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“Don’t forget about tonight, Portia!” Sarah grins at me from where she’s standing beside Alicia.
“Right,” I mutter, heading out the door and ignoring Trace’s yells. “I’ve got to go!” I holler.
“I cannot stand that man,” I mutter under my breath. I wish I believed it. It would be easier than how I really feel about the jerk.
CHAPTER2
Trace
My eyes wander around the room-full of milling, laughing people. Half the town is here. Except for the one that I’m looking for.
Portia Devon. The annoying little spitfire that I’ve been half in love with for most of my life. She lives on the ranch right next to me and that flaming red hair matches her gasoline temper. She flies off the handle every time we’re near each other. I’ve tried to get her to give me a shot but it’s like she’s completely aggravated by me as soon as she sees me anywhere near.
A flash of flaming red draws me eye to the door.There she is.My steps immediately lock on her and I stalk her around the room until I’m standing behind her.
“Hello, Portia.” Her slim figure with the curves for days jumps and she turns to glare at me.
“Honestly, Trace. Why the heck are you sneaking around here? Are you trying to pull something on me?”
“I’m not,” I huff. “But I’m not surprised that you think that. You always think the worst of me.”
“I can’t imagine why that is.”
I huff, stalking her.
“You know why. You’re a dang bully and once again, there you are chasing me down to start something.”
“I’m not doing that. I want….I mean, I’d like to start over with you.”
I’d like to say that she takes me at my word and from here on out, we have the best life in the world.
Not true. Not at all.
Portia glares at me. “I don’t believe you, Trace. And I’ve got a freaking boatload of reasons why.”
With that she stomps off and swings around to glare at me. I grunt under my breath and stomp off to the punch bowl set up in the corner. I could use something a lot stronger than this red stuff but it’s my only option so I’ll make the best of it.
I pour some into one of those red plastic cups and toss back a big swig, almost choking when I realize there’s a little more than fruit punch and pop in this stuff. It’s practically lethal and I grin when I catch Alicia’s eye. She smirks but turns away to talk to her sister. They’ve got their blue heads together and they’re whispering while they pour the little strips of paper into a big ten-gallon hat.
My eyes narrow. I know they’re up to something but I have no idea what. I’m sure it’s harmless fun. After all, what can two little old ladies do that could be that bad.
A loud whistle splits the air and both of them move to the front of the room where there’s a small stage set up. There are a bunch of chalk-outline circles drawn on the floor and I cock my head, wondering what the heck kind of game those two have cooked up.
Alicia steps up to a microphone and hollers, “Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first of our special Christmas parties. You’ve all been hand-picked to participate in this special, first of its kind, party.” I glance around and finally notice that there are a fair amount of people here but there are no children which feels strange for a holiday party for the town. When I study each of the people here a little quiver of unease runs through me.
All of the people here are single. Not one married or engaged couple here. I see Alicia and Sarah smirking wildly as they giggle and pick up that blasted hat. I can see Sarah dip her hand into that hat and then Alicia dips her hand into the fishbowl on the other side. My chest tightens and I feel a strange unease flit across my brain. Surely not. It couldn’t be.
“Now…I know y’all are wondering what this amazing drawing is for! Well, this is the fun part of the night.” Sarah grins mischievously and that little trickle of unease turns into full-blown panic.
“Our first-annual holiday singles scavenger hunt! We’re going to draw two names. One out of this hat.” Sarah holds up the hat. “This will be our man. The other…”. Alicia holds up the fishbowl. “That is gonna be our female. Each couple will be given a list of things to find that are holiday-themed. You can go as far as you need to go but you will need to travel together. No splitting up. That’s cheating.” Alicia pouts. “And you know how Santa feels about cheaters. You’ll end up on the naughty list for sure.”
Sarah steps up. “And this is for charity. We’ve got donations from some of our businesses for each couple that brings in each item on the list. Those will be donated to our county’s homeless shelter so you see you’ll also be helping people for the holidays so I hope you guys don’t decide to try to back out,” she warns. “This will help our community and neighbors so…keep that holiday spirit and participate. It’s only a few days out of your life.” Both of them grin slyly. “And you might meet the love of your life! Now let’s get started.”
All the faces around me turn towards them, stunned. I see more gaping mouths than I’ve ever seen in my life but it doesn’t stop the two sisters from starting to pull names.
“Keith McMcAllister and Holly Wright.” The first couple step up to get their list and I groan, knowing that the sheriff and the librarian have been dancing around each other for years. He’s fifteen years older than her and I think he didn’t want to tie her down because of that.
Both of them look shell-shocked and Alicia and Sarah look smug as heck. Another trickle of unease hits me. This seems like it’s rigged.
