Some people make a difference by simply being who they are.  They help others open their minds and hearts.  Lydia Nelson is such a person.  When people are with her, they have a clearer sense of themselves and are better able to work through their own problems.

Lydia is the second book in a trilogy, a sequel to the ghost story, Promises to Keep.  The story begins one morning during a winter storm when Lydia has an unexplainable experience involving another resident of the town of Haverford.  Awakened by the ferocity of the blizzard, Lydia is sitting in her kitchen having breakfast when there is a loud knock on the door.  However, there is no one at either her front or back door, nor are there footprints on the snow-covered porches.  Having had other paranormal experiences throughout her life, she trusts her instincts and takes action to save her neighbor.

            Lydia’s family is in the midst of their own personal crises.  Her son, Jim, is separated from his wife of twenty-four years, and her youngest daughter, Ellie, a writer and free spirit who lives in New York City, has chosen to become a single mother through artificial insemination.  A few months into her pregnancy, a new man enters her life, complicating the situation.  Lydia’s oldest daughter, Susan, is struggling to help her husband, who has had a debilitating stroke, deal with teenage daughters and continue to run the family business.

            While family issues swirl around Lydia, it is her ordeal with a deranged neighbor and aggressive developers who want her valuable farmland that drives the story.

The broken windshield was a mosaic of ice and snow.

He needed help but who would listen?

Whose heart and mind would be open?

He wasn't cold any more.  Just sleepy, so very, very sleepy.  He couldn't move.  He couldn't get his arms free to reach the horn or turn the key to start the motor to heat the car.  In a hurry to finish his dinner meeting and get home, he had left his cell phone in the restaurant in the city. 

            It had been a long, cold, frightening night.  He remembered his surprise when he turned the steering wheel to follow the curve of the road only to have the car continue straight ahead and drop into the snow-filled field.

            It would have been a soft landing except for the fence post.  The impact drove the steering wheel into his chest.  At first the pain had been excruciating, but now he was numb from his chest down and that frightened him even more.

            The car shook from a burst of wind and sleet.

            "Please, God," he prayed.  "Please, let someone find me."

He stared at the broken windshield covered with ice and snow, glittering and shining like crystal.  The sun, he thought.  The sun must be coming up. 

            His tired mind contradicted him.  Darkness surrounded the rest of the car.  The icy image shifted into strange shapes and designs that looked like shimmering clouds or maybe…wings.

            Wings? 

            "No,” he cried into the darkness.  “My family needs me.  I can't die.  I won't die!  I have work to do.  I need more time.”

            The windshield seemed to glow brighter.

            His fearful thoughts receded.  Maybe it was going to be all right.  Maybe someone was helping him.

****

She was in a soft darkness, a dreaming place, in a group of some sort, a council of loving entities.  She wanted to stay, listen to what they had to say, but an intruding sound grew louder, pulling her back.

            Lydia opened her eyes.  Sleet tapped against the windows.  The old farmhouse groaned and shuddered from the onslaught of icy snow and wind.  She reached out, turned up the electric blanket and snuggled deeper under the covers.  Maybe she could go back to sleep and recapture the dream, reenter that place between here and somewhere else.

            But not this morning.  The storm was too loud and the room too cold.  Lydia turned on the light to check the clock—five a.m.  Turning on her side and shifting back, she bumped into Calico, his furry body stretched lengthwise.  He pushed against her and began purring.

Lulled by the soothing sound, Lydia relaxed and thought about her husband who had been in the dream that was now fading away.  John had died almost ten years ago, but he still appeared in her dreams—especially lately.

           Calico rolled into a ball.  “Too chilly even for you, old friend?” she asked, reaching out to stroke the cold fur.  The purring increased.  Lydia threw back the covers.  “Come on, you lazy cat, we've got to get up!”  She pulled on her blue velvet robe and slippers and hurried across the room to turn up the thermostat.  The sound of the old furnace reassured her.  Hopefully, it would last one more winter.

            In the bathroom, she stood at the sink, cleaning her teeth, splashing water on her face and running a brush through short, white hair, avoiding the mirror in front of her.  The image in the mirror didn’t reflect who she was anymore.  Who is that old woman? she often wondered.  Of course, if John were still here, he would only see the lingering vestiges of her former beauty through the eyes of his love.  But he was gone.  Except in my dreams, Lydia thought, as she and Calico made their way down the steps and into the kitchen. 

            Here the wind was even louder, whistling around the corners of the farmhouse.  She opened the door of the wrought-iron stove and struck a match to the kindling.  Thanks to the old stove, the kitchen was the warmest room in the house.  Starting the coffee, she heated a blueberry muffin in the microwave.

            Soon the smell of freshly perked coffee filled the room.  Lydia added fruit to a tray and carried it to her comfortable overstuffed chair in the sitting area of the kitchen.  Tucking a soft afghan around her, she propped her legs on the hassock, took a bite of muffin, sipped the hot coffee and opened her daily devotions.

When she had finished breakfast and her reading, Lydia sat, collecting her thoughts.  Each morning she prayed for everyone, but today she needed guidance for herself.  She couldn't avoid facing her problem any longer.

            Closing her eyes, Lydia prayed, "I invite the Holy Spirit into my heart.  Dear God, please fill me with the light of your love.  I release all negative thoughts and feelings to you, that I may be a clear channel for your love into the world…."

            The sudden ringing of the phone startled her.  Who…?   It was only five-thirty.  Then she knew.  Susan. 

            “Hello, Susan.”

            “Mother, I wish you wouldn't do that.  What if it isn't me?  You don’t have Caller ID.  You could embarrass yourself.”
            “When it isn’t you, dear, I don’t say it.  Is anything wrong?  It’s awfully early.”

            “The whole town of Haverford lost electricity last night, and I woke up worried about you in that cold, drafty old house.”

            Her children, who agreed on so little, had combined forces to convince her that she should move into town and away from the only home she’d known for sixty years. 

            “Well," she replied, "I'm happy to say that the electricity is still on out here in the country.  Calico and I are having our breakfast, toasty warm by the stove.”

            Susan rambled on for a while about cozy apartments in town.  Her oldest daughter did get on her nerves sometimes.  In her mid-forties, Susan could be quite opinionated.  Finally, Susan’s monologue ended.  Lydia agreed to check in with her later and said goodbye.

            The phone rang again.  “Mom, do you have electricity?” her son, Jim, asked.

            “Sure do, darling.  But I know you don’t.  Susan just called and said it was off in town.”

            “Yeah, it is.  I’m glad you’re okay out there.  Is the house warm enough?”

            “It’s fine.  The wood stove is a godsend on days like this.”  There was a long silence. 

            “Mom, I might drop by and see you later.  I mean if the roads are plowed.”

            “Wonderful.  Bring the boys with you.  They won’t have school today, and if it clears off, they can go skating on the pond.”

            “We'll see how it goes.  You know teenagers.  I seldom see them anymore.  Talk to you later.”

            Lydia hung up the phone.  She hoped that Jim would come see her today.  Her son had been unusually withdrawn lately.  He was the most self-contained of her three children, a first child, overly responsible and most like his father in personality, although his hair and eyes were dark brown whereas John had been blond and blue-eyed like Susan.

            Well, Lydia thought.  Two down.  Ellie should be next.  Her younger daughter, the extrovert and free spirit in the family, lived alone in New York City.  I’ll tell her about my dream last night, Lydia thought.  Maybe she and I can figure out what….

            There was a knock on the kitchen door.

            Lydia was too shocked to move for a moment.  Who could be out in this storm?  A gust of wind blew sleet against the windows.  She unwrapped the afghan from around her legs and struggled to her feet.  Hurrying across the room, she unlocked and opened the door.

            A blast of cold air took her breath away.  Pulling her robe around her, she peered out into the dark morning. 

            No one was there.

            She flipped on the porch light. 

            No one.

            Snow covered the porch, steps and path leading to the garage, but no footprints were visible.

            Confused and shivering, Lydia closed the door.  Could it have been the front door?  She hurried through the house and turned on the porch light before opening the door.

            The front porch was protected from the wind, but no footprints marred the thin layer of snow there either.

            She closed the door and stood unmoving in the dark vestibule.

            There had been urgent knocking on the door but no footprints on the snow covered porches.  What did it mean?

            Was someone in trouble?

            But who?  And what did God want her to do about it?

****

The grandfather clock in the downstairs hall struck six times.  The old Victorian house was freezing.  Jenny cradled the sleeping baby closer.  Waking around midnight to find the furnace off, she had brought her eight-month-old daughter, Megan, into bed to keep her warm and covered up.

            Her husband, Michael, had gone into New York City yesterday and expecting him home during the night, Jenny hadn’t worried about the house getting too cold, knowing he would stoke the fire in the bedroom fireplace when he arrived.

            But where was he? 

Needing to build a fire before Megan woke up, she tucked the covers around the tiny body.  Then she grabbed her robe from a nearby chair, pulled on slippers, captured her long, blonde hair with a rubber band and hurried to the fireplace.  It took a few minutes to get the fire going again, but soon flames licked at the logs.  Jenny stayed close to the fire, warming herself, listening to the sleet tapping on the window.

            Why hadn't Michael called?  Even if the battery of his cell phone had died, he would….

The phone lines—of course—they must be down.  That often happened during an ice storm.  Feeling warmer and calmer now, Jenny got back in bed with the baby.  She picked up the phone but was dismayed to hear a dial tone.  She called her husband's cell phone, but it went into voice mail. 

Fear, colder than the room, filled her.  Michael would never worry her like this if he could help it.  Something was wrong.

            What should she do?

            Jim.  Maybe Michael’s law partner had heard from him.

****

The morning's strange happening had convinced Lydia that someone was in trouble, but who would believe her?  Jim, she would call her son back.  He was a member of the Rescue Squad.

            The line was busy.  She waited five minutes and tried again.

            “Hello.”  Jim sounded tense.

            “It’s me.”
            “Oh, Mom.  I hoped it might be Michael.  I just left a message on his cell.”

            “Jenny’s Michael?"

            Jim explained the problem.  “He went into the city yesterday on business for the firm, but he never came home last night, nor did he call.  Jenny’s beginning to panic.  I’m worried, too.  This isn’t like him.”

And Lydia knew.  Michael was the one in trouble.

            “Jim," she said, “If Michael was on the way home, maybe you should have the rescue squad check the road between the train station and his house.”

****

His head throbbed, and it was an effort to keep his eyes open, but he was afraid to sleep.  If he fell asleep, he might never…. 

     This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.  He and Jenny had worked out their problems and started a family.  He’d bought into the local law firm and begun a new career as a small town lawyer.  Everything was falling into place.  He couldn't die, not now, not like this.

He squinted at the broken, ice-covered windshield and realized that this time it was the sun shining through.

He had survived the night.  Morning had come.  Surely, someone would pass by now and see his car in the field.  Unless the car was hidden by the drifting snow.

            Then he heard it.  The sound of shouting, first far away then closer. 

            "There he is!  Bring the shovels.  Hurry!!"

****

Lydia was filled with relief when Jim called to tell her they’d found Michael. 

Thank you, dear God.

            She thought about her young friends.

            They’d moved to Haverford, New York two years ago and renovated the Victorian house Michael had inherited from his great uncle.  Last winter, Jenny had visited Lydia, seeking information about the original residents of the old house and a new friendship began.

            Lydia looked out the window at the white veil of falling snow.  What else could she do?   She picked up the phone.  Jenny would need someone to take care of her little girl.

"Susan, dear, I have a great favor to ask you.  As I told you earlier, Michael’s badly hurt, and Jenny's at the hospital with him.  Do you think Ed could drive you over there to baby sit Megan?  I know Jenny would appreciate it."

            "Of course,” Susan said, “and we'll take the girls with us.  They love Jenny's baby.  I should have thought of it, myself.  Mom, do you think Michael is going to be all right?"

            Lydia hesitated.  "I hope so.  All we can do is pray.  Bless you, dear, for doing this."

            "Well, of course.  It's the right thing to do."  Lydia ignored the sanctimonious tone, concentrating on the fact that Susan was meeting a real need.

            She hung up, feeling frustrated.  Once she would have been able to help Jenny, herself.  Now, all she could do was wait for the storm to pass.  Well...and one other thing.  Lydia put a pillow on the floor for her knees and knelt down by her chair.

            An hour later, the phone rang. It was Jenny, calling from the hospital.

            "Oh, Lydia, thank you for sending Susan over."

"She's happy to help out.  How's Michael?"

"The doctor says it's still touch and go because of all the blood he lost…."  Lydia could hear the fear in her voice.

            "It’s going to be all right, Jenny.  You just stay by his side.  Susan will take care of Megan, and when my driveway is plowed, I'll come to the hospital.  See you soon, dear."

**** 

Lydia rubbed her eyes and looked out the kitchen window.  She had dozed off.  A brilliant blue sky framed the snow-covered branches of the old oak tree.  The late afternoon sun shone through the window.  It took Lydia a few minutes to realize what the golden light meant.

            The storm was over. 

            She maneuvered herself into an upright position, stood and walked slowly to the stove.  With all the excitement, she'd forgotten her medication for her arthritis.  Taking her pill, she set the kettle on the gas flame, chose her favorite peach herbal tea, added honey to the cup and waited for the water to boil, reflecting on the day that had begun so early and in such a bizarre way. 

            She carried her tea back to the chair and got comfortable again.  This was her favorite spot in the house.  On the side table were pictures of her family at different ages.  She smiled at the picture of Ellie at five years old, pigtails sticking straight out, big dark eyes in a tiny face.  She’d had Ellie on her mind the past few weeks.  It was a good feeling so she wasn’t concerned, but something was going on there.

            Lydia picked up the picture of Jim.  How proud John had been of him.  She studied the solemn, handsome face.  She’d been feeling uneasy about him for months now.  But knowing Jim, she wouldn’t know what was going on until he was ready to tell her.

            Lydia sipped the hot tea, enjoying the peachy aroma and thought about Jenny at the hospital.  She needed to call and get an update on Michael’s condition.

There was a low rumble outside.  She didn’t have to look to know that her neighbor was coming up the long driveway with his snowplow.  She was always first on his list after he cleared his own road. 

            The sound grew louder.  Her driveway would soon be clear.  

            If the road to town is plowed, Lydia thought, I’m going to go to the hospital.  I can’t stand another minute of waiting.

Jenny sat by Michael's bed.

            “Wake up, darling,” she whispered.  “Please open your eyes and look at me.  I love you so much.  Please, please, don't leave me.”

            The words had become a litany.  For hours, no other thoughts had entered her mind, only the same plea, over and over.

            Her emotions had swung back and forth all day.  After praying, a peace would fill her, a certain “knowing” that everything was as it should be, no matter what happened.  But then her mind would take over.  What if that meant it was Michael's time to leave this life?  And fear would begin to build again.

            Her throat closed with tears, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry.  She had to be strong.

            The hospital room door opened.  When Jenny saw her visitor, she stood and held out her arms.  Lydia walked into them.

            "How is he, my dear?"  Lydia moved to the side of the bed, laying her hand gently on Michael's forehead.  Jenny was so touched by the loving gesture that she couldn't speak.  She sat down and burst into tears. 

            Lydia pulled a chair up close and held her.  Crying felt so good that Jenny didn't try to stop.  She took the tissue offered by Lydia, who asked, "Do you feel a little better?”

            Jenny nodded, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.  "I should call and check on Megan while you’re here to sit with Michael.”

            "Go ahead if you like, but Susan and the girls have everything under control.  They're going to keep Megan at their house tonight if it's all right with you.  It's you that I'm concerned about.  Have you talked to your mother?  You need someone here with you."

            Jenny cleared her throat. 

            "I called Mom.  She'll be here tomorrow.  I do want to stay with Michael, so I’d really appreciate it if Susan could keep Megan overnight.  She’s an angel to help like this.”

            Jenny paused.  "It may sound strange, but I feel that I’m surrounded by angels."

            "I know you are," Lydia said, with quiet certainty.  "Now, let's have a bite of supper."

            Jenny shook her head.  "No, I can't leave this room.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm afraid to leave."

            Lydia smiled and reached for the shopping bag she had brought with her.  She began pulling out bowls, cups and napkins.  When she opened a thermos, the smell of beef stew filled the room. Jenny hadn’t realized how hungry she was.  She and Lydia sat together, quietly eating.  When they finished, Jenny moved her chair closer to Michael's bed.

            A small hand touched her knee.

            "He's going to be okay.  I do believe that."

            "Do you?"  Jenny trusted Lydia's instincts.  "Do you really?"

            "Yes.  And you must believe it, too.  Don't let fear take over your thoughts.”

            Before Jenny could respond, the hospital door opened and a round, pretty face with a halo of black ringlets, peeked around the corner.  She was delighted to see her dear friend, Della.

            "Hi, there, you two," she said.  "I would have been here sooner, but I couldn't find anyone to cover for me at the library."

            Della pulled up another chair to join them.  "Lordy, this room smells good."

            "Want some stew?" Lydia asked.

“No thanks,” Della replied then looked over at Michael and back at Jenny.

            Jenny answered her unspoken question.

            "We don't know yet.  The doctor said the next twenty-four hours are critical.  I’ve been so afraid, but I’ve felt much better since Lydia arrived."

            Lydia was packing the shopping bag.  "Sometimes good food makes all the difference.  Della, now that you're here, I think I'll get going before the roads get icy again."

            “Can I give you a ride home, Lydia?” Della asked.  “Joe and I could bring your car out tomorrow."

            "No, no.  Your husband has a paper to put to bed tonight, and I’m sure he'll be tired tomorrow.”

Turning to Jenny, she said, “There is one more thing I’d like to do before I leave."

            She reached out for her and Della's hands and bowed her head.

            "Dear Lord," she began, "Give Jenny the strength she needs, and if it be Thy will, please bring Michael back to her."

****

The phone was ringing as Lydia fumbled with the lock of the kitchen door.  She switched on the lamp and hurried across the room.  One more ring and voice mail would take over.

            "Hello?"

            "Mom, are you all right?" Ellie asked.  "You sound out of breath."

            "I just came from the hospital."

            "I was wondering where you were.  Jim called and told me about Michael.  How is he?"

            "About the same."

"How's Jenny holding up?  This must be so hard for her."

"It is, but Della was there when I left, and Jenny's mother is arriving tomorrow.  Susan's taking care of the baby, so everything's under control.  Now all we can do is wait.  And pray."

            “Of course, I will.  For both Jenny and Michael.  Listen, Mom, if the roads are clear this weekend, I think I’ll come home for a visit.”

            Lydia heard the subtle change in Ellie's voice.  Something was up.