Page 13 of Saved By A Small Town Country Boy

Khalif

Sunday

I set the plate on the table and trotted down the hallway toward Khali’s bedroom to see if she’d gotten dressed.

Her bedroom door is wide open, letting me know that she probably has her clothes on.

She’d gotten to the point where she likes to shut her door to change her clothes now, which I have no issue with.

She’s getting a big girl and deserves her privacy just like anyone else.

“Are you ready?” I asked her from the doorway. She sat on the pink bench at the foot of her bed, slipping her baby doll’s shoes onto her feet.

“I’m ready.” She popped up and stood there dressed in this plaid, brown and black skirt and brown shirt.

I wasn’t the best at shopping for lil girl clothes, so Dallas Reign did most of her shopping for me.

I appreciate her for that shit. Without my family, I’d be lost than a mufucka tryna raise this girl.

“You look pretty. Why don’t you come here so I can brush your hair up for you?

” I strolled into her bathroom and grabbed her hairbrush and hair gel.

A lot of times, Dallas would comb her hair so that it would last for the week or a couple of weeks at least. She hadn’t gotten around to doing it for me yet; she had been keeping her hair in ponytails and pigtails for the moment.

Today, I was just gon’ brush it up into two ponytails for her.

It’s the best I can do. At least I wasn’t letting her go ’round looking nappy-headed. Some people don’t even try that.

She stepped in between me and the mirror. I parted her hair down the middle as best as I could and gelled her hair up.

“I can’t wait to see Remedi today.” Khali saying that caught me off guard. She’d been speaking so highly of Remedi lately and barely even knew her.

I wrapped her hair tie ’round her hair and said, “You do realize that Remedi is gon’ have to go back home soon or later, right? I don’t want you to get too attached to her.”

Khali peered at me through the mirror and frowned. “What makes you think that she’s leaving? She might like staying here. I’ll ask her today when I see her at church.”

“Khali?…”

“What, Daddy?” The corners of her mouth curled upward.

“I’m done.” I put all her things back into the cabinet drawers. “Gone in the kitchen and eat your breakfast. You know how yo’ grandma be whenever you’re late.”

“Okay.” She skipped out of the bathroom, and I stayed behind, staring at my reflection in her bathroom mirror.

Khali is just a child, and sometimes, I have to remind myself of that fact.

She has to learn that not all people are permanent.

There’s some out there that only come into yo’ life for a reason and a season, and Remedi just might be one of those temporary people.

Sighing, I shut the light off in her bathroom and then her bedroom before meeting her back in the kitchen. Khali was already sitting down at the table, munching on her food, when I joined her in the chair directly in front of her.

“You think Tee Dallas is coming to church today?”

“I don’t know,” I responded, taking a bite from my bacon.

Dallas had been up most of the night working in the barn.

She more than likely wasn’t getting up this early to make it to church, but I wasn’t ’bout to tell Khali that.

We kept a lock on the barn and cameras all over the place for Khali’s safety and to keep unwanted people out.

Every time Dallas passed a camera, it alerted either one of our phones; that’s how I know she’d been out there so late.

Khali finished eating her food and took her plate and cup over to the sink.

I sat there as I watched her wash both of ’em and put them up.

Lil things like that I admired ’cause at one point, she didn’t even know how to do all that.

It was in times like this that I noticed my lil girl was really growing up.

I chugged down the remainder of my orange juice and got up from the table.

“I’m gonna go check on Beauty before we leave,” Khali said and raced out of the side door before I was even able to protest. I honestly need to thank Remedi for her help for real ’cause Beauty is doing much better than she was before.

By the time I stepped out onto the porch, Khali came out of the stable with a huge grin on her face. I placed my chestnut-brown cowboy hat on my head and headed for my truck. Khali stopped at the back passenger door, and I opened it for her.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said as she pulled herself up. She grabbed her seat belt as I shut the door and then climbed into the driver’s seat.

It didn’t take us long to make it to Zion Hill Baptist Church.

When I pulled into the parking lot, people were already crowding into the church.

I peeped Pops’ white Cadillac Escalade parked not too far from the door and already knew they were inside, probably sitting on their pews, waiting for Khali to get here.

We weren’t late, but we weren’t on time either, and Ma hated it whenever we weren’t on time.

That woman likes to be on time for everything.

“Grandma!” Khali yelled soon as her lil feet touched the ground.

She ran toward the front steps of the church before I was even able to turn ’round and stop her.

One thing she knew was that she didn’t play in no parking lot like that out in public.

People couldn’t drive for shit, and I’d hate to have to shoot one of these mufuckas, but I definitely would.

Shutting the door, I spun on my heels and trudged over to where they stood. “I’ll be back to get her after service.”

“Well, you know that you can just come in here with us.” Ma pursed her lips as she gazed up at me.

This woman stood every bit of five four.

She was slender, but damn sure didn’t eat like she was, nor did she cook like it either.

Ma could cook like the best of ’em, which is why she owned the best diner in the town—The Front Porch Café.

Everybody in Magnolia Falls loves my mama’s cooking.

Simone used to be hooked on it when she was alive.

She’d spend so much time over there with Ma, trying her best to learn all of my favorite dishes so she’d be able to cook ’em for me.

It wasn’t anything that woman wouldn’t do for me or my love.

“You already know how I feel ’bout that.” Leaning down, I pecked Khali on the center of her forehead. Ma mugged me when I straightened my posture.

“Did you really have to bring that up here?” If her skin wasn’t so rich, one would be able to see the redness from the anger that washed over her facial features.

“You know I don’t leave the house without it.

” I kept my gun on me at all times—it’s for protection.

One never knew what was gon’ happen once they left the house.

Shit, I have several hidden ’round the house everywhere.

Khali was familiar with a gun ’cause I taught her how to handle it for just in case purposes.

This was nothing new, yet Ma always made a fuss ’bout it whenever she saw me.

“I’ll be back for her after service,” I made known again.

“You can just meet us back at the house. C’mon, Khali, baby.

” Ma craned her arm ’round Khali’s neck and walked her up the steps of the church.

I stood there ’til they were safely inside before turning to leave.

Soon as I turned, I bumped right into someone.

Out of instinct, I caught her by the back before she could hit the ground.

Remedi. The vanilla notes of her perfume wrapped ’round me.

Her gaze sank into mine as I held her close, and my heart beat a soft melody against my chest. Her plump lips slightly parted, but nothing escaped from ’em.

I positioned her upright and released her from my grasp.

She stood there, looking like a goddess in this white, ankle-length skirt trimmed in black and the matching shirt that showed the lower half of her flat stomach.

Tilting my hat at her, I maneuvered ’round and headed for my truck.

That afternoon

“I don’t understand why you just won’t hire Remedi to take care of all the animals,” Dallas said as she tossed out scraps for the pigs that were near her house.

I’d stopped by there to check in on her since Ma said she didn’t come to church, and I hadn’t picked up anything from her on the cameras.

Turns out, she was just chilling in the house, not wanting to be bothered for the day.

I’on blame her. Sometimes I don’t be wanting to be civilized either.

“Do y’all really not realize that this girl is only here temporarily? She’s eventually gon’ go back home.”

“How about you give her a reason to stay?” Stopping, she stood there with the bucket hanging in one hand and her other resting on her right hip.

Her brow arched upward toward her hairline.

I don’t care how sternly she stares at me, that’s not gon’ make me ask Remedi out on a date.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Remedi’s sole purpose was to be here for me.

“No thanks.”

“Khalif, you’re my brother, and I love you to death, but I really think it’s time for you to move on from Simone’s death.

She’d want you to find someone new and fall in love again.

I’m sure that she wouldn’t want you to grieve her death for the rest of your life and be alone.

That lil girl needs a mother. I’m not saying for you to replace her, but she needs someone, and so do you.

” With that being said, she brushed past me out of the barn with the bucket in her hand.

I’m not gon’ lie, Dallas is right. Eventually, I plan on moving on, but I’m just not sure if I’m ready right now.