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 a 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.

“Yes. Now let Adam put it on your finger and let’s be done with it.” Elise’s tone was brusque, hiding her emotions behind her words.

Adam dropped down on one knee. “Francesca Bishop, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

“Yes, please.” Frankie held out her hand and Adam slipped the ring onto her finger. “A perfect fit.”

Elise nodded. “It’s fate, I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you.” Frankie hugged Elise before kissing Adam, his arms holding her tight. He never wanted to let her go again. Not ever.

“We were going to visit the local cemetery... Is that where they are buried?” Adam asked, keeping one arm wrapped around Frankie’s waist.

“It is, side by side in death as they were in life.” Elise sighed. “I could show you if you want. I try to go there once a week, just to talk to them and tell them any news.”

“We’d like that.” Frankie and Adam walked out of the hotel, with Elise following.

“It’s on the other side of town,” Elise told them. “I don’t think my legs could walk that far after the shock of it all.”

“Don’t worry, we were going to take Adam’s car.” Frankie linked arms with Elise. “If ever you want to visit us, you’re welcome.”

Adam unlocked the car and they got in. Elise sat in the back, her hand rubbing the leather upholstery. “Nice car.”

“Thank you,” Adam said. He looked in the rearview mirror. “Frankie’s right, you will always be welcome.”

“I’ll think about it,” Elise said as Adam switched on the engine and Evergreen came on the radio. Elise gasped. “This was their favorite song.”

A cold shiver worked its way down Adam’s spine. “They must be with us.” But as he spoke the words, something inside of him shifted, and his bear lifted his head as if he could feel it, too. He glanced at Frankie, who looked pale, her hand resting over her heart. “Are you okay?”

Frankie nodded. “I feel better than I’ve felt since...” She didn’t finish her sentence. They both understood that the two people who had walked by their side had moved on.

As they drove to the cemetery, they stopped to buy flowers for the two people who were bonded in life and now together in death.

“At least they are together,” Elise said as she placed flowers on her sister’s grave. “You know, I think I might come and visit you.”

“We can show you the mountain,” Adam told her.

“I’d like that. And so would my bear.” Elise turned around and looked at the sky. “I think I’ve been trapped in limbo since they passed. It’s time to move on.”

As they looked down at the graves, Adam was certain that today, they had all moved on. Some of them in this life, and some of them to the next.