Page 30 of Kobalt

“I saw you stick your foot out and trip that lady up.”

“Kobe! Don’t say that. I didn’t.” A surprised smile dropped her mouth open, and her eyes sparkled with humor.

I reached over and gripped her chin. “I’m just teasing you,” I replied, bussing her lips before sitting back.

She took a French fry into her mouth and bit the tip. “She was doing a bit too much though. Glad we did whup their asses. I heard what she said about me trying to be cute playing in heels. I didn’t even come out here to play cornhole,” she remarked and rolled her eyes.

I chuckled and shook my head. “I was wondering what made them so eager to jump up and challenge us in doubles.”

“Yeah, she said that while we were walking past their table. You were focused on making it to the last cornhole board before someone else snatched it up. I was strolling behind you, and I guess she didn’t think I heard.”

“Glad it was you and not Niagara.”

“Right. She would’ve been in that lady’s face so fast. I didn’t have to. Style and grace are the way I fight my battles.”

My sister didn’t mind fighting anyone who got fly with her. I didn’t need my woman to do that shit, because I had a handle on everything.

“Thank you for being you, babe.”

“You’re welcome. It’s been a great day.”

It had been, and I looked forward to many more dates with my woman. Things were looking up.

LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER

Over the last week, we had made great progress on the barn. We were in the final stages of wrapping things up, and it was looking more like a training facility than an old barn. Kaimera had been busy on Zoom calls with her clients all week, and she had been working with them on some online portal she used for her interior design business.

We had finished cooking, and I had sent her upstairs to shower, relax, and change into something more comfortable so that we could eat dinner when the lasagna was finished. I had showered earlier after I returned from the barn and changed into basketball shorts and a tank.

The doorbell rang as I pulled the lasagna from the oven. I frowned because all the construction workers and harvesters had left for the evening, and the caretaker was in his cottage on the back of the property. If he needed something, he always came to the back door, never the front. We weren’t expecting any other company, so I had no idea who would pop up like this.

The garlic bread would burn if I didn’t pull it out immediately. Whoever was at the door could wait a few more seconds.

“Damn it!” I shouted when I let the oven mitt slip a little after the doorbell rang again repeatedly. I pulled the bread out, set it on the stove, and closed the oven back before I threw the oven mitt down.

I sucked my finger into my mouth and headed to the freezer. Now whatever bitch ass was at my door would have to wait that much longer. I shoved a cup into the slot of the refrigerator door and pressed it against the handle to release a couple of ice cubes.

The doorbell rang again as I stuck my finger into the cubed ice and stormed out of the kitchen with my shoulders bunched up toward my ears. Whoever was at the door was about to get my ass to kiss.

A little angel on my shoulder whispered behave, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, because it sounded a lot like my grandma’s voice. I recalled that she used to entertain salespeople, Jehovah Witnesses, and anyone else who showed up at the farm. My mama often worried about her doing that and warned her against it. Since I had inherited the property, I hadn’t run into any of those types of issues whenever I was up here, but there was a first time for everything.

I made my way down the gleaming wood floors of the hallway toward the front door. My steps slowed as I walked up to the double Dutch farm doors. The head was tilted down slightly, but I knew that frame like I knew my own. The minute he tipped his head up again and reached for the doorbell, my feet propelled me forward.

I snatched the doors open at the same time the cup fell from my hand and the ice cubes clattered to the floor. Edward Harden’s head jerked back just a little, and his eyes widened with surprise mixed with fear.

“The fuck is you doing here, nigga? And how did you know that I was here?”

“Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this was the one place you always loved as a boy. Can’t say I ever understood why with the smell of the manure, the cows, and the hay, but you’ve done wonders with it. It’s not all rundown anymore, so I can definitely see the appeal,” he stated, turning around and bobbing his head as he looked out onto the land.

“I asked what the fuck is you doing here?” I repeated, gripping the doorknobs with both my hands. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to control myself or if I was about to rip them off the hinges.

“Son, I was hoping that we could sit down and have a civilized conversation for once. I didn’t mean for things to go left the way they did at the arena.”

“I ain’t got shit to say to you, and things between us will never be civilized.”

“Listen, you got every reason to be angry. I get that. What I did to you was wrong, and I shouldn’t have turned my back on you the way that I did. I was just angry with your mama and hurt about things we’d gone through; I wanted nothing more than to put as much space between us as possible.”

“Why?” The little boy in me spoke up, wanting desperately to understand. I hated that I wanted to understand what he was going through.