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  THE SEAT BESIDE ME

  “Nancy Moser delivers a fast-paced, absorbing story in The Seat Beside Me. I didn’t want to put it down!

  ROBIN LEE HATCHER, award-winning author of

  Ribbon of Years and The Story Jar

  “A powerfully dramatic story that forces the reader to wonder, How many times have I been spared? After reading The Seat Beside Me, you will never sit by a stranger without the realization that every encounter is God appointed.”

  VONETTE ZACHARY BRIGHT, cofounder Campus Crusade for Christ

  “Her characters leap off the pages and into your heart. Hear me well … you will love this book.”

  LISA SAMSON, author of The Church Ladies

  “Nancy Moser is a wonderful storyteller whose novels plumb the depths of spiritual issues. The Seat Beside Me is no exception. It will keep you reading—and stay with you long after the last page.”

  JAMES SCOTT BELL, author of The Nephilim Seed

  “Vividly written, heart-wrenching drama that brings haunting TV footage to life. A powerful story of how lives are changed by a hero’s heart.”

  DEBORAH BEDFORD, author of A Rose by the Door and The Story Jar

  “A thought-provoking page-turner guaranteed to make you reevaluate your next ‘chance encounter’ along life’s way.”

  MELODY CARLSON, award-winning author of

  Diary of a Teenage Girl and Blood Sisters

  “Delving deeply into the intricacies of the human heart, she shows us our own desperation—then illuminates us with the brilliance of God’s beauty, which is visible only when we allow Him complete control.”

  HANNAH ALEXANDER, author of The Healing Touch series

  “Intense. Intricate. Inspired.… Nancy Moser’s The Seat Beside Me.”

  LYN COTE, author of Winter’s Secret

  “A riveting, poignant page-turner that will not soon be forgotten. The next time I soar on silver wings, my eyes will be on the stranger in the seat beside me. And soaring into the clouds, I will remember that miracles still happen to ordinary people … miracles that give a fresh glimpse of God’s glory.”

  DORIS ELAINE FELL, author of Blue Mist on the Danube

  “The Seat Beside Me is skillfully and grippingly written. Nancy Moser forces her characters and, ultimately, her readers to face the fundamental question, Why am I here?”

  DEANNA JULIE DODSON, author of By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered

  “Nancy Moser is in top form with The Seat Beside Me.… An absolute winner!”

  DEBORAH RANEY, author of Beneath a Southern Sky and A Vow to Cherish

  THE INVITATION

  “The plot moves quickly and the literary style makes this book difficult to put down.”

  CHRISTIAN LIBRARY JOURNAL

  “A fascinating tale of four different people who are called together for a mysterious purpose. Through their intriguing story and the suspenseful ending, Nancy Moser sends her own invitation to the reader, asking us to consider how God can use us—and all ordinary people—in the most extraordinary ways.”

  FLORENCE LITTAUER, speaker and author of Personality Plus and Silver Boxes

  THE QUEST

  “The Quest mirrors a bit of Frank Peretti’s books as we see the battle for good and evil come to the forefront.”

  CHRISTIAN LIBRARY JOURNAL

  “Nancy weaves a fascinating story showing how God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Get ready for a page-turner!”

  KAREN KINGSBURY, bestselling author of

  Halfway to Forever and On Every Side

  THE TEMPTATION

  “Nancy Moser deftly melds page-turning suspense with engaging characters and solid biblical truth. Along with the two prequels, The Temptation deserves shelf space with spiritual warfare classics like those of Frank Peretti!”

  CINDY SWANSON, producer/host of Weekend Magazine radio show, Rockford, IL

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  THE SEAT BESIDE ME

  Published by Multnomah Books

  Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc.

  7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920

  © 2002 by Nancy Moser

  Scripture quotations are from:

  The Holy Bible, New International Version © 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

  Also quoted:

  The Holy Bible, King James Version

  Multnomah is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.,

  and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.

  For information:

  MULTNOMAH BOOKS

  12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200

  COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Moser, Nancy.

  The seat beside me / by Nancy Moser.

  p. cm.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-78107-9

  1. Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc.—Fiction.

  2. Aircraft accidents—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3563.O88417 S43 2002

  813’.54—dc21 2001006363

  v3.1

  For Elaine Neumeyer:

  a reader with flair,

  friend beyond compare,

  and child of God extraordinaire.

  Where can I go from your Spirit?

  Where can I flee from your presence?

  If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

  if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

  If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

  if I settle on the far side of the

  sea, even there your hand will guide me,

  your right hand will hold me fast.

  PSALM 139:7–10

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Many people have been with me along the way, sitting in the seat beside me in all its forms.…

  Thank you to my husband, Mark, for letting me do what I love (and need) to do. And thanks to Emily and Carson, for their constant support, and especially to my little Laurel (who isn’t so little anymore), for reading through the entire manuscript and making wise suggestions at the ripe old age of sixteen. You make—and would make—a great editor, sweetie. The literary world would applaud your career choice.

  Thanks to all my extended family, but especially Mom and Dad, Bev, Crystie, Lois, and Nikki, for always being there and for showing interest in my work.

  And Elaine Neumeyer … we were friends way before we met—and always sisters in Christ. Thank you for reading through the entire book and making comments in your usual honest (but loving) way. You are a friend sent by God.

  A thank you to the women of my octet, Seeds of Faith. Every Wednesday, in between singing, you ladies (and Dallas too) listened to the progress of this book. Liz Chandler, thanks for your special help with teacher Tina; Debbie Field, with Sonja’s math career advice; Nancy Smithyman, for your help with the hero; and the rest of you: Kathryn Sparks, Linda McCray, Marilyn Lake, Jill Pearson, Sue Wall, and director Dallas Hainline, for your patient ears and encouraging words.

  Thanks go to Mel and Cheryl Hodde and Harry Kraus, fine authors all, for their medical wisdom with regard to Anthony. Any errors
are my own.

  Thanks to fellow author Deb Raney, for literally sitting in the seat beside me on a plane to New Orleans where she endured my enthusiastic bubbling about the idea for a plane crash book. Hey, the fact we had to turn back because the landing gear wouldn’t go up (better than the other way around, I’d say) was not my fault. I will never forget your comment: “If you wanted to do research, I wish you would have done it without me.” Chicken.

  And thanks to my agent Chip MacGregor, author buddies Doris Elaine Fell, Stephanie Whitson, James Scott Bell, and Lisa Samson, who sat in the seat of friendship and prayer. May the Lord enlarge your territories. And to the rest of the Chi Libris group … you’re family, and I cherish you.

  A special thanks to my editor, Julee Schwarzburg, whose enthusiasm, honesty, and skill made this book better. And your insight … thanks for being open to God’s promptings, subtle though they may have been. Many would ignore such hard-to-express feelings about a scene or a character, but you didn’t. I hope I did your insight justice.

  And a special thanks to the many readers who send me letters or e-mails. Your kind words, prayers, and encouragement are priceless. And those special ones who often e-mail and say they’ve felt a nudge to pray for me … Anita Flenz, Pauline Bond, and Richelle Cope (my Aussie friend, and her grandma). Thank you all. You are the payment for my work.

  Most of all, thanks be to God, for it is He who has called me to do this thing and arranged my life so it can be accomplished. Above all, I long to make Him proud of me—in all things. Thank you, Abba.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Bible Verses for The Seat Beside Me

  Discussion Questions for The Seat Beside Me

  Other Books by This Author

  One

  I have seen all the things that are done under the sun;

  all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  ECCLESIASTES 1:14

  JANUARY 29

  12:30 A.M.

  I don’t want to go.

  Dora Roberts tossed her keys on the kitchen counter and flipped through her mail, quickly setting it aside. She was too tired to deal with bills and solicitations now. She’d do it when she got back.

  I really don’t want to go.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like visiting her mother in Phoenix, but Dora had just been home for Christmas the month before, and her bank account was strained by two plane flights spaced so closely together—especially this latest flight that had been booked at the spur of the moment, costing her a bundle.

  And yet, how could she not be there when her mother went in for gallbladder surgery?

  A painful flare-up had sent her mother to the doctor for tests and a quickly scheduled surgery. If only it had happened while I was down at Christmas …

  Dora closed her eyes against the selfish thought and shucked off her shoes. Her mother was all alone in the world except for her. Daddy gone. Dora, an only child. It was her responsibility to be there whenever she was needed, even if it was financially draining. Even if it had made her stay at the office of the Chronicle until nearly midnight, getting her work done so she could—

  The phone rang, sending her heart to her toes. She glanced at the clock on her microwave. It was nearly twelve-thirty. No call at this time of night could be good news.

  “Yes?”

  “Dora, you don’t have to come! You don’t have to come!”

  “Mom? What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve been trying to call you and call you. Didn’t you get my messages?”

  Dora glanced at the answering machine. The message light was blinking. “I just got home from the office. I didn’t think to listen.” She’d gotten off track. “What’s your message?”

  “I don’t have to have the surgery! It all started yesterday when I did a no-no and ate pizza. You know how hard it is for me to resist pizza, and so I had it for lunch knowing the pain would come. But then it didn’t. And that was so remarkable, and I felt so good that I got my doctor to do another ultrasound. And am I ever glad I did. The ultrasound revealed there was nothing there. No blockage. No problem.”

  “But the previous ultrasound—?”

  “The doctor doesn’t have an explanation for it. One day it was there and I needed surgery, the next day it wasn’t and I didn’t. He didn’t have an explanation, but I do. We do.”

  Dora’s thoughts had taken the same path as her mother’s. “You think it’s a God-thing, Mom? You think God healed you?”

  “What other explanation is there?”

  “Perhaps they merely made a mistake.”

  “It was my innards in both those ultrasounds, Dora.”

  “Perhaps the doctor read them wrong?”

  “Even I could see the difference.”

  “Or maybe—”

  “Dora. Dear child, I’m ashamed of you. Quit trying to explain away a miracle. You’ve been praying for me, haven’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “And I’ve been praying, and I know a lot of people at church have been praying. It’s a miracle, and nothing you say can prove it otherwise. But the bottom-line blessing is that you don’t have to rush back down here.”

  “I really don’t mind,” Dora said, hoping it was at least partially true.

  “I know you don’t. You’re a good daughter. But I also know money is tight and you’re swamped at the paper. Didn’t you say so at Christmas?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Well, now you don’t have to come. Save your money and come down later in the spring, like we’d planned.”

  A wave of relief flooded over her. “Are you positive?”

  “Absolutely. Now get to bed. You’ve got to get up to go to work in a few hours.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You know I love you.”

  “And I love you too. But the thanks? I didn’t do anything. God did. So thank Him, all right?”

  Dora hung up the phone and did exactly that.

  11:30 A.M.

  “It’s good you’re leaving.”

  Merry Cavanaugh coughed at her husband’s statement. “It is?”

  Lou turned the van into the terminal entrance leading to Sun Fun Airlines. Snow pummeled the windshield. “Sure. I know how close you were to Teresa in college. How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

  Merry was disappointed Lou was oblivious to her real reason for leaving. “She was here after Justin was first born.”

  “She’s still single, right?”

  “She’s a vice president in her company.” Merry said it as if one fact had something to do with the other.

  “That’s too bad—the single part, that is. I bet she’s jealous of you.”

  Merry lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t think—”

  “She sees you living the ideal life with a husband who adores you and a fantastic little boy who likes nothing better than to climb on your lap and give you a hug. What does she have?” Merry took a breath to answer, but Lou continued. “She has a stressful job and a lonely house. Thanks, but no thanks.”

  No thanks? Are you crazy?

  Merry looked to the Sun Fun entrance coming up on their right. She only had a few moments before she was free. And yet she longed to let him have it, make him understand how she really felt. Lou was so clueless sometimes.

  Her chest heaved; her hands gripped and reg
ripped the handles of the carry-on bag in her lap. The awful truth threatened.

  Lou looked over at her and smiled. “You are so beautiful. Did you know that?”

  She hugged the door to get as far away from the words as she could. The fight left her—as it usually did when he said nice things. Maybe it was better he was ignorant to reality. After the trip … after she’d had time to think things through and get Teresa’s advice. The truth was, if she brought it all up now, he might not let her go.

  “Here we are.” Lou pulled up front, the tires slipping on the snow-covered street. He got out of the van to get her suitcase. Merry put her hood up, got out, opened the side door, and gave Justin a hug. “I’m going to miss you, sweetie.” In spite of everything, it was the truth.

  “I’ll miss you too, Mommy. Daddy says he has a surprise for me.”

  “He does?”

  “I hope he’s taking me to McDonald’s for breakfast. Do you think that’s it?”

  “Sure. I bet that’s it.” Merry gave her son a kiss and closed the door against the snow. She waved good-bye through the window.

  Lou appeared at her side, suitcase in tow. The weather would prevent a lengthy good-bye. Just as well.

  “Have a good trip, Mer. Love you.”

  She accepted his hug and kiss. “Love you too.” It was the truth. But not all the truth.

  Merry hurried inside the terminal and removed her coat, brushing away the flakes that melted in the heated building. She rolled her suitcase to the check-in line and allowed herself a deep breath. I’m alone. Finally alone. No husband. No son. No plan except to have fun and remember what life was like before a family had tied her down with responsibilities. Twenty-nine was too young to feel so old.

  She felt absolutely decadent, even though part of the thrill had been dampened by the fact that Lou wanted her to go, urged her to go. When her old college chum had invited her, Merry was afraid to even mention the idea to her husband, and yet, when she did, he jumped on the plan, even offering to dip into their meager savings to fund the trip.