Page 35 of Once Upon A Christmas Song

“I got it,” I confirmed, and I noted that Nicole covered her mouth so Cami wouldn’t see her smile.

“I knew the hat was Prue’s, so I walked in and snatched it right off Emma’s head and gave it back to Prue.”

“Then what?”

“Emma tried to hit me, so I pushed her away, and then I grabbed Prue’s hand so we could run out of the bathroom together.”

“But?” There had to be more.

“But Emma pulled my hair.”

Georgine was a great mother who always stressed keeping your hands to yourself, never starting a fight, and never hurting anyone. However, the addendum was, if someone struck you, if someone purposely got in your face and was prepared to do you bodily harm or, heaven forbid, pulled your hair, then that was what your karate was for.

“What’d you do?”

“I flipped her over my back.”

“Like you did Henry Rafkin in karate class?” I had only seen her do it one time, to Henry, her best friend in the world, onto a thick mat. His father, Seth, was a very nice man, and he and his son were Georgine and Cami’s neighbors, since Georgine had bought her house two years ago when she moved out of her mother’s home. As far as I knew, Dr. Wallis was still annoyed about that, though with how perfectly she wanted her house kept, and with Georgine being a chef, I suspected she also liked them being gone just a bit.

Cami nodded, worried eyes searching mine.

“What were you supposed to do, angel?”

“Get a teacher.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“There wasn’t time.”

I held her gaze and waited.

She nodded quickly. “I should have run out when Emma let go of my hair, but I was mad, and Mama said no one should touch me.”

“If there was…” I prodded her.

She sighed deeply. “No other choice.”

“That’s right,” I agreed. “Now, was there another choice?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes filled suddenly before she was hugging me again, her arms wrapped tight around my neck. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” I said, rubbing her back. “I’m very proud of you for sticking up for your friend.”

She whimpered and then turned her head to look at Dawson, who was crouched down beside me.

“Hi there.”

“Hi,” she replied, then offered him her hand as she’d been taught. “I’m Miss Camille Joseph, but you can call me Cami.”

“It’s my pleasure, Cami,” he said, taking her hand in both of his and giving her his flashing smile. “I’m Dawson West, but you can call me Daw.”

She nodded. “Are you a friend of my uncle Chris?”

“I am. I’m his best friend, and you’ll be seeing a lot of me because I will be playing music at the club for the foreseeable future.”

“Okay,” she said, processing his words. “I like your hat.”

“I like your antlers.”