She tasted a lie in her mouth. She knew that if her grandmother had asked her, out of the blue, to come live in the house for a month, she would’ve made excuse after excuse not to. She was wrapped up in her Southern California life, and Pearl must’ve known that.
The manipulation might’ve been somewhat necessary.
Holly stared at the portrait of her grandmother. She could’ve sworn the old lady was smirking.
“You got me here.” Holly sighed. “I’m sure it’s my fault that you had to go to such extreme measures. But what am I supposed to do now? I still have a life. It’s going to be hard to live my life from here. I don’t even have a car! That’s not your fault, though.”
Holly walked away from the portrait and sat down at the desk. Rifling through the drawers was a tempting idea, but she decided against it. Johnny had already said there wasn’t a letter in there. A kernel of distrust settled in her chest. She quickly checked all the drawers.
There was no letter.
Holly slumped into her chair. She could always just leave. She didn’t really need this house, did she? The thought was dismissed before she finished forming it. Of course, she wanted to inherit this house. If she sold it to one of the men, even if she cut them an amazing deal, she’d still make a nice profit. A profit like that could tide her over for a year, which she might need since there was no way her boss would be okay with her moving to another state for a minimum of one month.
What was she going to do about her apartment? Thank goodness she didn’t have any animals. When was her car going to be fixed? She was at the mercy of her surprise roommates until her car received a clean bill of health. What about the food in her fridge? The networking event she was supposed to plan? If she didn’t have a job, she couldn’t pay for her apartment. Her salary was fine, but she didn’t have any savings to speak of. If she lost her income...
Her breath came in short spurts. Her head felt like it was in a vice grip. Her face felt flushed as if she’d just run a mile. Too many unanswered questions whirled around in her head. She didn’t know which questions needed answering first. It was all too much.
The tears came before she could stop them. At first, she tried to hold back her sobs. Then she realized she didn’t care. After all the information that had been thrown at her in the last twenty-four hours, she was entitled to a breakdown.
Holly folded her arms across the table and laid down her head. She didn’t want to look at hundreds of little portraits, especially Pearl’s, while she cried.
Damn, it felt so good to let it all out.
“Oh, my.” A deep, soft voice made her shoot up in the chair. Johnny stood in the doorway.
She hadn’t heard the door open. There were hundreds of things she wanted to say to him that ranged from “get the fuck out” to “help me,” but she couldn’t make her mouth work. Johnny stepped into the study and gently closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER SIX - Holly
“What happened?” Johnny asked.
Holly barked out a laugh. “What do you mean, what happened? You’ve been with me for the last twenty-four hours. You know what happened.”
“I know.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Holly didn’t know someone as large as him could ever look sort of...small. It was like he was trying to shrink himself down to make her feel better.
“I guess it’s no surprise that you’re a little overwhelmed.”
“Little? That’s an understatement.” She sniffed. “I’m massively overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start.”
“Are you going to leave?”
Something about his voice made her look up into his eyes. It was like staring into a stormy sky. Lighting was going to strike at any moment. She didn’t know if that frightened her or excited her.
“I don’t know,” she managed to say. “I should. I can’t stay here for a month like Pearl asked. That’s just too much on such short notice. I can’t...I can’t...”
Johnny pressed his lips together and watched her with those intense eyes. “Look.” He sighed. “I’m not supposed to do this. I loved Pearl like she was my own flesh and blood, but I can’t sit here and keep things from you. Pearl wanted you to find certain things out in a specific way, but I don’t think how should be more important than what and why. Especially not when it’s causing you this much stress.”
Holly bit her bottom lip, willing it to stop quivering.
Johnny sat on the edge of the desk and gestured to the walls. “I’m assuming you’ve noticed the portraits.”
“They’re family trees.” Holly nodded. “I found your portrait yesterday.”
“Pearl painted it herself.” Johnny grinned. “She did a lot of these. Not all of them, mind you. But most of them.”
“Who did the others?” she asked.
“That’s...not important right now. What’s important is why this room is what it is. Did you find your own portrait?”
Holly nodded.
“I’m sure you noticed the space beside it.”
“Pearl was already preparing for my marriage and first child apparently.” Holly chuckled.
“She was.” Johnny nodded. “This is where it gets weird.”
“Oh, it’s just now getting weird? Good to know.”
Johnny’s serious expression was punctured by a grin. He had a contagious sort of smile. “If there is one thing Silver Spruce loves, it’s
