Chapter 35

Everyone was wearing light jackets as they left the house. The fog and mist had changed to a light snow, but it wasn't sticking, yet. Diana hugged Jeff as they stood by the truck watching the snow fall. "It's beautiful and looks so peaceful," she said, hugging him tighter for an instant, looking up into his face.

Jeff hugged her back as everyone streamed past, getting into the vehicles. "I just caught the weather on the radio while I was waiting. They say two to six inches in the mountains. I don't know whether they mean our mountain or not. Heck, we've had a couple of light snows during the summer, but I have a feeling that all the rain that Carla is expecting in the valley this fall, is going to be slightly different at this altitude," he finished, smiling.

He leaned over and kissed his first wife as she clung to his neck, pushing her breasts against his chest. Every time she hugs me, or tells me she loves me, or well — anything, I just can't believe all this has happened to me. She looks like she's nineteen, but she has the assurance of a woman. And that assurance has grown in the last months. I was afraid that she would worry when we started adding others to our marriage, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. She has remained the dominant female without being the bitch that she jokes about. How in the world can so many women get along so well? And, apparently, they all love her, as they just showed in the kitchen by wanting me to make love to her. I love them all so much, but the others wouldn't be my wives without this one.

He kissed her again, almost trying to become part of her as the snow drifted straight down in the stillness. "Get a room," someone yelled, then the Escalade started up.

"I guess you're riding with me," Jeff said to Diana, then laughed as Laura backed up the Escalade. Jeff and Diana hurried to get into the truck.

As they got in, Diana saw the small case between the seats. "Fred's?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jeff laughed. "He asked me to pack him a few things. He said he was embarrassed to ask you or any of the others to pack his undies."

Diana laughed. "Oh, my goodness. A hard-nosed retired cop worried that I might see a stain from a racing stripe in his shorts," she mused aloud.

Jeff chuckled as he followed the Escalade down the drive. "Actually, he had his clothes all hung in a very orderly manner, and the ones that were folded were neat as well. It looks like most of his shorts are new, but I guess he was embarrassed to have one of you pack some of his clothes for him, anyway."

Diana glanced over at her husband's profile in the scant light in the vehicle. "Carla could do worse."

Jeff was quiet for a moment, then sighed, "Baby, why do women tend to match-make? Fred is no more interested in that woman than... I don't know an adjective that will fit. Hon, he just lost his wife. A wife that he still loves more than life itself. He's just helping Carla and Jessica because he's Fred. Heck, we're doing the same thing. You are. Frank and Margaret have pitched in just like the rest of us."

Diana turned in the seat, leaning her back on the door a little so she could face her husband, grinning at him. "A month."

"A month, what?" he asked, getting exasperated.

"A month until he's in her bed."

"Di, it's not going to happen. Fred's what? Fifty-five or so, and she's about forty. She isn't interested in him sexually. Her world has been turned upside down — the loss of her husband, the hospital sucking up everything she had, those assholes trying to take her place away from her... Fred has the expertise to help her around the farm, and he needs to do it as much as she needs him to do it. But that's it."

Jeff touched his brakes when the Escalade's brake lights came on in front of him as Laura negotiated a sharp curve. Realizing that his lights might be blinding her, he backed off some more.

Diana glanced at the Escalade, then back to her husband. "They're made for each other. And besides that, both have lost a spouse. A spouse that was loved, greatly."

"Yeah," Jeff said. "That's definitely true about Fred. He is still shedding tears regularly for Brenda."

"And how long would you wait if I died?" Diana floored him by asking.

Jeff snapped his head around, jerking the wheel slightly. "Di, don't you ever say anything like that. I can't even think about that."

"Baby, do you think that Brenda would want him to sit and cry for her? Of course not. Any spouse that really loved his or her mate wouldn't want that. Sam would want her to get on with her life, and want his daughter to get on with hers. Jessica has already had to quit college because of her father's illness. Fred is the ticket for both of them."

Diana reached over and gently punched Jeff's leg with her finger. "Carla has already mentioned that she needed to get rid of the hospital bed in the other bedroom. That sounds to me like she is expecting Fred to be around more than just a night or two."

Jeff laughed. "I'll be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about women, but I just can't imagine that Carla would want someone so much older than she is."

Diana cleared her throat, exaggerating the sound. "Helen?" she simply said.

"Uh, well that was a bit different," Jeff temporized.

"Oh, really? The age difference is about the same. And you used the healer on Fred twice, for a long time. He's losing weight, and he sure surprised all of us when we ran those two mornings. He's overweight, but he's still a pretty tough cookie. With some exercise — and he's darn sure going to get it on that farm — he might surprise all of us." Diana smiled as they made their way down the mountain, the snow changing to light rain, then the precipitation stopping completely a little later.

Carla looked around the table at her new friends. "Okay, I'll give up and go to bed," she laughed as Diana smirked. "It just makes me feel a little odd with us going to bed and leaving you people still with another meal to fix."

"And, how much sleep are you going to get if you fix a meal at one, then another at six in the morning?" Helen asked her. "We'll sleep between times, then we have all day tomorrow off while you, Fred and Jessica are working your butts off in the fields."

Carla stood up. "I've said it over and over, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. Thanks all of you for doing this — all of it."

Diana laughed at her. "Go get some sleep. You guys have a big day tomorrow."

"Okay," Carla said, then turning to Fred, "Jess has everything she needs out of her room. We'll see you in the morning," she finished as she and Jessica left for her bedroom, the two women sleeping together so Fred could have Jessica's bed.

Evie and Dave went out the back, headed back to work.

"Well, see you at six then," Fred said, standing. "These old bones will be sore tomorrow night. I haven't sat my butt on a piece of machinery all day in a long time. Heck, moving the equipment out of the way when the John Deere people unloaded the stuff off the trucks was fun. Ten or twelve hours sitting in that thing might wipe out some of the excitement, though," he laughed. "Anyway, I'm going to try out Jessica's bed."

A few moments later, Diana glanced at her husband. "We've got everything moved out of the center of the living room and our blankets are on the floor. Too bad we don't have enough sleeping bags for everyone. We'll have to correct that in case something like this comes up again. Anyway, we're going to take a nap until about midnight, then get their one o'clock meal started. We've made you a bed on one of the couches, my husband, but I guess you guys won't be back until you take a break after the meal, right?"

"Yeah," Jeff said. "We're going to help."

"I hate to think about sleeping without my husband by my side, but no telling what Carla and Jessica would think if they came by and you had seven women snuggled around you on the floor."

Everybody laughed about that and Helen commented, "I'm reasonably certain that they already know that something is a little odd. We will not fool them for long. I was a principal of the high school when Jessica was there. She was an excellent student, made good grades and was never in any trouble. She's smart, and so is her mother."

Concerned, Helen looked at Diana. "What are we going to tell them when they start asking questions?"

"Well..."

Jeff answered, instead. "Just tell them the truth and ask them not to tell. Remind them that we aren't breaking any laws, but we don't want the notoriety that would be bound to come if everyone knew. Neither of those two women is stupid, as we've already commented. To be blunt, we've done a lot for them. They would be foolish to tell others about our private lives. In addition, I'm impressed with both of them. I fully believe that they would have made a go of it if they could have put off the hospital for a couple of years, instead of having to pay before Sam had the tests, and all the procedures."

Looking around him at his wives, he continued, "Just be cautious about what we say and do around them. Who knows, maybe they won't notice."

"Yeah, right," Diana laughed. "Our Alpha Male has been cooped up in the house with us tonight for a least an hour. We and they have been around him all day. And they won't notice. I repeat: Yeah, right," she laughed.

Getting up, she said, "Okay, let's get everything put up, then go to bed. I'll set the alarm for midnight. Everybody kiss our husband. A light, sisterly kiss. If he gets an erection, we'll all be on the floor with our rears in the air, waiting to be serviced, girls," she finished, mock glaring at the teenagers.

"Yes, Momma," they all said in unison. Laughing, they got up to clean the kitchen.

The meal at one went off without a hitch. Lee had decided to have his people take three hours out for sleep, worrying about accidents from a tired crew. Dave, Evie and their people did the same thing, since their people had already worked all day as well. The ones that hadn't been brought blankets by their spouses were loaned one by the women.

Jeff and Frank worked with Dave and Evie's people mostly being gofers until the meal. After they ate, Evie joined Dave on the couch, and the other women went back to the floor, with Jeff claiming the other couch.

Awakening, and not being able to get back to sleep, Jessica got up for a glass of milk shortly after the others went to bed after their meal. When she got back into bed with her mother, Carla asked, startling Jessica, "Well, did you catch them doing anything?"

"Mom. I thought you were asleep."

"You didn't answer my question."

Jessica chuckled. "No. Jeff was on one couch; Dave and Evie are cuddled up on the other one. Frank and Margaret are on one of the recliners. But all the, uh... other women are cuddled up in the middle of the floor, asleep. And why would you ask me if I caught them?"

"Jess, we've always told each other everything. You even came in and woke me up the night you gave your cherry to that boy. I know darn good and well that you tried to sneak a peek just now."

Jessica slid back under the sheet with her mother. "Yeah, I wanted to look in and see what they were doing. But they were just all cuddled up together with Jeff sleeping by himself. Do you really suppose... My gosh. What about Arlene?"

Carla turned over to face her daughter in the dim light of the room. "What about her?" Carla asked as she tried to make out the expression on her daughter's face. "You've led a pretty sheltered life. Granted a hard life as far as work is concerned, still you haven't been exposed to a lot. Not that I have either. And you've told me that you didn't sleep with anyone while you were in college. Well, you only got to stay two years before your father got sick." She sighed. "I don't know about Arlene, but I would be willing to bet that Jeff knows the others in the biblical sense."

Carla wiggled into a more comfortable position. "But how can one man... I mean..."

"Baby, all men aren't alike. Your dad used to go four or five times in one night when we first got married. Some men go once, roll over and go to sleep. Jeff is doing something right. They about worship the ground he walks on. If he's screwing his daughter, too, it doesn't seem like she's been done any harm. They've made me laugh more today than I have in a long time, and Arlene was the instigator of a lot of it. If she's faking enjoying life, she's a darn good actress."

Jessica was quiet for a moment, then as Carla had begun to think that her daughter had gone to sleep, she said, "None of them seems jealous. Heck, they even say the same thing at the same time, occasionally. Ann and Arlene kissed each other. Well, not a long kiss, but it was more than a peck. Watching them, and seeing them with him makes me..."

"... horny," her mother finished for her. "What's the matter? Haven't you been using your vibrator, lately?"

"Mother!"

"Mine is in the top dresser drawer on the right. Take it to the bathroom with you, or hush and let me get to sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Mother."

"You already said that," Carla said, turning over and adjusting her pillow. She was soon back asleep while Jessica lay wondering for a long time.

At four-thirty Jeff, Frank, Evie and Dave, after brewing a pot of coffee, were all back at it again.