The Still of Night by Kristen Heitzmann Read Free Book Online Page B

and address penned by Kelsey’s … mother. She slit open the flap and took out the letter inside. Her hands shook as she unfolded the single sheet.
    Dear Jill,
    No, she didn’t want to read it. Why would they contact her? Did Kelsey … was she old enough to wonder about her birth mom, to want to know, to meet her? The Bensons had been very clear about that in the somewhat unorthodox adoption her aunt had handled. While they knew each other’s names, there would be no contact until Kelsey was of legal age, and then only if the child initiated it. Jill had been a child herself when she agreed. She dropped to the kitchen chair and pressed the letter flat on her knee.
    Dear Jill,
    I’m sure you realize we would not contact you lightly. Please sit down before you read on .
    Jill’s heart lurched. Something was wrong, so wrong Cinda asked her to sit down, proper procedure when delivering terrible news. She knew that from Dan and Brett. Kelsey . Her child …
    This is not easy to share, but four years ago Kelsey contracted acute lymphocytic leukemia .
    Jill watched the words blur. Leukemia. Four years . Four years ago, and she never knew. She blinked her eyes clear and forced them to focus. Had Kelsey died and they were only now telling her the fact?
    She responded well to treatment and attained remission …
    No, Kelsey was alive.
    … until three months ago when the cancer recurred .
    Cancer recurred . Those words must be Cinda’s worst nightmare. Thinking of the other woman’s pain cleared her own head. After all, it was Cinda who had loved and nurtured Kelsey all these years, Cinda who had lived the last four in fear … and it was her terror now unfolding.
    So why did it hurt so much to read those words? This was the child she’d given away. Jill straightened in the chair. She had given up her right to know her, to be part of her daughter’s life. What then? What did they want?
    Since her relapse, the leukemia is particularly tenacious. The specialist in charge of her case recommends a bone marrow transplant. If Kelsey has siblings, that would be the best possibility for a match .
    Siblings. No, there were no siblings. Kelsey was her only child, her only one.
    If not, we are hoping you …
    Jill felt suddenly weak. Oh my God. They want me . Her heart leaped and plummeted in the same moment. She would see her daughter! But her daughter was dying.
    Everything paled compared to that. No, not everything. She was being given a chance. There was more she could give her child, more than life alone. Actually, it was like giving her life again. If her bone marrow arrested the disease, cured Kelsey …
    Jill breathed quickly, too many emotions warring inside. She pored over the rest of the letter. How long had it sat there on her table? Three, no, four days. Had the Bensons been waiting fearfully that whole time? She walked to the living room and dialed the number at the bottom of the page without another thought. After all, what other choice was there? “Yes, hello. This is Jill Runyan.” Her pulse thumped in her throat.
    “Oh, thank God.” Cinda caught her voice in a quick half sob. “I’m sorry.”
    “No, please. It’s all right.”
    A pause, then, “Thank you for calling. You must have received our letter.”
    “I just read it. I’m sorry I didn’t get it sooner.”
    “Jill … may I call you Jill?”
    “Of course.”
    Cinda drew a thick breath. “I know this is very abrupt and you may not have had time to think through it all, but we’re close to a second remission, and the sooner we go forward, the better the chance for success.”
    “Yes, of course. But I don’t know anything about this. What do I do?”
    “I’ll explain everything involved. If you’d like, we could get together.”
    And Kelsey, too? “That would be fine.”
    “Would you be able to come here? To Des Moines? It’s hard for me to leave right now.”
    “Of course. When?” Jill glanced at her calendar, but in truth, nothing on there