Man's Best Friend Ch. 08

"Hi! I'm Kim! Dad's down the garden, doing battle with the barbecue. Do you want to go straight down?"

"Yes, please!" piped up Chloe, and Kim grinned at her.

"Come on, then, I'll show you the way."

She led them around the side of the house, avoiding any steps for the wheelchair, while King barked excitedly and wagged his tail as he trotted along beside them.

"He's gorgeous!" exclaimed Kim, squatting down to stroke and cuddle the dog. "I love animals. I wonder if I can persuade Dad to get one."

Alice smiled and thought to herself that this bubbly, chatty girl could probably wrap her Dad round her little finger. She remembered the photo of Isobel which still hung on the bedroom wall, and knew at once where Kim got her looks - the blonde hair, the smiling eyes, the curves which made her voluptuous without looking fat - yes, she was her mother's daughter, all right, although from what Greg had told her about Isobel, Kim's personality seemed more like his own. It must be hard for him, seeing his dead wife reflected in his daughter.

Kim insisted on taking the wheelchair off her when they had to leave the path and navigate their way between the bushes and down the sloping lawn which led to the pool.

"It's easier when you know all the potholes and booby traps," explained Kim, and immediately engaged her new charge in conversation. Chloe was pleasantly surprised that Kim chatted freely to her without the awkwardness and reticence most people showed when confronted with someone in a wheelchair, and didn't shy away from direct questions about her disability, either. It was refreshing to be treated like a normal adult and not an object of pity.

Greg, in navy shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt, peered through the clouds of smoke billowing from an old-fashioned bowl-shaped barbecue.

"Hi, girls! Nearly there - I think I'm winning!"

Alice pulled him in for a hug and kiss.

"Mmm, my big, strong hunter gatherer, providing for his tribe."

He chuckled.

"No hunting involved here. There's no meat - Kim hates the smell of it cooking, so I hope you don't mind that it's all vegetarian."

"Not at all, it smells delicious."

Kim shouted across.

"Knowing Dad, it'll all be burnt offerings, anyway, and you won't know what you're eating!"

Chloe was looking around her in awe.

"Wow, this is amazing! It's like a holiday resort with the pool and cabin and all."

Kim was delighted at the girl's reaction.

"I badgered Mum and Dad into having the cabin built. There used to be an old tumbledown shack here, full of rubbish. This is so much nicer."

"It's lovely. You could live in this!"

Kim laughed.

"Might be a bit cold in winter, but it's a great place to escape from the world and do some writing."

"You're a writer? Books?"

"No, songs. Mostly bitter and twisted love songs, these days."

Chloe felt for her new friend.

"I heard about that. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. It's all water under the bridge now, anyway."

Kim shook off the bad memories and smiled again.

"I'm much happier here."

"That's good. Hey, can I hear some of your songs?"

"Er, yeah, why not? Maybe a bit later - my guitar's up at the house."

"Cool!"

The food, in spite of the teasing, was excellent - falafel, onion bhajis, all kinds of quorn burgers and sausages, vegan cheeses and salad. Some cold beer and wine, juices and soft drinks washed it all down nicely, and the four of them sat happily in the sun on the wooden balcony of the cabin, munching away and chatting.

Greg was delighted to see how well Kim was getting on with Alice, and especially with Chloe. He shouldn't have worried - his youngest daughter had always been a live wire and good company, even when she was banging on about animal rights and saving the planet as she was now.

Alice liked her. She was enthusiastic and passionate rather than hectoring, and she was very good at drawing Chloe out, making sure that the conversation wasn't all about herself. She was very persuasive - just like her father, Alice smiled to herself.

The late afternoon sun and their full stomachs made them warm and indolent, even the dog too hot to do anything other than lounge around, tongue hanging out. Kim stood up.

"I'm boiling. Who's for a swim?"

Chloe's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, yes! Can we, Mum?"

Alice grinned at Greg.

"Is that OK?"

"Of course." He lowered his voice. "Do you need to go and change?"

Kim was already inside the cabin, carelessly stripping off and donning a multicoloured top and bottom.

"No, we came prepared, with costumes underneath."

She reached down and pulled her white sundress up and over her head to reveal a skimpy, pale blue two-piece. He'd never seen her in a bikini before, and he liked what he saw.

"You look stunning, Alice."

"Awww, thank you. Now get that T-shirt off!"

He grinned and complied.

"Now, how do we do this with Chloe?"

"We just need to get her to the edge of the pool, and help her out afterwards. She can get in by herself."

"No worries, I've got it!"

They looked up to see Kim already wheeling Chloe across the grass, waiting patiently while the younger girl took off her T-shirt and shorts, then carefully lifting her out of the chair and carrying her to the flagstones at the shallow end of the pool. Alice was impressed.

"Kim's lovely - and stronger than she looks!"

"She's great. So kind and a lot of fun - it's good having her around again."

"Of course she's great. She's your daughter."

"I could say the same for you."

"Come on, you two!"

He turned to see Kim laughing at them and diving straight into the pool, making hardly a ripple, watched by a smiling Chloe, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling in the cool water. There was a loud splash and a shriek of laughter as King leapt in, and then he saw Chloe lever herself up with her hands on the edge of the pool and lower herself in, too.

Alice grabbed his hand and together they ran for the edge of the deep end and launched themselves into the air, laughing uproariously, hitting the surface simultaneously and causing a huge fountain of water to erupt.

"Top bombing, Dad!"

Kim grinned at him on her way past, knifing elegantly through the water. They'd taught both kids to swim at a very young age, reasoning that a pool and non-swimming children would not be a good mix, and now both of Greg's girls were much stronger swimmers than him. He watched Chloe nervously as she struck out from the side of the pool, but she looked quite at home, her legs, whilst very weak, less of a problem when supported by the natural buoyancy of the water. She used her arms, slender but well-muscled, to propel herself at a surprisingly fast rate in her own version of a breast stroke.

"Don't worry," said Alice, "she's fine. Her arms are very strong from wheeling the chair and all that physio. Let her be independent. She'll soon let us know if she needs help."

Greg relaxed, and the five of them splashed around happily, playing ball games in which the girls and even the dog, it seemed to him, all ganged up on him, causing much mirth. In truth, he loved being surrounded by what Alice jokingly referred to as "his harem", spending happy times with all of the women, bar his oldest daughter, who meant so much in his life.

He and Alice left the girls to it after a while, clambering out and plonking themselves down on towels on the lawn to dry off. Alice caught his eye and smiled shyly, and he knew that she was remembering that first time they'd lain like this, having only just met. They'd come such a long way since then. She ribbed him gently.

"You'll have to keep your hands off me this time."

Groaning, he feigned disappointment.

"Tease! Mind you, you were wearing a lot less then ..."

"Mmmm, true. Poor Greg, having to wear those soggy shorts."

He pulled a face and grinned at her.

"I don't mind. Besides, they're drying off nicely now."

Kim was out of the pool now, too, walking round to the shallow end where Chloe was levering herself half way out of the water, then crouching down to grab the younger girl around the waist and lift her clear.

"Do you need some help?" called Alice.

"No, we're good!"

"Thank you," said Chloe shyly. "That was brilliant."

Kim smiled warmly.

"Any time! We should do that again some time. Now, do you want to wrap up in a towel in a chair, or lie in the sun to get dry?"

"I really want to get changed."

"OK! I'll tell you what - why don't we go up to the house and leave these two to it. We can get changed and then have a bit of a sing song, if you like?"

Chloe's eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes, That would be great, if you don't mind."

"'Course not. Let's get you in the chair and stick this towel round you."

As the girls disappeared up the garden, King trotting alongside them in hope of another meal, the sun was sinking below the horizon, the sky above them beautiful luminous shades from cerulean to indigo. Alice turned to Greg.

"She's so good with Chloe. I'm glad they get along so well."

"They're quite similar in some ways. I think they'll be good friends."

"Yes, you may be right. And now we're all alone - I don't think they'll be back down, do you?"

"Probably not."

She kissed him softly on the lips and stood up.

"Good, I fancy another swim."

She smiled down at him, unhooked her bikini top and slid the bottoms down, too.

"I don't think we'll be needing these any more."

She slipped quietly into the water. He glanced anxiously towards the house, then smiled at her, scrambled to his feet and pulled down his shorts before joining her in the still warm water.

They kissed again and swam lazily. She floated on her back on the surface, her body dappled with the last of the evening light, and laughed as he grabbed her ankles and towed her along, her hair streaming out behind her. He thought that she'd never looked lovelier.

When they climbed out again, she was shivering, and he wrapped her up in a huge towel and briskly rubbed her dry until her skin was pink and glowing before grabbing his own towel and drying himself off. She dropped her towel, wandered into the cabin and knelt on the squashy rattan sofa to get a closer look at the picture hanging on the wall, a reproduction of one of Renoir's Impressionist bathers.

His voice came from close behind her.

"Do you like her?"

She didn't turn her head, studying the picture intently.

"She's lovely."

"Not as lovely as you."

She felt his warmth against her rear as he stood right behind her, his hands pressing gently down on her shoulder blades. She let her head sink down onto the cushion at the back of the sofa, arching her back so her bottom pushed back into his groin. His hands slipped beneath her, warm on her breasts, and she could feel his cock, nestling between her cheeks, harden and grow. She turned her head and smiled shyly at him.

"Yes, please."

Still kneeling, she moved her knees apart to give him access and felt his hand slip between her thighs and softly caress her sex. His fingers explored unhurriedly, and her body responsed with a rush of moistness. Only when she was desperate for more did he slowly enter her, hard and warm as he filled her up completely. He moved his hands to her hips and pulled her backwards to him. Oh yes, so deep, so good. She loved this position, so primal and animalistic, but tonight he was all tenderness, going so slowly, stroking her back and murmuring words of love in her ear. Time stood still for her, nothing existed in the magical moment but the sensation of her lover moving inside her.

When he finally came, there was none of the urgency and roughness of their more frantic couplings, just the sweet warm feeling of his liquid tribute, filling her up and pervading all of her senses.

Eventually he withdrew, helping her off the sofa and to her feet. In silence they went to the open doors of the cabin and stood there naked, gazing at the first stars appearing in the inky blue vault as he took her hand in his. No words were needed.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day.