Chapter 38

The women had pushed the two kitchen tables together. Frank Wainwright stood looking at them as Jeff, Kayla, and Diana came in. "We either need to get a bigger table in here, or start eating in the dining room."

"Bigger table," Jeff and Diana said at almost the same time.

"The dining room is too formal," Diana continued. "We want to be a family, and with all of us for three meals a day, it's a lot easier to serve in here than taking the food into the dining room. The kitchen is certainly big enough to just put in a larger table."

"We could always hire a crew..." Frank tried again.

"No!" a number of voices responded.

Margaret hugged her embarrassed lover, now fiancé, and laughed, "He's used to waving a hand and having people jump."

"I am not," Frank complained. "It's just that it wouldn't cost that much to take all that work off Jeff's wives, and..."

Diana stepped up and kissed him on the cheek, "We appreciate your thoughtfulness, but remember, we made a vow that we weren't going to let our money go to our heads. When we lived in Georgia, I surely didn't even think about having someone come in and prepare our meals. There's no difference here. With all of us working together, it's actually easier than it was for just Arlene and me to fix our meals and clean up. Besides, all of us enjoy working together. We laugh, cut up and talk about girl things. And now ... my mate has brought us four more helpers," Diana laughed.

"I stand corrected," Frank said as he put up his hands in mock surrender, laughing.

Nat, Nicki, and Whitney came up to stand close to Jeff. The girls looked at each other for a moment, then Whitney spoke, "Ma'am," she said to Diana, "we worked in the kitchen at the orphanage. The work was used for punishment, but we always volunteered, because ... well..."

"You got extra food," Diana almost whispered, as she struggled to keep her face from showing compassion that might embarrass the girls.

"Uh, yes Ma'am. Uh, what I meant to say was, we're pretty good at peeling potatoes and preparing vegetables..."

Startling the girls, Diana suddenly grabbed and hugged them. "You don't have to work for your food here. You're part of us now. You're family. All of us women prepare the food and clean up the kitchen. But the way we do it, it isn't a chore. You can help us, if you want to, but it isn't a requirement for your food or anything else." Diana pulled back a little from her hug in order to look each of them in the eyes for a moment. "You're family. Part of us. An important part. Never, never forget that."

"Yes, Ma'am," they said almost together.

"And, there are no ma'ams or sirs in this house. First names for everyone. I'm Diana, remember?"

"Yes, Ma ... uh, Diana," Whitney stammered. Then blushed.

Diana laughed, hugged them individually, then said, "We're using the bar today, so let's get a plate and eat."

Jeff and the men stood back and watched. Frank, Bill and Dave did it, of course, to give the girls space away from a male, and Jeff stayed with the other men so they wouldn't feel as bad about the girls shunning them.

With Arlene yammering away to distract them, Nat, Nicki and Whitney gained a subtle escort as they picked up their plates and started selecting food. As Nat put a small portion of creamed corn on her plate, Jenny added to it. "There's plenty of food for everyone, so much that we'll have a lot to take back up after we eat," Jenny whispered in Nat's ear. "Here take this piece of roast beef."

It went on with all the new girls. The rest of the family pretended to notice nothing out of the ordinary, but when Nat, Nicki and Whitney got to the table, they had normal sized portions on their plates because of the 'help' from Jeff's younger wives.

"Okay, now what do you want to drink? The fountain drinks are over there," Arlene said, pointing. "There's the iced tea. We have unsweet for our Yankee family members," she said as she glanced at Margaret, "or sweet, if you prefer."

Margaret laughed back at her. "Oh, I'm learning to drink it sweet — on occasion."

Arlene, Ann, Jennie and Melissa had guided the three new girls to put their plates near the end of the table. As they all sat, Jeff took his place at the end near them, while Diana sat at the other end with Kayla near her. The others were already sitting. Jeff led a short prayer for the meal and for the additions to his family. He was sincere, and the girls recognized it. A look passed between them, and a little of their hesitancy washed away, but much remained.

There was the usual banter and laughter around the table. Dave added to it by kidding Arlene about learning to drive the big snow blower.

"Well, you looked pretty funny with your feet in the air when you got out of the truck and stepped on that ice patch," Arlene shot back.

"And who had to come in the house to warm up — twice. Southern belle can't even stand a little mildly cold weather."

"'Mildly cold' my butt. It hasn't gotten above zero (Fahrenheit) all day. And besides, you were sitting in that warm truck cab while I was sitting out in the cold on that snow blower."

"Wimped out, like I said," Dave grinned.

Arlene stuck her tongue out at him.

Nat, Nicki, and Whitney looked at each other, not quite sure whether Arlene and Dave were kidding or not, but chuckling when everyone else did, anyway.

The meal over, Dave and Frank adjourned to the living room to talk while Jeff sat drinking a cup of coffee and waiting. Bill was dragged out of the kitchen to his fate by Kathy and Jill who had promised a welcome home that he would remember. Some of the women began picking up the plates from the table. Nat, Nicki and Whitney started to help when Arlene put a restraining hand on Nicki's arm. "Not now. We've got to go shopping. Come on Ann, you're going with us."

Ann grinned and joined them.

"But don't we need to clean the kitchen first?" Nicki asked as she looked at Arlene and Ann standing close together.

"Most other times, yeah, but not today. There're plenty of people here to clean up. We rotate around sometimes. They'll get a free day later on, so it's no big deal."

"But is Major Matthews..." Whitney started but Arlene gently cut her off. "Dad is going with us. We don't generally leave the retreat unless he's with us. We'll talk about that another time and fill you in why."

Arlene grabbed Nicki's hand, the others formed the chain with Ann last, then they all went out the door with Arlene telling her dad to hurry as she walked past.

Kayla and Diana walked up as Jeff hurriedly finished his coffee and stood. "There's eight of us; we can all go in one vehicle," he said as he escorted the two women out the kitchen door in front of him.

"That's fine for getting there, my dear Husband, but we're shopping for four people, remember. We need another vehicle for the packages."

"Three," Kayla broke in. "Three people to shop for. I'm fine for clothes. If I need something, I can pick it up later."

Diana grinned at her, then looked at her husband as they walked down the hall toward the inside garage. "We're shopping for a few things for one future wife, and for all the necessities for three young ladies who have nothing."

Kayla didn't argue, but just grinned.

"But you said you were going to shop light so the girls wouldn't be..." Jeff started.

Diana put her arm around him and squeezed. "We are going to shop light, but that doesn't mean we're going to skimp. Besides, my daughter seems to have everything in hand," she finished as they looked ahead of them down the hall to see Arlene snatch the door open and escort the girls through into the garage.

When Jeff, Diana and Kayla walked down the steps to the garage, Arlene and Ann already had the girls seated in one of the Escalades. Diana looked up at Jeff. "Uh, would you mind driving the other vehicle? I would like to talk to the girls a bit while we drive down the mountain?"

Well, that went over like the proverbial lead balloon. The girls had already become anxious because Jeff had gotten out of their sight as they went into the garage. Their savior in one vehicle and them in another — no way. They were in a new place with a lot of people they barely knew. Diana motioned and Jeff slid into the driver's seat in the vehicle with the girls. Arlene hugged her mother, then all three sister-wives got in the other vehicle together.

"This is going to get interesting," Diana quietly said as she backed out of the garage to wait for Jeff.

Kayla had sat in the passenger seat in Jeff's vehicle when the girls got in the back, and had just remained there waiting. Jeff looked over at her for a moment. "I need to ask you something before we start out," he said as he glanced at her. Motioning, he got out of the vehicle and walked around to the front to wait for her. As she reached him, "You armed?"

"Uh, sure" she answered, patting her purse that was hanging on her shoulder by its strap. "The colonel said the general, himself, specifically instructed me to always go armed while I'm on this mission."

Jeff sighed. "Good. I don't have time to explain now, but for simplicity's sake I'll just say that we have been threatened. There's a lot going on that I need to bring you up to date on. Just be aware, and be alert. We'll talk more later. I don't want to traumatize the girls any more than they already have been. Oh, yeah, Diana, Ann and Arlene are armed as well."

"Can they..."

"Ann is an excellent shot. Arlene and Diana are way beyond that. None of them have experience in combat, though. But I'll guarantee you they won't let you down if the shit hits the fan. Now let's get back inside the SUV before the girls start to wonder."

"Yeah," Kayla agreed, "and before I freeze. It was warm in here until that door opened."

As Kayla got back into the Escalade, Jeff walked out of the garage toward Diana as she sat waiting. She slid the window down as he approached. "I can have Dave bring the other vehicle. We can all ride together," Jeff said, wondering if he were in trouble. "I didn't expect them to act like this."

"No," Diana grinned, recognizing the look on his face, "you're not in trouble, and no to Dave driving the other Escalade. He and Evie are going back to check on the construction at Carla's." She nodded to the other Escalade, "The girls will get better. They've never had a real home, from what you say. They've been kidnapped, kept in a cage and raped by an animal. Suddenly an Alpha Prime shows up and rescues them. Nothing is normal with them. In retrospect, I'm surprised they're not huddled in a corner somewhere crying. They, obviously, have a long way to go, but, all things considered, they've done well. We're just going to have to get used to them being glued to you for a while."

Jeff put both hands on the door and leaned down to be near Diana. "Di, I'm feeling guilty about this. You're my Queen — the love of my life, I can't..." Diana grabbed his face and kissed him. "My feelings aren't hurt; heck, I'm more amused than anything. Now let's go; time's a-wasting," she finished with a grin, emphasizing the term.

As Arlene, Ann and Diana waited for Jeff to back out of the garage, Arlene commented, "Dad is treating them like little girls — like they're his daughters. Can't he see they're young women? Whitney is my age, and the twins are only a couple of weeks from being sixteen, as well. If their attitudes weren't so meek, they would be little sexpots."

Diana dropped the Escalade into gear and followed the other vehicle across the back and down the driveway. "Arlene, you and Dave have done a great job on this driveway."

"Uh, Mom, I don't know what Dad will say about me using the snowplow on the driveway..."

"Oh, he might grumble a bit, but that's all. I still don't want you out on the county road with the threat still hanging over us, though. But he'll just have to get used to our daughter growing up." Then realizing how ridiculous that sounded, and getting a strong mental image of Arlene riding her father's cock, Diana giggled as she glanced at her daughter. All three of them laughing, they turned onto the county road at the bottom of the drive.

The women were quiet for a time, then, "Now that we've accomplished our goal about getting your dad to stay with us and not divorce me, does it ever bother you that you're making love with your father?"

"Mom!" Arlene almost yelled out. "I'm his wife just like you are. Why would you..."

"Yes, indeed, I'm your sister-wife, but I'm also your mother. We've had so much happen to us, I was just wondering ... I mean, you've never really dated anyone. Oh, Jack fucked you, but that was coercion, even in its best light. And Arnie — well...

Arlene glanced back at Ann for a moment. "Mom, I feel like I'm on a date with my dad every day — every night. All of us girls do. Never a day goes by — well, if he's home — that he doesn't spend some special time with me — with us. We laugh, cut up; I sit in his lap. He tickles me like he used to when I was a kid. We kiss. I take that wonderful cock of his into my body and become one with him. It literally would make me ill just for some other male to touch me in any kind of sexual way. I can't even think about having somebody put their ... I would kill anyone who tried. No girl could be as happy as I am — well, as all of us girls are. Now does that answer your question?"