Horizons (10 page)

Now, however—clean, tired, and replete—they were all feeling quite mellow. “A little Hawaiian music, a few leis, and a couple of hula dancers, and I’d think I was back on Oahu at a luau,” Gavin remarked lazily. “There are a few perks to being stationed in Hawaii, even if the cost of everything is totally outrageous.”

“It’s because of the tourist trade,” Frazer said. “They hike the prices, knowing visitors will pay it. They do the same thing in all the popular vacation spots.”

“Trouble is, unless you know where to shop, a resident ends up paying the same amount,” Gavin groused. “Not that I’m actually a resident. My time’s up in four months. Then I’m back to Chicago. I only joined up to get the VA benefits for college, since I missed out on a football scholarship due to a torn ligament that put me on the sidelines most of my senior year.”

“Chi-town, huh?” Zach responded. “I’ve done some work there. I heard the whole town celebrated when the Bulls won the basketball championship last year.”

Gavin grinned. “Yeah. It’s sure good to have Michael Jordan back. Where you from, Zach?”

“Seattle. At least that’s my home base between jobs.”

“With all the rain I hear you get up there, I guess it’s the extreme opposite from Phoenix,” Kelly mused.

Zach arched a dark eyebrow in her direction. “That where you live?”

“Now, I do. I used to live in Houston.”

“With the ex.”

Kelly nodded. “He still lives there, but even as large as Texas is, it wasn’t big enough for the two of us. Not to suit
me, anyway. I hired a competent manager for my health club there, and relocated to Phoenix, where I’d just opened a new club six months before.”

“How many do you own?” he asked.

“Me and the bank?” Kelly joked. “The new one in Sydney is the third, and that only because one of my most affluent clients moved there and swore she couldn’t live in such a foreign locale without one of my specialty salons. She put up half the financing herself, and helped arrange the other half. I just hope the salon goes over as well as the first two, for both our sakes.”

“I’m confused,” Blair said. “I
thought you ran a beauty shop.”

“I’m trying a new concept,” Kelly explained. “I’ve combined several operations into one. There’s a health club, complete with exercise machines, aerobics classes, a small pool, a whirlpool and sauna, and a massage room and showers. Connected to that is the beauty salon, where ladies can get the full treatment: nails and hair done, facials, hair removal, classes on applying make-up, the whole ball of wax. Then, the piece de resistance—a very exclusive boutique—with the most luscious lingerie you could ever want, a line of fabulous perfumes, and a section devoted to scented candles, wine, caviar, fresh flowers, bath oils, nearly anything you need to create a romantic atmosphere. The idea being that you can walk in one door looking and feeling like a real frump, and exit the other as an entirely new woman, ready for a night on the town or a private evening for two. We’ve even incorporated classes on how to flirt, since it seems to be becoming a lost art these days, believe it or not.”

“Wow! I love it!” Blair exclaimed softly. “If you ever decide to open another one, please consider doing so in Quebec. I know at least a dozen women who would sign up immediately.”

“Not I,” Alita declared ad
amantly. “Her salon in Sydney
did not impress me.”

Kelly smirked. “Oh, can it, Alita. You’re just miffed because we don’t carry aerosol fashions by Sherwin Williams!” Kelly reached for her oversized canvas carry-on bag. “I’ve got a brochure in here someplace,” she told Blair as she started rifling through the bulging bag.

After a few frustrated seconds of trying to wade through too much in too little space, Kelly began unloading it, item by item. First came her purse, chock full to bursting with all her normal day-to-day paraphernalia. Then a small tote, the kind designed to hold toiletries. A travel steamer for clothes. A mini hair blower, and a fold-up curling iron. A small plastic spray bottle. Several intriguing bits of satin and lace and a pair of panty hose, which she hastily wadded into a ball and stuffed out of sight again. A four-cup coffee pot.

“Oh! I completely forgot this was in here!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Hey, guys! We now have a container for water or whatever, and two plastic cups and a plastic spoon! I think there’s even a packet or two of sugar left in here, but I used the last of the coffee. Sorry.”

The others sat gaping in amazement. “Good grief, woman!” Zach declared. “I can’t believe this! What all did you manage to cram in there? It’s like the bottomless pit!” Kelly ignored him and continued to unpack. Out came a small ring-binder noteboo
k, a paperback novel, an insta
matic camera and six rolls of film, a bottle of suntan lotion, two scarves, a battered box of tampons, which she hastily hid. A beach towel, a small stack of postcards, and a travel alarm clock.

“If you’ve got a carton of cigarettes stuffed away in there, I’ll buy them off of you,” Earl proposed hopefully.

“Sorry, I don’t smoke. But I do have a couple of these.” Kelly pulled forth three tiny airline-courtesy liquor bottles.

Gavin let loose a whoop. “Boy, when this lady packs, she does it right!”

Blair leaned in closer, peering in awe-fil
led expectation at the bag. “I’m
waiting for the genie in the magic bottle to appear.”

“I’d settle for some soap,” Frazer admitted.

“Done.” Kelly tossed him a
minuscule bar with the name of a hotel on the wrapper. “You should have said something sooner. I’ve already shared some of my stuff with Blair and Alita, but there’s plenty to go around.”

Zach reached over and snatched up her toiletries bag. “I’ll bet you’ve got a toothbrush and some toothpaste in here,” he surmised. “And some deodorant.”

Kelly tried to grab it back from him, but he held it out of reach. “Hey, you big galoot! Where are your manners? It is my property, after all.”

“No, as of right now, it’s community property,” he corrected.

“Fine, but there are some things that I consider personally mine and mine alone. Like my one and only toothbrush,” Kelly stressed, shooting Zach a warning look.

Zach had already unzipped the bag and was searching through the contents. He replied without bothering to look up. “Don’t quibble over the small stuff. What’s a toothbrush shared between lovers?”

“We’re not lovers,” she reminded him tartly.

“Soon. Don’t be so impatient, sweetheart,” he ribbed. Then, “Jackpot!” He held up a packet of disposable pink razors and a small can of scented shaving gel. “We’re in luck, fellas.”

“You can’t use those!” Kelly objected. “They’re for shaving my legs.”

He grinned back at her. “You’ve got that backwards, honey. You women can’t use them, because we men will
be using them on our beards. Can’t have you dulling the blades, can we?”

“So
what are we supposed to do?” Al
ita complained loudly.

“Go hairy
and pretend you’re wearin’ a pair o’ tights,
”
Earl suggested wittily. “We won’t care.”

“We won’t care if you idiots have to grow beards to your knees, either,” Kelly countered.

“Okay, we’ll draw straws for them or something,” Frazer submitted.

“We have no straws,” Alita reminded him.

“Maybe we can find a way to sharpen the blades on a rock or something,” Gavin proposed. “What else do we have in there?”

Zach sorted through the c
ache. “A couple of those hotel-
size shampoos and conditioners, toothpaste, a mini
mouthwash.” He held a plastic container aloft to read the label. “Dental floss? Who packs dental floss to go on a trip?”

“I do,” Kelly stated defiantly.

He sent her an amused look. “I
guess this means you have your original teeth? You won’t be pulling your dentures out each night at bedtime?”

“Cute, Goldstein.”

Next he produced a round metal aerosol canister. “What's this? Feminine hygie—”

Kelly lunged forward and yanked the spray can from his hand, retrieving her travel kit at the same time. “Doggone you! This is not Show and Tell!”

He laughed at her embarrassment. “Okay, keep your secrets, as long as you don’t hold out on us with the major goodies.”

“Like toilet tissue,” Blair said longingly. “You didn’t pack a roll of that, by any chance, did you?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Kelly replied dispiritedly. “I only
wish I had. I don’t even have a lousy pack of Kleenex, unless there’s some in one of the other purses I collected.”

“If not, it’s back to grass and leaves and moss, like our great granddaddies used, I reckon,” Earl supposed. “And green asses, sure as shit.”

“That is disgusting!” Alita wrinkled her nose.

“It’s not the color that would bother me so much as the possibility of getting poison ivy,” Kelly conjectured.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I don’t believe poison ivy is indigenous to this region,” Blair announced. Her fellow castaways glared at her.

“Let us know when you’re sure, Mrs. Britannica,” Gavin advised smartly, speaking for them all. “Until then, keep a lid on the trivia, will you? I’m starting to feel like I’m trapped on ‘Jeopardy.’ ”

Chapter 10

K
elly was half asleep, snuggled on her side with her head pillowed on her lumpy duffle, when Zach crept up to lie at her back. He edged close, snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her next to him. “Don’t scream,” he whispered. “It’s me.”

Kelly’s eyes popped open. “Look, Goldstein, when I need a bed-warmer, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, find your own plot of sand.” She tried in vain to uncurl his arm from around her.

“Shhh!” he warned. “Lie still. I’m not going to do anything but snuggle a little. It’s essential to make a firm impression, so the other fellows don’t doubt my word.”

“Aren’t you carrying this macho Tarzan and Jane routine to extremes?” she hissed. “Dangling by your heels must have rattled a few marbles loose.”

“Come on, Kelly. I can’t believe you haven’t noticed the suggestive looks and comments Gavin and Earl have been
giving you.
If
you don’t team up with me, one of them is going to make a move on you. Is that what you want?”

“You’re crazy!”

“And you’re either incredibly naive, or as dumb as dirt,” he informed her bluntly. “Call it male intuition, but those two are sending out signals like radar. Gavin’s already said he thinks you’re a fox. As for Roberts, two days ago he was on his way to a prison cell, where he wasn’t going to get any loving for a long time. At least not from a woman. If I were in his shoes, I’d be gearing up for a last fling, just in case.”

Kelly wriggled around to face him and give him a sour look. “Gee, thanks, Zach. You’re doing wonders for my feminine ego, not to mention my moral image. According to your assessment, I’m either an over-sexed tart, or the last port in the storm. Whichever, I’m not flattered, buster.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re beautiful, and you know it. So do I. So do they. If you don’t want my protection, I’ll back off, but I won’t like it, and I don’t think you will either.”

She ignored his compliment to point out the obvious to him. “I’m not the only woman here, Zach, and if we’re talking sexy, Alita has me beat hands down in that department.”

“You think so? I don’t, but it’ll suit me just fine if the other guys do.”

“You’re not concerned about her safety?” Kelly questioned.

“Let’s just say I think Alita can hold her own against whatever crops up.”

Kelly considered this. “Well, they do say a cat always lands on its feet. But what about Blair? She’s married, Zach, and pregnant. You don’t think she’s in danger, do you? I mean, surely neither Gavin nor Earl would go so far as to rape a pregnant woman, God forbid!”

“I hope not. I'd do my damndest to prevent it, but you’re my main concern right now, taking you out of the running.”

“Sort of like a stallion cutting a mare from the herd? Earmarking her for his own so the other stallions don’t claim her?” Kelly equated. “Do you realize how utterly primitive that notion is? How
…
”

“Primeval?” he supplied. “Actually, I do. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be reacting this way, or resorting to such measures, but these aren’t ordinary circumstances, Kelly. Here, now, for as long as we’re all stranded on this island, we’re back to survival of the fittest. And I’m damn well going to survive, babe. And I’m going to see that you do, too. If you’ll let me.”

“Well, I guess you are the pick of the litter,” she conceded with a wry smile. “You’re fairly easy on the eye, and not totally without charm. I suppose I could handle a short
term liaison with you, but it would help if you could stifle the Lord-of-the-Jungle routine. I’ve had my fill of supercilious asses.”

His mouth twisted in a grin, and hi
s brow rose. “Ah, a master…
mistress, rather, of back-handed compliments, but I’ll take what I can get and count myself fortunate.”

“We’ll see. I still think your logic is full of holes. Be honest. You just want into my britches.”

He nodded. “True, but I also want to protect you, Kelly.”

“Said the spider to the fly. Why me?”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t know. I was attracted to you when I first saw you. There’s just something about you
…
something vulnerable. Infinitely feminine. Soft, warm, sexy. And those green eyes combined with that tail of copper-gold hair—you remind me of a long, lean marmalade cat. I want to stroke you and hear you purr.”

Kelly swallowed. Hard. Her tongue crept out to wet lips
gone dry. “I guess if anyone could do it, you could,” she allowed.

His sharp golden eyes noted the provocative gesture with avid interest, zeroing in on her moist mouth. “Not just anyone, Kelly. I want it to be me. Only me.”

She met his mouth halfway, her hands delving into his dark hair to hold his head to hers. It was not a tentative first kiss. No awkward fumbling to keep noses from bumping. From the initial touch of his lips on hers, it was as if they’d been born to kiss one another, her lips fashioned specifically to fit his. Fire leapt between them. Passion flared, bright and hot. His tongue speared into her mouth to dance with hers, sending shock waves reverberating through them both. She moaned, drawing him closer, deeper.

Forced at last to come up for air, both were reluctant to end it there, but short of creeping off into the bushes there was little else they could do at the moment. “If that wasn’t a purr, I’ve never heard one. We’ll finish this,” Zach promised, gazing deeply into her passion-glazed eyes. “Tomorrow.”

T
hey awoke the next morning to overcast skies. The hovering gray clouds held the threat of more rain.

“Great! Just what we need!” Alita griped. “This weather is ruining my hair.”

Indeed, her naturally wavy black hair did seem to be in a perpetual frizz.

“That’s the least of our problems,” Zach informed her and the rest of them. “I doubt we’ll be spotted today through the thick cloud-cover. Any planes flying over will probably be routed above the clouds. Also, once the wood gets wet, our signal fire will be worthless.”

“If we don’t want to get completely soaked, I suppose
we’ll have to huddle together under the trees,” Blair said. “Kelly, it might be a good idea to pass that toothpaste and deodorant around beforehand. And if you have any perfume, don’t let Alita anywhere near it, please. Coming off that mountain the other day, she had so much on that I had to stay upwind of her or gag.
”

“Why, you homely little dwarf!” Alita spat out. “How dare you! I should rip your stringy, mousy hair from your head!”

Blair drew herself up to her full five feet. “Try it, and I’ll flatten you like a tortilla!”

“Now, girls, try to behave like ladies,” Kelly broke in, attempting to head off an all-out scuffle, one she was sure Alita would win.

“Oh, so the pot is calling for the black kettle,” Alita retorted. “Those planning to sin have no room to criticize others.”

Kelly could not prevent the blush that tinted her cheeks. She’d awakened that morning with Zach still holding her, the two of them curled together like a pair of spoons in a drawer. Naturally, everyone had noticed, though no one had said anything until now.

“I’m out of here, before this turns into a cat fight,” Frazer declared as he hobbled past on his crutch. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be over there, soaking my leg in saltwater.” He pointed toward the shoreline.

“Good idea, Frazer,” Blair agreed. “Saltwater’s supposed to be very curative for wounds, though it does sting quite a bit. And I wonder if the ocean water is as clean as it should be for your purpose, what with algae and pollution and such.”

“I’m sure I’ve got a small tube of antibacterial cream in my bag somewhere, Fraze,” Kelly offered. “Come get it before you rewrap that leg. And we ought to see if we
can scare up a new bandage for you. That way, you can wash the other one out, and alternate.”

Frazer nodded. “Thanks, Kell. I appreciate it.”

“I’d still be willing to help you dress that leg,” she said.

“No.” Frazer and Zach spoke at the same time, and everyone seemed to freeze in place.

Kelly broke the ensuing silence first. “Zach Goldstein, I’ll warn you now that I’m just getting rid of one man who tried to rule my life. I will not put up with another.”

“That’s tough,” he countered callously, his eyes like hard gold nuggets. “You’re not going to nurse Frazer. I can’t let you chance it.”

“He’s right, Kelly. It’s too much of a risk,” Frazer agreed.

“Okay, if
Frazer
doesn’t want my help, I’ll abide by his wishes. End of discussion.” Kelly quickly changed the subject. “I’m going to go through those other two purses, and see what else I can find that might be of use to us.”

“Wait just a minute! The littl
e fag’s got AIDS, doesn’t he?” Gavin exclaimed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“No, he does not!” Kelly rebutted hastily, before Frazer could admit to something better left alone, especially amidst this bunch of bigots.

“Then why doesn’t Zach want
you touching him?” Blair asked doubtfully, her hands cupped over her stomach in an unconsciously protective gesture.

“Because he’s gay, and I’d rather play it safe than be sorry,” Zach replied, still frowning at Kelly as if he wasn’t altogether sure she was telling the whole truth.

“Hey!” Earl’s face was a putrid shade of gray. “What about me? I touched the squirrelly bastard! I pulled that rubble off him and got him out from under that cart!”

“You’re safe, Roberts,” Frazer informed him dryly. “You didn’t get any of my blood on you.”

The big man towered over him, fists knotted, the image
of a raging bear. “How do you know? Maybe I did. From off the metal or something. Or your pant’s leg!”

Frazer shook his head. “
I watched. And I pulled my own
leg
out when you lifted the cart.”

“You sure?” Earl demanded irat
ely. “ ’Cause if you ain’t…”

“Positive.”

Earl nearly wilted with relief. “Okay,” he grumbled. “But you keep your queer ass as far away from me as you can get, you hear?”

“And from me,” Alita echoed in disdain.

“Like you have anything to worry about,” Gavin jeered.

The singer’s nose went up. “I don’t want him touching me, or anything I touch. Not my food, or a cup, or the same blanket. No saliva, no sweat,
nada.
”

Kelly sighed in acute exasperation. “Oh, for God’s sake!
I can’t believe you’re all carrying on this way. Even if Frazer was infected, it’s not that easy to contract AIDS or to pass it on. Moreover, they’re finding out now that some people, about one in a hundred, have some sort of mutated gene that makes them immune to AIDS altogether.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too,” Gavin admitted. “But I thought they said that was for whites. So, where does that leave me and Alita? Right at the top of the high risk section, I’ll bet!”

Alita took exception. “I am Latina. Mexicana. There’s a difference.”

He smirked. “Maybe so, but you don’t qualify as white, either. Put that in your sombrero and dance on it,
Senorita
Snob.”

“
The rest of you can do as you please,
”
Kelly announced firmly, daring a defiant look at Zach. “But I will not lower myself to treating Frazer as if he were a leper. He’s the same person he was yesterday, and if he was good enough
to associate with then, he’s good enough now. At least in my book.”

W
ith Zach’s hand clamped securely around her arm, Kelly trotted to keep pace with him as he led her into the trees. With nary a word from either of them, they walked briskly for several minutes, until they were well out of hearing of the others. There, Zach swung her around to face him. “Okay, let’s have it, sweetheart. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth—and no stretching or waltzing around the truth. What’s the skinny on our gay steward?”

“He hasn’t got AIDS,” she stated adamantly. Kelly held up one hand, as if taking an oath. “Swear to God, Zach.”

“But he is gay, or I’ll eat my sandy socks.”

“Yes, he’s homosexual. Big deal. A lot of people are.”

“Gay and what?” Zach pressed. “I know there’s more to it than you’re telling me. He’s been tested and is waiting for the results, maybe?”

She shook her head, offering nothing further.

“He’s had
…
he’s HIV-positive?” Zach guessed. The look on her face told him he’d struck the truth. “Damn!”

“That’s not the same as AIDS, though, Zach,” she pointed out hurriedly.

“Don’t split hairs, Kelly. It’s still serious. Deadly serious, if you ask me.”

“I know, and I didn’t,” she replied succinctly. “Look, Zach, I don’t want to argue with you about this,” she relented. “But
Frazer is a very nice man, and I
happen to be of the belief that homosexual tendencies are an inherited factor. I’m not going to get into a deep discussion about whether it’s right or wrong, sinful or not. It’s just the way some people are. My motto on the subject is, ‘live and let live.’ ”