Read Online Sacred Trust by Hannah Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

me.”
    Lukas bent closer. “Frankie, did you take too much medication?”
    There was a slight pause, then the man nodded, still not looking at Lukas.
    â€œBut your prescription bottle was almost full.”
    Frankie sighed. “I know. Tuesday evening I was going through the medicine cabinet for the first time since…since my wife died. I came across her bottle of Xanax. She used it sometimes to help her sleep when her arthritis acted up.”
    â€œSo you did take hers.” Lukas had noticed that the script was for sixty pills.
    â€œShe’d used about half the bottle before she died.” Frankie closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked at Lukas. His eyes were pale gray. It made him seem more vulnerable. “Tuesday was the sixtieth anniversary of our first date. When I saw that bottle, it occurred to me that I enjoyed life with Doris so much more than I enjoy life now, I just wanted to be with her again. I didn’t want to live.” He shrugged. “No reason to. No children or family.”
    â€œI’m sorry you felt that way. You do seem to have some neighbors who care about you a great deal.” Lukas could have kicked himself for not trusting his own instincts. “How do you feel now?”
    Frankie considered the question for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about Doris a lot today. When I allow myself to believe, as she insisted, that her spirit still lives, I feel better.” A gentle smile lit his face.
    That was it. Lukas realized that the lines of this man’s face held humor. That was another reason why Lukascouldn’t believe he had tried to kill himself when he came into the emergency room the other day.
    â€œWas Mrs. Verris a Christian?” Lukas asked.
    â€œYes. Oh, I know a lot of people claim to be Christians, then live like the devil, but my wife…my sweet, giving wife…” The man’s eyes filled with tears. “She lived it.” He looked out the window for a moment and waited for his eyes to clear. “How she put up with an old reprobate like me for so long, I don’t know. When the drug started taking effect the other day, it occurred to me that I probably wouldn’t follow her anyway.”
    â€œWhy is that?”
    â€œGod would kick me out of heaven.”
    â€œHe doesn’t kick His own children out. You don’t share your wife’s faith?”
    Frankie continued as if he hadn’t heard Lukas. “My wife was the most beautiful woman in the world.” He said it softly, as if he were recalling her face. “She was beautiful inside, as well as outside, and she just grew more beautiful over the years.” His attention returned to Lukas. “I want to thank you for giving me another chance.”
    â€œI’m glad I was here to help.” Lukas paused, then cleared his throat. “There is a way to make sure that you follow Doris when you do leave this earth.”
    Frankie shook his head slowly. “I could never be the kind of person Doris was.”
    â€œYou don’t have to be. God created you as you are, and He wants you as you are.”
    Frankie continued to shake his head.
    â€œTell me,” Lukas said, “would Doris be silly enough to worship a useless God?”
    Frankie glanced sharply at Lukas. “My wife was a very wise lady. She wasn’t silly.”
    â€œThen wouldn’t the God she worshiped at least be able to love you and accept you as generously as she did?”
    Frankie watched Lukas for a moment. “You’re a Christian.”
    â€œYes, I am.”
    â€œYou talk just like Doris used to.” His eyes filled with tears again. “Sure do miss her.”
    â€œThen why don’t you start making your travel plans—and not the way you did Wednesday. Why don’t you make sure you can be with her again? Get to know her Savior personally. Then when the time comes, in His time, not yours, He will see