She listened to the rattle of a cart. There was another voice in the room, and then the door closed. Andy poked his head in again. “Dinner’s here. Come out and eat.”
Laura unstopped the tub and stepped out, drying herself off and slipping on one of the hotel robes before going into the room. It had one king-size bed and a playpen set up for the babies to sleep in.
Jeremy was making a lot of noise, and Andy was swaying with him. Chelsea was a perfect angel in his other arm. She had a big, bright smile on her face. She loved being with her daddy.
“I’ll take him,” Laura said, holding out her arms. Andy just shook his head, letting his gaze sweep over her with an appreciative glint.
“You look relaxed,” he said. “You eat. He’s just being fussy and demanding.”
Laura took in the four plates with silver domes overtop. “What did you order?” she asked. She lifted the closest one and sniffed the steak and baked potatoes with broccoli, and the scent had her mouth watering, it smelled so good. Her stomach answered with a loud rumble even Andy could hear.
“There’s salad, too,” he said. “Chicken, as well. Dig in. There’s lots.” He set Chelsea in the playpen, Jeremy with her, and Laura took a plate and sat at the small table. Andy set a salad and a bottle of water in front of her. He lifted the cover from another plate and joined her. “I talked to Neil while you were in the bath.”
Laura had just crammed a piece of steak in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. “I thought you’d call after dinner.”
He cracked open a beer and took a swallow, shaking his head. “Gabriel had a rough day, but he settled in with Neil and Candy. He apparently was able to play a game of Snakes and Ladders with Candy this afternoon.”
“Well, that’s good,” she said, setting her fork down and leaning back.
Andy gestured with his hand and then picked up his own fork and knife, cutting into his steak. “Eat, Laura. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything until after you ate.”
“I’m not a child, Andy.” She picked up her fork again and took another bite, maybe just to prove a point.
“No, you’re not a child. You’re my wife, and I should have told you how proud I was of you today; the way you took on your parents. You held your head up, Laura, and you didn’t let them knock you down.”
She paused and watched her husband. He’d never said that to her before. For some reason, she had always wondered if he thought she was helpless.
“I guess I didn’t know where I belonged as their daughter,” she said. “I felt for so long like a nobody, and then I was just surviving. Then you came along and turned my world and way of thinking upside down. I’ve had to figure out who I am. It helped, having you there, knowing you wouldn’t let them hurt me.”
“You know who you are, Laura. You’re my wife. You’re a Friessen, and we don’t allow anyone to walk all over us. No one will ever do that to you again.”
She had never considered what Andy was saying. She’d always thought of herself as an extension of Andy, cared for by Andy. Now, as she thought about it, she realized he was right in a lot of ways. She may have been his wife and taken his name, but she was strong and capable. She had to be, to be married to him.
“So what do we do now, Andy, for Gabriel? My brothers said they would help, but how do we get around my parents? I can’t believe they would actually block this.” She played it over in her mind again and again; how they’d just turned their backs so easily. Laura was having trouble believing she had actually grown up in that family. She wondered whether that feeling she’d had as a child, never fitting in, was because of all the superficial bullshit that came naturally to her parents. Being out of all that and away from them had helped her see clearly the face they put on for the community. A facade of togetherness, of family values. They saw themselves as pillars of the community, the upper middle class, well adjusted and normal, but that was a load of crap. They were greedy, dysfunctional, opportunists. She wondered how many other families were just as messed up. Maybe more than she realized. There was no such thing as picture perfect—it was all about who was better at hiding their secrets.
Andy tapped her plate with his knife. “Gabriel is going to be fine. Come on, Laura, eat.”
She tasted the broccoli, which was a little soft, overdone and tasteless. “What did you say to my parents when I left?”
She watched Andy cut a big piece of meat, and he sighed. She wondered whether she was wearing him down, because he didn’t cut her off the way he usually did. She could see his mind working, in an odd sort of way, as if considering what to say.
“Let me be clear about something: I don’t like them,” he said. “They hurt you. They’re a miserable excuse for…I told them to name their price.”
She wasn’t sure what to say, and she could tell by the way he watched her that he didn’t know how she’d react. Even Laura didn’t know how to react to that. She glanced over at her babies cooing in the playpen. Then there was a knock on the hotel room door.
“Did you order something else?” she asked
Andy frowned and wiped his mouth with the napkin as he slid back his chair. “No, I didn’t. Maybe they forgot something.” He went to the door, and Laura stared at her plate, considering how it made her feel that Andy was willing to pay her parents off to save Gabriel. She wondered whether they were the type of people who could be bought.
“Hello, Laura.”
Laura jumped and felt her face warm when her father stepped into their hotel room. She instinctively pulled at the front of her robe to make sure it was closed, that she was decent, and she looked right to Andy. She knocked her fork on the floor. She felt like an absolute klutz, as she bent down to pick it up, reminding herself that she wasn’t a little girl. She was good, and she was decent.This man had no power over her.
Andy was right there when she stood up. He slid his hands possessively over her shoulders and held her still. “Your dad wants to talk about Gabriel,” he said, and then he moved her beside him. With his arm around her, she could feel his strength, his power, protecting her. In that moment, she knew she could handle anything.
Chapter 26
Andy still couldn’t believe George Parnell had knocked on their door. He was here alone with what appeared to be his hat in his hand.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Laura asked. Andy could feel how she was fighting to hold every one of her emotions in check.
George gestured to Andy. “Your husband, here, made a very good point. I wasn’t proud, Laura, about what happened; but your mother can be a difficult woman. I’m sure you understand this.”
Andy couldn’t believe this man was actually going to stand there and blame Laura’s mother for his poor choices. For the fact that he hadn’t figured out where his balls were. Andy had no respect for this man. In fact, he saw him as less than a little boy. He wondered what kind of role model he was for his sons.
Laura looked to Andy, and he could see she wanted to say something, but she frowned. Maybe she was having the same trouble he was.
“George, I frankly don’t understand how any man could allow a woman to make all the decisions, good or bad, and not have the backbone to stand up for what’s right or wrong,” Andy said. “You’re supposed to be a pillar in the community, an elder in the church. Seriously, George, I wouldn’t want you as a role model for my kids, let alone a mentor or anyone they could go to for advice.”
The man appeared embarrassed—hell, “ashamed” was a better word for it. Laura set her hand on Andy’s chest. “Let’s hear him out,” she said.
“Thank you, Laura. Your husband is a little hot under the collar,” George said. Andy didn’t miss the way Laura stiffened beside him.
“Well, Dad, my husband would walk through hell for me and our children. He’d do anything to protect us and keep us safe. He’s an amazing man.” She was holding on to Andy so tightly and looking up at him. “I know he loves us. I never thought it was possible to be cherished this way. I
thank God every day for bringing him into my life.”
Andy couldn’t believe she’d said that. He was stunned by the passion and tears glistening in her eyes when she spoke about him. She was still watching him, although a little shyly now.
“Well, that’s good. I’m glad you’re being looked after,” her father said. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I took to heart what you said, Andy, and I do have a conscience—whether you believe it or not. I’m not going to take money to help Gabriel. I’ll get tested.”
Andy hadn’t expected this. George was all over the map. Although Andy knew there was a conscience somewhere in this man, he had thought it was buried so deeply that, in the end, the money would have won him over. “That’s great,” Andy said. “I’ll call Doctor Siegel. He’ll make arrangements here at the hospital for all of you to be tested.”
Andy was so happy that he had already reached for his phone, about to make the call, when he noticed the way George winced and wiped his hand over his forehead.
“Andy, here’s the thing. Only I’ll be getting tested—not my wife or the boys,” he said.
It was then that Andy noticed how George seemed to pull into himself, looking around the room in a self-conscious, worried kind of way. He hated that spineless behavior in men, yet here he was, face to face with a man who was all that. He just shook his head.
“Why, Dad?” Laura said. “Brian and Chad want to help. They’ll hate you.”
“Can’t be helped. Your mother put her foot down. She won’t allow them to be tested.” He was shaking his head as if he had accepted that Sue’s words were set in stone.
“Well, I think Chad and Brian might have other ideas, Dad—Mom doesn’t need to know.”
Andy was astonished that Laura had said exactly what he was thinking, but her dad was shaking his head.
“That’s not how a marriage works, Laura. I thought you would have learned that much. That would be completely dishonest. Now, do you want my help or not?”
Andy squeezed Laura’s shoulder before she said something else. He could feel her tenseness. “Of course. I’ll make the call,” Andy said, immediately dialing Bruce Siegel and passing along George’s cell phone number. When he hung up, he thanked George, and by the time he had him out of the room and the door closed, Laura was fit to be tied.
“Andy, how could you thank him like that? He’s just going along with my mother when we need everyone,” she cried.
Andy made it across the room and pulled her into his arms. “Just stop and think about it, Laura. It only takes one. If your dad’s a match—then we’re good.” He held her away from him, but she wouldn’t look at him. She was still stuck, but he could see the moment she realized he was right.
“Fine, but what if he’s not?” she asked. He wondered if she knew how far he’d really go.
“If he’s not, then I’ll get your brothers tested, both of them—with or without your parents’ permission.”
Laura studied him and tapped his shoulder. “Good. Now let’s finish dinner and get some sleep, because I’d really like to leave early in the morning,” she said.
Whatever this strong, assertive, together side of Laura was, Andy decided he liked it... Yes, he liked it a lot.
Chapter 27
They were halfway back to Columbia Falls when Andy’s cell phone started ringing. “Yeah?” he said, watching Laura as she relaxed against the seat. She turned her head and raised an eyebrow, wondering who it was.
“Where are you?” Neil asked in a low voice that put Andy on edge.
“About three hours away, give or take. What’s going on?”
Laura sat up a little straighter. “Is it Gabriel?”
Of course she was worried, and Andy was doing his best to hide his own freak-out from her.
“We’ve got a problem here,” Neil said. Andy could hear talking in the background and then silence. “Tyler has been back twice to see Gabriel since you left. I got him out of the room the first time, but I was down getting coffee for Candy when he came back. Candy was cornered. She asked him to come back later, but he started talking to Gabriel. When I got back there, he was telling Gabriel some story about Laura when she was a teenager, before she had him.”
“What?” Andy barked out.
Laura was instantly alert. She reached out and touched his arm. “Andy, who is it?” She was leaning forward, and he waved her off.
“It’s Neil. Tyler has been there twice,” he said. “Neil, is he still there?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling,” Neil replied. “He came back with his mother.”
Andy didn’t have a clue what to do. He tapped the phone to his head and then set it to his ear. “Do whatever you can to keep them both away from Gabriel. Damn that kid. This is what I was afraid of. Did he say anything to Gabriel about who he is?”
“No, not yet, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time.”
“Where are they now?” Andy asked. He couldn’t get there fast enough.
“Candy’s talking to them in the hall just outside Gabriel’s room. I already paged the doctor. Look, what do you want me to do? This is your call, but I wouldn’t hesitate to get a lawyer on this now. You said you hadn’t filed for legal guardianship. Well, you better get it rolling, especially with Gabriel this sick. I can get it started, find a really good lawyer to fast-track this.”
“Look, I can’t get there any faster, so do you think you could do me a favor and keep them occupied? Tell the doctor I don’t want them anywhere around Gabriel; and yeah, find me a lawyer—someone good.” He glanced over at Laura and didn’t miss the way her eyes widened.
“On it. I’ll call you.” Neil hung up, and Andy was torn between driving all over the country, trying to save his son’s life, or standing guard outside his door. He was just glad Neil was there, because he’d do everything Andy would. That much he could count on.
“Andy, what’s going on?” Laura asked sharply.
“You know how we’ve never talked about all the legalities of making Gabriel mine?”
She swallowed and took in what he was saying, and he wondered for a moment whether she truly understood what was at stake. “I just assumed, you know, when you married me…”
“Laura, Gabriel isn’t legally mine. I have to adopt him. In the eyes of the court, I don’t have legal guardianship until I do. Tyler is named as Gabriel’s father on his birth certificate, isn’t he?”
She set her hand over her mouth. It took a moment, but then her eyes widened as she understood the problem. “Yes, because he fathered Gabriel. Should I not have done that?”
Right about now, he wished she could have been one of those women who left the name blank. Deep down he didn’t really mean that; even though it would have made things easier. “No, I’m just pissed off,” he said. “That kid is taking advantage of the situation. He’s shown up twice to see Gabriel since we left, and now he’s back with his mother.”
Laura’s expression grew uneasy. She turned her head away to look out the window and then back to Andy, frowning. “Why would he do that? He wasn’t interested in having anything to do with Gabriel. For God’s sake, when I showed up at his door, he shut it in my face.” She sighed. “Andy, could he interfere in Gabriel’s life? If he really brought his mother, then she must know.”
“I’ll deal with them. Laura, we haven’t had a chance, with everything that’s happened, to sit down and talk about Gabriel becoming my son legally. Right now, we could have problems if Tyler decides he wants to have a voice in Gabriel’s life.”
“I’m sorry, Andy. I can’t help thinking this is my fault. I just assumed, you know, that he’s your son. We’re married, and I never stopped to think about legal custody or anything. Andy, you’re the only father he’s ever had. No one could love him like you do. Yes, let’s make this formal, whatever you have to do.”
They only had to stop once to hurriedly feed the babies By the time they reached the hospital and pulled into the parking lot, the
twins were both crying. Andy doubted they’d go back into a car seat anytime soon.
****
Laura had to hurry to keep up with Andy. Although it did feel good to finally stretch her legs, she didn’t like the fact that she almost had to jog to keep up. Andy had taken his son and the diaper bag, while Laura carried Chelsea, who was giving her a face, letting her know how displeased she was.
Andy pressed the elevator button a couple times and then reached for his phone, to send a text. Laura looked up and didn’t miss the annoyed expression on his face.
“Who are you texting?” she asked, wondering if she sounded as out of breath as she felt.
“Neil, to let him know we’re here.”
The elevator door dinged.
“Andy, Laura,” Neil said. They both turned to see him fast approaching. Tyler was with him, along with a middle-aged woman. She was short, compact, with reddish shoulder-length hair, a round face and big blue eyes. It took Laura a minute to recognize her, and Tyler and his mother exchanged a look that had her stomach sinking to her knees.
Neil looked none too happy. “Hey, guys. Glad you’re back,” he said. He was looking straight at Andy.
“Hello, Laura,” Tyler added. “You remember my mom?”
“Yes, I do.” She turned to Andy, willing him to do something, anything. “Andy, this is Tyler’s mom, Nancy Cassidy.”
It would have been impossible for Andy to miss how frazzled Laura was. He took in both Tyler and his mother. “I’m Andy Friessen, Laura’s husband,” he said.
“I’d say nice to meet you, but these are unusual circumstances,” Nancy replied.
Laura didn’t miss the uneasy way Nancy glanced toward her. There was something in her expression that set off alarm bells in Laura’s head.
“To learn I have a grandson under these conditions, well…as you can understand, I was naturally upset,” she said. “We always wondered what happened to you, Laura. I just don’t understand how you could have kept this from me.”
Danger Deception Devotion The Firsts Page 45
