Losing You (Finding You Series Book 2) (16 page)

The expectation was killing me. I had no idea if Ramah or Hayden would even be able to identify me in my current state. My dress was a little ripped from the struggle with Daniel’s father and my hair was unwashed and oily and I had lost a huge amount of weight.

Daniel held onto my arm for his own security. He had stepped into another world. I reassured him quietly by squeezing his shoulder.

As we stepped into reception an explosion of sensations tore through me. Memories that had been trapped inside since I’d left last time. The smells of food cooking. The familiar tables and chairs and outdoor scenery I could see through the large glass windows. I was suddenly feeling incredibly emotional.

Scoping the entire room, I spotted Ramah coming out of the kitchen. She didn’t see us at first as she was busy with an armful of plates. She whistled as she worked without a care in the world, unaware that I was about to change all that.

With a stomach full of nerves, I teasingly called out, “Excuse me! Can we have some service around here?”

Ramah flinched, juggling the tower of plates, using her chin to help steady them.

Her radiant, dark eyes went to all three of us and then back to me. A blank look robbed her face of any expression.

“You might want to put those plates down, Ramah.”

Easing the crockery down, the surprised woman’s eyes held mine. She rubbed them to make sure it wasn’t an illusion, turning her head to one side as her mind worked overtime, coming to grips with the vision standing in the foyer. The silence was eerie.

“D-Da…Dakota? Is th-that y-you? I th-thought you were d-dead?” the stunned woman stammered, using the back of a chair as support.

“It’s okay, Ramah. It’s me. You’re not seeing a ghost. I survived the crash. Some fishermen found me and took me to Ragged Island. I’ve been living and recuperating there for the last two months. I haven’t been able to communicate with anyone apart from those on the island. Philip takes supplies to the island every six months, as you probably already know, and he was kind enough to bring Daniel and me here. I hope you don’t mind, but we need a room for the night. We have no money and nowhere else to go.” Tears started to fall but I couldn’t wipe them away because I was gripping the crutches so tightly, watching Ramah’s face pale.

I knew what was coming and braced myself. With recognition in her eyes, Ramah ran to me. We both fell into the heartfelt embrace, my crutches dropping to the floor. It was like hugging family, amiable and affectionate. She clung to me for ages before pulling back and gazing at me.

“Of course you can stay here. You can stay as long as you like. I just can’t believe this! I can’t believe you’re alive!” She kissed me on both cheeks, taking my head in both of her hands. “I bet Kyle will be just as pleased to see you,” she said with that same twinkle in her eyes that I had become accustomed to.

God, I hoped with everything that I had that she was right. Just standing in the resort with Ramah made me feel closer to him.

Daniel moved forward to stand next to me, catching Ramah’s eye.

“Who have we here then?”

“Oh, sorry! This is my friend, Daniel. He’s traveling to America with me, where I’ll be looking after him and putting him through school. It’s a long story that I’ll tell you later.” There were parts of the story I would be leaving out. Parts that Ramah could never know.

“Well, hello, Daniel! It’s nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home here and just ask if there’s anything that you’d like.”

“Thank you.” His manners were unimpeachable.

Bending down to scoop up my crutches, I couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Hayden?”

“Oh Lord, I completely forgot about him with all the excitement. He’s still in the kitchen, preparing food for tonight. It’s a wonder he hasn’t heard all the commotion out here. I’d better go and get him. He’s going to have a spring kitten.”

Ramah danced into the kitchen. I overheard Hayden saying to his wife, “What is it? I’m busy and need to get this food prepared.”

“Just follow me—you’ll want to see what I have for you,” ordered Ramah, full of enthusiasm.

When they came around the corner and Hayden’s eyes settled on me, he staggered backwards, kicking a chair as he went. Balancing himself on the table, he squinted at me with a set mouth.

I couldn’t stop the grin as I watched his reaction. His mind was trying to work out why I looked like someone that had been declared dead.

“No! It can’t be! Is this some kind of joke?” He looked at Ramah and then back at me while pointing a finger in my direction.

She hauled him over to where I stood, waiting for the penny to drop.

“It’s me, Hayden. I’m very much alive. I somehow survived the crash. I know it all seems like a dream. It does, even for me. But here I am. Surprise!”

“But everyone thinks you’re dead! How…?” His mouth was open, jaw dropped.

“I was rescued by some people and taken to an island to recover. Tom and Phillip here brought me to Sapphire Island.”

Ramah and Hayden acknowledged Phillip for the first time. He’d been standing back quietly, letting me get re-acquainted.

They both walked to him and shook his hand, thanking him for bringing me back.

“I’ll leave all you lovely folk to it. I’ve got a couple of things to do, so I should get back. It was nice meeting you, Dakota and Daniel. Good luck with everything.”

“Thank you so much, Phillip. I owe you so much.”

“No. You don’t owe me anything. Just knowing you’re going to be okay and reunited with loved ones is enough for me.”

With that he waved and walked off, leaving a confused looking Hayden and a beaming Ramah.

Scratching his head and then running his hand across his face, he shook his head before looking at me again and slowly his mouth turned up into a full smile.

“Dakota Livingston. I’ll be damned.” With that he closed the gap, wrapped both arms around me in a quick hug, and then asked, “Does Kyle know yet?”

“Uh, no. I haven’t spoken to anyone other than you two yet. I lost all my belongings in the crash, including my cell with Kyle’s phone number on it. You don’t happen to have it, do you?”

Ramah piped up, shaking her head. “The crew were booked in under Jacob Edwards. His cell is the only one we have. You could always try calling that.”

It was better than nothing. Jacob would surely have Kyle’s cell number. “Sure. That would be awesome. Would you mind if I used your phone?”

“No. We don’t mind at all. Here, I’ll get you Jacob’s number.”

I followed Ramah over to the desk, leaving Daniel and Hayden. I could overhear Hayden offering Daniel a drink, which he accepted, wondering how he would like something other than coconut milk.

“Are you all right? What happened to your leg? Did anyone else survive?” Ramah fired at me as she scanned her book for Jacob’s details.

“I’m not sure what’s wrong with my leg but I’d say it’s nerve damage. And yes to your first question. I’m fine now that I’m back. It’s been a wild ride, I can tell you that. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I was the only survivor. I don’t know why I was spared, I honestly don’t. I shudder to think of it.”

“I just can’t believe it! We all cried when we heard the news. Things like this just don’t happen to anyone we know.”

Swallowing hard, I had to ask the question plaguing me. “How did Kyle take the news of my death?”

My Kyle! He’d been broken. I hadn’t known that news of the accident had found its way to Sapphire Island and Kyle so soon after it happened. He’d found out before he had even finished filming. That must have been so hard for him. I need to get a hold of him as soon as possible.

“Ah. Here we are.” Ramah pointed to a page that had Jacob Edward’s cell number on it.

“Thank you. Fingers crossed he’ll give me Kyle’s number.”

“I’ll go over and make sure Daniel is comfortable and let you have a bit of privacy.”

I was grateful for that. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Jacob. He’d no doubt heard the news as well.

Oh well. Here goes.

Keying in the number with my heart in my throat, I waited for the line to connect.

“I’m sorry the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please check the number and try again.”

I hung up and figured maybe I’d got a number wrong, so I tried again. Same message. Shit. I tried another two times and each time it said the same thing. Damn! What now?

I reached for a blank stick-it note and scrawled the number down. Maybe it was a signal problem from here to the US. I’d try it again when I reached Los Angeles.

Feeling a little flat after that, I walked over to Ramah and Daniel. I noticed a large glass of Coke in front of Daniel and I raised my eyebrows as I sat down.

“Enjoying the drink?”

He looked at me, grinning and rolling his eyes as if he was in heaven. “Oooh. This Coke is so good. I think I’m going to like it here.”

Ramah and I laughed.

“How did it go Dakota? Did you get through?”

“No. It said to check the number and try again.”

“Oh. That’s a shame. Maybe he’s changed it.”

“Could be, but I’ll try again when I get to LA.”

“You’re going to LA first?”

“Yes. I need to get to Kyle to let him know I’m okay first. My parents will understand. Which brings me to my next question. I hope I’m not pushing the friendship, but I need to call my folks in Australia and give them the wonderful news. I have no money to pay you for the call. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, just as long as you get in touch with them to put them out of their misery. Go on. You won’t be able to rest until you do.”

Wasn’t that the truth? I got up and dialed the number I knew by heart. My fingers were shaking. The silence on the other end of the line was soon broken. “Hello?”

Listening to my mom’s voice again brought me straight to tears. I couldn’t speak for a moment.

“Hello? Who is this?”

A meek voice escaped.

“Mum, it’s me, Dakota. I’m alive! I survived the crash. I’ve been living on an island for a while. I have just made it back to Sapphire Island. I haven’t been able to contact you until now.” The sobs turned to heaving gasps.

The silence marked my mother’s shock. When she did eventually speak, her words didn’t surprise me.

“My daughter died in a plane crash, so you can’t be her. Can you please just leave us alone?”

The anxiety pealed through the phone into my soul. It was going to take a bit of convincing.

“Mum, it really is me! It’s not some sick prank. Surely you recognize my voice.”

“You do sound like her, but that doesn’t mean anything. You could be anyone.”

Racking my brain for a memory that no one else would know, it hit me.

“Remember the time when I was little when I pretended to run away from home but instead I went and sat with the next door neighbor for the day? I had you so worried that you called the police. When they did a door knock around the area, they eventually found me. I was helping old Mrs. Cartwright bake some cookies.”

You could have heard a pin drop, so this time I knew my mother was convinced.

“Oh my God! My baby is alive! We’ve been so distraught with grief for so long. People wouldn’t tell us anything or give us answers as to what happened to the plane. Your father was in hospital for most of the time so I had to try and battle all the red tape to try and get answers. They said that your body had never been recovered but that you’d probably drowned. I prayed and prayed that you’d just walk through the door. How are you, baby girl?” By this stage, Mum was a raving lunatic. She was wailing into the phone.

“I’m okay, I guess. I’m a little sad that everyone had such a hard time. It was so frustrating for me, knowing that I was alive but all of you were thinking that I died. I had no way of getting a message to you. Mum, I’m on crutches at the moment. I can’t walk on my leg. I sustained a pretty horrible injury and I guess I’m lucky to be alive. I actually owe my life to the people on Ragged Island.” I paused a little to catch my breath before going on and telling Mum the other news.

“There’s something else. I’ve got a boy with me called Daniel. He’s from Ragged Island. He’s going to live with me for a while. His father was abusing him, so the only way for him to escape the torment was to leave the island with me. After what I went through with John, I couldn’t leave him there.” Guilt hitched just short of my larynx.

Oh and Mum? We murdered Daniel’s father and dumped him in the ocean.
That would never leave my mouth.

“Oh dear! The poor boy. You did the right thing in taking him away from that. I’m sure you’ll give him a much better life. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Yes, well. That’s something else I need to tell you. I hope you won’t be mad.