Looking For You All My Life Part 168

tling Leah on the couch by the now-crackling fire, she piled

the blankets and quilts up around her.

Then she turned to Lizzie and opened the covers. "Want

to join Leah?" As if she understood, Lizzie hopped right up

and snuggled close while Maggie tucked them both in.

"Keep her nice and warm, old girl."

Maggie found a plaid woolen jacket hanging on the door.

It smelled like Jed. She put it on and went back outside, for

what she hoped would be the last time tonight, and turned

off her engine, remembering to bring her cell phone back

inside with her. Without wasting a moment, she went into

the little kitchen area a~ thanked G.o.d for the gas stove sit-

ting in the corner. She thought she'd seen a large propane

tank at the side of the house last summer. She lit a burner and

quickly filled the teakettle with hot tap water, wondering if

Jed's water heater migh~~so be gas powered.

Then she went t~check on Leah, who was sitting up now

stroking Lizzie's silky ears, her eyes still wide and dazed.

"How did you know to come for me, Maggie?" she asked in

a dry whisper. Maggie gently rubbed her warm hands over

Leah's. The young girl's hands were white and delicate and 264.

Melody ~ar1son

reminded Maggie of the lilies in the springtime, but they felt

as cold as death. Maggie shuddered.

"I called to check on you, leaving a message for you to

call me back." Maggie looked fondly upon her. "When you

didn't, I began to feel a little concerned, so Lizzie and I

decided to take a little ride Out in the snowy night."

Leah shut her eyes for a moment. I'm so glad you did."

Just then the teakettle began to whistle. Maggie went

over and stirred a packet of instant cocoa into a big green

mug, topping it off with a little cold milk from the refriger-

ator, then brought this back to Leah. "Here hold this to

warm your hands and then drink it slowly." Then she

reached down and pulled off Leah's lightweight leather

boots and gently rubbed her cold feet, holding them close to

the fire for warmth.

"What happened, Leah?" she finally asked. What she

really wanted to know was why hadn't Leah immediately

climbed from the stranded pickup and walked on to Jed's

place. It was less than two miles and couldn't have taken

much more than an hour or so to get there. Surely a good

hike would've been better than freezing in that truck!

Leah took another sip of cocoa and Maggie was relieved

to see the color slowly returning to her lips. They had been

a pale shade of blue when Maggie had first discovered her.

"It started snowing real hard on my way home," began

Leah, "but I was driving pretty careful~r so I thought. And

then suddenly the pickup just started to swerve." She took

another sip of cocoa. "That's when I jerked the wheel.. .1