The Dark Side of the Rainbow (17 page)

Landon would later wonder why he never mentioned up front the second option of staying with his sister, giving her a choice. He would also reflect on how quickly she agreed.

“I am fine with your idea.”

He smiled. “Good; then it’s settled.”

T
he CT scan and MRI came back with positive results. There was no swelling on the brain, and they had found a medication that managed to take the sharp edge off the pain in her head without making her too drowsy or out of touch. Two full days after receiving the positive test results, Brooke was being discharged with orders to come back in a week for a follow-up appointment with the doctor.

Before leaving the hospital, basic memory assessment tests were performed to determine the severity of her memory loss. Brooke was able to recall every detail about photography. When the doctor handed her a camera, she immediately went into a dissertation on aperture size and lighting, recalling everything she knew about the subject. When asked about basic world history, who was Adolf Hitler, who was the queen of England, she knew all of the answers. Brooke’s responses about current events were sketchy; it was as if the memories were too new. When asked to recall a single event, she personally was involved in prior to the accident, her mind was completely blank.

As Brooke underwent the tests, Landon could sense the rising fear in her, so much so that more than two-thirds of the way into the testing he asked them to stop for a while. When the specialist left, she turned her back toward Landon and closed her eyes. Sensing she wanted to be alone, he left her room. There was no point in finishing the testing. The doctor had enough information to determine that she was, in fact, suffering from retrograde amnesia. There was nothing that could be done to treat the symptoms. It was very likely that she would regain all her former memories, but when was indeterminate—possibly weeks, months, or even years.

Wearing a pair of sunglasses that Landon had picked up from the gift shop to protect her eyes from the sun, Brooke let him lead her to his car under the portico of the hospital’s main entrance. Natasha and Gaston had dropped off the vehicle to him earlier that morning.

After setting her carefully in the passenger seat, he reached for the seatbelt and buckled it for her before placing the sun visor down to help block the sun.

“Thank you.” Her voice was quiet.

Landon gave her an encouraging smile before straightening and moving to the driver side.

Placing his foot on the brake, he looked at Brooke. “How are you doing in the sunlight?”

“It hurts, but I’m tolerating it.”

“If it becomes too much, let me know and we’ll figure out something. I have to make a call to my sister; do you mind?”

Brooke shook her head.

Landon dialed the number, then started the car.

“Hi, Natasha.”

He waited for his sister to respond. “Yeah, we’re leaving the hospital now. I was wondering if someone could pick up our things from
The Absolution
and bring them over to my place.”

He paused. “Great, thank you. Love you too.”

Landon merged onto the highway before explaining to Brooke about their belongings. “My brother-in-law had all of your things, including your camera equipment, moved into my private room on the boat for safe keeping. When the ship docks this evening from its daily tour, my sister is going to the ship and will personally see to them.”

“Thank you.”

Silence stretched out before them. Brooke was deep in her own thoughts while Landon focused on the drive.

“Tell me about the accident. How did I slip and fall?”

He hesitated. “It was early morning. The deck was slippery with predawn dew. You pushed yourself away from the railing and started running. I tried to warn you about the slickness, but everything happened so quickly. I watched you falling and saw the moment you hit your head on the bitt that holds rope and cable.”

“Why were we out that early? Did I run because I was upset?”

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. She was looking straight ahead.

“Your room was next to mine. I guess we both couldn’t sleep. I heard you leaving your stateroom; I was concerned so I followed you a moment later to make sure you were all right. You were upset.”

Still focusing her gaze straight ahead, she asked, “What made me upset?”

Landon told her how she had inquired about the reason he named his ship
The Absolution
, and his response to her that night.

When he finished, only then did she look at him. “Did I become upset because you told me what it was that you had done that was so horrific?”

“No, you never asked. That was when you ran.”

Brooke rubbed at her temples.

Landon realized she was feeling stressed. “Maybe you should rest for the remainder of the drive. We’ll have time to talk about this later.”

Nodding, Brooke leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

* * *

W
hen Landon opened the door to his suite on the top floor of the Grand Vue, Brooke was pleased by the elegant surroundings. Seeing the large window, she looked at Landon. “May I have a look?”

“Of course.” Setting his overnight bag down on the floor in the foyer, he followed her.

The view was spectacular, with a massive mountain range in the background and a village in the foreground. To the left was a large body of water. From her vantage point she could not see the full expanse of the lake; it went on as far as the eye could see. While in the hospital, Landon told her she was in South America, specifically Patagonia, Argentina. He had described the surrounding area in great detail. Seeing it with her own eyes caused her to realize how inadequate words were to convey the beauty of this land.

She had spent most of the drive with her eyes closed because of the pain. Standing in Landon’s home, out of the sunlight, she was able to appreciate the view for the first time since her accident. With her gaze fixed on the terrain below, she commented, “I know why I wanted to photograph this part of the world. It is quite majestic.”

Landon was standing beside her, also enjoying the scenery. “For me, it is the most beautiful place on earth.” He glanced at her. “You have also seen many wonderful places. I know from our conversations that Patagonia ranked high on your list of the most scenic.

“Speaking of which, your phone has pictures of some of the places you’ve been. When we arrived at the hospital, the nurse tried to access it to see if you had any contact information, but it was password protected. There is a chance you may remember it. Let me show you to the guest bedroom where you can get settled.”

“Okay.”

He gave her a sweet smile. “After some rest, I’ll take you to the room you have been staying in to retrieve some clothes and personal care items.
The Absolution
doesn’t dock until nine this evening. Natasha won’t be able to retrieve those items until then.”

He is very nice
, Brooke thought as she followed him to the room that would be hers for the next three days. It seemed odd to her that with her mind a blank slate, she could feel comfortable with a complete stranger, someone she had only known for a week.

If she had known him for years he would still be a stranger to her, so perhaps it wasn’t as odd as it seemed. The thought made her head throb with the sense of helplessness she felt. Brooke had been battling the fear of the unknown since the day she awoke. The possibility of never remembering anything about her former life made her anxious.

Pushing aside her concerns, she glanced around the elegant guest room. Brooke appreciated the warm earth tones chosen for the décor. Beige silk drapes flanked each side of the large picture window that shared the same view as the living area. There was a desk facing the scenic terrain, a small secretary made of cherry wood. A beige, high-backed parson chair in tufted velvet offered a comfortable seat. “It’s lovely. Thank you,” Brooke remarked graciously.

“You’re welcome.”

She smiled. “How many bedrooms do you have?”

“I have three; this one and mine have windows. The third bedroom is used as an office. I don’t go in there much. My commute is only a few floors down so I rarely work from home. However, I will be the next few days while I’m here with you. I won’t be working the whole time, but I’ll have some things to do, if that’s all right?”

“Of course. Don’t worry too much about me. I’ll find some way to occupy my time.”

Brooke removed the strap of her purse from her shoulder. While they had waited for the helicopter to arrive, Landon had the good sense to send someone to her room to retrieve it, knowing the hospital would need her identification. Opening the purse she retrieved her phone. She glanced up at Landon before attempting to enter the password.

She stared at the bright screen for a moment. A set of numbers flashed across her mind. She entered them—zero, eight, one, two, zero, three. She nearly gasped in surprise when the password screen clicked off and all the apps to her phone appeared.

Brooke held it up to Landon for him to see that she had accessed the contents. Staring at the glowing light, she felt angry all of sudden. Her anger stemmed from frustration. She let the phone slip from her hand and onto the bed before walking to the window, trying to hold back the raw emotions.

She could hear Landon approaching. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“How is it possible that I can remember numbers and historical facts? Why am I able to remember how to work a camera and what nine times twelve is, but I can’t remember people that may have been important to me or places I’ve been?”

“It is a conundrum,” Landon sympathized.

Brooke looked at him, almost smiling. “And how come I know what that silly-sounding word means?”

Landon couldn’t help but chuckle. “It is a silly-sounding word, isn’t it?”

His response was successful in pulling a meager smile from her lips.

He reached for her hand to lead her to the bed where the phone lay. While he retrieved the device, she wondered at the feel of his hand on hers. The contact felt intimate even though he was only being kind. What had been her thoughts about Landon in the week they had known each other? While in the hospital, when the pain had begun to ease, she had been fully aware of how handsome he was. His warm hazel eyes were kind and concerned. The few times he smiled caused her heart to soften at the dimples that appeared on his cheeks. Had she always appreciated a man with dimples?

The slight squeeze of his hand reminded her of what she needed to do. He held out the phone to Brooke. When she accepted it, he sat with her on the bed, suggesting that she check to see if there were any contacts listed.

Brooke re-entered the password. When the apps came up, she chose the contact icon. One name appeared—Melissa Clark.

She looked at Landon, with anticipation in her eyes. Brooke clicked on the call button and then pressed the speaker phone so he could hear.

After four rings, they heard a voicemail message. The moment Brooke heard the British accent, she suspected it wasn’t a relative. “Hello, you’ve reached Melissa Clark, of the Ice Project. I’m on the other side of the world in the Antarctic with limited access to phone service. Please leave your name and number. I’ll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you, and have a great day.”

Brooke stared at the phone in dismay. When it beeped, Landon reached for it to disconnect the call. He sat the device down before reaching for her hand. She looked at his strong long fingers gently covering her smaller ones. Her only contact in life was an unreachable woman.

Unable to look at Landon, she said, “How lonely or terrible of a person must I be to have only one name in my contact information?” No matter how forlorn she felt, Brooke fought the depression that threatened to overtake her.

Landon let go of her hand and reached for her chin, tenderly encouraging her to meet his gaze. “The Brooke Johnson I know is far from terrible. You are kind, charming, and,” he paused, “wonderful. We were only getting to know one another. You never said outright, but I gathered that your parents are no longer alive. I sensed that some great sorrow caused you to be alone. Someday you’ll remember everything.”

Faced with the prospect of remembering a sad and painful existence brought a new kind of fear to Brooke’s soul. “What if I remember only to discover it is too much to bear?” she asked, searching Landon’s eyes.

He brushed the side of her cheek with his thumb, the sensation causing Brooke’s breath to catch. “I will help you deal with whatever has broken your heart, if you’ll let me. If for some reason you never remember, I will help you build a new life. I’ll give you happy memories to replace the ones you have lost.”

The promises he made were monumental, more than she could ask of a complete stranger. Yet, sitting in the quiet elegant room of his Grand Vue suite, savoring the gentle touch of his hand on her face, Brooke couldn’t resist the hope he offered.

W
hen Natasha arrived at ten-thirty to bring Brooke’s and Landon’s belongings from
The Absolution
, Brooke was asleep. The siblings spoke for a few minutes. Because of the hour, his sister didn’t stay long. When she left, he sat in his reading chair, exhausted but too wound up emotionally to sleep.

Thoughts of the commitment he made to Brooke earlier that afternoon filled his mind. There was no taking back the words. Landon had felt an overwhelming sense of compassion for her as she sat staring at her phone, knowing she really was alone.

He had believed all these years that there was nothing left of himself to give to another woman. Landon knew it would be selfish for him to take and not reciprocate in kind. Thinking back to their last night on board
The Absolution
, he fully intended to leave the next day and avoid Brooke at all cost. Providence, fate, or whatever one wished to call it had charted a different course.

It went against his nature to allow her to flounder alone during her time of need with little or no help. Landon sighed. Who was he kidding? His promise to Brooke did not stem from a sense of duty or honor. He wanted the woman who had emblazoned a trail of love and desire across his heart. He was convinced that within her lay hope and a promise for a full life—the kind of life he hadn’t dared to dream of having.