Snowed In Read online

  Corey and Adam were doing some serious kissing. Josh was just holding Nathalie. Probably didn’t want to catch her cold or flu or whatever it was she had. It looked like she’d gone to sleep against his shoulder again. Every now and then, Shanna and Rand would sneak a kiss.

  “She worries that her dad will look back here,” Chase whispered, holding me more tightly.

  “I don’t blame her. That would be really weird.”

  “Yeah.”

  I thought maybe he’d kiss me. But he didn’t even try.

  Since we’d been the last ones picked up, we were the first ones dropped off. Chase and I stood on the walkway, watching the dray move on up the street.

  “Well, that was fun,” I said.

  “Nathalie probably shouldn’t have come out tonight.”

  “Do you worry about her?”

  He looked surprised. “No, just an observation.”

  “You’ve known her a long time.”

  “I’ve known everyone on the island a long time.”

  “I guess I mean, you know her really well.”

  “Ditto, on knowing everyone really well.”

  “But you work together.”

  “Are you going somewhere with this?”

  He sounded seriously ticked off.

  “Ah, no, just making an observation.”

  “It’s just…”

  “She’s had a boyfriend forever,” I said.

  “Yeah. I mean, when I was twelve I wasn’t thinking about girls really. She’s never had a chance to see if she might like someone better.”

  “Someone like you?”

  He sighed. “I guess I’m not as good at hiding it as I used to be.”

  “You know, flirting with other girls in the fudge shop might not be the way to go if you’re trying to get her attention.”

  “It’s the only time she notices me. I thought if she thought lots of girls liked me, maybe she would too.” He rubbed his hands up and down his face. “So now that you know my deep dark secret, do you still want to go to V.P. with me tomorrow night?”

  Considering I had a deep, dark secret of my own?

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Great. I’ll see you then.” He turned and headed up the street.

  I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved. I suppose if nothing else we could commiserate together.

  I opened the gate and walked up the porch to the house. Light was shining out from the parlor window. I should have known Mom would still be up. What sort of report should I give her?

  I’d barely closed the front door before she popped out of the parlor. “We have our first guests!”

  Not now. I wanted to be excited, I wanted to be welcoming. I really, really did. I wanted to be the perfect hostess, but I needed to crawl into bed and go to sleep so I could stop thinking about Josh.

  “Come on in and meet them,” Mom said.

  “Oh, Mom, I’m really wiped out—”

  “No excuses. This is a unique opportunity to learn to be a good hostess.”

  She was so excited that I just couldn’t disappoint her. Forcing myself to smile, I went into the parlor.

  Our guest flung her arms wide. “Surprise!”

  “Tara!”

  I rushed toward her, she ran toward me. Then we were hugging and laughing, both of us talking at once. It was so good to see her. Nothing had changed. Her hair was still black, her eyes still blue. Her nose was still slightly crooked. When she was six, her brother tried to teach her how to play baseball. He told her to keep her eye on the ball. She did—until it hit her in the nose.

  “Are you surprised? You look surprised.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I asked.

  “If I had, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”

  “When did you decide—”

  “A couple of nights ago. But we couldn’t get a direct flight, and we’ve been traveling all day and night. I didn’t think we’d ever get here!”

  “We?”

  We finally broke apart, and I could see past her into the room. Shaun lifted his hand in greeting. “Hey.”

  “Hi.”

  I didn’t know him well enough to rush forward and hug him—for which he was no doubt grateful. Still, I said the honest-to-gosh truth. “I’m so glad y’all are here.”

  “Josh kissed you?” Tara asked.

  We were in my bed, snuggled beneath the quilts. We’d visited downstairs for a couple of hours, before we decided to call it a night. Mom gave Shaun a room on the second floor. She’d readied another room for Tara, but we’d had too many sleepovers together to sleep in separate rooms now.

  Once we turned out the lights, I’d filled her in on the past two days of my life.

  “What a player,” she said with obvious disgust.

  “He seemed as surprised as I was. I mean, I don’t think he really meant to kiss me. It just happened.”

  “So what are you going to do?” she asked.

  “Pretend it didn’t happen.”

  “What about this other guy, this Chase?”

  “I like him.”

  “But not as much.”

  “That could just be because I don’t know him as well. Besides, he has a thing for Nathalie too.”

  “She must be something else. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Even though it was dark, I grinned so broadly that I thought my jaw would ache in the morning. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “What are best friends for?”

  “How long can you stay?”

  “Only until Monday, just long enough to get my Ash fix. I swear, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Shaun.”

  “I can’t believe he came with you.”

  “He’s my rock.”

  “I wish you’d gotten here early enough to go on the hayride.”

  “I can’t believe Chase didn’t kiss you. I mean, a hayride sounds like a kissing thing.”

  “I was a little surprised too, but if he had, I think it would have been only to get Nathalie’s attention. So I really like him for not using me like that.”

  “I guess. So, tomorrow, I’ve got big plans for us,” Tara said.

  “What?”

  “A fudge run.”

  “That’s the reason you’re really here, isn’t it?” I teased. “You came for the fudge, not me.”

  “You know it. And I brought disguises so we can check out all the fudge shops, not just Nathalie’s.”

  I laughed. It just felt so right having Tara here.

  She threw one of my stuffed animals at me. “Night, Ash.”

  The bed wobbled as she rolled onto her side. I looked out the window. The next few days were going to be so much fun. Tara was always fun.

  Then, because it was dark, and she’d started to snore, I slipped out of bed and went to where I’d dropped my jacket earlier. I reached into the pocket and pulled out Josh’s cap. I worked it down over my head, over my ears. I crawled into bed and fell asleep doing what I knew I shouldn’t: dreaming about him.

  15

  The next morning when I woke up, Tara wasn’t in my room. I wasn’t surprised. She’s a morning person.

  I got dressed and went downstairs. Just as I suspected, Tara was in the kitchen helping Mom make breakfast. Mr. Wynter, Josh, and Shaun were sitting at the oak table, finishing off a batch of pancakes.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” Mom said brightly when I walked into the kitchen.

  I grunted. Tara handed me my coffee mug. I filled it quickly, added my milk and sugar, and took my first sip.

  “Watching Ash drink coffee is kinda like watching a werewolf movie,” Tara said. “You can see the transformation from man into beast.”

  “Except for me, it’s beast into girl, I know,” I said sourly and took another sip.

  “Want some pancakes?” Mom asked.

  “No, thanks.” I leaned against the counter.

  “They’re really good,” Josh said. He was watching me like he