, but it turns out he didn’t really love me. This money—it’s what I was going to use for my ridiculous wedding. If you took it, then maybe all my heartbreak and humiliation wouldn’t have been for nothing.” She clasped her hands together and sank onto the end of the bed. “I’m sorry, though. The last thing I ever wanted was to make you feel worse.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re a phenomenal woman, and not because of your money. That’s the least of it, actually.” I dropped my face into my hands. How could I have made that comment about taking money from a woman? Talk about a pig. I lifted my gaze to her, but she was staring into the fire. “I’m sorry I said that crack about accepting money from a woman. I lashed out because…because I feel like a piece of crap. You’re kind and generous, and I’m a jerk. I want more than anything to be what the kids need and instead I’m inadequate in every way.”
She lifted her gaze toward me with the intensity of a laser beam. “That’s not true. Not one bit. You’re remarkable. You took all this on without complaint and have done everything you could to make a good life for these kids. To me, you’re a hero. ”
“It doesn’t feel that way to me.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I remember what it was like for my mom and me before I started making money. Mostly, I remember the ramen noodles. You know the kind in the plastic package?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Terrible for you. All salt and carbs.”
“And despair.”
“Yeah, that too.”
“I’d probably be a lot smarter if I’d had some vegetables and protein during my first five years.” A sad twitch of her mouth couldn’t quite work itself up to a smile.
“You seem smart enough to me.” I studied my hands. “Do you believe in miracles?”
