Kal, Male, 37

	- Narrator, disaster survivor and castaway

	- 6'1, 190lbs, straight, shoulder-length dark-brown hair

Kate, Female, 36

	- pre-disaster wife of Kal

	- 5'8, 150lbs, pale skin, shoulder-length curly red hair

Nina, Female, 26

	- pre-disaster triad with Kate and Kal

	- 5'4, 115lbs, light-brown tanned skin, straight shoulder-length brown hair

Bailey, Female, 14

	- Disaster survivor and castaway

	- 5'4, 130lbs, golden-brown tanned skin, shoulder-length light yellow-brown sun-streaked hair

Keekah, Female, 15

	- daughter of Manu, sister of Hakee and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'5, 135lbs, mocha-brown skin, waist-length mostly-straight black hair

Gale, Female, 43

	- Survivor on Island of the Phoenix

	- 5'5, 130lbs, dark tanned skin, waist-length dark reddish-brown hair

Manu, Female, 32

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, mother of Keekah, Hakee, and Mie, aunt of Poln

	- 5'5, 150lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Hakee, Female, 18
 
	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'9, 145lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Mie, Female, 12

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Hakee, cousin of Poln

	- 4'9, 95lbs, mocha-brown skin, shoulder-length wavy black hair

Poln, Male, 10

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, nephew of Manu, cousin of Keekah, Hakee, and Mie

	- 4'9, 105lbs, mocha-brown skin, short, wavy dark-brown hair

Hona, Female, 29

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, friend of Manu

	- 5'2, 155lbs, dark-brown skin, shoulder-length wavy dark-brown hair

Tok, Male, 35

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, friend of Manu

	- 6'3, 205lbs, brown skin, shoulder-length wavy dark-brown hair

Amy, Female, 16

	- Stowaway from California

	- 5'7, 125lbs, pale skin, shoulder-length straight black hair

Hakee and Hona had breakfast ready by the time I rolled out of bed. Kate and Bailey were already gone, and Katie was no longer in her crib. I'd woken a couple of times in the night when Katie cried or shifted. Before I could react, Bailey was there, offering a breast or a burp or just a soft song in her ear. She smiled at me each time as I watched. I felt like I should be doing something to help, but in many ways, Bailey had become Katie's sole caregiver and had a rhythm that I didn't yet know how to work myself into. I'd only known my daughter a couple of days, so I hoped I could get Bailey to let me start helping.

I was sure the others had been helping, too. I'd seen Manu carrying Katie, as had Hakee, when Bailey was napping or down at the surf relieving herself. But those moments didn't seem to last long, and Bailey usually had Katie back in her arms as soon as she was able.

I understood, really. Bailey was very protective of our child, and the short time since I'd been back had been filled with soaring emotions and more than enough to think about without adding more. Still, I couldn't help smiling every time I thought that Bailey and I would be there as our child grew up.

Breakfast included some sort of hard-boiled eggs I'd never seen before. I eyed them curiously.

“Try one, you will like it,” Hakee told me as she spooned a couple onto a plate.

I peeled back the shell and tossed them into the bucket we used to collect food scraps for the compost pile. “Where'd they come from? I don't remember these.”

“The birds Bailey calls 'brown skimmers' nest up there,” she pointed to the East into the woods. “Tok climbed up and took a few out of nests, left some, too. Not many, just a couple each today. We tried them while you were gone. Tasty.” Hakee smiled.

I bit into the egg as she ladled something resembling porridge onto my plate, along with a scoop of banana-fruits which had been cooked down, still steaming. The egg tasted like an egg, maybe a little gamier than I was used to. But succulent and warm, quite delicious.

I thanked her, kissed her lips quickly. I hadn't had much chance to talk to the gorgeous eighteen-year old. I reminded myself how long I'd been away and how short a time I'd been back. I'd make time to talk to Hakee and the others soon.

Kate and Bailey walked up, the redhead holding Katie to her chest. I watched her face, saw already that Kate appeared more comfortable, talking causally with the fourteen-year old. My two wives shared a very special moment the night before, and I suspected it had helped them cement the beginning of a strong friendship.

Bailey kissed me and took Katie from Kate's arms. I sat aside my plate, said, “here, I want to hold her. You two get something to eat.” Bailey passed the girl into my arms and sat while Hakee filled plates for the women.

I stared at Katie a long time. She was wrapped only in a cloth diaper. The infant was so small, so vulnerable. I felt an overwhelming love for my baby girl, held her to my chest, humming into her ear.

Katie giggled in a way only newborns can. Not really a giggle, I suppose, just a gurgling, pleasant sound, but I knew she was happy, and I rocked her gently as I hummed and enjoyed a close moment with her.

The others joined us before too long, and we talked over the plans. Eight of them were going to the fields to the North while five of us plus Katie would stay at the camp. Gale ticked off a few things that needed done while they were away in the fields. More work was needed on the onion and herb garden, and the snail farm needed a cleaning as debris had fallen heavily the day before during the rain. There were several screens that served as backups that needed completed, and a few blankets that were starting to wear and show holes.

Two of the fishing poles had gotten a bit rough to reel in, so those needed treated with an oil Tok had made from one of the resinous plants near the camp before the line was pulled out and rethreaded. I asked about our stores of fishing line, Tok responding that we still had several backup spools, and they hadn't had too many breaks over the weeks. He thought we were still fine for some months, if not longer. He had an idea of how to make wire leaders to replace the one's we'd lost, only a few of those remaining.

Gale rattled off a half-dozen more things, including investigating the stream to see if the storm had brought more damage. She noted that the flow had slackened since the storm, and she suspected we'd had a break or obstruction. Gale suggested that it had been a few weeks since anyone had gone West around the bend down the beach to scavenge. Things regularly washed up on the island, almost all of them useful, and it was worth the time spent making the trek, two or three miles round trip.

It had been a long time since I'd even been down to that part of the island, maybe a year or more. Usually, it was Manu and Hakee who went, sometimes others. It brought back memories of my earliest days on the island, when survival for Bailey and I was still very uncertain.

After breakfast, the party of eight put on clothes, said their goodbyes, and headed up the diverted stream for the trip to the North end. Planning on being gone a few days, they took heavy bags of food and gear with them. They'd expanded the camp near the gardens, built a larger building which still needed some work, as well as taken some storage containers and other useful day-to-day items which were excess from the camp on the beach. There was room for eight-to-ten people to sleep comfortably, and places to eat and relax after long days of working the fields and the ditches.

Nina had looked excited to be going. She was always one to go on long hikes and to explore new places. Part of her love for archeology revolved around that curiosity to discover new areas and be out in the natural world.

We set about some of the tasks as soon as the party was gone. Bailey started working on the fishing poles, Katie resting in the small swing Freya had gotten for her. Amy led Kate to the snail pit. At first, the redhead looked a bit ill when she stuck her hand into the muck and started pulling out branches and leaves. But she kept at it, and soon, she and Amy were talking with smiles on their faces.

Keekah and I put on loose clothing and chewed the repellent yellow leaves. While we worked the leaves with our teeth, I said, “how are you doing, Sweetie? Sorry, we've not had a lot of time to talk...”

“Ok... missed you much Kowl. Glad you back now.”

“I missed you, too... I'm so happy you are all ok. I... I didn't know what happened to you, here... I feared you were dead.”

“Thought you dead, too.” Her cadence and dropped words remained the same as I remembered despite the fact that Tok and the others had clearly picked up the language and were nearly fluent. I wondered if it was intentional on her part. I admit, I loved the way she pronounced my name. It always gave me a flutter.

The dark-skinned girl smiled at me, said, “Bailey so happy. So happy you come back. She so sad while you gone.”

“I know. I can't believe I'm a father, Keekah! Isn't Katie just beautiful?”

“Yes. Beautiful. Make Bailey happy even when she was sad. Now, my turn!”

“Your turn?”

“To give you babies!”

I laughed, but she gave me an odd look.

“Serious, Kowl. You said wait till Bailey get pregnant for me to get pregnant. Well... she get pregnant, and though we tried, I'm not pregnant. I want to give you babies!”

I shook my head, smiling, “guess we'll just have to work on trying harder, right?”

“Today. Yes. Today, we try.”

“It's a date.”

She pursed her lips and kissed me, the earthy leaves rich and thick in our mouths.

“Shall we go see what's blocking up the stream?”

Keekah nodded, grabbed a bag she'd packed earlier, and I followed her up the stream we'd built to divert the natural one which ran onto the beach by my original campsite.

I forgot how dark it could get under the canopy, forgot the sounds of the swarming millions of bugs as they hoovered just inches away. The leaves worked well, though, and as before, we slowly made our way as the insects parted just enough to let us through, only the occasional bug risking a landing on my skin.

We picked our way along, pulling downed branches and foliage from the stream. Half-way to the fork near the ledge, we spotted the major blockage. A massive tree had fallen across the flow, water still moving beneath where it bowed at a sharp angle, but a great deal of the stream was pouring out to the north side and flooding the surrounding area. The falling tree had taken a number of branches from other trees with it, the debris scattered over tens of square yards. It would make great firewood, but there was more than Keekah and I could carry that day.

“Hmm... Not going to be able to move that tree without a lot of cutting,” I said.

Keekah pulled the saw out of the sack, handed it to me, smiled. She sounded like she was mocking me. “Big, strong man use saw. Little weak girl watch.”

I laughed at her, knew the truth to be very different about Keekah. While I started removing the smaller branches still attached to the larger section, Keekah moved upstream and continued to pick up debris and use a couple of edging tools to help reestablish the short banks where they'd broken or been washed down.

- - -

An hour in, with a third wad of leaves in my mouth, Keekah returned with two fat hares slung over her shoulder. I'd forgotten about that wonderful treat, smiled at her as she approached. “Mmm... those look tasty. Dinner tonight?”

“Yes. Treat for you. They not been many lately. Not trapping much. Let them come back strong with babies first.”

I was drenched in sweat, the heat of the day only barely cooled by the dense coverage above us. I sat down the saw and accepted the jug of water from Keekah, took a big gulp and then another. I felt worn out already. I'd been mostly idle in Papeete, gotten soft. Sawing was hard work, to be sure, but I'd been in great shape before, used to working hard for hours to make sure we had food, and shelter, and fire.

We sat on one of the larger branches I'd cut from the tree, resting a moment. Keekah fished out some of the flattened bread made from the tubers, along with one of the smaller chocolate bars from Papeete. We ate silently while I tried to catch my breath. I spoke up finally.

“What do you think of all this, Keekah? Kate and Nina, I mean... More new people for our family.”

“It's ok. Nina nice, she talk with me yesterday, say she want to know more about me. Asked me what I thought of you, say I love you. I love you, Kowl.”

I kissed her lips between bites of bread. “I know, I love you, too. Always, Keekah. Always.”

She smiled, then looked away. “Kate, different. Not talk much, to me. She and Bailey need time, I know. Maybe when they ok, we talk.”

“They're getting there. Already, Kate is warming up to this place. It may take some time, don't take it personally. She's just... overwhelmed by everything. Hard for her to understand all this, including you and Amy, the others. But she's intelligent, kind. Kate's an amazing woman. I love her, too, and I want all of you to find that love for each other. Just takes time.”

Keekah smiled, “Kowl, always love women. I think he love all women. Yes, I think this.”

I laughed, “maybe. I've got more than I know what to do with. I wish I had a dozen hands and four penises and a hundred hours a day just to show you all how much I love you.”

“Four penises! That I want see.” She made motions with her arms like slithering snakes rising from my groin. “Only two holes down there, guess you put two in each?”

I laughed again, pictured fucking Keekah like that. “I suppose so. I bet you'd be willing to try, right?”

“Oh, yes. Much willing. But you one good for me. Not need more. You always good to me, Kowl. Even with only one penis.”

We chatted a bit longer about the others. I asked her how she thought Tok and Gale were doing, and she let me know that they had grown very close while I was away. I wondered if they wanted to consider a marriage. Not that marriage meant a whole lot on the island, but it represented a celebration of something extra special. A bond that both had realized was stronger than others. I'm certain Keekah would love to perform the rituals.

I stood, stretched, took another long swallow of warm water. I exhaled, said, “well... only one saw. I'm happy to keep working at it if you want to start taking some of this wood back to camp.”

Keekah looked at the growing pile of rough cut branches I'd made, said, “not take back this trip, bring back wagon.”

“Wagon?”

“You see. Be back soon.”

Keekah left most of the supplies with me, including the remainder of the water, and headed back towards the camp, the hares over her shoulder. Not that I really needed the jug, the stream was fresh enough to drink from, but after I polished it off, it made a handy, if large, drinking cup.

I grabbed the saw, tried to use different muscles, and started trying to find a way through the thinnest part of the tree, which was fortunately over the stream.

- - -

I was maybe halfway through the tree, exhausted and sweating heavily, when Keekah returned with the wagon. 'Wagon' was a sort of misnomer. It was a large flat panel rolling on wooden wheels. It had been built with a wide wheelbase, and since we'd carefully constructed the diverted stream to be a certain width, the wagon was made to straddle its edges.

Keekah led it with a long handle attached to a hitch which swiveled the front wheels. It was only as she approached that I'd even noticed the rough, wooden planks which had been carefully placed exactly where the wagon's wheels would roll.

“Ingenious.”

“Hakee's idea. Find much wood for fire in here, easy to take it out now.”

I helped her pile up the wagon with what would have taken us most of the day to take back to camp. The wagon grew heavy, pressing down the wood planks. Keekah said, “sometimes it get stuck or slip. Still some fix needed. Hakee have more ideas.”

Keekah wrapped rope through large eyeholes on the edges of the wagon and over the pile of heavy branches, securing them in place. She tied off the ropes, kissed my cheek, offered me a handful of the berries that had been grown in one of the gardens up North. The sweet, tart, somewhat astringent juices gushed in my mouth, and in my fatigued state, they tasted like heaven.

I swallowed them all, then kissed Keekah. She'd taken about half of what I'd cut, and I again set upon the tree to try to get it to separate into two still difficult-to-manage sections.

- - -

Keekah returned with the wagon some time later and I was sitting, guzzling water fresh from the stream. It was a bit gritty, had pieces of leaves and other debris, but I didn't care. I was utterly exhausted. I'd managed to cut completely through the thick, dense wood, but all it really did short term was leave a half-inch gap in the tree. It had no immediate effect on the stream.

But it was a start, and I knew I'd be back the next day to work on it again. I could do no more that afternoon, though, my muscles crying out and cramping. Keekah spotted me as she pulled up the wagon, said, “you ok, Kowl?”

“Yeah, just... really exhausted. Been weeks since I've worked this hard.”

“You go soft, huh? Me get you hard again.”

I knew what she was implying, but I waved her off, said, “wish I could, but right now, I don't think I could even get half-hard. Could use a nap, to be honest.”

She looked disappointed. “Thought you and me make babies today.”

I tried to look sympathetic. “I'll do my best, back at camp. Need to rest a while first, ok?”

She gave me a pouty smile, “ok. Take wood back and rest.”

We loaded up the wagon despite the aches in my back, and I walked behind as Keekah pulled it carefully along the stream. It got caught easily in places where planks had separated, took a bit of effort to get back on track, but the wagon had already saved us hours of difficulty in two relatively quick trips.

- - -

“Crab legs!” Kate exclaimed, showing me the big, spiny critter she was about to drop in a large pot of boiling water. “Do you know how long it has been?”

Amy grinned at me as Kate's excited greeting met us as we brought the wagon back into camp.

I smiled at my redheaded wife, kissed her, said, “welcome to paradise, my love.”

Kate laughed and I melted a little. I hadn't realized how much tension I was holding concerning Kate and her acclimation to the island. Any opportunity to see her excited to find out some new reason to want to learn to love the place made me relax, a bit at a time. Since her night with Bailey, it seemed Kate was adjusting fairly well.

I kissed Amy, then Keekah and I unloaded the wagon, my muscles so tight I could barely straighten up. I checked in on Bailey, found her napping with Katie cradled in her arms. I wished I had a camcorder. It was an scene I wanted to always remember.

I stripped off my sweaty clothes and dropped them in the basket inside the common hut, then grabbed a jug of water and one of the joints I'd rolled that morning, and returned to the fire, lit the joint, and sank into a chair. I downed a third of the jug before slowing, Amy and Kate talking softly, moving crabs from pot to a shallow pan, dropping more live ones in their place. I saw Keekah down at the shore relieving herself.

“I'm sure Keekah told you already, but we found the blockage.”

“Heard,” Amy replied, “sounds like it might take a few days.”

“Might. I cut it in half, that's all I could do today. Can't believe I'm so sore.”

“We saw dolphins earlier, dozens of them,” Kate said as she put the last crab into the pot. “Do you know, in all the time I spent in Papeete, I never saw dolphins. Not that I spent much time along the water.” She looked thoughtful, perhaps the thought struck her as yet another reason to learn to love our island.

“Wonderful. Care to hit this?”

“Yes.”

I tried to stand and ended up frozen a few inches up from my seat. My back felt like it was on fire. “Give me a second. Back's really sore.”

I tried again, Amy giving an amused look.

Kate walked over, wiping her hands on a small towel. I realized for the first time that she'd decided to finally drop her clothing and be naked around the camp. She'd been nude when bathing and a couple of other moments, but always had returned to being clothed. Kate walked up, took the joint from my hand, and I stared openly at the curly, dense red hairs over her genitals.

I used to love playing connect the dots with the freckles which spread like arms of a galaxy across Kate's thighs and down her legs, another splash, mostly covered by pubic hairs, on her Mons which trailed off near her belly button. More starbursts down from her shoulders, over most of her breasts, the areas near her areolae featuring fewer of the pale red and light brown spots. I'd seen Kate's freckles for so many years that I'd forgotten to notice how beautiful they were. I silently thanked Bailey for that reminder.

She toked the joint, her eyes full of mirth. “Connect the dots?”

I smiled, “guilty.” I pulled her to me where I sat, kissed her stomach and pressed my face against it. I held her for a moment before my arms began to cramp. I smelled the sweat on her body. I always loved the way Kate smelled when she sweated. I drew a lazy finger from freckle-to-freckle along Kate's hip, smiling at how that used to be such fun to make new pathways down to her genitals.

My back flared and I groaned, unwrapped myself, and watched Kate take the joint to Amy, who inhaled while she finished covering the crabs with a large towel. Kate went down to the water to clean up. Amy asked, “you ok?”

“Sore.”

“Sounds like it was hard work.”

“It was, but I'm just a bit off my game from so long away. Did a lot of sitting in Papeete, a lot of it in solitary.”

Amy wiped her hands and sat next to me. “I bet that was hard.”

“Horrible.” I shivered at the claustrophobic cage I found myself for too many days. “I hope I never go through that again. You either.”

She gave me a weak smile. “You're here, now. All that's over, Kal.”

“And there's nowhere I'd rather be.”

Bailey came up carrying Katie slung over her chest, our child sleeping, head lolling to one side. “Starving, how's supper coming along?” She took the chair Amy had just vacated.

“Ready. Grab a seat, I'll go get Kate and Keekah,” I said, fully intending to do just that. My body had other ideas, and another attempt at standing up brought tight pain across my waist along my back. I groaned audibly.

“I'll get you a painkiller, Kal. Looks like you need it,” said Amy, shuffling across the sand to the wrecked boat and then disappearing down into the storage belowdecks.

“How's the supply of pills?”

“Barely touched them, if at all, while you were gone. I wouldn't take them with Katie, though sometimes I wanted to.”

“Good.” The deceased owners of the boat had brought with them a large suitcase filled with all sorts of drugs, including hundreds of painkillers. There were still several hundred pills of a few varieties I'd never identified.

Amy returned quickly, and I downed the painkiller with a big swallow of water. “Thanks. Say, Kate was working as a sort of nurse in Papeete, she might be able to tell us what some of those other pills are. Would you take her down there later and show her?”

“Sure, happy to. I'll go get her now for supper.”

Keekah was already on her way back to the fire pit after washing up. She looked a bit tired, as well. The wagon made it easier, but it didn't make it easy. There still was a lot of loading and unloading, plus the effort to pull the heavy loads back to camp. She plopped down heavily, a weary smile sent my way.

Kate returned with Amy and we dug into the crabs and one of the hares Amy had roasted when Keekah had brought them back from the stream. Kate gushed her love for the freshly caught treats, especially the crabs. The succulent, salty meat was sweet and rich, just as wonderful as ever. Kate picked clean the legs of a large crab and attacked the body to scoop out chunks from there.

We ate everything they'd caught and cooked, and after, we passed around more of the berries, Kate, Amy, and I sharing sips of Tok's island wine.

I was completely drained. The painkiller had kicked in nicely, though it only really took the edge off the pain in my back and arms. Bailey walked down the beach slowly, holding Katie on her shoulder, singing to her, and Amy asked Kate to come look at the pills.

Keekah and I looked at each other for a few seconds, and both let out tired laughs. “So,” I asked, “still want to make a baby?”

“Yes.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You look almost as exhausted as I feel. I'm not even sure I can get it up.”

“Challenge accepted, Kowl.”

“But my back...”

Keekah was already in motion, down on her knees, taking my penis into her mouth. I'd not even had a chance to clean up from the long day, but Keekah didn't seem to mind, humming as she sucked my cock.

It was tough to get comfortable in the chair, tough to really enjoy the moment. But Keekah succeeded in blowing me to hardness, and I started to forget some of my aches and let the teen's mouth slide up and down my length.

To my surprise, it took only a couple of minutes of Keekah's sweet lips and tongue to feel myself tingling. Despite my pains, my body tensed and my cock began to swell in the girl's mouth.

She knew my reactions quite well by then, and just seconds from unloading down her throat, she stood quickly, stroked me a couple of times, turned, and slid her wet vagina down on my cock.

I let out a grunt. She moved up and down. I swelled. Up and Down. Felt myself burning, tensing. Up and Down. I cried out and exploded in Keekah's pussy. I don't know where my body found the energy, but strong pulses slammed down my penis, sending my seed into the fifteen-year old's fertile cunt.

She sat down heavily as the last of the semen leaked out, then quickly rose, covered her vagina with her hand, and closed her thighs. “Manu say not let it out. Must keep in.” She shuffled off to the hut we shared with Amy and Bailey, her movements awkward from trying to keep in my cum.

Kate and Amy were back moments later. Amy was about to speak, looked at my lap, smiled, said, “And here I thought you were too sore to stand.”

“I didn't need to stand. Keekah did all the work.”

Amy laughed at me. Kate smiled, a bit unsure what to make of the situation. I picked up the half joint resting in a shell ashtray on the sand, and relit it, inhaling deeply before passing it to Amy. “So what did you discover?”

Kate spoke. “Well, whoever they were, they weren't treating diabetes or high blood pressure. Amphetamines, barbiturates, muscle relaxers, painkillers, even a few dozen that I'm pretty sure are Ecstasy. I couldn't identify them all. God... back in my college days, that would have made for a helluva weekend.” She laughed.

“Good. The painkillers are important, just in case. Don't have any idea how long they stay potent.”

“Kept out of sight and airtight, they should keep for years.”

“Perfect.” I thought a moment. “Suppose there are legit uses for the others, too, just not as obvious to me. Think I know how to take a muscle relaxer or two. Anyone willing to grab me a few to have in case I need them tonight? Pain pills too, if you don't mind.” I made my best pouty face at the women.

Amy looked at Kate, laughed, said, “ok, ya big baby. Mommy will get baby's pills.”

“You spoil me.”

“Don't you forget it.”

The sixteen-year old sprinted off and went back down through the hatch.

Kate said, “I never realized how much work there was to do. So many things... food, fire, water, repairs, gardens... the list goes on and on.”

“I love it.”

“Why? I can't help thinking how easy it was to just grab a ration box back in Papette, turn on a faucet and take a bath, never worry about how things got there.”

“That's just it,” I said. “Everything we do here matters. You wake up and know that if you want to survive, you gotta work, and sometimes long and hard. It makes everything you do meaningful. How many times have you flipped on the television and just sat, knowing that if you wanted a pizza, all you had to do was press a few buttons. There's no pizza here, no delivery available. We ate like royalty tonight with those crabs. Imagine what those would cost out there.”

“A small fortune.”

“Exactly. And you did that yourself. Look at what I did today. It was hard, almost literally back-breaking. But it has to be done, and I actually look forward to finishing the job. It matters, Kate. It all matters.”

She smiled warmly. “I'm starting to connect the dots, Kal. Little by little.”

I melted just a touch more, trailed my heavy fingers along her thigh, moving from one freckle to another. “I don't know if I can do it twice, but Keekah already managed to get what she needed from me tonight. I'd be willing to give it my all.”

Kate purred, said, “I appreciate that. No. I'll let you get some rest.”

“And I appreciate that.”

She leaned over and kissed me as Amy returned from the boat, a small baggie containing a handful of pills. “The big round ones are the painkillers, the smaller oval ones are the relaxers. Don't drive or operate heavy machinery on these.”

I took the bag, set it on the sand, and with some help from each of them, I managed to stand finally. They walked with me as I stepped gingerly down to the water. I bathed with them, the warm Southern waters felt good on my back. I started to feel dehydrated in the salty air and water, and we made our way back to camp to rinse with fresh water and dry off.

I don't know how many times I thought about how exhausted I was, but it hit me hard. Bailey was already curled up in bed, Keekah beside her, and I planned to join them. I spoke to Kate as Amy put the fire down. “Join us tonight, please. I know we're all still figuring this out, but there's room for five of us in there. I really love having you with me at night.”

Kate smiled, said, “I'd love to,” and slipped into the room. I slid in behind Keekah who barely moved. Bailey snored peacefully, as did Katie in her crib. I slid my back against Keekah and brought Kate into my arms, kissing her.

Amy came in, paused a moment looking at the four of us already under the sheet. She wasn't certain what to do.

Kate said kindly, “please... I'm new here, don't mean to take your spot. I've had a lot of him to myself, lately. You deserve some, as well.” My wife smiled at me and moved to the edge of the bed, leaving room for Amy to slide in.

I wrapped my arm around Amy's chest, her back to me. To my surprise, Kate kissed Amy's lips, then stroked her hair. “Sweet dreams, Amy. Thanks for sharing Kal with me.” I wondered if they'd talked about jealousy and sharing during their time together that day. Whatever it was, both Amy and Kate seemed content and snuggled together as I swept my fingers along both their bodies.

My back was aching too much to do what I wanted, which was to make love to any or all of the four women in my bed that night. Instead, I accepted how good it felt for Amy's ass to push against me, how warm Keekah's body was behind, and within seconds of those observations, I crashed out for a few hours between them.