Chapter 32

"No one seems very worried about where I'm sleeping," pointed out Stephanie to the group. "From what I hear, Gwen's discovered that sleeping on top of Steve is very refreshing. Kate can have the spot next to him. I'll be relaxing on all of those muscles of his, which are said to be surprisingly comfortable."

"I really hate to rain on your parade, Kate and Stephanie, but I spoke to Clyde and he's already booked a room for Steve and Gwen for the weekend. It won't be the Honeymoon Suite, but it has a king size bed and that's about all the two of them require in any room," advised Charlotte with a big grin. "That's what we assistants do for our people. We make sure they can sleep with their hunky boyfriends in peace, or would the word be 'piece'? We also make tacky jokes at their expense."

Saturday morning found the band setting up in the hotel ballroom. In the movie, Steve was the lead singer of the band, which had a contract to perform at the hotel on a regular basis. Weddings and parties were their specialty. Jordan's movie parents owned the hotel, along with several others, along the Florida coast.

The plan was to video some live performances to use in the movie to help create the film impression that the band played at a lot of weddings. Clyde's people had actually lined up three couples that were getting married and offered them the use of the band and facilities in exchange for being in the film. They would rotate over a six hour period so that each couple had two hours, and each reception would appear to be on a different Saturday. Gwen and Jordan were also going to perform, although in the movie they would not be shown performing with the band. For them, it was more of a rehearsal for Amber O'Leary's wedding the following week.

It was a relatively simple thing to record enough footage to use for the movie. Playing in the band at the hotel was the reason Steve's character was in Florida, but it was not the focal point of the movie. His interactions with Gwen and Jordan drove the plot. The songs were interspersed throughout the film and often with no actual band seen in the background.

Gwen, Jordan, and Steve welcomed the afternoon as an opportunity to brush up on the songs they would perform at the wedding the following week. They even practiced a few older songs because Amber's grandparents were attending, causing Amber to request a few songs from their era.

They also managed to play a few numbers for Will and Diane as part of the celebration of the anticipated new baby. Diane beamed as her family made her the center of their attentions. She thanked everyone several times.

"Steve, you were right on the mark about the baby. Will is out-of-this-world happy, and Stephanie can't wait to have a little brother or sister," revealed Diane as she managed a dance with Steve. "You've come to mean a great deal to this family. If we have a boy, we'll name him William Steven, if that's okay with you."

"That would be an honor!" exclaimed Steve. "This baby's going to be smothered in love."

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm pretty excited about having you watch me nurse the baby. I don't know why that excites me so, but it does. I've got to admit that I'm glad you got to see me topless. If you ever have to do a speech to some wayward woman about what constitutes great breasts, feel free to mention mine," laughed Diane. "Or am I being too presumptuous?"

"Honestly? You're way up there on the list of women with beautiful breasts," praised Steve. "Especially now that you have that 'glow'. You're just about perfect in my estimation."

Diane stopped dancing and threw her arms around Steve and kissed him on the lips. Then she sheepishly looked around to see if anyone noticed. She saw that her entire family was watching her and laughing.

"I'm not going to ask what you two were discussing," stated Paula after the dance was done. "I could tell that you were pretty happy about something Steve told you. Are you trying to steal his cougar loving heart away from me?"

"As if I could!" retorted Diane. "That young man is amazing. He makes me feel better than any man I've ever met. When he looks at me, I just melt. Gwen had no chance. No woman does if he wants her."

"I've got to agree. I'm just glad that he's so responsible and honest. He'd absolutely destroy Gwen if he took up with someone else," replied Paula.

"That won't happen. You and I, the girls, and especially Gwen, mean far too much to him. He knows he'd lose us all if he treated Gwen poorly. He loves us all and he'll never risk losing us. We're helping Gwen keep the guy by loving him and being so good to him. We're part of the package that is 'Gwen Anderson & family'. We both know he won't ever find a better family to love, and be loved by. We've got the guy locked in."

"I wonder if that will work on Lisa's beau? Jason seems to be a really good guy. Will our family help keep him faithful to Lisa? Will he worry about alienating us, or is it just Steve that we mean so much to?"

"Right now, it's just Steve. Jason's a good guy, but none of us feel the same way about him as we do about Steve. How could we? Look what Steve's done for us, and what he's done to us. I wonder if Lisa loves Jason more than she does Steve?" responded Diane.

"That's the danger for all of us. The girls will have to find men that accept that they have a real weakness for Steve. Our husbands have to accept it, too. Ted has become Steve's biggest supporter after that graduation battle. He isn't one to share his wife in any way, but he's accepted that I love Steve, and not just in a motherly fashion."

"Will's coming around, too. Our husbands understand that we're dealing with something very unusual and very special with Steve and Gwen. The knowledge that Steve is above inappropriate behavior with any of us is the key. He's got an innate ability to draw respect from men, and love from women. Gwen is no slouch in that department, either," concluded Diane.

"I've noticed that," agreed Paula. "Normally, when a girl has the best looking, strongest, bravest guy around, every other girl she meets tries to steal him away. Look how all these beautiful girls adore Steve, but also love Gwen and accept that she owns Steve's heart. I never see any real jealousy in any of them. They love the guy, but respect his relationship with Gwen. Some university could do a study on this 'extended family unit' that's being forged around Steve and Gwen. I've never seen anything like it."

"I'm really happy that everyone accepted me being pregnant so well," admitted Diane as she changed the subject. "I was concerned that Stephanie would be embarrassed, or that Will would resent losing his free time. They've been great. Steve told me they'd be delighted."

"You told Steve that you were pregnant before you told anyone else?" questioned Paula immediately.

"Oops! I didn't plan on revealing that," admitted Diane. "I was pretty worried about how everyone would perceive my pregnancy, so I decided to speak to Steve about it. He really dispelled my fears. Does it sound pathetic that a woman my age sought advice from a kid just out of high school?"

"Normally, I'd say that it was pretty bad, but I understand why you'd talk to him. He's so level headed. I didn't even know you had any alone time with Steve. When did you talk to him?"

"The first day when Steve showed the girls how to surf. I caught Stephanie, Kate, and Becky in the hot tub with their tops off, waiting for Steve. I sent them packing and managed some alone time with him in the hot tub."

"In the hot tub? Just the two of you? I trust Steve, but it's a wonder you didn't jump in naked to impress him with those pregnancy swollen boobs of yours," mused Paula. "Wait! You're turning red! Did you finally give in and show him your pride and joy?"

"Don't ever tell anyone! I was all over the place emotionally and his speech about your 'perfect tits' really got to me. I just had to let him see mine. He approved of both Pride and Joy, by the way. The next time he has to set some big chested woman straight about beautiful breasts, I feel confidant my name will come up," grinned Diane.

"This isn't a competition," reasoned Paula. "We're old enough to be his mother, and we're married. I think it's best if he never sees either of us topless again."

"I've already promised to let him watch me breastfeed the baby. He asked me if he could watch and the idea makes me all tingly. I can't wait to have him see me feed the baby. How's that for hormonal imbalance?"

"Wow! He asked to watch? I don't care. I'm not going to get pregnant for any reason," insisted Paula. "I'll just have to think up some other way to give him another peek."

"Heck, you're old enough to be his mother. Why don't you just try breastfeeding him?" chuckled Diane. "Can you imagine if our daughters or husbands heard us talking like this? They have no idea how depraved we really are."

"So, Mom? Are you two talking about Steve? You're both all red faced and giddy acting," observed Kate with a grin as she strolled up to her mother and aunt. "When are you two going to grow up?"

Sunday was a day off. The weather was unusual in that it rained all day long. The entire gang went to watch the new 'Hunger Games' movie before going out to dinner. Paula and Diane bid their husbands goodbye since they were returning to Sparta that afternoon. That same evening, Gwen and Steve managed to sneak away early and spend some quality time in their room.

The following morning was warm and blustery. Steve was shooting scenes with Jordan. Gwen had the morning off and was sitting on the beach doing an interview with Amber Stahl. In the background, the families of the film crew were playing in the surf. Paula and Diane, along with Kate, Becky, and Stephanie, were sunbathing off to the side.

Suddenly a woman began calling frantically for her child. Gwen turned her attention to the screaming woman and recognized her as the wife of a cameraman. Then Gwen saw the reason for her frantic state. Bobbing up and down on the waves a couple hundred yards out and a short ways down the beach was a young boy. It was the woman's seven year old son!

Gwen regarded herself an excellent swimmer, although she'd had little experience swimming in the ocean. She pulled off her cover-up and raced toward the surf. Soon she was angling toward the child as she swam strongly through the waves. She was somewhat surprised that she didn't seem to get a lot closer to the boy even though she was swimming rapidly. By the time she finally managed to reach the kid, she was breathing hard from the exertion.

The boy frantically climbed all over Gwen when she reached him. His feet and hands clawed and scampered all over her upper body. At one point, his foot became entangled in her top and tore it from her body. Gwen finally managed to quiet the boy. She held him high in the water and began the swim back to shore, which was surprisingly far away.

Gwen's family watched with concern as Gwen finally caught the child and started swimming back. "Mom! She's trying to swim in against the rip tide! Steve said that even the strongest swimmers can't do that. She needs to swim sideways and get out of the current. Should I go out and help her?"

Paula quickly considered the situation. Kate was an excellent swimmer, but sending a second daughter out into the dangerous tide went against her instincts. Gwen needed expert help.

"Run and get Steve!" urged Paula as she watched Gwen struggle against the rip tide. She was holding the child and swimming strongly, but making no headway.

Kate took off in Steve's direction like a shot. The sand seemed to pull at her feet as she attempted to increase speed. She felt as if she were running in slow motion. When she thought she was close enough that Steve might hear her, she began to yell.

Steve and Jordan were in the middle of their third take on a difficult scene when Steve suddenly stopped speaking, raised his head, and began looking up the beach. He soon picked out Kate as she yelled his name and raced toward him. Without taking the time for an explanation, Steve immediately took off running toward Kate.

As he approached her, Kate stopped running. She turned and pointed to the ocean and cried out," Gwen's out there, and she's in trouble!"

Steve increased his speed as his eyes followed Kate's pointing hand. He immediately spotted Gwen swimming against a rip tide with a child in one arm. He had spent most of his life around the ocean and instantly knew that Gwen would never make it back to shore if she kept trying to buck the rip current.

As he ran, his eyes determined the location of the rip tide near shore and angled toward it. He barely noticed Paula, Diane, and the girls as he raced past them and dove into the waves. Once he surfaced, he began swimming with all his strength. The rip tide was carrying him out, so it was much like swimming downstream with the current in a river. It only took half a minute to reach Gwen and the boy, and it was none too soon.

After Gwen had calmed the child down, she had started swimming for shore. She was pulling the boy and had her back to the beach. The first time she looked over her shoulder to determine how close she was to the shore, she was stunned. Was it possible that they were farther out than they were when she caught up with the boy? Gwen fought the fear that welled up inside and began swimming harder.

Her arms and legs felt like lead when she next risked a peek over her shoulder. She had gained nothing! She was exhausted, and her limbs refused to follow her commands. For the first time, she began to consider the possibility that she would not make it back to shore. She looked at the boy watching her and knew she couldn't give up. Summoning up her last bit of energy, she again swam hard toward the beach. Once again, she failed to close the gap.

The boy clung to Gwen as she now tried to simply tread water. That task required more energy than she had left. She tried to float and rest, but the boy was frightened again and climbed on top of her. She lacked the strength to hold him, or even to keep him off her. She began to go under for longer periods of time and had increasing difficulty getting her head above water as the boy clung to her head, trying to climb up her submerged body.

Steve saw all of this as he propelled his way through the water. Gwen was submerged and the boy was barely keeping his face above water when Steve reached them. He pulled up, grabbed the boy with one hand and reached down and caught Gwen's pony tail and quickly pulled her above the surface. She immediately spit water and took great gasps of air.

Steve spoke calmly to the boy. "It's okay now. We'll just let Gwen rest a little and I'll take you in. Just climb up on me and we'll wait for Gwen."

The boy scampered up Steve's torso and practically perched on one of his broad shoulders while Steve concentrated on Gwen. He gently pulled her close and held her head above water.

"Gwen, just relax. You know I won't let anything happen to you. Just go limp and let me take you back in. Trust me."

Steve felt Gwen go limp as she stopped her weak flailing. Steve put his arm around her and started swimming parallel with the coast. Once he was satisfied that he was beyond the rip current, he angled toward the shore. He swam easily and with little effort. The boy had once again calmed down, and Gwen was allowing Steve to pull her along, offering neither help nor resistance.

About a minute after Steve had turned toward the shore, he heard a voice over his shoulder. He looked to see a darkly tanned man lying on a surf board paddling alongside him.

"I can take the boy in. I'll slide off so he can ride on the board, and I'll push him back. You can concentrate on your girl."

Steve easily placed the boy on the surfboard and the man began pushing it toward the shore. Steve started talking to Gwen as they made their way back to the beach.

"It's my fault, Gwen. I never took the time to explain the rip tides to you and it almost cost me everything. I'll never make that mistake again. Are you okay? Can you talk?"

"I thought I was going to die. What bothered me the most was that the boy would drown if I did. It was a horrible feeling! I knew if I could just hang on long enough you'd save me. I just knew it in my heart. My arms and legs feel like lead weights. I can hardly move them."

"You don't have to do a thing," assured Steve. "I'll have us back on shore in less than a minute. Just let me take care of you."

Paula and the rest of her family had watched the entire ordeal from the beach. "Steve will save her," assured Kate as she worked to regain her breath from her run. "Did you see how fast he ran to the water, and how quickly he reached Gwen? He'll never let anything bad happen to her."

"I think you're right," agreed Diane. "Look how easily he's bringing them both back. It looks effortless when he does it. They're going to be fine."

They continued to watch as the surfer helped load the boy on his board and headed toward shore and the boy's frantic mother.

"Look! Gwen's top is wrapped around the kid's foot," exclaimed Stephanie. "Gwen must be topless and there's dozens of people with cameras waiting for them to get back. What should we do?"

"We'll let Steve and Gwen worry about that," replied a relieved Paula. "As long as she's safe, I can't be worried about what people will see, or photograph."

"Look at them. Steve's stopped and they're talking. Gwen's wiping his face. Oh, wow!" exclaimed Kate.

When Steve's feet touched bottom, he took Gwen into his arms and began carrying her toward shore. He had only taken a few steps when he stopped and looked down at her.

"What is it, Steve?" asked Gwen as she looked up into his eyes. "Are you crying? You've been shot, tortured, and beaten, but I've never seen you shed a single tear. Now you know how I felt when Billy pulled you from the river, or when you lay on the gym floor, riddled by bullets with your life's blood pouring out of your body. I know how it hurts to see that. Let me wipe your eyes."

Gwen took both hands and placed them along Steve's face and used her thumbs to wipe the tears from his eyes. She brushed her thumbs over his cheeks twice. Then she pulled his face to hers and kissed him. When Steve felt her lips touch his, he pulled her body tighter to his and pressed his lips to hers even harder. His earlier fear and passion flowed through his body as he clung to the woman he loved.