The Runaway Pastor's Wife (21 page)

Together
for the rest of time,

Be
mine.

As the stringed instruments continued softly in
the background, David cleared his throat and knelt down on one knee. “Annie
Franklin, with these fine musicians and kind, albeit
nosy
neighbors as
my witnesses, and more important, before Almighty God, I, David Jeremy
McGregor, do humbly ask for your hand in marriage.” His face beamed as he
cleared his throat once again. “Annie, will you marry me?”

Cheers erupted as she mouthed her reply through
her happy tears, unable to speak. Once convinced that such pure a love could
never exist, Annie knew she had found her knight in shining armor.

They were married a few weeks later on New
Year’s Eve.

But in Annie’s case, she got two for the price
of one. For David gave her not only his love, he gave her a Savior as well.
What started as a mere curiosity of the unique, personal relationship he shared
with Christ, quickly grew to an eager yearning for a personal relationship all
her own. She surrendered her life to the Lord, astonished at the difference he
made in her life.

All because a UPS truck ran a red light.

Blinking as her mind returned to the present,
Annie realized the storm clouds had rolled in. She shivered and knew it was
time to head back to the cabin. Still fresh from the long, personal glimpse
into her most precious memories, Annie could not even imagine her life without
David. All he had meant to her, from that first moment they met at the
hospital.

Oh God, please help us. There
has
to be a way for us to take our lives back again. Someway to restore the love we
once shared. Forgive me for ignoring the blessings You’ve given me, for an
ungrateful heart when we travel through the tough times. I cannot imagine my
life without David. Oh, God please show us what to do! Tug at his heart as You’ve
tugged at mine. Help him see what we’ve lost, and oh God, please help him want
to find it again. Save the relationship You designed for us, Lord. Oh, Father,
please hear my—

Suddenly, Annie’s foot skidded off a steep
embankment, dragging her helplessly downward. Her hands, buried deep in the
warm pockets of her coat, were of little help as she struggled to pull them
free. She screamed, her voice echoing across the snow-covered landscape. Woolen
mittens grasped uselessly at the fleeting drifts of snow until her foot caught
on something below the surface of the snow. Her ankle snapped as she came to a
stop.

She fell back onto the covered ground behind
her, grimacing in pain.
I don’t believe this!
She tried to lift her leg
with both hands to free it. With a heavy sigh, she fought the urge to cry out
again. She knew she had to get back up to the road and back to the cabin.
She
felt along the ground, pushing away the snow in search of a branch to grab on
to. She found a large pile of boulders completely hidden in the huge snowdrift.
Clearing off the snow, she grabbed the biggest stone and pulled herself up,
balancing on her good foot. She found herself right beside an aspen tree, its
branches in reach. She hobbled over to the trunk for safety, then reached for
the lowest branch.

Climbing back up the embankment proved to be a
daunting challenge. With a throbbing, useless ankle, it might as well have been
Mt.
Everest
. Annie
paced herself, making progress in unbearably slow intervals. The snow fell
harder. It took almost fifteen minutes to ascend the distance up to the road.
Once she reached the summit, she paused to catch her breath. This wasn’t going
to be easy. It was still a long way home.

A full hour passed before she reached the base
of the steps of the cabin leading up to the wrap-around porch. Annie was
exhausted, but she resisted the urge to sit down and rest on the bottom step.
She had to get inside before she froze to death. Dark gray clouds now covered
the sky behind the thick swirls of snowflakes falling around her.

 Using the rustic banister, she pulled herself
up the steps one at a time then crept inside. She hobbled into the great room
before shedding her garments and lowering herself onto the soft, inviting sofa.
The exhaustion overwhelmed her immediately.

Fearing she would give in to her fatigue, Annie
picked up the phone and dialed the number for information. After a moment, she
hung up and dialed the number for Doc Wilkins.

“Dr. Wilkins? This is Annie McGregor up at
Christine’s cabin. Do you remember me?”

“Why, of course I remember you. What can I do
for you?”

“I think I may have broken my ankle.”

“What happened?”

She started to cry. “It was such a silly
accident. I decided to go out for a walk and somehow I must have lost my
footing and slid down an embankment off the side of the road and—I feel so
stupid but it hurts
so
much!”

“Well, you just try to make yourself comfortable
and I’ll be right up. Elevate your foot and stay off it, okay?”

She whimpered, trying to get the words out but
realized he had already hung up.

Annie gingerly lifted her foot and propped it on
the coffee table. She grabbed a throw pillow and stuffed it beneath the
throbbing foot, then rested her head on the back of the sofa and shut her eyes.
She didn’t even have the strength to pull off her boots before drifting off
into a fitful sleep.

A gentle knock preceded the sound of an opening
door as Annie’s mind struggled to break through the seal of her restless
slumber. “Dr. Wilkins, is that you?”

“Yes, Annie. You stay put. Let me get out of my
overcoat and I’ll be right there.” He stomped the snow off his boots on the
welcome mat. Discarding his muffler, coat, and gloves, he reached for his worn
leather medical bag and made his way over to Annie. “Well, well, well, what
have we here? Took a little spill, did you?”

Annie looked up into his kind eyes and relaxed
in the surprising comfort of his mere presence. “I’m so glad you’re here. I
can’t believe I did this! I’ve hardly been here twenty-four hours and already
I’ve injured myself. What a klutz.” She laughed then moaned as she tried to
lift her foot from the coffee table.

“Now hold on, you let me do the doctoring, young
lady. Let’s pile a couple of these pillows behind you then I’ll take a look at
that ankle.”

As he made a thorough examination of her foot,
she found the country doctor to be a welcomed guest as well as a gifted
physician. His amiable bedside manner was exceeded only by his wise
comprehension of physical matters. Relieved to have such kind-hearted
attention, she remained irritated with her clumsiness.

“For heaven’s sake, we all take a tumble now and
then. Why should you be any different?” He continued his work.

His question found a vulnerable mark and struck
hard. She stared at the wrinkled countenance of this man she barely knew. It
was an innocent question offered in compassion. Still, his question echoed
through her soul.

Why should you be any different?

That’s just it. She was no different from any
other person on this planet. So why couldn’t she handle her life? Why couldn’t
she just suck up her aggravations like everybody else and get on with her life?
And why on earth did she leave behind her home and all the people she loved to
come up on this stupid mountain?

“Annie?”

The doctor’s voice broke her train of thought
and she blinked, causing a single tear to escape from her eye.

“Are you all right? Aside from your ankle, I
mean.” Doc Wilkins paused in his work to search her face. Embarrassed by her
emotional display, Annie wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. She
sniffled before attempting to answer.

“Yes, I’m fine. Well, except . . .”
She paused, uncertain what to say. “No, really—I’ll be fine. I suppose the long
walk back up here must have knocked the wind out of me.” She faked a smile,
knowing her words didn’t fool either of them.

“I think you’ve got a pretty bad sprain, but it
doesn’t look like you’ve broken any bones. Which means a speedier recovery. But
you’ll need to stay off it as much as possible. Try to keep an ice pack on it
as much as you can stand it. If there’s not one in the freezer, just use a bag
of frozen peas or corn. That’ll do just as well. I’m sure Mary Jean will be
more than happy to come up and bring you a meal or two if you’d be open to
that.”

“Oh no, I’m sure I’ll be fine, Dr. Wilkins.”

“Please—just call me Doc. Everyone does.”

She smiled. “Okay, Doc. Thanks for the offer. If
I run into trouble, I’ll give you a call. I just need—” Her voice disappeared.

Doc leveled his gaze at her over the top of his
glasses. “Young lady, I know I’m practically a stranger to you, and you have no
reason whatsoever to feel compelled to talk to an old codger like me. Just the
same, I’d be mighty blind not to notice you’re hurting pretty badly in here.”
He tapped his finger on his heart. He smiled at her with knowing eyes. “A
sprain like this may be a nuisance, but it’s not too serious. But if you keep
whatever it is that’s bothering you all stuffed down inside you like some
turkey all dressed for Thanksgiving, you’ll bring on all kinds of illnesses.
Physical
and
emotional. The good Lord didn’t design these old bodies to
cart around so much stress.”

“You’re a believer?” she asked softly.

“Good heavens, yes. Mercy, you don’t think I
could understand the human body without knowing the One who made it in the
first place? Yes, I’ve been a believer longer than you’ve been alive, I
reckon’. Don’t know how people live without the Lord. Can’t imagine.”

Annie took a ragged breath before trusting her
voice again. “I am too,” she responded, then added, “I’m also a pastor’s
wife, but . . . I guess you’d say I’m . . .”
She struggled to find the words. Nothing.

They sat in silence. The wind howled through the
trees outside. Finally, the doctor finished taping her ankle and stood up. He
reached down to pat her hand. “You just let me know if you need anything—and
that
includes
an experienced listener,” he added, once again peering
over his glasses. “You can ask anyone in this county and they’ll tell you that
Doc Wilkins knows how to keep his mouth shut. It’s a rare quality, of course.
But it comes in mighty handy sometimes.

“Now, I’m going to fix you a hot cup of tea
before I go. I’ll build your fire back up, then look around for the crutches
Christine keeps around here somewhere. Up here in ski country, everyone has a
pair of crutches around the house. You just try and take it easy, okay?
Doctor’s orders,” he added over his shoulder.

Annie relaxed. In a strange way, she knew her
fall had been no accident. It was a “divine appointment,” as Caroline liked to
call it. An unexpected mishap requiring an unlikely visitor. An angel disguised
as a sweet, country doctor with plenty of time on his hands.

CHAPTER 13

Plainview
,
Texas

Michael groped for the phone. He started to lift
the receiver until a pain shot through his arm, startling him out of his sleep.
“Aaahhh!” He dropped the phone.

“Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith! Are you all right?”

A far away, muffled voice beckoned from beneath
the bed. “Just a minute . . . I dropped the phone. Hold on.”
With his good arm, he pulled the cord until the receiver followed it up the
side of the bed. “Uh, yes, I’m here.”

“Mr. Smith, this is Peg at the front desk. You
asked for a wake-up call at
ten o’clock
. It’s just a shade
after ten now. Are you all right?”

“Sure . . . I’m fine, just
knocked the phone off . . . no problem. Thanks. I, uh . . .
appreciate it.” He hung up before another wave of pain rolled over him. He
cried out, cradling his side, shocked at the continuing intensity of his pain.
For a moment, he remained totally still.
What am I going to do? I’ve got to
get out of here.

He checked his watch.
Five after ten
. There
was no time to baby himself, not another minute to rest. If he had any chance
at all, he must keep moving. With bold determination, he inched himself up to a
sitting position and waited for the dizziness to pass before opening his eyes.