A Child's Heart: Book Number Two in the Who's Your Daddy series Read Free

battle for a complete recovery. A lump lodged itself in his throat thinking about the pain she was now suffering and would continue to experience for a while. If he was getting this emotional about the little girl and he hadn’t even met her yet, he could only imagine what her mother was going through.
    The last thing on his mind should be his attraction to the woman, but he couldn’t control himself. Breathtaking. That’s the only word he could come up to adequately describe her. He shook his head and tried to return his concentration on Tesia and her plight. Anything else was a waste of his time. He needed to concentrate on getting his daughter well.
    Soon he stood before the oncologist’s office and knocked on the closed door. “Come in!” Javier pushed the door open and found the doctor sitting behind his desk and Nitika in a chair nearby, her hands clasped in her lap and a pinched look on her face. What he wouldn’t give to take her worries away.
    “Good morning, everyone,” he announced as he took the seat next to hers. She simply nodded and returned her gaze to her folded hands.
    “Glad you could make it, Mr. Crespo.”
    “Please, doctor. Call me Javier.”
    “Alright, well let’s get down to business.” This caused Nitika to look up at the doctor and then at him. He gave her a small smile which she tried to return.
    “Your Tesia is a strong young lady and is handling the chemo treatments relatively well, considering her age. Her white cell count is still too high, but we’re working on that.”
    “She looks so sick, doctor,” Nitika said in a tiny voice. “That medication is taking a toll on her.” She covered her mouth with a hand and squeezed her eyes shut. A tear slid out from one corner and before he could stop himself, Javier reached over and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. She flinched and gave him side eye, but other than that, did not move.
    “I know, Nitika, and I’m so sorry, but it’s part of the process we have to go through to heal her. Especially since we’re hoping to do this stem cell transplant. The chemo must be completed first, then the whole body radiation.”
    “How many more rounds will she have to go through?” Javier asked while continuing to gaze at her mother. She was still looking forlorn, lost. This discussion had to be tearing her apart.
    “Not sure yet. But I definitely want to get you tested as soon as possible to see if you’re a possible match.”
    “Can we do it today? Now?” Nitika asked, her hands shaking.
    Javier nodded in agreement. “I’m ready.” He gave her a wink which seemed to settle her down a bit.
    “Let me make a couple calls. The lab usually wants a heads up before I send someone to them for this test. Can you excuse me for a sec?” The doctor turned to his phone and made a call, allowing Javier time to talk with Nitika.
    “How are you today?” He wanted to slap himself for that inane question. One look at her and he could see she was barely holding it together.
    “Well, I’ve seen better days. At least she got some rest last night.”
    “How about you? Did you get some sleep?”
    “A couple hours, I guess. Since her room doesn’t have an outer window, sometimes I can’t tell day from night.”
    “Do you mind, I mean, can I meet her? I know these aren’t ideal circumstances, but—”
    “Of course. After we finish here, we’ll go see her.”
    Before Javier could respond, the doctor hung up the phone. “They can do the test in about an hour, okay?”
    Javier let out a loud breath and smiled at Nitika. “Sounds like a plan. In the meanwhile, I think I want to meet my daughter.”
     
    “So, tell me how you got the diagnosis?” Javier speared Nitika with a  quick glance as they walked toward Tesia’s hospital room. She hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the oncologist’s office, just rubbing her hands and looking at the tops of her shoes. Although they hadn’t spent a lot of time together, he’d noticed she