The Deadline (The Friessens: A New Beginning)

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Well, I’m not proud of what I did. I was scared. I was just a kid, too. I didn’t want my parents to find out, but I’m here now, and if I could go back to that day…well, I don’t know, but I think I would handle things differently. There isn’t a day that’s gone past that I haven’t wondered what happened to my child, whether it was a boy or a girl. She named him Gabriel. I used to joke to Laura all the time about how if I had a kid, I’d name him after the Archangel Gabriel. He was my favorite. I can’t believe she remembered.”

  Andy wanted to wipe the smug, wistful look off his face. He wasn’t sure what to say in that moment, but he’d sure like to pull Laura aside and have a few words with her.

  “Why don’t I get you set up, and we’ll get you tested to see if you’re a match?” the doctor said, interrupting the direction the conversation was going, which was nowhere Andy wanted to go.

  Tyler shrugged and shuffled his feet. He started to follow the doctor but then stopped in front of Andy. “Thank you for calling me and letting me know about my son,” he said. He held out his hand to shake Andy’s, and for a moment Andy considered violence. He had his arms crossed so tightly that it was Neil who finally stepped around and took Tyler’s hand, patting his shoulder and turning him to follow the doctor.

  “Thank you again. Doctor Siegel, how long does a test like this usually take?” Neil asked.

  “I’ll put a rush on it. Give it a few hours,” he replied.

  Andy just stood there and watched as Tyler walked away with the doctor, and Neil returned to his side.

  “Andy, are you thinking there might be a problem here?” Neil asked, something that had been going through his mind since Tyler walked into Gabriel’s hospital room.

  “Yeah. I asked him to go to his local hospital to get tested. I’d already had Doctor Siegel call down there and make arrangements. He wasn’t supposed to show up here.”

  “How did he know where Gabriel was?” Neil asked.

  “I’m obviously slipping—I told him which hospital. Is it my imagination, or is his interest in Gabriel beyond being helpful?”

  Neil was watching the hallway where Tyler had disappeared. “Do you want me to take care of this, make sure we have no problems here?”

  “Let’s wait for the test to come back, see if he’s a match, but I don’t want him around Gabriel or Laura. I want to make sure whatever’s going through Tyler’s mind, suddenly becoming a good ol’ pop to my kid…we need to shatter that illusion right now, whatever it takes.”

  “Mister Friessen,” the nurse interrupted him, “we’re about to get ready to take Gabriel down for his next treatment.”

  Andy rubbed his head, trying to hold everything together for his son, for Laura, for everyone. “Yeah. I’ll be right there. Just give me a minute.” He let out a breath as he looked to his cousin.

  “When was the last time you got some sleep?” Neil asked. “And I’m not talking about napping in a chair, off and on. I’m talking real sleep.”

  He just shook his head. “Can’t be helped, Neil. As soon as we have some answers, as soon as we know more about a match, then I’ll get some sleep, but I can’t leave him right now. I can’t. If this was your kid, would you?”

  He regretted it as soon as he saw the darkened expression on Neil’s face.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just tired, you know.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Neil said. “I do know, because I wouldn’t leave, either, not for anything.”

  Chapter 22

  Laura was still reeling from seeing Tyler. She hadn’t had a moment alone with Andy to talk to him. How could he call Tyler and have him show up here just like that because he thought it was best? He should have told her. That was what husbands and wives did. They talked to each other. His domineering attitude was getting really old.

  Laura was standing beside Andy in the hallway, just the two of them with Doctor Siegel. Neil had gone home to get Candy and to bring the babies in, as Laura had been pumping milk when she could, storing it in bottles in the patient and family lounge.

  “So, as I said, Tyler is a better match than you, Laura, but not the perfect match we hoped for,” Siegel said.

  “Well, that was a waste of time,” Andy said angrily, nearly biting off the doctor’s head. Laura could see, as he stepped away, running his hands through his hair, that he was reaching the end of his rope. She didn’t like having Tyler anywhere near Gabriel, and she’d been freaking out inside ever since she saw that soft expression he levelled at Gabriel, the one people got when they cared for someone.

  “Laura, you still have family,” the doctor said. “Whatever the situation is, you need to talk to them and get them tested. I can’t stress the urgency enough.” The doctor gave them a meaningful look and then walked away, stopping at the nurses’ station to speak with a nurse and reach for a chart.

  “Andy.” Laura went to touch him, but he pulled away and gave her a look as if she had done something. He could be such a hard-ass sometimes, and to get on the wrong side of him was not something she ever wanted again. It hurt, and that simple motion felt like a rejection. “Did I do something?” she asked. She set her hand on her chest and didn’t try to touch him again.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you named Gabriel for Tyler, because of a name he wanted? How could you, after what that prick did to you?”

  She watched as he walked in front of her and waited for her to say something. It took a moment and then another for her to recall why she’d given him that name. “Yes, it’s true Tyler always talked about Gabriel, the great archangel, deliverer of messages,” she said. “I’ve also heard that if the solution to a problem comes to mind, Archangel Gabriel is there. I may have named him Gabriel, but it wasn’t because of Tyler—it was because Gabriel means ‘no fear.’ It fit. You should have told me you called Tyler!” she snapped back at him, and she stepped toward him, jabbing a finger at his chest. “I’m so tired of your heavy-handed approach. How do you think I felt, standing there in my son’s room, when Tyler walked in. The way he looked at him…do you have any idea what you’re stirring up? Why would you bring him here?”

  Andy wasn’t looking at her like a man wronged anymore. He appeared so tired, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I didn’t intend for him to come here. I swear, Laura. I called him last night at his dorm. He’s in Missoula, going to school. I told him to go to the medical center there, and Doctor Siegel even called ahead so they’d be expecting him. I was just as surprised as you when he walked in.” He didn’t try to touch her but set his hands on his hips. “I’m doing the best I can, and I’m sorry, but I don’t want that guy anywhere around you or Gabriel. I don’t want you talking to him.”

  “Well, Andy, if you’re not going to consult me…” She was so mad she had to stop herself before making a threat she didn’t mean.

  “What, we’re done?” he said. “Is that what you were going to say?”

  “Hey, you two, stop it,” Neil said as he approached, carrying both babies. Candy was behind him. “You two have a very sick kid in that bed. You’re both exhausted, and you’re both making decisions no parent should have to make. Seriously, you want to start shouting stupid threats at each other? You two need to sit down together and talk.”

  “Neil…” Candy gestured to the door. “Laura, Gabriel is sick.”

  Andy was ahead of Laura as he reached Gabriel’s bedside, lifting him and setting a basin under him so he could throw up in the bowl. He had vomit on his blanket, and he was so pale. Candy went and got one of the nurses, and Laura raced into the bathroom and wet a washcloth, hurrying around the other side and wiping his face when he finished.

  “Oh no,” the nurse said as she peered into the room. “I’ll get him some clean bedding, another gown. I’ll get him something for the nausea, too.” She hurried away.

  Laura’s hand was shaking as she touched Gabriel’s forehead, sweeping back his hair. Andy and Laura started to tak
e off his soiled gown but had to stop because of the IV bag. The nurse returned a few seconds later, set a blanket and gown on the chair, and then fed the IV bag through the armhole.

  A few moments later, when Gabriel was all cleaned up, Andy wrapped him in a clean blanket and lifted him while the nurse put clean bedding on the bed. Gabriel fussed under the bright lights, so Candy turned them off, dimming the room. When Jeremy fussed and grunted as if he was quite put out, being forgotten and left strapped into his carrier, Laura hissed in frustration and unbuckled him. For the first time since she could remember, she was torn between Gabriel and her babies. When she looked over at Andy, his expression was one she hadn’t seen before: It was love, and hurt, and something so fragile it touched a place inside her heart she didn’t think anyone could ever touch. It was an understanding that could either finish them or bring them closer together.

  Chapter 23

  “I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Andy said. He was behind the wheel, driving down the highway toward Arlington.

  After a long talk in the hospital as Gabriel slept, Neil and Candy sitting alongside them, Andy and Laura had agreed the best course of action was to go see Laura’s parents. What surprised Andy more than anything was that Neil had backed Laura up, saying that taking Laura and the twins was the best solution. Candy, while holding his daughter, had added that Laura needed to be included, that she needed to look her parents in the eyes, to stand up to them. There were a whole lot of things that needed to be settled with Andy beside her. Candy and Neil said they would stay with Gabriel, and so, after a few hours of sleep at home, Andy and Laura had hit the highway at dawn.

  “Andy, do you think I want to walk up to their door, knocking on it like a stranger and asking them for something? Do you have any idea how terrified I am to have my parents say what a horrible person I am, how I let them down, disappointed them, ruined their reputation? Do you think I want to have to listen again to how I was responsible for damaging my father’s standing in the church? Maybe they’ll decide to just shut the door in my face.” When she looked over at him, her face was flushed, and she looked absolutely terrified, as if she’d hit rock bottom. He’d seen that look once before on her face.

  “I’m not going to allow anyone to talk to you that way. I just won’t, Laura. They’ll treat you with respect.” He didn’t finish his thought: If they didn’t, he’d become their worst enemy. “Laura, let me do the talking, okay?”

  She firmed her lips, fighting to hold herself together. She blew out a breath. “How do you think Gabriel is doing?”

  “He’s holding on, Laura. He’s a fighter. He’s strong. He’s going to get through this. Let’s just finish this with your parents. Let’s find a match for our boy.”

  The drive from Columbia Falls to Arlington should have taken nine hours, but Andy made it in just under eight, even with a few brief stops to feed the babies. By the time they reached the outskirts of the community, the babies had other ideas, mainly that they weren’t about to spend one more minute strapped into their baby seats. With them both screaming, Andy pulled over at a local hotel. In the parking lot, he helped Laura change diapers and held one baby while she nursed the other.

  “We should grab something to eat,” Andy said, taking in Laura’s slender figure. She’d been picking at her food like a bird for days, and she had to eat to keep her milk up.

  “We should, but I’d really like to get this over with. I’m not going to be able to relax or eat anything until we talk to them.”

  Laura was right—he was just as keyed up as she was, and it was getting late. The last thing Andy wanted to do was park in a hotel for the night and waste another day. If their tactics worked, they’d be gone in the morning. It was dinnertime now, and the darkness had just begun to set in. He could just feel it. It was a good time for them to show up on the doorstep.

  Laura guided him through each turn to her parents’ house. The closer they got, he could see the way she held herself together more tightly. He reached across and took her hand when he turned down her street, the babies starting to fuss more and more.

  “That’s it, the white house,” she said. “Oh my God, they still have the yellow Volkswagen.” She set her hand over her chest, her eyes glued to the two-story home, white with blue trim. Everything appeared neat and tidy in this upscale suburban community. A yellow Volkswagen beetle from the ’70s was parked in the driveway, a midsize dark green minivan parked behind it. Lights were on inside the house, and it had just started to rain. Andy parked in front and had just turned off the engine when a teenager looked out the window, obviously interested in who was parking in front of his house.

  “Oh my God, Andy, I think that’s Chad. He was only eight when I left,” Laura said. She was staring out that window as if her life depended on it, and he couldn’t help wondering what was racing through her mind. She appeared to be holding on to everything and was so tightly wound that he didn’t think she’d relax even if he tried to hold her.

  “Hey, do you want to wait here?” he asked. He touched her shoulder, and he could tell she wanted to dive over the armrest and into his arms.

  She looked to him, the terror widening her eyes, but she shook her head. “No. I’ll beg them if I have to. I swear to God, I will, but they won’t chase me away even though I’m terrified. I can do this with you. I can do this for Gabriel.”

  Andy looked past her as a man joined the boy at the window, watching them. “Well, it’s now or never,” he said, and he opened his door and stepped out into the cold drizzle, walking around the truck to get his wife.

  ****

  Andy carried Chelsea while Laura carried a bundled Jeremy in her arms up the narrow path to the front door. Laura looked good, although a little tired. She wore a fur-lined leather bomber jacket, new jeans, and his ring, with a rock and setting that screamed money. He wanted her parents to see she didn’t need them, and he wanted to cram in their faces how well their daughter had done. She wasn’t a nobody. They’d only reached the front step when the door flew open, held by a balding older man. Andy could see the resemblance to Laura in his eyes, but it was the boy behind him who shouted, “Laura!” and pushed past the man, throwing his arms around Laura and the baby.

  Jeremy fussed from being crowded, and Laura looked to Andy. The boy was almost as tall as her, his arms around her neck. He had the same blond hair.

  “Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much. Brian, Laura’s here!” he yelled out behind him.

  Andy didn’t miss her father’s expression. He had been shocked at first, but now Andy was positive he saw some care there. Her father took in the sight of the babies, and before he could say anything, a compact woman about Laura’s height, with neat, dark hair cut in a very short style, appeared behind him. Her face was the same shape as Laura’s, and the expression on her face was one of shock before something hardened, as if she’d suddenly remembered she was supposed to be angry at her daughter.

  “Chad, come in here right now,” she said in a sharp tone.

  A tall, gangly boy who was a head taller than his dad appeared. His eyes widened, and he started around his parents. “Laura, where have you been?”

  “No, Brian.” Laura’s mother went to stop him, but he gave her one of those defiant teenage looks and shrugged off her hand.

  “Mister and Missus Parnell, we’d like to speak with you. We’ve driven a long way,” Andy said.

  “Hi.” Chad lifted his hand, shuffling from one foot to the other, grinning up at Andy. “Laura, are you married?” he said, sounding so happy to see his sister.

  “I am, Chad. This is my husband, Andy. Andy, that good-looking tall guy is my brother Brian. I can’t believe how tall you are! And these are my mom and dad.” She took a breath and said, “Mom, Dad, I’d really appreciate it if you would give us a moment.”

  Damn, Andy was proud of the way she stood tall before her parents and spoke in such a strong, clear voice. Snuggling Chelsea in his one arm, he set his
other around Laura, holding her against him. When she looked up at him, he could have sworn the timid fear he’d seen earlier had started to vanish.

  “Of course, come in,” George said, gesturing to the hallway behind him and stepping back from the door, allowing them inside.

  Andy didn’t miss the sharp look he gave his wife or the way Sue kept glancing at the babies, both awake. Jeremy was cooing. Chad didn’t seem ready to leave Laura’s side, as he hooked his hand around her arm. Her father shut the door and shoved both his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

  Andy had to tell himself he’d handled tougher situations than this in business, so this should have been easy, but he tended to lose all rational thought around anyone who could hurt someone he loved. Somehow, as he rubbed Laura’s arm, he extended his hand to her father to shake it. “We haven’t formally met,” he said. “Andy Friessen.”

  He wondered if the man was going to snub him, as he stood still for a few seconds before finally pulling his hand from his pocket and taking Andy’s. “George Parnell.” He glanced at Laura. “You have another baby. Two, I see.”

  “We have twins, a boy and a girl, six weeks old,” Andy said. “This is Chelsea, and Laura is holding Jeremy,” he added, taking in Sue’s interest and hesitation. Boy, Laura’s parents weren’t about to make this easy.

  “You look good, sis,” Brian said. He smiled up at Andy when he stepped in front of his mom, both boys taking in Jeremy, who had quite the frown as he looked up at the boys gawking at him. It was hilarious, and Andy would have laughed if this had been any other time.

  “Dad, look at him! That’s your nose, isn’t it?” Brian pointed out. He winked at Laura when her father leaned in and took a closer look at his grandson. Yeah, right. Not even close, Andy thought. That was the Friessen nose.