She went on. “It was an empty threat. And it never made it to court because,” she rolled her eyes and scoffed, “it wasn’t true. She had no proof. But it shook him hard. For weeks, he was sick with worry that his future was over.”
“Why would she do that?” I asked, horrified.
Dahlia’s eyes blazed. “Because she thought with Savvy out of the picture that he’d cave and give in to her. She was patient. I have to give her that. She waited about a year, until about a month before graduation. Then she went after him hard. But instead of turning to her, he ripped her apart. Told everyone he could that it was Amber’s fault Savannah killed herself.” One shoulder lifted. “I guess it made her mad, so she went for blood.”
“So after losing the girl he loved, he had to deal with all that too.”
She sighed. “I had no idea that he’d still been dealing with Amber all these years.” Her gaze met mine. “I’m hopeful that now, after what you did the other night, she’ll finally back off.” I hoped so too. Whether Holden was mine or not, he deserved a life free of Amber Taylor.
I chewed my lip, digesting it all. “Can I ask you kind of a hard question?”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“Why didn’t you take Amber to court for what she did to Savannah?” I tried my hardest not to sound accusatory, but I had to know.
“Oh, we tried. Right after Savvy passed, Randall, Holden, and I spent hours at the courthouse, with the police, and with Jedd Pruitt.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “That’s how Holden met Jedd and fell in love with law and the idea of making it a career.” I’d had no idea. “But Amber had been so subtle. A lot less bold than she’s been with you. There were no texts or anything online. It was all in-person bullying, getting inside Savannah’s head. Trying to repeatedly seduce Holden and then denying it when he called her out. Savannah was so twisted up inside, that she didn’t know who to believe. And then the final blow happened.” Her chest rose and fell.
“The final blow?”
“Same thing as what she did with you. Slipping Savannah pictures of her and Holden in bed together. Holden told Savvy they weren’t real. Amber had doctored them. But,” her face went soft, heartbreak permeating every line. “Savannah’s mom was on drugs when she was pregnant with her. We’re pretty sure it messed with Savannah’s brain chemicals, and she struggled with depression. We tried to get her help.” She shook her head. “She even spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. But in the end, it was just too much.”
I leaned back, my hands propping me up. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry you all had to go through that.”
She twisted the blade of grass around her pinky finger. “It was. A real-life nightmare that you never wake up from.” But then she leaned toward me, eyes serious. “But I’ll tell you what I’ve told Holden many times.” She waited like she was making sure she had my full attention before she went on. “Maybe Savannah couldn’t live a life of happiness, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t. And last time he came to visit, I reminded him of that.” Her head tilted. “We also told him he’s not allowed to come see us anymore.” I blanched. She patted my knee again. “Not because we don’t love him or don’t want to see him. But because he’s been carrying this torch of guilt for way too long. And I think he’s been holding back all these years, and with you, because he didn’t want to hurtus.”
“Oh.” Wow.
“Please don’t hate me and Randall. We never meant for him to miss out on life just to spare our feelings.”
“Of course not.”
“We just loved seeing him whenever he came home to visit his family. And it always felt like he brought a piece of Savannah with him. But we should’ve made it clear long ago that if he met someone else. No.” She shook her head, determined. “Whenhe met someone else, that we would be nothing but thrilled for him.”
“He visits you every time he comes home?”
“He does.” She nodded and then shook her head. “He did. But no more.”
My hands flew out. “But don’t you think that’ll hurt him?”
She shrugged but there were tears in her eyes. “Maybe. But he looked a little relieved too. Like we’d lifted a weight off of him.” She shifted and smiled. “We told him he can come back once a year, if he really wants, but only to visit. Not to ease hisguilt.” Then she pinned me with her green eyes. “And not until he’s married to the woman he loves. And then, and only then, he has to bring her with him. I think he’s been ready to move on for a while now.”
My forehead furrowed. “You don’t know me and we just met but…” I cocked my head. “Do youtrulythink he loves me?” I mean, she’d seen Holden in love before and she’d known him all these years. And if anyone had a motive to lie, it was her. But there was an honesty in the whole conversation that said she was trustworthy. That she wanted what was best for him. I mean, I knew his family thought he loved me. But they were biased. And they really wanted this for him. “I’m just trying to figure it out because we already tried once and it ended disastrously. I don’t know if I can do that again.”
“He loves you,” she said so plainly. “So much it hurts. I’ve never seen him like this over another woman before. Not even close.” I thought she’d preclude that with Savannah but she didn’t. She squeezed my hand. “I don’t have any right to ask this of someone I just met a few minutes ago, but Holden is dear to my heart. I truly hope you can find a way to love him for who he is, and who he’s become with all that he’s been through. After all this time, he deserves happiness.” Her last sentence reminded me of what Tally had said about Rochester.He deserves love.The memory of Ashton and Tally arguing furiously made me smile. Maybe I’d have to readJane Eyreagain soon.
But right now, I needed to go get ready for the big game. And to fix things with Holden. He’d been through enough.
twenty-three
HOLDEN
Once again, I paced the floor. The school board hadn’t just given Christy her job back—correction, Silas’s job—they’d okayed her to coach again. Seddledowne was hosting the first tournament game and it started in an hour. Christy still wasn’t here and it had been her idea to arrive early and decorate the cafeteria for an end-of-the-season party. Mom, Dad, Lemon, and Silas had done their best. But now that the girls were arriving, it was taking all of us just to keep them out.
“Bro, she’ll be here,” Silas said, in his horse-whisperer voice. “Do not take a nosedive down the doom spiral.”
I grunted and gave him a quick scowl. That’s exactly what I’d been doing. Was Christy dead in a ditch? Run off with Knox Freeman? Murdered by Amber? My brain was in all those places at once. The last one wasn’t that far of a stretch. Jedd thought there was enough evidence to press charges against Amber but sadly, every number he traced back to the burner phones led to Alyssa of all people.
Me: You coming?
