Yuletide Stalker

The first twenty years of Maddie Horton's life seemed of little importance as she anticipated the next few weeks. This upcoming Christmas vacation promised to be a time of pleasure and adventure. Her first airplane ride. Her first trip outside the continental United States. And when she landed in Honolulu in a few hours, she would see Lincoln Carey for the first time in over ten years. Recalling that momentous occasion when Lincoln, who preferred to be called Linc, came into her life, brought fleeting sadness to Maddie. Her father, Commander Stanley Horton of the U. S. Navy, had been on a six-month assignment to Hawaii when he was killed in an airplane crash. Maddie was only ten years old. Linc, a junior officer under her father's command, had accompanied his body home to West Virginia for burial. Unaware, the handsome sailor had stolen Maddie's impressionable heart at their first meeting. The years hadn't changed her affection for him. After her mother died, Maddie kept in touch with Linc with an occasional note. She had also sent him her high school graduation announcement, which he hadn't acknowledged. But when she'd written to ask him to provide some information about Hawaii's role in World War II for a History project, he invited her to spend the Christmas holidays with him in Hawaii and do on-site research. Maddie had jumped at the chance to find out if the man she'd enshrined in her heart for ten years was as wonderful as she imagined. Anticipating the trip, Maddie had become as flighty and excited as a kitten chasing sunbeams. She lived in a state of euphoria for weeks. But she'd come down to earth with a thud when she visited Caroline Renault, director of the Valley of Hope facility, where Maddie had lived for two years. VOH was a residence school for at-risk teenagers. Maddie didn't qualify for admission to the school for the usual reasons. But knowing that she was dying, Maddie's mother, who had been Miss Caroline's friend for years, had arranged for Maddie to live at VOH until she was eighteen. "Did you seek God's guidance before you planned this trip?" Miss Caroline asked. Embarrassed, Maddie admitted that she hadn't. "I haven't received any positive reassurance when I've prayed about your trip," Miss Caroline continued. "Since you've already accepted the invitation, there isn't anything I can do except warn you to be careful. But I sense that danger waits for you in Hawaii." Because she respected Miss Caroline and her opinions, her concern caused Maddie several anxious days. But in the excitement of the final preparations, Maddie often pushed her friend's cautionary words into the background. During today's ten-hour flight, though, she wondered if shewouldencounter some kind of trouble in Hawaii. When she'd discussed her concerns with her roommate, Lucy Harrison, Lucy scoffed at the idea. "What could happen, unless Lincoln Carey turns out to be a jerk?" Lucy said in her matter-of-fact way. "And you've got a return ticket. If he makes a pass at you, you can always go to a hotel for a few days. In the meantime, you'll have a lot of new experiences." Her eyes sweeping Maddie from head to toe, Lucy asked, "Does Linc Carey know what you look like?" "I've never sent him a picture. He probably remembers the way I looked when I was ten." "And how old is he?" "Eleven years older than I am. He's thirty-one now." With twinkling eyes, Lucy said, "Chances are he still thinks of you as a child. Your appearance may be quite a shock to the man." Remembering Lucy's lighthearted assessment of the situation eased Maddie's apprehension. She settled back in her seat and looked out the small window. When the plane took off from the Houston airport, she had been on pins and needles watching the rapidly receding ground. Below her now was a white layer of clouds. She took her Bible from her tote bag and searched for some Scriptures that dealt with clouds. OBrand, Irene is the author of 'Yuletide Stalker', published 2006 under ISBN 9780373874019 and ISBN 0373874014.