ooh, yes, Peg. Excellent idea!
I don't know which variant of the HC12 or S12 you are using, but if you have an SPI with bi-directional mode, then you are saved! Bi-directional mode shifts in/out using MOSI (called MOMI, in this mode) on the master, and shifts in/out using MISO (called SISO, in this mode) on the slave.
You could only move data in one direction at a time, and both microcontrollers would need to set her respective DDRS bit to be in agreement as to what that direction was, but those problems are manageable.
Good call, Peg!