Read Online The Heavenly Fugitive by Gilbert Morris - Free Book Online
Authors: Gilbert Morris
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college. Thanks again, Rosa, and merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to you too, Dom.”
Phil climbed out of the car and headed for the front door of the building as Dom drove off slowly. Rosa craned her neck to watch Phil out the window as long as she could, then settled back down, thinking about the handsome young man.
Dom interrupted her thoughts. “I wonder what a smart kid like that’s doin’ workin’ at a stable. From what I hear, his grandmother is loaded. She’d probably help him.”
“I think he has too much pride for that,” Rosa said softly.
After they arrived back home, she took the Bible up to her room. She lay flat across her bed and opened it to page one and studied the first note: “I give my heart to Jesus Christ.He will ever be Lord of my life, and I will be obedient to Him no matter what it costs.” For a long time she lay there turning the pages slowly, and somehow she got a sense of the life of Phillip Winslow. The notes were very personal, intimate even, and there were times when he cried out almost in panic. Finally she closed the Bible, sat up, and held it on her lap. She rubbed the cover and murmured, “A real lion-skin cover! I’m going to read it all the way through!”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Winslow Clan
As Lola Winslow’s big Oldsmobile moved along the snow-packed streets of New York, Amelia and Phil sat in the roomy backseat staring out the windows at the pristine whiteness of the world. Snow had continued falling all night, leaving a dazzling whiteness on the city and countryside. Ugly brown-stone buildings had been converted to fluffy white palaces, their rounded tops pierced only by chimneys that sent clouds of dusky smoke into the air. Long dagger-shaped icicles hung from the eaves, giving the houses a sinister appearance despite their wintry beauty. The soft blanket of snow muffled the city noises, so that the usual clashing of cars and trucks was muted to a gentle humming of the tires.
The driver, whom Lola Winslow had sent to pick up her grandchildren, steered the big car through the downtown area, into the quieter residential streets, and finally out to where buildings and houses gave way to snow-covered hills and trees. Turning onto a dirt road, he said, “Good thing the roads are frozen. When this thaws, the mud’s going to be ten inches deep. There won’t be any traffic until the sun bakes it out.”
“How long have you been driving for my grandmother, Robert?”
“Mr. Mark hired me fifteen years ago. I’ve been with them ever since. Driving and gardening and everything that needs doing around the place.”
“I know you miss my grandfather,” Phil said, “but then, we all do.”
Robert was a tall, lean man whose black hair was salted with white. “Yes, sir. He was the finest man I ever knew. How your grandmother manages without him is beyond me.”
Phil and Amelia fell silent, taking in the beauty of the New York countryside. The trees were all soft now, their outlines smooth and rounded with white crystals. The sun reflected off of the snowy landscape, creating a luminous glow that blinded the eyes.
Lowering her voice so that Robert could not hear over the roar of the powerful engine, Amelia leaned closer to Phil and whispered, “I wish I weren’t going.”
Phil lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Why would you say a thing like that? You don’t want to sit alone in your room on Christmas, do you?”
Amelia shook her head. The cold had permeated the car, and she kept her hands inside her coat pockets as she leaned against Phil. “I’m afraid I’m going to be uncomfortable because I didn’t stay with Grandmother like you did.”
Indeed, when Phil and Amelia had arrived at their grandparents’ house the summer before last, Amelia had at first been excited. She had felt free to come and go as she pleased, finding friends in the city who loved to party and go to speakeasies, but when her grandparents tried to get her to stay at the estate and live more
Phil climbed out of the car and headed for the front door of the building as Dom drove off slowly. Rosa craned her neck to watch Phil out the window as long as she could, then settled back down, thinking about the handsome young man.
Dom interrupted her thoughts. “I wonder what a smart kid like that’s doin’ workin’ at a stable. From what I hear, his grandmother is loaded. She’d probably help him.”
“I think he has too much pride for that,” Rosa said softly.
After they arrived back home, she took the Bible up to her room. She lay flat across her bed and opened it to page one and studied the first note: “I give my heart to Jesus Christ.He will ever be Lord of my life, and I will be obedient to Him no matter what it costs.” For a long time she lay there turning the pages slowly, and somehow she got a sense of the life of Phillip Winslow. The notes were very personal, intimate even, and there were times when he cried out almost in panic. Finally she closed the Bible, sat up, and held it on her lap. She rubbed the cover and murmured, “A real lion-skin cover! I’m going to read it all the way through!”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Winslow Clan
As Lola Winslow’s big Oldsmobile moved along the snow-packed streets of New York, Amelia and Phil sat in the roomy backseat staring out the windows at the pristine whiteness of the world. Snow had continued falling all night, leaving a dazzling whiteness on the city and countryside. Ugly brown-stone buildings had been converted to fluffy white palaces, their rounded tops pierced only by chimneys that sent clouds of dusky smoke into the air. Long dagger-shaped icicles hung from the eaves, giving the houses a sinister appearance despite their wintry beauty. The soft blanket of snow muffled the city noises, so that the usual clashing of cars and trucks was muted to a gentle humming of the tires.
The driver, whom Lola Winslow had sent to pick up her grandchildren, steered the big car through the downtown area, into the quieter residential streets, and finally out to where buildings and houses gave way to snow-covered hills and trees. Turning onto a dirt road, he said, “Good thing the roads are frozen. When this thaws, the mud’s going to be ten inches deep. There won’t be any traffic until the sun bakes it out.”
“How long have you been driving for my grandmother, Robert?”
“Mr. Mark hired me fifteen years ago. I’ve been with them ever since. Driving and gardening and everything that needs doing around the place.”
“I know you miss my grandfather,” Phil said, “but then, we all do.”
Robert was a tall, lean man whose black hair was salted with white. “Yes, sir. He was the finest man I ever knew. How your grandmother manages without him is beyond me.”
Phil and Amelia fell silent, taking in the beauty of the New York countryside. The trees were all soft now, their outlines smooth and rounded with white crystals. The sun reflected off of the snowy landscape, creating a luminous glow that blinded the eyes.
Lowering her voice so that Robert could not hear over the roar of the powerful engine, Amelia leaned closer to Phil and whispered, “I wish I weren’t going.”
Phil lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Why would you say a thing like that? You don’t want to sit alone in your room on Christmas, do you?”
Amelia shook her head. The cold had permeated the car, and she kept her hands inside her coat pockets as she leaned against Phil. “I’m afraid I’m going to be uncomfortable because I didn’t stay with Grandmother like you did.”
Indeed, when Phil and Amelia had arrived at their grandparents’ house the summer before last, Amelia had at first been excited. She had felt free to come and go as she pleased, finding friends in the city who loved to party and go to speakeasies, but when her grandparents tried to get her to stay at the estate and live more
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