Once Found: The Pocket Watch Chronicles by Ceci Giltenan Read Free Book Online Page B

like that. You liked them and they liked you. But for some reason, you kept your family…a secret.”
    “What do you mean? How could I do that? Why would I?”
    Gabe sighed. “Elizabeth, you are the only child of an extremely wealthy and important family. Your mother is Charlotte Matheson Quinn. She is a partner with her father in a law firm that grossed over two billion dollars last year.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “They make a huge amount of money. On top of that, your father is a very well recognized surgeon, as was his father. But every time I asked you about your family, you avoided the discussion. I had no idea who you were until the day we graduated—essentially our last day in medical school. And even then, it wasn’t you who told me. I found out from the whispers when your family was recognized.”
    “So nobody knew?”
    “Nobody. Not even the dean of the university. When I finally saw you later that day, I was angry and hurt that you had kept this huge secret from me. I thought you must have been ashamed of me, afraid I would embarrass you.”
    “Why would you think that? Did I say that?”
    “No. You said you feared they would embarrass you.”
    “Did they?”
    “Embarrass you? Not really. They were cold and formal—nothing like my family—but they were polite.”
    “If I liked your family, maybe I was embarrassed because mine wasn’t like yours.”
    Gabe just stared at her. “I—I guess I never thought of it that way.”
    “Did I give you any other reason?”
    Gabe nodded. “You said as long as people didn’t know who you were, you could just be ordinary, but as soon as they found out, everything changed. At the time, I just couldn’t understand why you would keep your family a secret. Like I said, my family is so much a part of who I am that I felt like you were hiding yourself from me. You said your family was not your identity, but I couldn’t believe that. I said goodbye to you and left.”
    Elsie’s heart broke. She was so certain they loved each other. Well, she was certain she felt Elizabeth’s intense love for him. A tear slipped down her cheek—the first one she’d cried in years. “I’m sorry, Gabe. This sense that I know you and love you is the only thing that feels real to me in this place. I thought…I thought…”
    “Oh, sweetheart, I do love you. I told you that. It’s just that it took me a while to actually realize how much I loved you and how little that argument had meant. But it had happened at a crossroads in our lives, and we had already gone our separate ways. It was too late—or I thought it was. Maybe…maybe this is our second chance. Maybe we can figure this out.”
    Elsie sighed. She was absolutely certain Elizabeth still loved him. “I hope so. I’m willing to believe God’s blessings come in unexpected ways.”
    That was true. Not only had Elizabeth saved Elsie’s life by choosing to exchange souls, she was in a place where she could use her knowledge to help Lady MacKenzie. Elsie had no such skills and had been certain she had nothing to offer Elizabeth or anyone else in this century. Perhaps this is what she could do for Elizabeth. Elsie could bring her close to Gabe again so that when she returned, Elizabeth would have this lost love in her life once again. Then Elsie would go home to the man she was beginning to love and make sure they never parted.
     

Chapter 6
    Gabe didn’t believe he had ever thanked the Almighty for a snowstorm, at least not since he was a kid and had prayed for snow days, but this one could only have been a gift. Although there had been accidents, no one had been killed or even very critically injured. While he wished that Elizabeth hadn’t been injured as badly as she was, he wouldn’t have found her again otherwise, and he never would have known the deep feelings she still held for him—feelings that mirrored his own.
    He had only fallen in love twice. Once when he had been young and stupid and had fallen for