Page 4 of Miss Humbug
Everyone talked at once. Ashe blurted a steady stream of questions as Cara spoke over him. Shawn unglued himself from the wall. “Excuse me, what?”
“Is she for real?” Rafe swung to his dad, Joe. “Why aren’tyougetting the house?”
Uncle Joe shrugged. “I’m not sure I want it since—”
“We can’t compete towina house,” Rafe interrupted. “It’s ridiculous. And weird.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I stood, numb to it all. Hollybrooke House was up for grabs.
Ourhouse. My childhood home. The thought Grans would grow out of wanting the house never occurred to me.
Riley got to the heart of it, speaking directly to Grans. “A contest? Doing what?”
Grans’ eyes focused on a distant point, as if she were reading a banner hanging above us. “This contest is strictly limited to the family. And while we’ll be publicly participating in contest activities, no one outside of the Holly family will know the real prize. That needs to remain a secret.”
A contest to win the family homeandit was a secret?
Grans was known for harebrained ideas, like in her superglue phase when she’d repaired the garage door with the sticky stuff, and the door crushed the hood of Gramps’ Oldsmobile. This idea? Clear off the map. We were inThere be dragonsterritory.
“What kind of contest?” I repeated my cousin Riley’s question.
Grans’ eyes lit up. “I’m glad you asked. The criteria will be completing holiday festivities in town this season. I’ve come up with a points system and a panel of judges. The historical society, my book club, and the neighbor girl down the road will evaluate and score.”
Uncle Joe’s eyes bugged out. “Little Tammy Leigh? A little girl will decide who inherits a historic landmark?”
“She’s nearly fifteen now,” Grans countered.
The response did not lessen the confusion in the room.
“I’m taking notes,” Brianne said to her husband Rafe. “I’ll need details on that points system.”
Didn’t we all.
“How many holiday festivities do we have to complete?” Riley asked.
Grans blinked. “Well, all of them.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. Holly Days ran for a solid month with activities every weekend from now through Christmas Day. A full month of holiday festivities. Like a nightmare come true.
Not that it mattered. I lived in California and hated Christmas. Okay, hate was a strong word. I avoided the holiday like the over-hyped commercialized nightmare it was, like any rational human. Grans must have assumed I’d have no interest in the contest anyway, otherwise she’d have mentioned staying in town for a month.
Who could afford to take a month off work? Other than those who’d recently lost their job…
“Where did thisideacome from?” Cara asked.
“A holiday movie on cable. Can you believe?” Grans chuckled demurely. “I love those small-town holiday movies. I thought, what a great idea since Crystal Cove is the state’s second most popular winter holiday destination. The Holly Days festival is built right in. It’s been too long since we were all together.”
Eyes glanced my direction—judgy eyes. I pointed at Shawn. “He barely comes home either!”
Shawn’s eyes narrowed. “Twice a year, actually. July and Christmas. Besides, what do you care? You only exist in California now.”
My hands planted on my hips as I squared off with my brother. “What do you care, right back at you. You live in Tulsa.”
“Tallahassee.”
I glared. “I knew that.” I did, I was just really flustered right now.
