Identity by Nancy Ann Healy

Author:Nancy Ann Healy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: series, romance suspense
Published: 2019-09-24T23:00:00+00:00

LODZ, POLAND

Claire was content to walk with Eleana in silence. She’d visited Poland a handful of times. She’d never taken the time to immerse herself in the history or culture of the places she traveled. She went where she was told when it was necessary. Sight-seeing had never been her purpose. She watched Eleana’s gaze as it traveled along the buildings in the city. Wonderment painted Eleana’s brown irises. Claire envied that in her friend. She saw a similar childlike expression in Mackenzie and the twins, and she even noted it in Cassidy from time to time. She couldn’t imagine how Eleana and Cassidy managed to see the world through rose-colored glasses. “You really are something else,” she commented.

“Me?” Eleana asked.

“Yes, you.”

“Is that a bad thing or a good thing?”

Claire shrugged. “Maybe just a thing,” she replied.

“I’m not sure I want to know what brought that comment about.”

“How do you do it?”

“What did I do?” Eleana asked.

“Look at the world like it is full of possibility.”

“It is.”

Claire shook her head with disbelief. How could anyone who had seen what she had—what Eleana had witnessed believe that life was anything but a mess?

“Look,” Eleana instructed Claire. “Look around.”

“What am I looking at?” Claire asked.

“Everything. Look at the buildings—the people in the street. Imagine that some of these buildings have seen people as they passed for centuries.”

“And?”

Eleana stopped walking and grabbed hold of Claire’s arms. “Look.” She directed Claire to look ahead. A young man was holding the hand of a little boy and pointing at one of the buildings. “Don’t you remember when we were kids?”

Claire had two lives; the life she led before her mother’s death and the life she was given after. She tried not to think about her childhood. Claire spent years looking back. It was always Eleana that she remembered. Now, those memories seemed determined to conjure regret and pain. She preferred to live in the present. The past was gone, and the future was uncertain. Hopefulness was too fragile an indulgence in Claire Brackett’s book, and reminiscing too painful. “I remember,” Claire said flatly.

Eleana looked at the little boy again. “You were like that once.”

“Like what?”

“Curious and excited about everything,” Eleana replied.

“I’m still curious.”

Sadness welled in Eleana’s veins. She looked at Claire who would not meet her gaze. Typical. Eleana didn’t require an explanation. Claire couldn’t disguise her fear, regret, or her longing from Eleana. It made Eleana’s heart ache. They had both moved forward with their lives. Claire shared her life with Charlie Hawkins. Eleana was confident that Claire loved Hawk. Eleana loved Jonathan Krause. Looking at Claire, the truth became undeniable. She could love another. Claire could love another. Claire Brackett would always be the love of Eleana’s life. If soul mates existed, Claire was hers. Too much had transpired for them to build a life together. If only that stopped Eleana from loving Claire. She took a deep breath and took Claire’s hand. “Let’s keep walking.”

“Who is this mysterious person you want me to meet?” Claire asked.

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