Page 21 of Not Another Beach Read
"I don't know," she said. "I just froze and walked out of the store. When the shop owner came running after me and told me to come back, I knew the jig was up. I followed her back in the store and sat there while she called the police. It was the scariest fifteen minutes of my life before Officer Alcott walked in."
"Good thing he knew you," I said.
"Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy," she admitted.
"Now let's go inside and see what Uncle Drew is cooking up for dinner tonight."
Holly's eyes lit up. "With any luck, it's his pasta."
She was learning quickly.
10
HOLLY
Isat on a stack of boxes in the stockroom of Aunt Elyse's bookstore, staring at my shoes. The Converse I'd gotten from the clearance rack at Target, the white rubber now scuffed gray from wear. Ben, the police officer (Paige's boyfriend, because of course everyone in this town knew everyone else) had been nice about the whole thing. Too nice, really. I would have preferred yelling.
Yelling, I understood. Yelling, I could defend against. This quiet disappointment was so much worse.
I heard Aunt Elyse's footsteps approaching and kept my eyes fixed on my shoes.
"Go ahead," I said before she could speak. "I know you're going to lecture me."
She pulled up a chair and sat in front of me. I braced myself for whatever was coming—the speech about responsibility, about trust, about how I was blowing my chance here. I'd heard versions of it before.
Instead, she gently tilted my chin up until I had no choice but to look at her.
"I think you know that we can't have another day like today," she said simply.
I tried to look away, but she bent down to catch my gaze again.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Elyse," I said once she'd finished, and I found that I meant it. I hadn't intended to embarrass her. I hadn't even wanted the stupid earrings I'd slipped into my bag. I just... did it. Like some weird autopilot had taken over.
"I know you're sorry, and I forgive you," she said simply. "Well, let's finish up so we can get out of here and enjoy the rest of our day."
I blinked, caught off guard by how easily she'd offered forgiveness. Mom would have dragged this out for days, alternating between dramatic disappointment and explosive anger. But Aunt Elyse was just... moving on. Like she trusted me to do better next time.
It made me feel worse, somehow.
An hour later, after the most humiliating apology of my life (during which the gift shop owner was also weirdly nice), we pulled into Aunt Elyse's driveway. I saw Uncle Drew 's car in the garage and felt a fresh wave of dread.
"Uncle Drew is home," I said, stating the obvious.
"Are you going to tell him what happened?" I asked, already imagining the disappointment on his face. Uncle Drew had always been so cool, had always treated me like I was smart and funny and worth his time. I hated the thought of that changing.
Relief flooded through me so intensely I almost got dizzy when she agreed to keep it between us.
As we walked to the front door, I wondered why I'd done it. Why risk this place, these people who were giving me a chance? The earrings were still vivid in my mind—silver with little blue stones, pretty but nothing special.
But maybe it wasn't about the jewelry at all. Maybe it wasabout seeing how far I could push before they decided I wasn't worth the trouble. Before they sent me back.
I glanced at Aunt Elyse as she unlocked the door, her movements efficient but unhurried. She wasn't sending me anywhere. Not today, anyway.
"Thanks," I said quietly as we stepped inside.
She looked at me, a question in her eyes.
"For not giving up on me," I clarified, then quickly ducked past her before she could respond, heading toward the kitchen where I could hear Uncle Drew humming off-key to whatever was playing through his AirPods, the clatter of pots and pans on the stove.
