Long Overdue Time Away

This is the last chapter in this story. I am hoping it has been enjoyable for you readers. Please take time to vote and comment, it's how I'll know how to improve my stories in the future. If this is the first installment you have seen I would encourage investing the time to read the whole series.

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"Hey you!" I turned around when I heard Karen. I knew she would be here anytime. We talked when she was still on the plane and descending and would be on the ground in minutes. I guess I got caught up in what I was doing and was in my own world.

"Aahhh, I'm so glad you're home". I dropped what I was doing in the brewery and picked her up in a bear hug. Our lips met before I set her down. I really had missed her. And I worried about her when she traveled without me. Given what we had been through, who could blame me.

Chris stood behind her with his ear to ear grin. He is the reason I didn't feel like I needed to go. No one would be better protecting her than him. After setting Karen down I hugged him next. "Thanks!" I looked him in the eye. No other words were necessary. Chris knew how much it meant me to me to have him provide Karen with Security. I knew he had staff in the rears that Karen didn't know about. I left it up to him to do what was necessary. I also told him it didn't matter what it cost. "You and I are due for a fishing trip. Let me get the brewery open and we'll go."

" I'm ready, I'm fact more than ready. I'm overdue. Say the word and we'll go."

"Come on, let me show you... well everything. Neither of you have seen the brewery or restaurant since it's been finished." With that we walked through the brewery then the restaurant.

"I can't believe this the same place! There is nothing in here that lets me know I'm in the old brewery! Wow! You should be proud of this Babe" Karen squeezed me around my waist when she said it.

"I am. This is the place I imagined it could be. But it's different to see it all done. I had this vision of what the different aspects would look like, but seeing it all together...well, I'm very happy with it."

"And the brewery is awesome! I don't know anything about what all that equipment does, but I do recognize when something is done right. It's beautiful!" Chris was giving a nod of approval.

I kissed Karen. "It's the brewery of breweries for me." I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have this. It really is something else. All those years I got to upgrade and build clients' breweries. This thing is a hot rod! It has everything we could ever want,"

"Let's get you home, I looked at Karen she looked great, but I knew she was tired. "Beth is making you a 'welcome home' dinner. I know her, it will be special. Something she knows you'll love. And the dogs will be glad to see you too"

I gave Chris a pat on the back as we left to go home.

Karen kicked off her shoes and put her small tan feet with orange toenails on the dash while I drove us home. She had her hand on mine and squeezed it saying "I told Beth we would have breakfast or lunch tomorrow, I hope that's ok?"

"That's fine. I know this thing with Alex is bothering her a lot. She needs your support. She will be glad you are here. I am going to want some alone time with you, but do what ever you need to for her." Karen just smiled and pulled my hand to her lips and kissed it. I stroked the side of her face after she did.

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"Beth, thank you! That was an incredible dinner. Lobster Alfredo and burnt ends. And the pickled onions and peppers with green beans were awesome!

"It was my pleasure. It is the very least I could do. After you letting me stay with your husband. You are both too nice to me."

"I'm sure you came along side and helped Jim too while I was gone..."

"I came under, on top and along side him. Your husbands an animal." This was classic Beth, she was looking at me when she said it clearly enjoying my discomfort.

"Well, let me clear these plates from the table." I jumped up to avoid being embarrassed.

Karen was laughing at the whole exchange. "I knew you two would get along just fine while I was gone. I'm just hoping he isn't too worn out now that I'm home"

"Not possible." I said from the kitchen. "You obviously have no idea how much I have missed you." With that I walked back in. "Anyone ready for dessert? I had the kitchen come up with a tiramisu, I'll make some coffee?" Both of their eyes lit up. "Why don't we have it in on the couch where it's more comfortable? You two go ahead, I'll make coffee and bring it in."

We ate our deserts, drank coffee and talked until it was late. It felt good to have Karen back. I had really missed her. We were only married months when Karen left and even under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have relished the idea of her leaving on business so soon but with all that had happened it would be an understatement to say it was difficult. Beth stood up and announced she was going to bed she was tired. She knew we would want to be alone.

Karen and I went to our bed room and she started to strip. I followed her into the shower after we both shed our clothes. "I can see you found the sun while you were in San Diego. Your tan has returned."

"I did, it felt good to be in the sun for a change." Karen's tan had returned and it looked as good on her as it always has. The sun definitely loves her body.

She turned to face me and wrapped me in her arms placing her face against my chest and rubbed my back. I love how Her skin feels on mine. I caressed her while she continued to rub my back letting her hands stray down to my cheeks then back down grabbing a handful. "I am long overdue to be in our bed with you." She put her hand up to the back of my neck and pulled me down to kiss me on the lips parting them with her tongue.

While Karen certainly knows what she wants sexually, she is tender with her approach usually. Her kisses are tender with soft relaxed lips, the way she stroked the back of my neck was soft and with a light touch, her other hand lightly resting on my chest slowly made its way back to my butt cheek. This time she pulled me in close.

I was at half mast and getting harder pushing against her stomach. She kissed my chest and she was right. I wanted her in bed also. "You are way overdue." I turned the shower off and handed her a towel and stepped out of the shower and watched her dry off as I dried myself.

Karen noticed I was watching her.

"What? Did I gain weight? Karen looked at herself in the mirror.

"No, not at all. I just missed you that's all. You are beautiful! It's been too long, I'm glad you're home." Karen got on the bed before I did and went to her side holding up her head with her hand and her bent leg showing off her thick athletic thighs. Rubbing the bed next to her I knew where I wanted to be. I wasn't next to her but for a few seconds before she pushed me onto my back and straddled me kissing me as she did. Our tongues danced as her body moved, her breasts swaying against my chest. I was fully hard and my cock kept rhythm as it swayed with her hips.

I pulled her up enough to kiss her nipples. As she moved farther up I kissed her stomach, bellybutton and her gyrating hips. She would circle her smooth mound almost close enough then move it away getting closer with each circle. When I kissed within a quarter inch of the hood covering her clit that's all she needed to thrust forward landing it on my lips. She moaned letting me know she had been teasing herself as much as me. Soon my face was being straddled and I sucked her clit and teased the folds of her lips with my tongue. She was moaning as the first orgasm went through her.

Karen moved into a sixty nine and engulfed my shaft and passionately made love to it with her mouth while I tongued her to another climax. The sensation of her head bobbing and the vibrations of her moaning were too much, she knew it was coming and increased the tempo "mmmmm, oh, ooooo, mmmmmm." I shot one long burst then another and then a few short ones.

"Oh my gosh! I didn't think I was going to be able to keep up with all of it. That's why I slid it into my throat. I don't think I have felt you swell and explode in my throat like that before. Wow that was fun! You did miss me!"

"You are incredible!" Karen snuggled up to me kissing me when she did. I think her favorite position is to be on top of me. Partly because of her short stature and partly because she could do what she wanted to with my love instrument.

"I'm not done with you yet mister." She was grinding my shaft between her lips, her hands on my chest to steady herself while her hips worked their magic. I knew what I was in for, without using her hands she positioned the now very lubricated head of my member right at the opening of her vagina teasing both of us. When she slid all the way on burying me as deep as she could she paused and the contractions took over. She could be motionless while her muscle control contracted and stroked. She seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Without stopping she bent down and kissed me at first tenderly and slow. As the energy between us increased her whole body was bouncing and writhing on top of me. Her moaning increased and soon it all focused on the union of me being inside her. She was cumming and wanted me to also. She is an expert at creating the timing of when I'm going to shoot. As if I was on script I reached my climax when she reached the pinnacle of hers.

I fell asleep with her caressing me, one of her breasts in the fold between us and the other on my chest. Her hand taking its time getting reacquainted with my torso, every inch, every scar, every muscle.

I woke up exactly as I went to sleep. I must have moved during the night, but Karen was half on top of me just as she had been when I went to sleep. I could feel her looking at me.

"I expected you to sleep for days. You seem more rested than I expected."

"You know how I am, my brain starts working on something and off I go."

"What's on your mind? Is everything ok? I was looking at her eyes looking for clue if she was upset I would see it. That's not what I was seeing.

"It's Beth, we talked a lot while I was away. I don't see Alex coming back. She describes it as a slow decline. He has told her he isn't coming back, he is in a homosexual relationship with that client in San Francisco and says he is staying. It's not the fact that he was seeing the guy. It's that he was being secretive about it. He was keeping it from her."

"You know Beth and I were sleeping together, having sex while you were gone. Is that different than what Alex is doing?" I knew what she would say but I guess I needed the confirmation.

"Very different. Not the same at all. We talked about that before I left. I view it as she is part of our relationship. Beth and I have been close for a very long time. We have a long history. I love her. We are very close. There was a consent before I left. That makes it different."

"Ok, I'm glad we are talking about this. I don't want secrets. And I don't want to screw up our marriage. I'm in love with you beyond anything I have ever experienced or imagined I could.

Here is the thing, the more time I spend with Beth, both with you here, and without you here, the more I like her, and if I'm being completely honest love her. I find myself caring for her. She is a one in a million, a complex, smart, sexy quality lady. There is a lot to love about her."

Karen could see and feel me search her with what I just said. She could tell I was a little worried putting all of my cards on the table. I held nothing back.

"You are seeing everything I see in her, I knew you would, or was at least hoping you would. You know I love her, you see it in our friendship and how we relate to each other. It's not a surprise you would start to feel the same way, especially with me encouraging it. It would not be fair of me to encourage you to sleep with her and have her stay here while I was away. And then be upset when you start to have feelings for her. That would be unreasonable."

Karen grabbed my hand and went on. "In the same way, I know how much you love me. I have said this before; You show me every day. You don't think I see the degree of it, but I do. In my position I meet with and am friends with lots of couples. I see some that just are going through the motions. And I see some that obviously love each other. I see many that take each other for granted."

"You don't take me for granted. You are intentional about loving me. Not many women will ever get the chance to see their husband's risk everything for them, including their own lives. They all say they would, but in the heat of the moment many would fail doing it. You have put everything into our marriage. Twice now you have gone full force in protecting me. That guy at the airport shot at the same time you did. You expected to be shot and still you did everything you could to save me from him. You intentionally drew his fire so it would be you that got shot and not me. You knew it would give Al the chance to pull his back up and shoot him.

In all of five seconds you developed a plan that would have you and the gunman being shot, and not me. Yes, I know how much you love me."

"So yes, it's ok...it's more than ok that you are starting to love Beth also. I want you to have the same love for her as I do. I want to ask her to stay here, as long as she wants to. I'm ok with her making it permanent. But I won't offer if you have reservations. And if you do, you don't have to explain I'll respect them without explanation." Karen was searching my eyes. We had covered a lot of ground this morning.

"I'm good with it. I like having her here when you are gone. But I think I'll like having her here more when you are here also. Let's take her out in the boat this morning. I can afford the time from the brewery today. She needs to know we are both in this."

"You are incredible. How did I get so lucky?" Karen jumped up. "I'm going to go tell her we are going out on the boat. Let's have breakfast at the marina then go out from there." She kissed me quick before throwing on a shirt and hurried out of the room.

At breakfast it was small talk. Mostly catching up with what we all missed being separated for a few weeks. It wasn't until we were on the boat that I brought up what Karen and I had talked about earlier. Beth was talking about that her and Alex were in the throes of separating permanently. He sent for his things and didn't even have the decency to come in person. He hired a moving company to do it.

"Listen Beth I'm sorry you are going through this. We want to support you in any way we can. And one of those ways is to have you continue to stay with us, if you want to. We want you to. We love you a lot and it hurts my heart to see you have to go through a divorce. You shouldn't go through it by yourself."

"I won't even pretend I don't want to. You are the best! Thank you. I'm not sure how long at this point I'll feel like I need to stay.."

Karen told her. "Beth we aren't talking about an interim thing, we are talking about a permanent situation, we love you. We want you to be part of us. I know it sounds weird, but look at us and tell me it doesn't make sense.

"I love you! Both of you! I am a lucky woman to have you two. And this really makes me want to have both of you." She laughed.

Karen and Beth hugged and were both wiping the tears away. I was driving the boat before I slowed the motors and put it on auto pilot with an alarm.

"I don't want to be a downer, but there are a few things you need to know, I'm not sure how much Karen has told you, but I surprised her with some things early in our relationship that should have been voiced sooner. It's about what I used to do."

Beth cut me off " you were an operator, maybe they didn't call you one officially, but you shot and killed bad guys and did secrete things all over the world. Your back and body show the scars of that. "No, Karen didn't tell me. I guessed. Not hard to do, you never talk about it. l have seen the rescue video and put the pieces together.

"let me save you some time Jim, I get it, you were a bad ass that did secret things in secret places. I have a pretty good view of who you are. It doesn't make a difference what you did before we knew you. You are the kindest man I know. I am one of the two luckiest women in the world." With that Beth came over to me and kissed me full on the lips pressing her large chest against me.

"Bad ass? No, not really. It's just what we did. It was our job. Our team was good at what we did.

If you watch the rescue video, it was all about procedure. In fact you can hear it in the video. Everyone had a separate small objective within a larger plan. I was the contingency guy. I didn't shoot, no one was off. I simply went to the first guy I expected to get shot, then second and so on. If a shot was missed I would have filled in the gap. The guy that missed would leap frog to the next target. If he missed because he was shot, then I take his targets. Really it's just good training. I really don't care for being called a bad ass. I don't feel like it fits. My body in its late 50's simply can't do what it once could. Even when it could I didn't care for it. I just don't like the image it gives people. And if I can be candid, it's not an easy place to be from. It was a life that took plenty of toll. There are things that I did that are buried very deep. They have to be to keep from going crazy. It's a much better place to be now loving people instead of taking lives." I started to tear up. My past was getting too close to the surface. "There are parts of it that I hate. As Karen mentioned I was on over watch a lot.

A rather benign word for sniper. Through a scope you get an up close and personal view of faces, bodies, what it looks like when a 50 cal. bullet goes through someone. You watch the life drain from a person. Intellectually I can rationalize every shot I took. But thats just not that comforting having lived with what I have seen."

I got up to drive the boat. I needed to think about the scenery, the ocean...anything else.

" I know who you are, and I love you for it." Beth followed me to the wheel house. "I can't promise it will never come up again, but I can promise you I love you and love how you treat Karen and how you treat me. And not just us, it's who you are. We see how you are with Ron in the marina, you don't keep him at arm's length like a lot of people do because of his autism. You treat him with respect. I know you have put money in a trust for him. I know I'm not supposed to know but I do. You are a kind man. If we are going to be a family, I'll be honored to be part of it." She kissed me on the lips, not a sensual kiss, more of a I love you kiss. She held my hand and didn't say anything else, she didn't need to.

Karen sensed she didn't need to get involved in the exchange between Beth and I. Instead she went to the galley to make lunch. And left us alone. She knows what a double edged sword my past is. On one hand without my training I wouldn't have been able to intervene in the situations that placed her life in danger. On the other she knows the images that haunt me.

"Hey you two, I have lunch. Babe can you pull us into a bay and drop anchor so you don't have to drive while we eat together?"

There was a bay not far away that I dropped anchor in. We ate lunch surrounded by the beauty of the island on three sides of us. " I am so excited for Sanches's to open this weekend. You have worked so hard in getting it there. Are you excited, or more relieved it's finally happening?"

"Really both, while it has been a lot of work getting here, I'm excited to provide this for the community. Both the job aspect of it and also to have a place that the community considers theirs. My vision is to provide a family friendly gathering place. Our menu is varied enough to hit a variety of tastes and price points. We will have some high end offerings as well as very affordable fish and chips, fish tacos, pulled pork sandwiches. Things that will draw the locals on their way home from work. On the other end of the menu we are providing very fresh fish and shell fish as well prime cuts of beef."