by Nancy Mehl
Sam started to say something else, but Sweetie spoke up from behind us. “You listen to that girl, son. She can help. I’ll man the phones. If the line comes up, I’ll start callin’ everyone in this here county. Now you all get a-goin’.”
I could tell Sam wanted to argue, but I had no intention of letting him leave without me. Sarah was my friend, and I was determined to find her.
Without another word, the three of us fought our way back to the SUV where Gabe waited for us. Sam held on tightly to my arm. The force of the wind almost knocked me down several times. But it wasn’t just the wind. The snow hit my face like tiny needles, making it impossible to keep my eyes open. By the time I climbed into the car, I felt exhausted.
Once everyone was inside, Sam asked, “Where would she have gone, Gabe? If she didn’t go to John’s or Ida’s or my house, what places are left?”
Sam and I sat in the backseat with John and Gabe in the front. I couldn’t see Gabe’s face, but the snap of his head told me something had occurred to him.
“She told me once that she always feels safe and calm when she’s in church,” he said. “Maybe she’d go there.”
“In this storm?” I asked incredulously. “Surely she knows Abel wouldn’t be there. The church wouldn’t be open.”
“But it wasn’t snowing when she left. We had no idea a blizzard was on its way.”
John put the SUV into gear and started down the driveway. “Actually, that could be good news. If she made it to town, someone would have seen her and taken her in. Let’s hope that’s what happened.”
We drove slowly down Faith Street. Even though the SUV was massive, it rocked back and forth when hit by strong gusts of wind.
“Watch out the windows,” John said loudly. “If you see anything that doesn’t look right, whatever it is, yell. I’ll stop and we’ll check it out.”
It was almost impossible to even make out where the road was supposed to be, let alone a buggy. But we all kept our eyes peeled as John drove slowly. Finally we reached Main Street. The only way I could tell was by the street sign, which flapped violently in the wind. John turned carefully. I prayed silently that God would let us see the buggy, that it wouldn’t be totally covered by snow. We’d gone about a quarter of a mile when I thought I saw something odd several yards from the road. At first I wasn’t certain. It looked like a small hill covered with snow. But then a gust of wind blew past it and uncovered something round. A wheel!
“Stop! Stop!” I hollered. “Over there. I think it’s the buggy!”
John put the SUV in park. “Where?” he shouted. “I don’t see—”
“Yes!” Gabe yelled. “Over there.”
We all got out of the car and fought our way through the blowing snow. Sam held on to me, but once again I struggled to stay upright. I put my hand up to shield my eyes, but it didn’t help. Finally we reached the buggy.
Gabe was yelling something, but I couldn’t hear him over the wind. We started trying to clear the snow off the buggy, which lay on its side. Was Sarah still inside? Was she alive?
All four of us pushed the snow away, but Sarah wasn’t there. During a lull in the wind, I heard Sam say something about the horse.
Gabe checked the harness. “It’s been undone,” he shouted over the howling wind. “Sarah must have let her loose.”
I knew that horses usually try to find their way home when they get away from their owners. So at least Sarah had the presence of mind to unhook Molasses. But what happened after that?
Gabe began digging through the snow like a madman. If Sarah was anywhere near… I pulled on Sam’s arm. “There!” I shouted. About thirty or forty yards from us, something lay in the snow. It was almost completely covered, but there was a strip of black showing through. Sam grabbed Gabe and John and pointed. Then he motioned for me to stay where I was. This time I didn’t argue. I tried to watch the men, but every time the wind blew, I had to put my head down and wait for it to stop. The next time I looked up, I saw John lift something out of the snow and start back toward me. Sarah! As they got closer, I could see her still, white face. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Was she alive? Were we too late? Sam grabbed me and pulled me to the SUV. The wind, which had died down long enough for me to see Sarah in the snow, suddenly regained strength. If Sam hadn’t taken my arm, I would have fallen backward.
John gently laid Sarah’s body in the backseat. Then he scooted in, putting her head on his lap. Gabe ran around to the other side and got in. Sam pushed me toward the passenger door and helped me into the front seat. Then he got behind the wheel. I turned around in my seat, wanting to see if Sarah was breathing. Thankfully I could see her chest rise and fall—slowly.
“It’s going to be almost impossible to get her to Sunrise,” Sam said to the two worried men. “The storm is getting worse. Where do you want me to go?”
“Drive back to your house,” John said in a controlled voice that belied the distraught look on his face.
“Wait a minute,” Gabe barked. “I’m her father. I’ll decide what we do.”
“Gabe,” John said in a no-nonsense tone, “you’ve forgotten I’m a doctor. We don’t need to go to Sunrise. I can help her.” He stared at Gabe intensely. “I know you disapprove of Sarah and me. And I know you probably blame me for this, but we have to put our differences aside now. Sarah needs us. Both of us. I’m going to ask you to trust me. I know that sounds crazy with everything that’s happened, but I know what I’m doing. I’m actually an excellent doctor. And whether you believe this or not, I love your daughter. Very much.”
Both men kept their eyes locked on each other for what seemed like minutes. I could feel the thick emotion between them. Finally Gabe broke the staring contest.
“All right. But when Sarah is well…”
“When Sarah is well, we’ll talk. I promise.”
Gabe fell silent, and John apparently took it as a sign of his agreement.
“There’s a blanket in the back of the car. I want you to lean over the seat and get it.” Gabe did as John asked without hesitation.
Sam, who’d been struggling to turn the SUV around on the slick, snow-packed road, finally got us going in the right direction.
I watched carefully, trying to help him navigate in zero visibility. I could hear John giving Gabe instructions in the backseat to elevate Sarah’s legs. When I turned around to check on them, Sarah was fully covered by a thick, heavy blanket. John had his hand on her wrist while he looked at his wristwatch. He kept saying Sarah’s name, trying to get her to wake up.
Suddenly I felt the SUV slip, and we went into a spin. It happened so fast, all I could do was grab the handgrip over the door with one hand and put my other hand on the dashboard. Thankfully Sam didn’t panic and brought the large vehicle under control.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“It’s fine, Sam,” John said soothingly. “You’re doing great, and so is Sarah. Just getting her into a warm car is helping to bring up her temperature. Gracie?”
I cranked my head around again, still shaken by the unexpected slide. “Yes?”
“When we get to Sam’s, we need to take Sarah into bed as soon as possible. I need you and Sweetie to get these clothes off her. She needs something warm and dry. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe I should take off her shoes now and rub her feet,” Gabe said.
John shook his head. “No. That’s one of the worst things you can do. If the tissue is damaged, rubbing it will make it worse. We need to get her warm—outside and inside. Gracie, is there a room with a fireplace?”
“Yes. She can stay in my room.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Is there anything we can do for her now?” her father asked. I could hear the apprehension in his voice.
“We’re doing everything possible,” John said. “Her respiration is good. I think she’ll be fine. I just can’t tell about frostbite until I can get a better look at her.”
“John?” Sarah’s voice was so soft at first I almost mistook it for the sound of the wind rushing past the car. “Are you really here?”
I turned around again. Man, I was going to have the mother of all neck aches by the time we got back to Sam’s. Sarah’s eyes were open. They looked almost black against her pale skin. “What happened?” she asked weakly.
“You went out in the buggy,” John said, gently stroking her face. “That was a foolish thing to do, Sarah. You could have been seriously hurt.”
“I–I’m sorry. It’s just that Papa…Papa said I couldn’t see you anymore. I’m so sorry. Papa will be so mad.”
“Sarah, I’m here,” Gabe said. “And I’m not mad. I’m just grateful. Grateful you’re alive.”
Sarah raised her head to find her father holding her feet, tears on his face. “Papa. Why…why are you here? Oh my. Please forgive me. It was wrong of me to leave in anger. I just wanted time to think. I had no idea the storm would come up so quickly.”
“There is nothing to forgive, daughter. I’m so thankful to the Lord that He kept you safe. I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you. This is all my fault.”
“No,” she replied in a weak voice. “I made the decision. I took the buggy. No one else is to blame.”
“Okay,” John said. “Let’s not worry about whose fault this is right now. Let’s just be grateful we found you. I want you to be quiet and rest. We’ll be at Sam’s soon, and we’ll get you warmed up and feeling like yourself again.”
“I would love some hot tea. I’m so cold.”
“I’m sure we can find you some tea. Now rest.”
She closed her eyes again. Within seconds her breathing deepened. Although she was still abnormally pale, at least she’d started to lose the corpselike pallor she’d had when we found her.
It took us forty-five minutes to make a trip that should have taken ten, but we finally made it back to the house. Sweetie held the door open as we struggled to get up the steps.
“Land sakes alive,” she said when she saw Sarah. “You found her. Is the child all right?”
“We need to warm her up, Sweetie,” I said when we got inside. “We’re taking her to the purple room. Can you stoke the fire in there? And make her some hot tea?”
“You bet.”
I led John up the stairs with Sarah in his arms. Gabe followed behind us. Sweetie added some logs to the fireplace while John carried Sarah to the bed.
“You two go downstairs while I get these wet things off her,” I told them. “I’ll call you when she’s situated.”
They nodded and left the room. Sarah helped me remove the heavy, wet garments. Sweetie, who had the fire blazing, took them from me.
“I’ll get this stuff washed and dried,” she said.
I got a heavy flannel nightgown from the dresser drawer and helped Sarah into it. Throughout the entire process, she didn’t say a word. I removed the quilt on top of the bed that had gotten wet from melting snow and unfolded Sweetie’s beautiful Christmas quilt. Before long, I had Sarah under the covers, dry and warm. I got a towel from the bathroom and undid her braids. Then I dried her hair and brushed it out. With her long black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes, she reminded me of a picture in one of my books as a child. She was the spitting image of Snow White. As I finished brushing her hair, she grabbed my hand. Her grip was weak and her fingers were still cold.
“Thank you,” she said in her small voice. “I’m so grateful for everything you’re doing for me. I’m so sorry to have caused all this trouble.”
I put my hand over hers. “It’s no trouble, Sarah. This is what friends do.” I noticed she flinched when I touched her skin. “Does your hand hurt?”
She nodded and her eyes filled with tears. “They both sting. And my feet.” She wiped a tear that snaked down her cheek. “I hope Molasses made it back to her stable. I had to release her. I couldn’t get the buggy right side up. I hoped she would find her way back and alert Papa there was a problem.”
“I’m sure she’s fine. But Sarah, why didn’t you stay in the buggy? Why were you in that field?”
“I thought I could make it to your house,” she whispered. “But I got so turned around. When the wind blew, I couldn’t see anything. I’m still not sure how you found me.”
“God led us to you. I’m convinced of it. There’s no other explanation.”
Another tear ran down her cheek. “He is too good to me. I don’t deserve…”
“I don’t believe God loves us because we deserve it. I think He loves us because that’s just who He is. I find comfort knowing His love isn’t based on my goodness…or lack of it.”
She brushed a strand of dark hair that fell across her face. “You’re right, Gracie.” She gave me a quick smile. “Your name fits you. You seem to really understand the grace of God. Sometimes I have a hard time comprehending how God can love me so much no matter what I do.”
I wanted to explain to Sarah that having a father who’d spent so many years being bitter toward people and God would certainly make it difficult for her to grasp the concept of unconditional love and forgiveness, but I held my tongue.
“Do you think Papa will ever forgive me?” The plaintive tone of her voice tore at my heart.
“Sarah, believe me, your father isn’t thinking about anything except how much he loves you and how badly he needed to find you.”
“But after his relief lifts…” She grabbed my arm, wincing at the pain in her fingers. “How did he treat John? Did they have words? What—”
“Whoa. They were both too worried about you to be upset with each other. You might be surprised. Maybe this situation will bring them together.”
The sound of angry, raised voices took the wind out of my hopeful declaration. “You stay in bed,” I told Sarah, whose eyes had grown large with fear. “Let me see what’s going on. I’ll be right back.”
I closed the door gently behind me and hurried down the stairs. I followed the sound of shouting to the kitchen. Sweetie was near the stove, holding a pot of coffee, her mouth hanging open. Sam stood between Gabe and John, one hand on each man’s chest.
“If your relationship with my daughter is as innocent as you make it out to be,” Gabe said loudly, his face red with anger, “why did you hide in the shadows? Why did you skulk around behind my back?”
“Because your daughter asked me to keep my feelings for her secret. She was afraid to tell you. Afraid of your reaction. You caused us to sneak around. I hated it. I told Sarah more than once that we should tell you the truth, but her fear of you—”
“Fear? What are you talking about? My daughter is not afraid of me!”
John opened his mouth to lob back what promised to be another accusation, but I shouted at them to shut up. They turned to look at me, their faces masks of resentment.
“What are you doing?” I said crossly. “Sarah can hear you yelling at each other, and she doesn’t need that right now.”
Gabe pointed a finger at John. “If he’d stayed away from her, she wouldn’t be suffering now. She’d be safe at home where she belongs.”
“What are you talking about?” John’s fierce scowl signaled their argument was far from over. “It’s the way you reacted when you found out about us that drove her to run away. This entire situation is your fault.”
Gabe took a menacing step toward John, and Sam quickly pushed him back. “Stop it,” he said sharply. “Grace is right. Sarah doesn’t need to listen to you two go at each other. Sarah made the decision to jump in that buggy. She’s an adult.” He glared at Gabe. “That’s something you don’t seem to get.” His voice softened slightly. “I know you’ve been hurt, Gabe. But Sarah isn’t your ex-wife. And John isn’t the man she took off with. These are two good people who fell in love. That’s all.”
Gabe’s face blanched. “I know that. Sarah isn’t anything like Greta. She loves God. Greta only loved what she thought the world could give her.”
“Then why do you
treat Sarah the way you do?” I asked. “Why don’t you give her a chance to prove she is capable of making good decisions?”
Gabe stepped away from Sam and dropped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “I do trust her, but she can’t have a relationship with someone outside our church. It would be an unequal yoking. I don’t want her to make a choice that will only hurt her in the end. Sarah’s faith is everything to her.” He fastened his eyes on John. “If you really knew my daughter, you’d know that. If she betrays her faith, she will be miserable. It will haunt her the rest of her life.”
“I would never ask her to give up her faith,” John said forcefully. “Why would you think that? I realize it’s part of who she is.”
“Not part,” Gabe replied. “Everything. If she married you, she would be turning her back on scripture. It is a commandment not to be unequally yoked.”
John slid into a chair next to Gabe. “Look, I may not go to church, but I do believe in God. Anyway, I think I do. I’ll go to church with her. Maybe her faith will rub off on me. But it has to be real. I can’t pretend to believe the way she does. It would not only dishonor her; it would dishonor God.”
I sat down across from the two of them. “You’re both good and decent men,” I said tentatively. “I hope you can at least see that about each other. And if Sarah and John should take their relationship further, I pray you can have peace with it, Gabe. Going back to the way things were—locking Sarah away—not allowing her to have a life. That’s not the right way to do things.”
“I know that now,” he said. “Even if I wanted to, Sarah wouldn’t allow it. She showed me that clearly today.” He covered his face with his hands. “I’m so afraid for her,” he said brokenly. “Making this decision will bring her so much pain, and I can’t stop it.”
“I think you can’t stand the thought of losing her.” John’s comment seemed to hit home.
“You’re right,” Gabe said, taking his hands from his face. “I’m afraid to be alone, but I’d do it for Sarah, gladly, if I thought she would be happy. But believe me, marrying outside her faith won’t do that. It will destroy her.”