Sixteen and Dying (15 page)

Morgan stared at the envelope and read what Anne had written:
“The true miracle is in giving, not receiving.”
He recognized the words from her One Last Wish letter. Of course, Anne’s father had no way of knowing what test Anne was talking about, but for Morgan, knowing that she’d given him the means to explore his future left him dumbstruck.

“Thank you” was the best he could trust his voice to say as he tucked the envelope into his coat pocket.

He held out his hand, and Anne’s father shook it. “Keep in touch, please,” Dr. Wingate said. “You know where to find me.”

Morgan agreed, then heaved his bags and started down the hall. As he passed Anne’s room, he stopped and stood in the doorway. His gaze swept through it. The bed was neatly made; the sickroom paraphernalia, removed. A shaft of winter sunlight poured through the window. The room looked soft and shimmery, ready and waiting for someone who would never return.

He closed his eyes and recalled Anne’s face, her smile. He realized that she had been like one of the shooting stars he’d seen so often in the Colorado night sky. Anne had streaked across his life and lit up its darkness.

He caught the scent of a garden drifting from her room, but wasn’t surprised.
“Daddy says one can always distinguish a great lady The air around her smells like flowers
.” Morgan heard Anne’s voice as clearly as he had on the golden summer afternoon only months before. He nodded in understanding, even though he saw no flowers in her room. Her presence would always linger in his life, no matter what his future held.

“I won’t forget you, Anne,” he vowed. Morgan turned and walked quickly toward the front door.

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

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MEGAN,

BE SURE TO READ

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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

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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?

Katie is also featured in the novels
Please Don’t Die, She Died Too Young
, and
A Season for Goodbye
.

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S
arah McGreggor is distraught when she learns she will need a bone marrow transplant to live. And she is shocked to find out that her parents and siblings can’t be donors because they aren’t her blood relatives. Sarah never knew she was adopted.

As Sarah faces this devastating news, she is granted one last wish by an anonymous benefactor. With hope in her heart, she begins a search for her birth mother, who gave her up fifteen years ago. Sarah’s life depends on her finding this woman. But what will Sarah discover about the true meaning of family?

Didn’t the letter from JWC say she could spend it on anything she wanted? What could be more important than finding her birth mother? What could be more important than discovering if she had siblings with compatible bone marrow? Her very life could depend on finding these people. Sarah practically jumped up from the sofa. “I’ve got to go,” she said
.

I
F YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ERIC,

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