Read Tempestuous for Free Online

in the book Emma was getting one hell of a verbal smackdown from Mr. Knightly for her inappropriate conduct. “
Rebuke = redemption!
” my mom had scribbled in the margins. Yeah, right. Growing up, it was hard not to wonder if I’d been denied some priceless pearls of advice or wisdom that Mom might have had to offer me were she still alive. But the meaningless insight she’d scribbled here left me convinced I wasn’t missing out on much. If she were around to hear it, I’d tell her that I’d been recently rebuked up one side and down the other, and there was not a damn thing redeeming about the experience. Demeaning was more like it. Feeling as though it was hitting just a little too close to home, I dog-eared the page, closed the book, and made my way back toward the Hot-Dog Kabob booth. Ariel would cheer me up.
    “
Guess
who came by?” she very nearly wheezed at me when I showed up and lifted the hinged counter separating customer from food service worker.
    “Okay, I’ll guess, but only once you assure me you’re not suffering some kind of massive coronary.”
    “Chad Mathers!!!!” she squealed. “Hypers!!!!”
    “Yeah …
and???
”
    “
THE
Chad Mathers!”
    “Oh, right,” I replied, grabbing for my apron and slipping it back over my jumper. “And you’re excited about this because…?”
    “He asked me if I would double-dip his dog!”
    “Ewww. That sounds pornographic.”
    “What? He likes his corn dogs extra crispy.”
    “Okay, Ariel. As long as you weren’t salivating from the mouth like you are now.” Girlfriend clearly had a crush on this Chad Mathers person. She wasn’t exactly the sort of chick a guy who looked like Chad would be into, so I opted to change the subject lest I accidentally stoke the flames of her unrequited passion. No sense in getting the girl’s hopes up.
    “What’s the latest on the White Plague?” I asked. “Are we going to blow this Popsicle stand early tonight?” I sort of hoped that wasn’t the case, since I had things all worked out with Grady to bring Ariel’s birthday cake around at nine.
    “Business as usual, from what I can tell. But we should ask Troy. Hey, Troy!” Ariel splayed her belly onto the counter and leaned far over to look into the food stall directly next to us. It was a rotisserie chicken place called Spitfire. Troy Beck’s freckled face peeked back from around the corner of the wall.
    “Yes, m’lady,” he said without batting an eyelash before locking his baby blues on mine. “Oh, hey, Miranda. I was waiting for you to get back. Gotta favor.” He slid underneath his counter and popped up in front of ours.
    “I already told you how to smooth things over with your girlfriend, Troy,” I said. “I can’t be your Cyrano twenty-four seven.”
    “Oh that’s all covered. I did exactly as you suggested. Nice call, by the way—Lauren totally forgave me.”
    “And so you need my help because….” I acted annoyed by these frequent requests from people for advice, but secretly, I relished the attention. Besides, I really was that good at it.
    “Here’s the thing,” Troy said. “Lauren’s kid brother is in the hospital. He’s got some sort of—”
    “Oh that’s horrible,” Ariel and I said in unison.
    “It’s okay,” Troy said. “He came through surgery and things are looking good. But the thing is … I kind of promised Lauren I’d get him a copy of the new snowboarding game,
Avalanche X
.” He pantomimed what was apparently supposed to indicate a tricky snowboard maneuver, but looked more like a reenactment of Buster Keaton slipping on a banana peel. “It’s the only thing that will cheer him up. The kid’s had a rough year.”
    “Can’t you just buy a copy?” Ariel said.
    “If you’re short on cash, don’t expect me to be your loan shark,” I said.
    “No, it’s not that. I
wish
.” He shook his head. “Haven’t you seen it on TV? The game is sold out all over town. Has been for weeks.”
    “What makes