The Return of Connor Mansfield

“Even if it puts all of your lives at risk? Not just yours, but Darby’s and Savannah’s. Your brothers. Parents. Anyone close to you could be at risk, because Victor Gale hasn’t forgotten the man who brought down his father’s money laundering scheme and put ole Pop behind bars. He has a history of vigilante justice and revenge against those who cross his family.”

“I’m aware of that, but I am going. The question is, will you help me get in and out of town without detection?” When his handlers hesitated, Connor dropped heavily onto a wingback chair and propped his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. “I’ll be careful, use disguises. But I can’t sit here, knowing I have a daughter who needs me. Savannah will die without a transplant.” Connor gritted his back teeth and revisited the option he’d rejected years ago, for Darby’s sake. “Is it too late for Darby to join WitSec with me?”

Even as he asked, his gut tensed, knowing what a difficult move that’d be for Darby to make. Asking her to give up her life, her family, her home to be with him would be so horribly selfish. Did she even love him anymore? Perhaps she’d moved on, found someone else...

Raleigh grunted. “Hiding a child who’s as sick as Savannah would be highly dangerous, full of pitfalls. Besides the high level of medical care she needs, tracking you through her medical records, through treatment facilities would be far too easy. There’d be too many doctors and nurses and other patients involved who could talk and blow your cover, even if accidentally...”

“So then I have no choice. My mind is made up.” Connor divided an even stare between the two marshals. “I know the risks. I hate the risks, of course, and I’ll deal with them somehow. But my baby needs me, so I’m going home. I’m going to save my daughter.”

* * *

That Friday, with help from her longtime friend and almost-brother-in-law Hunter Mansfield, Darby packed Savannah’s bags, preparing to take her daughter home following the last chemo treatment. When her cell phone rang and the caller ID showed Dr. Reed’s office, she assumed the call was about Savannah’s discharge papers and directions concerning her at-home care. Darby answered, relieved to have the chance to ask questions. She hadn’t felt this nervous about taking Savannah home from the hospital when she was a new mother with a one-day-old baby.

Hunter had Savannah distracted, animating her stuffed rabbit to make her laugh as Darby took Dr. Reed’s call. “Hello?”

“Darby, it’s Jillian Evans in Dr. Reed’s office.”

“Oh, hi, Jillian.” Darby smiled hearing the friendly voice of the nurse who’d been so helpful and supportive in recent months. “We got Savannah’s discharge papers, and we’re just getting ready to leave the hospital now.”

“Oh, great, but...that’s not why I’m calling.”

Darby heard an odd note of apprehension in Jillian’s voice, and her gut immediately clenched. Bracing for bad news—God, she was tired of bad news—Darby said, “Go on.”

“Well, Dr. Reed asked me to call you about some rather confusing information we have regarding a potential donor for Savannah.”

Darby’s spirits lifted. “You have a potential donor?”

Hunter’s head jerked up, and she met his hopeful gaze as she listened to the nurse explain.

“Well...yes. Dr. Reed will call you later to tell you more about that, but...” Elation made Darby’s head spin, and her heart pounded so hard she almost missed Jillian saying, “But his test results show something that has Dr. Reed puzzled.”

“Puzzled? What’s wrong?” Like being on a roller coaster, her stomach swooped, her mood crashing from high to low again. Here we go. The bad news...

“The DNA tests that show that he is a strong candidate as a donor also say, with statistical certainty, that he is Savannah’s father.”

The air froze in Darby’s lungs. “Wh-what? That’s impossible. Connor is dead.”

Hearing his brother’s name mentioned, Hunter rose to his feet and hurried over to Darby, pressing his ear close as she tipped the phone for him to listen in.

“That’s what Dr. Reed understood from your records, which is why she wanted me to call. Are you sure about who Savannah’s father is? Is it possible this other man—”

“No! There was no one else. I don’t sleep around, if that’s what you’re asking.” Darby’s hand shook, and she dragged in a breath, trying to make sense of what the nurse was telling her. “Your test is wrong. This guy can’t be Savannah’s father. Connor Mansfield is Savannah’s father, and he died four and a half years ago.”

“Of course we can run the test again. Dr. Reed just wanted to double-check with you, in case maybe...”

“But if the test was wrong about him being Savannah’s father—” Darby held her breath, tears pricking her eyes “—does that mean it was wrong about him being a match for her, too?”

“We’ll have to see. It’s just all so odd, especially since he initiated contact with us about being a donor.”

Darby’s legs buckled. “He did?”

Hunter squeezed her arm, supporting her, but his own face was paler than normal.

“Who is this guy? Where is he from?” she asked.

“He’s from Texas, I think. Don’t worry, Dr. Reed will screen him and assess if he’s a nut job or if he’s truly a viable donor. In fact, she’s meeting with Mr. Orlean now, and she’s requested new tests, pending what she learns in her consult with him.”

Darby blinked. Shook her head as if she’d heard wrong. “Wait. What did you say his name was?”

“Sam Orlean. Why? Do you know the name?”

“I—maybe. It rings a bell but...” She fumbled through her memory. A classmate? A customer of Mansfield Construction? No. It was more recent. Darby looked at Hunter, and he shrugged and shook his head, silently denying any familiarity with the name.

She dredged up the call earlier in the week from her insurance company. Was that where she’d heard the name? She replayed bits of the call in her head, trying to conjure the man’s name. But other pieces of the conversation were what stood out.

Would her father have been a suitable match?

I’m sorry, Dahr-by.

“Connor,” she said under her breath, not daring to hope. And yet...

Her imagination raced, and just the possibility that Connor might still be alive made her dizzy with expectation. The need to know, the demand for answers pounded through her like a tribal chant. Connor. Connor. Connor.

“As soon as Dr. Reed gets out of her meeting with him, I’ll have her call you with—”

“Then Sam Orlean is still there, at your office right now?” Adrenaline made her pulse pound so hard in her ears, she could barely hear, much less think. Connor. Connor. Connor.

“He’s in with the doctor, discussing his test results and—”

“Don’t let him leave.” She squeezed the phone tighter and hurried to grab her purse from the chair by the bed. “Stall him. I’m on my way.”

“But—”

She hung up before Jillian could object and sent Hunter a pleading look as she rushed to the door. “Will you stay with her? I have to know.”

“Of course,” Hunter said, his expression reflecting his own shock and need for answers.

Darby jogged down the hospital corridor to the elevator. Dr. Reed’s office was in a medical building a couple blocks away. She debated taking her car but decided that by the time she got to the parking garage, dealt with traffic and red lights and parked again, she’d get there faster on foot.

On the elevator, she pushed the lobby button again and again as the car descended, as if it would make the elevator go faster. She knew better, but her nerves jangled, and she needed something to do until the doors parted at the lobby. Hiking her purse higher on her shoulder, Darby flew out the front door of the hospital and made a beeline for Dr. Reed’s office. She dodged people on the sidewalk, wove through cars to cross the street and took the stairs at the medical building rather than wait on another slow elevator.

By the time she raced through the door of Dr. Reed’s office, she could barely catch her breath. Though she’d run track in high school, she’d let herself get out of shape in recent months, while dealing with Savannah’s illness.

She approached the receptionist desk, panting. “Sam...Orlean? Jillian said...he was...here.”

The receptionist looked up and smiled at her, but when she saw Darby gasping for air and sweating, her smile fell away. “Um...he was here. But they just left.”

Darby’s whole body sagged, dejection sandbagging her. “He left? I told...Jillian to...stall....”