A Red Leaf & Ten Orchids Ch. 14

Josh took a long breath. "Before I left to come here, I was advised verbally that my release was official. I never saw any documentation, though I imagined that it might be waiting in my mailbox at home by now. If a warning order comes down for my regiment, it signals preparation for impending deployment.

If the release is NOT official, I can be recalled with a phone call. If they decide to do that, they'll probably contact me to notify me of it. I don't have a problem with the job; I never have, though the last time felt like I was dead but walking right at the end."

Kayla felt her heart fall in her rib cage. "Does that mean that we can't be married or something? Won't they allow that?"

Joshua held her away from him so that he could look into her eyes. "Of course they'd allow it; they couldn't stop it anyway."

He sighed heavily, but he did smile. "Hey, you're fussing over what you don't know, so let's work on what we do know. If you'll have me as your husband, I'd marry you tomorrow. But I might still be a soldier for a time. Can you handle that? Can Jilly handle that? Is that what you want?"

Kayla looked at him, and nodded through her tears. "More than anything in the world. I don't give a damn what we have to do, either. I want to be your wife if you'll have me and all of my snap decisions."

Josh looked into the greenest eyes that he'd ever seen for three seconds. And then he smiled, "Then let's do it."

They held on to each other for several silent minutes. Joshua spoke first. "I think we'd better tell somebody."

Kayla smiled "Yes, I think that there's a little girl who wouldn't forgive us if we didn't wake her up to tell her this news."

Kayla was happy and afraid at the same time. She wasn't sure what this all meant to them, but she knew without a doubt that she wanted to be Joshua's wife and the mother of his children; Jilly, and whoever might show up afterward. She woke Jillian, and asked her to come to the house with her. Jillian was afraid that something was wrong, but relaxed when she saw how happy her aunt was.

Joshua began after they were all seated. "I don't know how to say this in the proper order, so if I get messed up, forgive me. Rose, you already know some of this, but what I didn't say was that Jim told me in that phone call that there's probably going to be a warning order coming down for my regiment soon. I might be recalled, I don't know. I've been struggling all day with what used to be a really easy thing for me. Jim may have more information for me when he arrives. I hope so. I need to know one way or the other.

In the meantime, Kayla and I have made a decision, and if she's good with it and if Jilly is ok with it as well, then I am too." He smiled at Kayla, "Go ahead, honey, your turn."

Kayla looked at Jillian and Rose, and said "I have no idea what we're getting into. This is all so fast, I don't know what to think. But I do know a couple of things. Joshua's fallen in love with you Jilly, and he wants to be your father. And he's fallen in love with me, and he wants to be my husband. I don't think I could stand it if I DON'T marry him, but if this happens, then we'll be an instant family, so Jilly, if you want this, you have to tell us so we can decide if it's the right thing to do."

Jillian couldn't believe what she'd heard. They were asking her what she wanted?

She screeched and flew into their arms where she began to cry on impact. They held her tightly, and Rose went to look for some Kleenex. As soon as she thought that she had a little control, Jillian sobbed at Joshua. "Josh, I really want you to be my dad. Please marry my ... mom."

Jillian had said it that way because it was what she wanted and because it was how she felt. It had surprised her when it came up in her, but that was what she wanted to say.

He held them tightly and said, "Alright Jilly, if you want to be my daughter that badly...I could never say no to a pretty girl, and God, there are two of you. I'm lost."

Josh turned to Rose. "I don't know how to handle a lot of the things that are going to come up thick and fast from here on in. I do know that Jim will be able to help with a lot of it. Kayla, how soon do you want to get married?"

Kayla thought about it quickly. "Josh, as far as I'm concerned we can do this tomorrow, but I just had one of my quick ideas. I don't need a huge wedding, and we don't really have the money or the time to set it up either. Please let me finish before you tell me what's wrong with this, ok?

Aunt Rose can give me away. I think Jim means a lot to you, so if he has no problem with it, he can be your best man. Jilly can be the flower girl, and we'll figure out what to do with the others. If that's ok, I'd be happy if we could get married this week, next week, whenever."

Rose grabbed Joshua's hand and placed something into it. Josh and Kayla stared at a very pretty old ring.

Rose smiled, "I think you'll need this. Sam gave it to me when we were starting out. None of us were expecting this, and I know that neither of you have much money. Will it be alright?"

Josh looked at Rose and said, "If this was bought for you by Sam, I'd be honored to use it. Thank you Rosie."

He grinned at Kayla and held out his hand. It took her a second, but then she smirked, "I already asked you to marry me and you accepted."

He nodded, "So then I think that you have to put the ring on my finger at this point, don't you?"

"I suppose I could," she said as she considered, and then she grinned, "No. It won't fit on any of your fingers anyway. You put the ring on me, ok?"

Jillian looked confused and Rose rolled her eyes, "Somebody put the ring on somebody, please..."

Josh stood up, and sat Jillian on his chair before he got down on one knee and asked Kayla. "Please Kayla, would you be my wife? Will you marry me?"

For reasons that she didn't understand, Kayla burst into tears then, but she smiled through them and answered him. "There was a time when I was Jilly's age that I knew what I'd say it this ever happened to me, ... so here goes.

Yes Joshua. A thousand times over and a thousand times at once - yes."

He slipped the ring onto her hand and kissed her long enough for Jillian to yawn.

"Josh, if you're going to be my dad now, could you... could you sleep in our house with us instead of in the shed?"

Kayla grinned at her, "I think that we'll need a bigger bed soon, but for now, I think that I can squeeze over to make a little room for him in mine, Jilly. Just promise not to come flying into the room in the morning without knocking to jump on the bed until we can get a bigger one, ok?"

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Jim Brisebois was quietly pissed off.

He hated any part of commercial airline travel, preferring military transport by a huge margin. You didn't have to submit to the continual screwing around; you just had to put up with the normal hurry-up-and-wait that went with the life. They thought they'd given him a bit of a tough time at Pearson International. The only tough time about it for him was to keep from succumbing to his urge to tie the agents into elaborate knots physically.

He sighed. Pencil-necked weasels were the same the world over.

Feeling incredibly cramped in his seat, he looked out of the window idly. Taylor had needed help, and he'd gladly do whatever he needed for him. The list of people in his world who could make him get off his ass and jump on a plane on the basis of one sketchy phone call with no air of urgency or threat of impending death was pretty short indeed.

Besides, he was bored.

Retirement wasn't going well for him. Endless days of nothing and sameness in an unbroken string. He'd already thought of jumping back in a reserve role, but the thought of it seemed hopeless. Good people there, but not enough hard people, and you had to be careful not to break any of their limbs off because it was frowned upon.

He caught the eye of the stewardess and asked how long until arrival. Based on her reply, he told her that he needed to place a phone call. If Taylor didn't pick up, he's just have to rent a car and kill him when he got there.

He smiled at the thought.

Again.

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The little girl was running to him across the market once more.

Even in his dreams he had the sense of impending disaster. She ran up to him with that smiling little face. She opened her mouth to speak, but he heard only a buzz as she disappeared.

Josh opened his eyes. His cell was vibrating on his belt. He gently disengaged his hand from Kayla's breast where she'd trapped it, and reached behind him. She didn't awaken.

He opened the phone, and whispered, "Hello?"

He could hear Jim's smile over the line.

"Did I catch you at a bad time, kid?" Brisebois spoke softly, "They tell me I'm just over an hour and a half out. How about a ride? I'm on an Air Canada flight."

Josh whispered, "I'll be there, Jim."

He heard the click and closed the phone. It only took him ten minutes to get out of bed, leave Kayla with a kiss on her sleeping cheek, and drive quietly out to the main road. He'd seen Daisy's eyes glitter at him through the screen door of the house. You couldn't put anything past her watch, he thought, he just hoped that she'd remain quiet.

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As they left Albuquerque, Josh's ribs were still smarting from the bear hug of Jim's greeting. Sometimes it could be hard to tell which was more of a threat to his life; his joy or his wrath.

"So let me get this straight," Jim began, "It's an old ranch, hasn't been worked since Christ was a corporal, and she's thinking of starting it up again, but she's never seen it working? Does she know what's involved?"

"She's a ranch girl herself from way back, but other than the chores and work that she had to do from childhood, she hasn't done any ranching for herself, though she's not afraid to try. She flies a desk 9 to 5," Josh told him.

"We don't know if it's viable, if so, she could always start up with some help, and sell it, or just sell it now. We need your insight for that. It belonged to her late husband's family, though we'd have to ask her when it was last running. I've known them for 9 years, and I've never seen it run."

Brisebois nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds masochistic to me. So what are you into these days, kid?"

He listened to Josh's recounting of his time since his arrival the month before right up to the events of the previous evening. He silently weighed everything, and then gave Josh his carefully considered opinion.

"You're out of your fucking mind Taylor. You DO know that, right?"

Joshua smiled. "Oh, absolutely. Would you be my best man?"

Brisebois exhaled. "Boy, I can see for myself that you've got it bad. I presume that you've given some small thought to what all of this could possibly entail. Of course I'd be happy to do this for you. Now if we've got all of the sticky shit out of the way, what's the water like?"

Josh thought about it. "I don't know. I never really looked into whether there's enough places to water the cattle overall, or anything like that."

"Well that's important. And you're not thinking about it is an illustration pointing to why you will always be a dumb fuck," Brisebois grinned, "but that wasn't why I asked the question.

I figure that if YOU'VE been drinking it, I don't want any. Look what it's done to you!"

He laughed as he looked out of the window into the pre-dawn darkness. "I got my arrangements to come here made real quick, almost too easily. I had a nap at home, and even slept a bit on the plane. Now I'm cramped and stiff."

Josh smiled over at him. "We're almost there. Let's get your stuff set up in the loft, and then how about a run? It's almost time for mine anyway." He grinned at Jim's grunt of approval.

They pulled up to the shed, and Josh pointed out the few amenities of the loft as they both changed into running gear. Since that consisted of shorts, shoes, and a sweat shirt, it didn't take long until they walked silently through the yard in the darkness and picked up the pace down the drive as the gloom began to fade.

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Rose was in the bathroom as Daisy gave her soft warning. She heard the SUV glide up to the shed, and walked out as the loft lights came on. Grabbing the binoculars, she stared in disbelief at the scene in the optics.

Two strong men dressed, then completely naked, and then dressed again looking as though there were going jogging -- all inside of 30 seconds.

"Oh my,..."

When the light went out twenty seconds later, she stepped back into the kitchen, and well back from the screen door. She held onto Daisy's collar to keep her still. She was aware of their passing only because Daisy signaled it with quiet cough, though she heard them begin to run.

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An hour and a half later, Josh and Jim walked back down the drive. The day was already showing signs of being a scorcher and their sweatshirts hung limply from their hands. Jim's eyes surveyed the landscape as they went.

"It's a bit different geography from what I'm used to, and a lot higher elevation," he said, "but so far I don't see anything going against the idea. I'll need to walk the land myself to get a better view in my mind and --

Jesus! What the fuck is THAT?" He stopped to stare ahead. Josh followed his gaze.

Daisy stood a hundred and fifty feet away, blocking their path. She recognized Josh, but hadn't made up her mind about the stranger. She had watched their approach, and had taken a defensive spot to block the drive. She began to run directly at them.

Brisebois turned to Josh, "You keep a war dog or something?"

Josh chuckled. "That's the puppy. She's ok. Just relax."

Daisy arrived and wagged her great tail as Josh fussed over her, and then gave Brisebois a quick inspection. Deciding that she liked what she saw, she jumped up to welcome him as well. Jim received her kisses with resignation. He'd always loved large dogs, though he hadn't had one since his own childhood. He hugged her and laughed, wiping his face with his shirt.

Satisfied now, Daisy dropped back down and trotted happily back to where she'd stood earlier. She looked back and barked once deeply as the men continued to walk.

A small girl came from the other building and walked to Daisy. She put her hand on the dog's side, and looked to see what her friend had barked at.

Jim stared at the prettiest little pixie that he was sure he'd ever seen. A beautiful woman emerged from the same door and walked over to the little girl.

She looked toward them and smiled warmly. Jim's eyes opened wider as a slow smile began to curl his lip. "Oh, Josh," was just off his lips, when a motion to the left caught his eye, and he glanced there reflexively.

A woman near his own age walked out onto the porch and looked at them, a tentative smile on her lovely face.

Jim Brisebois was struck dumb. For one of the very few times in his life, he had no words ready to pass his lips.

They were, the three of them, simply the most beautiful females that he'd ever seen in his life, and all cut from the same bolt of heavenly fabric. They could have been the same creature portrayed at different periods of the same life. Deep red hair worn long on all three; and he could see their light green eyes from where he stood transfixed.

Rose looked toward them with no small measure of wonder. Mr. Brisebois appeared to be an older version of Joshua, though as the moment lingered, she could see some differences.

He stood an inch or so shorter, his chest and shoulders were slightly broader, and he had some chest hair that trailed lower. His pectoral muscles glistened with his sweat. There was no washboard stomach, but what she saw there looked to be made of flesh-toned iron. He had larger biceps and they looked to have more girth than her own thighs, she noticed - and then immediately wondered at herself where that comparison had come from. Other than his salt and pepper eyebrows, there was absolutely no hair on his head. She realized that she was staring and recovered instantly.

"There's breakfast....", she said. And the spell was broken.

The pixie shouted "Josh!", and ran over to them. The woman next to her turned her smile toward her older version. Rose saw her niece mouth the word "WOW" to her and felt herself blush instantly.

Josh grinned at Jim, and looking down, he muttered, "Uh, it's an arid climate here, MWO. If you keep drooling like that we'll have to notify the state EPA of a spill."

Jim took the hint, and grinned back as Jillian was swept up into Joshua's arms. She kissed him before hugging him tightly. "Good morning, Daddy! Thanks for bringing in the flower."

Brisebois was certain he could feel his younger friend's heart pound through the ground under his feet.

Josh set Jillian down, and holding her hand began his introductions. "Jim, this is my brand new daughter, Jillian Fraser. Jilly, meet Jim Brisebois. He's my very dear friend when he's not mad at me."

Jillian squinted up at him, and said "Hello, Mr. Brise ... bois. Why are there so many people who want to kill Josh? My aun- my mom tries to kill him every day."

Jim smiled and said, "I dunno. I've tried every once in a while to kill him for years, Jillian, though I hope you know that I'm just joking. Joshua has a rare gift like that. I used to be his boss, now he's my friend, and I don't try so hard anymore. "

They walked toward the porch, the men using their sweatshirts to wipe off their sweat.

"Jim Brisebois, please meet Rose Marriott. She owns this place where I've been coming every year. She's been like a mother to me, and has been my friend along with her late husband Sam for a long time now." Josh smiled, "and this is my lovely fiancee, Kayla Fraser."

He paused for a split second before continuing, "Ladies, this is my very best friend Jim. He's retired from our military, where he was often a mentor to me, when he wasn't busy being the worst nightmare that I could ever imagine."

Jim squeezed Kayla's hand gently, before bowing to Rose as he took her hand to kiss it lightly. "I am very, very pleased and feel myself very honored to make your acquaintances. Would I be correct to assume that you both were party to my conversation with Joshua the other day?"

They both nodded, smiling.

Jim looked down sadly. "Please forgive my language. It's a stupid male custom for us to be a touch crude in our own greetings amongst ourselves. I had no idea that anyone else was listening, I am truly sorry for that.

Kayla, I want you to know that I believe that you must have a very brave heart indeed for loving my friend. I sat on the plane thinking of ways to warn you off diplomatically when we met, but I can see now that you should have no trouble keeping him docile. He is much more domesticated now than I've ever seen him. Overall, that's a very good thing.

Um, try to keep him away from sharp objects, firearms, or anything even remotely explosive."

Kayla laughed a little and tilted her head, "Sharp objects?"

"In any crowd, "Jim sighed a little conspiratorially as he pointed, "there's always one kid who runs with scissors."

He turned to Josh. "Taylor, I feel that I owe you an apology as well. I can now overlook your incredible lack of manners not warning me sooner that there were ladies present when you called me."

He turned to the women. "I called Joshua from the plane as I was approaching Albuquerque, and he was kind enough to pick me up at the airport. On the way here, he told me of your situation, and of his own. I spent the majority of the drive doing what I am certain that most mentors would do in this type of situation. I have been bellowing at him every word for 'stupid' in my considerable vocabulary.