Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“One of the police officers drove me to the hospital, where reality set in. Unfortunately, Rafe was brain dead and put on life support until they could notify next of kin. My Rafe, my strong, healthy husband, was gone. He died a hero. In more ways than one. I made the decision to donate his organs.” Nadia opened the folder. She kept her eyes on the paper.
“I asked that the people who received Rafe’s organs were people who had something to live for, someone who took care of themselves, and weren’t someone taking an organ from someone who truly needed it. I wanted whoever it was to receive this gift from my husband to be someone who could thrive.” Nadia picked up a piece of paper and cleared her throat. “On April ninth, my husband’s organs, some tissues, and blood stem cells were harvested. On or around April ninth, my husband’s heart was transplanted into a viable male.” Nadia read the rest of the donations Rafe had made. When she finished, she set the paper down.
Reid reached for Grayson’s hand. He squeezed it.
“In the early hours of April tenth, I had a heart transplant,” Grayson said quietly. “A month prior, I’d collapsed after a basketball game.” He looked at Reid. “We were leaving the gym, and she’d given me some news I didn’t care for. She saved my life by being there. I was in bad shape. My heart had quit. Time had essentially run out.”
Grayson looked at Nadia. “A year later, I started feeling this ache. It’s a feeling I can’t describe. I tell my cardiologist, we run all these tests, do the scans, and everything comes back clean. I tell my therapist, who tells me I might be experiencing cellular memory. Of course, very few people believe in this. Reid and I discussed it, and she encouraged me to reach out to UNOS. But before I can do that, I come across this documentary on transplants and things people have experienced. It got me thinking, and I started doing a deep dive. I’m reading obituaries from people in my area, and nothing seems to be fitting. I expanded my search, and that’s when I saw an article about your parents losing their son-in-law.”
He adjusted in his seat and cleared his throat.
“The timeline fit. I began to wonder, ya know, all while praying the ache would stop because I feared something was wrong with me. That’s when I asked my friend Pearce to come to Boston with me, because I had this ridiculous hunch, and waiting for UNOS, not knowing if the family of my donor would even want to meet me, could take a year. I thought if I saw you, I’d get my answer. I did.”
Nadia met his gaze.
“The ache stayed until I heard the girls. The relief was instant, and then I saw them, and everything changed. The ache turned into something I can only describe as pure happiness. Elation. Love. And then sadness. It hurt me to sit there and talk to you while the girls were in the yard. That’s why I had to go sit with them. I needed to be in their space, to feel their presence. They calmed me,” he told her. “They made me feel complete in a way I can’t explain.”
Grayson put his fist over his heart as tears streamed from his eyes. “I am deeply and truly sorry I wasn’t honest about why I came here the first time. I wasn’t sure how to say ‘Hey, I think I have your dead husband’s heart’ without making things sound outlandish.”
“Do you still believe you have Rafe’s heart?” Nadia asked.
Grayson nodded.
“After you left, the girls told me you reminded them of their father. I didn’t see it, as you’re nothing alike. And then the other night, when Lynnea called you, she said something that made me wonder but still didn’t make sense. She said you smelled like Rafe—and you don’t. I would know because I smell his cologne every day. I see her with you, clinging to you like you’re a life source for her. It doesn’t matter how you’re sitting: when she sits with you, her ear is pressed to your chest. It’s like she knows, and logically that doesn’t make any sense.”
“What if you don’t have his heart?” Kiran asked.
“There’s always that possibility,” Reid said. “But that doesn’t explain why Grayson has bonded with the girls so quickly. For me, when I found out about Nadia being his ex, I thought for sure I’d be the one losing Grayson, but he doesn’t feel anything for her, other than friendship. If he did, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Kiran looked at Grayson and then Nadia. He shook his head, making Reid wonder what was going through his mind. A door opened, and the four adults sat up straighter. The patter of feet came down the hall and into the dining room.