Going With The Winds

JAKE

Ok, call me old fashioned, but if there is one thing I took from my early upbringing, it was a way of perceiving God. Whether he created the universe or was the universe itself, all that was so far beyond me, I had to settle on something, while keeping my mind open. So, what I figured was this.

God, if he existed, did so on the microcosm, the reality as we experience it at our level, and the macrocosm. He was everywhere and forever more.

So… if we believe, our imagination opens a window to that higher dimension, perhaps a place we go when we die. I’ve had a few scrapes with the touch of something beyond me in my life, enough to know there is… something there. You can call it a perfect peace, a place or rest.

I don’t know what it might be, but I do know that if I happen to chat with it, without a moment for doubt, that something, maybe just a feeling, can chat back.

That’s why, though I have a hard time with formalized religion, I believe in prayer, and why I was praying next to Keen’s bed. I’d sent Cass to Mike’s place to get some sleep, and he’d promised to come and spell me.

Dan had Alex at his bedside, so as Dan’s lover and bestie, I figured that was where Alex belonged while I belonged right here with Keen.

So, I was praying for Keen, that the Holy Spirit would heal him and lift him out of his coma. I pictured him in my mine, the always super respectful Keen who called me Master when we spared or worked out and everywhere if I didn't stomp on him to stop it. 

And finally, after quite a bit of that, I took his hand, and I said out loud. “Ok buddy. Wakey, there, marine. I left Dan in your care, and you promised that’s what you would do. Well Dan needs to know you're going to be alright. I’ve asked God to heal you and bring you around. Now I don’t have anything left except to repeat myself over and over. I promise, buddy, you can go back to sleep and get all the rest you need. But I need you to wake up so Dan can get some rest, ok? That’s part of taking care of him. Time to wake up, buddy.”

I gave his hand a squeeze, not really expecting a response.

But I’ll be damned if about thirty seconds later his fingers tightened on mine and his eyelids became active. I had served in some nasty places. I knew the difference between a man in a coma and one who was merely asleep. Keen was coming around.

Keen was a stunning man. True model material. But animated, even in sleep, he was magnificent. If Dan hadn’t been around, I’d have probably chased Keen’s tail all over Rehoboth beach myself. Grinning insanely, as I am sure I was, I started hollering for the docs.

 

Everything happened real fast after that. I even got them to wheel Keen slowly and carefully down the hall and into Dan’s room where Alex and Cass were keeping watch. Hey, how had Cass gotten back so fast? I looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had even gone to Mike's place at all.

The look on Dan’s face when he woke and saw Keen was all I needed to finally move on without any regrets at all. Something I hadn’t known was there, eased in my chest, and a beautiful calm took over. Maybe Dan hadn’t realized how much he loved Keen. But he did now. The look from Dan was one I hadn’t seen in a very long time. And that look was directed at Keen, not me.

It was time to go home. Feeling that those two would be fine, I went to the guest house hotel, looking for Kenneth. I found the blond young man watching over some workers who were pulling away wreckage from a large, pained window in the hotel lobby.

We hugged and Kenneth managed to snitch a kiss off me before insisting I see the damage done the beach house. He was overjoyed to hear that Keen had come out of his coma. I followed him through the hotel out to the beach house. He was right. The old place had taken a beating. Surf from the swells had gotten into the first floor and a few of the hotel staff were busy shoveling out the muck and mess.

The sky and the ocean were spectacular as always, the atmosphere crystal clear as was so often the case after a huge storm. Looking out at the ocean and the breeze I felt the familiar tug to get back to my job and the “Enchanter.”

“The insurance covering everything ok?” I asked Kenn.

He slumped. “Dan is going to have to take out a loan.”

I groaned inwardly. I had already put twenty thousand into the renovation of the beach house, from the sale of my own house.

“Do you have an estimate for the damages?”

“I am trying to get a surveyor in to look at the structural damage, but I’m guessing anywhere from six to twelve thousand just to clean all this out. Reconstruction and materials, another twenty and I only know that because of whats gone into his place already. Keen is the one who really knows the figures and all. I am so – ho- ho relieved he is out of the worst.”

“Looks to be. I think you can relax. Take a note, for me, for when Dan and Keen can handle it. If they are really strapped, I have put 100 K in escrow, to be invested per request, when asked by Dan and Keen, and will contribute whatever is necessary as an investment. We’ll talk whatever the return is after I am done this cruise.”

Kenneth took a deep breath. “That should help. A LOT!”

“I am going to collect Cass then and head back to Annapolis. You take care of…”

Kenneth was on me, kissing me passionately, his hands moving down to my ass.

“Mmm, whoh.” I said pulling my head back and he laughed. “Sorry, I have always wanted to do that, and it seems like I won’t get many more chances.”

“Awwa, you say the nicest things. Comere.”

I pulled him in and we smooched, enjoying the play of tongues until we caught the attention of those shoveling sand and mud.

“Hey! We get to hop on or is that a private party?" one of the guys asked.

I just turned and laughed, letting Ken go with a smack to his firm rear.

The limo driver took me back to the hospital, where I collected Cass. Cass spent several minutes mauling his cousin Alex as they said their goodbyes. Then Cass disappeared with Alex to go get some coffee.

Dan called me over to his side and reached up. I leaned down and we exchanged a kiss. Keen was still very much asleep, but it was a normal restful sort of sleep.

“Thank you, Jake. Thank you for everything.”

“It's nothing.”

“No, it's not.” Dan sighed and then shook his head slightly. “Jake, I don’t know what I am going to do. Shore side real estate and insurance don’t go together, and I was taking a big risk.”

“Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“But your money, Jake. I know you want what you invested out of it, but I don’t know when I can ever pay you back.”

“Oh? Ken told you?”

Dan blinked and looked clueless. “Told me what?’

“I’ve set aside a hundred K. When you are absolutely strapped, let me know and I will release what you need as you need it, ok? Let Keen know when he is fully awake.”

“Jake you can’t do that.”

“I did it, it's done, and you should know better than anyone that once I make up my mind…”

“I know I know.” Dan sighed and just gazed up at me for a moment.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

“Shhh,”

“No, don’t shush me. I am sorry, for everything and for us, that we didn’t work out. You are an amazing man, Jake Saunders. Don’t every let anyone tell you you’re not.

He grinned. “Now you go and leave me, and Keen be. We’ll be fine. Seems to me there is a certain platinum haired beauty somewhere around here who has you on his mind.”

I grinned myself. “Could be that’s mutual.”

Dan and I kissed one more time, but without passion. I still had to be careful. He was still pretty banged up.

 

I eventually found Cass. He was in another hospital room, chatting with an elderly black lady and her son. Seems she had been struck in the side by a collapsing beam in her house and was clearly in recovery. So much so she was trying without any subtlety at all, to match make her son with Cass. 

When she spotted me, she laughed and shook her head. “Awwwa now, there is your handsome sea captain now. Lord, Lord, Captain Jake, you are Captain Jake, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yes mam”, I said.

 “Well…” She looked me up and down. “I can see why this wonderful young man just had to tell me all about you.” She laughed and her son, a good-looking black man in his forties, shook his head. “I can tell when I am outclassed. Damn, mother, why did you even think…”

“Oh now, baby, hushup and don’t you be swearing.”

“Yes Mom.”

We three guys exchanged glances and I said, “Oh I don’t know, mam, your son is one hot stud, from what I can see.”

Her jaw dropped and she started to toss back her head and laugh, but the pain of her injuries cut her off.

Cass and I moved to help her, but her son was quicker. “Mom, you have to take it easy.”

“I’ll take it easy when I am dead, thank you very much. The Good Lord pulled me through this storm, well then, He clearly wanted to have me meet these two fine young men.” She winked.

Then she waved her hand at us. “All right you two, I’ve kept you long enough. Now at least my son has an example of some really fine man flesh to compare his future conquests to.”

“Mom!” Her son moaned in embarrassment.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mam.”

“Louise. Louise Henly. And this is my son, Joseph. You ever need anything, Captain Saunders, you just look us up. I am Minister at the Union Bethel Methodist Church on Shell Road, here in Rehoboth.”

Cass exchanged a kiss with her to her cheeks, and then he delighted her but leaning over her to kiss her son on his lips. I have to admit that delighted me too, and I felt a stirring down there. Yep, my pervy side was still there, ready to jump aboard anytime it felt itself called.

"So where is Alex?" I asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Flirting with Dr, Mussen in the cafeteria."

"Well I hope you said your goodbyes."

"I did. Alex wants to join up with the cruise at some point if he can tear Captain Mike away, or he might just come by himself. You know how he is."

I laughed.

It was a lot easier leaving Rehoboth Delaware and crossing the Eastern Shore of Maryland back to Annapolis then it had been going the other way.

Cass slumped over in the back seat of the limo against me, and I guided him down onto my lap, his gorgeous head neck and shoulders resting across me, where I stroked his forehead and thick pale gold hair.

We pulled up to the pier in Annapolis just a bit over an hour later and Cass and I went out and aboard to welcoming smiles of the crew and passengers, all of whom were full of questions. We’d been gone no more than a night and most of a day, but you’d have thought we had been gone a week. I let Cass do most of the talking.

I was just happy, happy to be home.

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Thank you for sticking with me through all these books and chapters. For the next phase of the voyage of the "Enchanter", the next chapters will be in the book "Hot Sailing" starting with the first chapter of the same name. At this point I am halfway through writing that chapter, so stay tuned with many mental hugs to you all from me.