Her Every Fantasy (12 page)

Brigette shook her head. “I didn’t have a lot to offer you or your sisters, but all three of you befriended me.”

Kayla gave her an extra squeeze. “And it was our pleasure.”

Both women smiled at each other. Growing up had been an experience for the both of them. They had also learned a lot from each other. Brigette was one of the reasons that she and her sisters worked with children and teenagers. They felt that they had the power to make a difference, and so far, they had. She gave Brigette another hug.

“I don’t want to keep you long because it’s late.”

Brigette nodded. “Yes, it is, and we both have to get an early start tomorrow. I appreciate you coming by.”

“You are welcome.”

“Tell your sisters that I said hello.”

“I will do that.”

Both women said good night to each other, and Kayla walked toward her car. She got in and drove off as Brigette went back into the house. It was going to hit the fan when it came out that Somer was Dan’s daughter as well. Some of Baxley would be in an uproar for a while. She was certain that it was going to be messy. Whatever the outcome, she would stand by Brigette and Somer. Neither of them had received a lot of support from others over the years. She would make sure that would change. Turning onto her street, she sighed when she saw her home. It still felt strange to go home to an empty house. After having her sisters for roommates as long as she had, she wondered if she would ever get used to not having them there to greet her when she arrived home. When she pulled into the driveway, she cut the engine and made her way into her house. She locked the door behind her and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

While she was in the shower, she began to yawn. It had been a good day, yet one filled with adventure. She needed a full night of rest. It was only Monday night, and she’d had enough action happen today to last her for the rest of the week. After turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Clad in her nightgown, she climbed into bed and tugged the covers up over herself. Closing her eyes, she thought of crawling into bed and snuggling up with James. Saturday night he’d been true to his word. At midnight, James had reluctantly pulled himself away from her and had gotten dressed. He’d placed a brief kiss on her lips then walked downstairs and letting himself out. She hadn’t gotten out of bed herself because he’d made her stay there. When she rolled over onto her side, she winced slightly at the ache between her thighs. She and James had made love one more time before he left. It had been even better than the first time. She caught herself wondering if the next time would be better. Something told her that it would be.

Kayla turned to the chalkboard and erased the information that she’d discussed with her first class of tenth graders. The tardy bell rang just as she finished. She turned to face her class of eleventh graders. “Good morning, class. I hope that everyone had a great weekend.”

There were a few grumbles about it being a good weekend except that it had been too short. She felt like grumbling herself, considering that it had been a busy weekend, which had kept her from spending any time with James. Instead, the corners of her mouth tilted upward as she walked around to the front of her desk.

“Well, whether you had a good weekend or a bad one, I hope that everyone read the assignment.”

She shook her head as she received a few of the regular groans that she was used to hearing every Monday. “Who can tell me about the United States’ race to world power?”

By the time class ended, she was still grinning. One reason was because her students had been so entertaining. The other was that it was lunchtime. Even though she was not hungry, she enjoyed the break. It also gave her time to rest up for her class of twelfth graders. She only had one class of twelfth graders, but it was a large class, and they had already begun the countdown to graduation. The bell rang, signaling that her lunch was over and that class was getting ready to begin. When it was time, she started it just like she did all others, by greeting her students before getting into the topic of the class.

“Who can give me an example of how the media can influence political life in America?”

“What media?” The comment from Kevin caused a few outbreaks of laughter.

She smiled. “I am glad that you asked that question. Let’s begin with one that is simpler. Do you know what media is defined as?”

Her sarcastic question had the effect that she wanted it to. Kevin ducked his head in embarrassment, and a few of his classmates laughed. She quieted the students.

“Now let’s start over. Who can tell me what influence the media had or can have on American politics?”

She finally started getting answers that she could put on the board. By the time the bell rang to end class, she was more than ready for it to. She couldn’t remember being that difficult as a senior in high school. As a matter of fact, senior year had been the best year to her. It had been the highlight of her high school days. She and her sisters had had a lot of fun, but they had taken things a lot more seriously than her current students did.

“Remember the homework assignment for tomorrow, and have a good day.”

Her second class of ninth graders filed in. They had finished their discussion on the Declaration of Independence, and now they were moving on to the subject of the U.S. Constitution. When the last bell of the day rang, she was more than ready to meet her sisters at Sam’s Café, but she had a little time to use up. She spent it watching a special on Christopher Columbus. It was interesting to know how much confusion surrounded him. There were always people questioning where he’d come from as well as other aspects about his background. When she walked into Sam’s Café, her sisters were already sitting there waiting on her. They stood up to embrace her then slid over to make room for her.

“Nadia has already been by to take our drink orders. We placed yours for you.”

She smiled at Kristen. “Thank you. Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in watching a special on Christopher Columbus.”

“Did you see the special on communism yesterday?”

She shook her head at Keirra’s question. “No, I missed that. Do you know when it is coming on again?”

Her sister shrugged. “No, but if I find out, I’ll call you or record it for you.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Nadia brought back their drinks. “You girls ready to order?”

The corners of Kayla’s
mouth curved upward as she looked up at the waitress that had been waiting on them for years. Nadia was at least six years older than they were and had been a waitress in Sam’s for as long as she could remember. Even though ownership of the restaurant was in the process of being handed over to Nadia, she was still a waitress. She claimed that she loved waiting on people and would do it for as long as she could.

“Yes, we are.”

Nadia took their orders before walking away. Kayla looked at her sisters who looked just as tired as she was. “I thought that moving back to Baxley was supposed to leave us well rested?”

Kristen laughed. “It did until we met the men in our lives.”

Keirra laughed herself. “And because of that fact, I don’t mind being tired at all.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Believe me, it shows.”

Keirra gave her a mock sympathetic look. “Oh, are you jealous?”

She shook her head at her younger sister. “Trust me. I have no reason to be jealous.”

Kristen leaned forward to look at her. “You look very tired yourself, and you have been tight-lipped about what’s going on between you and James.”

It was her turn to be sarcastic. “Well, there hasn’t been a lot going on between us, so there is nothing to tell.”

An expression of disbelief settled onto Kristen’s face.
“Yeah, right.”

Kayla smiled before putting her sisters out of their misery and filling them in on what had been going on.

Keirra arched a dark brow in Kayla’s direction. “So he and Jonah get along?”

Kayla nodded, and she was glad that was the case. It would be hard for her to choose between the two men.

“I heard that Jonah is dating Ellie,” Keirra added.

She held her response until after Nadia had delivered their food. Once Nadia was gone again, she looked at Kristen. “Yes, he is dating Ellie, and they are getting along great.”

She took a bite of her pasta marinara and closed her eyes in pleasure. She ought to be ashamed of herself for being so gluttonous. “I need to have my jaw broken.”

Kristen laughed at her, but looked across the table at Kayla. “Why is that?”

“Because I can actually feel my butt giggle when I run.”

Both of her sisters burst out laughing, but at her disgruntled look, Kristen stopped laughing. “Come on, Kayla, we all have at least one imperfection on our bodies.”

She shrugged. “Yeah well, that doesn’t mean a lot to me because this is the only body I have to look at in the mirror every day.”

Keirra had to jump into the conversation. “Well, it ought to. Trust me, no one wants a perfect person, body or otherwise. In the end, someone ends up feeling inferior. Besides, you look just fine to me.”

Kristen scoffed at the statement. “In my opinion, perfection only invites jealousy. Besides, you are beautiful.”

She laughed at Kristen. “I think your opinion is biased.”

Kristen gave her a sly look. “You think so, huh? Well, what does James have to say about that?”

That question gave her pause. James loved her body. It was obvious because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself whenever he was in her presence. She knew that he loved her mind just as much. He engaged her in questions about history. He seemed to be interested in her passion for history as well as her outlook on life. When she looked at Kristen, her expression said it all.

Her sister grinned.
“That is what I thought.”

Kristen reached out and touched her hand. “Look, we have all had our days when we feel like we are packing on the pounds. But seriously, you look great, and I can’t tell that you have gained any weight at all.”

She sighed heavily. “You are right. I don’t know what is wrong with me.”

Keirra who had been silent up to now spoke. “You have to focus on something negative when everything else is going well. So you search for something negative. That way when something bad actually happens, it softens the blow.”

She looked at Keirra in shock, and Kristen’s expression matched hers. Keirra only shrugged her shoulders. “It is just a suggestion.”

Kayla looked at her with surprise. “Is that what you used to do?”

Keirra nodded without hesitation. “At least I did until Eric. But even in the beginning of our relationship, I did it.”

She laughed. “So many awful things have happened to us in life that I didn’t feel like I could survive anything else.”

Kayla could see the pain in her sister’s eyes even though she smiled.

Keirra reached for her drink. “Lucky for me, Eric wouldn’t give up.”

Kayla didn’t know what to say to her sister’s confession. It was amazing to her how differently she and her sisters had been affected by the tragedies in their lives. Maybe she was doing the same thing that Keirra had done. Maybe she wasn’t. Either way, she didn’t feel as bad about her body anymore. The main reason she hated gaining weight was because it was too hard for her to get it off again, even though she was still young. The other was that she hated dieting and running, and preferred to do both at the bare minimum to keep healthy.

Kristen frowned as she looked at her watch. “Oh, man. It’s late.”

She looked at her own watch and grimaced. It was later than they normally stayed out. They got Nadia’s attention and boxed up their leftover food then paid their checks. When Kayla walked into her home a short while later, she thought about the day when she would no longer come home to an empty house.

* * * *

“How does this look?”

Kayla moved a set of balloons to another chair, shaking her head and moving it back. That earned her a growl from Keirra and laughs from Eric and James.

She turned to look at her sister. “I want everything to look good.”

James pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss on her lips before Keirra could say anything. “No, you want it to look perfect, and it is. Kristen and Randy are going to love everything.”

She hoped so because they had worked hard to put the engagement party together. Kristen and Randy thought that they were coming over for lunch. They had no idea of what was really going on. She and Keirra had worked hard to put the party together.

“They are coming,” someone whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone took their spots and waited for the engaged couple. When they stepped into the backyard, a loud “Surprise” echoed around the yard. Surprise showed all over Kristen and Randy’s faces. They were greeted by all of Randy’s siblings and by his parents. Kayla and Keirra hung back and let everyone else get in greetings. Kristen and Randy finally appeared in front of them. Her sister was smiling brightly, her eyes containing a few unshed tears.

“So this is what the two of you have been up to?”

Kayla nodded and she embraced her younger sister. “Guilty as charged.”

Kristen pulled back and hugged Keirra next. “Well thank you, guys. We really appreciate it.”

Keirra gave the couple a sly look. “Don’t thank us yet.”

Kristen and Randy groaned simultaneously. Their worried expressions mirrored each other. “What have the two of you done?”

“I think the better question is what
haven’t they
done,” Eric corrected with around a chuckle.

It also earned him an elbow from Keirra, but she was careful of his shoulder. He chuckled and gave her a kiss.

Kayla shook her head. “You will find out later.”

Kayla announced that it was time to eat Kristen could ask any other questions. It felt like the holidays all over again. She looked over at Kristen and couldn’t help but to grin at how happy her sister looked. After everyone finished eating, it was time for the surprise that she and Keirra had planned.