The Runaway Pastor's Wife (30 page)

“NO! Don’t shoot! Oh God, don’t let him shoot
me!”

Annie jumped from her chair. “Michael! It’s
okay! No one’s trying to shoot you.” She took hold of his left hand and held it
firmly in her own. His breathing was rapid, his mind surely reliving a scene
Annie didn’t want to think about.

“Shhhh, you’re safe here now. No one’s going to
hurt you. Just take it easy.” His eyes were open but focused somewhere far
away. He slowly relaxed, his breathing gradually easing back to normal.

His face glistened with perspiration. She found
the ceramic bowl of water Doc had set on the bedside table and reached for the
wash rag floating in it. Wringing out the cold water, she began carefully
patting the damp cloth against his face.

“Oh, Michael, what have you done?” she
whispered. She brushed aside his hair surprised to find it peppered with
strands of gray.
How odd. In my mind, you never aged at all.

She continued wiping his face with the cool
cloth, finding herself drawn to study his ruggedly handsome face.
The years
have been kind to you, Michael Dean.
The lines and creases of age had only
helped to define his good looks. Despite the trace of fear still locked in his
brow, she noticed a collection of tiny laugh lines around his eyes
. Sculpted
from that perpetual smile of yours, no doubt.
She caught herself smiling,
remembering his wonderful sense of humor.

A wistful chasm of time pulled her back to a day
long ago.

Michael had just led his college team to win the
conference title by hitting a grand slam home run at the bottom of the ninth.
Through the wild celebration on the field that followed, he kept searching the
stands to find her—waving, bouncing into the air, dancing in wild circles,
laughing like a crazy man. She made her way down to the field along with their
horde of friends. When Michael finally spotted her, he flew across the infield,
catching her as she jumped into his arms.

“Annie! We did it! We won! We’re going to
Omaha
! We’re
going to the College World Series!” He spun her around and around until she
begged him to put her down.

“You won it! Your grand slam won the game! You
were
amazing
! Michael, you won
it!”

“Annie, we’ve got to celebrate! Oh, baby, I love
you!” He took hold of her face with both of his hands and kissed her hard. He
pulled back, grabbing her hand as he headed for the celebration out on the
pitcher’s mound, whooping and hollering at the top of his lungs.

Before she knew what was happening, Michael
leaned over, lifting her up onto his shoulders then parading all through the
crowd of his teammates, coaches and friends. A reporter pulled Michael aside
for an on-air interview. Michael conducted himself with complete attentiveness,
as if doing so with a girl on his shoulders was the most natural thing in the
world. Annie couldn’t stop laughing. She could only imagine what they must look
like—a double-decker scoop of ice cream on a cone in constant motion.

After the usual questions, the reporter asked,
“Michael, what are your plans for the future? Can we look for you in the majors
next year?”

“You better believe it. I hope to go first or
second round in the draft, I’m gonna marry this beautiful woman, and play major
league ball!”

It was a moment in time forever captured in her
heart, like some favorite movie that would be played over and over again.

An eternity ago.

Suddenly, the room darkened, awaking Annie out
of her thoughts. A weak glow from the snow-covered landscape outside began to
filter through the curtains offering the only source of light. Annie’s heart
pounded in her ears. Had the storm knocked out the power? Or was someone out
there? An eerie silence filled the cabin.

“Doc, please hurry,” she whispered.

She tiptoed across the bedroom floor with the
aid of her crutches putting as little weight on her swollen ankle as possible,
then peeked out into the great room. Steeling her courage, she made her way
into the kitchen and looked out across the room. Everything still in place, she
hobbled toward the front door to check the locks. Both were secure.
Thank
God
. Then she realized what was missing. No hum of the refrigerator. No
digital clock glowing the time on the microwave.
The power’s gone.

Unaware she had been holding her breath, Annie
felt her eyes sting. Limping back to the front window, she peered outside,
careful not to rustle the curtains.

The storm unleashed its fury. Annie had never
seen anything like it. It was dark as night with thousands of angry white
flakes swirling in a mad frenzy. Then, as if in sudden orchestration, a wall of
powder shifted to pound against the cabin. She wrapped her arms around herself
and prayed.
Oh God, why now? Why couldn’t this blizzard hold off until Dr.
Wilkins got back?

Startled by the unexpected ringing of the phone,
Annie jumped, the air exploding out of her lungs. She reached over to pick up
the receiver, not at all surprised when her voice wouldn’t budge.

“Annie? Are you there?”

“Yes,” she croaked. “Yes, I’m here. The phone
just startled me, that’s all. Dr. Wilkins, where are you? The power’s gone
out!”

“I know. That’s why I’m calling. Apparently this
whole side of the mountain is down. I’ve got a back-up generator here, but I’m
sorry to say I didn’t get one up to you in time. How’s Michael doing?”

“He’s still sleeping, but I think his fever is
still awfully high. How long until you can be back?” Annie felt her heart sink
at the pause on the line.

“Well, now don’t worry—”

“Doc, Michael
needs
you,” she urged,
fearing what he was about to say.

“I’m afraid it’s going to be awhile. The road is
out. Some fool trucker tried to beat out the storm. Came flying through town
and missed the curve in the road. It was a logging truck—he was hauling a full
load, too. You’ve never seen such a mess. It knocked out our transformer that
sits a good twenty yards from the road. That’s why we’ve all lost power. The
road is completely shut down. We’ll have to wait until the power company can
send some trucks over from Canon City, and in this weather, who knows when that
will be. I’m sorry, Annie. There’s just no way for me to drive up there.”

“But surely there’s some other—”

“No, I’m afraid not. You’ve got to remember,
you’re sitting up on top of a mountain. There’s nothing but a steep wilderness
all around you. I’ve hunted up in that area my whole life, and I can assure you,
it’s not a place to be in this kind of weather. This is quite a storm, even for
this neck of the woods. Wind this strong, snow this heavy—it can be a deadly
combination. And it won’t do you or Michael any good if I’m off in a ditch or
down a ravine.”

“But what are we going to do?” Annie pleaded. “I
don’t know how to take care of someone in Michael’s condition! He
needs
you
.”

“Now, don’t sell yourself short. What Michael
needs most right now is lots of rest. All you have to do is try to keep him
comfortable. And if you run into any trouble, all you have to do is call me. I
don’t expect these phone lines to go down so there’s no reason we can’t stay in
touch. Besides, I don’t have to remind you that you aren’t alone. The Lord is
fully aware of your situation—and Michael’s too for that matter. He’ll keep you
safe.

“Annie, are you still there?”

“Yes. I just wish the Lord would give me a
break. This is the last thing I need.” She felt a rush of impatience. “I came
here to get away. I needed time to think. And now look at this—this whole
ridiculous situation. After all these years, at the worst
possible time
in my life, God dumps Michael on my doorstep. And if that wasn’t enough, He has
to go and dump a blizzard on us, too! Now I’m the one stuck having to help Michael.
Michael Dean! Of all the people on the face of the earth, why did it have to be
him?”

She suddenly realized she was shouting at the
phone. Shouting at Doc Wilkins, no less. She buried her face, frustrated and
embarrassed. She tried to stifle her sobs as she heard the quiet voice coming
through the telephone line.

“Annie? It’s okay, dear. I think maybe there’s a
whole lot more here than just a bizarre series of coincidences.”

She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of
her hand. “What do you mean?”

“Well now, I don’t have a clue about what it is
you ran away from—”

“I didn’t run away!” Annie snapped, immediately
sorry. She knew she should apologize. He was absolutely right.

Doc continued. “I knew the minute I met you over
at Williamson’s that something was burdening you. Doesn’t take a psychologist
to know when someone is in that much pain. And you’ve alluded to it just about
every time we’ve crossed each other’s path. I haven’t wanted to pry. Thought
you needed your privacy.

“But under the circumstances, with what’s
happened in the last twenty-four hours, I would have to assume the Lord may be
trying to tell you something. Sometimes He allows the strangest events to
befall us just so He can get our attention—”

“Yeah, well He
already
had
my
attention,” she interrupted. “I laid all my cards on the table. I poured it all
out and left it as His feet. And I was waiting on Him for some—some kind of
guidance. Some answers. Anything! But He just disappeared on me! I begged for
answers and He totally turned his back on me.”

“But that’s exactly what I’m trying to say,” Doc
answered patiently. “You may think
He deserted you when in fact all
these circumstances may hold the very answers you’ve been searching for all
along.”

Silence drifted across the line. She knew he was
waiting for a response.

“Annie, what I want you to do is go sit down by
Michael’s bedside and just relax. Make sure he’s okay and take some time to get
a hold of yourself, all right? Then try to get your thoughts organized. You’ll
need to make some preparations because it could get mighty cold up there if
this power is down for as long as I think it will be. Put some more logs on the
fire. I left a good supply of them on the hearth for you, and there’s a whole
rack of them out in the garage as well. You’ll also find a Coleman stove out
there. Better bring that in so you can heat up some soup or stew or something.
Make some tea. Michael is going to need some good food once he wakes up. Then I
want you to find some lanterns, some candles, dig out some more blankets and
quilts—that sort of thing. That’s a lot to do with that ankle of yours but
you’ve got to do it anyway.

“I’m going to see what I can find out on this
end and I’ll call you back in a little while. Don’t worry—I’m not going to
leave you stranded up there a minute longer than I have to.”

Annie resigned herself to the situation. “I
know. I’ll be fine.” Her voice sounded husky. “And I’ll make sure Michael stays
comfortable.”

“That’s more like it. If you have any questions,
just give me a call. If I’m not here, leave a message on my machine. I’ll talk
to you soon.”

Houston
,
Texas

Eliot approached the open door of his office,
hearing a familiar voice inside.

“Helen, any word from Daddy?”

“Who’s that wanting to know where her daddy is?”
He strode through the door to his office, noticing his daughter sitting behind
his desk, his secretary handing her a cup of coffee, and Duke sitting in an
armchair.

Amelia stood. “There you are.”

He dropped his brief case on the floor and made
his way to her, taking her into his arms. She hung on a second longer than
usual. He pulled back enough to look into her face. The facade didn’t fool him.

“Would you like some coffee, Congressman?” Helen
asked. “I just brewed a fresh pot.”

“No, thank you. Duke, Helen, would you give us a
few moments together?”

“No problem,” Helen responded, heading for the
door.

Duke stood up. “But Elliot, we have some very
important details to discuss, if you’ll recall.”