Laughing Fate Read Online Free

about me because I’m not interested! And as for you!"
    Puck glared collectively at everyone while brandishing her weapon and screamed, "Wipe those smiles off your face! It’s not funny! And if I hear one more word, OR SONG, from any of you then I’ll…I’ll kill you!”
    Needless to say the men were stunned. They stared at her open mouthed and quickly took a step back when she stepped closer. Potter had never been more scared in his life, Puck looked angry enough to make good on her threat.  Her eyes were blazing, her chest was heaving, her whole body was shaking with anger, her chest was heaving, and her face was flushed. Did he mention her chest was heaving? Potter tore his gaze from her chest in disgust. Now was not the time.
    Now everyone was looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Holding his hands out, Potter said, "Now look Puck," He cleared his throat noisily. Man, he was quivering like a little girl at a five- foot five- inch girl with a slender body and pretty blue eyes.
    "No, you look! You . . . you . . . oh! Just leave me alone!" Puck cried. The devil, Puck shook her stick at him angrily and then . . . she slumped. It was just a slight difference in her stance, hard to notice if you weren’t paying attention.  Her shoulders slumped, her grip on the stick loosened, and the light of battle dimmed in her eyes as if the weight of the world were on her. She looked kind of sad, as if she’d had a bad day and had overheard something a jerk had said about her.
    What had he said? That she was a freak of nature? Damn. If Potter could take back those words he would do so in a second.  Puck may be scary and slightly disturbed, but she didn’t deserve to be hurt like that.
    Feeling something in the region of his heart soften toward this little warrior, Potter stepped forward, hands up in a surrender pose.
    He wondered briefly if this was a trap, but no, the little warrior still slumped. Granted, she was still waving the stick and glaring defiantly at them, but damn…she looked lost, vulnerable. Poor little warrior.
    "Ummm , Puck? What’s wrong with the jeep?" Potter asked hesitantly, hands still up in a classic surrender pose.
    "If it’s something mechanical, I can try to fix it," added James. He worked part time as a mechanic at the shop.
    “ Please don’t kill me,” chimed in Brad with a smile on his face. He was a fool who always said the wrong thing, but he was impossible to stay mad at.  He ignored all the glares and warning shakes of their heads and continued to smile at Puck.
    They had caught her off guard, but she rallied quickly. He winced as he realized that inside his brain there was a flock of cheerleaders cheering for Puck. He even felt like snapping his fingers and saying, "You go girl!" Good lord, what was happening to him?
    Puck let out a breath, lowered her log just a tiny bit and said tiredly, "It won’t start. I knew I shouldn’t have come here with the gas on empty, and especially since I knew I worked this morning, but I just never listen! Sandy warned me this would happen some day, Perri told me not to come, but did I listen? Do I ever listen? It was stupid! And now my car won’t start and I’m going to be late to work!”
    “ Umm, Puck? What if I gave you a ride? It would be no problem.”
    Puck glared at Potter. Ok…little warrior was still dangerous, good to know.
    “Thank you Spaz, but no.” She said it so calmly as she set down her stick, it made it hard to believe she was turning down his offer, and called him a spaz to boot.
    “ Why not?”
    “ Jeez just take the ride!”
    “ Hey, Potter, she called you a spaz!”
    “ I’ll give you a ride if it’ll make you feel better.”
    Puck glared at the men that had spoken up and they fell silent.  The men were truly shocked that she had tuned down a ride.  It was ten miles up a windy mountain road to get back to town.  It would be a long, hard hike that could be avoided if she’d just take the ride.
    “None of your