Midnight Promises. Sherryl Woods

the margaritas, but the strong bond of their friendship was something she’d desperately envied. She’d been on the receiving end of that support system from time to time and understood its value.

       “Really,” Dana Sue assured her. “And before you get all weird and panicky, there are no secret rites or oaths, other than what happens at margarita nights stays at margarita nights.”

       Karen grinned. “I can do that.”

       “Then tomorrow night at seven at my place.”

       “What can I bring?”

       “Not a thing. I fix the guacamole. Helen makes the margaritas, and since they feel that we now need more food to sop up any alcohol, Maddie, Jeanette, Annie, Raylene and Sarah take turns bringing other food. Believe me, Maddie will see that you’re assigned your turn. She’s going to be thrilled about putting another chef into the rotation. Aside from me, Raylene’s the only one with any real creativity in the kitchen.”

       Karen thought of the progress Raylene had made in overcoming her agoraphobia. There’d been a time not that long ago when all margarita nights had to be held at her house to accommodate her terror of leaving the safety of her own home.

       “Raylene’s really better now, isn’t she?” she asked Dana Sue. “It’s hard to believe she’s the same person. I see her at her dress shop and out with Carter and his sisters all the time now.”

       Dana Sue smiled. “Just one of the many miracles we’ve been blessed by in this town.”

       Karen started back to work on the salads for the day’s lunch, but eventually curiosity got the better of her. She glanced over at Dana Sue. “Why now, Dana Sue? Is it just because you don’t want me to feel left out?”

       Dana Sue, who could always be counted on for candor, said honestly, “That’s part of it, no question about it. But for a long time, your life was so complicated with Helen keeping your kids so you wouldn’t lose them and your future working here so insecure, we didn’t think it was a good idea to blur the boundaries any more.” She smiled. “Just like Raylene, you’re not the same person you were a few years ago. We all like you. We always have. Now, though, I think it’s more as if we’re all meeting on level ground.”

       “As equals,” Karen suggested.

       Dana Sue laughed. “That’s sounds so incredibly stuffy and narrow-minded of us, but in a way, yes. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings.”

       Karen shook her head. “Actually, to the contrary, it makes me proud to know how far I’ve come in getting my life together. I was a mess a few years ago. And even without me being an official Sweet Magnolia, you all helped me. I’ll always be grateful to you for that.”

       “And now we’ll get to find out if you can hold your tequila any better than the rest of us,” Dana Sue said.

       Karen thought of how little she drank, because she didn’t like the lack of control that came with alcohol or the wasted expense of buying it. “Something tells me I’m going to be no competition on that front. I’m a weakling in the margarita department. Will that be a problem?”

       “Nope,” Dana Sue assured her. “It’ll just leave more for us. But if you turn down my killer guacamole, we just might have to reconsider.”

       “Now that will never happen,” Karen said, laughing. She hadn’t been married to Elliott all this time without learning how to handle plenty of spice.