Holly's Heart Collection Two Read Free Page A

steadying me. I regained my balance but didn’t bother to thank her.
    “Downhill Court,” announced the driver.
    “Coming,” I called, reaching for Goofey.
    “May I keep him?” Paula pleaded. “Just for a couple of days? I promise to take good care of him.”
    “You can visit him whenever you want to,” Kayla added.
    “Please say yes,” Paula begged, her violet eyelids blinking at me pitifully.
    The driver waited. Passengers jostled grocery bags, young children, and packages. Their faces spelled impatience.
    “Okay…uh, I guess,” I said.
    Before the bus doors swooshed shut behind me, I heard Paula say, “I’ll call you, Holly.”
    Oh, fabulous.
    Talking on the phone with Paula Miller or her look-alike twin was the last thing I wanted to do. I watched sadly as the bus made its turn onto Aspen Street, carrying with it my little Goofey—in the arms of the enemy.

    After supper I made a big deal in my journal about losing Goofey.
    Saturday, February 5: My poor little Goofey is being cared for, right this minute, by strangers. It wouldn’t be so bad, but I refuse to set foot in Paula and Kayla Miller’s house. And that’s where my Goofey is, at least for now. Hopefully I’ll persuade Andie to change her mind.
    Christiana Somebody from Austria is coming to stay with Andie and her family next week. I wonder how it’ll work out.
    Not every girl is lucky enough to have a Valentine birthday. Daddy always said it meant I was extra special. That’s why Mom nicknamed me Holly-Heart. Without Andie, though, the party’s a flop.
    I closed my journal and sighedGoofey was gone, and I missed him. Who knows how he was doing, poor, homesick thing. Of course, I could find out in a flash, but it would mean calling Paula Miller. No way.
    Curling up on my bed, I stared at my lavender and white bedroom—private domain regained. It felt good having my room all to myself again, without the super snoopers, Carrie and Stephie. The two of them were roommates now, down the hall.
    My sister had reclaimed her old room, the one she’d had before Uncle Jack married Mom. It was great to have Phil and Mark off the second floor and in the new addition at the back of the house. Stan, the oldest of our tribe, took the other bedroom in the addition, vacating the family room. It was a good thing, too. I was tired of having to miss good TV shows just so Stan could pull his bed out of the sofa and lounge around watching John Wayne videos—his current obsession.
    Br-ring! I dashed to the hall, reaching for the phone on the second ring. Too late. Picking it up, I recognized Andie’s voice on the line. No doubt she’d called to talk to Stan. They actually liked each other. Mind-boggling.
    “Did Holly find a home for Goofey yet?” she asked Stan as I listened.
    Dying to hear what he would say, I continued to eavesdrop. “Haven’t seen much of Holly today,” Stan said. “And…who’s Goofey?”
    Andie laughed.
    I wasn’t surprised at Stan’s remark. He’d never liked Goofey. But it didn’t matter. He and I just so happened to be getting along better than ever. I decided to let it go. This time.
    Afraid they might hear me breathing, I hung up the phone.
    Mom came upstairs just then, dressed in a blue wool sweater, her blond hair pulled back in a gold barrette. “Holly, let’s talk.” She motioned to my room.
    Settling on my bed, she said, “It’s almost party time for my birthday girl.”
    I smoothed the quilt. “Yeah, it’s countdown to nothing much.”
    “What about the make-over party we planned? Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”
    “Who cares,” I grumbled.
    “But Jack and I—”
    “Please don’t make plans behind my back,” I snapped. “Honestly, I feel like calling the whole birthday thing off.”
    “Holly-Heart,” she protested, “what’s happened?”
    I got up and wandered across the room. Without looking at her, I blurted, “Andie won’t be coming.”
    “Well, why not?”
    “She has plans. With