Chapter 36
"Wow, this is cool," Jake said when he unwrapped Sam's present at his birthday party.
"Let's see it Jakey," Kit said. Sam once again was startled at Kit's voice. He would be fifteen in February and his voice had changed, deepened into the voice of a man. It had fluctuated up and down since he was thirteen to finally settle in its now deep tone. Sam wasn't used to it.
Plus Kit had really shot up in height. He was so much taller than the other boys, even Adam at twelve was a good five inches shorter than Kit. Adam's voice was doing the up and down thing now and it embarrassed him at times when it would squeak.
Jake handed Kit the box and Kit looked it over.
"Beats Barbie underwear," Bryan quipped, making Quinn, Nate and Adam snort. Kit looked lost as did everyone else. Jake gave his brothers dirty looks.
Kit handed the box back.
"We can see how it goes after the football game," Kit suggested.
"Okay," Jake nodded.
"You're going to be our center again, right Sam?" Kit looked towards her. She blushed but nodded.
She didn't see much of Kit anymore since he was now in high school. He was a member of the rodeo team and wanted to go on the professional rodeo after he graduated from school. Jake had told Sam that his mother wasn't too keen on that idea.
Jake had told Sam that Kit had a girlfriend and that Jake had seen them kissing. Kissing with their tongues, which had grossed out both Jake and Sam.
"Yuck," Sam had shuddered.
"I don't get it either," Jake shook his head. "They didn't know I was there."
"Why would they do that?" Sam asked.
"You're asking me?" Jake had yelped. "No way I'd ever do that with a girl."
Sam had put her hands on her hips.
"Kissing a boy like that wouldn't be much better," she told him.
"You know what I meant," Jake had made a settle down motion with his hands.
Looking at Kit now, Sam couldn't imagine him doing that with a girl. Why would he want to?
Sam looked away from Kit to see that Jake was looking at her. She pretended to put her finger down her throat and Jake snorted. Sam bit back a giggle knowing the two of them were thinking the same thing.
"What do you say, Jake?" Mrs. Ely prompted her son.
"Thanks, Brat," Jake dutifully recited.
Later after he had opened all his gifts and they had eaten his cake, the boys and Sam went out to the pasture to play football. This year Jake wasn't grounded and was able to play too. Sam had played football with some of the boys since then, but not with Kit.
Once again, Kit and Nate teamed up and Jake was with them. Adam had Quinn and Bryan. Kit handed Sam the football and she waited while he and Adam did rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the ball first. Kit lost so Sam walked over towards Adam and bent over with the football so she could hike it back to him.
Adam met Kit's eyes for an instant and the two exchanged amused looks. Jake saw and wondered at it, but then Adam was starting the game and Jake had to run to try and cover Quinn.
Jake was able to bat the ball away before Quinn could catch it. Kit and Nate gave Jake a couple of high fives when he came back.
"Lucky birthday boy," Quinn grumbled.
Jake gave him a smirk.
Sam got ready to hike the ball again. This time Bryan was able to outrun Nate and score a touchdown. He danced at the goal. Kit, Nate and Jake hooted at him and called him names. Bryan gave it right back to them, trash talking at them as he flipped the ball at Sam. The ball hit her in the face.
"Careful Bry," Kit told him. "You don't want to injure the center. Are you okay, Sammy?"
Sam nodded.
"She's tough," Quinn said with a grin. "She carries a pink backpack."
"She has to be tough to carry that wussy thing," Bryan laughed with his twin.
Sam stuck her tongue out at them and they just laughed harder.
"Yeah, I heard about that," Kit laughed and Sam gave him a look too.
"Look out, she's getting mad," Adam told him.
"She hits, remember," Jake teased.
Sam ignored them all. She'd learned that if you ignored them, they left her alone sooner. It was hard being the only girl around them sometimes. However, she loved them all as if they were her real brothers.
"Okay, let's keep going," Adam shouted. "Score seven to zip."
"Zippo, nada, zilch," Quinn laughed.
"We haven't had the ball yet, Einstein," Nate told his younger brother.
"Maybe but it's still seven to zip," Bryan pointed out.
That got the five older brothers trash talking. Jake was the only one who didn't join in, though his mouth was curved into a grin.
Sam hiked the ball to Adam again and Jake took off after Bryan this time. Kit rushed Adam and tackled him before he could either run or throw the football. This time it was Kit, Nate and Jake who were high fiving each other.
When it was time for Kit's team to have the ball, Sam turned around and hiked the ball to Kit. He threw the ball far down the pasture and Nate grabbed it out of mid-air in front of Bryan. Nate ran to their goal and put on his own dancing expedition.
Quinn and Bryan called him names as he came back from scoring his touchdown and handed the ball to Sam.
"Watch your mouths around the shrimp," Kit warned him.
"Oh, she's used to it," Bryan laughed. "Right, Sammy?"
"Gram would wash your mouth out with soap if she heard," Sam told him.
That got all six of the Ely boys laughing. They knew she was right.