“Yes and no,” Holly said. “I think someone should talk with her. She might not even realize what’s happening. One of the sites said that most new mothers who end up with this just need to know they aren’t the only one who’s experienced it, and that it’s okay, the feelings will pass. But I have to admit, I don’t feel like it’s my place to do that.”
“No, I don’t think it is,” Linc said. “I agree with you. Brigid?”
“I’ll do it,” she said with a nod. “I have no idea how I’ll bring it up, but for Fiona, I’ll figure it out. If my sister needs me, I’m there.”
“Good,” Holly said, feeling relieved. Now that she knew someone would do something about it, she felt much better. “Do you want me to do some more research to see if I can come up with a good way to broach the subject?” she asked.
“That might help,” Brigid nodded. “Actually, I’m open to anything that you think might help. Even if you have to print something out. Feel free to use the printer in the office.”
“Okay,” Holly nodded as she took her phone back. “So, what were you guys talking about? Linc’s going to help with the fireworks this year?”
“I kind of wanted to,” Linc began. “But I understand where you’re coming from,” he said as he turned to Brigid. “It has been sort of our thing to watch them together. If you really don’t want me to do it, I’ll tell Jordan I can’t.”
Brigid sighed. “It’s not that. I don’t know. I can see you wanting to help, and I realize I’m just being selfish. Give me a little time to wrap my head around it all, okay?”
“Seriously, honey. It’s not that big of a deal if I sit this one out. I’m a big boy. I can handle it,” he insisted.
“I know,” Brigid said softly. “And the fact that you would give it up for me is amazing, but I don’t want to do that to you. If you want to help, go for it.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Brigid nodded. “I’m positive. You have to do things that make you happy and after all, I plan on helping serve food at the picnic. We’ll both be doing our part, just at different times.”
“Speaking of the Fourth of July,” Holly began. “You know what’s right after that, don’t you? My sixteenth birthday,” she said in an excited tone of voice. Brigid and Linc didn’t even look towards her. Instead, they both sat in contemplative silence.
“I just can’t believe that about Fiona,” Brigid finally said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Linc said. “It makes me wonder if Brandon has noticed any of these behaviors on the list.”
“Good point,” Brigid said quickly. “Do you think you might be able to find out from him?”
“I don’t know,” Linc admitted. “I guess I can try, but I don’t want to be too obvious. That might look strange.”
“No, you’re right,” Brigid began as she tapped on her chin with her index finger. “But I do think you should at least see if you can bring it up. Then maybe we can all get on the same page with this.”
Holly looked from Brigid to Linc, appalled they’d simply ignored her like that. Had they really forgotten about her birthday? Feeling a little hurt, she slowly stood up and went back to her room. Just as she was turning to shut her door, she noticed Lucky was following her closely. Apparently he’d given up his game with Jett in order to keep her company.
“Hey, little guy,” she said with a half-hearted smile as she waited for him to enter before shutting the door. “At least you’ll listen to me, huh?”
He trotted over to her bed and jumped up on it before turning to look at her as if to ask her to join him.
“I think maybe they forgot,” she said as she sat near him and started stroking his fur. “I think they really forgot my birthday.”
Lucky began to lick her as her heart sank. She was trying not to let it get to her, but it was hard not to. Why had they totally dismissed her like that?
“Maybe they were just distracted by what I’d said,” Holly finally surmised. “I mean, that’s some big news to take in. Maybe I should just relax until I can bring it up again. It would be completely understandable if they were worried about Fiona.” She nodded to herself, convinced that had to be it.
CHAPTER 6
Ava Greene may have only been eight years old, but her little brother was her responsibility. It had been that way for a while now. So long, it felt like it had been this way for forever, even though she knew it hadn’t been. She could remember a time when she had a mom and a dad.
She also remembered a time when her daddy didn’t have to work so hard. He never seemed to have much time to spend with her and Chris anymore. Far too often it was just her and her little brother, stuck in their trailer home.
They hadn’t always lived in the trailer park, either. They used to have a nice house on the other side of town. Or at least it was nice in the way she remembered it. She remembered having her own room and things to snack on. Sometimes the whole family would walk to the corner store to get a candy bar or something like that. Now the only way she could have something like that was if she got it from one of her teachers at school. Since it was summer vacation, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Ava, when’s daddy coming home?” Chris asked as he turned away from the television. She’d put on one of his favorite movies from the stack of DVDs they kept next to the TV. It used to keep him happy, but now that he’d seen them all so many times, they didn’t quite cut it anymore.
“I don’t really know, bubba,” she said softly. “You know how it goes. If he can work later, he does. He’s got to work so we can buy the stuff we need.”
“I know,” he sighed. He seemed far too sad for a five-year-old. “I’m just bored.”
“I am too,” she said as she tried to think of something else for them to do. She looked out the window and wished they still lived in the other house. There they had a nice big backyard and a swing set. Here, they barely had a yard at all.
“Can we go to the park?” Chris asked eagerly.
“You know the park is way too far for us to walk,” Ava chided him.
“Not the big one, silly,” he said shaking his head emphatically. “The small one over near the church.”
She’d almost forgotten about that one. It wasn’t much, mainly a slide, jungle gym, and a merry-go-round, but it was better than nothing. Even if they just sat on one of the picnic benches, it was much better than sitting around their dusty trailer.
“I don’t know,” she said. Her dad had never said they couldn’t go anywhere, but he hadn’t said they could either. “Dad might get mad.”
“I won’t say anything,” Chris said anxiously. Ava could tell he really wanted to go. Truth be told, she wanted to go too. It had been a long time since she felt like she could play. At least since school was out. “Please, Ava. I really want to go play.”
Ava sighed deeply. What could it hurt if they just went and played? “Maybe we should eat something first?” she suggested.
Chris nodded. “Okay.”
They went to the kitchen and began opening the cabinets. There wasn’t much there, so Ava went to the refrigerator. More of the same. They had a couple slices of cheese left so she pulled them out and began making grilled cheese sandwiches for them.
That was another thing she didn’t like. Cooking. It used to be she was afraid of the flame from the stovetop burner and possibly hurting herself. But now, she’d done it so much she didn’t think twice about it. As she buttered the bread and heated up the pan, a memory came back to her in a flash.
It was her mother standing in front of the stove making her a grilled cheese sandwich. She was humming some sort of song that Ava didn’t know. She’d turned towards Ava and given her that pretty smile before returning her attention to the sandwich. That was all before mom got sad. Once she got sad, everything changed.
“Here you go,” Ava said once the sandwiches were done. She slid one onto a plate for Chris and then one for herself. “But I don’t know what we’re going to
have for dinner tonight.”
“Maybe we can go over to see Missy Betty?” Chris suggested. Miss Betty was the older woman who lived two trailers down from them. Hers was by far the nicest one in the park. She was always so sweet and kind to the kids and always let them come over and watch cartoons on cable.
“We’ve been over there the last two nights, Chris. We can’t go again, that would be rude,” Ava said with a sigh. “Now hurry up and eat so we can go.”
Chris quickly ate his sandwich and carried his plate to the sink. “I’m ready,” he said with a mouth full of bread.
“Gross,” Ava said shaking her head. “Come on then.”
They stepped out the door, and she locked it behind them. It wasn’t a long walk to the park. All they had to do was go up to the church, turn, and a little further down was the park. The grocery store was nearby, but her dad hadn’t left them any money for them to go there. Normally she didn’t like going there to buy stuff without him, but right now she would have been more than willing.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Chris said as he tugged on her arm. “I want to be there already.”
“We’ll be there soon enough,” she said. They started a game of “I Spy” to pass the time as they walked. Chris was getting much better at it, and for that Ava was grateful. Now sometimes he even managed to stump her.
Eventually they made it to the street corner where the church was located. Chris stopped. “Ava, I have to pee,” he said as he did the little dance young children often do when they have to go.
“Why didn’t you go when we were at home?” she asked.
“Cause I didn’t have to go then,” he whined. “I can’t hold it.”
She looked around, but the only place nearby where she thought they could use the restroom was the church. “Come on,” she said as she grabbed his hand. “I’m sure they have one in there somewhere.”
They pushed through the big wooden doors and walked into the church. Ava always thought it felt funny when nobody else was there. She was used to the pews being full for Sunday services. As they headed for the door on the other end of the chapel, her eyes were drawn to the front of the church.
She remembered hearing her dad talk about a woman being murdered somewhere up there. Sometimes Ava wondered if the woman haunted the church or if she’d gone to heaven. She pushed the thoughts of the unknown lady from her head as they shoved open the door that led towards the back.
“There’s so many doors,” Chris whined as they entered the hallway.
“It’s okay, we’ll find the one we’re looking for,” she reassured him. “Just hold it a little longer.”
“I’m trying,” he said. Rushing forward, he randomly picked a door and opened it. Flipping on the light, she saw him freeze in the doorway. “Ava, look.”
Hurrying to see what he was staring at, Ava joined him in the doorway and ended up freezing in place as well. There was so much food. She never thought she’d be so excited to see fruits and vegetables in her life. But there she was, wishing she could feel the crunch of one of those shiny red apples between her teeth.
Ava heard a door opening somewhere in the church. “Hurry, we shouldn’t be in here,” she said quickly. She flipped the light off and tugged Chris back into the hall before shutting the door behind them. In a moment, Missy, the pastor’s wife, came around the corner.
“Oh, hello,” she said with a smile. “Can I help you?”
“My brother really needs to use the restroom. I thought maybe we could find one in here. We were headed over to the little park,” Ava explained.
“No problem,” Missy said, smiling brightly. “Come with me, little man. I’ll show you where it’s at.”
“Thank you!” he said happily.
“We’ll be right back,” Missy said as she led him down the hall and around the corner.
Standing in the hall outside the room filled with food, Ava almost couldn’t control herself. She’d seen more than just healthy stuff in there. There had been cookies and candy too. What she wouldn’t give for a candy bar. She’d even share it with her brother if she could just have a taste. The urge to just take one was overwhelming. Especially since she knew they didn’t have any food left at home. She had no clue what they’d have for dinner that night, if anything.
It took every bit of willpower she had not to go back into the room. The one thing that made her stay put was the fact that she knew stealing was wrong, and they were in a house of God. If she stole food from here, wouldn’t that be like stealing it from God himself? But the more she thought about it, she didn’t think God would want little kids to go hungry, either.
“I’m ready,” Chris said as he appeared at the end of the hallway, suddenly cheerful again.
“Would you two like some water?” Missy asked when she returned.
“Yes, please,” Chris said as Ava began to politely decline.
Missy smiled. “One moment,” she said. She stepped into the room with the food and returned after a moment with two bottles of water and two small bags of chips. Ava’s mouth watered just seeing them. “Here you go. A snack for the park.”
“Thank you so much,” Ava said sweetly.
“No problem, honey,” Missy said softly. “You let me know if you need anything, you hear?”
Ava nodded and took her brother by the hand. “We better get going now,” she said.
“All right, have fun,” Missy said as she watched the two hurry down the hall and on their way to the park.
Ava couldn’t believe their luck at each of them getting a bag of chips. She still hadn’t forgotten about all the food they’d seen in that room, but this would help for now.
As she pulled the bag open and pulled out the first chip, she took a small bite. There was no way she was going to rush through eating this treat.
“Take your time and enjoy it,” she reminded her brother. “I have no idea when you’re going to get another one.”
Chris nodded. He’d been ready to shove a whole potato chip into his mouth, but instead he watched how Ava ate hers. When he saw how she took a small bite, he did the same.
Ava smiled as they continued to the park, glad to have at least a little treat in her day. It may not have been much, but it made all the difference in the world for the two of them.
CHAPTER 7
A knock on her bedroom door made Holly look up from her laptop computer. She’d been lying on her stomach with Lucky by her side.
“Come in,” she said. Lucky looked at the door too, as if he was making sure he didn’t need to protect his owner.
Jett came trotting in followed by Linc.
“Hey, you busy?” he asked as he leaned against the door.
“Not really, what’s up?” Holly asked. She set aside her laptop. All she’d been doing for the past thirty minutes was scrolling through her social media, so it wasn’t like she’d been doing anything terribly important.
“Jett and I are going to take a walk, and I thought I’d see if you and Lucky wanted to join us,” he said. “It’s fine if you’re busy with something. Just thought I’d check with you.”
“No, a walk sounds great,” Holly said as she sat up. Lucky jumped down from the bed and began playing with Jett. “Just let me get my shoes on, and I’ll be ready.”
“No problem. I’ll get these guys ready. Come on, Jett and Lucky. Want to go for a walk?” Both of them were more than happy to follow him after they heard him say the word “walk.” Lucky yipped with excitement as he followed Jett and Linc out of the room.
Holly quickly tugged on her shoes and tied the laces. Maybe this would be a good chance for her to talk to Linc about her birthday. She’d been saving for a little while for a car and now that she was going to be sixteen, she couldn’t wait to get one. She wasn’t even particular what kind it was. Just as long as it worked and stayed together while she drove it. In her eyes, anything else would just be a bonus.
She walked over to her desk and got a hair tie so she could pull h
er hair back into a ponytail. She had a feeling it would start to drive her nuts if she didn’t. It was warm outside, and if she left it down, it was almost guaranteed to make her sweat. She checked her hair in the mirror and decided she was ready.
When she entered the great room, she saw Linc trying to fasten the leash on an excited Lucky. Finally, he clipped it on and stood up.
“I swear you have to be slipping this dog coffee every day or some kind of high energy drink. It’s not natural for anything to be that wound up all the time,” Linc chuckled.
“If only that were true,” Holly sighed. “But no. He’s like that naturally. If I did give him coffee, he’d probably move so fast we couldn’t see him.”
“That’s a terrifying thought,” Linc said shaking his head. “You ready?”
“Sure am,” she said as she reached for Lucky’s leash. “How about you, Lucky? Are you ready to go for walkies with Jett? Huh?”
Lucky barked happily and Jett stared intently at the door until Linc opened it. Once outside, the dogs began to trot along happily as if they wanted nothing more than to be going on this walk, their tails swinging happily in unison as they led their masters down the road.
“It seems like this summer is just flying by,” Linc said once they were out on the sidewalk. “Before you know it, school will be starting up again and we’ll be seeing the fall colors on the leaves.”
“I know,” Holly said as she shook her head. “I feel like I just finished up the school year. It’s hard to believe it’s already been this long.”
Holly began thinking of a tactful way to bring up her birthday. The closer it got, the more she worried that they may have actually forgotten about it. There was a lot going on and now that they were concerned about Fiona, Holly felt as though she’d been pushed to the back burner. Linc hadn’t even taken her out for their usual driving practice sessions.
“Brigid told me this morning that she thinks when it comes time to talk with Fiona, she’d like you to go with her. Since you’re the one who discovered it, she felt like you should get some sort of credit,” Linc said, changing the subject.
Holly Lewis Mystery series Box Set Page 29
