Chapter 3

Katie was very sick. The doctors had some complicated medical term for what disease she had, but I didn't understand it. All I knew was that the disease was the reason she couldn't have children. And the disease was slowly killing her.

On the bright side, there were ways of fighting it. Medicine existed that could possibly cure her, but there were no guarantees. And the medicine and treatments weren't cheap, either.

We were farmers. We didn't have things like 401K's and comprehensive medical coverage. The hospital was willing to pick up a good chunk of the cost. We applied for every government aid we could find. We tried to make things work out, at least for a few months. Rachel pitched in wherever she could and even Lin volunteered her last summer before college to help us out. But after the harvest, when the bills were starting to pile up, I knew the seriousness of the situation.

I had to sell the farm.

The farm was the only real asset we had. The only thing of any value. It was completely paid for, and the money would be enough to cover all of Katie's medical bills.

Rachel was right next to me when Katie and I made our decision. And within three seconds she offered to take us in, rent-free. I hugged her a big thank you.

The new owners would be good people. But they were an older, country folk. I could tell from the beginning that they'd be good farmers and decent neighbors, but we weren't about to develop the kind of bond Katie and I had shared with Rachel. It broke my heart to move our things out of our old barn loft.

But it broke my heart even more to see Katie in the condition she was in. In the past few months, mercifully, she had gotten no worse. She was always tired, but she was able to move around, do some basic chores around the house, and make herself useful. Katie refused to give in and just play the dying person. She was a fighter. And she was all the more beautiful because of it.

It was time for the Fall Harvest and I took over running Rachel's farm. She said more than once that she was getting a bargain in taking us in, getting far more than she was giving up. Rachel put us up in the unused bedroom on the main floor. It was easier for Katie not having to go up and down the stairs.

Despite her illness, Katie and I made love as often as we could. It wasn't as much as we'd used to, otherwise she'd get too tired. But she got in the habit of saying, "Johnny, I may be sick, but you're still my husband! Now get over here and fuck me!" I loved the fire in her sky blue eyes when she said that.

Katie also insisted that we continue our "more-than-friends" relationship with Rachel. She reasoned that Rachel still needed a man in her life and it did make all three of us happier. No matter how often I practiced, Rachel was still better at munching Katie than I was. Besides, in a way it made Katie feel better about her situation that Rachel could still fuck me with an energy she couldn't match. She wanted to know her man was satisfied.

The rhythms of our life kept us going. Wake up, do your job, go to sleep. Plant, tend, harvest, sell. Smile for Katie. She was depending on me to keep us together, to keep us afloat.

I took her into town twice a week for her treatments. But for those first few months, she wasn't getting any better. The doctor told me there was a bright spot in that. The ones that died usually got really, really sick in the first six months. If she made to the New Year, she would probably be alright.

I sat back naked on the bed, my legs spread wide. I had a tight pussy wrapped around my erection, and I looked down to see my cock be slowly revealed and then disappear behind a tight ass. I had a pair of firm, round orbs in my hands as Katie's light body glided up and down along my pole. Her ribs were stretching a bit at her skin, shallow bumps easily visible to the naked eye. But the lost weight had done nothing to Katie's tits, which were just as big as I'd always remembered them.

I grunted, then leaned up and tickled the underside of Katie's breasts. "Mmm, you should've gone on this diet a long time ago," I joked.

Katie didn't respond except to whimper. She pressed the brunette head in her crotch a little tighter, and Rachel slid her tongue off of my cock and returned it into the folds around Katie's clit.

Slowly the three of us kept pulsing together, the three of us making love together, while most of the focus was on Katie. Already she'd had two orgasms, and Rachel and I weren't going to stop until Katie literally passed out from pleasure.

"No more..." my beautiful blonde wife pleaded. But we didn't believe her and we didn't let up on her. Katie's body was tensed so tightly and she quivered wonderfully. Even the doctors had said that more sex would be good for her. In the long run it would lift her spirits, at the very least.

We kept grinding slowly, and I had just enough stimulation from the tight tunnel and Rachel tonguing my balls, but I refused to let myself come yet. Rachel fingered herself to one orgasm inside of her skirt, but then was able to re-focus her attention on Katie.

With a thick cock filling her up, a tongue wrapped around her clit, and four hands caressing and squeezing every square inch of her body, Katie finally came to a third orgasm.

As her whole body shuddered, the feeling spread like a tidal wave, a quaking trembler that carried up until her eyes just rolled back and she faded into unconsciousness, her ravaged body giving out for just the moment.

I lifted her gently off me, laying her down next to me and tucking her in. "Happy birthday. We'll get the cake out later."

Katie just mumbled happily, and then sank deeper into her trance.

I turned back, and without a word, Rachel closed her lips around my erection, now throbbing painfully from such a long stimulus without being allowed to cum. Quickly, methodically, she squeezed and sucked powerfully, drawing my sperm out of me until with great relief, my balls loosed and I was spurting my load down Rachel's throat.

She drank and drank and drank, swallowing every drop. And when I finished, she merely licked her lips then stood up and kissed me gently. She was still fully dressed. There was no need for a sex session of our own. This night was about Katie.

We headed out and began to prep for the party. Katie would be up in a couple of hours.

Lin came home as often as she could during that first year. She was back for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. She was respectful of us, doing everything she could to help out with an array of chores.

When she came home for the first time, Thanksgiving, she pointed to the beer in my hand and asked, "Can I have one of those?"

Wordlessly, I tossed her a cold one and watched, surprised, as she popped the top and proceeded to chug the entire bottle. No more sipping while fighting away the bad taste. I wondered just what Lin was going to college for.

We had our usual talks to catch up and fill each other in on our lives. She had met the usual crew of boys at school. Some were nice. Most wanted to get into her pants. I couldn't really blame them. Lin was growing up into a very pretty young lady, and her exotic looks stood out from the crowd like a brilliant flame. Despite my "big brother" attitude towards her, I still recognized beauty when I saw it.

I was very pleased to learn that she was still a virgin. I reminded her to save herself until she was sure about the man she was giving herself to. He didn't necessarily have to be "the one" or anything, but Lin remembered our talks about having some love there and being certain that he really cared about her.

She said that the most unusual thing about college was meeting a lot more Asian people than she was used to seeing. It felt odd learning things about the Chinese culture she'd never known before.

But as much as I enjoyed finding out all the little details of Lin's life, I appreciated her even more as an extra pair of eyes to watch over Katie.

Katie noticed too.

Lin was home for the Christmas break and had automatically restarted her shadowing of my wife during each day. Rachel and I had just seated ourselves at the dinner table after some very productive work. Katie and Lin brought over the meal plates as usual, but Katie planted my plate in front of me with a loud thunk.

"Johnny, please tell Lin that she doesn't have to follow me EVERYWHERE."

I glanced over where Lin was staring straight down at the table as she finished laying out the additional place settings. Her eyes were downcast as she pretended not to hear Katie's complaint while she went about her duties. Then I turned back to see a maelstrom of a storm in my wife's blue eyes.

"Katie, she's just doing exactly what I asked her to do."

"Then ask her to stop!" She still looked so beautiful when she was angry. "I am FINE. Quit your worrying."

"I will worry. I promised I WOULD worry. I'm pretty sure that was in our wedding vows. Now I'm your husband and I love you and that's that."

It was my secret weapon. Every time I told Katie that I loved her, she couldn't possibly continue fighting with me. I saw the tug of a smile at the corners of her lips, but she smothered it with a forced frown and then went back to setting up dinner.

Still, my wife had her obstinate farmgirl streak going. She'd always known herself to be a capable woman, beautiful and soft one moment and then rough and tumble the next as need be. She stubbornly insisted that she was fine and always stretched herself a little too far in trying to live a "normal" life. With Lin shadowing her, I felt much more comfortable knowing that Katie always had someone nearby just in case.

It was a good thing, too. Two days later, Katie collapsed in the kitchen and five seconds after that, Lin had sounded the alarm and everyone came running.

I held Katie's crumpled body in my arms the whole way to the hospital. Her normally brilliant blue eyes were a stormy navy color and unfocused; her breathing was shallow.

Bad things always happened to us in the wintertime. And Katie hadn't made it to the doctor's invisible New Year's goal. The whole ride there I pleaded, "Don't leave me..."

Katie didn't leave me that night. But when we brought her home the next day, she didn't even have the energy to stand. I carried her to our bedroom on the first floor. She was asleep even before her head hit the pillow.

All I could do was kiss her cheek and then walk away. Staying there, staring at my wife would drive me insane. I would be back after a short walk.

Fortunately, the winter was an off-season. Farm life is cyclical. You have busy times and then you have down times. And in this down time I devoted everything I had to taking care of my wife.

I was able to focus myself on taking care of Katie. It was heartbreaking to see the vibrant young woman of my memories reduced to the point where she couldn't take care of herself. She was on intense painkillers and spent the vast majority of each day lying still and sweating. She needed my help just to get changed or go to the bathroom. I honestly didn't mind. She was still the most important thing I had in the world.

At first I felt guilty about shirking my farm duties. But when I tried to go out, Rachel turned me around and sent me marching back into the room. "Johnny, I know how to run a farm."

And then when I awoke in the middle of the night, absent-mindedly grinding my erection into Katie's backside, she stirred and then ordered me to Rachel's bedroom, pleading exhaustion.

I refused to leave and cuddled up to my wife, promising myself that I would restrain myself until Katie got better. It wasn't Katie's fault that the disease robbed her of so much energy. But it happened a few nights in a row, my subconscious mind dreaming about sex constantly and my erection solely focused on locating a willing pussy. Katie, half-awake herself, would repeatedly insist I take my hormonally-infused dick upstairs.

The first time I finally accepted Katie's order and went to Rachel's bed, for a brief moment, I was actually nervous. True, I'd had sex with Rachel many times, but those had ALWAYS been with Katie present and participating. It's not like I felt I was cheating on Katie or anything, far from it. It just felt a little weird. We'd just never done it alone before.

Rachel was more than willing, welcoming me into her arms in the dead of night. The next twenty minutes felt surreal. We fumbled in the darkness, just a touch of illumination from the moonlight enough to let me see Rachel's sparkling green eyes. Our bodies moved together for the first time without the presence of Katie nearby, and something in the back of my mind warned that there was something... wrong... in that.

But as my cock slid in and out of Rachel's heavenly pussy, the pleasure was smothering that "wrong" idea until I didn't notice it anymore. The fact was, after I got some orgasmic relief, everyone in the house slept better.

So the next night, we did it again.

And then the next night.

I felt extreme guilt, especially since Katie soon lacked the energy for sex during the daytime as well, which left me making love ONLY to Rachel and never my wife. The guilt tore at me, but every night Katie always mustered enough energy to command, "Go get laid. And stop moping around."

So I worked my fingers to the bone doing farm work. I even started staying out later than usual to keep my mind occupied. And I alternated between making love to Rachel while half-picturing Katie on occasion, and fucking Rachel within an inch of her life while trying in vain to unleash my frustration.

When Lin came home for the Easter break, I really didn't see much of her. Actually, I didn't see much of anyone else either. I was ragged from stress, and wasn't eating much. Rachel started to tease me that she'd thought Katie was the sick one, but I was losing more weight.

Some nights I'd drag myself out of our bedroom and collapse, exhausted, onto the couch. Rachel would come and put my head into her lap, speaking softly to me until I fell asleep.

It was one night, Katie fast asleep, when I found myself burnt out, lying back on the sofa, my head in Rachel's lap as she slowly stroked my head. The image of Katie lying perfectly still, like in death with only a hint of color still in her pale cheeks, refused to exit my mind. That image was driving me insane. Only the gentle rhythm of Rachel's palm against my scalp kept my demons at bay.

"I love you, Johnny."

The warmth in her voice surrounded me like a cozy blanket. And the words seemed to melt a lot of the tension in my muscles. I didn't say anything in return, just turned my head and looked up into her face.

It was the first time Rachel had verbalized those words to me, but it wasn't the first time I felt that sentiment from her. Her brilliant green irises glittered as she looked down at me. "After Bill died, I thought that part of my heart went away and would never come back." She paused, and then looked away. I could see the mist forming in her eyes. "But you're a good man. You've taken care of me, and you've been a great friend to Lin."

I thought about that for a long while. Neither of us spoke, I just tried to collect my thoughts. I had been so exhausted worrying after Katie, I wasn't sure I could handle this much emotion. "Well I think you've been taking care of me and Katie, not the other way around."

Her palm just kept stroking against my head. "Think nothing of it Johnny. I may give you a roof, but you and Katie give me so much more. You two are my partners in life. I can't imagine life on this farm without you and Katie here. I love you both."

It didn't even take a moment for me to find the same warmth in my own heart. "I love you too, Rachel." I caught the smile tugging at her lips as I said this. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't taken us in. And I don't know how we could have survived without your care. I feel like we've been nothing but a burden, but you welcomed us in as if we were family."

"We are family, Johnny."

I found myself getting misty eyed right then. I wasn't a crier. I hadn't cried once since I found out Katie was sick, and hadn't cried for years before that. But now the emotions were boiling over me.

I had locked away the sheer terror of losing Katie. I was the man of the house, and I'd bottled up my emotions for so long. But now the part of me that was frightened was coming out. I hadn't faced it, only tried to ignore it.

But now, I let myself go.

And so the night passed with Rachel holding my head in her embrace, saying nothing. No words were needed. I could feel the warmth of her love surrounding me. I don't know if I would have been able to endure those many long months if it weren't for her.

Things changed in my life after that night. I was still worried about my wife, but there was an extra spring in my step that had gone missing when Katie had taken ill. I had the energy of a normal day, instead of the hollow, weighted-down feeling I'd endured for many months. I'd accepted our lives.

Rachel smiled at me as I came into the kitchen, and I felt my heart lifting up. Automatically, I took her into my arms, dipped her as if in a ballroom dance pose, and kissed her passionately.

When I finally stood her up, she was breathless and glowing. "Wow!"

"Good morning, Rachel." And then I was off to the fields. Spring planting was almost done.

When I came back to the house, I first washed my hands and then pecked Rachel on the lips. I headed to my bedroom to check on Katie. She was sleeping peacefully. I paused to wipe the sweat off her face with a clean washcloth and then kissed her forehead tenderly. And then I was back outside.

Rachel and I chatted for an hour after dinner, recapping the day and various humorous events that had occurred with some of the staff. And after one more check on Katie, we retired upstairs to her bedroom.

I was filled with my love for this woman, and it showed in the way I embraced Rachel. This night, I never envisioned I was making love to Katie. This night, there were no frustrations to drive-out of me in a manic fuck. There was only me and Rachel, a woman I loved dearly.

Fully clothed, we found ourselves with limbs entwined and pressed together chest-to-chest. Rachel lay mostly beneath me, my right leg hooked around hers. I reached up with my right hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes while her eyes remained fixed on mine.

"How are you doing?" she asked with sincere concern.

"I'm fine." It wasn't a lie. I really felt fine. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

She welcomed my kiss and returned it full force. Our tongues sparred briefly before we found a comfortable arrangement and then there was nothing to stop us from devouring each other's face.

A few minutes went by, and then I made the first move to undress us. My fingers went to the buttons of her blouse, opening them slowly and one at a time. Her breathing was shallow; her breasts rising and falling as I slowly peeled back the thin fabric and exposed the creamy flesh.

Rachel's moans were in my ear as my face ducked down, rubbing my cheeks into her deep cleavage as my fingers pulled down on her bra cups. Her arms went around my neck as I lifted up her torso, giving myself the space to take off her blouse and unsnap her bra. And then at last her upper body was bare beneath me.