“Oh, my god.” My knees give out and I fall heavily onto the mattress, struggling to breathe.
Rowan has my wife’s heart.
All the nights she lay against my chest, all the mornings I felt her heartbeat under my palm, it was Cora’s heart I was feeling.
The sound of the door opening cuts through, followed by my sister’s voice.
“Hayden, we’re back.”
I snap out of my stupor and grab the letters before hurrying downstairs.
“Woah,” Dylan says when I enter the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
I slam the papers down onto the island. “Were these written by the same person?”
Dylan blinks at me in confusion. “What are you going on about?”
“Just tell me what you see.”
She studies me for a protracted beat, still confused.
“Please, Dylan,” I beg, my voice barely audible.
Sensing my desperation, she steps forward, her confusion giving way to focus as she examines the pages. When she notices one letter is Rowan’s resignation letter and the other is from an organ recipient,she darts her eyes back to mine, sucking in a sharp breath.
“Tell me I’m not imagining it or seeing something Iwantto see.”
She nods, returning her attention to the papers. She tilts her head, comparing the slant, the spacing.
But before she can answer, Presley moves closer and touches the letter from the heart recipient.
“Rowan.”
The sound is fragile. Scratchy. Like a door that hasn’t been opened in a long time.
Dylan and I both freeze, unsure what to do.
Presley just spoke for the first time in over a year.
We’ve heard a few laughs and hums over the past several weeks, although that all went away when Rowan did.
But to hear her voice again?
I drop to my knees in front of her, not wanting to make a big deal of it and scare her off from ever talking again.
“Yeah, baby,” I say gently, forcing my voice steady. “I think Rowan wrote that letter.”
Dylan nods behind Presley, confirming my suspicions.
“She has Mom’s heart?” Her words are barely audible.
“It appears so.”
Presley takes a moment to absorb this, her gaze dropping to the paper again. “Do you love her?”
My chest tightens as tears burn the back of my eyes. “I loved your mother very much.”
She shakes her head. “No. Rowan. Do you love her?”
