The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True (20 page)

His meeting with Marian hours before had brought back a rush of memories.

Marian had received him from her sickbed, tucked beneath a comforter, looking frail and old. “We must discuss the One Last Wish Foundation and then a project of my own,” Marian had told him in a thin voice once he’d taken a chair beside her bed.

Through the years, his father had handled One Last Wish, investing Jenny’s inheritance shrewdly through the economic boom years of the 1980s. The foundation was worth millions, and all the money was being given to ill teenagers, just as Jenny had requested.

“Jenny would be pleased to know how well the foundation’s doing,” Richard said. He looked across the room and saw that the portrait of Jenny painted years before was now hanging where Marian could see it from her bed.

“I had it shipped over from the house in Boston this summer,” Marian explained. “She looks real enough to step off the canvas, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” he whispered, unprepared for the bombardment of emotions churning through him.

“I miss her.”

“I miss her too.”

“Pity you’ve never married,” Marian said quietly.

“I’ve never found the right woman. And now I’m pretty set in my ways. Besides, I’m busy running the firm.” Richard shrugged and forced his eyes away
from the portrait. “How can I help you, Marian? Tell me about this project you mentioned.”

She shuffled through a sheaf of papers and handed them to him. “These explain everything in detail, but roughly, I’m in the process of establishing a retreat for young people like Jenny.”

“A retreat?”

“A camp, a resort where very sick kids can come via special invitation. There, they can meet one another and simply enjoy the company of others like themselves. I’ve never forgotten how important it was to Jenny to be with others who were ill, as she was.

“I bought the property years ago, and over the past few years have had a complex built as fine as any luxury hotel. There are stables, pools, lakes for boating, and special medical facilities on the site. It’s to be a place of rest and recreation where these young people can stay—perhaps live for a while and enjoy themselves.”

He’d known that his father had been working on a project for Marian before his death, but had no idea this was it. “How can I help?” Richard asked. “Do you need me to go over the paperwork?”

Marian reached out and covered Richard’s hand with hers. “Richard, I need you to run Jenny House … That’s what I’m calling it.” I need you to oversee its administration. To staff it, direct it, bring in kids to enjoy it. To see that its daily operation runs smoothly.”

“I’m an attorney. Surely there are others—”

“You are the only person who loved Jenny as I did. The only one possible to implement this project. One Last Wish is Jenny’s legacy. Jenny House is
mine.” Marian told him to think it over, but not to linger over his answer.

Once he’d left her, he’d come to the beach, hoping to figure out some kind of compromise. Managing such a place was out of his expertise. He wasn’t qualified. He couldn’t possibly do it.

His walk along the deserted beach had done nothing but add to his turmoil. Richard’s fingers found the well-worn crevice in the rocky face of the cliff. He crouched and ducked inside, and when he straightened, he stood alone beneath the magnificent vaulted ceiling. Blue light spilled through the tiny opening high above. It seemed just as he and Jenny had left it years before.

He felt a knot wedge in his throat as he remembered kneeling with her on the stone floor and kissing her, holding her, loving her. If only she could be with him now. Hadn’t he done everything possible to hold on to her?

“Why did you die, Jenny?” He gazed around the cave, along the cool, hard floor. He was alone. So alone.

Something glinted in the weak light, catching his eye. Richard walked toward the faint shimmer, stooped, and picked up the tattered remains of what had once been a picnic basket. Inside lay what was left of a velvet jewelry box. Time and salt corrosion and crabs had left the box in shreds.

He pulled away the remnants of the box and stared down—inside was a solid gold ID bracelet. He held it up. On one side was engraved:
Richard
. On the other:
With Love, Jenny
. He felt as if he’d had the wind knocked out of him.

Jenny had brought it to the cave years before, it had to be so. Why hadn’t she given it to him? He’d
never know, but he’d discovered this golden treasure and it was his—rightfully so. A gift from Jenny.

He put the bracelet around his wrist and shut the clasp. For a moment, Jenny’s presence seemed so real that he thought she might suddenly appear, laughing, from behind the rocks.
Jenny Crawford, One Last Wish, Jenny House
 … He belonged to all of them. He had his answer for Marian.

Richard hurried toward the cave’s entrance, and rushed out of the darkness and into the brilliance of the sun.

Dear Reader
,

F
or those of you who have been longtime readers, I hope you have enjoyed this One Last Wish volume. For those of you discovering One Last Wish for the first time, I hope you will want to read the other books that are listed in detail in the next few pages. From Lacey to Katie to Morgan and the rest, you’ll discover the lives of the characters I hope you’ve come to care about just as I have.

Since the series began, I have received numerous letters from teens wishing to volunteer at Jenny House. That is not possible because Jenny House exists only in my imagination, but there are many fine organizations and camps for sick kids that would welcome volunteers. If you are interested in becoming such a volunteer, contact your local hospitals about their volunteer programs or try calling service organizations in your area to find out how you can help. Your own school might have a list of community service programs.

Extending yourself is one of the best ways of expanding your world … and of enlarging your heart. Turning good intentions into actions is consistently one of the most rewarding experiences in life. My wish is that the ideals of Jenny House will be carried on by you, my reader. I hope that now that we share the Jenny House attitude, you will believe as I do that the end is often only the beginning.

Thank you for caring

Y
OU’LL WANT TO READ ALL THE
O
NE
L
AST
W
ISH

BOOKS BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Let Him Live
Someone Dies, Someone Lives
Mother, Help Me Live
A Time to Die
Sixteen and Dying
Mourning Song
The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True
Please Don’t Die
She Died Too Young
All the Days of Her Life
A Season for Goodbye
Reach for Tomorrow

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MEGAN,
BE SURE TO READ

O
N
S
ALE
N
OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS
0-553-56067-0

Excerpt from
Let Him Live
by Lurlene McDaniel
Copyright © 1993 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
a division of Random House, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

All rights reserved

B
eing a candy striper isn’t Megan Charnell’s idea of an exciting summer, but she volunteered and can’t get out of it. Megan has her own problems to deal with. Still, when she meets Donovan Jacoby, she find herself getting involved in his life.

Donovan shares with Megan his secret: An anonymous benefactor has granted him one last wish, and he needs Megan’s help. The money can’t buy a compatible transplant, but it can allow Donovan to give his mother and little brother something he feels he owes them. Can Megan help make his dream come true?

“When I first got sick in high school, kids were pretty sympathetic, but the sicker I got and the more school I missed, the harder it was to keep up with the old crowd,” Donovan explained. “Some of them tried to understand what I was going through, but unless you’ve been really sick …” He didn’t finish the sentence
.

“I’ve never been sick,” Meg said, “but I really do know what you’re talking about.”

He tipped his head and looked into her eyes. “I believe you do.”

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT

K
ATIE AND
J
OSH, BE SURE TO READ

O
N
S
ALE
N
OW FROM
B
ANTAM
B
OOKS
0-553-29842-9

Excerpt from
Someone Dies, Someone Lives
by Lurlene McDaniel
Copyright © 1992 by Lurlene McDaniel

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
a division of Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036

All rights reserved

K
atie O’Roark feels miserable, though she knows she’s incredibly lucky to have received an anonymous gift of money. The money can’t buy the new heart she needs or bring back her days as a track star.

A donor is found with a compatible heart, and Katie undergoes transplant surgery. While recuperating, she meets Josh Martel and senses an immediate connection. When Katie decides to start training to realize her dream of running again, Josh helps her meet the difficult challenge.

Will Katie find the strength physically and emotionally to live and become a winner again?

From the corner of her eye, Katie saw a boy with red hair who was about her age. He stood near the doorway, looking nervous. With a start, she realized he was watching her because he kept averting his gaze when she glanced his way
. Odd,
Katie told herself. Katie had a nagging sense she couldn’t place him. As nonchalantly as possible, she rolled her wheelchair closer, picking up a magazine as she passed a table
.

She flipped through the magazine, pretending to be interested, all the while glancing discreetly toward the boy. Even though he also picked up a magazine, Katie could tell that he was preoccupied with studying her. Suddenly, she grew self-conscious. Was something wrong with the way she looked? She’d thought she looked better than she had in months when she’d left her hospital room that afternoon. Why was he watching her?