Second Chance by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Page A

me.”
    “I’d give you your privacy and everything. I mean, I wouldn’t take advantage or do anything wrong or—”
    “I know. But I just couldn’t—”
    “Sure you could. You have no choice.”
    “Someone here will give me a place to stay.”
    “No, no I insist. I have money and credit cards. My dad has some bank accounts, and I know he’d want me to use them to survive.”
    “Judd, it doesn’t make sense.”
    “Of course it does. You need clothes, stuff, a place to live, food.”
    “But why should I expect that from you?”
    “You think God is going to take care of you?”
    “Now’s the best time to find out,” she said.
    “Well, I’m how he’s going to do it.” Judd pulled slowly out of the trailer park.
    “You’re what? And where are you going?”
    “I’m what God will use to take care of you. You’re a Christian now, and he’s going to watch over you and make sure you’re taken care of. He’s going to use me to do that.”
    “So you’re God’s guy now, his right hand man?”
    “You could say that.”
    “So, where are we going?”
    “To my house.”
    “Judd!”
    “Just let me do this, Vicki. I really think God wants me to, and I’ll feel like I’m letting him down if I don’t.”
    Vicki found that hard to argue with. Maybe she was supposed to let Judd do this. Maybe this really was God’s way of providing for her. “But if we stay in the same house, won’t we get tired of each other and start hating each other?”
    “I doubt it,” Judd said, and Vicki was surprised. She really wasn’t sure what she thought of this guy. He was not her type, and she probably never would have given him a second glance before. But he was being nice now. And that had been a nice thing to say, that he doubted he would get tired of her.
    But he didn’t know her either. He didn’t know how she could be. She was independent and crabby and grouchy and self- centered. At least she had been that way. Could it be that those were things God would start to change in her? Or would she have the same personality and character, but just be a Christian now? She wasn’t sure how it all worked, but she knew her parents had seemed different almost overnight.
    She felt different; she knew that. Even with the fear and the dread of having lost everyone close to her in an instant, she found herself thinking of other people. Not everysecond, and not every time. But in just the few short hours she had lived since deciding to become a Christian, she noticed some changes.
    “I’ll check it out,” she told Judd. “I’ll see where you live and see if it would work for a short time. But I don’t plan on being in your way for long. And I can’t be sure it would work out at all.”
    Judd nodded. Vicki could tell he wanted it to work. But maybe he was just afraid to be alone. That was all right. So was she. It would be good to have someone to talk to.
    “I’ll tell you one thing,” she said, as Judd drove toward his house, “I’m starving and I’m exhausted. If you’ve got any food and a place for me to sleep, I’ll take it.”
    “Coming right up,” Judd said.

    Ryan Daley had panicked. He had stayed close enough to keep an eye on Lionel until Lionel had sneaked into the house. Ryan was sure Lionel would get himself kidnapped or shot or something, and then what would Ryan do? He felt like such a coward, trying to get out of doing anything dangerous. But he had justlost his parents. How was he supposed to feel brave all of a sudden?
    Ryan had crouched behind a neighbor’s garage with his and Lionel’s bikes. He didn’t know what he would do if Lionel called for help, but he stayed out of sight and ready anyway. He was startled when Lionel went in the house when the two older guys came out to get something from the van. When they went back in, Ryan was sure Lionel was in big trouble. When he didn’t come out for a while—and neither did the older two—Ryan was convinced something awful had