7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Kai
M y hours this week were long and kept me busy. I usually didn’t get back into Orlinda Valley until after dark, and Shear Perfection was always empty when I returned.
Part of the reason I worked later than I needed to was because I didn’t want to interfere in the workday of the salon, and it was a little awkward being there in the small room when there were still customers.
I hoped to hear from the bank soon and get the acceptance I was expecting for the property I looked at. As soon as I did, my camper would be out of storage, hooked up, and I’d have a place of my own. The one good thing about staying at the hair salon was that it made working on the new addition easier, and I reached my goal of putting in the electricity when I got back from work Friday night.
Once I was done, I hopped in the shower with plenty of time to get to Bryson and Darlene’s for dinner. I’d finish the electrical tomorrow, and Blake, the plumber, was coming over to get the new plumbing installed. Once that was all completed, the other steps would be easy.
Bryson and Darlene lived in a small subdivision just off the main square. Their house was brick, multi-story, and just about the same as all the ones surrounding them. It was a cute neighborhood if you didn’t mind your neighbors having the same house as you and knowing all your business.
I lived in this type of subdivision for a while when I was a kid. The embarrassment and humiliation after a night of one of my parents’ epic battles was legendary. The neighbors could hear every word they shouted, and the looks I got from the kids as we stood waiting for the bus boiled my blood to this day, and that was in elementary school.
No one ever talked about it or asked me any questions. Not even when I missed school for a couple days and finally showed up with sixteen stitches around my right eye. My mom was long gone by then, and we were living in a small three-bedroom apartment near Atlanta.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I traced the half-moon scar, the remnant of those stitches. If I looked close enough, I could still make out the jagged edges made by the uneven break of my father’s beer bottle after yet another one of our epic arguments. I still don’t regret what caused the scar. It was either me or my younger siblings who would get the wrath of my father when he came home drunk and belligerent, and my goal was always to be the receiver of our fathers’ drunken rages. As long as he had someone to take his anger out on, he was happy, and it wasn’t going to be the twins if I could help it.
Got to go, Kai. I snapped the mirror shut and heaved my tired body from the car. This was not the time to go down shitty memory lane.
There were two other vehicles in the driveway. A large SUV, probably Bryson’s. It looked like a family vehicle, and the other was a black Nissan Rogue. It looked vaguely familiar. Could be Kora’s. The corner of my mouth ticked up. Bryson and Darlene, me and Kora. This could end up being a really good night.
“Hey, Kai. You’re here.” Darlene greeted me at the gate of their back yard with a one-armed hug. I gave her a slight hug back, even though I didn’t really know her and was a bit uncomfortable.
I glanced around the small fenced-in yard. It was cute and well maintained. A long picnic table sat under a pergola which offered some shade, and a small raised vegetable garden and a wooden playset were out in the yard. Kora was pushing Bryson and Darlene’s son on the swing. I tried to remember his name, but I couldn’t. Oh, well.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I answered, yet my eyes stayed on Kora across the yard.
“Of course. Bryson’s a bit over-focused on cornhole, and winning the tournament is his ultimate goal, so this was an important night, at least where he’s concerned.”
Kora joined them with the little boy in her arms. “Hey, Kai. This is James.”
I did a quick survey of her from head to toe and back again. James seemed to have the same thought as me, as he looked her up and down, then cuddled into her side. Lucky guy.
“We met at Shear Perfection last week,” I said as James glanced at me with lowered eyes. He still didn’t seem that sure of me. Not a big deal. If I had to be honest, I wasn’t so sure of him either. I have never been that comfortable around kids, not that I’d been around many.
Bryson exited the house from sliding doors with his arms loaded with a tray of what looked like raw burgers and hot dogs. “Thank God you’re here. I was getting concerned that you stood us up.”
“See, told you he’s a little over-focused on the tournament,” Darlene whispered.
“There’s no such thing as over-focused,” Bryson replied, tending to the grill. “If you’re going to do something, you need to make damn sure winning’s a priority.” He pointed his spatula in my direction. “Right man?”
“No other purpose to play.”
“How about for fun?” Kora asked as she placed James on the ground, and he ran off to attempt to kick the soccer ball.
“Winning is fun,” I replied.
“That’s right!” Bryson agreed. I joined him at the grill and grabbed two beers from the cooler. I twisted off the caps and we clinked the bottles together.
“So, Kai, what brought you to Orlinda Valley?” Darlene asked when we were at the picnic table eating.
I shrugged. This was where I struggled around people. How much of my background was too much. Talking about construction—that was a safe topic. Personal stuff, not so much.
I decided to talk about my job. Ticks off the construction box and isn’t too personal. “I was offered a job I found online for a construction company based outside of Nashville, Warren Construction. I moved my RV to a campground and lived at one for a while—it’s cheaper than a hotel or renting—and I spent my free time driving around looking for a place that called out to me. I grew up near a city and always felt cramped, so I knew I wanted land. I drove through Orlinda Valley and loved the openness and the river. There’s just something about it here.” I took a big bite of the burger and caught Kora’s gaze. Her brown eyes held surprise and something else I couldn’t quite pinpoint. She sucked in her bottom lip and turned away.
“So, where’s your family from?” Darlene asked.
I put a chip in my mouth and chewed before answering. “I grew up in Georgia, near Atlanta. My mom died years ago, my father and I don’t talk, and my siblings are finally out living their lives.”
I didn’t miss the concerned look that passed between Kora and Darlene. I needed to squelch that. I hate being the receiver of pity. “Really. It’s not a big deal. One thing that attracted me to Orlinda Valley was that everyone genuinely seems to care about each other.”
“Hey, we’re here.” I turned and saw Tonya and Kaye, and a hoard of others. Thank you, God. The conversation will finally get off me.
I was introduced to Jamison, Bryson’s older brother and his three-year-old daughter. I forget her name already, and Charles, Kaye’s husband.
The chatter became loud, the laughter was prolific, and the fun began. After dinner was finished and desserts were shared, we all sat around the yard watching Jamison’s daughter, Darcie—that’s her name—chase James around the yard.
I sat back and observed life from a different perspective. This was what was missing in my family. Camaraderie. Friendship. Everyone here, blood related or not, was so close. This was what family should be. By the end of the night, my ribs hurt from laughing, my arm ached from tossing cornhole bags, and my stomach was full.
“Kai, we haven’t seen you often at the salon, but everything’s looking great.” Kaye said as she drank sweet tea.
“Well, I’ll be there tomorrow. I have Blake, the plumber, coming in to check on my plumbing skills. He should be there early, hopefully no later than seven thirty, and shouldn’t be more than an hour. The water will be off when he’s there, but as long as everything’s good, I’ll have it turned on before you open at nine.”
“Blake’s a great guy,” replied Tonya.
“That’s not what I recall you saying about him last year after he stood you up.” Charles laughed and turned toward me. “Blake’s one of my oldest friends and has had a crush on Tonya since middle school. She finally said yes to a date, then he ended up a no show.”
Kaye broke in. “She was so angry. She ranted for days about never talking to him again.”
Tonya shook her head.
“Mom,” Bryson cut in. “You were rude to him for the longest time. Then you never apologized after you found out he didn’t stand you up.” He turned to Jamison. “Do you remember? We were at the house for Sunday breakfast when she got his call and found out he had been in the hospital with gallstones. He was scared to talk to her.”
“Oh, yeah.” Jamison laughed heartily. “Mom was so angry when she found out who it was, she threw the phone at you and made you talk to him.”
Kaye laughed as she shook her head. “He apologized profusely, and T just totally ignored him. She refused to listen to a word he said.”
“Not true,” Tonya demanded. “I just expected him to call as soon as he could, but he never did.”
“Yeah, because you had it all over town that he was a jerk and you wanted nothing to do with him,” Kaye responded.
Tonya waved her hand through the air. “All that doesn’t matter. He and I cleared the air and are back on speaking terms.” She pointed her well-manicured finger at the boys who were bent over laughing heartily. “You two need to stop before you hear details of my night last Saturday with Joe.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
“Old Joe?” Kaye gasped.
Tonya winked at Kaye as Bryson and Jamison plugged their ears and yelled NO simultaneously.
That might be a story worth hearing one day, but I could tell this would not be that day. Kora stood up. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.” She pulled out her phone.
I was sitting next to her and noticed her pull up an Uber ap. “I thought that was your black Rogue in the driveway.”
She glanced at me over her phone. Those brown eyes held nothing but contempt.
What had I done to consistently irritate her?
“That’s Darlene’s. We bought the same car.”
“You know besties need to have the same everything,” Darlene sang.
I looked back and forth. “I always knew girls tend to be close, but the same car?”
“It wasn’t intentional,” Bryson replied. “But it’s a little frightening how alike these two are. It’s like they have that twin clairvoyance, but they aren’t twins.”
“Nope.” Darlene wrapped her arms around Kora. “Just besties since birth.”
Kora blew her friend a kiss and looked back at her phone. “The closest Uber can’t be here for over thirty minutes.” She finally looked at me. “One issue with being so far in the middle of nowhere. No Uber.”
I felt myself drowning in those rivers of brown. What was it about her? “Not a problem. I’ll take you home. It can’t be that far.”
“You sure? It’s about ten minutes, give or take, knowing the roads.”
My brow ticked up. “Excuse me?”
“She means—if you don’t know the roads it’ll probably take you longer. She lives way out with nothing but cows, chickens, and goats as neighbors,” Darlene answered.
“Not true.” Kora hip-bumped Darlene. “I have Aunt Tonya. She can take me.”
“Nope. Can’t tonight, baby doll. I have places to go.” Tonya wagged her brow.
The expressions of Jamison and Bryson were priceless, and I chose to act like I didn’t hear that as quiet gasps filled the air. “Seriously. Not a big deal. I sort of owe you, anyway.”
“How do you owe me?” Kora asked.
“I did spill beer over you. Let me make it up to you.”
Kora looked me over, and I could feel her gaze stop on the scar. I’ve been told by many women that it makes me look a bit mysterious and sexy, and wondered what she thought.
She gave me a half shrug. “Fine. I’ve got to go, though. My animals need to be fed.”
Time alone with Kora. What could be better?