She looked at 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. 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 that 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 this is 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 of 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 it wasn’t; 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.
“Oh, yeah, he does. Kind of looks like you two when you were babies,” George said lightly.
“So how have you been?” Sue said without giving Andy a second look.
“I’m good, Mom.” Laura didn’t add anything else, probably because the tension was absolutely crushing with all this civility. It was as if she and Andy were strangers who had just shown up on the doorstep and were trying to sell them something.
“Look, we’ve driven all day to talk to you,” Andy said. “When I spoke with you on the phone, George, I told you how sick Gabriel was, and…”
“Who’s Gabriel?” Brian blurted out, looking between his mom and dad. “You knew where Laura was, but you said you had no idea why she’d left. Did you lie?” Brian yelled.
George just let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go sit in the living room,” he said. He gestured to Andy and then went toward his son, most likely to calm him down, but it wasn’t working. Brian stood face to face with his father. “I didn’t know where Laura was,” George said. “Let’s just go in and sit down.”
Laura gave Andy a worried look, but he set his hand on her lower back and followed her into an average square room with a blue cloth sofa and loveseat. There was a dark brown easy chair in the corner, which looked like something from the ’80s. It had definitely seen better days. There were lamps on the side tables and photos on the walls. Andy did notice a family portrait from when Laura was a kid, standing beside Chad, who couldn’t have been more than Gabriel’s age.
George went right to the worn easy chair, obviously his domain. Laura moved to the sofa with Andy beside her. Her younger brother sat on the other side, still holding on to her as if he was afraid she would leave at any moment.
“Do you want to hold him?” Laura said as Chad touched Jeremy’s foot, which he had kicked out from under the blanket.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Sue said from where she sat across from them. She was sitting so straight, her legs together, tucked properly to the side.
Andy was surprised as he watched the exchange between Laura and her brother. Neither appeared to pay their mother any mind, and she slid Jeremy into his arms.
“Just hold his head,” she said. “You want to support his neck.”
Chad beamed ear to ear. Andy took in her brother Brian, who was just inside the living room, refusing to sit on the loveseat beside their mother.
“Why did you run away, Laura?” Brian asked. He wore the same hurt expression that Laura often took on.
“I never ran away, Brian. Why would you think that?” she said. Andy watched the exchange between George and Sue. What had they done?
“You never called or anything, Laura,” Chad said, and Laura looked between her brothers, just figuring out what Andy already had.
“Mom and Dad, did you tell Brian and Chad that I ran away?” she asked. Andy didn’t miss how hurt she sounded.
“You know, sitting back and doing nothing, allowing someone to hurt my wife, doesn’t work for me,” he snapped. “I won’t allow it. I expect you to treat my wife with respect. We may be in your house, and there’s a lot of hurt between you; but if I had any other choice than to come here and ask you for something, Sue and George, well, Hell would freeze over. My boy Gabriel is sick, and without a bone marrow transplan
t, he’ll die. I will not allow my son to die!”
“Who’s Gabriel, Laura?” Brian asked, appearing confused.
“Gabriel is my son,” she said, “and the reason I left. Mom and Dad asked me to leave when I got pregnant at fifteen. I kept Gabriel. I wouldn’t give him up, and I did call after I had him. Do you remember that, Mom—what you said when I was in the hospital? You told me that if I wanted to come home, I had to give him up.” She was so calm, and Andy was proud of her for holding it together.
“You threw Laura out? You lied!” Brian yelled at his mother. “How could you?”
“Brian, listen, it wasn’t that easy, and what your sister did was…”
“Careful,” Andy barked out, interrupting her before she could finish. “That’s my wife you’re talking about.”
Sue firmed her lips and just shook her head.
“Andy, we need to finish this,” Laura said, leaning toward Chad, who still held Jeremy.
“So Gabriel is your son, and you’re the father?” George said. He wore an odd look, and Andy, although tired, was sharp enough to pick up on his meaning.
“I met Laura just over a year ago. Gabriel is not my biological son, but he is my son in every other way that matters,” he said. George appeared to relax.
“Laura, who’s your son’s father?” Brian asked.
“It doesn’t matter, Brian,” she said, shaking her head.
“It does matter to me. Do I know him? Did he help you at all. Where is he in all this?”
Laura looked to Andy. He knew she didn’t want to say anything, but if Andy had a sister, he’d have wanted to know who messed with her.
“His name is Tyler, and he turned his back on Laura,” he said. “I just talked to him, got him tested. He’s not in Laura or Gabriel’s life, and he’s not a match.”
“Tyler Cassidy, from our church?” Brian fisted his hands. “Did you know?” he said to his father.
George and Sue exchanged an odd look, one of shared secrets. “Yes, we did,” Sue said.
“I swear to God, I’m going to kill him. You’ve had him over for dinner with his family how many times?” Brian said. His anger had ramped up the energy in the room, and the babies were starting to fuss.
“Brian, let it go, please,” Laura pleaded. “I never told you, so how did you know it was him?”
George glanced at his wife. “I’m an elder with the church. He was torn up over what he’d done. He came to me for forgiveness, for help, said he’d been led astray.”
Andy didn’t know what to say. He wondered what was wrong with these people. Brian still stood in the corner, his hands fisted. Andy was trying to get his head around the fact that these two parents had tossed their own daughter out into the cold; but had welcomed, into their home, the boy responsible for getting her pregnant. He wasn’t even sure what scale of hypocrisy that put them on.
“Brian, maybe when you’re a little older, you’ll understand,” Sue said. “Your father is an elder in the church. Tyler and his family are his flock. What your sister did, well, it embarrassed your father. We were just grateful it wasn’t spoken of. This could have hurt all of us―”
“Stop this!” Laura shouted. “We’re not here to talk about how I embarrassed you with your church. You made your choice. Fine. I have a life. I kept my son, and I’ll do anything to make sure he stays alive. Please, he needs a bone marrow transplant from someone from this family. It has to be a perfect tissue match. I’m not a match. If I was, I wouldn’t be here. Neither would my husband; but I’m begging you to get tested. If you’re a match, then please, please be a donor to my son—our son!” She looked to Andy, and he could see she was shaking. “Could you honestly, in good conscience, live with yourself if Gabriel died and you could have saved his life?”
“Well, maybe this is God’s way of punishing you. Have you ever thought of that?” Sue said.
For the first time ever, Andy wanted to slap this woman for hurting his wife. He couldn’t believe Sue was a mother. That she had given birth to Laura. She had ice in her veins. He wondered what the difference was between her and Caroline Friessen, his own mother, the ice queen who came from old money. His mother only cared about her position within the oldest Eastern blueblood families. This woman only cared about her position within their church.
He glanced at Laura, who had a tear running down her cheek as Chad handed the fussing baby back to her. Chad appeared embarrassed.
“Okay, that’s enough, Sue,” George said, gesturing quite sharply with his hand.
“I’ll do it,” Brian said, stepping into the middle of the room.
“Me, too,” said Chad defiantly.
“Not without my permission, you won’t. You’re minors,” Sue stated. Was she seriously going to push this?
“Laura, take Jeremy and wait for me in the truck,” Andy said. Just one look told him she was frantic. “Trust me,” he whispered, and he leaned in and kissed her.
It took her a moment and another breath until she stood up. Andy stood with her and could see she was shaking.
“Goodbye,” Laura spit out, and she started for the door before stopping beside Brian, setting her hand on his arm. “Take care, Brian,” she said. Then she glanced over at Chad, sitting in the same spot on the sofa, looking like a boy who’d had his favorite toy stomped on.
Andy just watched his wife, who scanned the room as if taking her last look. She left through the front door.
Chapter 24
Laura was halfway to the truck when the front door flew open.
“Laura!” Brian stepped out and hurried after her in his sneakers, laces dangling. He was seventeen now, she remembered, and he was tall and thin.
Laura pulled the blanket up over Jeremy’s face as the rain splattered down a little harder. She had no hat, so her hair was getting wet, and her brother was soaked.
“Hey, Brian, it was so good to see you. I really missed you,” she said.
The front door opened again, and Chad raced out. “Laura, don’t leave again!” he said.
“We’re getting soaked out here, you guys. Come sit in the truck,” Laura said. She climbed in the front with Jeremy, and Brian opened the driver’s door. Chad climbed in the back, slipping past the baby seat and sitting in the middle.
“Laura, why didn’t you tell me what happened, that you were going to have a baby? I remember you were so upset, and then Mom said you left. She wouldn’t let us talk about you. It was as if you’d done something horrible,” Brian said.
“You had a baby, Laura?” Chad asked from the back seat.
She looked from one brother to the other and realized the hole in her heart that would never heal was from the pain of leaving her brothers; having no contact with them—a bad influence. Her mother’s words rang through her mind again, making her feel worthless. It had taken her forever to hold her head up again.
“I had a baby. It happened. I didn’t give him up. His name is Gabriel, and he’s five. He’s amazing and sweet,” she said. Her heart ached, talking about him, worrying about how he was doing.
“You’re married, Laura?” Brian asked. “You’re barely twenty-one, and your husband is so much older than you. Is he good to you?” He couldn’t hide his concern.
She smiled and nodded. “Andy’s a good man, and he loves Gabriel as his own. I love him, and he looks after us.” She smiled at her brothers. “So, tell me about you two. I can’t believe how big you are! Brian, are you shaving?” She reached across and slid her hand over his chin.
“Brian has a girlfriend,” Chad teased.
“A girlfriend, do I know her?” Laura was in awe of what she’d missed.
“She’s a new girl, moved here with her family last year. She’s nice. Her name is Donna. Mom doesn’t like her, and she made Dad have a talk with me, saying I was getting too serious. You know how she is. Dad just does what she says.” Brian reached over and rubbed his finger over Jeremy’s hand, and he glowed when Jeremy wrapped his tiny hand around his finger.
“That’s so cool, what a grip he has.”
The back door opened, and Andy leaned in. “Sorry to break this up, but we have to go. Boys, your mom wants you in the house.”
“Laura, how do I get a hold of you?” Brian asked. “Where are you living?”
“Yeah, Laura, I want to come with you,” Chad added. “Don’t leave us again, please. I want to help your son.”
“Either of you have a cell phone?” Andy asked.
“I do.” Brian pulled a small, slim phone from his back pocket.
“Give me your number. I’ll text you with our address and phone number. You call Laura anytime; and if you two need anything, you call me,” Andy said, keying in the phone number.
“Brian, Chad,” George called from the front steps. “You come in now, you hear?”
Chad leaned forward and kissed Laura on the cheek before hopping out.
Brian touched her arm. “Don’t worry, Laura. I’ll help your son. After all, I’m his uncle,” he said. Then he slid out, and she watched as both of her brothers went into the house. Her father lingered at the doorway for a second, just watching them, before he shut the door.
Chapter 25
The steam filled the bathroom, coating the mirror, as Laura lounged in the large bathtub of their hotel room for the night. The hot water soothed the ache from the tension she’d been holding on to for what felt like a lifetime. She could hear the twins jabbering away on the bed, where Andy had laid them down after bathing them. They were dressed only in diapers in the warm room.
There was a knock on the door, and Andy said in his deep voice, “Coming!” She wondered what he was doing when he poked his head in the bathroom, holding a baby in both arms. “That’s dinner at the door,” he said. “Don’t fall asleep in there.”
She didn’t want to get out of the warm tub, but she was anxious to call Neil and Candy again so they could get another update on Gabriel. It was so hard to be this far away, and she was exhausted—not just physically. She felt as if she’d been in the fight of her life, battered and bruised, but she couldn’t shake the sense that maybe she was stronger than she’d thought. She’d faced her parents without crying or falling apart. She’d held it together. Having Andy there with her had been a steel wall of support that kept her sane.
Danger Deception Devotion The Firsts Page 44