folded Leah inside, taking a moment to buckle her in and
wrap the blanket all around her legs and feet. Then she ran
around to the other side and climbed in herself, shaking from
fear and cold. She cranked the heat up to high.
"Now, hang in there," she said as she tried to mentally
calm herself in order to drive. "I'm going to do what Jed
would do," she continued to speak, as much for her sake as
Leah's. "I'm going to pray as I drive." She put the car in gear,
but before she began to move, Lizzie hopped into the front
seat and cuddled down upon Leah's lap.
Maggie glanced at the dog in surprise. "Good girl, Lizzie.
Share some of that body heat with her." She thought she saw
Leah smile just slightly.
Maggie decided to proceed on up Jed's road. She knew
his house was only a couple miles away from where they
were, much closer than her own house, and the fastest way
to get Leah inside and warm. "Dear God," she prayed out
loud, "please help Leah. Help her to get warm. And please,
help me to drive safely." Although she could feel the heat
blowing out of the car's engine like a furnace, she continued
to shiver herself. "Dear God, help Leah to get warm," she
prayed again as she slowly navigated the curving road that
continued climbing upward. Suddenly she wondered if she
were a fool to attempt this drive. Perhaps she should've
turned back, but then she would've had even more distance
*to cover on this mountain road. Finally, after what seemed
hours but was actually less than ten minutes, she recognized
the dark shadow of the building that had once been their
church looming straight ahead. She followed the road
behind it past Jed's shop and on toward the little cabin,
hoping to see warm lights glowing from the window. But all
the buildings were dark. Leaving the car running, she ran on
ahead to turn on some lights, but after fumbling with a
couple switches, she realized that the electricity must be out Looking for You All My Life263
and inside the cabin was cold. She ran back to the car and
positioned it so her headlights would shine right into the
front window of the cabin. She quickly located and lit
kerosene lamps, so handily positioned she supposed that
losing the power might not be such a rare occurrence out
here. Then she wadded up newspaper and stacked kindling
in the woodstove, pushing the couch up close to it. She
searched the small cabin for quilts and blankets, placing
them near the woodstove to warm. Just as soon as the kin-
dling began to flame, she carefully placed some bigger logs
on it and then went out to get Leah.
She opened the car door, and Leah looked at her with
wide, frightened eyes. "Maggie," she whispered hoarsely, "I
was so scared."
Maggie eased her from the car and helped her into the
house, Lizzie obediently following at their heels. After set-