Losing You (Finding You Series Book 2)

by Amanda Mackey

  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?”

  Eyes just slits, the native beauty sighed. “He took it very hard. Hayden had to break the news to him. He said it tore Kyle up. He moped around here for a while until he wasn’t needed in the movie and then flew home to be with his parents. I haven’t heard how he’s doing. He certainly left here a mess. I hope he’s been able to pull himself together.”

  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 b
y 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.

  “There’s one final thing. I have to go to America and find Kyle. I need to find him and tell him I’m alive and that I still love him. I hope you will understand. This is my one shot at happiness. Maybe Kyle, Daniel, and I will visit once we get everything sorted out. I miss you and Dad. How is he?” I changed the subject quickly before she could protest. I was good at that.

  “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself in for, dear. It’s so sudden.”

  “I know it seems that way, but he’s nothing like John. He’s so wonderful to me. I love him.” There was nothing further to add.

  “I must admit, I’m a little disappointed you’re not coming home just yet, but I’m extremely glad you’re alive. That’s all I need for now. Just promise me that you’ll come home and visit once you’re settled. Please be careful and call if you need anything.” Then like a giddy schoolgirl, she added, “Wait till I tell your father! He’s home now and on the mend. It was touch and go for a couple of weeks, but he’s a fighter like you. He’ll be so happy!”

  We both laughed, reconnecting and happy to be talking to each other again. I felt her love radiate through the telephone.

  “Please call us when you reach Los Angeles and let us know that you arrived safely. You’ll be able to speak with your father then, just so he knows you really are alive.” Mum paused and then said softly, “I love you, Dakota. Just remember that, wherever you are. We’ll be here for you, no matter what.”

  “I love you too, Mum.”

  Daniel and I needed some money but I didn’t have the heart to ask her now. It would seem like a charity call. Something else would have to be arranged.

  Promising to call when we reached our destination, I hung the phone up and moved back to where Ramah and Daniel waited.

  “How did she react? Was she as shocked as we were?” Ramah asked excitedly.

  “She didn’t believe me at first, until I told her something from my past that was unique to the two of us. She just couldn’t believe it! We were both pretty emotional. The great news is that she understands about me needing to go to Kyle first.”

  Ramah walked over to where the room keys were hanging. She scanned the board before selecting a key, returning to us.

  “You can’t have your old room back but there’s a vacant one just a couple of doors down. It has two single beds in it, which will be more appropriate this time round.”

  I was so grateful that I was going to be able to sleep on a proper bed, have a shower, and hopefully appeal to Ramah’s generous nature and get some food.

  Walking through the gardens, I almost expected Kyle to come bounding around the corner whistling a happy tune or hear one of the loud film crew telling a dirty joke. Time had erased those things. They were just memories now. New families and couples cavorted in the jumbo pool. It seemed like infinity ago that I’d stepped onto the same pathway leading to the huts, embarking on an unknown journey. So much had happened since then.

  We turned left instead of right and made our way down the sand closer to where Kyle’s hut had been.

  Ramah opened the door and let us in. We both walked in, looking around, Daniel in a trance as he spotted things he’d never seen before.

  I moved to the bed and eased down onto it, sighing as I went. The soft mattress on the bed resembled a marshmallow and when was the last time I’d had a pillow? Just one of the small luxuries I’d always taken for granted.

  “I’ll leave you two alone to get your bearings for a while. You need to rest. I’ll come by soon with a nice hearty meal for you both. I bet you’re both starving.”

  “We’ve won the lottery. Proper food. Food with flavor and taste. No more berries, wild yams, or anything with a leaf attached to it. Thank you, Ramah. That sounds fantastic.”

  Ramah turned to leave and then she stopped, as if she’d forgotten something.

  “Oh, I nearly forgot. While you called your mother, Hayden used his cell phone to arrange two airline tickets to Los Angeles. There’s a flight leaving in five days. I thought you could use some time to get settled and grab a few necessities before you leave. I’ll whiz over to the airport before you go to pick them up. You’ll need to call home again later to get some form of identification faxed through to show the airline. Daniel is under 18 so he doesn’t require any form of identification as Sapphire and Ragged Island are still in United States waters. Here’s some money to survive on until you reach Kyle.”

  Ramah handed me an envelope containing three hundred dollars.

  Now we really had hit the jackpot. Everything had fallen into place perfectly. Without even having to ask, the money had come. It finally felt like things were going in our favor.

  “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you what this means to me. I promise I’ll repay you as soon as I can, with interest!”

  “Worry about that later. Right now you just relax and get yourself in
shape for your meeting with Kyle. I wish I were going to be a fly on the wall. Just thinking about it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.”

  We settled into our hut after Ramah left. Daniel walked through it, looking at everything foreign, opening drawers and cupboards to see what was inside. I nabbed him looking at himself in the mirror in the bathroom, gawking at his reflection.

  “Is this what I really look like?”

  It was comical to watch the young boy see himself for the first time. His hands wandered carefully over his nose and mouth, following the curves ever so gently, all the while watching in the mirror as he did so.

  “You’re very handsome. One day when you’re older, you’ll have women falling at your feet.”

  “What do you mean?” he probed, looking away from his reflection to me.

  “I mean that women will think that you’re very good looking. They’ll want you to take them out for dinner and buy them nice gifts.”

  He screwed up his nose as if I’d just asked him to drink tar. “Yuck! That will never happen. I don’t want women to do that!”

  I couldn’t help giggling as I moved over to him, touching his young, unblemished face. There was so much for him to experience now and girls were just one of them. He reminded me of a young flower bud, yet to open and bloom. Life for him would never be the same again.

  We both yawned as fatigue set in. It had been a big day for all, with bigger ones yet to come. Plenty of rest was imperative. Daniel made his way over to the bed, where he threw himself down, relishing the softness. His eyes were shut within a couple of minutes and his heavy, regular breathing was all that could be heard in the quiet, late afternoon. My eyes sagged so I easily flopped back onto the bed by the window. The pillow and mattress felt luxurious compared to what was offered on Ragged Island. Minutes later, I’d joined Daniel in the land of nod.