The Deadline (The Friessens: A New Beginning) by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

that’s the one,” she said.
    He shoved it in the deadbolt and opened the door , and Laura moved ahead of Candy into the dim house. She turned on the kitchen light and shivered. The house was cold, but there was no heat and hadn’t been since yesterday. Candy set a bag on the table, and Neil set down both baby carriers.
    “Candy ?” he said, gesturing to the babies.
    She nodded. “It’s okay, I’m here.”
    He leaned down and kissed her, and Laura had to look away. “I’ll grab the bags,” he said before stepping out the door.
    T he babies still slept in their car seats. Laura started toward them, about to unbuckle Chelsea so she could put her in her crib, when Candy pulled a breast pump from the bag. Laura was a little confused, and maybe that was what Candy saw when she said, “I’m sorry, but Neil bought three.” She pulled all of them from the bag. “He wasn’t sure which was the best one, and I’m not much help in that area.”
    Laura reached for the blue box . “I’m sure any one of these will be fine. Why is he buying…”
    “For you ,” Candy said before she could finish. “It’s just the way he is. I don’t know if your husband is the same, but Neil tends to take charge, take over and arrange, handle and deal…” she said, and for the first time Laura could remember, she burst out laughing. She was met with a bright smile from Candy. “Well, we can’t help with the twins unless you provide the milk, and you don’t even need to tell him which ones you don’t like.”
    “Thank you , Candy. Really,” Laura said. She didn’t know the woman well, but she was family, and there was something genuine about her that she couldn’t help but like.

Chapter 19
    Andy listened to the ringing once, twice as he paced in the empty visitors’ room on the pediatric floor.
    “Hello ?” A younger boy’s voice answered the phone, and Andy wondered if it was one of Laura’s brothers. There was something about the voice that was similar to hers.
    “Hello, could I speak to George Parnell ?” Andy said.
    “Dad !”
    He listened to the boy call out , and there was a clatter of dishes in the background. There were other voices, and a woman asked the boy who it was. He figured that had to be Laura’s mother.
    “Hello ?” a man said into the phone.
    “Is this George Parnell?” Andy asked.
    “Yeah, yeah, who’s calling?” the man asked. He said something to someone in the background that Andy couldn’t make out.
    “My name is Andy Friessen. Your daughter, Laura, is my wife,” he said. There was silence on the other end.
    “Give me a minute ,” the man said. There was rustling, and it became quieter as, Andy guessed, a door closed. “Laura is married? Why? She’s so young. Is she all right?”
    This didn’t sound like a man who hated his d aughter. There was concern there. “She’s fine. The reason I’m calling is Gabriel, our little boy. He’s very sick.”
    “Gabriel? You have a child?” The man was hesitant on the other end.
    “We have three, two newborn twins, but Gabriel is the little boy she had when she was pregnant at fifteen, when you asked her to leave.”
    “I didn’t know his name ,” the man said. “So she kept him.”
    Andy wasn’t sure what to make of his response. “Yes, she loves him. I love him. But he’s very sick right now. He has leukemia, and the only way to save his life is a bone marrow transplant. It needs to be a perfect tissue match, which can only come from family, but Laura’s not a match.”
    “I’m so sorry to hear that , but I don’t understand how I can help,” the man said.
    Andy felt the first alarm bell go off. If that had been him and Laura his daughter, nothing could have kept him from being here and making sure she was taken care of, that his grandson had everything he needed. Hell, if his daughter got pregnant, he’d never toss her out—though he would kill the boy who did it. Andy couldn’t understand anything about this