Return to the Backcountry

This story is a complete work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.

I would strongly urge you to read "What Happens in the Backcountry, Stays in the Backcountry" before you read this story. There are vital developments in the original tale that give this story so much more depth and meaning than it will otherwise hold for you.

Be aware that this story involves a woman having sex with someone other than her husband, but this is not a cheating situation; the husband is informed and involved. Pregnancy risk and interracial themes feature heavily in the story, and there is a minor brush with bisexual content, as well. If any of these items do not appeal to you, I strongly recommend that you close this now and find another story more in line with your tastes.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy this tale.

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"Are you ready for this, babe?" Nick Bryant asked his wife, Tina. Her emerald eyes positively sparkled in anticipation; he hardly needed her nod or affirmative reply to his question to know her answer.

Opening the door revealed that the air outside of their car was sharply cold, but the brunette woman paid it no mind whatsoever as she fairly leaped out of the blue Nissan and moved to retrieve her backpack from the trunk. It was the beginning of December and unseasonably cool on top of that, but Tina's enthusiasm was infectious, and Nick found himself moving for his own pack.

Tina frowned as she tried -- and failed -- to fasten the chest strap on her pack; there was a good two inch gap remaining between the buckles. Despite himself, Nick snickered at the sight.

"What?" he grinned, pretending to not see notice his wife's acid glare. "Having some trouble there?" He smirked as he spoke. "I mean... really, baby, what did you expect? The girls are just a lot bigger these days."

Tina shook her head and pouted. "It's not funny," she protested. "Nothing fits anymore!"

Nick smiled gently and helped loosen the straps. With a click, they came together.

"Seriously, girl," he offered. "You have to give it some time. Abby is barely four months old, and you haven't worn that pack in six months. You can hardly expect a pre-pregnancy body already. Besides," he added with a cooked grin, "those huge boobs look really good on you!"

Tina rolled her eyes and punched her husband in the shoulder, but she found herself grinning all the same. Pregnancy had predictably swollen her breasts; between that and breastfeeding, she had picked up a full two cup sizes -- if not a little more. Her poor DD nursing bras strained at the seams to contain her newfound size... which looked all the bigger on her five foot, five inch frame.

For the first time since the baby had been born, Tina was not in fact wearing a nursing bra; today, she was instead modeling a brand-new sports bra. While this wouldn't be that long of a hike today -- the route only covered eight miles -- she was pretty certain that the added support would be greatly appreciated by her back. It had been a bitch to find a sports bra big enough for her expanded breasts; apparently, the local stores had all decided that no one larger than a D cup would possibly be exercising, so she had been forced to order a couple of them online instead.

Body changes notwithstanding, Tina could not deny her excitement to be outdoors again. Abigail had been born at the end of summer; the sweltering heat and humidity of the South had been too much for a sore, tired mom-to-be to deal with for the last eight weeks or so of her pregnancy. Then, Tina had of course had to deal with postpartum healing and such, and given that she was breastfeeding, she hadn't felt comfortable to leave the baby alone yet for long enough to take a hike.

When the weather turned warmer in the spring, she and Nick already planned to wear the baby in a carrier on some hikes, but dragging an infant into the woods during the cold winter didn't seem like a great time for anyone. Tina's milk supply had grown strong enough that pumping it had become quite easy for her -- their freezer at home was already loaded down with the liquid gold -- so her mother had gleefully agreed to watch the baby and the two older boys for the day while she and Nick finally got to take a hike.

One half of a mile into the route, Tina already felt like weight had come off of her shoulders. It wasn't that she didn't love being a mom -- she always had cherished her time with her babies. But having another person rely so completely on her through every hour of every day became a grind, and never having time to herself had really drained her batteries.

The smells of the woods -- the leaves, the dirt, the trees -- served to lift Tina's spirits in the way that they always had. The surroundings were hardly pretty - at least not compared to how they were at almost any other time of the year -- but those bare limbs and brown remnants on the ground still quieted Tina's soul. Nick found himself grinning at the relaxation evident on his wife's face.

"I'm glad to see you happy," he remarked quietly as they walked side by side in a wider part of the trail. "I know that it's been stressful few months."

The brunette shook her head at her husband's words. "For a year or so, really," she stated. "But yeah... the woods are like therapy for me, you know. Better, really."

Their feet crunched on the path as the Bryants moved together along the empty trail.

It had been right at thirteen months since that fateful backpacking trip into the remote wilderness near the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Bryants had gotten caught in an unexpected blizzard -- something they were woefully unprepared for. Nick had suffered an accident, falling into frigid water; there had been very real fear that he would die, that they would both freeze to death.

Tina had hauled her husband out of that icy water, then both figuratively and literally drug him through the snow to what they had believed to be a trail shelter, but had turned out to in fact be a cabin occupied by a large, reclusive, older black man. Ezekiel Brown, the cabin's resident, had quite literally saved the Bryant's lives with the warmth of his cabin and his hospitality, and the couple had sheltered with Zeke for three days and nights until the weather had cleared enough for them to continue on their journey.

Isolation and alcohol and strong emotions had led to some questionable decisions during their stay, however. During their second night with Zeke, the Bryants had started to have sex after an evening of drinking, believing that the old man was passed out. But Zeke had woken up, and after the couple first decided to allow him to watch -- both as something of a reward for his kindness and as a way to live out some of the exhibitionistic fantasies they had shared -- the black man had joined in, having unprotected sex with Nick's fertile wife.

One incident might have been bad enough, but the sex had been so good, the power of the taboo so strong, that Tina ended up repeating the act several more times before the couple left the cabin for good. With no access to Plan B in the middle of nowhere, the brunette had indeed fallen pregnant; given her strong personal beliefs about abortion, she had carried the baby to term, despite neither of the Bryants really wanting any more children now that their two boys were older -- let alone a mixed race baby that had clearly not been fathered by Nick. Ignoring the worries about social pressure, judgment, and other negative outcomes, Nick had committed steadfastly from the beginning to support his wife and to treat the baby like his own.

Abby had been born at the end of August - and she was perfect. The delivery was smooth, the baby was healthy, the infant slept through the night within days of birth. Of course, one glance at her rich, coffee-colored complexion and jet-black hair removed any ounce of doubt that Nick -- with his obviously Caucasian skin and sandy blonde locks -- had any chance of being the baby's biological father.

The Bryants, well aware that this would be the reality of the baby's genetics, had agonized for months over how they would explain the pregnancy to their friends and family. After all, almost anyone who knew them well knew that the couple had all but decided against any more children, so news of Tina's pregnancy had been met with more than a little surprise.

It had seemed to press the limits of credulity to claim that they had undergone a sudden change of heart, sought out a fertility clinic, and been the recipient of some unfortunate seminal mix up. Tina had offered to tell people that she had simply had an affair and that her husband had forgiven her, but Nick could not stomach the idea of people viewing his wife as a cheating slut... nor did he want to be seen as some pathetic loser for enabling it. Concocting a story about an imagined assault seemed like a ridiculous lie to tell, something insulting to any woman who had truly lived through such a thing -- and unfair to the baby who would be viewed as a product of such violence. No matter how Tina and Nick schemed, no story seemed like a satisfactory explanation for the pregnancy.

And so, the Bryants just sort of settled into the idea of saying nothing at all. Certainly, there had been more than a few raised eyebrows in the four months since the baby's birth; indeed, the first such incident was in the delivery room itself when two nurses gave each other a meaningful look as they cleaned the newborn and took her vital signs. But when the couple acted like nothing whatsoever was unusual, when Nick scooped up that baby girl and held her tight like she was his own flesh and blood, people almost invariably dropped their questions and quizzical expressions. If it was good enough for the Bryants, then it was good enough for most other people.

In fact, the only real pushback had come from Tina's father. When her parents had come to see the Bryants in the hospital, the grandpa's weathered face had been beaming from the moment he and his wife entered the room. However, the instant that the older man's gaze had slipped from his daughter to her dark-skinned child, his expression fell immediately into one of terrible disappointment and disapproval. Without a word, Tina's father had turned on one heel and stalked out of the room, refusing to speak to anyone and instead glowering silently in the waiting room while his wife finished visiting. He had not spoken to Tina or Nick since.

Tina's mother had been embarrassed by the whole thing. She had weakly commented as to how her husband was the product of a different time, how his views were old and hard to change. However, it was clear from the first time she laid eyes on baby Abigail that she was smitten -- no matter what color the child was.

Nick's parents, on the other hand, had been far more even keeled. Nick's own father had shot his son a raised eyebrow when he first saw Abby, but when the younger man had started to stammer a reply, Dad had cut him off. "Son," he explained quietly into Nick's ear, "it's 2026. Your family is your business. If you are happy, we are happy." And from all indications, both of the elder Bryants meant every bit of that; the subject had never come up again since, and they doted on the child every bit as hard as they had her brothers.

Josh and Mike, the Bryant's older sons, had themselves been pretty indifferent about any possible race issues. They had seemed far more concerned with how having a baby around would impact their lives around the house in general; every concern they ever voiced would have applied to a white, black, or green infant just the same. Whose turn it was to empty the diaper pail, whose job it was to do a load of baby laundry, why does a baby need so much stuff, are babies always so noisy, and those sorts of issues. One or two other people did stop talking to Tina and Nick after the stories of Abby's birth had circulated, but life was so busy and none of the bigots close enough to the family that neither of the Bryants particularly cared.

So sure, the situation could have been much worse. But even so, the stress had been very real for quite some time. Between all of that baggage and the normal physical and emotional tolls of pregnancy and childbirth, Tina was just drained.

As the couple came around a bend, revealing the sound of water rushing over the rocks somewhere in the valley below them, a smile spread across Tina's face. Things were going to be okay.

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They stopped for lunch near a nicely flowing waterfall in a small canyon. Nick broke out the snacklebox -- a fun little invention where the couple took a flat tackle box, the type that one would load extra fishing lures in, and instead packed it with cheese, summer sausage, crackers, raisins, nuts, and other trail-friendly foods.

As Tina pulled a soft drink out of her pack, she dropped a small purple fabric bag. Nick recognized it as the container for her Diva Cup and handed it back to his wife, drawing a quick smile of gratitude. A few years back, Tina had discovered that a menstrual cup was far more convenient for her, gave her more confidence than tampons or pads -- and it was certainly more outdoors-friendly than having to worry about the trash created by more traditional feminine hygiene products. She swore by her Diva Cup, her chosen brand. Since that time, she always kept one with her, even if she was not on her period; Nick guessed that with her cycles not being totally regular after Abby's birth, it made sense to always be prepared.

The sun was out, but the canyon formed a natural funnel that directed the cool air from the waterfall directly at the Bryants. In the summertime, this would have been a glorious respite from the heat... right now, it was just extra cold. As a result, lunch was a more rushed affair than they often looked for it to be, and the two of them found themselves packing up much quicker than they usually had in the past.

Nick had just slipped his backpack on when he noticed Tina walking towards the pool that caught the water's flow, while leaving her own pack behind on the ground. With a confused look on his face, he called out to his wife.

"Babe, is everything okay? I thought that you wanted to get moving?"

As she turned around to answer her husband, Nick processed that her shirt was unbuttoned. With a smirk, she shed the garment, despite the cold air and the breeze.

"Well, where is your phone?" the brunette asked teasingly. "I'm already cold, so I can't promise that you'll get a lot of shots... and damn, my belly is still so flabby. But it wouldn't be one of our real hikes if you didn't at least get some bare boob pics, would it? I figured you might want some photos to remember these while they are so big."

Hurriedly, Nick yanked his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera app as Tina discarded the gray sports bra. Holy shit, those breasts were simply magnificent! The huge, dark areolas and nipples - so different than the smaller light pink form they took when his wife wasn't pregnant or nursing -- were so sexily prominent in the sun.

Nick hadn't even dared to hope that Tina would be in the mood to return to their old exhibitionist games, but here the brunette was, arms crossed beneath her boobs, making them pull together and stand up even more prominently as she pouted at the camera. As he stiffened inside of his pants, Nick noticed Tina take a few furtive glances around, but the chosen remote location and the weather had apparently ensured that they would be alone.

After cycling through a few poses, Tina pulled on her clothes with chattering teeth. "Don't claim that I don't love you," she teased.

Nick smiled and shook his head. "You are so fucking hot," he declared as he leaned in for a little kiss. "I have missed those moments, too." He turned his head to look meaningfully back to the trail, but before he could finish his thought, a dog barked.

Oh fuck... someone was out there with them - cold weather or not!

Tina made eye contact with her husband and broke into a giggle as she scurried over to finish up the last two shirt buttons and retrieve her pack. Moments later, they were waving to a man and a woman with a labrador retriever on a leash as the couples passed one another on the trail.

Once they were out of earshot, Nick arched an eyebrow at his wife. "My, they came awfully close to seeing some milky tits, didn't they? I wonder what they would have thought?"

Tina laughed and shook her head, but Nick registered that faraway look in his wife's eyes. There were definitely still some buttons that could be pressed there.

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As the stopped for a water break about halfway back to the car, Tina frowned as she looked down. "Damnit!" she cursed. "The cold air must have stimulated things too much."

For a moment, Nick was confused... then, his gaze settled in on Tina's chest and he noticed the damp spots. There was a quarter-sized darkened area on Tina's shirt in front of her left nipple, and a damp region at least twice as large in front of the right. Bemused, Nick wondered if that was why the right side always seemed to be the baby's favorite.

"The cold probably had something to do with it," he allowed, his eyes dancing with mischief. "But as I recall, you tend to leak a little bit when you are aroused. It looks to me like somebody got a little turned on by showing off outside - and almost getting caught doing it."

"Asshole," Tina muttered before turning away -- but not before Nick caught a glimpse of her grin.

"I don't hear any denial," he pointed out with a chuckle.

This time, her grin was readily visible. "Like I said, asshole!" she exclaimed.

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By the time the Bryants made it home, Tina's poor shirt was a real mess, even though she had inserted nursing pads into her bra as soon as they made it into the car. Fortunately, Abby was ready to latch the moment they walked through the door, despite the bottles grandma had given her while her parents were away on their hike. Even so, Tina had more than enough leftover supply for a pumping session after the feed.

That night, sex had a spark that had been missing for some time. Nick knew very well that his wife had a massive kink around being caught out in public, but the two of them hadn't dirty talked around the subject in months. The near miss of having strangers see her topless was a perfect entry point for the topic, and Nick found his wife warming up almost instantly when he brought it up.

So Nick teased her with whisperings of strangers seeing her topless. What if she had been naked instead of just topless? What if they had walked up while she was giving her husband a blowjob? Would they have watched? Would they have wanted to join in?

Tina came harder than she had since before the baby had been born, and she insisted that Nick fuck her hard and fast. At her frantic urging, he held himself as far as he could inside of her wet heat and delivered every drop of his semen inside of his wife.

Tina had gotten her "woods therapy". The two of them had enjoyed some hot sex.

Life was good.

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Given the fact that the hike had been so very good for Tina's general mental health -- and also, that Abby had survived just fine without her mother for the day -- the Bryants found themselves moving to embrace their pre-pregnancy routine of taking at least one hike per month. It didn't hurt that childcare was no problem whatsoever; every time that the couple mentioned wanting to hike, they had a pair of grandmothers ready to fight for the privilege of watching the baby.