confrontation between father and daughter. âMaybe we should just wait and see.â William glanced at Olivia, then he nodded at Reverend Chance. âLetâs err on the side of caution and sit tight for a moment, maybe. And then if anything else comes up, maybe you go public then.â He tried to broker a deal. William didnât want to see his candidateâs numbers go even lower, and he knew a story about a free spending pastor would do just that. First his child, now his candidate. Could it get any worse?
âJust call them back, William,â Reverend Chance said. âTell them we have a statement.â
Chapter 14
Nikkiâs Internet search yielded all manner of horror stories. Her first query produced a report that eased her mind, but subsequent searches gave her information about children and adults whose lives were forever compromised by their condition, of other disorders that resulted from the untreated condition, even cancer.
By the time William got home, she was near tears. âPsalm has got to have this surgery. Now,â she insisted, before he even had a chance to take off his jacket.
âAll right, baby,â William said in a calm voice.
âAre you listening to me?â Nikki demanded.
âYes, I am. I said âall right.ââ His voice remained calm.
âWilliam, this is your child, your baby and you donât seem at all concerned for her well being,â Nikki snapped.
âI thought you said she was up and playing earlier? That, to me, is a clear sign she is fine,â William said.
âBut what else did I say? I also said she was up and playing before all this happened, so we canât trust that to mean she is fine.â
âWell, we can trust God to reveal to us she is fine, and maybe thatâs what He is trying to do,â William said.
âWell, I think God wants us to do a bit more than sit around and wait on Him,â Nikki said. âThatâs what you always do. You go and call on the name of God and then sit back and wait for Him to act.â
âWell, I donât just âsit back,â as you so note, but I do trust. And I trust Him to do amazing things for us. What is a little digestive condition? God can heal that instantly. Maybe He already has.â
âBut we donât know!â Nikki insisted. âI donât see why you canât get all this through your head. Our baby could be in that type of pain again, and I, for one, will not wait for that to happen.â
âSo youâre saying you know better than God?â
âNo, Iâm not,â Nikki said. âBut what I am saying is that I want to do all I can. God wants us to act on our faith. I am acting. Iâm trying to learn all I can about this condition, influence the insurance company as best I can, whatever is humanly possible. Iâm not going to just sit on my hands.â
âNobody is sitting on their hands, Nikki,â William said. âI just think we should wait and see.â
Nikki threw her hands in the air. âI just donât understand you sometimes. Iâd think youâd be at least a little concerned that your daughter could die.â
William rubbed his eyes. âDie, Nikki?â
âYes, die!â Nikki flung the words at him. âI sat right there on that computer and read some report about people dying from this thing.â
âWell, you know the Internet has all sorts of crazy info on there,â William said. âAnd yes, Iâm just as concerned as you about Psalm, but Iâm just trying to process all of this. Thatâs all.â
âProcess?â Nikki said. âWhatâs to process?â
âNikki, itâs been a very long day, can I just take my shoes off first?â
âOh, youâve had a long day?â Her chest was heaving. âWhat about me? Iâve been here, going back and forth with the insurance company all dayâall
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