He glanced at Diana, who watched him from where she lay on a second stretcher, before he turned and walked away.
Chapter 4
“Are you sure you’re supposed to be out of the hospital so soon?”
Andy couldn’t sit in Jed’s cramped living room, with the bassinet in the corner, a baby swing, and piles of baby gifts that had been sent by most of the townsfolk. Jed was on the sofa, his right leg in a cast and resting on the scratched table that looked like something from his barn. He had three stitches on his forehead, and his ribs were wrapped, but he positively glowed as he held his newborn son.
“You think I’m letting Diana come home without me? I’m fine. I got that cane there to help get around, and Mom’s flying out to help until I’m back on my feet. Dad said they’re going to camp out in one of the cabins since this place isn’t big enough.”
“Jed, we’re going to need a bigger house for these gifts alone. Will you look at all these clothes? The only way Danny can wear all these is if I change him into a new outfit three times a day.” Diana positively glowed as she piled the gifts she had opened onto the loveseat, flush against the wall. “Andy, do you want some coffee?”
“No. Thank you, Diana. I need to be going. I just wanted to stop in and check on you two, try to talk you into coming to stay with me. Mother and Dad are away, so it’s just me rambling around that big old house. And it’s lonely. I could use the company.”
The fact was that Andy was worried about Jed and Diana out here all alone, so he’d sent one of his stable hands to handle all the chores and care for the horses. He’d not asked Jed, for one, because he was too proud to accept help. Diana glanced at her husband and smiled privately.
“Diana and I wanted to thank you for all you did, Andy. If wasn’t for you…” Jed glanced again at Diana, and she nodded, and something passed between them. “Well, Andy, we know what you did getting me down, and Diana, too, and looking after the ranch for me. We’re naming the baby after you.”
“But you called him Danny.” Andy was confused as he glanced at Diana and her husband.
“We named him Daniel Anderson Friessen. We figured it’d get too confusing calling him Andy, too, especially since we’d like you to be his godfather.” Jed and Diana watched him tensely for a moment. Maybe they thought his shock was a rejection.
But he covered his heart with his right palm and said, “I’d be honored.” And he was.
Andy didn’t leave until several hours later, after Rodney and Becky had arrived. Then the small house became too small for all of them. He’d relinquished his hold on Danny reluctantly to Grandma Becky, who’d fallen instantly in love with the tiny baby. But then, so had Andy. The boy had Diana’s square jaw and tufts of deep red hair, and when he finally opened his eyes, they were the same brilliant blue as his mama’s.
He stood outside Jed’s house for just a moment, listening to the laughter inside and the horses in the barn. Red, the young stallion, was alone in the corral, and Andy watched him for a moment. As he observed the wildness and sleek power of the magnificent beast, he felt some kinship with it and remembered the night Danny had been born. Andy had followed the ambulance to the hospital. Jed was taken directly to emergency to set his leg, and a CT scan had been ordered for his head. Diana had been whisked up to maternity and hooked up to a monitor for the baby’s heartbeat as she was examined by the OB on call. Jed had been beside himself with worry and was nearly strapped down by the on-call doctor when he tried to get up and go to his wife, so Andy had gone up to maternity to check on Diana for him. The OB on call was concerned that the baby’s heartbeat was slowing, so he’d ordered an emergency C-section—the cord had been wrapped around the baby’s neck.
Andy called in every favor and arranged for Diana and Jed to be in a room together. When she woke, there was Jed, holding their son, and a very tired Andy was watching them. Diana had smiled at him softly. In that moment, the hurt and shame they had carried for so long between them changed into respect and thanksgiving. Andy said nothing as he turned and left.
Driving back now to his big, empty house and all the problems his father had created, he realized that something had changed. Andy envied Jed for all he had, for the way he had walked away from his family’s wealth and lived on what he earned as a poor rancher. In a way, Jed was the wealthiest man he knew.
That was when he saw her in town, coming out of the grocery store, holding a plastic bag in one hand and the hand of a small little boy with the other. The blonde, scrawny maid who had broken that ugly vase—what was her name, Laura?—was walking to a beat-up old Volvo with a rusted fender. Andy stopped at the crosswalk and watched for a minute as she opened the back door and helped the little boy in. She glanced his way, watching him with wide eyes. She didn’t smile, and she didn’t wave. What she did was buckle in the child, and climb in the car, and drive away.
A car horn honked, rousing Andy, and he continued on home, certain of only one thing: For him, something had changed.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading The Search
If you enjoyed The Search, then I’d love to ask you a favor and have you go back to Amazon and provide an honest review.
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Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart
The Friessen Legacy Series
Book 1 – The Forgotten Child
How do you tell a man there is something wrong with his child?
To purchase The Forgotten Child simply click here.
Book 2 – Outcast
A Young Lawyer returns to the town she was driven from as a child, to seek justice and right the past, what she didn’t expect was to find love.
To purchase Outcast simply click here.
Book 3 – The Search
Lost and Found, Walk the Right Road Series, Book 2
A Hit and Run—A Deserted Country Road—A Parents Worst Nightmare.
From Romance Junkies “LOST AND FOUND is one of the best romantic suspense books I have read this year!
To Purchase Lost and Found, simply click here.
The Choice, Walk the Right Road Series, Book 1
Mystery, romance, and age old evil collide in this spellbinding thriller of THE CHOICE
If you enjoyed Lost and Found then be sure to check out the first book of the Walk the Right Road Series, The Choice, and find out where it all started for Richard, Maggie, Sam, Marcie and Diane.
One Woman...
Two Men...
And a choice that could kill her...
To purchase The Choice, simply click here.
A Father’s Love
Two children struggle to survive when trapped by an angry mother bear.
To purchase A Father’s Love click her now.
About the Author
Lorhainne Eckhart began her writing career in 2008, when she published her first novel, The Captain’s Lady, a contemporary military romance, through The Wild Rose Press. When Lorhainne’s not working on her next novel, you can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and contributing posts to her two blogs, The Choice of Giving and Illusions.
Lorhainne is a mother of three children, one a special needs child. They live on a small Gulf Island, where Lorhainne advocates for the environment and the rights of special needs children.
Contact InformationLorhainne Eckhart loves to hear from readers!
Contact at:
Email:[email protected]
Twitter: @LEckhart
Facebook: LorhainneEckhart
Blog: The Choice of Giving
Blog: Illusions
Lorhainne Eckhart Author Website
Goodreads
Copyright InformationNo part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This ebook is licensed for your pers
onal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
COPYRIGHT © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2012, All Rights Reserved
Cover Design: Earthly Charms
Contact Information: [email protected]
Editor:Talia Leduc
ISBN: 978-0987822697
Table of Contents
Book Cover
Main Menu
About the Author
Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart
The Friessen Legacy Series
The Forgotten Child – How do you tell a man there is something wrong with his child?
Outcast - A Young Lawyer returns to the town she was driven from as a child, to seek justice.
The Search (Short Story) – When her husband goes missing she’s forced to call the one man she shouldn’t.
Walk the Right Road Series
The Choice - ...One woman. Two men. And a choice that could kill her.
Lost and Found – From Romance Junkies “Lost and Found is one the best romantic suspense books I’ve read this year!”
A Father’s Love—A young adult illustrated historical. If you love Little House on the Prairie, you’ll love A Father’s Love.
The Captain’s Lady—Lorhainne’s debut novel through The Wild Rose Press. A passionate tale of love during the Iraq War.
Contact Information
Copyright Information
Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
To return to the Main Menu click here
The Search Page 3