Lights on the Far Horizon Trilogy

by Stone, Sailor

  Kinsey and Sam went back to Tucker’s bar and had a late dinner and a great conversation. She learned all about his own life and before they parted and went back to their rooms for bed, they embraced and promised to spend the next afternoon together. They exchanged contact information and said goodnight.

  Kinsey had a good buzz going as she left the bar but she was still aware enough to feel the eyes of a man, standing in the shadow of a faraway hotel door, watching her, as she made her way to her room. She turned in his direction and saw a slight movement in the shadows as he stepped back into the darkness of the room behind him.

  That night she dreamed of the snake again. It climbed into her bed and crawled under her sheets and she woke to the sound of her own voice screaming for help. Her heart was pounding and she had to catch her breath so real was the slithering snake as it came for her in the darkest parts of her mind.

  She calmed her panicked mind by taking deep, even breaths and she let the image of the snake slowly disintegrate to nothing.

  She lay in the bed and looked up to the shadows on the ceiling. She could hear the wind through the open doors to her terrace as it gently pushed into her room.

  Snakes. She’d never dreamed of them before. They were terrifying to her though and she sat up and then went into her bathroom. She took care of her needs including washing her face and brushing her teeth even though the sun was still a couple of long and lonely hours from rising.

  She got back into bed and realized she had forgotten to text Tanner earlier in the evening when she had meant too. She remembered Sammy had interrupted her thought process by talking to her on the elevator. She’d be sure to do it though in the morning, before she began her day.

  She lay still and listened to the wind and thought about what Tanner might be doing on his own sabbatical. She hoped it didn’t involve other women. She was sure it didn’t. She felt more confident about their situation now than she did on the flight over the previous day. She pictured him on their sailboat, The Naked Sunset, tanned, strong, confident and stunning in his good looks. She missed him and she felt herself wanting him in the most intimate of ways. She began to get sleepy but she pushed back on the heaviness behind her eyes trying to keep her husband pictured in her mind.

  He was in the room with her. He was hiding in the bathroom and she saw him peeking out at her. He smiled at her when she told him to come into bed with her. He stepped out and he was naked in the moonlight. He wanted her, she could tell, and she wanted him.

  He came to the bottom of her bed and pulled up her sheet and slid under it. She could feel him moving between her legs and then he stopped and she knew what he was going to do next. She felt his unshaven face, rough, on the inside of her thighs, and she closed her eyes knowing he would work his magic on her.

  He reached his hands up along her stomach, tickling her with his fingers as he went and then he cupped both her breasts, one in each hand, and gently squeezed her nipples as he began to kiss into her. She thought she would explode but he was just getting started.

  “I love you so much, Tanner,” she cried out and then he said back to her, “I love you too, Kins.”

  It made her happy and she wanted him inside of her. The snake was lying under her though, hiding in the bed with them, and it was large and venomous and Kinsey knew that Tanner had yet to see it. It was her own sin – she had struck Tanner – she’d hit her own loving husband – and the snake wanted to tell Tanner to walk away from her. She had to get better quickly and stop this snake, but when Tanner saw the snake crawl up from under her and coil itself between her breasts as he prepared to mount her and she saw the horror and disappointment in his eyes, she saw him melting away and then Tanner wasn’t there any longer; there was only her, the wicked snake and her sin…

  19

  Let's go Scootering

  The sun was shining into her room and Kinsey rolled over in the bed and put a pillow atop her head to block the light. Sunlight was not in her plans just yet but the sunbeams shining through her open terrace door and windows were relentless, demanding that she wake up and start her day. Kinsey sighed and pushed back the pillow and opened her eyes.

  She stepped to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, undressed and put on one of the fine hotel robes that was hanging from the back of the door. She was thirsty and she found a bottle of spring water on the shelf above the sink and she took a drink from it and then headed out to her terrace.

  The gentle winds, the green foliage and the beautiful seascape seemed to be dripping color and Kinsey let out a gentle sigh. Something in her heart told her she needed to reach out to the colors and touch them and Kinsey returned to her room and came back with her camera. She focused her lens on the sea’s horizon, to a place far from her, where she pictured beauty and good health were in great abundance, and she pressed down on the shutter button. That was the healing place, the far horizon, where she would find her cure. She took the picture and in her mind’s eye she aimed her heart and her soul toward that far off direction and told herself to begin the long healing walk to her restoration.

  She called for room service and when her breakfast arrived she had it placed on the table on the terrace. She ate slowly. She had a scone with a fine marmalade and butter spread along its top and then a small bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit. She finished with a cup of strong coffee and then sat in a lounge chair to get some sun on her skin. The vitamin D in the sun’s rays would do her good.

  She looked about to make sure she couldn’t be seen and she pulled of her robe to let her entire body feel the warm heat.

  The sun on her naked body felt warm and life giving and it gave her an energy that she had almost forgotten existed. She let the front of her body soak in the rays for a while, though not long enough to burn, and then she turned over to give her back the same treatment.

  She closed her eyes and felt the heat as her skin grew warm.

  It made her think of Tanner and his burn scars on his back. She always cared deeply for him and she worked at healing his scars over the years of their marriage. Making him well, touching him where he was vulnerable and soothing his pain, had been, to her, one of the best things about their marriage. It made her feel like she was a part of Tanner and she knew she was doing what she was called to do. Taking care of your man, your husband, was a mission of the highest order and she had always embraced that mission deep within her heart.

  She sighed. Somewhere, soon after the babies were born, she had forgotten to minister to his scars. He never said a word. She had to make that up to him. Not because she owed it to him, he never asked her for the loving care she had given him, but rather because she wanted to give herself to him again and let him know she was back, always, and in all ways, for him. She sighed again.

  She pulled her robe back around herself and went inside to text Sam about meeting for their first day’s adventure. As she stepped inside from the terrace, she, again, saw a note being slid under her door.

  She crossed the room quickly and looked out the door and again found no one there. She retrieved the note.

  It read: I saw you last night in the bar and then later by the pool. I saw you look down from your terrace to me as well but that was simply, for me at least, a fortunate incident. I find myself to be overwhelmed by your beauty and if I can muster the courage I will one day soon ask for your presence at a fine dining place with incredible views and great food. I am a man of the sea and of the written word and you seem to be of something else, something beautiful and wonderful, but, none the less, still something different. I’d like to share some time with you and discover the mysteries that beat within your heart. I could reveal mine as well. I shall be back in touch soon. Yours fondly.

  Kinsey’s heart began to beat rapidly as she read the note. There was something about the words that excited her. She thought about it as she put the note on the desk by the first one she’d received the night before. The note scared her as well. A new man? She couldn’t begin to consider it.
>
  She put her mind to the day at hand and texted Sammy. He responded immediately and they agreed to meet in the hotel lobby in thirty minutes. I have an idea, he texted, and when he didn’t add any additional information to his text Kinsey stepped to the bathroom to prepare for the coming day.

  Kinsey beat Sammy down to the lobby and she waited by the elevator for him to come down from his room.

  He was but a minute behind her and when the door to the elevator opened and Sammy stepped out Kinsey lit up and smiled at what he was wearing.

  Sammy immediately noticed her reaction and said, “So you like? Am I a bit brilliant for this island?”

  He was wearing an opened white shirt that revealed a strong chest and a six-pack of abs. He was in a small bright red speedo as well. And sandals, not that Kinsey much noticed the sandals. Or the shirt for that matter. He also had on a really big watch and he was carrying what she would consider to be a large lady’s beach bag, but all she really saw was the red speedo and the detailed imprint of a particular male part of his anatomy in its tight front pouch.

  Kinsey considered her next words carefully, “I think you look beautiful, very healthy as well, but I don’t see you getting around the island in comfort in those … are those shorts?”

  Sammy looked at her, like the idea of being comfortable was the last thing on his mind and said, “You think that might be an issue? I just had the thought that I’m single now and I wanted to be sure to dress the part.” He looked at Kinsey like he was awaiting guidance from a Zen Master.

  “Perhaps some mystery for your suitors. Maybe some longer and looser shorts over the little red thing you have on there. You can wear nice looking shorts, then you can spring the little red thing on them later.” Kinsey said, raising her eyebrows.

  “I think you’re saying I’m too much Hollywood for Bermuda…”

  “Maybe South Beach instead. That’d be perfect in South Beach but here in Bermuda I think the staid British might object if we walk into lunch somewhere and that’s all you’re wearing.”

  “You think so? I might have to agree, this isn’t South Beach, you’re right.” Sammy nodded his head like they’d get this worked out no problem.

  To drive home the point Kinsey said, “I can see your penis, Sammy.”

  “And that’s a no-no here?”

  Kinsey answered, “I give it fifty-fifty. I’ve never been to Bermuda before but I’d bet for most places on the island that might be a bit much. I love how it looks though, you’re quite the man,” Kinsey added figuring a compliment might help, “but let’s keep it to ourselves for now.”

  “I think you might be right. I’ll have to trust you on this. I haven’t been on vacation anywhere in years where something like this wasn’t the first thing I’d put on. I love going on vacation to hedonistic little islands.”

  “I don’t think they advertise Bermuda as a hedonistic little island. I could be wrong though.”

  “I think you’re right. The maid in the hallway that I passed on my way down here dropped her towels when I walked by her. I’ll go put on a cover-up.”

  “Okay,” Kinsey said, “Just stick with shorts though. I’m not quite sure what you mean by a cover-up.”

  Sammy crinkled his nose and nodded to Kinsey and then he turned and made for the elevator.

  The concierge just across the lobby from Kinsey stood and walked over to her. “I just heard your conversation with our guest. I think he’ll find himself a lot more comfortable only wearing that little see-through red thing on the beaches around here. It’s not a problem. I just don’t see that kind of clothing anywhere but the beaches.”

  “I just had to go with my instincts on that one. He asked and I gave him an honest answer,” Kinsey answered.

  “You should have fun with him. He looks to very entertaining.”

  “If what he was wearing is any indication, I may need to be drinking by lunch to be as socially loose as he expects me to be.”

  The concierge laughed and turned back to his desk saying, “I agree. Have a drink for me as well. If you didn’t say something to him just then I think I would have had to.”

  Kinsey watched the young man make his way back to his desk and then a few minutes later Sammy came out from the elevator wearing tight, sky-blue shorts that came down to the same length as would a pair of Bermuda shorts on his legs.

  “That’s much better,” Kinsey said, “Those are great looking colors you’re wearing. They accent your skin and eyes perfectly.”

  Sammy put his hand to Kinsey’s arm, “Are you sure? I almost went with some pink yoga pants. Carlton, my ex, loved me in pink.”

  Kinsey found herself shaking her head at the thought. “You aren’t going out today to reunite with Carlton. You did good keeping the pink in your hotel room for the day.”

  “You know, you’re right, girl. Let’s forget our past and live for the day,” Sammy said, then added, “How about we go scootering? They have them available here at the hotel.”

  “Scootering?” Kinsey asked.

  “Yes, you’ve seen all the scooters here on the island. Most people use scooters as their primary mode of transportation. The roads are so tight.”

  “I’ve been in a fog since I arrived. I hardly looked out the window on the cab ride here from the airport. I didn’t notice any scooters. Sure though. It sounds like it would be fun.” Kinsey answered.

  A half hour later, after a course in how to ride the hotel scooters, Kinsey and Sam were heading down the road, beach bags in the storage compartments of the scooters, on their way to a day of beaches, bars and restaurants.

  Their hotel sat atop a hill and dominated the landscape. They rode down the winding roads from the resort with some trepidation as this was a British island and all cars and vehicles, at least to Kinsey and Sammy, were driving on the wrong side of the road.

  It took them both a while to get use to the feeling of flying down the road, on the left side, with traffic speeding by on their right.

  Even so, it made Kinsey happy to feel the wind on her face and as they passed by the island’s sights Kinsey made sure to see them with an artist’s eye for detail.

  They had gotten off to a late start and it was soon lunch time and Sammy pointed to a pub up ahead of them on the side of the road. He motioned for them to stop and Kinsey nodded yes and they pulled into the parking area by a sign that said, The Swizzle Inn.

  They took seats outside at a table under a green umbrella. Kinsey felt lucky to get the table as the place was almost full and getting more crowded as more tourists pulled in for lunch.

  “This is neat.” Sammy said, then asked, “Should we have a cocktail?”

  Kinsey looked around, “I don’t see anyone here that can keep us from having a cocktail. I’m on vacation with my new friend. I’m celebrating.”

  “Good, me too. That’s my new attitude as well. Carlton, I’m pushing you out of my mind… at least for the coming week.”

  Kinsey laughed as a waitress approached and when she put menus before them and asked what they’d like to drink Kinsey said, “Two of your house specialties.”

  “That would be a Rum Swizzle,” the waitress said and turned to get them their drinks.

  Sammy looked about at the crowd of people around them and asked, “So what next? I’d like to get some sun and see some beautiful people as well. What better place than to do both if not a beach?”

  “Yes,” Kinsey said, “let’s get some sun and let you see some skin. You seem like you love the naked body, Sammy.”

  Sammy nodded, “I do as long as it’s beautiful. God made clothes for a reason – some people look better with clothes on and not off.”

  Kinsey raised her eyebrows, “That sounds vain, Sammy.”

  Sam looked about, “I hope I wasn’t heard. That did sound vain. What can I say, I love beauty and to me the human body is the most beautiful of all things in the universe.”

  “I agree,” Kinsey answered as the waitress came to their table with
their drinks.

  They ordered from the menu and resumed their conversation after the waitress left them.

  “You know, I’m an artist – I’m a photographer and I paint. I have an art gallery in Charleston.

  “Can I come see? I love art.” Sammy said. “If we’re friends then I have to see your essence. Can I come to Charleston one day and visit you?”

  Kinsey found herself being attracted to the directness and innocent display for friendship that Sammy was proposing and she nodded her head and agreed, then said, “I would think your hairstyling is an art.”

  Sammy stood from his chair and surprised Kinsey by stepping around to her side of the table and getting behind her. He began to run his fingers through her hair, softly scratching her scalp and Kinsey dropped her shoulders, and, with no choice really, relaxed into his finger work.

  Sam gently pulled her hair about on her head, getting a feel for its texture, thickness and looking at its color in the sunlight. He talked to Kinsey as he did so, “I think that a woman’s hair is like the crowning beauty of a woman, the cherry on top of the sundae. Its purpose is to attract a man and I can help it in that respect. Mine is an art and I can make a masterpiece of beauty with your hair. It’s long and textured, like living silk. The colors are many – I see dark browns and light browns, some blond and even a hint of auburn. You have to let me work with it for an afternoon before you leave. We can use the hotel spa. I checked. They have everything I would need.”

  Kinsey nodded and as Sammy let down her hair and returned to his chair, she said, “I’d like that. Maybe I can look better for Tanner.”

  “I can make you look so good you’ll blow his mind. Let me do a full-body work-over on you. I can make you into a young virgin princess. Just trust me.”

  “I doubt I can requalify for the young virgin’s club but if you can make me look like a young princess I’ll take it.” Kinsey paused and looked at Sammy for a moment, “I’ll let you work your magic only if you’ll tell me about Carlton and what happened between the two of you. Maybe we can fix your relationship.”