Frozen Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 3)

by Stoker, Susan

  After all her back and forth with herself about whether she should quit or not was not, it a moot issue. She was done. So done. There were times during the filming she’d thought maybe Eddie was changing and perhaps she’d sign up to continue to work with him. But now there was no way in hell.

  Carl gave her a big hug when he got to her campsite. Kina noticed there were two rangers carrying shotguns who arrived with him. At least Eddie had sent along extra security. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of them out at the lake while she was with Jonathan at the hospital.

  She didn’t say a word as she sat in the helicopter Eddie had to arrange to take her to the hospital. He’d made a token protest at the cost of flying her back separately from the rest of the crew, but quickly shut his mouth at her ferocious words again threatening all sorts of lawsuits.

  As soon as they landed at the Anchorage airfield, Kina took out her cell phone. Thank God she finally had service. The first thing she did was call Dean, Jonathan’s brother. She didn’t have his parents’ numbers, but Jonathan had programmed his brother’s number into her phone for emergencies. She supposed this was definitely an emergency.

  “Hello?” Dean answered after the first ring.

  Kina got right to the point. “Dean, this is Kina, I’m working with Jonathan in Alaska. There’s been an accident. Jonathan’s in the hospital.”

  Kina could hear him moving around quickly. “What happened?”

  “He was swiped by a bear. I have no idea how bad it is, but I think it’sbad. They flew him off the set and to the hospital here in Anchorage. I’m on my way there now, but I don’t know anything.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t know if they’ll talk to me since I’m not related to him, so you’ll want to get here as soon as you can.”

  “I’m on my way, Kina. I’ll call the hospital and give them permission to talk to you. Keep me up-to-date. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to get there.”

  “Do you want me to call your parents?” Kina asked, hoping like hell he’d say no.

  “I’ll take care of it. You just get to my brother. If you talk to him, tell him we’re on our way.”

  Kina agreed and hung up. Thank God Dean would be there soon. She flagged down a taxi and headed to the hospital.

  * * *

  Kina stood off to the side of the waiting room. The last twenty-four hours had been the longest she’d ever experienced in her life. Dean had arrived, as had the rest of Jonathan’s family. Becky, his mom and dad, and even some of the people who worked on the refuge, she’d recognized them from the shoot they’d done there. They all showed up to support their son, friend, and brother.

  Kina felt completely out of place, but she couldn’t go anywhere until she knew Jonathan was going to be all right. The doctors had come out periodically to update the family on his condition. They’d explained the extensive injuries Jonathan had and how the bear’s claws had actually perforated his bowel as they’d swiped across his abdomen. They’d gotten him sewed up, but their main concern now was infection. Not only were the bear’s claws covered in bacteria and dirty as hell, the waste material from his bowels had leaked into his body, so it was a double whammy.

  Jonathan was fighting as hard as he could, but it was just a matter of time to see if he’d pull through. Kina teared up. God, now she understood more what Jonathan had been talking about when he’d talked about his feelings of guilt when it came to Becky. The one nap Kina had managed to squeeze in, ended abruptly with her jerking awake because she’d been reliving the exact moment Jonathan stepped in front of her to take the bear’s swipe. Guilt. It was an insidious emotion. Nothing anyone could say would assuage it.

  She thought back to their brief moment in the woods before he’d passed out. Jonathan had tried to tell her not to feel guilty. He knew she would. She knew he’d be pissed at her for feeling this way and she tried really hard to tamp it down.

  Jonathan’s mom, Bethany, came toward Kina. His mom was the last person Kina wanted to talk to. She just knew the eagle-eyed woman would take one look at her and know this was all her fault. So she was completely shocked when the older woman walked right up to her and folded her into her embrace. Kina couldn’t help it; she’d been strong for so long, but that one little bit of sympathy broke her. She burst into tears and buried her face in the other woman’s hair and just cried.

  When she finally came back to awareness she noticed she was sitting on a small couch in the waiting area with Bethany still holding on to her tightly.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kina said, pulling back to wipe at her face.

  “What are you sorry about? You looked like you really needed that; both the shoulder to cry on and the cry itself.”

  “Well yeah, I just cried all over you and you don’t even know me!” Kina said, shocked this woman would even want to take the time to comfort someone who was basically a stranger.

  “I know you. And even if I didn’t, you’re Jonathan’sOne. That means you’re family.”

  “Wh-what?” How did she know that? Had he talked to his mom about her?

  Bethany sighed. “Has he told you about our family?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Kina drew out the word in confusion. She thought she knew where Bethany was going with this and it was a bit awkward.

  Bethany didn’t take offense, but instead just smiled.

  “So, he did tell you, but you don’t really believe it. Let me tell you a story, Kina. In my family,” Bethany gestured behind her at her husband and other son, “the men have one woman who is meant to be theirs. One. They go through life knowing this, but not really believing it until they meet her. It happened with Robert, my husband. He was going on his merry way, saving lives, then boom! He met me at the scene of an accident and knew I was his one and only love. Dean was the same way. He was a ladies man. Never settling down because it never felt right. Then he met Becky. Obviously you know their story. It wasn’t easy, but Becky was hisOne. This has happened over and over throughout our family history. We have story after story of our ancestors who never thought they’d get married, never thought they’d find that one person who completes them, until one day they did. The same thing happened with Jonathan. He hadn’t really talked to you on the set until he went to all of the crew to see if any of you could help Becky. He talked to you and knew. Kina, you’re hisOne.”

  Kina was shocked and confused. Jonathanhadtold her he loved her and had told her the story of her being hisOne, but she’d pretty much blown him off, thinking he was just being romantic. She couldn’t understand how Jonathan’s mom knew about her, though.

  Bethany must have seen her confusion. She took hold of Kina’s hand and held it tightly. “He told us, dear. As soon as he came back to the house after meeting you, he came bursting in the room and said ‘I’ve found her!’ He’s been wooing you. It can be a hard thing to hear and believe. It sounds crazy, but I see you already knew some of this already. He trusted you enough to tell you.”

  Kina looked up from their clasped hands to see Becky and Dean standing in front of them. She turned and saw Robert, Jonathan’s dad, standing to the side, watching his wife carefully.

  “It’s true, Kina,” Becky said softly. “I know it sounds crazy, but the Baker men would do anything for theirOne. I know you’re feeling guilt about what happened to Jonathan, but, stop it right now. Seriously. He’s been through this too and I’ve told him over and over that I don’t blame him nor do I want him to blame himself. You haven’t told us what happened out there and how he came to be hurt exactly, but we can guess. He was probably protecting you, right? Somehow he was hurt instead of you.”

  Kina looked down at her hands. God, hearing it out loud was so much worse than thinking it in her head.

  Dean took over for his wife. Kina noticed the protective hand he had at Becky’s back and how she was curled into his side. “We’re protective. It’s in our genes. Jonathan isn’t quite as alpha as I am, but if you were in trouble, or Becky, or our mom, or really any oth
er woman, he’d do anything in his power to protect you. I can imagine you were filming and a bear came up on you. He probably stood in front of you and took that bear on.”

  “Close enough.” Kina mumbled, completely floored by what this family was saying.

  Dean went on. “He loves you, Kina. You’re hisOne. He’d do anything for you, just as I suspect you’d do for him. Don’t feel guilty. Put yourself in his shoes. God forbid it was you lying in that bed, would you want him to feel guilty for you protecting him?”

  Kina sat up straight on the couch. Oh crap. Dean was right. He was so right. That was just what she needed to hear to give her a kick in the pants. She’d be pissed if the tables were turned and Jonathan was feeling guilt about her getting hurt while protecting him. She’d been telling him over and over about how she could take care of herself, and now, look. Loving someone, having someone love you, wasn’t about being independent and moving through life on your own, it was about protecting each other. Being there for each other when needed. She’d helped Jonathan through some hefty guilt he’d been feeling just as he’d helped her with that damn bear. She had to get her act together.

  Kina stood up and hugged Dean as hard as she could. Of course she couldn’t even get her arms all the way around him, he was so big. He uncurled his arms from around Becky and held Kina tight for just a moment. He put her away from him and looked into her eyes. “You’re okay, now?”

  “I’m great.” Kina said with steel in her voice. She had things to do and people to talk to. She’d make this right, once and for all.

  * * *

  Jonathan gradually became more and more lucid over the next couple of days. It wasn’t until his third day in the hospital that he was awake enough to recognize anyone. Dean happened to be in the room when he came to.

  Because he still had a breathing tube in, he couldn’t talk. He was agitated and Dean saw the panic in his eyes. He put a hand on his brother’s forehead and one on his chest. He leaned down to speak into his ear. “Settle, bro. You’re fine. Kina’s fine. You’re in the hospital, but you’re healing and we’ll get that tube out of your throat so you can talk, all right?”

  Jonathan looked up and saw the honesty in his brother’s eyes. He wouldn’t lie to him. Dean knew what Kina meant to him. Heknew. Jonathan relaxed and closed his eyes. He’d believe his brother, but he still wanted to see Kina.

  Two days later, Jonathan was leaving the hospital and he still hadn’t seen Kina. She’d disappeared. He heard all about his mom’s conversation with her, but no one had spoken with her. It was if she’d vanished into thin air. It was killing him. He’d let her run for now, but he’d find her. He wasn’t giving up on her. He couldn’t. He needed her.

  He pushed the hurt down. He was hurt she hadn’t come to see him in the hospital. Surely, after everything they’d been through, she’d want to make sure he was going to be all right. He tried to put himself in her shoes. She was scared and feeling guilty. She probably thought she was being noble or something and thought leaving him was the best thing she could do for him. Well, screw that. He’d make sure she knew how much she meant to him. As soon as he got back on his feet, he’d find her and somehow make her understand how much he loved her. She had to. Without her, he was nothing.

  Dean and his dad had arranged for him to get home via a chartered plane. Jonathan knew it had to cost a whack, but he also knew he’d never make it if he had to fly commercial. He’d argued to stay in Anchorage and recuperate, but his family wasn’t having any of it. The only reason he wanted to stay in Alaska was Kina. He thought maybe if he stayed there, she’d come see him and let him convince her she was his world.

  The doctors signed all the papers and put him in the care of his family. Dean and Becky drove him to the airport so he could lie down in the back seat, and his parents took a taxi. The few friends who had flown up when he was first hurt had already left a few days ago. They’d headed back to Arizona to make sure the refuge was taken care of. Jonathan was wheeled onto the plane and settled himself into the cot that had been set up for him. He was quiet. All he could think about was leaving Alaska and Kina. Where was she? Was she all right?

  The plane ride was uneventful and soon they were on their way to his parents’ animal refuge and home. He hadn’t had time to find a place to live yet. He’d been planning on doing that after the show as over, and hopefully with Kina. He wanted to find a home she’d feel comfortable in.

  After the long trip, Jonathan finally gave in and took a pain pill. He was in quite a lot of pain and only wanted to sleep. That was a lie, he only wanted Kina, but after that he wanted to close his eyes and let the fog of the pain medicine take him. As he settled into the queen bed in his parents’ guest room, he felt someone at his side. He cracked his eyelids open, hoping against hope it was Kina. It wasn’t.

  Becky sat down at Jonathan’s bedside and took his hand in hers.

  “You’ll find her when you’re better.” She knew.

  Jonathan took a deep breath. “What did she say to you, Beck? Do you know where she went?”

  Becky shook her head. “I don’t know, but I have a feeling she’ll find her way to you. She was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff in the hospital. She was feeling guilty you were hurt protecting her.” At Jonathan’s shake of his head she hurried on. “We told her she shouldn’t feel guilty. I even hinted to her that she’d do the same thing if the tables were turned.”

  “Did she get it?” Jonathan asked, tortured by the thoughts of Kina feeling bad for one second about what he’d done. He hated the thought of Kina being the one hurt and lying in a hospital room, but he knew she’d protect him in a heartbeat if she had to.

  “I think she did. She got a weird look on her face and ran out of the waiting room like a fire had been lit under her. She loves you, Jonathan. I’d bet my life on it. You should’ve seen her. She was magnificent. She got hold of us and helped arrange for all of us to get to the hospital. She kept us informed about what was going on with you until we could get there. I know you don’t remember this, but at one point the doctors weren’t sure they wanted to do surgery because you were so weak. She knew if they didn’t do it, there was a high chance you wouldn't survive. From what the doctor told us, she browbeat them into agreeing it was the only thing to be done, and you were in surgery before we even arrived.”

  Jonathan smiled weakly. He could imagine Kina doing just that. “I can’t keep my eyes open, but tomorrow I’m going to find her.”

  Becky smiled. She had no doubt Jonathan would do just that.

  * * *

  Kina sighed. The last two weeks had been so frustrating. She’d gone back to the production house intending to talk to one of the producers, but she’d forgotten no one was there, they were all still on Bear Island. She had no way to get out there, and honestly didn’t want to. She had way too many bad memories to want to ever lay eyes on it again.

  She had to wait another two days for Eddie and the others to get back. Taylor and Carl wanted to know how Jonathan was. Since she hadn’t been back to the hospital she could only say that he’d be fine. She didn’t know the particulars, but was thankful Dean had been texting her and keeping her in the loop.

  Dean was the only person in Jonathan’s family who knew what she was planning. She hadn’t wanted to tell anyone other than Jonathan, but she also wanted to make sure at least one member of his family knew she was coming back. She wasn’t deserting him. She just had some things to take care of first.

  Kina sat down and met with Eddie. The meeting was a long one, but after it was over Kina knew her life had changed, hopefully for the better. She’d taken a risk. She hoped, but wasn’t one hundred percent sure, that Jonathan would think what she’d done was a positive thing. Only time would tell.

  Before sitting down with Eddie, she’d had a long talk on the phone with Dean. She didn’t want to go behind Jonathan’s back, but she had to secure her future before she could involve him. She knew Jonathan would do whatever it took
to get her to Arizona, and she appreciated it, but she had to do this on her own. For her to have any feeling of accomplishment, she had to make this happen herself.

  Dean, at first, wasn’t too sure about having anything to do with Eddie. He’d never gotten over what had happened to Becky, and Eddie wasn’t on his list of favorite people. After talking it over with Becky and having his lawyers look over the paperwork she’d faxed to him, he’d finally agreed. Kina smiled, remembering how he’d told her in a disgusted voice, “I’m only agreeing because you’re family.” Family. Maybe she’d finally get the loving family she’d always dreamed of.

  It was time to get to Arizona and to Jonathan. She’d heard from Dean that Jonathan had been snarky and grumpy and downright annoying. God, she missed him and hated like hell that she hadn’t been able to talk to him, but it was time to face him and let him know what she’d done. She only hoped he still wanted her in Arizona with him.

  Ironically, she was at the airport at the same time as Darius and Roger. She hadn’t seen Darius since that day on the island and she was honestly glad to be able to say good-bye to him. A little bit of her was still pissed at him for his role in what had happened to Jonathan, but after she’d thought about it for a while, she realized she probably would’ve run the same way he had. If Jonathan hadn’t been there with her, telling her to calm down and stay still, she probably would have taken off right after Darius. She had to forgive him for being too scared to think straight.

  They were all on separate flights, making their way home, but managed to have time to sit down for a drink before they had to leave.

  After giving Darius a big hug and telling both men all about what had happened to Jonathan and how he was recuperating in Arizona with his family, she couldn’t resist asking, “So…who won? Who is the ‘Extreme Alaskan?”

  “Oh no, we’re not telling you, sorry,” Darius said teasingly. “You’ll have to watch the show with the rest of America. You know we’re under contract to keep silent.”