Orchids & Hurricane Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

  I opened my eyes and found her staring straight ahead.

  “You okay?” I asked softly as I ran my thumb over the back of her hand.

  “Yeah, I was just enjoying the peace. Whenever I’m stressed, I like to sit here and just have quiet.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “Cammie was sad for the child that lost his life, and I keep wondering who he was. I wish I knew so I could tell her. She thinks that maybe someday the mom might want to hear her son’s heart beating in her chest.”

  I bent my head as my eyes filled with tears. “Your daughter is pretty amazing.” I paused and contemplated my next words. “His name was Chad.”

  “What? Who is Chad?”

  “The boy that died.”

  Her eyes were huge as she stared at me. “How do you know that? Those things are private.”

  I closed my eyes, trying to control my emotions. “I know that because of this.” I pointed to the bandage on my head, and I pulled the collar of my shirt away from my neck.

  “Oh, my god! Rye, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that Chad was killed in the same accident I was injured in last night. He lived in Cricklewood Cove, and very late last night, Chad’s older brother was driving intoxicated and crashed into my car. The accident put Chad on life support. We weren’t sure, but Roan was able to confirm it a little while ago. Cammie’s heart is from a boy named Chad Borrows. He was thirteen.”

  Amy stared at me for a long time as tears rolled down her cheeks and then she reached up to my face and spoke in a voice so full of awe that it humbled me to the very core, “You saved my daughter’s life.”

  Chapter 20

  Amy

  “Mom, are you scared?”

  I stared into the big, green eyes of my daughter and wanted to scream, ‘Yes, I’m terrified,’ but I didn’t. Instead, I brushed the hair back from her eyes. “A little. Are you?”

  “A little.” Which meant we were both frightened to death but being strong.

  “It’s alright to be afraid, Cammie.”

  “I know.” Her next words were spoken very lowly. “Do you think Daddy will love me again when I have a heart that works?”

  Oh, if I could throttle that man, I would. “Honey, Daddy still loves you. He’s just not good at dealing with sick people. He worries about you all the time.” Please, God, forgive me for that lie.

  “Do you think when I’m not sick, he will want to see me again? Maybe I could still be a model like he wanted me to be.”

  Over my dead body, I thought. “Maybe, sweetheart. That’s a really positive thing to think about.”

  She grinned widely at me. “Are you going to be in the operating room with me?”

  “No, sweetie, I’m going to be in the waiting room right down the hall with Joanne and my friends.”

  “Will I get to meet your friends?”

  “Yes, as soon as you feel up to visitors.”

  “Okay,” the door slid open, and Joanne came back in.

  “I have to say that he sure is yummy.”

  My daughter’s brow furrowed, and I gave Joanne a look of admonishment. “Both of them are very nice.”

  “What does she mean by yummy?” Cammie asked me, and Joanne chuckled.

  “It means they are cute—very, very cute,” Joanne replied quickly.

  Cammie grinned. “Oh, okay. Mom said I could meet them when I was feeling better.”

  “You’re going to like them, Cammie. They are very nice, especially to be here with your mom while you go through this surgery.”

  “Will you tell them thank you for me?”

  “Of course, I will, sweetie.”

  The door opened again, and Dr. August came in to speak with us. He explained what would happen, how long it would take, and then the treatment right after the surgery. We all listened and asked questions, and then he said he was going to get prepped and that the transplant team would be coming to get Cammie soon. My heart raced as I thought of the possibility of her dying in surgery. I stared into her face, and my body began to quiver as I realized this might be the last time I saw her smiling face. Oh, my god, I was going to vomit.

  Joanne came to my side, put her arm around me, and exclaimed loudly, “Isn’t this exciting?” She threw her arms around me and whispered, “You need to hold yourself together for a little while longer. You can do this.”

  I inhaled and held it before releasing it slowly. I could do it. My daughter needed me to do it. I stepped back and nodded to her to let her know I was off the cliff. It was only ten minutes later that the door slid open again and another gowned employee entered.

  “So this is the Camelina Clandestino that everyone is talking about.” He winked at her, and you could tell he was smiling by the crinkles around his eyes.

  “They are?”

  “Oh, yes, it’s not often that one of our patients gets a new heart. We are so excited for you.”

  “I am, too.”

  “Okay, well, you need to say goodbye to your mom now. I have to take you downstairs and then we are going to get you ready.”

  “Are you sure I can’t go down with her?”

  “No, the place we are taking her is extra sterile, and you basically get to take an elevator ride with us, but that’s it. Better to wish her well here, in privacy.”

  My world was about to explode around me, and I wanted to shout for it to stop. This was happening too fast, and I was scared to death that my time with my daughter had run out.

  “Mommy, can you hold my dolphin?”

  The orderly adjusted the mattress and then lifted the corner of the sheet. “We need to leave this with your mom, too.”

  “She can’t take her blanket with her?” I asked as anxiety began to ripple through my body.

  “Trust me. She is in great hands, and we don’t want this lost downstairs when we move her from the bed.”

  “Mom, it’s okay. You keep it with you. It was yours anyway.”

  “I know, sweetie. I’ll keep it with me.” I leaned down, “I love you more than the whole wide world. I will be here when you wake up, Cammie. I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, Mommy. I’m not scared anymore. I know I’m going to make it, but even if I don’t, I’m not scared.”

  Bile rose in my throat, and I had to swallow three times to get it back down so that I could talk. “I’ll see you when you wake up, baby.”

  I kissed her cheek, and she waved at me and Joanne as the orderly began to roll her out of the room. The minute they were out of sight, I put her blanket to my face and began to cry. Every part of my body shook, and Joanne was right there to hold me up.

  “What if she dies, Joanne? What if the new heart doesn’t work, and she dies?”

  “Amy, you have to think positively. She is going to be okay.” I let the sobs out, needing to purge myself of the fear. Joanne let me cry for a few minutes, and then told me to get a hold of myself. “You have two very handsome men waiting for you in the other room.”

  “Oh, I forgot all about them.” I took a few moments to clean myself up and realized that it was useless. I looked like a mother who was terrified, and that was exactly what I was. I shoved Cammie’s dolphin and blanket into my bag, and we went out to the waiting room.

  Just the sight of Rye rushing toward me made me realize how much I did love him. We’d met only days ago, and yet, I trusted him, loved him, wanted him as part of my life, but I had to think of Cammie first.

  The two of us sat side by side in the hospital chapel, and I pushed my prayers out to God. They were the same ones that I’d always asked for, but this time I asked him to guide the surgeon carefully and to send healing and love to the parents of the donor heart. I would forever be in their debt for the sacrifice that they had made.

  “Cammie was sad for the child that lost his life, and I keep wondering who he was. I wish I knew so I could tell her. She thinks that maybe someday the mom might want to hear her son’s heart beating in her chest.�
��

  Rye bowed his head. “Your daughter is pretty amazing.” He was quiet for a moment, his voice choked when he next spoke. “His name was Chad.”

  “What?” What was he talking about? “Who is Chad?”

  “The boy that died.”

  I stared at him, my heart racing in my chest as I looked into his pained eyes. “How do you know that? Those things are private.”

  He turned away, closing his eyes tightly as if to brace himself for what he was going to say. “I know that because of this.” He pointed to the bandage and then yanked back the collar of his shirt to show an angry bruise that could only have come from a seatbelt.

  “Oh, my god! Rye, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that Chad was killed in the same accident I was injured in last night. He lived in Cricklewood Cove, and very late last night, Chad’s older brother was driving intoxicated and crashed into my car. The accident put Chad on life support. We weren’t sure, but Roan was able to confirm it a little while ago. Cammie’s heart is from a boy named Chad Borrows. He was thirteen.”

  I was barely breathing as he spoke, could hardly comprehend what he was saying as the tears ran down my cheeks unchecked. I reached for his face, “You saved my daughter’s life.”

  “No, I did not, Amy.” He took my hand as a tear fell off his chin and landed on the back of it. “I feel almost responsible for his death. Had I not been on the road then, his brother wouldn’t have crashed into me. I grew up with Chad’s mother, known her all my life. I can’t imagine facing her again, knowing that it was my car that caused his death.”

  “Are the police charging you?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “Their oldest son is being charged with DUI and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He’ll go to jail, but worse, he will have to remember for the rest of his life that he killed his brother.”

  “Yes,” I grabbed his other hand and pulled him, so he had to shift toward me, “he killed his brother, you didn’t. You didn’t hurt that child, but because of you being there, because of that, my daughter will have a chance to live.”

  I stared at him, thinking back over the last few days in flashes of memories. From laughing uncontrollably in the lobby of the resort, to making love to him in the shower, shopping with him, the ring. I glanced down at his hand.

  “You’re still wearing the ring.”

  “And you are not—but that’s okay.”

  I grabbed my bag and put it on my lap, digging around in it for a moment as Rye reached over and took hold of Cammie’s blanket.

  “Oh, that’s my daughter’s. She couldn’t take it with her down to the operating suites.” I continued to dig in my side pocket until I found the ring. “Here, I put it in here so I wouldn’t have to explain it to Joanne or Cammie.”

  I turned to him and found him not only staring at the blanket, but oddly, feeling around the edge of it.

  “What are you doing, Rye?”

  He froze, only his fingers rubbing back and forth over the soft material. “Amy, where did you get this?”

  “It was my baby blanket. I found it in my parents’ attic a few years ago and gave it to Cammie because she loved the pastel colors.”

  Rye grabbed my face, kissed me hard, and then took my hand and basically yanked me out of the pew. “We need to find my brother.”

  “Rye, what’s going on?”

  His eyes glowed with an excitement, or energy, and he led me down the hallway and to the elevator. Once we were in, he pushed me up against the stainless steel wall and kissed me like he was the one dying.

  When we pulled back, he grinned, just grinned the biggest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

  The moment the elevator stopped, he laced our fingers together and pulled me out of the car and down the hall to the waiting room. I could hear Joanne and Roan talking, and Rye was walking so quickly I practically had to run.

  The moment we crossed the threshold, Rye was tossing the blanket at his brother. “This belongs to Amy.”

  Roan caught the blanket and stared it, shock widening his eyes as he stared first at his brother and then at me. “Where did you get this?”

  “Check the edge,” Rye said before I could reply.

  “What is going on? That was my baby blanket. What’s so big about it?” Roan pulled a pocketknife out of his jeans pocket. “What are you doing? You can’t cut that up!”

  I started toward him, but Rye put his arm around me. “Just wait. He’s not going to ruin it.”

  Roan was a man on a mission as he cut the edge of the blanket carefully, and then held up a small, oddly-shaped key.

  Rye stepped in front of me. “Were you, by any chance, adopted?”

  Chapter 21

  Rye

  The moment I saw the pastel-colored blanket in Amy’s hands, I knew what it was, yet I still couldn’t believe it.

  “Oh, that’s my daughter’s. She couldn’t take it with her to the operating suites. Here,” she pulled the ring out of her computer bag and held it up, her face brightening. “I put the ring in my bag, so I wouldn’t have to explain it to Joanne or Cammie.”

  I barely heard the words as I stared at the blanket in my hands. Roan had told me how Finley found her key in the edge of her blanket, and that was what I was looking for. I had only seen scraps of Finley’s blanket, but it was the same colors and textures as the one in my hand.

  “What are you doing, Rye?”

  My fingers dug into the soft fabric until I found a hard object along the edge. For a moment, I let my fingers run along the length of the item sewn into the edge, and then I looked at Amy. “Amy, where did you get this?”

  “It was my baby blanket. I found it in my parents’ attic a few years ago and gave it to Cammie because she loved the pastel colors.”

  Amy was staring at me oddly, and I grabbed her face and kissed her. If I hadn’t believed in fate before, I did now. There was no way I couldn’t. “We need to find my brother.”

  I practically dragged Amy out of the chapel and into the elevator. Once inside, I had her against the wall and I kissed her with more passion than I even knew existed within me. The moment the elevator stopped, I was leading her down the hallway. My brother was going to flip when he saw this.

  The second we entered the waiting room, I tossed the blanket in my brother’s direction, and he caught it in midair, recognition and disbelief exploding in his eyes as he looked from the material to me. “Where did you get this?”

  “Check the edge, Roan.”

  Amy still had no idea what was going on or why the blanket was such a big deal. When my brother began to cut it open she became agitated, but I was able to calm her down.

  “Were you, by any chance, adopted?” I asked her.

  Amy blinked, and then blinked again. “Yeah, how did you know that?”

  Roan and I exchanged a long look and then we both turned to Amy and looked her up and down. Both of us began to grin at the same time when I said to him, “You said smaller by the minute, Roan, but I think it’s more like smaller by the second.”

  “What is going on?” Amy threw her hands in the air. “And what is that?”

  “It’s a key. Any chance you know what it goes to?” Roan asked Amy.

  Amy shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. How did you even know that it was there?” Amy took the key from Roan’s hands to examine, frown lines in her brow.

  I came around to her side, putting my hand on her lower back. “Do you know anything about your adoption, like, who your biological parents were?”

  “Well, I lived in Pennsylvania when I was adopted. I remember a few things from when I was young, fragments of memories really, nothing long and concrete though.”

  Roan asked the next question. “You were put up for adoption when you were a baby?”

  Amy settled herself into the chair across from my brother. “No, I was seven when I was put up for adoption after my parents died. I can barely remember them, but I have a few more memorie
s of my grandmother who took care of us after my parents died.”

  “Your grandmother?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, I think we lived with her for a little while after our parents passed away.”

  Rye and I exchanged a glance, and then he hurriedly asked, “‘We,’ you said ‘we.’ Who is ‘we?’”

  “I had a younger brother and a sister who was only a baby. For a little while, our grandmother took care of us, but she was old, and I think she was ill. I remember her taking a lot of pills. They were colorful, and my brother almost ate a few of them thinking they were candy. I think that’s when she realized she couldn’t take care of us and put us up for adoption. At least, that’s what I remember.” Amy frowned. “We were separated pretty quickly once we went into the foster system. My little sister was just a baby, maybe six months old, I guess, and she was adopted almost immediately. I lost track of my brother when I was adopted.” Amy glanced between us. “Why are you asking me this? How did you know that key was in the edge of the blanket, or that I was even adopted?”

  Roan smiled at her gently. “Because your sister, Finley, had a blanket just like this, and it had a key in it.”

  Amy’s jaw dropped, and a second later, she lurched forward and grabbed my brother’s hand. “You know my sister? You know Finley?” Her voice shook with emotion. “What about Jenson? Do you know him, too?”

  “No, I’m sorry, we don’t know Jenson,” Roan said, and then he pulled his phone out and pushed a few buttons before turning the screen toward her.

  A tear ran down her cheek, and I glanced at Joanne who had scooted closer to the excitement. “That’s my sister? You really know my sister?”

  “I not only know your sister, Amy, but I’m in love with your sister, and she lives with me in Cricklewood Cove.”

  Amy put her face into her hands and began to cry, and I took the seat beside her and wrapped my arm around her back.

  After her tears were under control, she studied the two of us thoughtfully. “But you don’t know Jenson? Neither of you knows Jenson?”