Free Holly's Heart Collection Two by Beverly Lewis Page B

the room, I shivered, thinking about those horrible labels stuck on me. I couldn’t get them out of my mind. Deep inside, I was still trying to rip the labels off my clothes.
    Thank goodness it was only a dream.

SECOND-BEST FRIEND
    Chapter 14
    At four-thirty the phone rang.
    “I’ll get it!” yelled Carrie.
    “I’ve got it!” shouted Stan.
    “It’s for me,” I said.
    Three of us picked up the phones in the house. Tyler was calling from California.
    “Hey, Tyler,” Carrie said.
    Click. Stan hung up.
    “How’s California?” I asked.
    “Fine, thanks,” he said. “Happy birthday, Holly…a little late. Wait’ll you see what I bought you. It’s way cool!”
    I laughed. “Give me a hint.”
    “Nope, you just wait. My mom’s mailing it today.”
    “Is it nice there?” I asked.
    “About seventy-five degrees, I think. Here, ask Sean, he’s baby-sitting me.”
    Sean? My heart pounded. Why did he want to talk to me?
    “Hang up the phone,” I said to Carrie.
    “Why?” she whined.
    “Just do it!”
    Before I could say any more to her, Sean was on the line. “Hey, Holly. How was your birthday?”
    I’d forgotten how deep his voice was. “Don’t ask,” I said, laughing. No way was I telling him about the birthday-suit prank. “What’s it like there?”
    “It’s great, as always, but I’m ready for a change.”
    Click. Carrie hung up. Boring weather talk does it every time.
    “Your dad’s thinking of coming to Denver on business next month,” Sean continued. “If things work out, he’ll bring Tyler and me along to ski.” He paused. “Uh, I’d like to see you if we come to Dressel Hills.”
    Is this for real?
    “You’re coming here?”
    “Over spring break,” he volunteered. “It’s the busiest time of the season, but school’s out. Your dad thought it would be perfect timing.”
    I was suddenly shy again, like when I’d first met him on the beach last Christmas. “Sounds fun,” I said. “Carrie will be thrilled to see Tyler again. They were quite a pair last Christmas.”
    “Well, I better let you go, Holly. But I’d like to write you a letter, if it’s okay.”
    “Uh, sure,” I said.
    “Nice talking to you. Bye.”
    “Bye,” I said, still shocked at his news. Coming to Dressel Hills? Next month?
    I hung up the phone and ran to tell Carrie. Then I stopped cold. What was I thinking? She would blab this to everyone. The whole town would know about Sean Hamilton, the cute California surfer.
    I decided not to record my conversation with Sean in my journal, either. Too risky. Especially with Andie teaming up with Christiana to do horrible things to me these days.
    Somehow I kept things quiet about Sean through supper. And Carrie never even asked why I wanted to talk to him alone on the phone.

    On Thursday Paula cornered me in the hall after school. Kayla was waiting for her several feet away. I noticed Paula’s designer jeans and her new denim jacket. She looked completely different from her twin.
    She probably wants her clothes back, I thought.
    “How’s Goofey?” asked Paula.
    “Better.”
    “I’d love to see him again,” she said, shifting her books from one arm to the other.
    “I, uh, don’t know,” I stuttered. No way did I want to share my precious time with Goofey. Not with the cat killer.
    Around the corner came Andie and Christiana, laughing and talking. No doubt they were staying after school again. Together.
    “Hey,” Andie said, smiling at me.
    “Hey,” Paula replied, wearing a flashy smile. “How are you doing on your science project?”
    “It’s almost finished,” Andie told Paula. Then she looked at me. Almost sadly. “How’s your project, Holly?”
    Christiana butted in. “Andie and I are doing a joint project, you know.” She was playing her “one-up” game again. And she didn’t have to remind me Andie and I had planned to do the project together—before Christiana came and spoiled everything.
    She continued her chatter. Several