Black Flame by Ruby Laska Page B

it!”
    Not only was it almost six o’clock—how had she managed to sleep for three entire hours?—but her sister had left her two voicemails and a whole stream of text messages.
     
    Pick up! I can’t believe you’re at the ranch!
     
    Seriously Neener call me I have big news!!
     
    We’re heading back to the cabin. Sorry I missed u Sleeping Beauty. Thank you for coming to visit me, LOL. Will try u tomorrow. Coming home in two days. DON’T LEAVE BEFORE I GET THERE. Xoxo Merry Christmas
     
    “Big news?” Deneen’s heart sank like a rock. So, it was true; her sister had eloped, and now she was spending Christmas with her brand new husband while Deneen was marooned here, the laughingstock of the ranch, the girl who couldn’t even manage a surprise visit.
    Well…maybe laughingstock was too strong a word. Cal had been perfectly nice when she talked to him on the phone. The rest of them probably were, too. Listen to them, out there playing Monopoly, as wholesome as…well, very wholesome indeed.
    And they were probably holding dinner for her. Deneen jumped out of bed and turned on the lamp. She pulled the covers hastily into place, and ransacked her suitcase. What was she supposed to wear for dinner? Did they dress up for holidays? Or was everything casual up here? Jayne had said that the dress code all over town was laid back, and Deneen knew for a fact that Jayne had left nearly all her formal clothes back in Arkansas, since she regularly raided her sister’s closet back home. Okay then, casual it would be.
    But then Deneen paused, a pair of red and green argyle socks in hand. Cal’s girlfriend was going to be here tonight. And while it wasn’t a competition, of course, what if she had dressed up, and Deneen didn't? She wasn’t a girlfriend, of course, a fact that made her heart kind of squeeze a little, but it wouldn’t do to have Jimmy—not that she was holding out hope for any sort of relationship there, that steamy kiss was going to be as far as it went—she wasn’t about to have Jimmy seeing her looking anything less than her best when she served up the turkey she’d brined and rubbed and basted.
    In fact…it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he got to see exactly what he was missing, would it?
    Deneen stuffed the socks back into her suitcase and dug out the silky scarlet blouse and tight black skirt she’d packed just in case a dressy occasion arose. She found her sky-high patent pumps and patterned black stockings, and quickly changed, stuffing the clothes she was wearing under the bed. She could tidy up later; right now she needed to get out there and join the party before anyone could accuse her of hiding from the guests, as she had last year when a bevy of her slightly drunken relatives had grilled her about when she was finally going to get a real job.
    Once dressed, Deneen dug into her cosmetic bag and did some hasty repairs in her hand mirror. No way was she risking making a dash for the bathroom, not when there was no telling who she might run into this time. She fluffed her hair upside down and sprayed it into a puffy cloud around her face, and to finish things off, she spritzed a bit of her favorite perfume between her breasts.
    Then she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and flung open the door. She walked confidently down the hall before she could lose her nerve, paused at the living room, and smiled graciously. All eyes turned to her, and Deneen had just enough time to notice that every last one of them was wearing jeans before her stiletto heel caught on the ancient shag carpet.
    She went down .
    She put out her hands to try to break her fall, but there were two carpeted steps down to the sunken living room, and she landed hard on her knees and wrists. Worse, in the shocked silence of the assembled friends, the sound of ripping fabric could be heard—the skirt, which had been tight to begin with, had given way against the strain of the fall.
    “Ow,” she mumbled,