Page 135 of Bang

At one time, it had beenmorethan a little. But now? I was pretty sure I hated him. Or at least, I tried to hate him.

"Oh, please," I said. "What do I look like? A masochist?"

"Not a masochist," she said. "But you always see the good in people. Even me."

"Yeah, but you reallyaregood."

"Not all the time," she said. "I'm stubborn and temperamental andwaytoo likely to fly off the handle.But you?You're the most serene person I've ever met."

I almost laughed in her face. "Not lately."

"Oh, come on."

"I’m serious," I said. "You should've seen me last night. Here Mason comes in to give me a Christmas bonus, and what do I do? I read him the riot act."

Her surprise was obvious. "Really? What'd you say?"

"Nothing that will a make a difference."

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "Ever since you showed up, hehasseemed at least a little different."

"But how wouldyouknow?" I asked. "You hardly see him."

"But Brody does," she said. "And just the other day, he mentioned something about Mason seeming more human." She gave me a significant look. "Goodandbad."

I was intrigued in spite of myself. "How so?"

"Well, for a while there, it sounded like Mason was actually lightening up."

"In what way?"

"According to Brody, Mason was smiling a lot more, and even joking once in a while." She frowned. "But then, when all of us were in Kentucky, he was as miserable as I'd ever seen him."

"Yeah, well…at least Chase was happy."

Arden rolled her eyes. "Chase isalwayshappy – well, as long as he's up to no good."

From watching their cable show, I couldn’t disagree. ButChasewasn't my problem. It was his older brother who was making me nuts. "Back to Mason," I said. "I've got to get him a Christmas present. Any ideas?"

She winced. "A whistle?"

"I’m serious," I said. "I need to findsomething, and I don't have much time." I snuck a quick glance at Willow, who was still playing with the other kids. "And we're supposed to be getting that blizzard tonight."

"Nottonight," she said. "Later today."

"What?" I shook my head. "I thought it wasn't hitting 'til midnight."

"Itwas.But the forecast changed." With a look of concern, she said, "Wait a minute, you're not leavingtoday, are you?"

"Well, thatisthe plan."

"Oh, crap. Then you'd better leave now. If you hurry, you can probably miss the worst of it. I hear it's supposed to bereallybad."

"Yeah, but they always say that."It was true.I'd lived in Michigan my whole life, and one thing I knew from experience – the weather was almost never as bad as the forecast.

Plus, I was from Petoskey, which was three hours north and more prone to winter weather. I was no stranger to snow –ordriving in it.

But Arden looked far from comforted. "Seriously, you reallyshouldleave right away, just to be safe."