Bring Me Sunshine Page 19
William returned with her tea, then excused himself. Duty called. Vera reached into her bag and pulled forth her notebook and pen. A second dip into the bag produced a leather bound notebook that was as expensive as it looked. Vera was pretty good with a computer, but some things were best done with pen and ink. And in a manner suitable to the task.
She settled herself comfortably in the chair, opened the book on her lap and wrote the words Chapter One on the top of the first page.
She wasn’t cold any more. She was lying on something soft. That must be a cloud, Jenny thought fuzzily. Didn’t you get to lie on a cloud when you went to heaven? And she was in heaven. She knew that, because of Kit. She had frozen to death on that awful ridge, because that was where she first saw him, looking like an angel. Since then, every time she had tried to open her eyes, she had seen Kit’s face. Looking down at her with such love and compassion that she wanted to cry. But before she could speak to him, she slipped back into the darkness. Being dead certainly had its disadvantages.
There was also the not inconsiderable matter of her head. It hurt. Really hurt. The headache to end all headaches. She didn’t want to go through eternity with a headache.
Maybe if she opened her eyes, Kit could take away the pain.
Heaven seemed to be purple. Jenny blinked then realised she was staring at a giant purple handbag on a chair next to …
She was lying in a bed. It was soft and white and warm – but definitely a bed, not a cloud.
‘Jenny. You’re awake.’
The purple bag vanished to be replaced by Vera, her face a mask of concern. ‘It is so good to see you awake.’ Vera turned and in a slightly louder voice called. ‘William. She’s awake.’
‘Welcome back, young lady.’
Some of the fuzziness in her head was starting to fade a little.
‘I’m back on the ship?’
‘You are,’ the doctor looked pleased. ‘Now can you tell me your name?’
‘Jenny Payne.’
‘Good. Shall we try for the date?’
‘It’s Christmas Day.’
‘Good enough,’ the doctor said. ‘Actually, yesterday was Christmas day. You have been asleep for a while.’
Jenny frowned as she tried to gather her thoughts. ‘I was on the ridge. Looking for some woman’s bracelet. I must have slipped …’
‘That’s right,’ Vera said. ‘The ship left without you. That was all my fault. I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t tampered with your card … all this would never have happened.’
‘Now, let’s not worry too much about that,’ the doctor interrupted. ‘Jenny, you have a head injury. It’s not too bad but right now the best thing is for you to rest. I’ll organise some soup. Nothing too heavy. You just relax.’
The doctor waved an admonishing finger at Vera. ‘Vera, keep her company, but don’t tire her out. Nothing too stressful.’
‘Yes, William.’ Vera sounded positively docile as she settled into the chair by the bed.
Jenny waited for the man to vanish, then spoke the word that had been foremost in her mind since she awoke. ‘Kit?’
‘He’s the one who realised you weren’t on board. He pretty much forced the captain to send a boat back. He went too.’
‘I saw his face. I think. While I was still out there.’
‘He carried you back,’ Vera said. ‘He sat with you all last night. I sent him to get some sleep a couple of hours ago. He was exhausted.’
‘He carried me back?’
‘Yes. He wouldn’t let anyone else take you.’
The bit of information eased the disappointment she was feeling at not having him here.
Any further conversation was halted by the arrival of a steward carrying a bowl of soup, some bread and juice. It wasn’t exactly Christmas turkey with all the trimmings, but to Jenny, it was just the thing. She sipped the soup, letting Vera chatter on about the last night’s Christmas party. Luckily, she didn’t seem to need answers. That left Jenny free to think about what had happened. She might have died out there on the ice. And Kit had saved her. Kit had carried her back. Held her in his arms – and she had been unconscious. That seemed a terrible waste!
Gradually, Vera’s voice seemed to get softer. Jenny barely felt the food tray being lifted from her lap as she slipped back into sleep.
Waking the next time was much easier. She simply opened her eyes and knew at once where she was, who she was and who the person sitting in the chair next to the bed was.
Unfortunately it wasn’t the person she wanted it to be.
‘Well, hello.’ Lian smiled broadly. ‘It’s good to see you awake.’
‘Are you taking turns watching me?’ Jenny asked as she lifted herself slowly into a sitting position. Her head did not hurt quite so badly, nor did her limbs feel quite so much like jelly.
‘Vera is having dinner. With the doctor. You know, I think there may be something going on with those two.’
Jenny would have smiled at that, but her thoughts were elsewhere. On another two who might – or might not have something going on.
‘Kit?’ she asked.
‘You just missed him,’ Lian said. ‘He was here while you were sleeping, but the doctor sent him away.’
‘Why?’
‘Apparently he had forgotten to eat. The doctor has banned him from coming back here for a couple of hours.’
‘Oh.’
‘You know, the two of you need to get your eating and sleeping cycles in sync if you plan to – well – do anything.’
Jenny almost blushed, but as she looked at Lian, a thought began to form in the back of her mind. Lian had left her home and family – not because she was running away, but because she was running to something. To the man she loved and the father of her baby. She set out to get what she wanted, and here she was, married and so happy she glowed.
She would take a page from Lian’s book.
Slowly she pushed herself into a sitting position. The room stayed where it was supposed to be. That was a good sign. She kicked back the covers and dropped her legs over the edge.
‘What are you doing?’ Lian asked.
‘I’m making a break for it.’
‘But the doctor …’
‘You said he was having lunch. He wouldn’t be doing that if I was dying. I’m fine. Look.’ Jenny slowly got to her feet. The room spun just a little, a fact she was able to hide from Lian. ‘See. I’m fine. I’m going to Kit.’
‘Like that?’
Jenny looked down at herself. Lian had a point, she was wearing some sort of cotton hospital style nightie. And yes, now that she thought about it, it did gape at the back.
‘I need clothes,’ she said. They would need to be warm ones too, because she knew exactly where she would find Kit.
‘I’m really not sure about this,’ Lian said.
‘I am. I wonder if my clothes are here anywhere?’ Jenny took a step from the bed, and the room started spinning again in a manner she couldn’t hide. She reached for the bedhead to steady herself.
‘Stay put,’ Lian said. ‘I’ll look.’
A quick search revealed Jenny’s shoes and jeans. Her jacket showed signs of having blood hastily removed. But of her T-shirt, there was no sign.
‘They must have thrown it away,’ Jenny said. ‘I guess there was too much blood on it.’ Which didn’t help her at this moment. She looked at Lian. The girl was smaller than Jenny, but she was pregnant and …
‘Can I borrow your top?’
‘What?’
‘I can hardly walk around wearing this,’ Jenny tugged at the hospital gown. ‘I need a shirt. Please!’
Lian hesitated. ‘But the doctor said you need to rest.’
Jenny shook her head. ‘Doctors don’t know everything.
Chapter Twenty-Four
He was there, of course. Right where she knew he would be. Standing on the top deck in the spot she had come to think of as theirs. The sun was very low in the sky, and there were clouds gathering. The beaut
iful pink and golden light had been left behind as the Cape Adare worked her way north. The greyness of the evening seemed to hover around Kit’s shoulders.
Jenny steeled herself emotionally and physically, and started to walk across the deck. She had almost reached Kit, when he heard or sensed her. Slowly he turned around. The darkness in his eyes tore at her heart. But then his face changed. His eyes glistened as he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. His arms were strong. His body was warm. And as she laid her head on his chest, she could almost feel the beating of his heart.
For a long time they stood like that.
Finally, Kit brushed a kiss across the top of Jenny’s head, and released her. Not entirely. He kept his arm around her shoulders as they stepped up to their usual place – side by side at the ship’s rail, looking out over the ocean.
It was Kit who finally broke the silence.
‘I thought I had lost you.’ His body was taut with emotion. His journey to this place had been long and painful. Jenny knew it wasn’t quite over.
‘Kit, tell me how Dana died.’
‘We were going to have a baby,’ his voice broke. ‘Oh, God. We were so happy. Dana stopped dancing as soon as she learned she was pregnant. Having a baby would have pretty much ended her career, but she didn’t care. She … we wanted the baby so much. ‘
He choked on the words. Jenny barely dared to breathe as she waited for him to say what he needed to say.
‘She was such a strong dancer, but weak in other ways. She lost the baby.’
Jenny put her hand over his on the railing. The grief in his voice was palpable.
‘When she came home from hospital she just sat there. She barely spoke. She wouldn’t talk to her friends. They were all dancers, you see. Dancing at that level is so hard on a woman’s body. She thought she was to blame. I tried to help her, but she was so distant. She wouldn’t talk to me. She would barely look at me. So, I buried myself in my studio.’
‘You were grieving too,’ Jenny whispered.
‘I should have been there for her. One day, she was just gone. We were living in Manhattan – on the upper west side. The doorman at our apartment told me she had gone towards the park. Central Park is a pretty big place. I searched for hours. She was dead when I found her. The doctors said she had taken a massive overdose.’
Tears pricked at Jenny’s eyes for this desperately sad woman whom she had never met. ‘I am so sorry.’
‘It was my fault. I should have been there. I was in my studio painting when she decided she wanted to die. If I had been with her …’
‘This is not your fault, Kit. It was a tragedy but it was not your fault. You have to know that.’
‘I felt so guilty, but I was angry too. At her. She just gave up and left me. She wasn’t willing to try. To fight for us …’
Kit took a long slow breathe.
‘After the funeral, I went into the studio. I picked up a brush. And there was nothing. I couldn’t paint any more. There had always been a darkness inside me, Jenny. Dana softened it. Gave it some colour. I fell back into the darkness when she died. And, ashamed as I am to admit it, there were times I thought I wanted to die too.’
‘That’s not why you came on this cruise is it?’ Jenny asked, fear in her voice. ‘You weren’t thinking of …’
‘Honestly, Jenny, I don’t know. I’ve spent the last year travelling. Always taking my tools with me. I’ve been to the most beautiful places. Seen so many different cultures and people. I desperately wanted to believe one of them would inspire me to paint again. Nothing did. Until I saw you – you brought new colour into my life. Bright, wonderful colours. Living … loving colours’
Jenny smiled through her tears. ‘Love at first sight?’ she said, trying to keep her voice light, despite the fact that her heart felt like it was going to explode.
‘It seems to be my way,’ Kit said ruefully. ‘I remember the exact look on your face when the coke can exploded in the library. That was quite some first sight.’
‘I have a confession to make,’ Jenny said. ‘It wasn’t my first sight of you.’
‘Really?’
‘Our first night out. You were … um … you were in the sauna.’
‘The sauna?’ Kit raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought I saw someone. That was you?’
Jenny nodded, blushing furiously.
Kit laughed. It was a rich, happy sound that Jenny knew she would never tire of hearing.
‘Then I must make a confession too,’ he said. ‘I saw you that day with the dolphins. Talking to them. That was the day I first felt the desire to paint again. That was the day you gave it back to me.’
‘It was always in you, Kit. You just had to find it. And speaking of finding things,’ Jenny said with a start. ‘I wonder …’ She reached into the pocket of her jacket and her fingers closed around something cold and metallic. The bracelet shone dully in the lowering light when she pulled it out of her pocket. ‘I suppose at some point I should give this back.’
‘That stupid bracelet. I almost lost you because of that. I want to throw it in the ocean.’
‘It’s too pretty,’ Jenny said. ‘Let’s give it back.’
‘You have to promise me you will never do something that stupid ever again.’
‘I can’t do that,’ Jenny said, feeling him tense beside her. ‘That’s the person I am. I sometimes do stupid things. I will make mistakes and fall down. You can’t wrap me in cotton wool, Kit. But,’ she turned to look at him, holding his face between her hands as she spoke with all the feelings pouring through her heart. ‘I promise you this, Kit Walker. I will never give up. I will always fight my way back. To you. For you. For us. Even if I have to do it on my hands and knees.’
Jenny was never sure if she kissed Kit, or if Kit kissed her. It was a kiss that lasted a very long time.
Jenny shivered as they broke apart.
‘You’re cold,’ Kit said. ‘You shouldn’t be out here. Let’s go down to my stateroom. There’s something there I want to show you.’
‘Ah. I may have seen it. There is this small matter of a break-in I have to explain …’
Kit was chuckling again as they made their way across the open deck. His arms stayed around her shoulders. Not so much to help as to just keep her near him. She would be very happy to live with that for a lifetime or two.
As Jenny and Kit disappeared into the ship, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, two shapes slipped beneath the clouds. The two great albatross soared easily on the winds, pacing the ship for a short time, before turning on the wind to continue their lifelong journey together.
* The End *
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About the Author
Janet lives in Surrey with her English husband but grew up in the Australian outback surrounded by books. She solved mysteries with Sherlock Holmes, explored jungles with Edgar Rice Burroughs and shot to the stars with Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. After studying journalism at Queensland University she became a television journalist, first in Australia, then in Asia and Europe. During her career Janet saw and did a lot of unusual things. She met one Pope, at least three Prime Ministers, a few movie stars and a dolphin. Janet now works in television production and travels extensively with her job.
Janet’s first short story, The Last Dragon, was published in 2002. Since then she has published numerous short stories, one of which won the Elizabeth Goudge Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Her novel, Flight to Coorah Creek, won the 2015 Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice Award and was a finalist for the Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of The Year Ruby Award.
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From Janet Gover
Flight to Coorah Creek
Book 1 in the Coorah Creek series
Winner of 2015 Aspen Gold Award
What happens when you can fly, but you just can’t hide?
Only Jessica Pearson knows the truth when the press portray her as the woman who betrayed her lover to escape prosecution. But will her new job flying an outback air ambulance help her sleep at night or atone for a lost life?
Doctor Adam Gilmore touches the lives of his patients, but his own scars mean he can never let a woman touch his heart.
Runaway Ellen Parkes wants to build a safe future for her two children. Without a man – not even one as gentle as Jack North.
In Coorah Creek, a town on the edge of nowhere, you’re judged by what you do, not what people say about you. But when the harshest judge is the one you see in the mirror, there’s nowhere left to hide.
Find out more and purchase from your favourite eBook store or visit www.choc-lit.com for details.
The Wild One
Book 2 in the Coorah Creek series
Mainstream Romance award from the Orange County Chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
When a little girl goes missing, an entire town comes together to find her ...
When Tia Walsh rides into the small town of Coorah Creek on a Harley-Davidson, Sergeant Max Delaney senses that everything about her spells trouble. But Tia's trouble is not all of her own making, and the dangerous past she tried to leave behind is hot on her heels.
Sarah Travers has returned home after three years of college to find that her parents have been keeping a devastating secret. Her childhood crush, Pete Rankin, is facing his own struggle with a harsh reality that will take him away from the girl and the life that he loves.
Tia, Max, Sarah and Pete are all trying to find their future, but when a little girl goes missing in the harsh outback, nothing else matters except finding her safe ...
Find out more and purchase from your favourite eBook store or visit www.choc-lit.com for details.