Red Hot by Cheryl Alldis, Leonie Alldis

the dance floor in his arms. Her thoughts drifted to the afternoon she had spent with him and she wondered if he would try to contact her. He did say he would like to see her again, but she wondered how they could do that when her family was so against him. Maybe he thought the same because she hadn’t seen him since.
    With a slight start, she realised Emmie had been speaking to her.
    ‘Katherine dear, you’re a million miles away,’ Emmie smiled. ‘I was just offering you girls some advice.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Grandma, I was daydreaming,’ Kathy said sheepishly, forcing thoughts of Eddie to the back of her mind. ‘What’s the advice?’
    ‘I just wanted to say that it is best to stay away from that Dot McLaron. I heard you girls talking about her the other day and it didn’t sound good at all.’ Emmie patted Kathy’s hand. ‘She’s a bit of a flibberty gibbet and likes to make mischief. So do your best to ignore her nonsense and just enjoy the dance.’ She gave them both a kiss on their cheeks and left them to themselves.
    ‘She’s such a dear old thing, I love her so much,’ Kathy said, watching her grandmother.
    ‘Me too,’ Tammi replied. ‘By the way, what were you daydreaming about just now?’
    Kathy looked at Tammi and shrugged her shoulders. ‘Nothing… nothing important…’
    ‘C’mon who is it?’
    ‘Tam, it was nothing, just daydreaming about the dance, really.’ She could hardly tell Tammi it was about Eddie Chancellor; she would never understand.
    Tammi looked at her sister for a moment and let the subject drop.
    ‘She’s got a secret and I’m gonna find out what it is!’
she thought. If there was something to find out, then Tammi would do just that!
    ‘C’mon, come sit outside for a bit, talk about the dance some more and Christmas.’
    Kathy agreed and they went out to the shady veranda. Centaur Road was visible from where they were sitting.
    Eddie Chancellor was on his way home. He slowed as he drew near Kia-Ora and glanced in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kathy.
    Kathy tried not to show any reaction. She knew Tammi would pick up on it so she let her eyes follow him as he went passed. Her heart was going much faster than it should.
    ‘Dot was in that heap with him the other day,’ Tammi commented.’ I saw them when I was down at Flynn’s Store.
    Flynn’s was the local shop in Lavington. The little store sold everything from grocery items to fish and chips.
    ‘Yes, I heard they hang out a lot,’ Kathy answered, trying to keep her voice normal.
    ‘She’d go after anything in pants! You know, she’d be quite attractive if she scraped off some of that makeup she cakes on her face.’ Tammi screwed up her nose, giggling.
    ‘Mmm, I wonder if Eddie will be at the dance,’ Kathy replied, secretly hoping he would be. Not that she’d get the opportunity to speak to him, let alone dance with him, but Eddie would at least see her in her gorgeous red dress.
    ‘Hell! I hope not. There’s sure to be a fight if he’s there,’ exclaimed Tammi.
    ‘You know, Tam, it’s not always his fault. Other blokes pick fights you know, not just Eddie… Also, you can’t deny he is a spunk,’ Kathy added a tad sheepishly.
    Tam looked thoughtfully at her sister. ‘Well, I’ve never given that a thought,’ she said, tilting her head to the side and looking at Kathy through narrowed eyes.
    ***
    Finally, Saturday night arrived: the night for the much anticipated Christmas dance. So far, there hadn’t been another fire. The men had discussed how they would handle the nightly watch on their properties and several of the locals who had decided not to go offered to do it for them.
    Everyone wanted the dance to go ahead. The threat of the firebug hung over
their heads, but cancelling the dance would not prevent a fire. They were determined to not let the crazy bastard spoil it for them.
    Eileen was in her room. She had just finished getting dressed for the dance.
    ‘I think I’ll pass in