Chapter 1

IT WAS SATURDAY at 2:15 p.m. when we pulled up in front of Lissa’s house after four days of travel. We were home.

The trip from Nebraska to Seattle had taken three-and-a-half days, towing a damn U-Haul trailer behind us. Thursday, we’d taken a detour to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, which meant we didn’t make it nearly as far on our second day out. But it was worth it. We pushed hard on Friday and got to the big city of Wallace, Idaho.

We were pretty excited to make the last 350 miles into Seattle and were up earlier on Saturday than we’d been any day so far. We were tired, but happy to be home.

“Tony? Why are you parking on the street? We need to unload the car and trailer,” Lissa said when I turned the car off.

“Yeah. That’s just it. I haven’t backed up this trailer since that awful morning in Wyoming,” I said. “I’m so tired, I don’t think I could get it out of the driveway if I pulled in.”

“Poor baby,” Melody said. “Let’s go in and make a cup of coffee. Then we can start unloading.”

I grinned at my two ... That was funny. I couldn’t think of either of them as girlfriends anymore. We’d passed that stage. We couldn’t get married—all three of us. They were just beginning to accept gay marriage in this state. It would still be a few centuries before they got around to polygamy. But these were my wives. There wasn’t any other way I could think of them. I’d made a lifelong commitment to them. They were my life.

I rushed up to the door to prevent anyone from entering as Lissa unlocked the door.

“Wait,” I said. “Don’t go in. I’d like to propose something.”

“Sure Tony,” Lissa said. “What?”

“Remember when Rev. Larkin blessed us in my room back in Nebraska?” I asked.

“That was so sweet,” Melody said. Lissa nodded. She was already grinning.

“I’d like to propose that we mark July 4 as our official anniversary. I know there were first dates and first time we made love and first time we were all together, and when we gave each other jewelry. But I’d like a real anniversary for when we were all three...”

“ ... committed,” Lissa supplied. “Well, being committed sounds strange. When we were blessed.” It was my turn to smile. I could see by their expressions that we were all on the same page.

“That means that we’re...” Melody started, but she couldn’t finish the sentence either. Using the word was a big step.

“Wife Lissa,” I started. “Would you mind holding the door open for a moment?”

Tears were running down Lissa’s face amidst her laughter as she pushed the door inward, but stayed outside as I picked up Melody in my arms and carried her across the threshold.

“Oh! Oh, oh, oh!” Melody shouted and began dancing in the foyer when I put her down. Have I mentioned that Melody dances when she’s excited?

I stepped back outside to get Lissa, but to my surprise she scooped me up in her arms before I could get in position. ‘In her arms’ might be the wrong way to say it. She threw me over her shoulder and hauled me inside before I could say anything. We turned to pull Melody into a kiss and discovered the little minx was outside again. She crooked her finger at Lissa. Melody’s method was just to wrap her arms around Lissa’s butt and lift her straight up as she struggled into the house. We were all laughing and crying at the same time as we fell together for a kiss.

With a cup of long-missed Seattle coffee refreshing us, we fell to work unloading the car and dragging everything to the lower level studio. We hadn’t made a plan for where we would put things or how we were organizing our lives. We just needed to get the trailer empty so I could get it to the local U-Haul station. We were about two-thirds done when Lissa’s car pulled into the driveway with Kate at the wheel.

Before we could reach her, she opened the back door and released two wild boys. We were attacked by Drew and Damon. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life. Okay. I was just as happy to see Lissa ... and Melody ... and Kate.

“I told Jack I’d bring the boys back here with me today since I knew they’d want to see you as soon as you got home,” Kate said. Lissa and Melody both kissed Kate thank you before I got to her, a boy on each of my hips. It was a light, but sweet kiss and she looked at me with a smile on her face that melted my heart.

With an extra pair of hands, we finished unloading the car before the pizzas arrived. With the boys helping, it took us longer than if we’d just kept unloading by ourselves, but it was twice as much fun.

We ordered a pizza for dinner and sat around talking about our trip with Kate and the boys. We showed them pictures of Crazy Horse Memorial and gave the boys Sioux drums from the gift shop. They were still being beaten after the boys were in bed. The four of grownups sat in the living room. I winked at Lissa and Melody.

“Kate,” I said, “I understand I owe you for taking care of Melody and the boys while Lissa was sick. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what a big help you’ve been.” I reached over and drew her to me. She looked up at me, startled. Her eyes went wide open when I pressed my lips against hers, then they drifted closed as she melted into the kiss.

“Oh, that was nice,” she said. “Thank you. Oh! But Melody and Lissa already gave me a kiss from you for babysitting.”

“I always pay my own debts. You’ll have to give theirs back,” I said, grinning. The smile that split Kate’s face was delighted, but she didn’t move. I could see the wheels. She leaned over and whispered in my ear.

“I’m a little short right now. Could I borrow one? I promise to pay you back.”

I turned and kissed Kate again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Melody kiss Lissa with just as much fervor, so I relaxed and fully enjoyed my moment with Kate. When we pulled away from each other, both of us had to catch our breath. Kate turned to Lissa.

“I guess I owe you this,” she whispered.

Strictly speaking as an outside observer, I think she gave more to Lissa than she borrowed from me. She’d barely finished blowing Lissa’s socks off when she doubled down on Melody. My mouth was watering.

“You’ll stay tonight, won’t you, Kate?” Lissa asked. “Tomorrow’s not a work day and we’d love to have you.”

“Uh ... maybe not tonight. I’ve been here for the past week and I should really go home and check on my plants. I’ll just go catch a bus.”

“I still have to go return the trailer. I can take you home,” I said.

“Absolutely,” Lissa affirmed. “If we can’t keep you here, we certainly aren’t going to let you go catch a bus.”

“Where are you living when you aren’t here this summer?” I asked.

“I’m staying at the dorm,” Kate said. “It’s cheap and I’m comfortable there. I’ve got a room to myself, which is better than I’ll have this fall. It’s almost as private as living here the past week has been. I’ll just go get my bag.”

Kate and I kissed the boys goodnight as I was pretty sure they’d be asleep before I got home. We left and I carefully maneuvered the trailer to the local gas station that doubled as a U-Haul agency.

“Nice car,” Kate said.

“My dad gave it to me as an early birthday present. He said I needed a family car.”

“That’s sweet. When’s your birthday?”

“September 19th.”

“No.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re birthday twins.”

“Oh, I knew there was some reason I liked you. How perfect!”

I pulled up in front of the dormitory. Kate hesitated before she got out of the car.

“Tony?”

“What is it, Kitten?”

“That makes me purr.” We laughed. “I ... uh ... said I’d pay you back.”

Kate leaned across the console and laid a hand against my cheek, pulling me toward her. Her kiss was the same soft, tentative kiss that I’d experienced first before the party weeks ago. It was sweet and lingering. She didn’t seem in a rush to move on so I let it deepen and hold us together. Yeah. I got paid back. With interest.

“‘Night.”

With that she was gone.

Ah, summer vacation! You’d think we’d just lie around all day every day and make love.

We all got a quick dose of exactly what it was like to be in a fulltime committed relationship—with kids. I don’t think any of us were ready for it. There was a household to run, kids to take care of, jobs to go to, school to get registered for, training schedules to coordinate, meals to cook, a yard to mow, and general sorting out of who was responsible for what. Monday night we all sank into bed and went to sleep. It might have been the first time we’d been together in bed and didn’t make love. And we were all too tired to notice.