"Izzy!" My sister's name echoes in my dream before I scream myself awake.
"Elle, wake up!" Tina's concerned voice quickly pulls me out of the nightmare, her hands gently shaking me. "It's just a dream. You're okay."
"I'm okay," I say, wiping the sweat from my brow, trying to ground myself in reality.
"Same dream?" Tina asks, her voice soft as she rubs my arm, offering the comfort I don’t know how to ask for.
"Yeah," I reply, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. "I'm back there again. Izzy’s screaming my name, 'Dani!' over and over, and I can’t do anything to bring her back."
Tina's sympathetic smile doesn’t make the pain go away, but I appreciate the effort.
"Is that why you go by Elle now?" she asks, her voice gentle, like she’s afraid to dig too deep.
I nod, my throat tight. "I couldn’t stand hearing people call me Dani. Izzy was the only one who ever called me that."
Tina’s face softens, her eyes filled with understanding. "What about your parents?"
I shake my head. "They called me Danielle, but they were gone by the time Izzy was learning how to talk. The name was too hard for her to say, so we just went with Dani."
"I know you don't like to talk about what happened," Tina says softly. "But I'm here if you need to."
"Thank you," I reply, offering a small smile. "I don’t know what I’d do without you."
"You’d be living in this big, old house, all by yourself," she says.
"I bought this house with guilt money," I say, the words coming out bitter. "My grandfather didn’t want Izzy and me after Mom and Dad died, but he left me all his money when he passed. The guilt probably killed him. I’d trade it all for Izzy."
She nods, her eyes full of understanding. "I know."
Tina and I met in college, where we shared a dorm and both joined the nursing program. We got jobs at the same hospital, living in a small apartment when I got the call from the executor of my grandfather’s will. I was the sole heir to his estate. I dropped everything in California and moved back to Madison.
"I'm going to find her, Tina," I say, my voice steady with the same certainty that’s always fueled my resolve to find Izzy. "I didn’t have the means before, but I do now. God didn’t let a selfish old man like my grandfather leave me all his money only to let it go to waste. I’m going to use it to hire the best private investigator money can buy to track her down."
Tina sighs, her voice soft with a kind of quiet concern. "Sweetie... it was a closed adoption. Those are like steel safes, locked up forever."
"Money can buy everything," I counter, the fire in my chest still burning bright." All I need is a greedy or needy employee in the right place, and I’ll find her."
"I have an interview at Norton Hospital today," Tina reminds me, a teasing edge to her voice. "I can’t expect you to support me forever."
I laugh, the sound light but full of certainty. "There’s enough money for both of us. And when I find Izzy, she’ll get her half too."
Tina swings her purse over her shoulder and smiles, her eyes knowing. She doesn’t argue—she knows better. No force on earth or in hell is going to stop me from finding my sister.
"Before I go," Tina says, as if recalling something important. "I met our neighbor yesterday."
"Oh yeah?" I say, sensing there’s more.
"He’s gorgeous," she says, giving me a wry smile. "Six-foot-three, dark brown hair, a perfectly trimmed beard that highlights his strong jawline, a white smile that compels you to smile back, blue eyes that draw you in, anda sexy sleeve tattoo that covers a strong, defined, muscly arm. Lordy, he’s hot!"
"I hear a 'but,' coming" I say, catching the hesitation in her voice.
"He has a kid," Tina says, letting out a dramatic sigh. "If there's a kid, there's an ex. If there's an ex, there's trouble. I don’t do exes, and I don’t borrow trouble. Plus, you know I don't want kids."
I smile and shake my head. "That’s exactly what my grandfather said."
"Stop it!" Tina laughs before opening the door and giving me a quick wave goodbye.
***
