A Red Leaf & Ten Orchids Ch. 16

"I keep it in the same drawer with the fire insurance policy," her twin snapped as Kayla laughed, though she did like the idea of the theme.

Kayla grinned, "Well there is the moment of my ultimate victory," she laughed as she turned to hug Josh and placer her hand on his chest, "I mean, how many times can it ever happen in my life when I find a guy who'll drop his pants for me, and all I have to do is threaten him with a gun? I mean come on,..."

Jim chuckled, "Kayla, did you ever think of offering him money? I'm sure he'd have been happy with a quarter. I know him pretty well; he'd have been yours if you'd waved half a Popsicle at him."

Amid the laughter, Josh looked thoughtful. "Lord, what's happened to me? I used to have ethics and morals. Now I'm just easy AND cheap" he scowled, "I've been trying just to keep it at easy."

Kayla looked at the twins, "So is there a way? Because we still need to get married at least a little fast. That's what we both really want, and Jim is only here for a week. I don't even know if we can do that, or where to book a place on such short notice.

I was wondering if we could book your place for the reception. We don't know that many people around here, so it doesn't have to be a huge thing, and that's not really what I ever wanted anyway for a wedding, not that I ever expected to get married, even.

I guess I'm asking for help."

The twins were happy to oblige their friends, but before Josh knew it, really, they were in planning mode. The transformation had been instant and seamless.

"I was going to ask how everything was starting to look to you, Jim," Rose said, but then she sighed with a smile, But I also want to watch as this wedding comes together here. I just know I can help in it someplace."

She looked at the groom in this. "You were right Joshua. He really is the planning type. But let's just break that stuff off and put it on hold for a time. We'll worry about the wedding first, and then see where we need to focus."

"You're right," Jim smiled, "that is the real reason that I'm here to begin with. We'll get back into that in the morning. I really like what I'm seeing here with regard to the operation of this place."

He realized that they were all waiting for some other kernel of wisdom from him, and having nothing, he turned to the assembled women with a grin, "Ok, carry on."

Rita laughed, "For a second there, I thought it was gonna be something important." They began their discussions as though the men weren't even present. Josh smiled at Jim, who shrugged.

After determining what they could accomplish within the time span, the women broke it up and decided which tasks they would each handle. Consuela smiled. "This is wonderful. I feel like I'm a part of YOUR fairy tale romance. We're going to have a lot of fun doing this!"

"Yeah," Rita grinned ruefully, "before we all fall down in exhaustion. And can actually find the time to enjoy the part we're playing, 'Suela. We might be happy if we can get the time to catch our breath"

She turned to Kayla and hugged her. "My sister and I have been friends with Josh for a long time now, and you know we love him dearly. There were always two things that bothered us;. the short time that we had together with him when he could be here, and the fact that he never found someone to love him. I'm hoping that you guys don't end up leaving to stay in Canada, because we love you and Jilly now. But if you do, at least we'll know that he's going to be happy with you."

Consuela looked at Kayla. "'Rita spoke for my heart as well. I do hope that you stay here. We're happy for him, and you. We're delighted that you seem to fit right in here. You're both good people, and no matter what happens, you're our friend now too."

Kayla smiled, and wiped her eyes. "You don't know what that means to me. I haven't really had a friend in years, and certainly none since my sister died. I just isolated myself from people. Now all of a sudden, I'm surrounded with people who wish us well. It's a little overwhelming to have you guys not just as acquaintances that I met through Josh, but real friends. Thank you both."

Josh and Jim had grabbed a flashlight, and were under the hood of Consuella's car admiring Bart's handiwork. Josh whispered, "You know, I know those girls really well, I've always loved the way that once you're their friend, you have their hearts. From the first time I met them, they've treated me not as a GUY friend, ... well they did sometimes, but mostly they talk to me like I'm in the circle, you know? For right now though, I'm glad we're over here. They look like they're all going to need a tissue any minute."

Rose walked back onto the porch with a Kleenex box in her hand, and they both nearly collapsed in their attempts to cover their quiet laughter by sticking their heads farther into the engine compartment.

Jim smiled, "They are truly warm girls, You were so lucky to find this place. One day, I'd really like you to tell me how all of this started. I mean, I'd see it when you'd place your leave request, and I just thought you'd found yourself a fuck buddy someplace. I should have known you were just being yourself in a place that you liked to be in."

"I met them the first year," said Josh, "I only get to see them a few days a year, but we've always been really close. We email the rest of the time."

They straightened up as the twins approached after the group broke up for the night.

"Hey!" Consuela said with a smirk as she and her sister came nearer, "Why is it always the same thing with guys? You see a girl you like, and the next thing she knows, you're trying to get your head up her skirt. That's my baby, Josh. Couldn't you have just asked?"

Jim expressed his admiration for Bart's work, and Consuela proudly pointed out a lot of the other hidden features. Eventually, Jim bid them goodnight, and walked to the porch. The girls asked Josh if they could speak to him for a minute.

Consuela began a little quietly, "Baby, we are SO happy for you guys! We're going to do everything that we can so that you two can pull this off, trust us." Dropping her voice lower, she said, "Josh, honey, we have a question, and if it weren't you and our friendship, we'd never even ask. Even so, you can tell us to go to Hell, but we're asking as old friends, and we just want to ask you one thing – is Kayla, ... uh, well, is she ..."

Rita leaned in, "Oh for God's sake, Suela. Is Kayla good for you in bed? That's all we want to know. It's none of our business, but we used to be close, right? I want to be sure that my old friend is happy."

Josh didn't hesitate. He smiled warmly at his friends. "Hey, it's me, remember? You can stop getting squirmy. We're like the three musketeers. The answer is yes. By luck or love, I don't know, she can do things that knock my socks off, and they land in the hamper."

They thanked him, and he leaned into the car to kiss them after they got in. "I love you both so much. Say hi to your guys for me." Consuela started the car and turned it around. When it was halfway down the drive, he turned and looked back.

"How do you want to play this? Do you want to just walk over, or do you want me to hunt you down in the dark? I do know where you are, but I could give you say, a count of ten if you want."

Josh heard her soft footsteps approach. "How did you know I was there?" Kayla asked him as she kissed him.

"You were on the porch, then you weren't, and I started paying attention. I guessed that you'd try to sneak around a little, so I waited until I heard you for sure, which was when you stubbed your toe coming around the back of the bunkhouse."

Kayla chuckled, "If you knew that I was there, why did you continue?"

He shrugged, "I know you. I wanted you to understand that there was something earnest going on, not something covert, which you would have been chewing on later. You and I are together now. I don't ever want there to be secrets between us."

"Which one did you sleep with?" she asked.

"Would it matter to you? Which one do you think?" He turned to her. "If you ask me a direct question with a name, I won't lie."

"I figured it out yesterday evening. I guess it doesn't matter, really," Kayla said, "as long as it's over, and you're faithful to me."

He smiled. "I don't need to know your history unless it's important, or you think it's important enough for me to know. Everything else that went before, -" He shrugged.

She put her arms around his waist. "That's fine, ...so do I have to ask if it's over, and if you're faithful to me as direct questions?"

"No. They're my closest female friends after you, because I do consider you to be my friend beyond what we have. Apart from me, your two best friends just drove home, and they really are that. There's nothing going on between either of them and me. They're very happily married. And I am faithful to you. If you don't know this about me, then you haven't been paying attention. I don't have the capability to be in love with somebody and screw around. I'm not wired that way and I'm not bright enough.

I can appreciate that your experience with men in general might indicate otherwise to you, but until you push me away awfully hard, I'm all yours," he looked directly into the jade of her eyes, "and I'm yours only." They walked slowly to stand in front of the bunkhouse.

Kayla suddenly turned playful. "Hey, there's one thing that I just GOTTA know, the one that you slept with, -"

"Kayla, "

"Hey, it's just a woman's pride thing," she teased.

"No."

"Was she really good in bed?" she leaned against him and tickled his ribs lightly.

"I'm not answering you." He grinned in spite of the serious tone that he knew was crumbling.

"Oh, come ON, Josh. It's important to me," she giggled, hopping up and down in front of him just as Jillian would. Her hair looked like it was hopping a beat behind her own. Josh loved her so. He wondered if she could possibly look any cuter. She was suddenly the pixie that she must have been during her own childhood.

"Not answering." He smiled. "I already know there's another question behind this one, so forget it."

"Ok, I'll cut to the chase," Kayla knew that she needed to shift gears now. She kind of, sort of wanted the answer, but it really wasn't important. She just enjoyed the game.

Kayla suddenly affected a child's uncertainty. Her green eyes grew large and liquid under sad and fearful eyebrows. Her lower lip protruded just slightly, and it quivered. Josh knew he was up against one of the most fearsome weapons in her feminine arsenal. He only hoped that he was equal to this test.

He voice became tiny and faltered a bit. "Was,...was she,...better than... me?"

"Listen," Josh said, rolling his eyes, "I believe that they conceded your superiority publicly only a few days ago in the cantina."

"No, no, that was for show, and it related to me WINNING your heart. That's not what I'm asking."

Josh sighed as he held her, "Well I would have thought that being proclaimed as the 'Mighty Kayla' would have counted for something. Didn't that appeal to your woman's pride, you powerful, mighty, Viking-vanquishing warrior maiden, you?"

She leaned into him, her face turned up awaiting his kiss. After a long moment, her lips lightly grazed his as she purred softly. "You have no idea,..."

After another long kiss, she jabbed her fingers into his ribs to tickle him, and ran into the bunkhouse giggling softly. As he came through the door, she was waiting for him, and stopped him with a hand firmly cupping his genitals, squeezing softly. Her other hand went to the back of his head to pull him to her. She kissed him hard, and then licked his scar before her lips tickled his ear.

She whispered softly to him. "I know that we pretty much own each other already, Joshua. I wasn't worried about you. What happened years ago isn't my concern. I don't have to know your past, though I wouldn't mind learning what you'd share with me, and that's not the same thing. I've already learned that I can't make assumptions about you because that's just dangerous, and you're full of delicious surprises.

I don't need to ask anymore anyway. By the way that you've been speaking, I now know that you made love with both of them at some time before they were married, and I think that given the chance, you could have chosen one of them, but you didn't. I believe that if they were both single today that you still would choose me. I know that much about you already. I know that you need me, just like I need you. That's MY woman's pride, and I love you so much..."

But she stopped there, and Josh looked at her a little curiously. Kayla broke into a grin and she whispered as she pointed around him through the screen door, "The fish is rising to the bait."

--------------------------

Jim was in the loft putting his gear away. He went over everything that he'd found out about the place in his mind. There was nothing so far that would stop a successful start up, but he knew that he'd only gotten a couple of days in.

Rose walked onto the porch with a cup of tea. Glancing over at the shed windows, she set her cup on the railing, and picked up the binoculars. Across from her, and behind the bunkhouse screen door, Josh and Kayla smiled to each other, and Josh carefully opened the door. The hinges rotated silently in the grease that he had applied to them today. Kayla was eagerly waiting as she watched Rose.

Jim undressed and adjusted the water temperature. When he was satisfied, he stepped through the shower curtain. Rose lowered the binoculars, knowing that he would be out of sight for the duration. She turned to have a sip of her tea.

"Rose Marriott, that's not very nice." Kayla said. Rose almost leapt out of her skin in shock. Josh and Kayla sat smiling on the top step of the porch in front of her. She was stuck, not knowing what to say, and feeling foolish beyond words.

Kayla looked at her reproachfully and said in a soft stern voice, "Though I could see how you'd think it was very nice, and I can't say as I wouldn't have been tempted myself in a similar situation in my day with a man like him."

Joshua turned to her. "Speaking from personal experience, Rosie, it's really hard for a guy with wide shoulders to scrub his own back...especially if that young miscreant Taylor has taken the back scrubber away...."

Joshua handed her a back scrubber and they both kissed her cheek as they walked back to the bunkhouse. Over her shoulder, Kayla giggled, "I'll give you just 10 minutes to get into that shower with him."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing.

He grinned at her, "He's going to notice that it's gone any minute now... Good night." He closed both the screen, and main doors.

Rose stood with her mouth open looking at the bunkhouse door. She turned, and looked at the loft.

A slow smile came to her lips, as she chuckled softly. "Oh, you're both devils.." She walked to the shed.

When she got to the loft, she paused, considering. After a moment, she decided that she could either be very proper about this, and go back to wait in the house to take him into her arms when he returned, or she could just go back to being the happy farm girl again that she'd found still existed that afternoon. Her clothes were off in an instant and she walked to the shower. "Jim? Would you like me to scrub your back?" she asked softly.

Josh and Kayla didn't really need the field glasses. They'd come back out and stood smiling in the big yard as Rose made her choice. As she stepped into the shower with Jim, they walked back to the bunkhouse with their arms around each other.