Princess Alana

Chapter 10: The Hunt

Tuesday was different and yet was more of the same. Instead of phalluses, it was plastic replicas of a woman's privates. Again, Gretchen wielded the crop and did her best to distract the poor slavegirls. Again, male slaves were brought in to fuck them in an attempt to distract them. And, again, their backs and bottoms felt the kiss of the crop over and over again.

They had another lesson in posture. They had a consultation with the staff beautician who made notes on flesh tones and hair color. They were reassured that they were each already beautiful but that she would devise ways of enhancing that beauty. And the beautician took the opportunity to denude Meredith's and Kelly's sex resulting in all three girls with a smooth, sleek look.

They were taken to the staff physician who conducted a complete physical on them. When he learned that Meredith was not on any birth control program, he made sure that the sex during her training would not result in any unwanted children. He also declared that their nipples and labia were capable of being pierced and ringed. This announcement was not met warmly by any of the three slaves.

In the afternoon, they were taken outside. Three poles were standing in the yard. They were each about waist high and had rounded tops. Alana remembered her first vision of this place and immediately knew what was to happen next. Sure enough, each girl was lifted and then positioned so that, when they were lowered, they would be impaled on the posts. With great efficiency, their minders slid them onto the poles and then shackled their feet to stakes in the ground so that their legs were spread shoulder width.

Mistress Gretchen reappeared carrying a long, wicked-looking whip this time. She announced that it was quiz time and started asking questions that each girl was expected to answer. Each correct answer was rewarded with some kind of pleasurable sensation such as the stroking of a clit or the suckling of a nipple. Each incorrect answer was met with the bite of the whip. By the end of the quiz, each girl had several mean-looking welts across their backs.

Dinner was much the same. The girls were displayed on their crosses and clothespins were applied to the most sensitive parts of their bodies. Alana was terrified of each new clothespin, not because of the pain but because of what she knew the largest collection would bring. It was a close race and Alana could not tell who had the most. She knew that hers were painful as her nipples, clit and labia burned with pain. One master had even pried open her mouth, pulled out her tongue and snapped a clothespin on the tip of it. When the tally was finally taken, she learned that she and Kelly had each received ten and Meredith had been blessed with twelve of the little monsters.

Meredith was nearly hysterical as they released her from the cross. She struggled furiously and it took four slaves to secure her onto the rack where she was to meet her canine lover. Kelly and Alana watched in horror as a German Shepherd was trotted in and was eventually unleashed onto Meredith. Meredith squealed and pulled at her bindings as the big dog sank his cock into her but was quickly silenced when one of the masters plugged her mouth with his large cock and she quickly learned that it is impossible to shout with a cock lodged in your throat.

Kelly and Alana were not completely spared. A master and a mistress were amusing themselves by attaching clamps to Kelly's nipples and labia and then hanging weights from the clamps. Kelly groaned with each additional ounce but never took her eyes off of the girl and dog.

Alana couldn't help but take her eyes off of the scene. A mistress had appeared in front of her holding a long glass tube filled with needles and some kind of liquid. After setting the tube down, she withdrew a long needle, shook it dry, lifted one of Alana's breasts and then placed the tip of the needle at the base of the defenseless breast. With wide eyes, Alana watched as the needle was pushed, tenting the flesh inward for a moment before piercing the skin. The mistress pushed slowly and Alana felt every agonizing inch of the progress that the needle made until it emerged out the other side. By the time the girl and dog had finished their performance, Alana had a needle through the base of each breast and two shorter needles piercing each nipple.

"This place is horrible," declared Kelly as the three girls spooned on their mattress that night. This time, it was Meredith who was tucked into the middle.

"I'll say," agreed Alana. "Some of these people belong in prison."

"I don't know," offered Meredith. "It's only for a few days and we'll get through it. Besides, it'll make us appreciate life all that much more when we get out. I think it's fine."

"Are you crazy?" blurted Alana. "You were just raped by a dog. And you think it's fine?"

"Well, it's sure not something that I wanted to do," said Meredith in her defense. "But after awhile it was kind of enjoyable. And it was the first time I ever climaxed just through penetration."

"Wow," exclaimed Alana.

"Yeah, wow," echoed Kelly.

Don't worry. I'm not going to rush out and buy a German Shepherd. But I wouldn't mind having that one again. And it was also kinda nice being the center of attention. I had a whole room full of people watching me. That made me feel sexy."

Alana shook her head in disbelief but didn't say anything because she didn't want to offend Meredith. Instead, she rolled over so she was facing Meredith, moved her hands up to cup her breasts and kissed her. "You are always sexy to me."

Wednesday was hunt day. After a morning class in which they were taught the finer points of licking asses and another visit to the physician who gave them a quick checkup, they were led to the gathering point. All fifty or so slaves were collected together inside the corral. There were also about seventy five or eighty people outside the corral so it was obvious that guests had come in to participate. One of the masters stood on a small stage and spoke into a microphone, broadcasting to the entire crowd.

"Welcome to the D bar S weekly hunt. Most of you have participated in the hunt before, but for those of you who are new, let me go over the rules."

"We are hunting for slaves. The slaves will be released momentarily and will be given a one hour head start. The bell will sound after the hour is up and the hunters can pursue at that time."

"We allow only paint guns. Nothing else is acceptable. Each slave will be fitted with goggles for protection but we still ask that you try to avoid head shots. Any amount of paint anywhere on the body will be considered a kill. Anyone accidentally shooting another hunter will spend the remainder of the week in solitary confinement and will be banned from participating in future hunts."

"This is not a 'catch and release' event. This is catch and claim. You shoot it, you keep it. So aim wisely."

"There is a two slave limit. Don't bag any more prey than that or you will be banned from future hunts."

"You get to keep whatever you bag until 8:00 tomorrow morning. You may use your prey in any way you like as long as it doesn't violate the terms of their enslavement. Term sheets are available in the ranch office for review."

Alana listened in amazement at the rules. "We have limitations?" she wondered. "I haven't seen any limitations."

"Finally, I strongly encourage all participants to stay within the boundaries of the ranch. The entire property is surrounded by electrified fence and you will definitely ruin your day if you touch it."

With that, a horn sounded and all of the goggled slaves rushed out of the corral, scattering in all directions to find a place to hide. The dominants lingered around, chatting and drinking coffee as they waited for the starting bell.

Even though they were no longer attached to one another in a coffle, Alana, Meredith, and Kelly remained together. It was sheer pandemonium at first as everyone scrambled toward the gate. Alana held her other two fellow slaves back with an arm around each waist to wait until things settled down. Meredith pressed close to Alana and Kelly rested her head on Alana's shoulder as they watched the naked bodies scattering in all directions.

"Which way should we go?" asked Alana.

"It doesn't matter," replied a dejected Kelly. "We get fucked regardless."

"Well not all fucking is bad," said Meredith. This reduced Kelly and Alana to a giggling frenzy as they remembered Meredith's love affair with the German Shepherd. Soon, Meredith was giggling also. "Well, it's true," she managed to say in her defense as the giggling died down.

"So are we going to make it easy for them or are we going to give them a challenge?" asked Alana.

"I'm okay with a challenge," said Kelly. "I just know I'm going to get fucked."

Alana grew irritated by Kelly's whining and her defeatist attitude. "Look Kelly," Alana said as she gripped her owner's jaw in one hand and leaned in until their noses were almost touching. "If you want to walk up to them and say 'shoot me,' that's fine with me. I agree we'll probably all get fucked in the end. But if they're going to rape me, they're going to have to work for it."

Alana took Meredith's hand and walked her out of the corral leaving it empty except for Kelly. The dominants watched as the two women strode away with their heads held high and without the fear and anxiety that the others had shown before them. They also watched as the last slave scurried out of the corral and caught up with the other two.

"The blonde's mine," claimed one master.

"Fine with me," said another. "I'm setting my sights on the redhead."

"The brunettes actually a mistress," said a third. "I'm aiming for her."

"Good luck," said one of the mistresses. "But I'm bagging two of them. And I don't care which two."

Kelly caught up with her two comrades. "I'm sorry. I guess this place is just getting to me."

"It's getting to all of us," replied Alana. And then she thought she needed to bolster Kelly's resolve. "But we still have to give it our best shot, Mistress."

Both Kelly and Meredith turned to Alana in surprise at her calling Kelly Mistress again. Alana ignored the stares but kept walking her two friends toward the woods.

Once inside the forest, Alana got the trio running. She intended to put a lot of distance between where they were last seen and where they would end up. She had hoped that walking away would lull the hunters into thinking that they could easily find the three girls. And she assumed that she and her two fellow slaves would be high priority targets on most lists.

Running was hard, though. Each of the girls had too much movement on their chests. Plus, the ground was littered with sticks and stones that kept stabbing at their feet. But Alana kept her charges moving. Twigs whipped against their faces and arms. Tall grass snapped at their calves and thighs. Each of them developed their own form of running but they each used some variation of an arm across the chest to prevent the breasts from bouncing too much and an outstretched arm to keep twigs from slashing at their unprotected flesh.

They ran through the woods until they had circled around to the other side of the ranch buildings. Occasionally, they would spot a naked body hiding behind a tree or a rock. "Targets," muttered Alana. After they had gone that far, they moved deeper into the woods looking for a place that would provide shelter for three naked girls. Eventually, they found a rock outcropping with many nooks and crannies that would hide them. They found three that were close together and that would provide them with the ability to look out to see if anyone was coming. And then they settled back to wait.

"Thanks, Alana," said Kelly as she laid against her pet with her head resting on Alana's breast.

"It's okay, Mistress," replied Alana as she stroked the girl's hair. "Everyone has moments like that."

"Mistresses aren't supposed to, though."

"How do you know that?" asked Alana. "You've only been a mistress as long as I've been a slave. And I sure don't know what slaves are supposed to do or not do."

"But you're a perfect slave."

"Thank you, Mistress," said Alana. "I guess we'll just have to learn about all of this together."

Kelly smiled and tilted her head up kissing Alana. "We'll make it up as we go along, I guess. I wonder how many other mistresses have ever been fucked by a dog and then hunted down like an animal."

"Who knows?" sighed Alana. "This is strange stuff."

The day wore on and the girls occasionally sighted a slave or a hunter off in the distance, but nobody came near their little hideout. They lounged in their temporary home, taking little naps, cuddling together for comfort or just because it felt good and chatting.

"I know you two think I've lost it," started Meredith, "but I kind of like this."

"You really have lost it," quipped Kelly.

"Really, I do," Meredith continued. "It's exciting. I've never felt more alive in my life! Just think about what I would be doing if I weren't here."

"You'd be doing whatever you wanted," said Kelly. Alana remained silent because she didn't want to get into an argument. Besides, in a strange way, she agreed with Meredith.

"I'd be doing laundry and running errands. I'd be cleaning or watching TV. And I'd be sleeping in an empty bed. At least until Ted got home at the end of the week. How exciting does that sound? Here, I get to try new things and everything that we've done has been thrilling if you look at it closely. And I get to sleep with two beautiful women at night."

Alana gave her a hug and a kiss. "I love sleeping with you too."

"Me too" said Kelly, not to be left out, as she kissed Meredith and gave her breasts a squeeze.

Meredith smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around Kelly and Alana, holding one of the girls' breasts in each hand. "I guess we really are slave sisters. Well maybe not sisters. That would mean we've been committing incest. But I do love the two of you."

"Speaking of Ted," Alana said, "have you figured out if you are going to include him?"

"No, not really," replied Meredith. "What do you think?"

"Well, I don't really know him. Would he be a master or a slave?"

"Beats me. Which would you prefer?"

Alana laughs. "I guess it might be nice to have a slave brother."

"Mom thinks he's slave material," offered Kelly. "She didn't picture him as a master."

"Well maybe I'll include him then," said Meredith. "It seems that Grace has this all planned out too."

Their conversation was interrupted by some shouts. The three heads peeked up over the rocks and looked down into the clearing. Running across the grassy opening being pursued by two men with guns. The girl was almost back into the woods when a third hunter emerged from the side of the clearing, raised his gun and shot, leaving a bright blue spot on the girl's thigh. The girls had seen their first slave being bagged. The winning hunter walked to the girl and stood over her, pulling a blue tag out of his pocket. He leaned down and, with an industrial size clamp attached to the tag, clipped it to the girl's nipple, causing her to shriek. They saw the hunter saying something to the girl but they were too far away to make out any words. At about this time, the first two hunters arrived at the girl and all three hunters carried on a conversation with the captured slave at their feet.

One of the hunters was scanning the area, obviously looking for more prey. As his gaze turned toward the three girls, all three heads ducked down quickly. Alana was the first to peek her head back up and saw the man pointing into the woods in the direction they had come from. All three hunters started back in that direction, leaving the girl with the clamped nipple and the paint blot lying alone in the clearing. The men disappeared into the woods and, about fifteen minutes later, a jeep arrived. Two men got out of the jeep, hogtied the blue slave, and threw her into the back of the jeep to drive her back to the ranch.

"That was sure different," said Kelly.

"Wow, that was exciting!" exclaimed a flushed Meredith who was rubbing her thighs together unashamedly.

Alana laughed softly. "You really are too much."

The afternoon wore on. The girls weren't sure how late it was, but guessed it to be about 3:00. "What do you suppose happens if nobody shoots us?" asked Kelly.

"I don't know. Maybe we're free?"

"I sure hope someone shoots me. I'm so horny I'm about to explode!" claimed Meredith. I need a cock and I don't care what's attached at the other end at this point!"

"Well, we don't have cocks, but I'm sure Alana and I can help you out," offered Kelly as she reached over and started toying with Meredith's stiff and aroused nipples.

"What the heck," said Alana as she pushed Meredith onto her back and then laid down between her spread legs. Kelly moved her lips from a nipple to Meredith's lips and then back to a nipple, repeating this over and over again. Alana used her newly learned skills to tease and toy with Meredith's overheated sex, nibbling on the clit, stroking the labia, stabbing into the vagina until Meredith was moaning loudly.

"Quiet her down," warned Alana. Kelly quickly solved the problem of the noisy slave by squatting over the girl and lowering her own sex to muffle Meredith's moans. She continued to toy with the nipples rolling them back and forth and pulling them upward, stretching Meredith's large breasts into long cones on her chest.

Alana returned to her task and swirled her tongue around the throbbing clitoris causing Meredith's belly to quiver. Kelly was enjoying her role as muffler as Meredith would open her mouth and flutter her tongue over Kelly's gaping sex. Alana's tongue and lips soon proved too much for Meredith to bear and her entire body tensed in a gigantic orgasm. As soon as Meredith had stopped moaning, Kelly lifted herself off the girl's face and then relaxed, resting her head on Meredith's breast to use it as a pillow. "Mmmm, that was nice," observed Kelly.

"Mmmmmm, I'll say," murmured Meredith.

The sun kept getting lower in the sky and the girls were starting to get hungry. "We have to figure out what we're going to do or we might find ourselves out here all night," said Alana.

"That's fine with me," said Kelly. "I'm in no hurry for more abuse. Besides, what else could they do to us? Make us slaves?"

"I don't want to stay here all night. I still want those cocks," said Meredith with a twinkle in her eyes. This earned her a punch on the shoulder from both other girls.

The three girls were lying together with Kelly in the middle. Kelly was growing bored and was entertaining herself by suckling on one of Alana's nipples for a bit before moving to suckle one of Meredith's. Meredith was trying to take a nap and kept trying to swat Kelly away but eventually gave up and closed her eyes. Alana was deep in thought about what Meredith had said earlier. She felt pretty much the same way as Meredith and she found it disturbing. How can being owned by someone else and being put through an endless string of humiliations be exciting and appealing?

Their nap time was finally interrupted by a feminine voice. "Hello, my lovelies."

The three girls snapped awake and sat up quickly, looking up to see a woman in a western riding outfit pointing a gun at them. "Everyone has been looking all over for you. You were considered the prime catches of the day. You found a great hiding place."

"But now we have a problem. I'm only allowed to bag two and yet there are three of you."

"Hello, Mistress," said Alana.

The woman smiled at Alana and shot her, leaving a bright purple spot splattered on her chest. "Hello, girl." The woman then shot Meredith and Meredith ended up wearing an identical purple splatter on her belly. "I'd love to shoot you too, little one," she said to Kelly, "but I'm only allowed two. So you run along."

"What?!?!?!" asked a surprised Kelly. "I'm not going to go running out there!"

The woman smiled again and rested her gun against a rock. Then she unhooked a mean-looking whip that was coiled on her belt and shook it out. "Suits me just fine," she said as she snapped the whip, catching the tip of one of Kelly's breasts.

"Ow!" shouted Kelly. The whip whistled through the air again and Kelly felt the bite on her thigh. "Okay okay I'll go," she said. She got up and turned to her two comrades, "I guess I'll see you back at the ranch." And, with that, she started running down the rocky slope to the clearing.

Alana and Meredith watched as Kelly sprinted across the clearing and heard the shouts of hunters who emerged from one of the sides of the field. One raised his gun and fired, but missed the teenager. Another one shot but the paint hit a tree just as Kelly disappeared into the forest.

"You go girl" whispered Meredith.

By the time they returned to the ranch, Kelly was already there wearing a yellow splatter on her shoulder. All of the slaves were kneeling beside their owners for the night so Alana and Meredith also kneeled beside their new owner.

Awards were given out to the hunters, some of which were in jest. One man received an award for the most useless shots taken in the day. A woman received an award for first kill and another man received an award for the longest shot. Several people received the sure-shot award and it was described as an award for using only one shot for each kill. There was only one award for the slaves. It was for the last slave bagged and that slave was to be dubbed the king or queen of the hunt. Kelly found herself wearing the crown and blushed as all eyes turned to the new queen of the hunt.

Alana chuckled to herself seeing Kelly wearing the crown. "Now we have a slave princess and a slave queen," she thought.

Chapter 11: Grace Gathers the Flock

"Unfortunately, Grace, I wasn't able to." Grace had just returned to the ranch and had asked Charles how he enjoyed his time training her daughter. "Things came up that required my attention. But she was in good hands. Gretchen looked after them. And I'd like a rain check. I'll train her myself some other time."

Grace laughed. "I'll bet you would. How did she do?"

"She did great. All three of them did great. You might call them the belles of the ball," he said.

"Oh?"

Charles described the events of the past three days and how they had become dinner-time favorites. He related Gretchen's evaluation, which was nothing but glowing. And he described how the three girls had been at the top of everyone's target lists for the hunt.

"As you know, we generally get a large gathering of owners at these events. Well, I have never seen anything quite like yesterday. Some of the other slaves had a hard time getting shot because everyone wanted to wait to save their last shot for one of your three. In fact, I can't tell you how many people wanted to buy them. I kept telling them that I didn't think they were for sale but they just kept hounding me. Finally, I gave up."

Grace gasped. "You sold them?"

"No, no, don't worry about that," reassured Charles. I told each of them to give me a sealed bid and I promised them that I would deliver them to you."

"That's interesting," mused Grace. "How many bids did you get?"

Charles opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out a stack of envelopes, dumping them on the table in front of Grace. "That's how many."

"Oh my," said Grace. "I guess they really were popular. Shall we see what they are worth?"

Charles and Grace spent the next fifteen minutes slicing the envelopes open and reading the bids. Some were for individual girls and others were for the threesome. There was no girl who appeared to be the favorite as the individual bids were fairly evenly distributed. Alana, however, received the highest bid at five million dollars. This caused Grace to gasp and reread the bid closely. But even on closer examination, she had been offered an even five million dollars for her neighbor.

Several of the bids were for all three girls with the highest bid being ten million dollars. "I could set up a real business with numbers like this," observed Grace.

"If you keep bringing me girls like this," Charles said, "we would both be very wealthy in no time."

Charles brought Gretchen in to personally give her report. Grace was truly impressed by the tall, buxom blonde woman. She couldn't help herself from imagining the woman naked, with a collar around her neck and kneeling at her feet. Grace knew that she was being ridiculous and that she already had her hands full. But still, this woman was striking.

Gretchen gave her report. "They are truly the most amazing three creatures I have ever seen. They are each beautiful, lively, fun-loving, caring, and extremely sexual." She went on to describe some of the events and used the giggle-fit in the corral as an example of their fun-loving personalities. "All of the other slaves just wanted to get away and were worried. Your three looked as if they didn't have a care in the world and were enjoying themselves."

She described she had been told by the mistress who captured them during the hunt. "Everyone had been looking for them. Mistress Karen finally found them near the western border of the ranch. They were lying together comfortably and relaxed and Kelly was amusing herself by alternately sucking Alana's and Meredith's nipples. It wasn't exactly sex, but it was very sexual."

"I know that they are out of my league, financially," Gretchen continued, "but it would be an honor and a pleasure to be able to train them again."

Grace smiled. "Thank you for the report. And thank you for caring for my pets. I would love for you to be with them again. Should I arrange that with Charles or directly with you?"

"Either way," replied Gretchen. "I just want to be able to enjoy them again."

Gretchen left and Charles led Grace outside where the three girls were lined up in a coffle again. Grace kissed the cheek of each girl and squeezed both breasts, even Kelly's. Then she thanked Charles and loaded her cargo into the minivan. She had expected Kelly to protest riding naked in the back with the property but Kelly eagerly clambered in with the other two naked females.

There was an occasional comment or question at first, but the conversation was pretty limited. Grace decided not to interrogate the girls about the experience and just drove silently. By the time they reached the highway, however, Grace felt like she had three teenagers in the back instead of one plus two adults. They chattered incessantly and she listened intently.

"What was your favorite part?" asked Kelly.

"The hunt!" exclaimed Meredith. "No wait! The male slaves during our classes."

"Not the German Shepherd?" asked Kelly.

"Kel!" protested Meredith. "Your mom's listening."

"So what? She owns you. Was it the dog or not?"

Meredith groaned. "Well I really liked the dog. But I still think that the hunt was my favorite part."

All three girls quizzed each other and compared notes. "Who was your favorite master?" "Who was your favorite mistress?" "How big was the biggest cock that you took?" "How many times did you deep throat?" It was like bringing young teenagers back from a dance, although the topics were quite a bit different. The enthusiasm and the excitement were exactly the same, though.

By they time they arrived home, Grace had heard an earful. Most people wouldn't have believed what she heard, but she knew it to be true. What she couldn't believe was how excited Kelly was about all of this. Maybe her daughter was better suited to be a slave. But surely, she couldn't own her own daughter.

That evening, the bevy of naked beauties was gathered at Grace's feet. She told them how proud she was of their behavior for the past three days and how each of them needed some time to think and reflect on the experience. They were told that they would have the day to themselves tomorrow and would meet again in the evening.

"What are you planning on doing tomorrow?" Meredith asked Alana.

"Work on the house," she replied. "I keep getting distracted from my main project."

"I'll help. I'll come over tomorrow and we should be able to get twice as much done."

"Me too," offered Kelly. "I'll be over bright and early."

Friday morning, there were three naked girls working in Alana's house. Kelly worked on cleaning out the basement while Alana finished painting the family room. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs would be finished by that evening. Meredith was not all that handy but was able to handle the job of stripping wallpaper in one of the bedrooms. She also took care of lunch and made sure that refreshments were available whenever needed.

By mid-afternoon, one room was finished, the basement was clean and the bedroom walls were stripped and ready to be prepared for painting. The three girls took showers and then relaxed for a bit. Kelly announced that the remodeling plans had to include a shower or bath big enough for all three of them, though.

They sat at the kitchen table for a bit and gabbed about their experiences at the ranch. Despite the humiliations and the hardships, it didn't seem as if any of the girls regretted their time there.

"I'm horny," Meredith announced after awhile. Alana just grabbed a banana and slid it across the table to the horny slave causing all three girls to break out laughing.

When the laughing died down, Meredith went on. "I mean it. I'm horny. Let's go to bed."

Kelly immediately popped up. "I'm ready."

Alana rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. Some workers you turn out to be, though."

They spent the rest of the afternoon kissing and caressing and nibbling and sucking and probing. They eventually fell asleep in their normal spooning arrangement with Alana in the middle this time. Kelly was behind Alana and had reached around to hold one of Alana's breasts. Similarly, Alana cradled one of Meredith's. Meredith had no breasts to hold, so she reached back and rested her hand on Alana's thigh. It was in this position that Grace found them at the end of the day. And it was at that moment that she decided that Kelly would also become one of her slaves. And it was also at that moment that she decided that Ted would have to be a co-owner of the girls with her.

She hoped that Ted would be up to the task. She had previously labeled him as slave material. He would need a lot of work and coaching. She would have to talk this over with Charles. Maybe Gretchen could help in some way.

She let the girls sleep and went downstairs to Alana's kitchen. She rummaged around and was eventually able to find what she needed to make a cup of tea. As she sat at the kitchen table, she started to formulate a plan.

Ted would be coming home this evening. He may already be there, for all she knew. Then she paused and wondered what had gone through his mind when he had been unable to reach his wife for three evenings. And she wondered how Meredith had explained away her unavailability.

She would talk privately with Ted on Saturday. That seemed easy enough. The girls seemed to be inseparable at this point. If they were planning on working on Alana's house, that would provide the opportunity. If not, she would create the opportunity by sending them shopping.