River forced her muscles to move, and she knelt down. Then she put her head down, her chin resting on her bent legs. It made it hard to breathe.

“I win,” Prescott said loudly. His laugh was obscene. “I beat you and your partner. He may not be dying tonight, but he’ll die inside when he pulls your body out of the river.”

“You’ve won nothing,” River said, her words muffled by her position and the knowledge that Tony would be crushed if Prescott succeeded.

“If I die here, God will take me home to be with Him. So you lose, David. No matter what you do, you still lose.”

Before she had a chance to prepare herself, pain exploded in the back of her head. He’d hit her again with his gun. She fought to stay conscious, but she felt herself slipping away. The last thing she heard was David Prescott cursing God’s name.

When she regained consciousness, she couldn’t see anything. It was dark and cold. And wet. She gasped loudly when she remembered where she was. In the Mississippi River, drowning.

“God, please,” she cried out. “Please don’t let me die here. I’m not ready. I haven’t told Tony that I love him. Please, Father.”

She stopped as she felt water in her mouth. She choked and gagged. Remembering the last time she was inside a trunk, she wiggled herself onto her side so she could get a few more breaths of air before the chest was completely submerged. She recalled begging for her life back then. Promising God she’d return to Him, but then turning her back once she’d been rescued. This time would be different. If she died, she would die praising Him for His love. For giving the life of His precious Son for people who hated Him. Who reviled Him. Even for people like David Prescott. It was the kind of love that was impossible to understand.

She tried to turn on her back, attempting to keep her head elevated, but she couldn’t. Suddenly, a song filled her mind, and she began to sing. The cold made her body tremble and her lips quiver. As well as she could, she sang, “My God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above . . .” She stopped as water filled her mouth and nose. It seemed that this time no one was going to pull her out. No one would save her. It wasn’t what she wanted, but if this was what was going to happen, it was okay. Fear was gone. She was getting ready to see the face of her Savior. The One who loved her more than anyone else.

She held her breath as long as she could, but she finally had to give up. She was so cold, it was as if she couldn’t control her muscles anymore. She felt herself drifting away. Then there was warmth, and she found herself standing in a field of flowers. She was amazed to see hues of color beyond anything she’d ever imagined. As if there were colors human beings had never seen. A warm breeze moved the flowers, and they sang. It seemed that everything around her was made of music. All of creation was praising God. There were no words in the English language to describe the beauty she beheld.

Suddenly she realized that Someone was walking toward her. He was made of light. She couldn’t clearly make out His features because his face was too bright. Somehow, she realized that she didn’t have the kind of eyes that could see His face. Not yet, anyway.

“Lord?” she whispered.

He came up and took her hands. “It’s not time for you to be with Me,” He said. “But you will be someday. I want you to always remember how much I love you. Never doubt it for a moment. You are my beloved daughter, and I am well pleased with you.”

River looked down at His hands and saw the scars on His wrists. She tried to tell Him how much she loved Him, but her vision grew misty, and He began to fade. The last thing she heard was “Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”

Peace flowed through her. Peace so strong, she realized that it was what she’d read about in the Bible. Peace that passed understanding. She smiled and drifted away.

CHAPTER

FORTY-EIGHT

River was suddenly aware of a bright light that surrounded her, but it didn’t feel like the light she’d seen before. She felt warm, but it was different too. Where was she?

“Lord?” she whispered. Her throat hurt and she was confused. There wasn’t supposed to be pain in heaven. What was wrong?

“You can call me Tony,” a voice said.

River forced her eyes to focus. Someone was standing over her. “Where . . . where . . . ?”

“You’re in the hospital, River. You’re going to be okay.”

She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. The light was from the fixture overhead and the warmth came from the blankets that covered her. She could finally make out Tony’s face. “What . . . ?”

“Just save your voice,” Tony said. “You’ve had a tube down your throat. It will be a little sore for a while. When we found you, Prescott had thrown you into the river. We almost got there too late.”

“My phone?”

Tony nodded. “River, I swear God reminded me about that phone. I’d completely forgotten about it. Then, when we realized Prescott had found the tracker and we had no idea where you were, suddenly I could hear you telling me about that stupid phone. I remembered the number, even though I’d never written it down. I should have. It was stupid of me. I’m convinced it was God taking care of you. Arnie had your phone tracked and we found you. If we’d gotten there even a few minutes later . . .” He cleared his throat. “It’s a miracle the doctors brought you back.”

“Brought me back?” The pain in her throat brought tears to her eyes.

Before Tony could answer her, someone else came into the room.

“I heard you were awake.” An older man with gray hair stepped up next to River’s bed. “Do you know your name?”

River frowned at him. “Of course. I’m River Ryland,” she croaked. “And who are you?”

The man’s bushy gray eyebrows shot up, and he grinned at her. “Perfectly good question. I’m Dr. Schell. I’ve been treating you since you were brought in. I know your throat hurts. We had to give you oxygen through an endotracheal tube. We also gave you fluids to warm you up. You had hypothermia and inhaled water from the river. If it wasn’t for Mr. St. Clair, I don’t think you’d be with us.”

“What do you mean? What happened to me?” River said, her voice barely audible.

“I’ll let Mr. St. Clair tell you about that. We had to treat him too, but thankfully, he’s just fine.” The doctor went around to the end of River’s bed and picked up a clipboard. He read it over and smiled. “You’re doing very well. If you keep it up, we may be able to send you home tomorrow.”

“I’d rather leave now.” She put her hand to her throat as if that would somehow help.

Dr. Schell laughed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. From the stories I’ve heard about you, I should have expected that. Let’s wait until tomorrow though, okay? I want to make certain we don’t have to stick you back in here, and I’m sure you feel the same.”

“How . . . how long . . . ?” she croaked.

“Have you been here?” the doctor asked.

River nodded.

“It’s been three days since you were brought in. We had to keep you unconscious for a while. Warm you up slowly and keep an eye on your lungs. I feel safe in saying you’re going to recover completely. Some patients who are brought in with your symptoms are never the same. You’re a very lucky young lady.”

“Not . . . not lucky,” Tony said. “Blessed.”

She felt Tony squeeze her hand. Her vision was clearing, and she looked up into his eyes. What she saw there filled her with joy.

“I stand corrected,” the doctor said. “I think you’re right. ‘Blessed’ is more accurate. Let’s see if we can get a little food inside you. I’m sure you’d enjoy that more than your IV.”

River suddenly realized how hungry she was. “Sounds good,” she whispered.

“Try resting your throat,” the doctor said. “I’ll get you some ice chips and something for pain.” He turned and left the room.

“What . . . what . . . ?”

“Stop,” Tony said. He let go of her hand and walked over to a chair in the corner. There was a small table next to it. He picked up a spiral notebook and brought it over to the bed. After flipping the pages several times, he handed it to her. He’d turned it to a blank page. Then he reached into his pocket and took out a pen. He put it in her hand. “Write it,” he said. “Save your voice so it can recover, okay?”

She nodded and wrote, What did the doctor mean when he said you saved me?

Tony picked up the notebook and read what River had written. His cheeks turned red. He only did that when he was embarrassed.

“Look, when we got to the spot where Prescott took you, he’d already put you in the water. The chest was almost completely submerged. That river is huge and has strong undercurrents. There wasn’t much time. I had no choice. I . . . I jumped into the water.”

River reached out for the paper and pen. You shouldn’t have done that!!!!