Down from the Cross Read Free

would cover it, but don’t worry about that.” He leaned toward her, both hands gripping the edge of the mattress. “I plan to make amends. My insurance company will pay to have your car fixed, and if it can’t be fixed, they’ll replace it for you.”
    “And what about this?” She held out her battered leg, cringing with pain as she extended it. “I don’t have a nickel’s worth of insurance to cover the hospital costs.”
    “I’m sure my insurance will cover that, too, but if it doesn’t, I will,” he assured her once again. “Please don’t be concerned about it. Things will work out.”
    She looked away from him and stared at the wall. “Don’t be concerned about it? That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one going through this!”
    “I–I know, and I’m so sorry you have to go through this unexpected ordeal. I wish I could undo what happened, but I can’t.”
    Her fingers rubbing at her temples, she let out a deep sigh. “You don’t know the half of it, mister.”
    “I’m sure you’re going to be greatly inconvenienced until your injuries heal, and I will be happy to do anything I can to help you. Anything.”
    He seemed sincere, but there was no way he could help her. Her injuries and the loss of her car were only the beginning. “Nothing you can do. Not really.” She felt her chest heave up and down, the memory and magnitude of her problems nearly overwhelming her. “Only a miracle from God can help me now.”
    “I wouldn’t expect anything like that if I were you,” he said matter-of-factly, shrugging with a hopeless gesture.
    Upset by his words, she gave him a cold stare. “Why? Why would you say such a thing? God can perform miracles. He’s done it in my life many times.”
    His look was patronizing, and she resented both it and his implication that God could not answer prayer.
    “I don’t mean to upset you, Mrs. Delaney, but—”
    “Miss. It’s Miss Delaney.”
    “Like I said, I don’t mean to upset you, Miss Delaney, but there is no scientific proof that there is a God.”
    Her dander rose at his words. “What a ridiculous thing to say, when there’s so much evidence to the contrary!”
    “As an educated man, I have no choice. I must bow to the scientific scholars.”
    “What do they know? How do they explain the miraculous birth of a baby, or the sun rising and setting at exact times, or like my father used to say—a black cow eating green grass and giving white milk and yellow butter?”
    He sent a quick glance toward Mildred. “Look, Miss Delaney, I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is upset you.” His voice was soft and kind and seemed to bear no malice. “I should never have started our conversation this way. I merely meant you do not have to rely on some unknown God for a miracle. I ran the stoplight, I hit your car, and I’ll gladly face up to my responsibilities and take care of all of it—your car, your hospital and doctor bills, and anything else you might need.”
    Balling her fists, she glared at him. “That’s all well and good, but do you realize your carelessness has ruined my life?”
    “Yes, I realize that, and all I can do is say I’m sorry and do the best I can to make up for it. I am a man of honor.” He shifted nervously, rattling the change in his pocket. “I’m sorry about what I said. About your God. I didn’t mean to offend you in any way.”
    His words about God
had
angered her, but his softened voice and apology helped soothe both her anger and frustration. However, she had to let this man, who appeared to have no financial problems at all, know what this accident had done to her already messed-up life. Stressed to the limit, she sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten before speaking through gritted teeth, enumerating her problems by counting them on her fingers. “I don’t expect you to be interested, but my car and hospital bills are just the beginning of my problems. Two days ago, the company I have worked