"Yeah. We did well."

"I don't think we bothered her leg too much, either. She had most of her weight on you and not on that leg."

Steven felt Greg pull out of Janet's body. The other man padded toward the bathroom then returned a few seconds later with a washcloth. He helped Steven pull her off of him. She moaned but didn't wake up.

"I'll clean her up while you run the bath," Greg said.

Steven grunted and rolled off the bed. He couldn't believe how wobbly his legs were. The s.e.x had been intense. Maybe it hadn't just been s.e.x. Maybe it had been more along the lines of making love. G.o.d knew he had been affected by it. Being inside her body was akin to being in paradise. He couldn't get enough of her. He wondered how Greg felt about her. The other man didn't talk much about his feelings.

He turned on the bath and adjusted the water to the warmest temperature he thought she would like. She tended to scald herself if he didn't watch out. She liked her water really hot.

Greg walked in carrying her. For just a second, there had been a very soft expression on the other man's face as he looked down at her. Maybe Greg felt more for Janet than he was letting on. He sure hoped so since they were going to be together for the rest of their lives.

"How hot did you make the water? Am I going to burn my b.a.l.l.s?"

"Probably, but it's not as hot as she would have run it."

Greg grunted and stepped over into the tub. His hissed-out breath was an indication that the water definitely hot. Steven smiled and handed the other man a cloth.

"You can bathe her. I'll remake the bed so we can sleep in it."

Steven left cousin and wife in the bathroom. He hoped Janet would wake up and they would talk some. They didn't talk to each other nearly enough. It would do them some good to spend time alone. He concentrated on putting away the clothes and straightening the bed covers so they would be comfortable when they went back to bed. They tended to make a mess of the sheets during s.e.x.

Once again, he felt like it hadn't been just s.e.x. He smiled. To him, it was much more. He hoped it had been to the others.

He heard the murmur of voices coming from the other room, now. Good, Janet had awakened and they were talking. He almost walked over to the door to listen in but caught himself. That was between them. They needed to have their own time together. He slipped downstairs and fixed a gla.s.s of water for Janet. He was sure she would be thirsty when she got out of the tub. When he returned to the bedroom, he heard the water draining from the tub. They would be out in a couple of minutes.

Steven set the gla.s.s of water on the bedside table then climbed into the bed to wait for them. The sheets were a bit cool. He would be glad when they returned to warm the bed up some.

The door to the bathroom opened and Greg carried Janet out of the bathroom toward the bed. He handed her off to Steven then got in bed next to her. Steven cuddled her up next to him.

"How do you feel, love?"

"Hmm, wonderful."

"Enjoy your bath?"

"It was great, thanks. Greg bathed me. I guess I pa.s.sed out."

"Yep. You were dead to the world. We must have done something right."

"Silly, you always take care of me. This time, it was just so, so, I don't know. Intense."

Greg grunted. "That is one way to say it. You nearly squeezed my d.a.m.n c.o.c.k off."

"I can say the same thing on my end." Steven kissed Janet on the lips then turned her so that she was facing Greg. He wrapped his arm around her waist and settled his chin on top of her head.

She reached across Greg and settled her arm over his chest before burying her face in his neck.

"Mmm, you smell good."

He grunted. "It's those d.a.m.n bath salts Steven put in the water."

"Well, they smell good on you." She shoved her a.s.s back against Steven's c.o.c.k.

"Good night, Steven."

"Night, love."

"Good night, Greg."

"Night, baby. Go to sleep."

Steven waited to hear her soft snore before he let himself drift off to sleep. He wanted to be sure she was settled. He didn't want her to be the last one to fall asleep. It just didn't seem right that she would remain awake after them. Once he relaxed and closed his eyes, he was gone.

Chapter Fourteen.

Janet stretched as she stood up from weeding the garden. The months had pa.s.sed and they were actually already getting some vegetables from the garden. It seemed too soon to her. She wasn't originally a gardener, so she didn't know for sure. It would be good to talk to Carmen and see what she thought as well. She would call her on the radio later.

She tied back the tomatoes and worked at training the beans to climb the trellis they had set up for them. After finis.h.i.+ng in the garden, Janet put everything away and sat on the back porch for a few minutes to enjoy the pretty day. She knew the men would prefer that she immediately go inside, but a few minutes out on the porch near the door wouldn't hurt. They had the fence completed now, so nothing was supposed to be able to get inside it. She still kept her eye peeled for anything that could harm her.

Despite giving Greg a hard time, she wasn't one to be reckless or to take chances where her life was concerned. She valued their interest in her safety. It made her feel special that they cared so much.

Over the months, she and Greg had grown a little closer. He seemed to relax more around her than he had at first. She pretty much gave into him on anything safety or health related, but she still stood her ground about other things. When he suggested that she shouldn't go up and down the cellar stairs alone, she pointed out that they couldn't always be there. Besides, what was the difference in that and the stairs in the house? He finally relented, and they agreed that she would be very careful when they weren't around.

The men came home with various nicks and scratches all the time. She was constantly cleaning off a cut or sc.r.a.pe and applying bandages to one or the other of them. They took it all in stride that she wanted to see after them. She got a splinter working with the trellis one day and Greg threw a fit about it.

Steven had finally settled Greg down that getting a splinter out of her hand wasn't that big of a deal.

"You pull it out of her and have her yell and cry."

She hadn't been able to help herself, because it had hurt for him to dig at it. Still, it was just a splinter. He couldn't seem to stand for her to hurt in any way. When she had a headache, he rubbed her back until she fell asleep. It was so tender of him when he seemed to be so rough on the outside. Times like that, Steven stepped aside and let Greg take care of her. The other man seemed to know that they both needed the tender time.

Janet stood up to go back inside when she saw something on the other side of the fence. She squinted into the afternoon glare and recognized one of the insect-like creatures that were listed in one of the pamphlets from the city. It was ma.s.sive and so ugly she s.h.i.+vered. It hissed across the fence and then acted as if it was going to climb. She ran for the door and slammed it shut as soon as she was inside. When she locked it, she looked out the window, but the thing was gone. She hoped it was gone, anyway. G.o.d forbid that it had gotten inside the fence.

Janet checked every window and door to be sure it was locked and to see if she could see the thing. When there appeared to be no sign of it, she relaxed and decided it had run off again. With that thought, she took a quick shower before starting dinner for the men. They would be home around sundown.

Like clockwork, the minute she had the meal ready, the transport pulled up next to the fence in the front yard. She restrained herself from throwing open the door for them. It tended to upset Greg. He didn't want to chance that a creature might slip in the front door while she had it open. She had rolled her eyes at that in the past, but now, after seeing the creature, she wasn't so sure it was a bad idea.

"Hey, love. How was your day?"

"Busy. The garden is growing so quickly. I am having trouble keeping up with it."

"Hey, Janet. What's for dinner, baby?"

Greg walked in, wiping his forehead on his s.h.i.+rt. It was hot outside in the afternoons. Both men would take a shower before settling down to eat.

"Currick and roast with carrots and butcher beans. I think I got them tender this time."

Butcher beans were native beans that grew two to a pod and had to be soaked before you could cook them or they tended to be tough.

"I'm sure they're fine, baby. We're going to shower. We'll be back down in a few minutes."

Greg popped her on the a.s.s as he pa.s.sed by. Steven bent down and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before climbing the stairs behind Greg. She watched their fine a.s.ses as they climbed. She could well imagine them naked and how their muscles would clench when they walked. Unfortunately, she couldn't see them through their jeans.

Once the men had returned, she started serving the meal. They talked about the house and the garden. Then Janet decided to bring up what she had seen despite knowing it would upset the guys. She needed for them to know so they would be careful outside the fence.

"While I was in the garden about to go inside, I saw one of those insect creatures like in the pamphlet we got from the city. It was b.u.t.t-ugly, too."

"You what? Where was it?" Greg stopped eating and dropped his fork to the plate.

"It was outside the west side of the fence. It had its claws on the fence, but it didn't climb over it that I know of. I went in the house and locked the door, so I didn't see where it went. I did check all the doors and windows to make sure they were locked. I didn't see it outside anywhere again."

"That's good. I wish we had been here to see it," Steven said.

"Baby, you handled it right. Never run and don't hang around the garden when you don't need to be in it. I don't want something to happen to you."

"I know, Greg. I'm being careful. I might not have even seen it except that I was paying attention to what was around me."

"I'm going to have to look at that pamphlet again to remind myself what it looked like." Steven got up from the table and headed for the office.

He didn't return right away. Greg looked at Janet with furrowed brows when she pointed out that Steven hadn't returned.

"I'll go check on him," she said and started to get up.

"No, you finish eating. I'll check on him. He's probably looking through the entire pamphlet again, knowing him."

She shrugged and finished up her meal as Greg disappeared through the kitchen door. She had raked out her plate and set it in the sink when it dawned on her that neither man had returned right away. She was just about to go check on them when they returned with serious expressions on their faces.

"What is it?"

"Brad just called. Carmen is hurt." Steven broke the news.

"What happened?"

"She evidently got p.r.i.c.ked by one of those thistle plants. They thought they had removed all of them, but one had gotten mixed in some flowers that she picked. She's unconscious and not doing well." Greg wrapped his arms around her, giving her a brief squeeze.

"That's horrible. Oh, poor Carmen." Janet buried her face in Greg's s.h.i.+rt. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I honestly don't know, love. They called the doctor up on the radio and are talking with him on what to do. Evidently, there's not much he could do for her so he doesn't want her to come to town. He thinks it might be too hard on her to transport her." Greg ran his hand up and down her back.

"I can't believe it. I just talked to her yesterday. I was going to call her about the garden tonight. Is there anything we can do?"

"I'm sure praying would be appreciated," Steven said.

The men sat down and finished their meal. Then they left Janet to clean up while they talked in the living room. She overheard Steven say that they would be working the house site by themselves for a few days.

She couldn't believe that Carmen was in such bad shape. She had helped Carmen understand a.n.a.l s.e.x when she had been worried about it. They talked on the radio almost every day and had discussed having a meal together one night soon. Janet s.h.i.+vered and finished the dishes before wiping down the stove, counters, and table.

When she walked into the living room an hour later, the men stopped talking. Steven held out his arms for her to climb up into the recliner with him. She snuggled against his chest.

"Baby, we want you to be extra careful about what you touch out in the yard and the garden. Evidently, a thistle plant can pop up anywhere. The men had already gone over the area and killed everything dangerous before Carmen was allowed outside. We think we have, too, but maybe not."

"Don't worry. I'll double-check anything I plan to touch. I never really thought about it before now."

Steven kissed her on the forehead and ran a soothing hand up and down her arm. She appreciated the contact. She felt so cold thinking about Carmen's serious condition. If she died...well, Janet didn't want to think about that. The other woman had to be okay.

"Let's go on up to bed. We need to get a little extra rest to be ready for work in the morning. Baby, we might be working a little longer than usual with the other guys staying to watch their wife."

"I understand, but I'll worry about you. You're already working such long hours. The extra hour in the day means that you're putting in close to twelve hours every day."

"We'll be fine. Carmen will be up on her feet in no time and we'll cut back then." Greg lowered his chair and stood up.

Steven did the same thing but let Janet slide out of his lap before he stretched and stood up.

Janet fell asleep thinking about the other woman. She prayed that Carmen would be okay and hoped G.o.d heard her prayers.

Several weeks pa.s.sed with no change in Carmen. Janet made sure that the guys called and checked every day to see if there was any news. She worried and worried that she would lose her new friend. Having left all her friends back on Earth, she had been pleased that she and Carmen got along so well.

Finally, Carmen woke up. Everyone was overwhelmed with joy. The others were taking the woman to the doctor to have her checked out.

When they returned, it was to relay the news about having a strange cell in their bodies that had mutated. The doctor felt like everyone who ate the food on the planet had it. He didn't know what it was or what it meant to the people living on the planet. All he knew was that it didn't seem to affect them in any strange way. There were several children on the planet now, and they appeared normal though a little advanced for their age.

"I don't like it, Steven." Greg sat back in the office chair with Janet in his lap.

"I don't, either, but what can we do about it? We can't stop eating. Evidently, it's something in the earth and it is in the food we are growing as well."

"I told you it was maturing much too fast. I'm going to be harvesting it all soon."

"Do you think we should all get checked for the cell in our bodies?" Steven asked.

"I don't want to go to the doctor. He already said he didn't know anything."

"I'm with Janet on that. If he can't do anything about it, what's the use in taking a day out to drive to town until we need to? The next time we go to town, we can stop by the doctor's office and let them draw our blood."

"Let's go to bed, guys. I'm tired." Janet wanted her men around her.

"It sounds like someone's thinking about something other than sleep to me." Steven grinned across at her.

Greg got up and carried her out of the office. They climbed the stairs and started undressing as soon as they made it to the bedroom. Steven had his clothes off first and started helping Greg rid Janet of hers. Before she knew what he had in mind, Steven had her bending over the edge of the bed with her a.s.s in the air.