Breaking New Grounds

by Amy DeMeritt

  “I don’t drink.”

  “Not even water? How do you pull that off?”

  Jo smirks but quickly wipes it away. “Cream soda and coffee.”

  “I love cream soda. I’m not a coffee drinker though. I prefer tea. What’s your favorite hobby?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Wrong. Try again. And ‘fuck you’ is no longer an acceptable answer either.”

  “I play guitar.”

  “Seriously? That’s awesome. Do you have it with you?”

  “I always have it with me.”

  “Maybe you can play it later. We have lots of lovely voices here to sing along with you. Ok, now, what is your dream career?”

  “It’s gay.”

  “Careers have sexual orientations? Well, maybe prostitutes or strippers. Is that what you want to do?”

  Jo laughs and I hear my wives and dad release small laughs as well.

  “No. I want to be in a band.”

  I smile really big and sit up on her hips, releasing her wrists. “Seriously? That’s great. Why would you think that’s ‘gay’ – or stupid as I assume you really meant to say since ‘gay’ is not an insult.”

  “Because, it’s not something a soldier does.”

  I laugh hard and shake my head. “You don’t get out of that twisted world in your head much, do you? There are a ton of vets and active service members in bands. Ok, now that we’re best friends, let’s go play with fire.”

  “We’re not best friends.”

  “But we’re friends, aren’t we?”

  I flash her a cocky grin and Jo releases a laugh as she bucks her hips, trying to unseat me.

  “Whatever. Get the hell off of me.”

  “Not till you tell me where we stand. I might be able to kick your ass clear across this lawn, but I do have a heart.”

  Jo laughs again as she sits up and pushes on my shoulders, trying to get me off of her. I’m firm and she can’t move me.

  “Get off.”

  “You are just mean.”

  “Fine, yes, we’re friends. Whatever, now get off. God, you are so annoying.”

  I pull her up off the ground and we resume filling the wagon. I glance up at my wives and my dad and they give me loving, approving smiles before they walk away with Aura tailing them. I reach for the wagon handle, but Jo smacks my hand away and grabs it.

  “Thanks.”

  “Whatever.”

  I smile and bump into her shoulder as we start walking around the corner of the house. She doesn’t look at me, but I notice her smile. This is going to be an interesting week.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I walk into the kitchen with a thirty-six-count case of bottles of water on each shoulder and Jaime looks up from pouring a glass of lemonade with a big grin.

  “Damn.” I laugh and nod towards her glass, which is now overflowing onto the counter. “Shit.”

  She laughs and quickly grabs a towel to clean it up, then bends down to slurp up some of the lemonade from the glass so it’s not dangerously close to the rim.

  “Can you grab the door for me, baby?”

  “If you give me a kiss first.”

  “Only if you grope me.”

  She walks over with a seductive glimmer in her gorgeous golden eyes that causes a twitch between my thighs. Jaime palms her hands up under my tank top, over my abs and over my breasts, as she leans in between the cases of water to kiss me. With one hand pressed against my clenched six-pack abs, she glides her other hand around my back and down my shorts over my underwear and squeezes my ass.

  “Fuck.”

  I breathe into her mouth as she ignites my arousal. I’m suddenly very hot and my knees feel weak. Jaime smiles and pulls back to look in my eyes with her gorgeous golden eyes glittering like fine gems.

  “God, I’m so crazy about you.”

  Jaime releases a cute giggle and kisses my lips. “Yeah? How crazy?”

  “We could be here for years with me babbling like a goober trying to answer that question. Ok, so if you told me there was something you wanted at the very top of Mount Everest, I’d be climbing that mountain for you to get it. And when I get up there, if you said there was something in the deepest depths of the ocean that you want, I’d skydive off that mountain. Then, I’d hire the best scuba diving team and dive to the bottom of the ocean for you, even before my toes could defrost from Mount Everest.”

  “That’s some deep love you have for my daughter.”

  Jaime jumps at the voice and quickly looks around the case of water on my shoulder. “Mom!” Jaime laughs and skips forward to embrace her mother. “How did you get in? I didn’t hear the gate call.”

  “I came in behind your friends. They walked around the back. Are you going to make her keep holding those like that?”

  Jaime looks at me with blushing cheeks before she opens the backdoor to the deck for me. Jo jumps off of the bench and relieves me of a case.

  “Thanks. We’ll set them right here for now. I need to get coolers and stuff.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  “Ok, hang on for a second. Woman, come here.” I pull Vivian, Jaime’s mom into a tight hug, making her release a small laugh. She kisses my cheek and pulls back to look in my eyes. “I’m really happy you’re here. How was your flight?”

  “Thank you. I’m happy to be here. It was too high off of the ground and too long.”

  “Well, thank you for putting yourself through that so we can see you. Please make yourself at home.”

  “Kayla, can you get the tables? I want to set up a vodka watermelon.”

  I look over my shoulder, startled to hear Candi’s voice. “When the hell did you get here?”

  “Just now. We let Jaime’s mom in.” Candi pulls me out of Vivian’s arms and gives me a hug and kiss on my lips. “Now, can I have some tables?”

  “Sure. We’re going to have kids here, so make sure you keep an eye on that watermelon. Wait, do you have more than one?”

  “Yeah, Madison said there’s going to be a lot of people here, so we brought six. They’re huge, so that should be plenty. Can you get those out of my car too?”

  I smile as I accept her car keys that she’s dangling in front of me. “Anything else, your highness?”

  “That will be all for now. You’re dismissed.”

  I bow dramatically, and with a rigid back and my arms at my sides like a toy soldier I march back into the house. I lead Jo down the hall and into the garage.

  “Nice Jeep. Is it yours?”

  “No, that’s Sam’s. I drive the Land Rover that’s parked outside.”

  “Sam has good taste.”

  Sam is the tiniest of us, but she drives the toughest looking piece of machinery we own. She drives a top of the line thunder-gray Jeep Wrangler with a hard top, roof racks, giant off-road tires, and a rear tow-hitch.

  I open the garage and Jo helps me load up a trailer with coolers and large plastic drink bins. We get the six giant watermelons from Candi’s car and stick them in the coolers and bins so we don’t have to make two trips. After I check to make sure the hitch is properly locked in place, I hold the ATV keys out to Jo, which she accepts with a smirk. While Jo drives, I sit on the back and make sure nothing falls out of the trailer. We unload the coolers and bins on the deck, then drive across the lawn to the barn.

  “We’re going to make a few trips. We need to bring all of these chairs and tables out there.”

  “I can handle this if you have something else you need to do.”

  “No, I can…”

  “Kayla!”

  “She’s in the barn.”

  “Hang on.”

  I walk outside and Symone comes jogging over. She takes my hand and starts pulling me towards the house, but I pull her back.

  “Baby, hold up. What’s going on? I’m trying to get tables and chairs.”

  “My family is here. All of them. Kayla, all of them!”

  “Ok, hang on.”

  I turn t
o walk into the barn to let Jo know I’ll be back, but she’s standing in the doorway. She waves me away, saying, “I got this. Go ahead.”

  “Ok, thanks. Can you please lock the door when you’re done if you finish before I get back?”

  “No problem.”

  Without another word, she walks back into the barn, and Symone yanks on my arm. We reach the front of the house as her family is climbing out of two vans on the other side of the turnabout. Her hand tightens around mine and Symone releases a deep exhale of air, as if she was holding her breath.

  “Aunty Symone!”

  Morgan, one of Symone’s nieces runs over and tackles Symone around the waist, sending my wife stumbling backwards with her hands on Morgan’s back, trying to steady them. She laughs and bends down to give Morgan a tight hug.

  “Hi, sweetie. I missed you.”

  “I missed you. This house is so huge! Do you have a swimming pool? Mommy said you have a pool. Can we go swimming?”

  Symone and I laugh at Morgan’s excited rambling of rapid-fire questions. “Yes, we have a pool and you can go swimming.”

  “Happy to see us?”

  Symone nods at Rachel. “Yes, I had no idea you were coming. How was your flight?”

  “It was awesome!”

  Symone looks down at Morgan and rubs her head, which is laying on Symone’s stomach. “That’s good. Did you check in at your hotel or do you still have luggage in the vans?”

  “So, you’re assuming we’re not staying here? I see.”

  Symone gives Rachel a perturbed look. “Don’t do that. We have contractors here this week to open up the wall and finish the attic. We weren’t aware that anyone was coming to visit. We’re not prepared for house guests this week.”

  “Well, you should…”

  “Rachel, knock it off.” Olivia, Symone’s mother steps forward and gives Symone a hug around Morgan. “We have rooms. I hope we’re not putting you all out too much.”

  “No, we’re glad you’re here.”

  “Sara is back.”

  Everyone looks towards the gate, where two vehicles are coming through. We wait in silence while they park in front of the garage, then Sara carries Gingersnap, Keira’s mini-pony out of the SUV. The pony is smaller than some large breeds of dogs so they don’t bring her in a trailer. She’s house and car trained so she can live in the house and ride in the car without any issues.

  “Is that a pony?”

  Morgan and the other kids jump forward in excitement as they start walking towards us with Tonya and Jade next to them.

  Keira looks really beautiful. She’s wearing a red-orange and white stripped summer dress that reaches her knees with red-orange sandals. Her pregnant belly is defined like a tight basketball under her dress, and her hair is done in two French-braids on the sides wrapping around to the back of her head. Her light brown skin is glowing under the hot summer sun.

  “Did you rent that or do you own it?”

  Sara laughs at Rachel’s question and pulls her into a hug. “Bitch, you haven’t seen us in years and you can’t even say hello when we walk up?”

  Rachel pushes Sara back and puts her hands on her hips. “Excuse me, I’m a diva, not a bitch.”

  Sara laughs and runs a hand through her short hair. “Whatever you want to call it, it all means the same damn thing. It’s good to see all of you again.”

  “Well, of course it is.” Rachel makes a cocky switch of her wide hips and brushes her tight curls back with a sassy smile. “So, where’d you get the horse?”

  “She was a wedding present to Keira from Kayla.”

  “That’s a weird wedding present.”

  Keira shakes her head as she pets Gingersnap’s head. “It came out as a joke, but once it was said, this is what I wanted.”

  “Can I pet her?”

  “Yes.”

  All of the kids jump forward at once. Gingersnap stands still and allows them to fuss over her or nuzzles her snout into their chests, making them laugh. It’s adorable. Gingersnap is used to being around a lot of people and kids so she’s very well behaved.

  Denise, another one of Symone’s sisters’ motions to Keira’s stomach, and asks, “Do you know what you’re having?”

  “No, we decided we want to be surprised.”

  “We did that once and everyone wanted to kill us.”

  Keira gives me a cute smile, and says, “Kayla is having a hard time with not knowing. She likes to talk to my belly and ask the baby to reveal itself somehow.”

  Rachel raises her eyebrows and tilts her head to regard me. “You talk to your sister’s wife’s stomach?”

  “Well, yeah, of course. My niece or nephew is in there. I want them to know my voice.”

  Rachel twitches her lips into a small smile. She looks like she’s barely restraining herself from coming back at me with something bitchy and condescending.

  “Anyway, where’s the party?”

  I thank Sara with my eyes for changing the subject. “In the backyard.”

  “Ok, you guys follow Gingersnap. Kayla, you come help me unload the drinks.”

  We watch everyone turn the corner of the house, then Sara laughs as she runs her fingers through her hair. “I can’t believe they came here.”

  “Any chance Rachel will warm up to me?”

  Sara shakes her head as she walks into the garage. “For as long as I’ve known Symone, Rachel has always been like that. Theresa and Denise aren’t as bad, but they have a bad habit of following Rachel’s lead instead of having minds of their own. Symone has never been like that, which drives them all crazy. Where’s the ATV?”

  “It’s being used to get chairs and tables from the barn.”

  “Ok, we’ll drive back there then. Come on.”

  We jump into her SUV, and she drives at a snail crawl through the lawn.

  “I can’t believe you called her a bitch.”

  “Rachel knows she’s a bitch and she’s fucking proud of it. The woman is insane. I’m not married to her sister though, so I can get away with it. If you called her that, she might take a swing at you. She punched Justin in the jaw at a party once for calling her a bitch. He was laughing when he said it, but she laid him out flat.”

  “Damn, she knocked out her own husband?”

  Sara laughs as she parks next to the deck. “Yeah, and she didn’t feel bad about it at all.”

  We jump out of the SUV and Sara opens the back end, which is completely full of stacks of ice and cases of drinks.

  “Why did you buy so much alcohol? You know Madison’s and Sam’s parents went shopping, right?”

  “This really isn’t a lot considering how many people are going to be here this week. Whatever we don’t use today will get used throughout the week.”

  “Kayla and Sara, yours and Awenasa’s families are here.”

  I smile really big and jump up on the deck to follow my wives and dad through the house. I laugh and sprint to meet Sorina, who is running across the turnabout to get to me. She jumps into my arms and wraps her legs around me. Our momentum causes us to spin a few times, and when I stop, she grabs the sides of my face with a huge smile and gives me a firm kiss on my lips.

  “What are you doing here? Did you abandon the construction of our cultural center?”

  “Who are you talking to?” Sorina gently slaps my face and giggles when I try to bite her hand. “We’re only here for the weekend since the construction crew has off. You must really like my ass.”

  “What?”

  “You’re still holding my ass.”

  I give her a stern pout as I slap her ass and set her down. “You’re a brat.”

  She laughs as she smacks my abs and pulls me into a tight hug. “I missed you. Did you miss me?”

  “I don’t know.” Sorina laughs and smacks my ass. “Ok, fine, yes, I missed you. Now, can you stop being inappropriate? You’re going to get me in trouble with my wives.”

  “Naughty puppy.”

  Awenasa walks up
next to us with a cute amused grin on her face. She pulls Sorina out of my arms and gives her a hug and kiss on the cheek. Sorina returns her embrace then bends down to kiss Malana and rubs her head.

  As Sorina and Shannon embrace, a throat clears in my ear, causing me to jump about a foot. Sequoia laughs and pulls me into a hug. I work my way through all of them, giving everyone hugs, and when I reach Bella, she releases Joey’s hand and jumps into my arms. I wrap my arms around her back and spin her around before I set her down and take one knee in front of her.

  “Hello, Princess Bella. You are getting very tall.”

  “I grew six inches this year already. Mom said I’m spouting like a weed.”

  I laugh and Karen, her mother releases a small laugh, saying, “I’ve had to buy her new pants and shoes more times than I can count. She’s growing out of everything.”

  “I think that means Princess Bella and I need to go on a shopping spree.”

  Bella releases an excited shriek and leaps forward, throwing her arms around me. I pick her up as I stand, and she gives me a kiss on my forehead.

  “Kayla, I love you. You’re like my daddy since I don’t have one.”

  My eyes tear up and emotion chokes me. I squeeze her tighter and give her a kiss on her cheek as she lays her head on my shoulder.

  “I love you too, Bella.”

  Karen has sad tears in her eyes with her lips puckered to the side. I adjust to hold Bella up with one arm and reach out to take Karen’s hand, which she accepts with both of hers and gives it a squeeze.

  Karen has been a single mother since the moment Bella was born. She has had boyfriends, but none of them have lasted long because none of them have wanted the responsibility of a child, especially after Bella was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Bella is cancer free and has been for about two years, but Karen still struggles with finding someone to stick around for more than four months. I don’t understand it. Karen and Bella are amazing. I love both of them.

  “Can we go swimming now?”

  I set Bella down and pat her shoulder. “Yeah, you can go swimming.”

  Joey and Bella grab bags out of the car, then run for the house. I pull Karen into my arms and she lays her head on my shoulder.