Finding You (Finding You Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Dakota, there has been a call from your mother. She sounded a little upset. I think she wants you to call her.”

Instant mood change! Fear. Panic. Breathlessness. What on earth would my mother be doing calling Sapphire Island? What’s happened? Why didn’t she just sent a text message?

Kyle kept close, snaking his arm around my waist to steady me as I stumbled slightly. I had the sudden sinking feeling that my world was about to come crashing down.

“Don’t worry. It mightn’t be anything too bad. Go and call her and find out and then we’ll deal with whatever is wrong.”

I wasn’t so sure.

He led me over to the phone behind Ramah’s desk where I dialed the number with trembling hands. Something was very wrong, I just knew it.

The phone rang for a long time and just when I was about to hang up, my mother answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s me. I got your message from Ramah. What’s happened?” I didn’t have time for small talk. My heart was about to beat out of my chest and I needed to find out what my mother wanted.

“I’m sorry to have to call you and interrupt your holiday but I thought you should know. John has been harassing us, trying to find you.”

In that moment, I felt like I was standing before the firing squad, waiting for the first bullet. I held my breath and waited.

“Anyway, he came around here last night looking for you and came into contact with your father. You can imagine how enraged your father became when he saw John. The two of them got into an argument and ended up fist fighting. Oh Dakota, it’s just horrible. John’s put your father in hospital with head injuries and a fractured jaw. They don’t know the extent of the head injuries yet but it could be serious. John has skipped town and can’t be found. I’m so sorry to call with such bad news but I thought you’d better know before you arrived back here to all the mayhem.”

My airways had narrowed to the size of a pinhead. I pulled at my shirt to ease the constriction. My dad was in hospital because of that monster and now I would have to cut my holiday short to go back and be with my family. They needed me now. When would all this end? Happiness was something that got dangled in front of me to tease me. My life was jinxed. I started to think that the last two weeks of bliss had all been a figment of my imagination. Tomorrow I would wake up back in my own private hell. John would burst through the door, demanding dinner, and I would discover that my holiday and Kyle had all been some wonderful thought up illusion.

“I…is…Dad…going to be…okay?”

“The doctors won’t know until they do more tests. I’m so worried about him.”

“Oh God. This is terrible. I’m so sorry. I feel like it’s all my fault.”

“No! You stop that! It’s not your fault at all. Don’t think like that. You weren’t even here. Please don’t worry. I’m sure your father will be fine. He’s tough like his daughter.” My mother’s attempt to downplay the situation failed miserably.

“I’ll come home as soon as I can. You need me now. I want to be there for both of you.” The words sounded alien. My mouth was on autopilot, saying the right things while my head was in turmoil.

“Thanks, darling. I’m so sorry you have to cut your trip short. We’ll see you when you get home”

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you too, dear.”

I stood cradling the receiver after the conversation ended, eyes vacant, unable to feel anything.

“Dakota, what is it?” asked Kyle, taking the receiver from me and placing it down.

The conversation replayed over and over in my head.

“John has struck again. He’s put my father in hospital. Apparently he went to my parents’ house looking for me and came into contact with Dad, who probably provoked the situation a little, wanting to tear his head off his shoulders. They got into a fight and Dad’s in hospital with head injuries and a fractured jaw. They don’t know how serious the head injuries are. I have to go back and be with them.” I howled, harshly knowing that my time with Kyle was about to come to an end, feeling selfish for even thinking that when my dad was in such a state. “Why is this happening to me? I’m not ready to leave you yet. I had another two weeks of my holiday remaining. What are we going to do?”

The mere thought of flying back to hell was deeply disturbing. No one would want to leave paradise to return to face the devil.

Kyle comforted me from behind. Pulling my back into his chest, resting his chin on my shoulder, both arms tightly around my waist. “You have to go home. It wouldn’t be right for you to stay here while your father lies in hospital in who knows what sort of a state. I don’t want you to go, though. I want you to come stay with me in LA after you get everything sorted out. I’m paying and I don’t want any rebuttal. Our time together has been cut short due to unforeseen circumstances so I want to make that up to you. To us. Will you at least think about it?”

Now more than ever, I needed him. My old life was just too painful to face alone.

He nuzzled his face into my neck and held me tightly, waiting for my answer.

“There’s nothing to think about. As soon as I see that Dad is okay, I’ll be on the first plane out of there. I feel like I don’t belong in that world any more. I don’t want to be a part of it. I’d love to spend some time with you in LA. I’m more eager than ever now to get divorce proceedings underway. I just hope the police can find John, as he’ll need to sign the papers.”

Kyle looked wounded. “Are you sure he’ll sign them? Maybe he won’t, just to spite you.”

“I don’t know,” I said, suddenly hoping Kyle was wrong. What if he didn’t sign the papers? How would I get him out of my life? That bridge would just have to be crossed when I came to it. The first thing was to get to my dad.

“Let me call the airport and see when we can get you on a plane out of here.” Kyle suddenly took charge.

The mere mention of the airport made it all seem so, final. I was going home.

Shit.
“Kyle, I don’t want to go now. I want to stay here with you. I don’t want to risk running into John again, even though he’s supposedly disappeared. When it comes to me, it’s like he has a built-in radar. He’ll find out I’m home. What if he gets violent again? After all, look where my father has ended up. I don’t think I can face any of it. I don’t want to.” I sounded like a defiant child but I didn’t care.

“If he so much as breathes near you, call me immediately, and movie or no movie, I’ll be on the first plane over there to show him how we deal with things the American way.”

I admired his chivalry but Kyle didn’t know whom he was dealing with. This was no ordinary hot-head. John was mentally unstable and was capable of anything. Who knew what his plans were?

My eyes widened as I also came to the conclusion that John now knew that I wasn’t dead. This was going from bad to worse. Afraid was not even in the same league as to what I was feeling. I felt like throwing up. My heart palpitated as Kyle called the airport.

I barely listened as he spoke to reservations, the sound of his voice was merely background noise as I tried to simmer down. Adrenalin had everything inside me working frantically, my body in fight or flight mode.

“What did they say?” I mumbled when Kyle hung up and turned to me, clasping both my cheeks in his warm hands and pulling my face up so I would look at him. I seriously hoped to God that all flights out of Sapphire Island had been cancelled permanently.

“Well, considering it was such short notice, the best they could do was the day after tomorrow.”

Jesus! That’s way too soon.

I felt myself collapse under the weight of the sudden curve ball that had been thrown at me.

Kyle pulled me into him tightly and if it hadn’t been for his vise-like grip on me I would have ended up on the floor curled into a ball, withdrawing into myself like I had done so often in the past.

“Hey. It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine. I’m here for you and I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to face this alone. I’ll be on the phone to you whenever I can to help, I promise.”

“I wish you could go with me.”

“I know. So do I, believe me. There’s nothing I’d like more than to accidentally run into your ex.”

“Having to go back and face everything after the last two perfect weeks is like throwing a bucket of cold water on my face. I’m scared. I don’t want to be that way anymore. Being here with you has made me realize that there is so much more to life.”

“You’re so amazing and brave for what you’ve been through. I can’t begin to imagine what that is like but you aren’t that person anymore. You’re so much stronger than the woman you were because of what that asshole did to you.”

I felt his lips brush mine so softly, I barely felt them. Needing the reassurance his kisses brought me, I crushed my lips harder into his, gripping his head and guiding it on an angle so I could absorb him into my being to give me the strength I knew I was going to need.

There was a desperation in the kiss. I could feel Kyle giving me another piece of himself as his full lips devoured mine. Here we were standing in the middle of reception, oblivious to anyone other than each other, not caring who saw that moment of need and it was one of the best moments of my life. For the first time in my life, I needed a man. This man. If not just for the support he was giving me, I needed the kind heart I knew he possessed. I needed it more than anything.

Kyle pulled back, letting a moan escape his throat as he rested his forehead on mine. “What are you doing to me?”

Even with acid still broiling in my stomach, although not quite as much after that kiss, I managed a small giggle.

“I guess trying to seduce you in a public place isn’t such a good idea, huh?”

“Angel, you can kiss me like that anytime, anyplace.” His breathing came in short bursts.

“I don’t want to go.”

“I know but the sooner you get over there, the sooner you can leave.”

I knew that was true but it still didn’t make it any easier. Seeing my father beaten up in the hospital was just terrifying to me. Having to suffer the long flight home, I knew that by the time I touched down on Australian soil, I would be desperate.

“Let’s go out tonight and have some fun. How about we go dancing? There’s a club in town called The Hip Thing. A couple of the crew have been there and said it’s great,” Kyle mused, obviously trying to help by changing the subject and getting my mind off the trip home.

As much as I wasn’t in the party mood, I knew the best way to deal with things was to keep busy. If I sat around dwelling on my impending doom I would go nuts. Plus, I needed to make the most of my time with Kyle. That was all that mattered.

“That sounds like fun,” I lied, trying to sound enthusiastic. He didn’t buy it.

“I’m sure your dad will pull through. If he has half the strength of his daughter, he’ll make a full recovery. You probably won’t need to stay too long. Buzz in and buzz out and your ex won’t even know you’re there.”

Oh, he’ll know. Of that I have no doubt. I don’t know which scares me more. Seeing my father black and blue or knowing John is probably waiting in hiding ready to pounce.

“I’ll meet you out front in an hour. We can grab something to eat at the club.”

I tried to pull off a smile but it was pained at best. I watched him walk towards his hut and slowly let my legs pull me on auto-pilot towards mine.

Unlocking the door and stepping into what had become my haven, my stomach lurched at the thought that this beautiful place would soon be just a memory. Someplace I could only visit in my mind. It wasn’t fair. I had earned more than two weeks of happiness. I had. Hadn’t I?

I switched my cell to camera mode and starting taking photos of the cabin, inside and out. I needed more than just mental images that would start to fade with time. There wasn’t a piece of the cabin that I didn’t capture, including the damn wardrobe that was still way too big for my clothing, even after a spending spree. I especially took about ten snaps of the bath. That fixture held extra special memories. Ones that made my heart hum. I smiled as I remembered the glorious foot rub and heated kisses and caresses that I’d lapped up like a puppy. I hoped those images would never fade.

I wasted half an hour sentimentally snapping everything in my wake before deciding I’d better decide what to wear and start getting ready.

Flicking through the clothes that I’d have to pack again the next day, I found what I was looking for.

Tonight the new navy dress was finally going to be worn.

That thought alone made me brighten up a bit. I knew Kyle’s eyes would bug out when he saw me in it. I loved how he reacted to me. Maybe in some way it was that built-in desire to please that would always be a part of who I was. The need to feel accepted and wanted. Kyle made me feel that and much more.

My skin glistened with a golden tan, which made me look as if I’d lived on the island for years. The dress seemed to show off my brown body all the more as I stood before the mirror doing a once-over after slipping it on. The gold earrings and lipstick finished off the picture. I went to grab the pashmina shawl and then decided to leave it. This time there was no need to worry about hiding my scars from Kyle. He knew all there was to know about me and it felt liberating. No secrets.