Curse of the Peters Brothers

Chapter 20

flashback...

Clouds had been coming in for a while now, but the kids just kept on swimming in the pool in the Taylor's backyard. They had a surprise party for the twins thirteenth birthday. Most of the kids from the neighborhood were present, about twenty in total. Towels were thrown about everywhere. Some hung on the fence surrounding the pool, others with in the chaise lounges, and the rest were carelessly dropped on the patio.

Fat raindrops started to fall, followed by a chorus of shrieks from the kids. Hopsey stood right next to Hell-Kat, looking up at the sky that was starting to fall.

"Hurry everyone!" Leland yelled, "Jump into the pool before we get wet!" he jumped into the water, followed by another eighteen splashes and the sound of laughter at the irony of it. Kit stood on the side of the pool looking over the edge. She didn't want to land on top of someone. It sounded like so much fun to jump in with all of her friends, then she thought about all of the dangers of taking the plunge all at once. What if she got stuck under someone? What if someone got stuck under her? In her heart she wanted to join in on the fun, in her head was something entirely different.

Leland surfaced and saw Kit still standing on the edge. "Hell-Kat, jump!"

"I'm just looking first!"

"Why?"

"I don't want to land on anyone! What if we get hurt?"

"You can jump, I'll make sure no one is in the way,"

Still uncertain, Kit bit her bottom lip. It wasn't as if she'd never jumped into the pool before, just never when the pool was so completely occupied.

"I'll be right here, Hell-Kat! You have nothing to worry about, I'll be right here the whole time. You won't get hurt as long as I'm here."

Nodding, Kit took a deep breath, plugged her nose, and leaped into the water below.

As promised, Hopsey was right there to prevent her from getting hurt.

Unfortunately for Kit, she had waited so long to make her jump that the moment was over. She had missed out on the fun of the big leap, because she had been too scared. Everyone was climbing out the pool when she finally surfaced.

How much fun would it have been if she had jumped at the right time? She had thought. Though she and Hopsey were laughing about it together, she still felt like she missed out on something great.

Then she got stung by a bee.

~*~

"Congratulations! It's about time!" Kit exclaimed when she saw the gorgeous ring on her sister's finger that evening.

"Thanks! Does this give anyone any ideas?" she wagged her eyebrows in Leland's direction. Leland and Ewen were standing together across the room talking and laughing like old times.

"I hope not. At least not right now."

"Why on earth? Y'all are so stubborn!" Emma scolded her sister. "You and Leland both need a swift kick in the behind! Everyone knows that you two belong together. Including you two, so why not?"

Lowering her voice so not to be heard by the others, Kit confided in her sister. "It's not that I don't have feelings for Leland. Heaven knows I've fallen for him all over again," she sighed, "It's just that every time my heart starts telling me to throw caution to the wind, my head reminds me of everything at risk."

"Kit, life is all about risk. Sometimes you have to jump in order to get anywhere. In order to see the joy of life."

"You sound just like Gramps."