Mel and Roberts joined in. “He leadeth me beside the still waters.”
Frannie could hardly keep going. Frustration choked her. None of that was true. These were horrible rocks Paul lay on, and the waters were anything but still.
Paul tipped his head back to keep his mouth and nose out of the water. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
Please, Lord,she begged.Don’t let him die.Frannie wished she hadn’t been so stupid. She’d thought being brave was about climbing the water tower, or teasing a bear, any of the other stupid things she’ddone. When Paul was really the brave one. She could barely whisper the rest of it past the knot in her throat. “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The three of them sat in silence as the water rose.
God wasn’t answering.
And why would he? She only prayed when she was desperate.I’m sorry, Lord. I don’t deserve anything from you. But this isn’t for me. This is for Paul.She clutched Paul’s hand under the water.Save him, please. Save him.Tears slipped out of Paul’s eyes and ran down his wet cheek.
The trailer behind them creaked.
Frannie straightened. Had she imagined that? She swiped her wet sleeve over her eyes and turned the flashlight beam on the trailer, blinking hard to see better. The trailer creaked again and... looked for all the world like it moved.
Frannie waited, afraid to even breathe.
Then, it definitely moved.
Frannie jumped up. “Mel!” she cried, sloshing around behind Paul. “Help me.”
Mel stayed where he was. “But we just—”
“Do it,” Frannie demanded. She didn’t have time to explain. If what she thought was happening was really happening, maybe he had a chance. Paul’s eyes were frantic as the waves splashed over his nose. “Both of you, pull him up.”
Mel took one arm and Roberts took the other. Frannie went to the trailer where the treetop was jammed under the axle. “Pull!” she yelled. She grabbed the axel as Roberts and Mel pulled on Paul. She lifted up on the trailer. It moved. Not much, but some.
She looked back. Paul’s nose and mouth were above water.
“The water,” Paul croaked. “It’s lifting the trailer.”
“Pull again!” Frannie shouted. The rising water buoyed the trailer and the axel moved up a few more inches.
Roberts and Mel pulled... and Paul was out.
He lurched to standing, Mel and Roberts on each side, breathing hard. Frannie splashed through the water and threw her arms aroundPaul and Mel and Roberts—all of them—squeezed in a big muddy bear hug. When Mel stepped back, Frannie saw he was crying. They were all crying. Well, not Roberts, but he looked a little misty-eyed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.Frannie’s legs were wobbly, but she’d never felt better. Better than climbing the water tower or hot-potting or riding in a fast car. God had heard her. He’d heard her prayer. Maybe it wasn’t all mumbo jumbo. Maybe God really did love her like Bridget said.
“Can you walk?” Mel asked Paul.
He tested his legs and winced. “I think so.” They were still cold and alone. They had badly injured people waiting for help, the water was rising, and Frannie hadn’t found Claire and Jenny or Jerrylynn. Despite it all, she felt a surge of satisfaction and of something else. Something warm and solid.
Was this what faith felt like?
If this was faith, she’d take all God had to give her, because they needed it tonight. They all needed it.
Frannie stood at the campfire with Paul, Mel, and Roberts. Mel and Roberts had helped Paul up the hill, and Frannie found a camp chair to put him in while he warmed up beside the fire. He figured he had a sprained ankle—or maybe broken—but other than that, he was alive and well. It was a genuine miracle.
But not everyone was well.
“We have to get the Wilsons to a hospital,” she told Roberts. They couldn’t wait any longer.
“What about us?” Vicky’s voice came from where she was huddled in her blanket by the fire. “Are you leaving us here to die?”
“Stop being dramatic,” Frannie said. “There’s not enough room for everybody and you’re not hurt.” Jeepers, couldn’t Vicky think of anyone other than herself?
