Chapter 40
Gia
Iglance over at Gwen. Her expression matches mine while we stare out the windshield of my car. I’m tempted to text Holt and ask him to come here immediately, but I know he’s busy renovating his parents’ new bedroom right now.
“Should we be concerned?” I ask.
“Let’s see what she has to say first?” Gwen suggests.
We get out of the car, taking in the dilapidated house. I’m a little worried it’s one stiff breeze away from falling down. Farrah signed papers for the place this afternoon and invited us out to celebrate. I’m doing my best to be excited for her, but this doesn’t feel safe.
She comes bounding out the front door with the biggest smile on her face. “I’m so excited you guys are here!”
“Farrah, honey…” Gwen trails off.
“Okay, I know it’s a mess, and it’s practically unlivable, but come inside. It has so much potential, and I can fix most of it myself.”
“You can?” I ask as we follow a bouncing Farrah through the front door.
“I learned how to do a ton of repair stuff a while back. I got pretty good at it, which is why I bought this place.” She moves into an eye-watering wallpapered room. “This is going to be my library. I can refinish the floors easily enough and build myself some bookshelves.”
“After the wallpaper comes down though, right?”
Farrah giggles. “Definitely. I have some crazy design tastes, but that psychedelic pattern is too much even for me.”
Her enthusiasm becomes infectious as she takes us through the house.
Her ideas for all the rooms match her aesthetic perfectly.
The more she talks, the better I can see her vision.
Her reasoning for buying this house makes sense now that I can see how she’ll be able to customize everything she wants.
“I’ll need to fix the roof first. It’s got a major leak over the kitchen,” she tells us when we’re back out on the front porch.
We grab a few camping chairs from Farrah’s trunk and take them to her backyard, where the view of the mountains is spectacular.
This house might be worth it for the view alone.
“Please tell me you’re not doing that one by yourself,” Gwen pleads.
Farrah laughs. “It wouldn’t be that hard, but no, I’m going to hire someone.”
Gwen dramatically clutches her chest. “Thank god. I thought we’d have to have an intervention.”
Farrah smacks her in the arm. “I’m stubborn, not stupid.”
“You can really fix this place up by yourself?” I ask, a little in awe of her.
She slowly nods her head. “I used to live in this really shitty apartment and had all kinds of things break that the super wouldn’t fix. I finally decided to learn how to fix it myself and found out I really liked doing it.”
“Fair enough. I’m sure Holt would be willing to help though, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
Gwen laughs. “Look at you, pimping out your man like any respectable wife would.”
My cheeks heat, and I cringe. “Should I have asked him first?”
“Oh, honey, no.” Gwen reaches over to pat my arm. “I was teasing you. I meant that as a good thing. I thought it was cute that you were volunteering him because you already knew he wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
I breathe out a relieved exhale. “Thank god. Sometimes I still worry that I’m going to mess this up royally, and with all this stuff from Hannah’s mom, I’m terrified Holt’s going to tell me I’m too much drama.”
“That is not your fault,” Farrah says firmly.
“I know, but it’s still happening because I came into the picture. It’s hard not to shoulder some of the blame.”
“Kathy has put you all in a shitty place.” Gwen shakes her head. “She could have handled things differently, but she chose to go the nuclear route. That isn’t on you.”
“Which is easy for us to say,” Farrah acknowledges. “But it’s totally different when you’re the one dealing with the fallout.”
“So true.” Gwen nods. “How are the girls taking it?”
“Lauren’s happy she doesn’t have to deal with Kathy’s bullshit anymore, and Lee Lee seems to feel similarly.
Though I think they’d both like to spend time with their grandparents again if Kathy stopped acting so horribly.
” I sigh. “Anyway, let’s talk about something else.
Like the sparks that were flying between Farrah and Knox at school pickup the other day. ”
Farrah lets out a strangled laugh. “Those sparks are as dangerous as dynamite. God, that man pisses me off.”
“Is he still saying shitty things to you?” Gwen asks.
“No, but I get the most scathing looks. I have no idea what I could have done to cause such an angry reaction.”
“I asked Holt about it that night. He said he doesn’t have any idea why Knox acts like that around you. Knox has said something about how happy you are all the time, but I can’t understand why that would make someone mad.”
“The man is exasperating,” Farrah practically growls.
Gwen and I look at each other, silently communicating how much we don’t believe her. I lose the battle with my laughter, and Farrah yells at me, “You suck!”
“I’m sorry, Farrah. I don’t mean to laugh at you. You’re just so fucking adorable when you’re angry.”
“I am not. I can be ferocious.”
“I have no doubt about that. You’re probably as tough as a bobcat, but you still look like a kitten,” I tell her.
She starts giggling. “You probably have me there. It’s the round face. It thwarts all of my attempts to look mean.”
I glance at my phone and realize I need to go pick up Finn and the girls. Gwen decides to stay with Farrah to help her clean up a bit before they head back to town.
This is only the second or third time I’ve gotten the girls from school. It’s not a complicated system, but it can take a while to get through the line of cars. I usually throw on an audiobook while I wait. It makes the time pass a whole lot faster.
Once I get up to the loading area, the monitor outside radios in for the girls and Finn to come outside.
Finn is first out the door, holding the hand of one of the teachers. I jump out of my car to help Finn get buckled into his seat. “Miss Gia! Lauren and Leah got picked up already,” he says as soon as he jumps into the backseat of my car.
“What do you mean, they got picked up already?”
I get Finn buckled into his seat as he responds. “They never comed to the cafeteria for pickup.”
“Did someone come get them early?”
He shrugs.
I can’t blame a six-year-old for not having any information.
I’m just worried that something’s happened to them.
Maybe Holt came to get the girls and just forgot to text me.
I slowly pull out of the pickup line and drive around the school to a parking lot on the other side of the building.
I’m not leaving until I know where they are for certain.
With a pit in my stomach, I call Holt. He answers after only a couple of rings. “Hey, Rainbow. You on your way?”
“Holt, did you pick the girls up?”
“No, are you at the school?”
“Fuck. They’re not here, Holt. I have Finn, but they didn’t come out with him.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I got to the school, and they radioed for Finn and the girls, but only Finn came out. He said that Lauren and Leah got picked up already, but he didn’t know when. What do I do?”
“Go to the main office and see if they got checked out by someone.”
“But we’re the only ones with permission to pick them up.”
“I know, but it’s the only thing I can think of right now. I’m on my way. Don’t leave until I get there.”
“Okay, I’ll go see what I can find out.”
I get Finn out of his seat, and we walk into the elementary school office. The secretary smiles at us through the wide glass window. She slides the partition open. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Lauren and Leah Basil. They were supposed to be with the other parent-pickup students, but they weren’t there.”
“Oh, dear. Okay, let’s see if someone checked them out early today.” She clicks around on her computer. The line between her eyebrows deepens the longer she looks. “This is very strange. I can’t find any notes about them being checked out.”
“So where are they?”
She looks at me with worried eyes. “I’m not sure.”
“That’s a totally unacceptable response. Leah had a substitute teacher this afternoon, yes? Call them and get them to the office right now. And call Lauren’s teacher as well. You will find these girls immediately.”
I don’t know if it’s my tone or expression or both, but the secretary jumps into action the second the demand is out of my mouth.
Finn wraps his arms around my waist. He looks up at me with worry on his face. “Are we going to find them?”
I run my hand over his downy-soft brown hair. “Of course we are, sweetheart. There’s just been a mix-up on who was picking them up today.”
Five minutes later, an older woman comes to the office. “Hey, Sandy. What’s going on?” she greets the secretary.
“Hi, Cindy. We’ve got a bit of a problem. Was Lauren taken from your classroom today?”
“Gina came by and said Lauren was getting checked out early. She said you asked her to come down and get her.”
“Oh, dear.”
Holt comes storming through the office doors with a thunderous expression. “Where are my girls?”
“I think we’re getting to the bottom of things.” I reach out for him. I both need his comfort and to help him calm down a bit. As much as I want to fly off the handle, it won’t get us anywhere quickly.
He kisses my temple, squeezing me hard as he works to get himself under control.
Sandy starts to explain. “Cindy was just telling us that Gina pulled Lauren from her class this afternoon.”
“Gina Halbrand? On whose request?” Holt asks.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Sandy responds. “I don’t have any requests in my system for the girls to be checked out of the school. By all accounts, they should still be here. I’m going to call Gina now.”
“I would also like to speak with Principal Grant about this situation. This is completely unacceptable.”
“Agreed,” Lauren’s teacher says. Her stern expression gives me a glimpse of how easily she can control a classroom.
Sandy frowns. “Gina isn’t answering either her classroom or cell phone.” She types in another number. “Principal Grant? There’s a situation we need you for.”
Finn hasn’t stopped hugging me, and I’m not sure if he’s doing it for my benefit or his. Either way, I appreciate the gentle comfort he provides. I’m trying not to let my anxiety get the better of me, but the longer it takes to find the girls, the bigger the knot of worry gets.