Black Flame

by Ruby Laska

  “Oh no,” a female voice scolded. “Angel, come!”

  “I’m fine,” Deneen said, though she wasn’t actually sure. One of her wrists didn’t feel very good at all. She clutched it with her other hand and yelped.

  “May I?” Cal said. “I’ve got first aid training.”

  While he gently kneaded her hand and turned it this way and that, Deneen snuck looks at Zane and Roan. She needn’t have worried about Roan out-dressing her—the girl was wearing what looked like a man’s flannel T-shirt knotted over a lacy gray camisole, skin-tight jeans that were soft with wear, and clunky motorcycle boots with big silver zippers. Her mass of light brown curls was held back with a silver filigree clasp, but her only other jewelry was a pair of tiny silver hoop earrings, and she wore almost no makeup. And, of course, because today was clearly still not Deneen’s lucky day, she was incredibly gorgeous.

  Not a competition, the little voice reminded her. And really, Deneen didn’t ever begrudge other women attention. She wasn’t jealous of them, either—usually—unless they happened to be her much-too-perfect sister, or the mysterious woman who was inconveniently dating the studly Supergeek, who was currently glaring at her.

  “I’m fine,” Deneen snapped at Jimmy. “So you can quit worrying and go back to your game.”

  Oh, nice. Now she sounded like a real bitch. But the others didn’t understand—well, except maybe for Cal, who had caught Jimmy red-handed, cheating on his other woman—that she was between a rock and a hard place here. There was no place for a woman in Jimmy’s life, her sister wasn’t due back for two days, she didn’t have a job or money, and there weren’t any other men around to take her mind off her humiliation.

  But wait. What about Zane?

  Deneen looked more carefully at the man sitting at the end of the sofa, watching her with concern. He was clean-cut, with nice close-cropped brown hair and light gray eyes behind tortoiseshell glasses, and with his pressed button-down shirt and polished loafers, he was also the most nicely dressed among them. And, of course, now he thought she was either crazy or mean. And definitely clumsy.

  “Hi,” she said, forcing a smile and a cheerful tone to go with it. “I’m sorry, I haven’t met you guys. I’m, um, Deneen. Jayne’s sister.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Zane said.

  “Oh wow, you’re so pretty,” Roan said. The dog, who had flopped down beside her, tilted her head as if in agreement. “You look just like Jayne except…shinier.”

  Deneen felt her skin redden. “I think I overdressed,” she confessed. “Back home, everyone gets…I mean, Christmas is…my family…”

  “I think you’ll live,” Cal said, rescuing her as she stumbled to find a way to explain. “Not even a sprain, though you might want to go easy on that hand for a day or two. You a lefty?”

  “No, unfortunately.” Deneen said. Naturally, she’d fallen hard on her right hand.

  “Gets you out of dish duty, anyway,” Zane said cheerfully. Everyone was smiling and being so nice to her. Except Jimmy, who was still kneeling a few feet away, frowning as though she was a huge cockroach. Abruptly, he got to his feet and stalked to the front door, grabbing his coat from the hook, and left without a word.

  For a moment, there was silence. “Don’t mind him,” Cal said, getting to his feet. “Tell you what, if you take my place in the game, I’ll get dinner on the table. We’ve already figured out most of what you’ve prepared. You outdid yourself, all we had to do was heat it up.”

  “And the table is gorgeous!” Roan added.

  “Oh,” Deneen said in a small voice. “Thank you.” What she really wanted to do was run after Jimmy and find out how she’d offended him this time.

  “You’re the dog,” Zane said lazily, and Deneen was momentarily confused until he handed her the dice. The little Scottie dog playing piece was sitting on the jail, “Just Visiting.” Ahead, all the maroon, gold, and red properties were covered with little green houses and red hotels.

  “I don’t suppose any of those are mine?”

  “Nope,” Cal said cheerfully, from the kitchen. “I’m not much of a land baron.”

  “The stakes are high, though,” Zane said. “The winner gets out of chores through the new year.”

  “The boys fight over the stupidest things,” Roan confided, rolling her eyes. “When Matthew’s gone, they’re practically helpless. He does the laundry, shopping, cooking—I wish he was my boyfriend instead of your sister’s.”

  “I heard that!” Cal called from the kitchen, but the look he shared with his gypsy beauty of a girlfriend was so intimate, so full of love, that it actually hurt to watch.

  Deneen drew a ragged breath. So what if half the people living at the ranch were disgustingly happy and in love, and she’d somehow managed to offend the man she had kissed just a few hours ago. She wasn’t the only lonely heart in town—although maybe Zane had a girlfriend stashed somewhere too.

  Out of your control, the inner voice scolded. Focus on what you can change. The voice was getting more annoying all the time.

  She took a seat on the couch, clutching the hem of her skirt so as not to flash anyone. Then she closed her eyes, made a wish, and rolled.

  “Double sixes!” Roan exclaimed. “Wow, that was lucky. You’re on Chance, and you totally managed to miss Zane’s entire evil empire.”

  “Don’t get too complacent,” Zane said teasingly. “I’ll just get you the next time around.”

  Deneen picked up a card, then groaned/laughed when she read it.

  “Advance to GO, collect $200.”

  By the time Jimmy returned fifteen minutes later, Deneen had had the best run of luck she could remember in any Monopoly game she’d ever played. Not only had she not landed on any of the high-rent properties, she’d picked up the few remaining titles and traded her way to a monopoly on the red squares. Even Angel, who was a very sweet dog, was lying at her feet staring at her adoringly.

  “She’s a ringer,” Zane groaned as he landed on Kentucky.

  “That’ll be eight hundred and seventy-five dollars,” Deneen said, studiously ignoring Jimmy.

  Roan glanced back and forth between Jimmy and Deneen. “What have you got there?”

  “For you,” Jimmy said abruptly, handing Deneen a lumpy lightweight object covered with duct tape.

  “Um…thanks?” she said.

  “It’s for your wrist.” Jimmy folded his arms and nodded at the thing. “I made it out of your sister’s old brace, but it’s got a pocket for an ice pack on the back, and also one for your phone, so you can tap on the screen without using two hands. In case you need to call your sister or something.”

  “Wow,” Deneen said. She slipped the thing over her hand, opening the Velcro straps on the bottom. It fit perfectly, which wasn’t surprising since she and Jayne were the same size. The blue gel ice pack peeping from the duct tape pocket felt soothing on her aching wrist.

  “Jayne injured herself replacing a hose on her truck a couple of months ago. She healed satisfactorily and is no longer required to wear a brace, so I assume she won’t mind you using it.”

  “I’ll just add it to the long list of things I’ve borrowed from her and never given back,” Deneen said.

  Jimmy blinked. “You can remove the duct tape when you no longer need it,” he suggested. “Then it would be suitable for its original use.”

  “Kidding,” Zane stage-whispered. “I think she’s kidding, Jimmy. It’s okay.”

  Jimmy looked from Zane to Deneen and back. His expression didn’t so much change as fracture. He mumbled something under his breath and strode back to the front door.

  “Aw, hell,” Zane said. “I was just trying to help.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Roan said, but she looked worried too.

  “Um,” Deneen said. There was a question she very much wanted to ask, but she wasn’t sure how to phrase it. “Jimmy sees the world a little differently than other people, doesn’t he?”

  Cal, who had come to clear
the plates from the family room, laughed. “You can say that again. He’s got so much information in his brain, sometimes there isn’t room for him to, um…”

  “Sometimes he has trouble, er, interpreting…” Zane tried, then shrugged.

  “He’s a sweet guy,” Roan said. To Deneen’s surprise, she reached over and patted her arm. “You guys are cute together.”

  “Oh, we’re not together,” Deneen said, mortified.

  “He’s very thoughtful,” Roan continued. “When Angel was recovering from hip surgery, he rigged a ramp so she could walk up into the house without help.”

  “Hmm,” Deneen said, casting a look at the dog, who seemed to know she was being talked about. She had to admit that Angel was adorable, even if she generally preferred the kind of dog that fit into a purse. “I saw that he was really good with the kids this morning at the brunch. Does he help…all sorts of people?”

  Zane and Cal laughed.

  “You could say that,” Cal said.

  “Lots of females seem to have trouble reaching things on high shelves when he’s around,” Zane added.

  “Oh,” Deneen said, just as the front door opened again. Jimmy was back, scowling, his face red with exertion despite the snow in his hair. No doubt he’d gone out to run fifty miles or deadlift a truck or two.

  “Hey folks, everything will be ready in five minutes, thanks to Deneen,” Cal said, setting the turkey in the center of the table. It looked amazing, golden brown and glistening, studded with rosemary and surrounded by glazed vegetables, and Deneen felt a little better. Maybe she didn’t have a man, but she could give Martha Stewart a run for her money any day.

  “Deneen was about to kick our asses anyway,” Zane said, clearing the Monopoly board.

  “I’m just going to run and change,” she said. She glanced at Jimmy, but he was busy adding wood to the fire.

  She had put the sweater and jeans back on that she’d worn that morning, and was trying to comb some of the hairspray out of her hair, when there was a soft knock on the bedroom door. Her heart quickening, Deneen opened the door to find that it was Roan rather than Jimmy.

  “I was wondering if I could borrow a—uh, a hairband,” Roan said.

  “Sure, come on in,” Deneen said, wondering how her narrow tortoiseshell band was going to fare up against the mass of curls. She doubted that was the real reason for Roan’s visit.

  Roan shut the door behind her and leaned on it. “That was dumb. I don’t need to borrow anything, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute without all the guys around.”

  “Oh,” Deneen said. “Um…sure.”

  “It’s just that I thought you should know…when Jimmy goes outside like that, he runs around the field. He does it whenever he gets anxious, when he doesn’t know how to respond to strong emotions. Like when his friend got injured at work. Or when Cal was having trouble getting on the force and it looked like he might not make it. It’s like, you know, he cares so much? But he doesn’t know how to express it.”

  “I, er, I think I know what you mean,” Deneen said, thinking of how his face had looked after returning from the Tar Barn earlier. And what had set him off that time? Her, obviously.

  “Deneen, I have to ask—did you really kiss him?”

  “I—we—he started it!”

  Roan laughed. “But you wanted him to, right?”

  “I—I—”

  “I don’t mean to put you on the spot. It’s just that I think he’s a lot better at emotional stuff than he gives himself credit for. He overthinks everything, when if he’d just go with his intuition…” She shrugged, smiling. “Anyway, that was all, I just wanted you to know he’s a good guy.”

  Her hand was on the door when Deneen blurted out, “Wait. Please.”

  Roan turned back around, still smiling, her hair spilling over her flannel shirt.

  “You guys are all really close, aren’t you? I mean…living here, there’s not a lot of room…”

  “Well, I don’t live here,” Roan laughed. “I’ve stayed over a few times. Regina too. Jayne’s the only girl brave enough to actually live with five men. But yeah, these guys, they’re the best friends I’ve ever had. When Cal and I got together, they took me in, no questions asked, even though I didn’t make the best first impression.”

  “You?” Deneen tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice. “But you’re, like…beautiful and funky and nice and warm and smart.”

  Roan laughed again, her eyes wide with mirth and happiness. “I’ll tell you the story sometime. Let’s just say that the first time I met Cal I was trying to steal something, and Jimmy called the cops on me…tell you what, I’m going to be pretty busy this week because I’m starting school in January—I’m going to study to be a vet tech—and I need to put in overtime at my job to catch up before I start. But if you’re still here in a couple of weeks, I’ll have you over for tea and tell you all about my crazy path, and you can tell me what it’s like to be you.”

  “I’d…like that.” Deneen found it hard to speak, thinking about what it would be like. To live among people who believed in you. Supported your decisions. Forgave your mistakes. Who weren’t perfect themselves. She couldn’t imagine what her family would do if she committed an actual crime…sure, they’d still love her, but it would be the sort of “tough love” that her mother threatened every time she screwed up.

  It was so tempting to imagine Roan as a friend. Deneen loved her friends back home, the ragtag group she’d assembled from her school friends and the various jobs she’d held, but they were more likely to go out, party, and whoop it up than actually sit down and talk. Having tea was something she would have turned her nose up at a few weeks ago: when she did get a free moment, she liked to make the most of it. Now, though, it sounded downright…lovely.

  “Jayne said you grew up here, on the ranch,” she said.

  “Yeah, I did.” A wistful tone tinged Roan’s voice. “It was a long time ago, when my parents were still alive. My stepmother Mimi owns the ranch now. We’re…mending fences from way back. It’s good to finally be able to come here when it’s full of laughter and good times again.”

  “I didn’t realize you’d lost your parents,” Deneen said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Well.” Roan shrugged. “They were far from perfect, but they were my family, you know?”

  “Do I ever,” Deneen said with feeling. “I know I should be grateful that my parents are still alive, and I love Jayne even though we fought like cats and dogs growing up.”

  “I think it’s cool that you came up here to surprise her.”

  Deneen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that was a brilliant move, right? I should have at least made sure she was going to be here.”

  “Well, you’re here, that’s all that matters.” Roan surprised Deneen by giving her a quick hug. “It’s Christmas, there’s snow, you have friends around you, and a hot guy is so into you that he can’t see straight. Besides, you might be surprised how fast this place grows on you.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Dinner was torture.

  It wasn’t the ritualized customs—before she died, Jimmy’s mother had made sure he was well versed in etiquette befitting a much higher social class. Caroline Mason had been convinced that her son would go far in the world, despite his inauspicious start, and wanted him to be prepared.

  So he used his silverware in the proper order, lifted his glass to toast along with everyone else, and complimented—if somewhat woodenly, since he didn’t actually taste a single bite of the food he ate—Deneen’s culinary accomplishments.

  But from the moment everyone took their places around the festive table, until Cal and Zane jumped up to clear away the dishes, all he could do was try not to be caught staring at Deneen.

  Logically, it made no sense that she should be more attractive now than she had been at any other moment in their 36-hour acquaintance. The effects of candlelight and the fact that she seemed to have relaxed might have enhanced her appearan
ce, but not enough to justify the roster of responses taking place inside him.

  While the others were laughing over Roan’s anecdotes from the bicycle shop where she worked, and peppering Cal with questions about the various accidents to which he had been called during the storm, Jimmy performed a careful analysis of his physical state:

  Elevated heart rate and blood flow

  Elevated body temperature

  Difficulty focusing

  Heightened sensory awareness, especially olfactory (though limited to Deneen’s scent)

  Unsettled sensation in torso

  …and, of course, the effects of sexual arousal, which he was doing his best to combat by ignoring them.

  Which was turning out to be remarkably ineffective.

  Jimmy was aware, of course, that this list of symptoms was often linked to notions of romantic love. Which was ridiculous, of course, since everything Jimmy knew about relationships—and, granted, it came mostly from the girlfriends he’d had, whose credentials were inconsistent—dictated that romantic love was built on a foundation of trust, communication, and shared interests. All of which took time to establish. And besides, he and Deneen could hardly be said to share any interests. She knew next to nothing about physics, math, electricity, or biology.

  And he knew nothing about the social arts, crafts, décor, and entertaining. All of these things, if he’d given them any thought at all, Jimmy had dismissed as frivolous and lacking value.

  And yet. It was hard to ignore the fact that everyone in this room was having a wonderful time. Jimmy wasn’t completely lacking in social awareness: he could tell the difference between genuine camaraderie and polite repartee. And he hadn’t seen this group have so much fun in quite a while, given the demands of their jobs and the winter weather and the roommates’ schedules.

  If he had served Christmas dinner himself, as he had planned, it would have been a functional affair, and he had tried to prepare some traditional foods in a nod to the ritual aspects of a holiday, even though he wasn’t fond of it. Ritual was important to humans, and Jimmy cared very much about his friends’ happiness.