Snowed in Together by Ann Herrick Read Free Book Online Page A

smile curved her rosy lips.
    "We'll make it work." I gasped for air, until I realized she meant it was the safety pin she hoped would work, not us as a couple. I cleared my throat. "Um, I mean, I'll make it work." I quickly turned and concentrated on the doorknob, in part to hide the fact that my face was turning redder than a July sunset.
    Since the lock was old, I figured it wouldn't be too tough to crack. But I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing, either. I mean, I didn't go around picking locks. Something told me that small, deliberate movements would work better than brute force. So I cautiously joggled the safety pin in the lock until I heard a soft "click."
    I tried turning the knob. It worked, and the door swung open.
    “A dude of many talents!" Tony slapped my back and sent me halfway across the kitchen.
    Everyone poured into the room and started checking cabinets and the refrigerator for food. What we found didn't exactly whet the appetite, even though our stomachs were sending audible message of hunger.
    "Powdered milk, powdered eggs, cooking oil and grated cheese?" Ms Tenray said. "That's it?"
    "Looks that way," Korman said.
    “We'll starve!" Cari sounded like one of those high-pitched little dogs skanky celebrities carry around as accessories.
    "We also have chocolate and cheese curls," Tiffany reminded us.
    "We could try to make a meal out of what we found," Ellyce said in a soft, silvery voice.
    "Don't look at me, girl," Tiffany said. "I don't even make toast."
    "I don't cook e-either," Cari said, struggling to control a quaver in her voice.
    Jeff and Tony echoed similar sentiments.
    Ms. Tenray and Mr. Korman stood there looking profoundly embarrassed. Finally, Korman said, "I eat out a lot."
    "Me, too," Tenray confessed.
    "I can cook," Ellyce said. "I certainly had to often--I mean, I'll see what I can do."
    I got up the nerve to say, "I can cook, Ellyce." Ellyce. I actually said her name out loud, to her.
    Ellyce gave me a smile of something approaching relief. "Any ideas on what we should fix?"
    "Well …." I thought for a moment. "I'm not exactly used to working with ingredients and utensils made for serving three hundred people, but maybe we could make some sort of omelet."
    "Good idea!" Ellyce said. Her smile lit up my world.
    Next thing, Ellyce and I were tossing out orders. Soon the kitchen hummed with activity. I worked a few dismal experiments in combining powdered milk, powdered eggs, grated cheese and water until we developed a mixture that looked as if it might actually cook up into something edible.
    When I looked up and saw everyone huddled around the grill, sniffing the air and licking their lips, I figured Ellyce and I had done something right.
    "Think this is ready?" Ellyce leaned close and looked me straight in the eyes.
    Being so close to her and seeing her beautiful green eyes focused directly on me, me , made me think that maybe there was a chance, however small, that a girl like Ellyce could be interested in a guy like me, from a family, or what was left of it, like mine. I would've fantasized about the possibilities, but she was waiting for an answer. I checked out the omelet. "It looks less like an omelet and more like scramble eggs having a bad day, but I think it's ready."
    Ellyce laughed, and said, "True."
    I hardly noticed what she said. She'd laughed at my joke!
    "Is the milk ready, Tiffany?" Ellyce asked.
    Tiffany peered into the pitcher of milk she'd been assigned to make. "Er, I think it's still kinda lumpy."
    "Lumpy milk?" Tony laughed.
    Tiffany threw him a shut-up look, and Tony froze in mid-laugh.
    "Okay. Idea." Jeff pulled a strainer out of a cabinet, and another pitcher. He handed the strainer to Tiffany. "We can strain the milk into this pitcher. That'll get rid of the lumps."
    "Thank you, Jeff." Tiffany gave him a big smile and an arm touch, which Jeff didn't seem to notice, but Tony certainly did.
    Cari stared at Jeff with her big, round eyes as if he were a