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The Ground Between Us
- Crimson Steed
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Backstory
Kimbe and Jazzy Colton are a married couple living in Calhoun's Pointe, North Carolina. They met while graduating from Emerald State University, standing at the beginning of two very different paths. Kimbe majored in criminal law and passed the bar before officially crossing the stage. Now, he's forty and just made partner at his firm.
Jazzy’s love for the soil and animals led her in another direction. She had double majored in agriculture and horticulture, with a minor in animal science. Now thirty-five Jazzy is a farmer, cultivating both crops and community. She is also pregnant with the couple’s first child, carrying new life while tending the land that sustains them and others. Together, Kimbe and Jazzy are building a life rooted in hard work, purpose, and care for both their family and community.
The land that they live on is ancestral property, passed down from Jazzy’s mother. The family resides on ten percent of the acreage and farms another forty-three percent, while the remaining land is maintained but uninhabited. For years, outsiders have expressed interest in purchasing the property, but the Calhoun Family refused to sell. Now that the land has been passed to Jazzy, the pressure has returned, and this time, the stakes are higher.
Chapter 1
Markers in the Soil
I think today is going to be a long one. I’ve only been on the road for fifteen minutes, and I'm already tired. Let me turn up this radio so I can wake up.
As I turn the radio up, I hear, “I started from nothing, now I charge for breath.”
“That’s my song!”
I immediately start bouncing in my seat. I love China Styles!
Something ahead of me flickers. What is that up ahead? I am squinting, trying to see as they come into focus.
Oh, covered trucks. One. Two. I counted six eighteen-wheelers headed towards Calhoun's Pointe. They must be lost. I’m sure they’ll turn around once they hit the crossroads. I brush it off and go right back to jamming.
By the time I pulled into town, it felt like it took forever to reach Hothouse Apothecary. I grabbed my list and took a breath. The quicker I start, the quicker I can get home and put dinner on. I hop out of the truck and head into the store.
Lavender greets me the moment I step through the door.
Mmm, that smells so good.
“Hey, Jazzy,” a voice calls from the front of the store.
I look up and see the store owner, Ms. Clara, behind the counter.
“Good morning, Ms. Clara. How are you?"
I remember when I first started coming to Hothouse, back when Kimbe and I were struggling to conceive. We decided to take a holistic approach instead of jumping straight into modern medicine.
I blink, “I’m sorry, Ms. Clara. What were you saying?”
“I asked if you were here for something specific or just your usual.”
“Yes, ma’am. Something specific today. I need my uterus cleansers and the comprehensive fertility tonic.”
She sighs softly. “I don’t have the cleanser capsules ready, but if you tell me what’s in them, I can make them up for you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Ginger, marigold, and red raspberry leaf.”
“Give me a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Ms. Clara.”
While she’s preparing the cleanser, I head down the aisle to find the tonic. There are so many blends here. The one Kimbe and I use has ashwagandha, dried chasteberry, dried maca root, and dried red clover blossoms. It smells heavenly and tastes even better.
We’re praying it works soon. I’ve never been on birth control, and we definitely don’t use condoms. Kimbe says we’ll get pregnant when everything is aligned. I pray he’s right.
Ah, there it is, tucked on the bottom shelf. I grab two bottles this time to save myself a trip. I should stop by the Five and Dime, too. Maybe I’ll grab a couple of pregnancy tests before heading home.
“I’ve got the tonic,” I call out. “I’ll set it by the register and run to the Five and Dime.”
“That’s fine, Jazzy,” Ms. Clara calls from the back room.
Welp, that took less time than I originally planned. It’s a quarter past noon, and I should be home in the next forty minutes. The trip to Hothouse was just what I needed. I have all of the vitamins that we need for the next couple of months. It was nice of Ms. Clara to throw in those prenatal vitamins. She said they help prepare the body for pregnancy.
She also said something that stuck with me. She said I was glowing—and that the vitamins would bring that glow out even more. I don’t know what she meant by that, but I took it as a blessing.
I’m in the wrong place to get sleepy. I am not sure why I’ve been so tired all week. Maybe these vitamins will help, because I need the energy.
“Beep.”
What’s beeping?
“Beep.”
Girl, check your purse.
I reach into the back seat and grab it. One day, I’m going to remember to keep this thing up front with me. Oh, Kimbe called, but he didn’t leave a message. I will call him when I get home. If I call him now, we’ll be on the phone for an hour —and then he’ll ask what’s for dinner. I will have to explain everything that I bought and why.
“What’s that?”
Is that Mrs. Stone?
Sure enough, she’s waving me down. Lord, what does this woman want now?
I rolled down the window. “Hey, Mrs. Stone, how have you been? I didn’t see you out this morning when I left for town. Did you need something? Everything okay?”
“Afternoon, Jazzy, don’t you look comfortable today?”
The way she looked me up and down made me glance at my outfit. I thought I was cute, but I guess not. She’s just mad because she can’t pull this look off, with her old—
Jazzy!
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I said there’s been an awful lot of noise this morning coming from the crossroads. I called up to your house, but no one answered.”
“Kimbe’s at work, and I was in town, making groceries,” I said. “What kind of noise?”
“Big booms,” she said. “Y’all building ‘round yonder?”
“No ma’am.” My stomach tightened. “But I’ll look into it.”
That had to be why Kimbe called. He never calls this early.
I thanked her and pulled off before she could ask what I was cooking today. When I cook a meal, she feels like I should make enough for her. Not today, Satan. You won't be getting a plate.
At the crossroads, there’s a stop sign. You turn left there and drive about eight miles before the road ends. Left takes you to Tennessee. Right takes you along the back of our property—that’s where the cameras are. I can go home and see what's been recorded. Mrs. Stone said she heard booms. I know there has to be something still there. You know what? Let’s see what’s out there.
I reach for my phone to call Kimbe and nearly curse out loud. That’s why it was beeping —my phone is dead. He is going to lose it when I tell him I came back here alone. Then again, it’s daytime. Maybe he won’t be too mad.
Driving this way brings back memories. Kimbe and I used to walk this land together. There is a pond back here full of fish. We used to come and fish all the time. There are deer here, everywhere. My husband has a hunting club. They use the land to hunt every so often. They go out and throw corn before hunting season. The last time they came up was 2 years ago. We ate so much deer meat that season, I promised myself I’d never complain about chicken again.
I wonder if they were up today. That could be another reason he called. But throwing corn wouldn’t make the kind of noise Mrs. Stone described.
I get to the end of the road, turn right, and immediately pull over.
My stomach drops.
I jump out of the truck and run to the gate.
What the…
-To be continued.
ABOUT CRIMSON STEED
Crimson Steed is a reflective writer and contributor exploring faith, transition, womanhood, and the sacred rhythms of growth. Her work centers on spiritual insight, emotional honesty, and the quiet wisdom found in seasons of waiting and becoming. Her reflections invite readers to release shame, honor the process, and trust divine timing.
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