“Well, let’s keep talking about it. It’s important that we communicate about things like this. While I might be content to curl up and watch a movie with you, that might not be what you want. I also want to be as active as possible. It’s been hard to keep up with my workout routine and healthy eating choices while we’ve been on tour.”
“I know, but that’s not exactly what I mean. I love seeing your eyes light up, Sammy—the way you’re fascinated by the new things we see and experience. That’s what I’m talking about. I don’t want that to stop—for either of us.”
“Well, we can’t exactly do that forever.”
“Why not?” He looked into my eyes. “Who says we can’t?”
All at once it struck me that Max wanted to be sure we didn’t have a traditional marriage. Maybe he was concerned that we were going to lose sight of our own personal freedoms.
“You know, Max, I don’t want you to feel like we have to do everything together. If there are things that you want to do on your own, you shouldn’t be afraid to try them.”
“No, there are things I want to do with you. Things that I don’t want to miss out on because we get caught up in the day-to-day nonsense that once controlled our lives. When we set out on this book tour, it wasn’t just your life that changed, Sammy—mine did too. I now know that there are no limits to what we can experience.”
“You’re right.” I smiled and rested my hands against his chest. “We can go anywhere and do anything that we want.” I caught his lips in a quick kiss. “Right now, I want to explore the Ring of Kerry. Are you with me?”
“Always.”
He kissed me in return, then we headed back up the bluff.
Chapter 17
I jangled the shells in my pocket and tried not to think about what Max’s words might mean. We’d never really talked too much about whether we planned to have children, but with Max’s desire for a certain lifestyle and the fact that he didn’t even mention starting a family in our future, it was easy for me to assume that he didn’t have any desire to go through that experience any time soon.
As we walked back toward the car Max reached his hand out for the keys.
“Oh no, I don’t think so.” I held on to them tightly.
“What? Why not?”
“We wouldn’t want to make any more sheep suffer.”
“Oh, it’s going to be like that, huh?” He kissed my cheek and gave my hand a squeeze. “So you’re never going to let me drive again?”
“Hm. Maybe not never—just not in Ireland.”
I ran to the driver’s side of the car. He chased after me and caught me before I could get the door open. I prepared to relinquish the keys, but instead he pinned me back against the car and kissed me. Every muscle in my body relaxed as warmth flooded me. The keys slipped right from my hand into his.
He grinned as he pulled away from him. “What was that you said about not in Ireland?”
“I don’t think I remember anything before that kiss.”
He laughed and pressed the keys back into my hand. “If you really want to drive, it’s all yours.”
Once we were on the road I regretted my decision to drive. There was so much to look at that it was hard to pay attention to the road. Luckily, many of the other cars were going just as slow as I was.
“Take some pictures, please, Max. I want to remember all of this.”
Max spent some time snapping pictures of the sky. “Look how the sunlight filters through the thick clouds. It is really beautiful.” He snapped a few more pictures.
“It’s like another world.” I sighed and followed the curve of the road.
After about an hour passed, I noticed a thin road that jutted off from the side of were we were driving. It was lined by thick emerald grass. Sprigs of colorful flowers blossomed up in a checkerboard pattern. It looked magical, as if fairies and nymphs might consider it their playground.
I slowed the car and glanced at Max. “Do you mind if we take a detour?”
“I don’t know, Sammy, is that even a road?”
“It looks like one to me.”
“The ground looks pretty soft.”
“I’m sure it will be fine. Look how beautiful it is.”
“Alright, let’s check it out.”
I steered the car onto the road. The further we traveled, the more narrow it became.
“Sammy, maybe we should turn back. I don’t think this is even meant to be a road.”
“Wait, do you hear that?” I leaned my head out the window and listened.
“What?” Max did the same. Then his eyes widened. “A waterfall?”
“It sounds like one, doesn’t it?” I looked over at him and grinned. “We have to check it out.”
“Sammy, I don’t know—if we go any further we might get the car stuck.”
“I won’t do that. I can tell when the ground is too soft.”
“If you say so.”
After a few more minutes, I hit a patch of road that wasn’t as solid. In fact, the tires sank right into the soft ground that I realized—too late—was actually mud.
“Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh?” Max looked over at me. “What do you mean, uh-oh?”
“I’m just going to back up a little bit.” I put the car in reverse and gunned the gas.
“No, Sammy, don’t!” Max spoke up too late.
I’d already dug the tires deep into the mud.
He groaned as he stepped out of the car. “You’re just about to the hubcaps. There’s no way we’re getting the car out of this.”
“I’m sorry, Max. I don’t know how I could be so stupid.”
He sighed as he looked across the top of the car at me. “You’re not stupid, Sammy. It was a mistake. But we’re not going to get the car out of this mud—not on our own, anyway. We’re going to have to call for help.”
I pulled out my cell phone. “Max, there’s no service.”
“Great. Just great.” Max ran his hand back through his hair.
“It’s going to be okay, we’ll figure it out.”
“How is this going to be okay?” Max shook his head. “I guess we’ll just have to walk back to the main road and see if we can flag someone down.”
“That will take forever.”
“I don’t know what else to do, Sammy. Do you have any other ideas?”
“Why don’t we go find that waterfall?” I met his eyes.
“Sammy, be serious. We have to find our way out of here.”
“I am being serious. The car is stuck. There’s nothing we can do right now to change that. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy ourselves. We’ll go take a look at the waterfall. Maybe there will be better service over there—or tourists like us. I mean, ones who didn’t get stuck in the mud.”
“Funny. You might be right. If we don’t find anyone, we can walk back up the road.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I slipped my hand into his.
Chapter 18
We made our way along the narrow trail toward the sound of the rushing water. I was determined to find it, no matter how long it took me. The further we went, the more narrow the path became.
“It’s louder this way.” Max pointed to some brush.
I let him take the lead as we continued far off the cleared road. The scents and textures of Ireland were something I hoped to be able to translate into words for my readers. I had the feeling it was going to be impossible. It wasn’t just the scent of the blossoms, or the feel of the moisture-laden air against my skin, or the sunlight that peeked through dense clouds—it was all of it combined and anchored by the warmth of Max’s hand around mine.
“Here it is, Sammy!”
The excitement in Max’s voice conveyed that he’d forgotten all about the car stuck in the mud. I looked past him at a small outcropping from a rocky cliff. A gush of water rolling off the edge of the cliff created a small but beautiful waterfall that cascaded into a small pool, then wound its way through the count
ryside in a thin stream.
“It’s gorgeous.” I took a few pictures of it, then tucked my phone in my pocket. “I want to see how cold it is.”
Max followed right behind me as I climbed over the brush and rocks to get close to the water.
As it tumbled down across my fingers I smiled. “It’s not too cold.”
“Not as cold as the ocean water.” Max wiggled his fingers through the water.
“I can’t resist. I have to give it a try. Will you come with me?” I stretched my hand out to him.
“Sammy. All of our clothes are back at the car. We don’t have anything to change into. I don’t want to walk around soaking wet.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure, Max? What happened to ‘Let’s see what the world has to offer?’”
“Where are you going with this?” He narrowed his eyes.
I stared at him for a moment and debated whether I would really follow through with my idea. Then, without another word, I began to pull off my shirt.
Max’s eyes widened as I tossed it to the ground beside me. I expected him to argue, or warn me about what could happen if we were caught, or even suggest that it was too cold. Instead, he pulled his shirt off as well and tossed it next to mine. My heartbeat quickened as I realized he was going to follow my lead.
We went through the process of shedding the remainder of our clothes without a single word spoken. Then I reached for his hand again. “It won’t be too cold. I promise.”
He smiled as he took my hand. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
I whisked him away under the rush of the waterfall. The water was actually cold—very, very cold. I didn’t think I was going to be able to stand it, until I felt Max’s body wrap around mine. Suddenly I wasn’t as cold as I’d been just seconds before.
In the midst of an amazing setting, with the fresh icy water coursing along my skin, we explored our passion for one another—creating another memory that we would never forget.
When we emerged from the water, the cool air made me shiver.
“It’s colder than it was!” Max rubbed my arms.
“Hurry up. Let’s get dressed.”
As we threw on our clothes the sky rumbled.
“Oh no, I think it’s going to rain, Max. We have to get back to the car.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me as I ran back in the direction of the car.
“My socks, Sammy! I forgot my socks!”
“Don’t worry, you have more.” I laughed as I looked back at him.
He laughed too—until we reached the car.
“Sammy, if it rains, the car is only going to get stuck deeper in the mud.”
I pulled out my cell phone and tried again to find a signal. There was not even a single bar. I tried to text Fiona to ask for suggestions, but the text would not go through. I sighed and looked over at Max.
“I think I got us into a very bad situation.”
“All we can do is start walking back. We might get stuck in the rain, but I think it’s better then sitting in the car. You can stay here if you want while I go to see if I can find anyone to help.”
“No, that’s okay. I’d rather walk with you.” I took his hand in mine and we began to walk back up the road we’d driven down. Though the sky rumbled, not a drop fell.
Max tugged my hand and put a finger to his lips. “Look what’s coming.” He pointed to a cluster of trees.
I held my breath as I caught sight of a deer. It stared at us as if we were the strange creatures to be fascinated by. Just as I pulled out my phone to take a picture, the deer darted off into the trees.
At the same moment a loud crash of thunder caught our attention. There was no drizzle of warning. No poetic pitter-patter of raindrops for us to dance in. The rain began to pound down in one sudden deluge.
“There’s no way we can walk in this. Let’s run back to the car and sit it out.”
I nodded. We hadn’t gotten too far, so within minutes we were back inside the car.
“I’m so sorry, Max, this is all my fault.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He stroked my cheek, wiping at the raindrops that coursed down over my skin. “I love the adventures you take me on. I wouldn’t want to miss a single one of them.”
Chapter 19
The rain began to let up a bit as I dug out a towel from our suitcases in the back seat. I handed it to Max to dry off. Instead, he used it to dry my arms and face before using it on himself.
As we looked out through the windshield, the rain eased up even more.
“That was fast.” Max laughed. “Maybe it won’t make the ground much more muddy.”
Once the rain eased to a drizzle we climbed back out to look at the damage. Unfortunately the heavy rain had been enough to create quite a bit more mud.
“Max, this doesn’t look good.”
He sighed and nodded. “I have to agree. I guess we have no choice but to walk and hope the rain is going to take a break for a while.”
I frowned and looked up at the sky. The moment that I did I grabbed Max’s hand.
“Look, Max!” Stretched across the sky was a clear bright rainbow. “I’ve seen a lot of rainbows in my life, but this one is so vivid.”
“It’s great, but look, Sammy, there’s someone coming.” He waved his hands through the air. “Hey! Over here! Over here!”
The truck had no problem driving over the soft ground as it approached us. It stopped a few feet away from the car and two men got out.
“Are you stuck?” The older man adjusted his hat.
“Yes.” Max shook his head. “And we don’t have any signal on our phones. Is there any chance we can use yours?”
“Sorry, don’t have any cell phones.” The older man chuckled. “No point out here.”
“Maybe you could give us a ride?” I dug into my purse. “I have some cash.”
“No need, lass, we’ll get you out of here.” He winked at me.
I wasn’t sure what to think of his statement until the younger man walked over with a towline to hook to the car. He smiled at me. “You’re not the first tourists to get stuck out here, don’t worry.”
Although I was very grateful for their help, I was a little disappointed that we weren’t the first to discover the mystical path and the waterfall.
“Thank you so much.”
“Yes, thanks.” Max nodded.
As they maneuvered the car out of the mud, Max and the two men exchanged a little conversation about different areas along the Ring of Kerry to visit.
Once the car was free, Max walked back over to me. “All ready to go, when you are.”
“Did you give them something for their trouble?”
“No, they didn’t want any money.”
We both waved to the men as the truck drove away.
“Kindness must be a way of life around here. I’m glad we’re having the chance to experience it.”
“Me too.” Max opened the door for me and held his hand out for the keys.
“Oh, I can still drive.” I started to walk around to the driver’s side.
“Hm, scaring sheep or getting the car stuck in the mud again. Nope, I’m driving.” He plucked the keys out of my hand and jumped into the driver’s seat before I could catch him.
I laughed as I walked back to get into the passenger seat beside him.
“Fine, but make sure you drive on the right side of the road.”
“I’ll try.” He winked at me.
As we continued along the Ring of Kerry, Max pointed out some spots that the two men had told him about. “There’s so much to see here. I think we’ll have to come back and explore it again.”
“That’s a good idea.”
After a bit more exploration and picture snapping we both decided we were ready to eat.
“Let’s find a place near the hotel I reserved; that way we won’t have far to go to rest,” said Max.
“Brilliant.”
He programmed the GPS with the address of the hotel
, then began to drive away from the main road. After a few turns, however, it seems that the GPS had lost signal.
“Oh no, now what?” Max frowned and tapped the screen.
“Let me try my phone.” I started to put the address in, but realized I had no Internet signal to search the maps. “I think we’re on our own, Max.”
“Alright, just call the hotel and they should be able to give us directions.”
I dialed the number and after several rings a woman answered. “Hold please!”
“Uh, wait, I—”
I was already on hold. I waited while Max tried to guess which direction we should go. The day gave way to evening, which made it even harder to read the road signs. I was still on hold. I decided to hang up and call back.
Within two rings the same woman answered. “Hold please!”
“Wait! Don’t put me on hold!”
The elevator music indicated that I was too late. I sighed and looked over at Max. “No one is answering.”
“We have to keep trying. What else can we do? I guess we could stop somewhere and ask for directions.”
“Do we even know where we are right now?”
“Honestly, no. But I am getting tired.”
“Me too.” I grabbed some snacks from our luggage and shared them with him. “Let’s just eat this and see if we can find another place to stay.”
“Alright, I guess we can do that.”
He began to drive up and down several roads. The further we got, the more the roads were spaced apart. Soon we ended up on a long winding road that ran along the ocean. In the twilight the entire world seemed to glow.
“Look, Max, there’s a place to stay.” I pointed to a small sign that hung by the road.
“It doesn’t look very big.”
“It’s a bed and breakfast. It’ll be fun.”
“I don’t know, Sammy, we don’t know anything about the place. The hotel I reserved got great reviews.”
“But it’s here. Do you really want to keep driving and trying to find this hotel?”
“No.” He sighed.
“I could drive, but you know, there was that getting stuck in the mud incident…”
“Good point. I guess we can give it a shot. If it’s awful, we don’t have to stay.”
Sammy in Ireland (Single Wide Female Travels #5) Page 6