Two Men for Piper [The Men of Space Station One #7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“So, are you pregnant yet?” Rachel asked.

Piper nearly spewed out her coffee. She hadn’t thought that they might ask her that.
Good, Lord
.

“Um, no. Not that I know of anyway. I guess I really hadn’t thought about it happening so soon.”

“If your men are anything like ours, they’re keeping you busy in bed. It will happen soon.” Rachel smiled at her. “You need to be aware that your pregnancy doesn’t last the full nine months here. It only lasts about eight.”

“And another thing is that your baby will grow faster than you expect. Rachel and I are writing a little book about what to expect here because the books they sent are based on Earth, and it doesn’t follow the same rules here.” Ashley sipped her coffee.

“I can’t even imagine what you’re saying. I’ll be a nervous wreck when I do get pregnant.” She blew out a breath. “I’m making some booklets, too. I’m documenting the wildlife and the plants with photos so people can steer clear of what is dangerous. The one that got Keith wasn’t even mentioned in the booklets they are passing out at the station when you get here.”

“You’re kidding. Do you have a picture of it so we can stay away from it?” Rachel sat her cup down.

“Lord, I didn’t think about that. I actually have my camera and it’s on the memory. Do you have a printer here?”

“We do. Let’s go do that right now.” Rachel stood up and they followed her as she headed toward the living room.

The men looked up with curious expressions when they walked through. Rachel waved at them.

“We’re going to look at some pictures Piper has on her camera of dangerous plants.”

“Piper, be sure you give them one of that plant that got me,” Keith said.

“I am.” She turned and followed Rachel and Ashley.

The office was an exact replica of their office. She settled herself at the desk where the picture printer was and docked the camera to it. Then she pulled up the photos and scrolled through them until she came to the weird plant. She printed off six pictures of it, three for each of them.

“This one is of the entire plant so you can see what it looks like.” She held up one of the pictures. “This one shows you just a leaf. And this one is the leaf close up so you can see the tiny sticky spine things on the leaf.”

“Oh! I think we have several of those out in the back of the garden. I’ll have to make sure Boyd gets rid of them.” Ashley shook her head. “I can just see Daniel running back there to try and get away from me.”

“Daniel is your little boy?”

“Right. He’s one and driving me crazy. He’s about the age of a two-year-old if you go by Earth’s measurements.”

“My Clara is the same age. We got pregnant about the same time. She’s actually a few weeks older.”

“Wow, I–I don’t know what to think. I’ll definitely be calling you when I get pregnant. I’ll never figure it all out.” She shook her head and drew in a deep breath.

“Let’s go back to the kitchen and have some more coffee. I’ll probably have to make some more because I’m sure the men took the opportunity to drain the pot while we were gone.” Rachel laughed.

They retraced their steps through the living room and sure enough, they all had coffee in their hands. She smiled at Tripp and Keith. Ashley stopped off and gave her pictures to her husbands and told them what they were. Keeton actually paled when she told him that there were some in the back of the garden.

Once they were all sitting around the table again, waiting on the coffee to make, Rachel brought up the subject of there being something different about a cell in their blood.

“We all have it, even the ones who haven’t been bitten or scratched or drooled on.” She nodded toward Ashley when she said “drooled.”

“It must be in the food we eat, then,” Piper said.

“We think it’s really in the soil and that transfers to the plants and so the food we eat. For all we know, it might even be absorbed directly from the air.” Rachel seemed to have thought a lot about it.

“And this mutated cell or whatever it is isn’t causing any trouble?”

“Not that we have seen. The doctor in the city is keeping a watch over it. He’s baffled and worried, but there’s nothing any of us can do.”

Ashley got up and poured the coffee for Rachel. “You’ll just make yourself sick worrying about it. I almost did that. I was so sure my baby would be born deformed or something. He’s just fine and very advanced for his age.”

“Yep, I’m definitely going to need you two when I end up that way. I’m already stressing over the fact that Keith and Tripp have to be out at night sometimes.”

“They’ll be fine. Ours do it now. This way none of them will have to do it as often now that you’re here. Then when another family moves here, it will get even better,” Rachel said.

They chatted about the garden and ways to put up the vegetables. Piper learned that they were planning to give her some chickens when the chicks were born and a milk cow.

“You’ll have to gather eggs once the chickens are old enough and learn to milk the cow, but it is wonderful to have real milk and eggs for cooking and to eat.” Rachel chuckled. “Believe me. It’s not easy learning any of that either. I wore gloves so the damn chickens wouldn’t peck my skin off.”

Ashley laughed as well. “And milking a cow is like pulling a water balloon. If you don’t do it right, the cow will tell you about it in a hurry.”

“Hey ladies. It’s about time for Piper to be leaving. They are taking the horses back today.” Danny walked in to the kitchen with the other men behind him.

Piper stood up, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the men in one place. Every one of them was big. They sucked the air right out of the room.

Keith seemed to realize she was panicking and came around the table to take her hand with his.

She immediately felt better. She waved good-bye and thanked them for all the information and let her men draw her out of the room and back outside.

“I’m bringing the horses back to the house, and Keith is going to drive the transport. You can ride with Keith. I’m not comfortable with you riding back with me, baby.”

“That’s okay, I’m not too sure I could ride a horse anyway. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on the back of one.”

“Come on. Let’s get you in the transport.” Keith helped her up and buckled her in the harness. She waved to the others standing on the porch.

When Keith climbed in, she was quiet until they were underway. Then she started telling him all about what she’d learned.

“How long will it take for Tripp to make it home? I hate for him to be by himself.”

“He’s going to be fine. Probably about an hour after we get home.”

“Oh. That long. Then he’ll have to take care of them and everything.”

Keith laughed. “I’m going to help him, so it won’t take too long. We’ll both be in pretty quick.”

“I’ll start dinner when we get home. It will be just about ready when you come back inside. I’m sure you will want a shower before you eat.”

“You could shower with us,” Keith suggested cutting his eyes over to her.

She laughed. “Dinner would burn if I did that. Neither one of you can pass up a chance at messing around with me when I’m nude.”

“Well, that’s the point of you taking a shower with us.”

“I think I’ll take a rain check on it this time.”

“Spoilsport.”

They pulled up in front of the house with about an hour until dusk. Piper could already see the two moons glowing in the sky. She unfastened her harness but waited for Keith to come around and help her down. Then they hurried to the house in case there was anything dangerous around waiting on them.

“I’m going to go put the transport buggy up. I’ll be right back.”

Piper watched Keith get back in the buggy before she turned and headed toward the kitchen. She needed to start dinner. Everyone would be hungry by the time it was ready. She needed something to settle her stomach after two cups of coffee and all the talk about pregnancy and the children being born early. She hadn’t told Keith that part. She thought she would save it until she did get pregnant. She didn’t want to freak them out like she had been.

A few minutes later, Keith walked back in. He washed up and then wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. She looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled.

“You looked a little freaked out when we came in to get you. What were you girls talking about?”

“Oh, just about the dangers and cooking and canning and the gardens. It’s just all so overwhelming to think about. Hearing them talk sort of brought it all home to me. I’ve been playing house in my own little world not really thinking about the reality of having a garden come in for me to have to do all that stuff. I’ve just been so excited that it really is growing that I hadn’t thought about what I was going to do with it when it came in.”

“It will be okay, baby. We’ll help all we can.”

“You’ve got enough to do with working and the horses. Oh, and we’re getting chickens and a cow I found out. I don’t know the first thing about chickens or a cow. I have to learn how to milk the cow, Keith. Who is going to teach me?”

“Tripp knows how to milk a cow. He can teach you.”

“Do you know how to get an egg out from under a chicken so it won’t peck you? Cause I sure don’t. They suggested I wear gloves.” She pulled away from him to check the oven.

Keith chuckled. “I’m not so sure talking to the other women helped you much.”

“I’m not sure either.” She sighed. “I really had a good time, though.”

“Well, if nothing else, you gave them that picture for them to get rid of all their dangerous plants. That was well worth the trip.”

“Yeah. I felt for Ashley. She said she and her son had been back there, and she knew there were some of them back there.”

The back door opened, and Tripp came in. Piper started to go jump on him but stopped when she got close.

“You smell like horse.”

“Tell me about it. Keith, you want to help me wipe ’em down?”

“Right behind you.”

She watched them leave and then watched through the curtain as they walked through the moonlight toward the stable. When they were out of sight, she returned to the stove to check on dinner. Then she set the table and wandered into the living room. She wanted to go work on her booklets, but not before dinner. She would lose track of time and burn it. Instead, she relaxed on the couch and waited for them to return.

* * * *

The slam of the kitchen door sometime later jarred Piper from dozing on the couch.
Crap
. She had fallen asleep and forgot about dinner. She hoped that it wasn’t ruined. She jumped off the couch and nearly collided with Keith and Tripp in the doorway. Tripp steadied her with his hands on her upper arms.

“Whoa. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“To check on dinner. I must have fallen asleep.”

“It’s fine I’m sure. I don’t smell anything burning.” Keith winked at her.

“We’re going to take a shower. We’ll be down in about thirty minutes.” Tripp snuck a kiss then hurried up the stairs. Keith wasn’t far behind him.

Piper checked the food in the oven and pulled it out. It wasn’t dry, so she thought it would be okay. Then she added some water to the beans and put the top back on them. Maybe it would be okay. If not, they could eat sandwiches. She just hated to have been caught napping.

She was fixing a plate when the men walked back in the kitchen. Tripp took the plate from her and gave her a kiss in exchange. Keith grabbed a plate off the table and began to fill his plate as well. She just shook her head and waited for them to finish before she filled her plate and sat down with them.

“Sorry, baby. We were starving.”

“That’s okay. It was funny to see you grab that plate from me. I almost slapped your hand.”

“See, then I would have had to turn you over my knee.” Tripp winked at her.

“You’ve been promising that for a while now. I’m not sure I believe you anymore.”

He chuckled. “Just wait, baby. Just wait.”

They ate mostly in silence since the men were starved. They each got seconds then rinsed their plates and stuck them in the dishwasher for her. She cleaned up the kitchen then joined them in the living room.

They were talking about how nice the horses were, and they were surprised they had fared so well on the trip over.

“Tripp. Keith said you could teach me to milk a cow. Is it hard?”

“Keith can teach you, too, baby. I’ll teach you, though. Why? We don’t have a cow.”

“We’re getting one, though. Oh, and some chickens, too.”

“How did that happen?” He looked over at Keith.

Keith held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I had nothing to do with this.”

“Rachel said they are giving us some of their baby chicks when they are old enough, and we’re supposed to put in for a cow and bring it back so we can have milk.”

“That’s it. You can’t go see them anymore.”

“Tripp. Don’t be ridiculous.” She frowned at him.

“Is that what had you looking like a deer standing in headlights?” he asked.

“I guess. It’s just all so overwhelming.” She told him the same thing she had told Keith earlier.

“Baby, you don’t need to worry so much. We’ll all work together and get everything done. Okay?” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.

“I told Keith, and I’m telling you. You are already working hard every day. You shouldn’t have to worry about the garden. That’s supposed to be my job. I’m just nervous is all. I’ll be fine once the time actually gets here. It won’t be huge all at once. It will start out small and build. By that time I will have gotten the hang of it.”

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m ready for bed. It’s been a long day.” Keith stood up and stretched.

Tripp yawned. “Looks like I am, too. Are you coming, baby?”

“I’m right behind you. I need a shower. I smell horse on me from earlier.” She frowned at him.

“Hey, you’re the one who came barreling into the kitchen.”

Tripp stood up, letting Piper climb off of his lap. They followed Keith upstairs. While the men stripped, Piper turned on the water in the shower before she pulled her clothes off. She climbed in to the stinging spray and quickly washed. She couldn’t help thinking back to what Rachel and Ashley had said about being pregnant and having their babies. It scared her. She hadn’t really thought much about it before now.