Chapter 183

When they parked in the back, the door of the Retreat opened and all Jeff's younger wives, who had stayed home, came hurrying out accompanied by Selina. As Hope and Arlene exited the SUV with the puppies snuggled under their coats, Arlene pointed to an area just past the pavement near the side of the Retreat. "Mrs. Kimbrel said we should walk them as soon as we got home," Arlene told the others as she and Hope opened their coats enough to give everyone a peek at the baby Chihuahuas.

Hurrying to the area Arlene had picked out, the younger wives and Selina watched as the puppies, now wearing their new sweaters just purchased in Winter Park, stood on the frozen ground near Hope and Arlene. "Pee-pee. Be a good boy," Arlene said as she crouched down and tapped the ground near Spike while Hope was doing the same with Sugar. Amazing everyone there, as if she understood, Sugar squatted to pee.

"Oh, you're not going to let a girl beat you, are you Spike?" Arlene said, her voice coaxing.

"Woof," Spike woofed out, but it was a tiny woof.

Trotting the short distance to where Sugar had peed, he smelled it, positioned himself over it and peed.

"Not going to let a girl mark his territory," Arlene laughed.

"But you're supposed to raise your leg, Spike," Hope giggled. "You pee like a girl."

Spike walked over to Sugar and jumped on her, obviously wanting to play. Sugar took off across the parking lot with Spike right behind her. They came to a sliding halt across a section of ice, straight into a clump of snow the plow and blower had missed.

"Spike. Come back here!" Arlene yelled while she and Hope tried to catch up with the puppies, but it was too late, the dogs were already wrestling in the snow. By the time Arlene and Hope got there, both puppies were shivering violently from the cold and wet. Heedless of the snow-covered puppies, each girl grabbed hers, putting it under her coat as Arlene exclaimed, "I can't believe they can run that fast."

Jeff had opened the hatch of the SUV as he, Diana and Jennie stood watching Arlene and Hope with the puppies. He bumped a shoulder lightly into Diana's, nodded to the puppies and said, "Looks like there is going to be a learning curve that might be a wee bit steeper than the one when we brought Billy home."

"Yeah," Diana laughed, "particularly when the puppies start whining for their mothers in the middle of the night." Then calling to the others, "Come help with the puppy supplies."

As the girls ran over and began grabbing packages, "I am not going to sleep with a puppy that might wet the bed – or worse," Jeff quietly added.

"Yes, Dear," Diana agreed, barely holding back the sarcasm.

Arlene and Hope had run to the door and were already inside with their shivering puppies. Quickly, they grabbed towels from the first bathroom they came to, stripped off the wet sweaters and vigorously rubbed Spike and Sugar with towels.

"Look at them," Jennie said as everyone stopped to watch the puppies being dried off, "I don't think I've ever seen an animal shiver that much. Didn't Chihuahuas originally come from Mexico? With that short hair, they must get cold pretty quickly."

With the dogs reasonably dry, both girls tucked them back under their coats to warm up. Jeff looked at Diana and winked. "I can see where this is going to get interesting."

When they were out of earshot, Diana replied, "That's what it's all about. A way to keep Hope busy and give her something to love."

"Where do we put this stuff?" the Prime asked, but he already had a feeling he knew.

"Most of it goes in our suite for now. The girls will separate out Hope's things."

"But I thought all the girls were going to own the one Arlene has," Jeff said, trying to not sound as if he were whining.

"The girls will sort everything out," Diana hedged.

"Yeah, right," Jeff said, putting his packages down by the bed as the others came in.

Soon, there were water and food bowls on the tile floor by the vanity sinks. Hope, Selina and Jennie had gone to Hope's suite to get everything she would need for Sugar set up.

"I thought Chihuahuas had ears that stood up," Nat said as Arlene handed Spike to her. "But they look cute half flopped over like that," she quickly added.

Arlene stood smiling as Nat, Nicki and Whitney cooed over the small puppy.

"According to Mrs. Kimbrel, these are Deerhead Chihuahuas. Their ears will stand up in a few weeks."

"How often do they have to be taken outside?" Whitney asked.

"Every hour unless they're asleep at night, at least for the first week or two," Arlene replied. "They need to stay in the kennel or under constant supervision until they understand that they need to go outside to pee and do their business. We bought some Piddle Pads, but Mrs. Kimbrel said they should be used only for emergencies."

"Emergencies?" Nicki asked, looking hard at Arlene.

"Yeah, like if we were gone from home for a while and wouldn't be here to take them out on time, or something like that. I'll take care of Spike for the first night, then we'll work out a schedule if you guys want to help train him."

As his younger wives continued to talk about the puppies, Jeff left to go find Diana.

(To refresh your memory about Tina Hamilton, Frank Wainwright's fiancée, check Chapter 85 of Book 3)

SUNSET, SATURDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 8

Tina stood at the top of the stairs on the second floor just out of sight of the crowd in the living room below. Somehow, her mother and father had accepted that she was marrying Frank Wainwright, a man who already had one new wife. Tina knew that Jeff, Diana, Frank and Margaret had spent some time alone with her parents after they came in by helicopter yesterday, but she never expected that her mom and dad could be convinced. She had hoped they wouldn't cause a scene when they found out about the multiple-partner marriage, but she had been very, very afraid things would go wrong.

Whatever the four had told her parents, her mom and dad had hugged and kissed her before her father asked, "Are you sure about this, Baby? Really sure?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'm very, very sure. They both love me, and I love them. I'm going to be with Frank and Margaret forever."

"Just remember that we love you, too," Tina's mother had said as tears trickled down her cheeks. "If this is what you really want, we'll do our best to understand."

Tina's thoughts drifted on as she waited for her cue to start down the stairs. Maybe they're just glad I'm away from Gregg, she thought. Anyone is better than that prick. How in the world did I ever trust him enough to let him drug me? I hope and pray there aren't any copies of that video that weren't found and destroyed. I would just die if my parents saw that. Then again, that ass did one thing right. He brought me, however inadvertently, to my future husband.

Oh, Frank, I love you so much, but how could you fall in love with me? My family has never had much money. I've never belonged in the circles you live in. I never dreamed I would marry a wealthy man, let alone someone who is as wonderful as you.

She looked at the top of the beautiful stairway, only a small sample of the elegance and beauty of the big building. I'm not used to this. I'll never be used to wealth like this. Yet Jeff and Frank wear jeans and tee shirts here in the Retreat most of the time, as all the Alphas do. Margaret and Diana, along with all the women here, dress down. Everyone seems to dress for comfort, not just to have a wealthy appearance. Frank and Margaret have closets full of very nice clothes, as do the others, I suppose, and my two spouses-to-be have bought me beautiful things, too, but when they work in their office here, even when they video-conference, they both wear casual clothes. When they go to the main office, they wear business clothing, of course. Margaret tells me that Diana and Jeff have an agreement that they will never let their wealth go to their heads, that they will never act like so many rich people do. Margaret also says that she worked her way up in the company, and Frank was raised by his parents to have a strong work ethic.

I've always worked. I even had a part-time job when I was in high school. But, now I have a credit card with no limit. I can't even imagine that. The only times I've used it is to buy a few inexpensive things on the net. All I want is Frank and Margaret. She says we're going shopping when we get back from our honeymoon, and she is going to buy me a complete wardrobe. I can't imagine what. I have plenty of beautiful things now. I don't need anything else. Honeymoon. They've put off their honeymoon for a couple of weeks until I could marry them and go with them. Gosh, thinking about marrying them sounds so odd, but then again, it sounds so right, too. But, I'm scared. I don't know how to act around rich people. I'm afraid I'll embarrass Margaret and Frank. Margaret just laughed when I mentioned it. She says she doesn't associate with rich people who think they're better than other people. She admits there are a lot of them, but she says she doesn't have to tolerate assholes, rich or not. She's been so good to me. How can she even think of sharing her man with someone like me?

I'm glad they've waited on their honeymoon for me, though. Now, we're going to that island that Frank bought Margaret. An island, for goodness sake. He bought an island, and it's big enough to have a runway for their, uh, our jet, as Frank has repeatedly reminded me. I know they love me, even though I don't understand it. And Frank ... when he kissed me that first time, I almost fainted. I've never felt anything like that in my life. When he makes love to me, I just about die. I never knew anything could be like that, and Margaret says it will be even better after Jeff and Diana marry us.

The music interrupted her musings as it changed to the first bars of the bridal march. Tina took a shaky breath. Don't stumble and fall down these stairs. Daddy is waiting for me at the bottom to walk me down the aisle. Steady, girl. One step at a time. They expect you to take your time. You're only going to do this once in your life.

As she stepped from the landing onto the stairs, the full living room was revealed below her. Who are these people? I insisted that Margaret not bring back all those people that came for her wedding. Look at all those uniforms. I didn't think Jeff's team or Security would be here for me. Oh, my, everyone just stood. Don't fall down, girl. One step at a time, just like you practiced. This is your day. I'll soon be Mrs. Tina Wainwright. Margaret said I could have my name legally changed as soon as we get back from the island.

As she turned the gentle curve of the stairs, There's Daddy. Just a few more steps and I can hold onto his arm, and I really need to. She managed to focus on Frank, Margaret, Jeff and Diana as they stood on the small stage waiting for her. Oh, Margaret is so beautiful. How could Frank ever want me? He's so handsome in that tux. If I get through this, Margaret and I are going to love him to death tonight.

"Daddy," she quietly said, as her father held his arm so she could easily take it, "he's going to be my husband, and Margaret is going to be my sister-wife."

"Yeah, Baby," her father choked out, the sparkle of unshed tears threatening to leak from his eyes, and the lump in his throat growing by the minute.

They passed a six-year-old bridesmaid who stood smiling, holding her kitten. Somehow, that brought tears of joy to Tina's eyes. Selina had asked her if she could hold Billy during the ceremony, worried that he would teleport around and cause trouble if she didn't. Tina had laughingly agreed. I bet there haven't been many brides who have had a bridesmaid holding a kitten to keep him from teleporting. Her smile got bigger. I love this place. I love these people. I love ... my family.

As the music subsided, she stood to the left of Frank, with Margaret to his right, the three facing the Prime and his Queen.

Jeff managed to put up two of the extra chairs, but that was it. He had assumed that he and the other Alphas would do that, but both Security and his team had made short work of it. He managed to beat them to the back door where he shook hands with everyone as they left, thanking them for supporting the weddings.

Lieutenant Mayfield was the last to leave. When Jeff thanked him, Mayfield smiled and said, "Colonel, we've certainly enjoyed being here, but now that we have been involved with the marriages, we know more about you and your family. The more we know, the better we can protect you."

"Still," Jeff said, "we appreciate your going the extra mile."

Mayfield chuckled, "It is an easy 'extra mile.' The food was delicious, and you and your wives are gracious hosts."

Jeff found Van helping to return the extra food from the reception to the kitchen. "If you don't mind, let's find a quiet place and continue our conversation," the Prime told him.

The sound of the big riding vacuums and the women putting away wedding decorations made it obvious the quiet place Jeff was looking for would not be the living room. "We'll find an alcove," Jeff started just as Jennie, on another vacuum, turned the corner heading in their direction.

"Well, maybe not," he chuckled. "Lab office."

A little later, seated facing each other, the men talked about the wedding for a moment, then, "I have an idea about farming that I need to go over with you. What you said about the co-op and your organic farming made me start thinking about something that happened on Halloween night."

Van raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Jeff chuckled and went on. "Oh, it had little to do with Halloween. We stopped by one of the country churches outside Winter Park to participate in their truck or treat. Are you familiar with the concept?"

"Sure," Van said. "We do the same thing. We all gather at the church grounds with our Halloween treats so the kids can have their Halloween in safety. No running across roads in the dark or risking their getting spiked candy from some sicko. We know everyone there."

"Right," Jeff agreed. "Well, anyway, the church had a little hotdog stand, but Diana and I noticed they were doing very little business even though it was after time for supper. We just couldn't imagine the stand not doing a thriving business with all those kids there."

Van just sat looking at him, probably already suspecting the reason for the poor sales. "Anyway," Jeff continued, "we know the pastor from his helping out at Carla's harvest. To make a long story short, the farm families had plenty of food at home to feed their children, but little money to buy extras, even to the point of hotdogs. Obviously money wasn't just short; it was very scarce."