“Why did you come to the hospital?” Elise asked. “You said you wanted information.” She set her sandwich down on her plate as she suddenly asked, “Is your body rejecting Delia’s heart?”
“No, nothing like that. I keep taking the meds the doctors give me, and that’s all fine. Just fine.” Frankie pressed her hand on her chest.
“So why?” Elise asked.
Adam and Frankie exchanged glances. Then Adam answered. “Frankie and I have just met. We’re mates.” He let the words hang between them.
“I see. Congratulations. But I still don’t understand what this has to do with your visit.” Elise took a bite of her sandwich and chewed slowly.
“I once thought that I’d met my mate and she’d died,” Adam admitted.
“You thought Delia was your mate?” Elise's eyes widened and she swallowed her food with a gulp.
“How did you guess?” Frankie asked.
“Why else would you know who she was? Matching donors to organ recipients is not something you could correctly guess.” Elise nodded. “Go on.”
“I saw her in a fleeting moment, but she got into a car with another man.” Adam hesitated.
“Oh.” Elise looked down at her plate, and a silence stretched on between them. “Terence Xavier. He was a wonderful man, a real gentleman. They were so happy.” Adam and Frankie’s eyes met, and her heart rate increased at the sound of Terence’s name. “Did you know him?”
“Not exactly,” Adam replied.
Elise’s eyes narrowed as she assessed Adam, but she continued. “They were very much in love, like you two young people.”
“Were they mates?” Frankie asked in a whisper.
“Yes, they were,” Elise confirmed. “But you knew that, too, didn’t you?”
“No, we didn’t.” Frankie decided it was time to come clean. “Adam thought that Delia was his mate, he felt an attraction to her when he met her.”
“But she didn’t feel anything toward you?” Elise asked. “How could she when she already had a mate?”
“Which is where it all gets confusing,” Adam said. “I was sure, so sure that I mourned her when I found out she died. Then I met Frankie, and...well, that’s when I realized I’d gotten it wrong.”
“I’m still unsure as to what you wanted to know.” Elise drank her coffee, the color returned to her cheeks.
“We needed to know if the heart...if Delia’s heart is what Adam responds to.” That was the wrong word, but Frankie was unsure how else to phrase it.
“Oh!” Elise’s exclamation drew interest from other diners in the cafe. “You wanted to know if Delia was the organ donor, and if she was, whether your mate is Frankie or Delia?”
“Yes.” Adam’s admission drew a nod of understanding from Elise.
“We just wanted to know if there was a chance that my heart caused this reaction,” Frankie replied. “Is there a chance my heart belonged to Delia?”
“I think, considering the dates, we have to believe it is. If I show you the letter I received from the recipient, that would confirm it.” Elise looked at Adam. “But I can tell you, Terence and Delia had been mates for a few years. I can say with certainty, you are not my sister’s mate.”
“So why did he think he was?” Frankie asked.
“That is another mystery.” Elise finished her sandwich and gulped her coffee down. “Come on, let’s go and see if we can solve this mystery for you young people.”
“Are you sure?” Frankie asked. “We didn’t come here to make things painful for you.”
Elise shook her head. “Honestly, to know Delia’s heart has given you two the chance of happiness is the best gift you could give me. I was heartbroken when they died. As twins, we spent our whole life together, rarely more than a few miles apart. Her death wrenched us apart forever. To have you here brings us closer together once more in some small way.”
Adam and Frankie finished their sandwiches, and then followed Elise out of the cafe. Her house was a fifteen-minute walk away. On the way, Elise told them how Delia and Terence had met while on vacation on the island of St. Lucia.
“Delia always did like her vacations in the sun,” Elise said wistfully. “Of course, I went along to keep her company. We were best friends as well as sisters.”
“You must miss her terribly.” Frankie couldn’t imagine life without Ruth, it would be even harder to live without a twin.
“I do. It fades over time, but there’s still a hole in my life where Delia should be. It would be easier if I had a mate of my own, but I don’t. I’ve never been lucky in that department. Which is why I have committed myself to helping to grow the Shifter Organ Donation Initiative.” Elise put her hand on Frankie’s arm and squeezed it as if checking she was real. “You are living proof that shifters need organs, too. Most of the time we’re good at healing, but there are times, such as when you get hit by a virus, or injury, where a donated organ is the only thing to save them.”
“So Delia’s death inspired you to do your job?” Adam asked.
Elise shook her head. “No. Delia’s death left me drowning in a pool of dark sorrow so deep and painful, I thought I’d never climb out. But then I got Frankie’s letter, and I knew what I had to do because if I didn’t do something, then there would be countless other shifter families who would lose their loved ones. A normal human organ is not compatible. The same as blood transfusions.”
Frankie’s brow creased as she looked at Adam. “Adam had a blood transfusion.”
“Interesting,” Elise said as she turned to walk up the driveway of a modest suburban house, set on a modest street. There was nothing to set it apart from the other houses in the street. Just as there was nothing to set Elise apart from any other person. She no doubt blended in well with the other nurses and doctors at the hospital.
“Isn’t it difficult? I mean not everyone knows about shifters.” Frankie wasn’t aware she had been treated any differently at the hospital when she had her surgery. “How does organ donation work for them?”
“Not everyone knows about shifters, that’s true. But many doctors do. Especially on the transplant teams. But they are sworn to secrecy. Patient-doctor confidentiality.” Elise unlocked the front door and they followed her inside. “Go through. There are photographs of Delia and Terence. You are welcome to look at them. I have a box upstairs I’d like to go through, there is something I’d like to share with you.”
“Thank you, Elise,” Frankie said quietly.
“No, thank you. This might give me some kind of closure. I have spent the last few years burying my head in work. I think I’m ready to look at the world anew.” Elise gave them a warm smile and then ran upstairs, agile, despite her graying hair and wrinkled complexion.
“Is that her?” Frankie asked as Adam picked up a photograph of a man and a woman standing together on the beach.
Adam traced his finger over the glass in the frame. “Yes.”
Frankie walked along the length of the wooden dresser, studying the photographs one at a time. They showed two little girls, identical in all ways. “This is their life together.”
“And this is Delia and Terence’s life together.” Adam stopped, his hand hovering over a photograph of Terence and Delia standing outside a building.
“Ah, Terence’s jewelry store,” Elise told him as she entered the room with a small wooden chest.
“He was a jeweler?” Adam asked, looking at the photograph closely.
“Yes. I’m afraid there are no jewels left.” Elise’s voice carried a hint of wariness.
“That’s not why we came,” Frankie quickly told Elise.
“I know.” She smiled, but her eyes flicked up to Adam, uncertainty beneath the surface.
“Is that the letter I sent?” Frankie asked as Elise took a worn envelope from the box.
“Don’t you recognize it?” Elise asked, surprised.
“Not the envelope, no.” Her smile faltered. “But I remember the words. I told you how sorry I wa
s, and promised to look after my new heart. I asked you to try not to be sad. And I thanked you because I didn’t want my sister to have to cope with the loss of another person she loved.”
Elise’s eyes misted up with tears. “Then it is you.” She sounded relieved, as if she had still been unsure of their story, even though she had invited them into her house.
“Did Terence ever donate blood?” Adam asked, his voice strained.
“Possibly, it is the sort of thing he would do. Terence is the one that talked Delia into putting her name on the organ donor registry. He had lost a brother when he was younger, a brother who could have been saved.” Elise glanced up at Frankie, looking guilty. “If Delia hadn’t been so adamant in life that she wanted to be an organ donor, I wouldn’t have agreed to Delia’s organs being removed. And that would have been a mistake. I see that now.”
“Elise, I’m so incredibly thankful.” Frankie hugged her close.
“Why did you ask?” Elise switched her attention to Adam after she had wiped her face and blown her nose. “About Terence?”
“I had a blood transfusion before I saw Delia. I’m still hazy on why I thought she was my mate.” Adam still held the photograph of the jewelry store in his hands. “And I have this funny party trick, where I know all about diamonds even though I don’t have a clue where I learned it.”
“The internet?” Elise suggested.
Adam shook his head. “No, it’s more of a learned thing.”
“Adam’s bear also thinks Adam had a personality transplant.” Frankie grinned at her mate. “His bear calls him quaint.”
Elise stiffened. “Does he?”
“According to my bear, I’m old-fashioned,” Adam admitted.
“An old-fashioned gentleman. That’s how Delia described Terence to me the first day they met.” Elise shuffled through the papers in the box, deep in thought as she pulled out more photographs and other documents. “So many memories.”
“Thank you for sharing these with us,” Frankie said, sensing Elise was holding herself together for their benefit. “I think we have what we came here for.” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Elise’s neck. “I’m sorry if it’s been painful. But this has made everything clearer to us.”
Frankie got up, and Adam joined her. “Yes, thank you, Elise.”
“If there’s anything else you need to know, you have my address now.” Elise put everything back into the box and shut the lid, smoothing her hands over it. “You’ve brought her back to me.”
But as Adam and Frankie left the house, Frankie was sure they hadn’t just brought Delia back, but Terence, too.
Chapter Sixteen – Adam
“That’s it, we have the information we came for.” Adam glanced down at Frankie. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sad. You know, for Elise. It’s difficult, being happy when your happiness, your life depended on someone else dying and Elise losing her twin sister.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Adam slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
Frankie turned to face him, her face anguished. “I can’t help it. I mean Ruth has told me the same thing since the day I woke up with tubes attached to my body, and a stranger’s heart beating in my chest.” She caressed his cheek. “It’s hard to forget.”
“You don’t have to forget, you just have to put it in perspective.” Adam kissed her lips.
“And you?” Frankie asked. “How do you feel? And what was that about the jewelry thing?”
Adam chuckled. “I have this weird knowledge of jewelry. The day after we met, I went into Bear Creek. I decided to buy you a ring.” His admission sounded kind of stupid right now. “But I couldn’t find one I liked. They lacked clarity and the cut of the diamonds weren’t good enough.”
“You were going to buy me a ring?” was all Frankie took from his admission.
“Yes, I wanted to buy you an engagement ring. I suppose I wanted to make sure you knew how much you meant to me. Despite the issue with me thinking my mate was dead, I wanted to commit to you, Frankie.” He shrugged. “My bear thought I was being odd as usual.”
Frankie frowned, her eyes filled with tears. “I think it’s wonderful.” She cupped his face in her hands and stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips.
“Do you think they are buried here? In Reaminster?” Adam’s words jolted them apart. “Sorry, I figured since we were here.”
Frankie nodded. “Probably a good idea. It might help give us closure.”
Adam pulled his phone out of his pocket and Googled the location of the local cemetery. “It’s on the edge of town. Why don’t we go back to the hotel and get the car and drive over there?”
“Okay.” They walked on hand in hand. “You think your blood transfusion came from Terence, don’t you?”
“I do. Or at least I’m willing to believe it. It sounds plausible.” He gave a hollow laugh.
“You’re thinking it sounds as plausible as the rest of the story.” Frankie sighed. “Are we going to keep this to ourselves? Or do we admit we’re being haunted by two bonded mates?”
“You want everyone we know thinking we’re crazy?” he asked lightly.
“No. It’s not on my list of things to do,” Frankie admitted.
“Then it’s our secret.”
“Ruth might understand. I don’t like keeping secrets from her. And we’ll have to tell Michael, too.”
“I feel the same about Julius,” Adam admitted.
“Then we share it with them, but no one else,” Frankie said, knowing they could expect total confidentiality from Julius, Ruth and Michael.”
They reached the hotel and went to their room, ordering coffee and a snack, which they ate side by side on the bed. Their conversation drifted on to the dog show, they both needed a break from thinking about Elise, Delia, and Terence. Frankie pulled out her laptop from her suitcase and began to set up a Facebook page and event, and she also created a sign-up form.
“You’re good at this.” Adam watched as she posted on relevant pages and in groups, creating a stir and several sign-ups in the space of half an hour.
“We need to get some prizes figured out. I can start contacting local businesses.” Frankie made a list of businesses who might provide a prize.
“I can ask Julius if we can donate a weekend break at the hotel.”
“Good idea,” Frankie added it to the list. “There, I’ve made a start. Later we can contact businesses that might like to buy spots for stalls.”
“But right now, we should get going.” Adam got off the bed. “I was thinking that tomorrow we could have a look around the town. The day after, we could go somewhere else. Maybe back toward the mountains and have a day of freedom together.”
“Together as in our bears?” Frankie asked as she joined him by the door.
“Half and half.” His arms encircled her and he kissed her lips. “I want to make love to you on the mountain.”
“Do you?” Frankie slid her hands up his chest and clasped them behind his neck.
“Uh huh.” Adam lowered his head and kissed her lips. He was tempted to forget all about their visit to the cemetery, but he also wanted to close the door on this today. They had their answers, or enough of an answer to be satisfied that Adam and Frankie were true mates in their own right. His theory over the blood transfusion was that on some kind of molecular level, his blood was attracted to Delia.
With that belief, he was finally willing to let it go. He wanted to put all the heartache behind him and concentrate on the future. And he didn’t mean the dog show.
They took the elevator to the ground floor and got out holding hands, wrapped up in each other as they crossed the hotel lobby. However, a voice jerked them out of their conversation. “Elise?” Adam led Frankie over to the reception desk.
“There you are, I thought you would be staying here. There aren’t many hotels within walking distance of the hospital.” She smiled, looking a little embarrassed.
; “Is everything all right?” Frankie asked as Elise thanked the young man at the reception desk for his help. They moved away from the desk, keeping their voices low.
“I wanted to see you. After you left, I thought about it all. How you thought you were Delia’s mate, Adam. And Frankie, you have a part of my sister inside you, and for that reason...” She opened her hand, revealing a diamond solitaire engagement ring. “I wanted you to have this. It’s the engagement ring Terence gave to Delia. I think it’s only right. You may have brought Delia and Terence together again.” She shook her head and gave a short laugh. “It sounds totally implausible, I know.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Frankie said, looking at the simple ring in Elise’s palm. “We can’t accept this. It’s yours, to remember your sister by.”
“I want it to be with her.” Elise offered it to Adam. “What do you think?”
Adam looked at Frankie, who nodded and then he picked the ring up between his finger and thumb and held it up to the light. “It’s a beautiful ring.” He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a loupe.
“You carry that around with you?” Frankie asked.
Adam shrugged. “I planned to fit in some ring shopping while we were here.”
Using the loupe, he took a closer look at the ring. It was almost perfect. “There’s a small inclusion, but aside from that, it’s a prime example of a diamond solitaire.” He handed it back to Elise. “It’s far too valuable for us to accept, Elise. But thank you.”
Elise pushed his hand back toward him. “It’s not mine. It belongs to Terence and Delia, and so it belongs to you two. I think they would be happy for you to have it.” She gave a soft, sad smile. “I could never wear it, too many memories, and it’s not mine. So what’s the use of it sitting in a box until I die? And I have no children of my own, so it would be passed to a stranger. I want you to have it.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” Frankie asked.
Silverbacks and Second Chances Page 33
