Free New Beginnings by Charlotte Carter Page B

“About as bad as I look, I imagine.”
    “Dr. Drew Hamilton will be in shortly to see you.”
    “A nice man, but I’m not sure what he can do to help unless a donor liver becomes available. I’ve been waiting…” Her words drifted off, the silence painful and filled with the knowledge that she would die without the transplant.
    “I’m sure, in the meantime, he can make you more comfortable.” James checked her vitals and listened to her heart, which beat steadily in her chest. He looped the stethoscope around his neck. “If you need anything, you press that button. I’ll be here all day.”
    She touched his arm, her fingers icy cold. “There is one thing I need. My daughter Tammy is getting married in April. I desperately want to live to see her married.” A flood of tears filled her eyes. “I want you and Dr. Drew to keep me alive that long. After that…”
    He clasped her hand between his. “Mrs. Witten, the doctor and I, the entire staff of Hope Haven, will do everything in our power to get you up and in good health for the wedding and for a long time after that.”
    She closed her eyes, and a tear leaked out. “Thank you,” she whispered.
    James knew they’d need a lot of luck and some help from the Lord if Mrs. Witten was to survive the next few months, or even a few weeks, given her condition. Finding an available liver would be the key. Every year, thousands of patients died because they didn’t get a transplant.
    He didn’t want Mrs. Witten to be one of those.
    Just past noon on the day after Christmas, Elena checked the open suitcases on her bed for at least the tenth time. She wished they didn’t have to take two checked bags. But they’d be gone more than two weeks.
    How did people ever take a trip with a single carry-on bag?
    She’d been so excited the night before, she’d barely slept. That was good, she told herself. She’d sleep on the plane.
    She’d spent most of the morning cleaning up and putting away the Christmas decorations. In a way it seemed a shame to take them down so soon. But by the time they returned home, the needles on the tree would have all fallen off. Better to do it now than wait for later. She could have asked Rafael to take the tree down after they were gone, but he wouldn’t know how all the ornaments fit in their boxes. Rushed or not, she’d rather do it herself.
    Cesar strolled into the bedroom. “We’re all packed?”
    “You still need to put your shaving kit in your suitcase.”
    He walked to the window. “It’s coming down pretty hard out there. There must be a foot of snow on the ground already.”
    “Interstate 55 will be plowed. We’ll just leave a little earlier than we’d planned. Rafael is ready to come with us, isn’t he?”
    “Querida, I called the state police. They’re reporting dangerous driving conditions across the whole state.”
    A lurch of anxiety knotted in Elena’s stomach. “We have to go, honey. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll never make it to O’Hare in time for the plane. We’ll miss the—”
    He faced her across the width of their queen-sized bed. “I’d rather miss the flamenco competition than get stuck somewhere on the interstate. I don’t want to risk your life or mine trying to stretch our luck.”
    Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She firmly closed and latched her suitcase. “We’ll be fine,” she said stubbornly. “You are an excellent driver. I have complete faith in you.”
    He slid his hands in his pockets. Dressed in a warm sweater and jeans, he looked far more relaxed than Elena felt.
    “Rafael says he’ll try to get us to the airport if we’re determined,” Cesar said. “But Sarah’s going to stay here with Isabel. If we get stranded, none of us wants Izzy to be stuck with us.”
    “She’s been terribly excited about going to the airport to see the planes,” Elena protested, although she agreed that putting Izzy at risk wasn’t a good choice.
    “We’d better leave soon if