The Color of Love (The Color of Heaven Series) (17 page)

“I’m sure she’ll be able to handle it,” Josh said. “She’s a smart kid.”

“You’re right and I need to give her some credit. She’s been very mature about everything so far.”

“That’s because you’re a great mom,” he said. “You raised her right.”

The tension in my neck and shoulders relaxed slightly. “Thank you. I needed that today.”

“It’s the truth. Now go and be with your daughter,” he said. “And I’m sorry it wasn’t Seth. Really I am. Call me when you can.”

We ended the call and I looked up at the white puffy clouds drifting across the blue sky, and tried to imagine what it must have been like for that man, floating on an iceberg. How long had he been out there?

He must have spent a lot of time staring at the sky.

o0o

Kaleigh and I remained in the hospital all day, taking turns going to the cafeteria so that one of us was always at Dr. Cameron’s bedside.

At nightfall, I looked up from my book when a nurse came in to tell us visiting hours were over.

Kaleigh politely asked if we could stay. “We won’t be any trouble,” she said. “We’ll just sit here with him, that’s all. He’s been alone for too long. He needs people. He needs a reason to come back.”

The nurse’s expression warmed and she turned to me. “Your daughter’s a very compassionate young lady.”

“Yes, she is,” I agreed.

The nurse considered Kaleigh’s plea. “We’re not terribly big on rules here,” she said, “especially in a situation like this, but you do need your rest.”

“Could we stay until midnight?” I asked, sitting forward in my chair. “Then we’ll go back to the hotel, get some sleep and come back in the morning.”

The nurse nodded. “That sounds fine, but we’ll have to turn down the lights around ten. Let me know if you need anything.”

She made a move to leave, but I asked one more question. “What about Dr. Cameron’s family? The last I heard, the RCMP officers were trying to locate his next of kin. Have they been contacted yet?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied, “but I’ll call over to the station and ask.”

“That would be great. Thank you,” I replied. “Maybe someone’s on their way here now.”

“Fingers crossed,” the nurse replied.

I sat back and continued to read my book.

o0o

Around ten o’clock, a different nurse came in to turn down the lights. Kaleigh closed her book and stood up. “It’s just as well because I have no voice left. I’m going to go to the lounge for a few minutes and stretch out on the sofa. Can you sit here and take my place?”

“Why don’t we head back to the hotel now and get some sleep?” I suggested. “We can come back first thing in the morning.”

“No, Mom, you promised we’d stay until midnight,” she complained. “I don’t want to leave before then.”

“All right, all right,” I replied, rising from my chair and stretching my arms over my head. “I’ll keep an eye on him, but I have to warn you—when the clock strikes twelve, I’m going to turn into a pumpkin.”

Kaleigh rolled her eyes at me. “Mom, you seriously just quoted Cinderella to me? I’m
twelve
.”

I moved to kiss the top of her head. “And growing up way too fast. I was proud of you today. Have you ever thought of becoming a nurse? You’d be so good at it.”

“I don’t know, maybe,” she replied over her shoulder as she left the room.

I yawned and gazed toward the bed where Dr. Cameron was still lying, comatose.

The heart monitor beeped steadily in the dim light and I listened to the unvarying sound of his breathing from behind the oxygen mask.

Had Kaleigh’s constant attention made any difference? I wondered as I approached the bed curiously. She’d been reading to him from a middle grade fantasy novel she’d carried with her on the plane. It probably wasn’t a grown man’s cup of tea, but perhaps just the sound of her voice was enough to interrupt the constant silence of his coma. I didn’t have much scientific knowledge about these things, but I didn’t want to rule out the possibility that a human connection might have some value in this situation.

I arrived at the bedside and looked at his face for a long moment, then down at his slender arm where an IV was taped to his hand.

“What happened to you?” I softly asked as I touched his cheek. “I hope you wake up. We’re trying to find your family and when we do, I’m sure they’ll be very relieved to know you made it home.”

I leaned even closer, over the bed, to look at his face again. Gently, I stroked his forehead. “You’re safe now. You’re in good hands, so it’s time to come back. All you have to do is open your eyes.”

I waited and waited, but he offered no response.

Not yet ready to give up, I leaned back slightly. “You’ve been gone a long time. Just think how great a cheeseburger and fries would taste right now. Hot running water? Telephones? Movies?”

Still, he did not wake, so I sat back down in the chair and continued to wait.

It was probably a mistake to close my eyes, but I was so tired after the long flight from Boston and the turmoil of the day, that I simply couldn’t stay awake.

Kaleigh must have experienced the same issues because she didn’t return from the lounge when it was time to leave at midnight.

It was two o’clock in the morning when I sat up in my chair, startled by the raspy sound of my name spoken from behind the oxygen mask.

“
Carla
?”

Chapter Forty-eight

I practically leaped out of my chair to lean over the bedrail. “Dr. Cameron?”

He didn’t move his head on the pillow, but his gaze shifted to meet mine. He looked like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

I reached out to remove the oxygen mask so he could speak.

“Carla?” he whispered again.

“Yes, I’m Carla,” I replied. “You’re in a hospital in Newfoundland, Canada. You were found floating on an iceberg a few days ago. We’re so glad you’re all right. If you’ll just excuse me for a minute, I need to go get a nurse.”

I probably should have pressed the call button, but I was so frazzled, I set his oxygen mask back in place and ran from the room to the nurses’ station.

“He’s awake!” I said, skidding to a halt. “Room 403!”

The duty nurse quickly stood but I couldn’t wait for her. I pivoted on the shiny white floor and ran back to the room.

“The nurse is coming,” I said to Dr. Cameron as I returned to his side.

He blinked up at me and nodded, then lifted his arm off the bed. I immediately clasped his hand.

“You’re all right,” I said with a smile. “You’re home now and you’re safe. Everything’s going to be fine.”

He nodded again, very weakly, and squeezed my hand.

o0o

The medical team asked me to leave the room while the doctor examined Dr. Cameron, so I headed down to the lounge area to wake up Kaleigh.

Shaking her gently, I whispered, “He’s awake.”

She opened her eyes and blinked up at me. “What time is it?”

“It’s just after two in the morning, but I have good news. Dr. Cameron woke up a few minutes ago. They’re examining him now.”

“Is he okay?” she groggily asked while sitting up on the sofa.

“He seems lucid, if that’s what you mean.”

“Has he said anything yet? Did you talk to him?”

“He said my name, but other than that he’s still pretty weak.”

She inclined her head at me. “Did you
tell
him your name?”

In all honesty, it hadn’t even registered that my name was the first word he spoken, until she asked me that. A strange shiver ran though me. “No.”

“How did he know it was you?” she asked. “From the picture?”

Of course that was it. That’s how he knew who I was. He might even have been staring at me for quite some time before I woke up. “I guess.”

Kaleigh rubbed her eyes, then stood up. “Can I go see him?”

“Not yet,” I replied. “They’re still checking him over. Let’s just wait here.”

She sat back down again. “See? I told you. This is why it’s good that we stayed.”

I couldn’t possibly disagree.

o0o

A short while later, the nurse came in to speak to us. “Dr. Cameron’s doing well, all things considered. The doctor just finished with him and he’s asking for you.”

“For
me
?” I asked, pointing a thumb at my chest.

“Yes. You’re Carla, right?”

“That’s right.” Rising to my feet, I asked, “Can I bring my daughter?”

“I don’t see why not,” the nurse replied. “Just go easy on him. He’s sitting up but he doesn’t have a lot of strength.”

We followed her down the hall and the closer we got, the more hesitant I became. He was a total stranger to us. I’d never met him before and I knew nothing about him, yet my name was the first word he spoke upon waking from a coma. It was a little unnerving.

“Hi there, Dr. Cameron,” I said, cautiously entering after knocking on the open door. I noticed they had removed the oxygen mask from his face. “I’m Carla, and this is my daughter Kaleigh.”

“I know,” he said. “And call me Aaron.”

I swallowed uneasily. “Do you remember what happened to you?”

He nodded. “The doctor explained most of it. I just can’t believe I’m here. That I actually made it.”

I moved to take a seat in the chair by the bed while Kaleigh pulled the other chair closer to sit beside me.

“You must have quite a story to tell,” I said. “None of us can figure out how you ended up on an iceberg.”

I was struck by the warmth in his eyes as he regarded me in the dim light of the room. “That’s kind of a long story.”

“Please, if you’re too tired…”

“It’s all right,” he replied, waving a hand dismissively. “They tell me I’ve been sleeping for days. God knows I should be rested enough. Though I’m still not sure this is really happening. Maybe I’m dreaming. Or I’m dead.”

“It’s real,” I assured him, noticing that Kaleigh had suddenly become shy and quiet. I gestured toward her with a hand. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Kaleigh was reading to you today. We thought it might help for you to hear someone’s voice. I wonder if that helped you wake up.”

He met Kaleigh’s gaze directly. “Thank you, Kaleigh. That means a lot to me. It’s been a long time since I heard the voice of another person. Or read a book for that matter. What was it about?”

She went to fetch it out of her bag, brought it over and showed it to him. “It’s called
Princess Callie and the Fantastic Fire-Breathing Dragon
.”

“Oh, I love stories about dragons
,”
he replied with interest as he examined the cover. “And this dragon looks pretty friendly.”

“He is. His name is Earle and he wears glasses.”

Dr. Cameron smiled up at Kaleigh and handed the book back to her.

“We’re really glad you’re all right,” she said as she accepted it.

When she sat back down, I squeezed her hand.

Meanwhile I couldn’t help but ponder the fact that this was all very polite and courteous, but what we really needed to know was what happened to Seth. It wasn’t an easy question to ask, however.

“So you were on a plane that crashed,” I said, hoping to ease into it.

He looked down at his hands and nodded. “You must be wanting to know what happened to your husband.” After a pause, he lifted his gaze. “Seth
was
on the plane with me. We sat across from each other. Do you know anything about that yet? I’m not sure what’s been discovered since they found me.”

I shook my head. “Nothing’s been discovered. No one even knows where you landed. There was a search last year but it was called off after about a week when they couldn’t find any wreckage. It was all over the news and eventually everyone assumed you went down in the ocean.”

“That’s not what happened,” he said. “We crash landed on an island. It wasn’t very big and I still have no idea where it is.”

“You say
we
,” I replied. “So you weren’t the only survivor?”

His gaze shifted back and forth from me to Kaleigh. “No. But there were only two of us that survived the crash—your husband and me. I don’t know why I’m surprised you don’t know this. I don’t know what’s what.”

Aaron and I stared at each other intensely, and somehow in that moment I knew what he was about to tell me—that Seth had perished sometime afterward.

But I still needed to know how, why and when.

I needed to know everything.

Chapter Forty-nine

Over the next half hour, Aaron described the horrific events of a year ago when the plane went down. He also explained how Seth had taken charge of the situation and saved them both from a deadly avalanche.

He described the first few days on the island and how they set up camp on top of a small mountain to watch for rescue planes. Eventually they’d returned to the valley in search of food, but had become stranded under a tree in a storm where they were attacked by a lynx.