Karma says, sometimes you need to stop saying "sorry" and start saying, "Yes, I did it, so what?"
Kat was jogging down the dirt drive of Jimmy's place when I woke up. Man, she looked gorgeous with her curly hair pulled up, her large Ray Bands shading her eyes, and her simple jogging clothes clinging to her toned figure. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I saw her from our window.
"Morning, Jimmy! Is JJ up yet?" I heard Kat ask as she jogged up the front porch with soft steps.
"I'm not sure," Jimmy responded as I walked out of mine and Kat's room upstairs, not having heard me moving around already.
A few seconds later, I heard the front door open and shut as I reached the bottom steps. Kat smiled, seeing me walking towards her as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Why didn't you wake me up when you went for your run?" I asked, entering the kitchen, wishing I had gone with Kat.
"You looked really peaceful when you were asleep, so I didn't want to disturb you" Kat smiled, handing me a cup of coffee, and turned back to doctoring her coffee.
"How far did you run? You were gone before I'd gotten up," Jimmy asked, sipping his coffee, as Kat finished making herself a cup after having come back inside.
"The highway and back, so about four to six miles" Kat smiled as she sipped her coffee like it was the most natural thing.
"Four to six miles, and you're not tired?" I questioned in surprise, not making the connection about the day I asked her out.
"Yeah, but that's my short run. I'm surprised you didn't expect that. I ran two laps around the field, up steep steps, and around the stadium without breaking a sweat or even being remotely tired" Kat smirked, looking up at me through her lashes, making me shake my head and chuckle at her words.
Jimmy chuckled at our exchange as he made breakfast and didn't even seem remotely surprised how quippy Kat was. I could see that he was happy that I had found a woman that wasn't afraid to tell me what's what.
"Breakfast is ready," Jimmy exclaimed after a while, setting two plates full of food in front of Kat and me. He and began eating the plate in front of him, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the three of us.
"Hey, Jimmy, can I get some cheese and ketchup for these eggs?" Kat questioned quietly, looking up from her plate.
"Sure," Jimmy smiled and walked to the fridge, without any questions about the choice of condiments.
"Thanks," Kat smiled when he put the items in front of her and started mixing into her eggs.
"So, cheese and ketchup with your eggs? Now I know how to make them for you," I voiced, smirking, after making a mental note of her breakfast choice.
Kat childishly stuck her tongue out at me and began eating her eggs and bacon. It was adorable how she covered her mouth when she ate and how Kat got red when she saw me watching her. Everything she did just amazed me, and I wondered if there would ever come a day that Kat would cease to amaze me.
"What?" She challenged, throwing her hands up in a challenging manner that made Jimmy laugh.
"Nothing, you're just adorable when you eat," I smiled, knowing she wasn't going to accept that answer and was bound to challenge me.
"How the hell am I cute when I eat? That doesn't even make any sense," She challenged, furrowing her eyebrows.
"You cover your mouth when you chew and take the smallest bites," I replied with a smirk, knowing it would annoy Kat.
Kat just shook her head and went back to eating, and so did I. A few moments later, she got up, rinsed off her plate, put it in the dishwasher, and jogged up the stairs to change into work clothes.
"Dude, you're in love with her, aren't you?" Jimmy half yelled once he was sure Kat couldn't hear us.
"How do you know?" I answered his question with a question, afraid that everything would come crumbling down if I said it out loud.
"You're so infatuated with her! Everything she does either amazes you, or you find adorable! You've got the love bug, and you've got it bad!" Jimmy replied, smiling knowingly, remembering what I was like before meeting Kat.
"I think I am, but I don't want to scare her off by saying it too soon," I replied, thinking about what could happen if I did tell her how I felt.
"Then, after she leaves for her home, you've got to go out there and surprise her. I bet Jacob's got her closest friends' numbers. They could help you out," Jimmy advised with a brotherly smile, encouraging me not to let Kat slip through my fingers.
"I, actually, already thought of doing that," I smirked, not hearing Kat coming down the stairs because she was so quiet.
"You already thought of doing what?" Kat's voice questioned from behind me, making me and Jimmy jump.
"Getting dressed and heading out to the barn," Jimmy replied smoothly, not missing a beat.
"Oh, cool. Well, y'all better hurry up before I finish all the chores," Kat replied, walking out the front door towards the barn.
"Smooth save," I replied, getting up from my chair after breathing a sigh of relief.
"It was nothing. I've had a lot of practice with that sort of thing," Jimmy shrugged, reminding me that he had sisters and several adopted brothers as well.
"Good point," I joked as I got to the stairs, to change as quickly as possible.
A few minutes later, I walked back downstairs to find Jimmy gaping at something outside. My stomach knotted, hoping that it wasn't anything terrible because Kat was out by herself.
"What's up, dude?" I questioned once I was beside him, not having looked out the window yet.
"She's already got half my horses out to pasture, and it's only been three minutes since she went out there!" Jimmy exclaimed, pointing at the pasture where he kept the horses during chores since he usually did the tasks.
"Jacob did say she was a groom for a few trainers in Colorado," I replied, walking out to help her after shrugging in response.
"I couldn't find a hand that works that well to save my life, and your girlfriend happens to be the perfect one but is unavailable," Jimmy voiced, shaking his head.
"Hey, boys!" Kat smiled as she led Thor, Jimmy's largest, most challenging horse, out with ease being a bit of a horse whisperer herself.
"Kat, be careful! He can get really mean!" Jimmy called with worry on his face, not noticing that Thor was an angel for Kat.
"This sweetheart?" Kat questioned, putting him in the pasture after rubbing his nose, "He wasn't hard to handle at all. Y'all start cleaning stalls, and I'll finish putting the horses to pasture."
"I had some of the best hands in Texas, and they couldn't handle Thor like you did!" Jimmy exclaimed when he was close to Kat as she turned to walk back to the barn.
"Obviously, they went about it the wrong way because he was a breeze. I've dealt with some asshole horses in my day. He doesn't even begin to come close to those" Kat smiled, walking back into the barn and exiting a few seconds later with LaQuinta, making Jimmy's jaw drop.
"Wait, how are you doing that so fast?" Jimmy questioned in confusion, making both Kat and I chuckle.
"You've got halters next to all of their stalls, so I put the halters on them when I came out, so all I have to do is snap the lead rope on them" Kat shrugged like it was the most apparent thing, making Jimmy's face get beet red.
I chuckled as I walked into the barn and grabbed a picking fork and a wheelbarrow. Jacob wasn't kidding when he said Kat was great with horses. If journalism and reporting didn't work out for her, I could see her getting into the equine business. Kat had years of experience and would probably be a good trainer if she chose to pursue that work line.
I had just started cleaning Peoria's stall when Jimmy walked into the barn with a fantastic look on his face. I could see he was beginning to understand why I was so amazed by Kat.
"She sure as hell is something else, J," Jimmy murmured to himself as he started cleaning Chino's stall.
"I'm aware of that, Jim," I teased, glancing over my shoulder at him, replying to his quiet comment.
"Aw, hell, no!" Kat's voice yelled from outside, and a loud thunk was heard afterward, sending us both running from the barn.
Jimmy and I both rushed out of the barn to see what was up. We were greeted by Kat's knife impaled in the head of a Western Cottonmouth that was at her feet. She didn't even seem phased, just very confused.
"Oh, my God! Are you okay?" I exclaimed, rushing over to her, praying Kat hadn't been bit because that would have ruined our weekend.
"I'm fine. My jeans and boot stopped the bite from actually hitting skin," she murmured in shock, staring at the dead snake.
"Wait, it bit you?" Jimmy exclaimed, now really worried, seeming ready to throw her in the truck and take her to the hospital.
"I'm fine! I just said my boot and jeans stopped the bite from reaching the skin. I've dealt with cottonmouth's before, and they're normally not aggressive. They have a bad reputation, but they rarely bite people," Kat replied, seeming very confused.
"I'm just glad it wasn't a rattler," Jimmy stated, pulling Kat's blade from the snake and picking the dead snake up with his gloved hands to put it in the compost bin.
"At least with rattlers, you get a warning," Kat joked, breaking the tension in the air and making us all laugh at her response.
Saw a quote that said: "Speak to people in a way that if they died the next day, you'd be satisfied with the last thing you said to them." And I can't emphasize this enough.