LITMIR.BIZ

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at the bank, I hate to ask for any more time off. But I suppose you’re right. Hopefully, my employers will be patient a little longer.”

      “Let’s take a plane to North Carolina, rent a car and drive up in the mountains where the school is located. I’ve already established contact with the school’s supervisor, and after we talk to her, she may make the decision for us. I’ll cancel my flight for tomorrow, and we can leave on Monday.”

      “That might take care of the school problem, but that won’t solve the guardianship of the children.”

      He moved closer to her and stretched his arm around her shoulders. She welcomed his touch as he said sympathetically, “I won’t tell anyone what Spring asked you to do. If you decide you can’t take on the care of Nicole and Timmy, no one will ever know about your promise.”

      “I will,” she said drearily. “So I’ll make arrangements to go to North Carolina Monday morning.” She drained the last of her tepid tea and lifted the cup. “Bon voyage.”

      On Monday morning when they landed at the Winston-Salem Airport, David arranged for a rental car, and they headed westward on Interstate 40.

      “From what I gathered by reading Spring’s letters, this school is located in the boondocks,” Summer said.

      “Yes, that’s true. I’ve seen pictures of the place. There are two schools in the compound that’s located near Mountain Glen, a little town in a remote area of Madison County. An elementary school that’s been operating fifty years or so, and The Crossroads, the school Bert and Spring started. Edna Stollard, the woman I talked to, supervises both schools. The mission board that supported Bert and Spring while they were in Bolivia wanted to establish a facility for troubled teenagers, and they asked Bert and Spring to assume the responsibility. It took them almost a year to erect buildings and get the school in operation. I don’t think they have many students yet.”

      As they approached the Blue Ridge Mountains, Summer delighted in the awesome scenery and momentarily forgot the decisions facing them.

      David was amused at her alternate alarm when they climbed a long steep mountain to her delight when they reached the divide, and Summer clapped her hands like a child, exclaiming over the beautiful vistas before them.

      “I’ve seen lots of mountain scenery on television, but you get a whole new perspective when you’re right in the middle of the mountains. Our family’s traveling revolved around horse shows, mostly in the Midwest. I’ve never seen anything as spectacular as this,” she added, peering out the window at the mountain ranges surrounding them. “Have you?”

      He smiled affectionately at her. “Traveling with the Air Force, I’ve seen lots of mountains—the Alps and the Andes, and even Fujiyama in Japan. Besides, I grew up in Nashville, and our folks took us to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park almost every summer when we were kids. I like the mountains, too.”

      In David’s company, she saw things she never noticed when she was alone, like the flowers along the roadside, cloud patterns, a majestic rock formation or the color of a bird’s feathers. She felt alive when he was around. Why was she a different person when she was with David?

      While they had waited in the New York airport, she took a book from her purse to read as she always did, but David struck up a conversation with the people around them, and before they boarded the plane, he’d made himself and several others happy by showing a genuine interest in them. Although Summer hadn’t said a word, she’d laid aside her book to watch David and the people he’d befriended. With David, she realized there was another world beside the one she’d built around herself. If they accepted the provisions of the will, she would be with David most of the time. Glancing at his serene profile, and remembering how she enjoyed his occasional touches, Summer both dreaded and delighted in the possibility of being David’s constant companion.

      Observing Summer’s enjoyment of the scenery as they quickly covered the miles, David became more and more infatuated with the person behind the quiet facade Summer normally exhibited. What was there about this reserved, serious woman that drew him to her? Although he didn’t want to act on the request made by their siblings, he would welcome an excuse to see Summer often.

      When they neared Asheville, David fished in his coat pocket and drew out a piece of paper. “Here are the directions I got over the phone from Edna Stollard. We travel northward out of Asheville until we come to Mars Hill. From there, you’ll have to guide me.”

      Several miles beyond Mars Hill, they traveled westward and upward for a few torturous miles on a narrow road until they reached the small town of Mountain Glen. As the altitude increased, and the trees pressed closely on both sides of the road, Summer stopped talking and a look of panic overspread her face.

      Located on the side of a mountain, the town contained several houses and a small business section. David drove carefully along the main street until he saw a sign that pointed to Mountain Glen School. Soon they came to an unpaved road that wound uphill for about two miles before they reached a secluded valley. David stopped abruptly at a dead end marker beside a rustic sign marking the border of Pisgah National Forest. The compound consisted of several buildings. To the left was Mountain Glen Elementary School, a two-story brick building at the base of the mountain with two dormitories behind it. To their right, surrounded by a rail fence, stood three frame buildings with a placard reading The Crossroads over the gate.

      “The Crossroads!” Summer said quietly. “There aren’t any roads here to cross. They should have named it the jumping-off place.” Although it wasn’t yet four o’clock, the sun had already dipped behind the heavily wooded mountains, and Summer pulled at the collar of her blouse. The mountains she’d admired so much when they were traveling, dwarfed and suffocated her now.

      David’s spirits weren’t as animated as usual either, and he gave Summer a weak smile. “Looks like we’ve reached our destination.”

      “Why would anyone want to live here?” she said in a shaky voice. “I thought it was bad enough when Bert and Spring moved to South America. Bolivia couldn’t be worse than this.”

      “You’d probably change your mind if you saw Bolivia.”

      “I can’t understand why anyone would establish a school in this out-of-the-way place. The reality is worse than I expected.”

      David took her hand and gripped it tightly. “I don’t think either of us can understand it. As I told you, I haven’t given any thought to my spiritual self for a long time, but I did attend the service when Bert and Spring were commissioned as missionaries. When Bert gave his acceptance speech, he made a statement I’ve never forgotten. With tears running down his face, he said, ‘I didn’t choose to be a missionary. In fact, I didn’t want to be one. It’s not the life I would have chosen for myself or my family. But one day, the Lord Jesus appeared to me, much like He did to Paul the apostle. As He said to Paul, He spoke to me, ‘I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.”’

      David swallowed convulsively and his voice was hoarse. “Bert said, ‘I couldn’t argue with a call like that and responded in the words of Isaiah the prophet, here I am, Lord, send me. Wherever You lead me, I’ll go without question.”’

      Hot tears stung Summer’s eyelids. “You’re right. I don’t understand it.”

      “We never will unless we receive a similar call, but as I look around here, I don’t see much likelihood of that happening.” He turned off the car’s engine. “We might as well check out the place.”

      David stepped out of the car and breathed deeply. “Well, I’ll say this, I haven’t inhaled such fresh air since we used to vacation in the Smokies.” When Summer still sat in the car, he walked around and opened the door for her.

      “Let’s go,” he said gently, taking her hand, “it won’t be too bad. Remember, we just came to look.”

      She stood on trembling legs and pressed close to him. He put his arm around her waist. “I

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