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    A Game of Hearts
    A Game of Hearts
    A Game of Hearts
    Ebook59 pages55 minutes

    A Game of Hearts

    By Deirdre O’Dare

    ()

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    About this ebook

    DeVore lost the love of his life ten years ago, left his seven-figure career with a huge financial firm, and became a recluse. He now indulges a hobby of photography which has become his new vocation. At one of the few social functions he attends, he meets an amazing young man. Can he find new life and new love? The game of hearts is always risky, but what if a part of your first love now lives in another body?

    Tim was a preemie and always frail. Later, an organ transplant was the only thing that could save him. Now grown, he still struggles to break restrictive family ties and find a purpose. It’s a thrill to meet the charismatic DeVore, an idol whose powerful photographs move many. But is this attraction his own, or coming from the stranger’s heart now beating in his chest?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJMS Books LLC
    Release dateJun 3, 2017
    ISBN9781634864152
    A Game of Hearts
    Author

    Deirdre O’Dare

    Deirdre writes gay romance channeling a prior life’s gay male twin she calls Danny. Fascinated by love’s diverse shades and guises, she explores and experiences a range of attachments. She still believes in happily ever after, that Love is the One True Thing and genuine Love is never wrong. For more information, visit deirdredares.blogspot.com.

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      Book preview

      A Game of Hearts - Deirdre O’Dare

      6

      Prologue

      Baltimore, Maryland

      Spring 2004

      You know money’s no object, Dr. Wesley. Can’t modern medical science do something? I’ll cover any cost, any experimental effort.

      DeVore took another look at the chart hanging at the foot of Steven’s ICU hospital bed. Then he glared at the doctor who’d just given him the worst possible news. He could not weep, could barely act at all. He felt as if his whole being had turned to ice as the doctor’s words sank into his psyche.

      Steven is brain-dead, irretrievably departed, leaving only a hollow shell. The unique spark that once animated him has gone out. Only a complex of machinery keeps his heart pumping, his lungs and other organs working. While that could go on for years, the soul and vitality of the man is no more. He will never wake up.

      The doctor’s next words recalled him from floundering in black despair.

      There’s no cure for a crushed brain, Mr. Weyrick. That’s one organ we cannot yet transplant. I’m sorry, more sorry than you can imagine. I knew this man, knew his potential and his very special combination of incredible skills and human compassion. He was going to be an exceptional doctor, but the fact remains, none of that is going to happen now.

      DeVore looked down at the unmoving form of the man he loved more than life itself. They’d been together for six years, planning a wedding after Steven completed his residency. This was so wrong. He still could not believe it. When he spoke again, his voice came out rusty and ragged.

      Give me a few minutes, Doc. After that, you can do what has to be done. Of course, I’ll give permission to take anything from his body that can help another person’s life. I know that’s what Steven would’ve wanted. He was all alone in the world, as you know, and had given me power of attorney and next-of-kin authority. He had an organ donor card in his wallet when… Then he had to stop, unable to finish the words, as if not saying fatal accident could somehow erase the last twenty-four hours’ events.

      The doctor touched DeVore’s arm with a gentle half-pat. Take as much time as you need, Mr. Weyrick. There’s no rush now. We can maintain this status quo virtually forever.

      DeVore shuddered at the thought. No, I can’t leave you like this, Steven. I have to let you go, sever the last bond so your spirit can move on. Maybe it already has, but I have to do this.

      He took the cool, still hand nearest him and held it, cradled like a wounded bird in both of his. Then he bent down and kissed the slightly parted lips for the last time. Steven’s face had sustained no damage in the freak accident that had stolen his life, but beneath the cap of bandages, the back of his head was a mush of shattered bone and fragmented flesh. DeVore could hardly bear to think of that. All within him rebelled at the thought of such horrible trauma. Biting his lip, he put Steven’s hand back down on the white sheet. Tears burned behind his eyes, but would not flow.

      Goodbye, my love. I’ll join you in time. Wherever in infinity you may be, I’ll find you. But for now, leaving you here, I’ll be alone for the rest of my life.

      Alone. Alone. The word and its connotations echoed in his heart and mind, spaces hollow, huge and so very empty.

      He drew the sheet up to cover Steven’s face before he turned away. If he had known how, he would have shut off the machines himself, but that would remain the doctor’s task. They’d have to maintain this semblance of life until they did the organ harvest anyway. It made him feel even more ill, but that was what Steven had wanted. To give life to others through his death since he could not now do so in life was perhaps right.

      DeVore walked out the door, not looking back. A key part of him stayed behind. It felt as if his soul had died, too.

      Chapter 1

      Dallas, Texas

      Late May

      DeVore hated these mandatory gatherings. His current career and attendant fame might require his presence on occasion, but he did not have to enjoy them, just make the requisite appearance. An almost untouched glass of champagne in his left hand, he drifted across the crowded ballroom, nodded and spoke when required, although, as always, the greater part of him stayed aloof.

      His face felt stiff behind the uncommon, artificial smile. He shielded his

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