Violent Daylight
Page 50
“No, just the two black eyes.”
“Fuck.” Canna tried to take everything in; so much had happened. She reached out and found Claudio’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Where are we?”
“The rescue chopper took you to Eden, where I met you, and then they airlifted you to Sydney for a brain scan. I explained your past medical history, and they thought you needed extra care. You had surgery on your foot yesterday.”
“What for?”
Claudio swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Blinky. They had to amputate two toes off your right foot. They had frostbite and had to come off.”
“What?” Canna tried to sit up again, but her chest wouldn’t allow it. She rested back and started to cry. “I don’t believe it!”
“I’m sorry. I asked them if there was any way they could save your toes, but they couldn’t. You weren’t the only crew member to lose toes. At least your fingers are only broken. They asked me for consent for the surgery and I agreed. I thought it was the right choice.”
“Shit,” Canna sighed. “How could things end like this?”
“My darling, you are safe and alive. I know all this is hard.”
“Nah, all this? It’s just a scratch. I’m all good.” Canna opened her good eye and saw Claudio crying again. She beckoned him forward and hugged him again. “Thank you for saving me. I love you so much. I will never leave you ever again, I swear it.”
“I hope not!”
“Are all the guys fine? Really?”
“They’re fine. They have all received treatment. I have checked on every single one, got them anything they needed on your behalf.” Claudio turned around for a moment. “Look,” he said, and produced her hair brush. “I thought a gentle comb might make you feel better.”
Canna let out a gentle giggle, but couldn’t take her mind off her missing toes. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re very welcome.”
“Did Vainqueur weather the storm okay? Did they still win with the Vincitore crew on board?”
“The guys were all airlifted off the boat, and Vainqueur was helped to Eden by a naval ship.”
“Why, were they damaged?”
“Canna…”
“Tell me,” she said with a whisper of authority.
“Christophe passed away. He suffered a heart attack around the same time Vincitore sank.”
“Oh my God,” Canna said as her bruised face folded up in a flurry of anguish. “No… oh my God, Abi…”
“Abigail flew to Eden to collect Christophe’s body. I went with her to Eden, and John from the yacht club flew back to Sydney with her and Christophe. Abigail’s mother came from Paris yesterday to be here with her.”
“Christophe’s dead?” Canna opened her good eye and looked at her defeated husband. “All this pain for a stupid boat race? We have to help her, darling. She will be so upset. Abi might hurt herself.”
“I did all I could, Canna. I promise. Abigail has people with her.”
“Everywhere I turn, people keep dying.”
“Not anymore, sweetheart, I promise.”
“I want to go home.”
“Home where?”
“Home is wherever you are. I want to live in London and hug that gorgeous son of yours and stop wasting my life on money and stupid risky activities. I want you to be the strong silent type again, who only lets his gorgeous voice out on stage. I want to stay home and have lots of babies and be happy. I want us to have a massive wedding, so everyone knows how happy we are together.”
Claudio leaned over and gently kissed Canna’s cracked and dry lips. “You did hit your head pretty hard,” he joked.
“I just want to be happy with you. It’s all I want, Claudio. Tell me that will happen, please.”
“Of course, Canna. It’s time for a fresh start. Let’s go home together.”
To be continued….
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Also by Caroline Angus Baker
BLOOD IN THE VALENCIAN SOIL
PART I OF THE ‘SECRETS OF SPAIN’ TRILOGY
Pleasure is as fragile as glass...
Spain, March 1939 - the Spanish Civil War is coming to an end. Five young Republicans in the small town of Cuenca know they are on the losing side of the war. History only recognises the winners, and the group know they could die, all destined to become faceless statistics. They concoct a plan to go to Valencia in search of safety, but not all of these young men and women are going to survive?
Seventy years later, bicycle mechanic Luna Montgomery, the granddaughter of a New Zealand nurse who served during the Spanish Civil War, has made Spain her home. A young widow and mother of two little boys, Luna wants to know what became of her Spanish grandfather. He is one of the 'disappeared', one of the hundreds of thousands of Spaniards who were murdered and hidden away during and after the war. On a quick trip to Madrid, Luna forms an unlikely friendship with an intelligent and popular bullfighter, Cayetano Beltran, but as Luna presses on to delve into Spain's history for answers, Cayetano struggles with truths he wished he had never found out.
In an ever-changing society that respects and upholds family ties, betrayal by the people that Luna and Cayetano hold dear will hurt them more than they could have realised. There are old wounds that have yet to heal underneath Spain's 'pact of forgetting'.
The ‘Secrets of Spain’ series is available now.
acknowledgements
Five fine gentlemen helped me with this book every day. My husband, Martyn, not only gives me ideas and freedom to write as many books as I can, but also gives me time and space to travel the world to research and write novels. My life is exactly as I wish it to be, because my darling husband helps me in every way possible. Love experienced through belief in one’s abilities is a true joy to feel and understand.
My young sons - Grayson, Torben and Espen and Lachlan, are the most polite and patient gentlemen any mother could ask for. My first role in life is to be a parent, and time to write is limited, but your fine manners make the juggling act much easier.
There are many people in the world, far too many to mention, that love Canna. I appreciate your patience and eagerness for more tales of Canna and Claudio. I thank you for your enthusiasm.
Yes, there will be more Canna books to come!