Chapter 13

It was almost four the next day before I got over to Tami's house. First Mom decided that we should all go to church, even though Grandma Cooper wasn't visiting. Then Dad decided that we should all go out for brunch. Then Traci wanted to do a family movie. I got a vote; it just didn't count.

There were about four inches of snow on the ground as I trudged to Tami's house. By the time I got to Tami's, my feet were cold enough that I wondered if it was time to break down and buy a pair of boots.

I stomped up her porch, trying to knock the snow off my tennis shoes. I wondered how she took my leaving to go see Allie. I knocked. A minute later, Tami opened the door. "Hi. How are you?" I had no idea why I was sounding so formal.

Tami cocked an eyebrow. "Fine. And you?"

"I'm good." Suddenly, I had nothing to say.

"Must have been a hell of a party, if you're just getting home."

"I, uh..."

"Of course, Allie's a redhead. And I know how you are about redheads."

"I, uh..."

"You left Robbie and me sitting here to go off and be with her."

"I, uh..."

The door closed.

I couldn't believe it. Three years in a row. Just when things were going good with Tami, fate drops a bomb in my lap. Three years in a row. This couldn't be happening.

The door opened. "Tony, breathe."

"I, uh..."

"If you can complete a full sentence, you can come in."

"It's damn cold out here," I managed to stammer out.

Tami opened the door wide and literally pulled me inside.

I knew I had to be careful. I had to explain this right.

Tami fell against me, her mouth pressing to mine, and she guided my hands to comfortable spots on the seat of her jeans. "God, I missed you," she said when we came up for air.

"Tami, about last night..."

"Before you stick your size ten-and-a-half squarely in your mouth, I know all about last night."

An intelligent person would have accepted that and kissed her again. An idiot would have accepted that and just held her. "Tami, about Allie..."

"Tony, at the ungodly hour of nine o'clock, Paula was here telling me and Robbie how you'd shown up at the party, found Allie, and taken her out of there. She practically made it sound like a hostage rescue mission."

I decided I owed Paula a thank you. A big thank you. Jewelry might be involved.

"Then about noon, after Robbie left, Allie showed up. She was looking for you, but she told me how you rescued her twice last night."

"Twice?"

"Once from her parents."

"Oh."

"We had a long talk."

"Oh."

"You are a sparkling conversationalist today," Tami said with a grin.

"Does this mean you two are friends now?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Let's just say, we've gone from mortal enemies to run-of-the-mill antagonists."

"I guess that's a start."

"You're my hero, you know."

"Please! I had enough hero this year. I was just doing a friend a favor."

"Okay, you're my knight in shining armor."

"That's worse."

Tami looked surprised. "You don't want to be a knight in shining armor?"

"Not enough babes."

"Knights don't get babes?"

"I don't think so. Can you imagine what they smelled like after riding around in a tin can all day?"

Tami laughed. "You got a point."

"Of course, when they got back to the castle, maybe they had the upstairs scullery maid give them a bath."

"That sounds like a hint. Would you settle for the downstairs scullery maid and a shower?"

"Well, I did get all hot and sweaty, walking all the way here from my house. In a raging blizzard."

"Raging blizzard," Tami repeated, looking out the window at the clear skies and bright sunlight.

"Your bathroom, or your mom's?"

"Mom's is bigger, but it would feel really weird. Mine is kinda small."

"Cozy is good," I said with a grin. "Cozy is very good."