Holly tried to swallow her guilt, but it wouldn’t go down. “No,” she admitted. “I sent messages to my sisters after I was MIA for a week, but I haven’t called them. They don’t know about any of this.”
“What?” Garret shook his head. “Your father grew up here. That can’t be right.”
“Did you know him at all?” Holly asked.
“Not really.” Garret shrugged. “By the time I arrived, everyone had established friend groups. I do remember he was one of the only ones to attend college elsewhere. He left right after high school.”
“Johnny told me Pearl kept our family history a secret,” Holly said. “If I call him, how can I talk to him as if none of this is happening? Or worse! What if I tell him everything and he thinks I’m insane?”
“My biological parents thought something was seriously wrong with me until I shifted in front of them by mistake,” Garret offered. “I understand your hesitation.”
“Pearl kept everything from him for a reason. Who am I to go against her wishes? We all know she was smarter than all of us combined.”
“To be fair, the gift of foresight gave her an unfair advantage,” Garret pointed out. “But even without it, she was a sharp lady.”
“Do you think there are any more letters stashed around? I could sure use her advice.” Holly frowned.
When she had first arrived in Silver Spruce, Pearl left letters for her to read. Each letter guided her to her next step. If things hadn’t gone so awry, there might’ve been more letters to be found. Holly wasn’t sure any of them contained advice on how to deal with her family. She hated not talking to them, but she also hated the thought of lying to them. In her book, omitting information was no different from lying.
She glanced at Garret. She was lying to him right that moment by not telling him about Trevor and Elise.
Maybe, she should’ve gone back to the house after all…
“We don’t have to keep talking about this,” Garret said. “I’m sure it’s doing nothing for your stress levels.”
“You make me sound like one of those Real Housewives who is frequently hospitalized for exhaustion.” Holly chuckled. “But yeah, talking about something else would be nice.”
“We’re here for the night. Any idea what you want to do?”
Holly pondered for a moment, then smiled. “Actually, yes. Pass me my phone?”
Garret did as he was asked.
Holly quickly did a search for restaurants nearby that offered delivery.
Thirty minutes later, Holly sat cross-legged in the center of the wrought iron bed, eating chow mein from the to-go box while Garret fiddled with the TV.
“I don’t think this thing has been used since the seventies.” He chuckled. “There’s a twenty percent chance I’m going to set myself on fire and a ten percent chance I’m going to blow the room up.”
“Better be careful if you want that deposit back,” Holly replied.
“Thank you. That’s very helpful.”
Holly giggled as she took another bite. “If you don’t hurry, I’m going to eat all of the fried rice, too.”
Garret poked his head out from behind the console. “Don’t you dare.”
“How’s that for a motivator?”
“Effective. Let me try one more thing.”
Holly didn’t know what he did, but within minutes the TV was glowing. The image wasn’t clear, and the sound was crackly, but she didn’t care.
“My hero!” she cheered over her takeout.
Garret sauntered back over to the bed. “Where’s the fried rice? We struck a bargain.”
“It’s still in the bag. I don’t even like fried rice. I just wanted to light a fire under your ass.”
He arched a brow. “I never told you how much I love fried rice.”
“Lucky guess.” She shrugged. “What are we watching?”
The grainy image on the TV screen left much to the imagination. Holly thought she saw three people talking in an office. Or maybe it was an elephant? Hard to tell. The audio didn’t provide any context. Holly wasn’t sure it was even in English.
Garret grabbed the remote and flipped through channels until something concrete took shape. Some kind of Spanish telenovela.
“Oh, this looks ridiculous.” He laughed.
“That’s the best part! We’re watching it.”
As they ate, they argued passionately over what they each thought the plot was.
“He’s clearly working for the mob!” Garret gestured wildly with a chopstick.
“No, he’s the president of a small island nation!” Holly argued back.
“Can’t he be both?”
Holly’s mouth dropped open. “He’s totally both.”
“Now, is the woman beside him his wife or his daughter?”
Holly narrowed her eyes as if that would make the image on the screen any clearer. “That might not be a woman.”
“This is the greatest show ever made,” Garret cackled. “We have to do this more often. I bet if I break one of Pearl’s TVs, we can recreate this exact experience.”
“I’d like that.” Holly smiled into her takeout. When she looked up, Garret was watching her. “Thanks for this,” she said after a beat of silence. “This whole day was exactly what I needed.”
“I’m always happy to help.”
Holly watched Garret for a time before she spoke again. “You’re a really great guy, you know that?”
“Nah.” Garret shook his head. “I just follow the golden rule. Treat others the way you’d want to be treated and all that. Though, it helps that I fall harder for you every day.”
Her mouth dropped open. She knew Garret cared for her. She knew Johnny and Keller cared for her, too. She cared for them more than she knew how to express, given the strangeness of the situation. Knowing it and hearing it were two different things.
“Too much?” Garret asked. “Sorry. I figure if I’m feeling something, I might as well be open with it. Keeping that kind of stuff hidden never does anyone any
