Take a Chance on Me

In Portland, attorney Jared Camby visits Adam Bartlett, the CEO of successful software maker Novel Programs, Unlimited to ask a favor. Jared informs the twenty-seven year old that he is his biological father having impregnated a girl in high school. He offered money to abort the child, but Olivia Maddison refused the cash or anything else to do with him. She died in an accident, but not before she gave birth to twins. Adam learns he has a sister and three half-siblings with the youngest seven years old Mark desperately needing a bone marrow transplant or he dies. Adam is the last hope.Though he hates hospitals since his adopted sister died years ago, Adam agrees. He goes to Portland General Hospital to take the test. Pediatric Oncology Nurse Leigh Peters is assigned as liaison between Adam and the Cambys. A decade ago when they were teens they fell in love; under pressure from her mother, concerned for the future of both teens, Leigh left him a note ending their relationship. As they fall in love again, Adam wonders if she will leave him to follow her mother's dream.Though the angst level would fuel a trip to Mars, fans of contemporary dramas will appreciate this powerful family tale. The adult love story is engaging, but what makes the tale is the secondary cast relationships. For instance Jared wants a relationship with his oldest, but has no idea how to go about it as Adam unlike his twin trusts no one so cannot reach out to him. Readers will appreciate this warm relationship drama with several personal issues superseded by Mark's health problems.Harriet Klausner