Annabelle's Pack

This was going to be so awkward. Truly, nothing could have forced me to come to Clate Randall except that chilling announcement in the oncologist's office:

"Ms. Anderson, Annabelle's leukemia is in remission right now. With chemo and other treatments, we may be able to prolong her life for a long time. But, to give her full quality of life, the best cure I know of is to do an intensive chemo treatment to kill off all of the cancer cells and then give her the umbilical cord blood of a sibling. They are always the best matches. I don't know if that is an option for you."

It was, and it wasn't. Although, I now knew who Annabelle's father was and where he lived, I had had no contact with him since that one night in El Paso. Why would I want him in my life? I loved the child he had unknowingly given me, but I was perfectly happy that he did not know of her. 

Hopefully, he would agree to a quick trip to the clinic in El Paso. As badly as I needed money, I wouldn't even ask for child support if he would just do that.

Clate Randall has estranged himself from God and family. He knows he has sinned, but rather than confront it, he buries himself in his work as a dog breeder. This ends suddenly when the woman he had a one-night stand with five years ago shows up at his doorstep with the news that the child she conceived that night has a genetic form of leukemia. The best chance for complete recovery is to have an umbilical cord blood transfer from a sibling. Maxine Anderson is asking that Clate be a sperm donor for a second child. Clate says, "No way. If we are to have a second child, we will marry, conceive the child in the traditional sense, and create a family with a mother and father for both children." He, or course, has no idea of Maxine's significant issues with fatherhood because of the incestuous behavior of her own father. It will take more than a miracle to make this marriage work.