Books by JF Carringer

Prologue

                      October 2007

Standing in the check out line, Sarah felt a tear ooze down her cheek.  At once, she brushed it away, looking around her to see if anyone had noticed.  Why on earth did she feel so sad?  She had everything a woman could want, a wonderful husband, a beautiful home, a terrific job.  Even as she reminded herself of all this, she couldn’t suppress the emptiness still inside her heart.  For some unexplained reason, it seemed like everything in her world was being threatened – as if her husband would soon be gone, as well as her home and job.  Why did she feel like that, when she was so sure everything good in her life would stay that way?

She loved Elijah.  He was everything she’d ever dreamed of and more.  Not only was he exceptionally good looking – tall, dark complexioned with dark hair and eyes - but even more than that, he was a good person with high standards and morals.  His delightful sense of humor could always bring a smile to her face, no matter what might have happened to make her sad.

But lately, his cheerful disposition had changed, and it frightened her.

Her thoughts were disturbed by the mumblings of the other shoppers waiting in the line.  Everyone was impatient.  She wasn’t the only one.  Everyone was in a hurry, just as she was.  None of them had the time to stand there so long.  There was too much to do, and so little time to do it.  Why oh why didn’t the cashier work a little faster?  She glanced briefly at the young girl behind the register, and it didn’t help her state of mind when she noticed how stressed she, too, seemed to be.

Elijah sat beneath the steering wheel of his new corvette, waiting for Sarah to finish her shopping.  It seemed like she’d been in the store forever and he found himself growing impatient.  How much longer would it take?  He had a lot of things to do, much more important stuff than sitting there waiting for her.  Looking at his watch, he sighed, then glanced at the car’s outside temperature gauge and sighed again.  Here it was late-October and still 85 degrees.  Would he ever get used to the heat in Florida?  He couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t doing his new vehicle a bit of good to keep idling so he could run the air conditioner.  There was no way he could turn it off.  He wasn’t that fond of taking a sweat bath in the middle of the afternoon, especially when he had to go back to the office later and join a lot of important people for a closed door meeting.  Why on earth didn’t she hurry?

A trickle of guilt washed over him unexpectedly.  When had he gotten so impatient with her?  Why was he angry with her now?  It wasn’t her fault that her car was having some long overdue maintenance work and she had to depend on him to drive her to the store for some necessities.  If anyone was to blame, he was, for not being able to do the work himself.

It wasn’t just the car and he knew it.  There were other things, too many of them to count lately.  In fact, he was almost to the point where he wondered if they even loved each other anymore, the way they were continually bickering with each other. Again, he sighed sadly.  How could it have ever come to this?  He pictured her in his mind.  She was so beautiful, with her long auburn hair and green eyes and creamy smooth complexion.  He’d loved her at first sight and they’d married just six short months after that first meeting.  They were so perfect together.  What could’ve gone so wrong in just five years?  When had it happened?  Why had it happened?

Sarah jumped, startled, when a soft male voice spoke from behind her.  “May I say something?”   

She turned around and looked at the fair-haired stranger who was dressed in an immaculate white suit.  “Are you talking to me?”

His blue eyes twinkled.  “This is a wonderful day, a day the Lord has made, and we aren’t guaranteed another one.  If tomorrow never comes, will it matter how long you had to stand in this line today?”

His words only added to her agitation, and she glared at him, saying nothing in return before focusing her attention on the others near her to see if they’d heard him.  Everyone was looking straight ahead or chatting with someone else.  No one was paying a bit of attention to her or the man behind her.  Turning quickly, she decided she was going to ignore him, too.  And she did - until she suddenly felt his warm breath close to her neck.  At once, she whirled around.  “What do you think you’re doing?”  she cried.

“Have you ever really thought about it?”  he responded, with neither a smile nor frown but total seriousness in his eyes.  “Tomorrow’s a speculation that may never come to pass.  The only thing that’s real is today, right now, this minute.  All that really matters is what we make of each moment while it’s here.”

“Everyone knows that,” she retorted, a little more harshly than she intended, “but that’s life and there isn’t much we can do to change it.”  She wasn’t in the mood for such idle chatter.  Without waiting for an answer, she looked around again, wishing once more that the line would just move and she could get through the check out.  To her surprise, there wasn’t a sound or movement anywhere.  Everything was silent and still.  There was no talking or laughing, no murmurings or annoying remarks.  There was no sound of the cash register ringing up purchases.  It was as if, suddenly, everything and everyone around her were frozen in time!  Her heart began to race, as panic welled inside of her.  What was happening?  With wide disbelieving eyes, she turned again to look at the stranger behind her.  He was still watching her, but now he was smiling and there was some kind of a glow around his face.  No matter how she tried, she couldn’t turn away.  “Don’t be frightened, Sarah,” he said then, his voice very gentle.  “I’m not here to scare you, but simply to help you see that every moment we live is precious and not to be taken for granted.  Time will not stand still for anyone, nor will it run faster if we request it to do so.  Only God, the Creator of the universe, has control of the hours and days of our lives.”

Unable to say a word, she merely continued to stare at him.

Again, he smiled.  “Today, Sarah, you and Elijah will be taking a journey that will open your eyes to things they never saw before.   Later, it will be up to each of you to follow your hearts and either act on, or disregard, what you’ve learned.  Either way, your lives will be changed forever after this day.  But I tell you again, don’t be afraid.  I will be with you.”

As soon as he’d finished speaking, he disappeared right before her eyes!

She gasped, just as everyone started talking again.  No one was looking at her and no one seemed to have seen the stranger vanish.  But she had seen it!  Sarah’s heart was racing wildly.  Not only that, but he had called her by name before he did.  And he’d also called Elijah by name.  He’d said their lives were going to be forever changed.

Terrified, she left her shopping cart and ran outside.  

Elijah’s thoughts were jostled totally out of his mind when the passenger door was jerked open.  Sarah jumped in and slammed it behind her.

“Honey, you don’t have to slam the door.”  His words stopped in his mouth when he saw the expression on her face.  “You look like…!”

“Go!”  she cried, her eyes wide.  “Just go!  Now!”

“But why?”

“Go!  Don’t ask questions!”

The moment his foot touched the gas pedal, her foot landed on top of his and stomped it to the floor.  The car lunged forward so quickly, he barely had time to get it under control before it nearly collided with another one.  With his eyes straight ahead, he sped out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

Only then did she remove her foot from his and breathe a deep sigh of what seemed to be relief.

He looked at her, totally frustrated.  “What on earth was that all about?”  Before she had a chance to reply, he gasped.  “Something’s wrong with the car!  What on earth…!”  He tried to put on the brake.  It was no use.  The car kept going faster and faster, as if it had wings