could make sure she was okay.
They made it almost a block to where a long picnic table sat in front of a concession stand. He motioned to the table thinking Mindy might need to sit down. As soon as he got there he turned to her.
âAre you sure youâre okay? If he ⦠if he hurt you, Iâll go back and find him and break his frigginâ neck.â
âNo,â Mindy said, still standing, but her voice shook a little. âHe didnât do anything but ⦠grope me. Iâm fine.â
âCrap!â Tami said. âLook at your hand, Chase. Youâre bleeding and your knuckles are swelling.â
She caught his hand and held it. âYou need some ice. Iâll go get some.â She took off and Chase turned back to his sister.
âIâm sorry it took me so long to find you.â
âOh gawd, Chase, it wasnât your fault. I was stupid,â she said, her voice wavering a little less. âI went with him behind the curtain thinking all heâd do was kiss me, but â¦â She hesitated. âPlease donât tell Mom or Dad. I mean, itâs not like something really happened. He didnât even get inside my shirt. I was just ⦠so pissed that I fell for him and that I couldnât stop him. He was stronger than I was.â She bit down on her lip. âPlease, please donât tell. You know this would freak them out and Dad ⦠Hell, Dad would kill him.â
Yeah, his dad probably would kill him. Chase knew he wanted to. âAre you sure youâre okay?â
She took a few steps closer. âThanks to you, I am. And Iâve been so mean to you today. Iâm sorry I was a bitch. I promise you that Iâll never be a snot to you again.â
Seeing Mindy acting like Mindy, the nicer Mindy, had the panic in his chest lessening. Unfortunately, the panic was probably what had stopped his hand from hurting, because it was throbbing like a mo fo now.
Before he knew what Mindy intended to do, she hugged him. They hadnât hugged each other since his mom stopped making them hug to make up after a fight. Oddly, this one was nicer.
He really did love his sister, even when she was a snot.
âThank you,â she said and pulled back.
She looked around him. âHere comes Tami with the ice.â She glanced down at his hand. âIâm sorry you got hurt.â
âIâm fine,â he lied.
She made a face, looking from Tami back to him. âLook, I know you have a thing for Tami and ⦠if you tell her I said this, Iâll lie and say I didnât, but â¦â She looked up again. âShe kind of has a thing for you, too. I didnât approve, but after seeing you two today, I think you might be great together. So, go for it. You have my permission to date my best friend. But be nice to her.â
Chaseâs head reeled with that piece of information.
âHere.â Tami came running up with a cup of ice and some paper towels. âThey didnât have any plastic baggies, so this will have to do.â She pulled him over to the picnic table. âSit down and let me put ice on it.â He sat down on the bench facing her instead of the table. She stepped between his legs, and quickly started emptying ice into the paper towels.
âIâm fine. It doesnât hurt at all.â It wasnât a lie this time. Hearing that Tami had a thing for him chased the pain away.
She picked up his hand and dropped the paper towel filled with ice on his hand. âYou were awesome,â she said. In the corner of his eye, he saw his sister move a few feet away as if giving them space.
He glanced up at Tami. âNot really. I should have chased his ass off a long time ago.â
âMindy wouldnât have let you. Besides, I ⦠never thought watching a guy fight would be hot, but it was.â
âYou think Iâm hot?â he asked, loving the sound of that.
She grinned. âI