Chapter Three – Elise

“I have to go.” Elise looked at her watch and placed her teacup down on the counter. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“Hey, slow down. Where do you need to be? I’ll drive you.” Hank picked up the cups and put them in the sink, as Elise headed to the door.

“Would you mind?” Elise asked, still in awe of her mate. She needed to shake that off. Hank was a man, a real man, and not the make-believe person she’d had make-believe conversations with when she was young and infatuated with the man behind the voice. She’d read every magazine, watched every music video on MTV. Those were the days before the internet, when YouTube didn’t exist. Oh, maybe he was on YouTube now? She’d ask Jenny or Jason to look for her.

“Not at all. I have to get to work anyway. I’ll drop you on the way.” He grabbed his coat, a worn leather jacket, and slung it on effortlessly. Hank had a superstar quality, even if he did try to hide it.

“Where do you work?” Elise asked, she hadn’t seen him in Bear Creek. If she had, she sure would have remembered his broad chest and long, lean, toned thighs that his worn denim hugged so deliciously.

“At The Catherine Hotel. Do you know it?” Hank asked, swinging the passenger door of his truck open and offering her his hand.

“I can manage.” She took his hand all the same. “Yes, I do. I’ve been there a couple of times, but I’ve never seen you.”

“Fate has kept us apart.” He went around to the driver’s side and got in. “It has its own reasons, I guess.”

What is Hank Rivera doing working at a hotel? “Do you sing?” Elise asked hopefully.

“No.” He shook his head firmly. “I have not sung publicly for a long, long time. I work in the restaurant. And no, I’m not a chef. I’m a server. It pays the bills.” He shrugged as if he thought she would be disappointed in him.

“Will you sing for me?” Elise asked. “Not in public. But I would like my own private show.”

He chuckled. “How can I refuse, when you flash those baby blues?” he crooned softly.

“Left here.” She pointed to the road which took them to the newly built house where Frankie lived.

“Where exactly are we going?” Hank asked, switching the subject.

“Frankie and Adam, they live...”

“Adam’s my boss. One of them.” Hank swung the truck off the road and drove along the freshly laid trail.

“Of course, he is.” Elise shook her head. “He’s been on paternity leave, helping Frankie with the babies. I completely lost the connection.” Elise frowned. “Is that a problem?”

“No.” Hank brought the truck to a standstill outside the house. “No problem at all.”

“Do you want me to keep your secret?” Elise asked.

“About who I was?” Hank stared out the window.

“Who you are,” Elise reminded him. It was as if Hank were two separate people. But she didn’t want to see him that way. Her teenage memories were precious to her and she wasn’t ready to compartmentalize them.

“I’ve never hidden who I am. But most people don’t make the connection. It was too long ago.”

“And like yesterday for some of us.” Elise smiled and leaned across the truck, planting a kiss on his cheek. “When can I see you again?”

“When the world ends, and time shatters.”

“‘Cos love, you’re the only thing that matters,” Elise finished.

“My shift finishes at ten.” Hank quickly added, “Or tomorrow. I don’t want to be too pushy.”

“Pick me up here after ten. Frankie and Adam are going on their first date night since the twins were born.” Elise opened the truck door and slid out, catching hold of the seat to steady herself. “I’m missing you like the flowers miss the rain, and I cannot stand the pain.” With that, she swung the door shut, and walked toward the house.

In her teenage days, she would have acted cool and not given him a second glance. But she was no longer a teenager and she needed that one last look to remind herself he was real. And hers.

Her heart skipped a beat as he turned the truck around, rolled down the window and blew her a kiss.

Elise stared after him, unaware of Frankie, who came out of the house and stood assessing the situation. “Any news, Elise?”

Elise jumped, not from guilt, there was nothing to be guilty for. As a grown woman, she could make her own choices and see whomever she chose. Wait, she was in her late forties and didn’t have anyone to answer to but herself. Meeting Hank had slipped her back in time. Back to a time when her sister was alive, and everything was new and wonderfully exciting, with no knowledge of the darkness life could hold.

“I’ve met my mate.” She spun around to face Frankie, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “I never thought it would happen.”

“And that was Hank’s truck.” Frankie walked over to Elise, looking down the trail leading from the house. “Hank is your mate?”

“He is. Hank Rivera, the man of my dreams.” Elise clasped her hands together and swayed from side to side like a love-smitten fool.

Frankie smothered a smile. “You have it bad.”

“I’ve had it bad for the last thirty years. I’d forgotten about him.” Elise pulled herself together. “How are the girls?”

“Wait a minute.” Frankie twirled her finger in the air. “Let’s go back a little. Thirty years. Is this Julius and Catherine all over again?”

“No.” Elise’s eyes widened. “Not at all. Then I was in love with the person I thought Hank was.”

“Still not following,” Frankie admitted.

“Hank is the Hank Rivera.” Elise nodded, but the name meant nothing to Frankie. “You’re too young to remember him.”

“Remember him. You mean he’s famous?” Frankie’s interest grew exponentially. “Adam!”

She took Elise’s hand and led her into the house, calling for her husband, who was playing with the twins. “Everything okay?” Adam asked, his voice filled with concern. He still hadn’t gotten over Frankie’s pregnancy and the birth of the girls. Frankie’s heart, which had been donated by Elise’s sister, Delia, when she was killed in a road traffic accident, was not as strong as a normal shifter heart. One baby would have been okay, but two put a lot of strain on her body.

Thankfully, Frankie was now fine, and the girls were healthy, showing no adverse effects. They were more than fine, they were perfect, and Elise loved them as if they were her own.

“Yes. Elise has found her mate.” Frankie nodded at Adam’s questioning look. “It’s Hank.”

“Hank, Hank?” Adam asked in surprise.

“Hank, Hank.” Frankie nodded. “Who would have guessed?”

“Not me.” Adam crossed the room and kissed Elise on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you, Elise.”

“Did you know Hank was famous?” Frankie asked excitedly.

“Hank, Hank?” Adam asked.

Frankie sighed and rolled her eyes. “What other Hank would we be talking about?”

“I had no idea. Julius hired him and would have done the relevant background and reference checks.” Adam frowned. “Hank?”

“What was he famous for?” Frankie asked Elise, ignoring her husband’s confusion.

“He’s Hank Rivera, he had a handful of hit songs before he disappeared. Country music with a pop beat, he was a huge crossover artist.” Elise was not going to share the reasons for Hank stepping down from the limelight. It was his secret to share, not hers.

“Google him.” Frankie picked up her tablet from the coffee table and tapped Hank’s name into the search engine. “Oh, wow, there he is.”

Frankie held up the tablet for Elise and Adam to see. There, smiling back at them, with his blond hair and blue eyes, was the Hank she had dreamed about when she was a teen. “That’s him.”

Frankie tapped the screen a couple more times and then held the tablet out as the first notes of Hank’s most popular song began to play. “Heart of Mine” was the song that melted her heart, and made Hank her one true love, even before they met.

“That’s Hank?” Frankie asked. “I’m impressed. I had no idea he could sing and perform.”

“Me neither,” Adam agreed. “I mean he’s great in the restaurant, friendly, and always makes sure our diners are happy. And Jenny and Jason love him. But this is a surprise.”

Frankie tapped the screen. “These are all really old songs someone has uploaded.”

“He walked away from fame and fortune.” Elise went to say hello to the girls, who were lying side by side on a blanket, as the late afternoon sunshine streamed in through the window. They were waving their hands in the air as if trying to touch the leaves on the trees blowing in the breeze. “Hello, Delia. Hello, Elise.”

“Hey, don’t leave us hanging like that,” Frankie told Elise. “Or is there some deep, dark secret?”

Elise considered the question. She didn’t want to lie to Frankie, but neither did she want to tell Hank’s secrets. “He had his reasons. They aren’t mine to tell. And most of what I know was gossip. We’ve only actually just met.”

“Wow. Just imagine, you could have met him all those years ago. If you went to a concert and he saw your face in the crowd…” Frankie swayed around the room to the sound of Hank’s heartbreaking voice as he sang “April’s Fool.”

“We each had our paths to walk, and even though we never talk. Your count-e-nance like snow is cool, but I love you like an April Fool,” Elise sang the words softly, as Frankie let out a romantic sigh, and the baby girls gurgled happily.

Life had a funny way of turning around, and in the last year, Elise’s had gone three-sixty. Maybe Delia was looking down on her sister, happy that she finally had love in her heart for the living, instead of the dead.