Black Flame Read Online Free Page B

mechanical and electronic gadgets, or pieces of gadgets, whose purpose was unclear. A peg board held a number of tiny pliers and screwdrivers and other, more mysterious tools. The closet door was closed, and the only ornamentation in the whole room was a photograph hanging by the window—a smiling, pretty young woman in old-fashioned clothing. Though she bore little resemblance to the frail figure Deneen remembered visiting with her mother long ago, she had no doubt that it was Jimmy’s mother.
    “Where’s the ribbon?” she blurted, embarrassed to be caught looking around so nosily.
    “The what?”
    “You can’t give these gifts like this. They need ribbons. And were they really out of patterned paper at the store? You know, with snowmen and polar bears and elves and stuff?”
    Jimmy blinked and regarded the gifts. “I like red.”
    “Well, I like red too, but—never mind.”
    “There may be some ribbon in Matthew’s room,” Jimmy said uncertainly. “He was wrapping gifts to take with him.”
    “And this stuff,” Deneen said, going through the grocery bags, which were filled with plain paper plates, plastic cutlery, and white paper napkins. “These supplies aren’t for the breakfast, are they?”
    “Of course they are. The kids can’t very well eat pancakes without forks and plates.”
    “But they’re—you know they make holiday plates, right?”
    “You’re suggesting that I should have bought the decorated items,” Jimmy said, frowning. “With the, er, elves and polar bears.”
    “Well, obviously .”
    “I thought they were a little too...gaudy.”
    Deneen rolled her eyes. “Honestly! If you can’t be a little glitzy at the holidays, when can you? Tell you what, you leave this all to me. Go do your cooking and cleaning and I’ll add a little holiday bling. For the kids,” she added, before he could protest.
    Jimmy opened his mouth and then closed it again. Good. Even Supergeek was helpless in the face of at least some of her charms. Although, Deneen preferred to think that most men gave in to her because she was irresistible, not merely relentless.
    Oh well. Jimmy Mason was hardly a candidate for her amorous attentions, no matter how nicely his white button-down shirt strained over his bulging shoulders. And Deneen wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend, anyway. She was here to prove herself, plain and simple, which she would do the minute her sister returned. Meanwhile, she might as well stay busy.
    “I’ll just put your suitcases in Chase’s room,” Jimmy said, backing out of the bedroom.
    “Thanks,” Deneen said. Then she started unpacking the boring plates while humming “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    The minute Jimmy exited his bedroom, he headed for the weight room that he’d rigged in the bunkhouse’s former larder. The unused room was unheated and smelled of moldy onions, but no one had objected when he’d bought a set of used barbells and a chin-up bar and installed them in the small space. He didn’t have time for a complete workout—that would have to wait until after dinner—but if he didn’t pound out at least a few deadlifts and bicep curls, he might just lose his mind.
    Ever since middle school, when Jimmy accidentally discovered the calming powers of vigorous exercise after the gym teacher made him do fifty pushups as punishment for being a smartass, Jimmy had lifted weights as a means of dealing with frustration, anxiety, and the confusion of trying to navigate social interactions that were way over his head. As it happened, he hadn’t meant to provoke the gym teacher when he pointed out that his demand that his students “feel the burn” was, in fact, counterproductive since a burning sensation meant the body couldn’t convert glucose to water and carbon dioxide quickly enough, but before he could explain himself, he was on the floor grunting and sweating. Which, it turned out, was both easier than trying to make himself