Katie watched Bowie race around to help her from the truck. He walked her at a snail’s pace to the pharmacy.

Attentive and loving now, would that end the minute the truth was revealed? Did Katie want to reveal the truth? He’d never asked her about her scar. She’d told him she’d been sickly as a child, and they fixed her.

Did she owe him the facts, or was it good enough that she’d given him the gist of the situation?

Doc Parker came out of the back room with a mug of coffee in his hands. “You cleaned me out of condoms yesterday.” He sipped at his coffee. “I don’t get a delivery until next week. You ever hear of pacing yourself?”

"I’m not here about condoms.” That’s when Doc noticed Katie. “She fainted and hit her head hard.”

Doc moved fast for an old fart. He rushed around the counter to open the door for Bowie. “Bring her on back.”

“I’m fine,” she said with little confidence in her voice.

“Stop being difficult,” Doc said. He turned on the light to the examination room and patted the paper covered table. “Climb up, young lady, and let me have a look at your melon.”

Bowie helped her onto the table. He didn’t leave her side, holding her hand while Doc Parker looked her over.

“You’re pale, and your heartbeat is too high.” He reached into the drawer and pulled out a stethoscope.

Doc must have seen the fear on her face. The pleading in her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was sending the message that said, ‘Don’t do this here, not with Bowie around,’ but somehow Doc seemed to understand.

“Son,” he said to Bowie. “I need to give her a thorough exam, and although I know you’ve seen the goods, I’m not into threesomes.” He nodded toward the door. “See if the bakery has any muffins left. I’ll call you when we’re finished.”

Bowie looked from Katie to Doc. There was a moment when she wasn’t certain he’d leave.

“Do you want me to go?” Bowie squeezed her hand.

“I’ll be okay.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Steal a muffin for me, too. I probably didn’t eat enough today, and my blood sugar got low.” She hated the lie that flowed so easily from her lips.

Bowie narrowed his eyes for a second. Did he see the lie for what it was—a way to get him out of the office before Doc saw her scar and found out her truth? She thought he’d hold his ground, but instead he pressed his lips to hers in a comforting kiss.

“You know where I’ll be.”

Doc waited until he heard the bell above the front door ring. “By the look you gave me, I was sure you didn’t want Bowie in here. Was I wrong?”

She shook her head. “No. You will find out something in a minute that I’ve kept a secret.” Katie pulled the hem of her pink T-shirt over her head.

“Holy heavens.” Doc Parker took a step back and grabbed the side table for balance. “He hasn’t seen that scar?”

Katie dropped her chin to look at the silver line that ran vertically down her chest. “He’s seen it.” She shrugged. “He never asked for specifics, and I didn’t give him details he didn’t require.”

Doc Parker pointed to the scar. “That’s why you have the bakery.”

She nodded. “I didn’t know until I went to the cemetery today to check on Bowie.” Her eyes filled with tears. Her throat ached. “At Bea’s funeral, there was no headstone, and you,” she shuddered at the memory, “you said they died a decade ago.”

“I rounded up. The exact details didn’t matter.”

“They did to me. I couldn’t figure out why she gave me the bakery. I thought for a second I had her daughter’s heart, but the timing didn’t match because I was told Brandy had died ten years ago. I should have looked into it more thoroughly. Bea put it plain and simple on the page, ‘you have a good heart’, she wrote. She would know. I have her daughter’s heart.” Katie cried.

Doc pulled a tissue from a nearby box and handed it to her. “She did it and told no one.” Doc spread his fingers to massage the strain in his furrowed brows. “She donated her organs.”

Katie sat on the examination table, exposed in more than one way. “You didn’t know?”

He pushed off the table, put the earpieces in his ears, and pressed the cold cone to her chest. He listened for a while. When he stepped back, his expression was one of awe.

“She never said a word.” He wrapped the stethoscope into a circle and put it on the table. “That’s a fine heart you have, my dear.”

Katie swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s served me well for the last eight years.”

Doc Parker went into medical mode. “You have quite a lump on your head.” He pulled a light from his pocket and shined it into her eyes. “Your pupils are even, but I won’t rule out a concussion.” He opened a drawer and lifted a white disk. With a twist, he activated the ice pack and pressed it to the back of her head. “You need to ice that to keep the swelling down.”

Katie set the pack next to her while she pulled on her shirt. “Are you going to tell Bowie?” Just the mention of his name made her heart race and her stomach twist into knots.

“No, that’s not my truth to tell, but don’t you think you should?”

Katie sat for minutes in contemplative silence, or maybe it was shock. “I should.”

“But …” He walked to the sink and washed his hands. He looked over his shoulder at her. “You won’t?”

Katie gnawed at her bottom lip. “What if it ruins what we have?”

Doc leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. “What if he finds out somehow? I can’t tell you what to do. Your secret is safe with me. It’s part of the privacy act, but I think you should be the one to tell him.”

Katie nodded and jumped off the table, the movement sending a wave of dizziness rushing at her. She gripped the edge with her free hand to steady herself. “I’ll tell him, but I need some time to figure out how.”

Doc’s bushy white mustache dropped with his frown. “Give it a day or two to sink in.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone but set it on the table. “I want you to stay at your place tonight. That way, you’ll be close by if you need me. Also, someone has to stay with you to keep an eye on things. Head injuries are tricky. If you showed more severe signs of a concussion, you wouldn’t be standing here, you’d be in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.” He looked down at the area between her breasts like he had X-ray vision. “Speaking of hospitals … do you have a cardiologist you’re seeing? Are you taking your anti-rejection drugs? Where’s your family?” He rattled off so many questions, she couldn’t keep up.

“I registered with Holland Cardiology in Copper Creek. I haven’t seen them yet because I haven’t needed to, and I take my meds as directed.”

“Good. Good. Derek Holland is a skilled doctor. You couldn’t have chosen more wisely.”

“He came recommended by my last doctor.”

“What about your family?”

“They live in Dallas. They know where I’m at, although they are less than happy with how I got here.”

“Do they know?”

Katie wanted to laugh, but she knew it would hurt her already aching head. “How could they know before I did? Donors and recipients are anonymous. I wonder how Bea found me?”

Doc picked up his phone. “I’ve never known a woman more determined than Bea. She was like a dog with a bone.” He smiled. “Wow.” He shook his head. “Brandy had never left the state of Colorado until she went to meet you.”

Katie lifted her palm to her chest. “I owe her everything.”

“Bea used to tell everyone that Brandy might be gone, but she lived in others. We thought she was speaking metaphorically. Like her memories and spirit lived in others. I’ll be damned.” He punched in some numbers and waited until the person on the other line answered. “She’s ready for you, son.” He hung up, but his smile burned like a hundred watt bulb. “What are the chances one man can find the same heart twice?”

The bell above the door rang, and the sound of heavy boots thudded on the linoleum floor in the hallway.

Bowie appeared in the doorway and smiled with relief. “It took you so long, I thought something serious happened.”

Doc looked at Katie. “We were chit-chattin’. She can tell you all about it.”

Katie took a step forward and wobbled. Not that she was dizzy. She was scared. Everything she ever wanted stood in front of her. Bowie had finally said goodbye to Brandy. How would he feel knowing part of Brandy lived inside her?

It was confusing. Almost surreal. For the first time, she questioned her love for Bowie. Was it real? Or was it some supernatural oddity that Brandy’s heart recognized Bowie’s presence? She’d heard of stranger things.

“I’m ready to go home and go to bed.”

“Nuh uh,” Doc said. “No sleeping for two hours.” He looked at Bowie. “She needs to be woken up periodically to make sure she’s okay. No sexy business either. She needs to rest. Those condoms will hold.”

Katie groaned.

Bowie laughed. “I can do that.” He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’ll take good care of her.” He walked her a step forward.

“I want her at her house.”

Bowie stopped. He hadn’t been inside her house since they met. She wondered if having to be there would pose a problem.

“Not an issue.” He looked down at her and whispered. “I let it all go today, Duchess. It’s just you and me from now on. I’ll never forget her, but Brandy no longer has my heart.”

Inside, Katie died a little. They’d never be free of her because although Brandy no longer had Bowie’s heart, Katie had hers.