Daniel sat beside Angie in a far corner of the ferry.  She scanned his face anxiously.  He looked tired, and though he was trying to hide it, she could tell that he was in pain.

“How are you doing?” she asked softly.

“I’m okay.  I am a bit sore, though.  It’s been a long time since I did any climbing like that.”

“Well, as soon as you have the doctor treat those hands and get something to eat, you should take a long, hot bath.  Then you should go to bed.”

“I can’t.  I have to watch the eleven o’clock news to make sure they blurred the shots.  If they didn’t, then I have to prepare for what might happen.”  The minister looked at Angie meaningfully.  She knew what that ‘preparing’ would be: packing his belongings and getting off the island before ‘they’ got there.  He would disappear again, and she would never know where he went.  She would never see him again.  No!  That wasn’t going to happen.  Things were going to be all right.

“Daniel, I hate to be a jerk about this, what with you being hurt and all, but did you have to give that woman an exclusive on your story?” Callie asked, her tone a bit petulant.

The reverend smiled faintly.  “Well, there were two reasons I did that, Callie.  One was that I needed to get out of there as quickly as possible before the rest of the press found me.  The other reason was, well, I guess you could call it a bribe.  I figured that the station would be more likely to do what I wanted them to if I gave them a little something in return.  Besides, Callie, what would you have written in The Lookout?  If you said that you were a witness to what happened, then people saw my hands, some might have put two and two together and figured out or at least suspected that I was the ‘unidentified man’ in your story.  Once that rumor got around, it would eventually spread off the island.”

Callie sighed.  “You’re right, of course.  I couldn’t have revealed that I was there.  It would have been a terrific story, though.”

Daniel felt a little bad.  This was the second time that Callie had sacrificed a headline story for his sake.  “You know, Callie.  I didn’t tell Alice Hart everything.  I told her what I did, but I didn’t tell her what I was thinking and feeling, what it was like to be up there, knowing that I could die.  But I’ll tell you.  You could never print it in the paper, but. . . .”

The journalist’s eyes had brightened.  “That would be great, Daniel.  Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

They spent the rest of the trip talking about the fun they’d had before the incident on the Space Needle.

“I haven’t had that much fun or felt so much like a kid in way too many years,” Callie said.

“You talk like you’re an old woman, Callie,” Angie said, laughing.  The journalist was only forty.

“Sometimes I feel like one.  Unlike you two.  Where you get all that energy is beyond me.  I must say, though, that you sure do know how to show a girl a good time.”

Once the ferry had docked, Angie and Callie took Daniel over to Doctor Watson’s office.

“Hello, Daniel, Callie,” the woman greeted.  She looked at the third person of the trio.  “You must be Angie.”

“Yeah, that’s me.  I’m afraid that we need your professional help, Doctor.”

“Oh?”

Feeling a bit sheepish, Daniel showed the doctor his hands.  Her eyes widened.

“Those look like rope burns and pretty bad ones too.”

“Yeah, that’s what they are,” the minister admitted.

“How on Earth did you get those?”

“It’s a very long story.  I’d rather not tell you about it now.”  Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to tell her about it at all, but he had a feeling that the minute she saw the news on TV or read a newspaper, she’d know exactly where he got the rope burns.  Fortunately, being a doctor, her oath forbade her to reveal anything about a patient without their permission.

“Well, let’s get those taken care of,” the doctor said.  She took Daniel into the exam room, where she treated and bandaged his hands, then gave him a shot of antibiotics.  After that came the expected lecture about being more careful and instructions on what to do and not do with his hands.

Daniel, Angie, and Callie then went over to the Widow’s Walk for dinner.  Of course the first words out of Alex’s mouth were, “What happened to your hands?”

“Just a little, uh, accident.  It’s nothing serious, just some burns.”

The redhead shook her head.  “You sure do seem to have a problem with keeping your skin intact.”

Angie tried to smother a laugh, which ended up coming out as a snort. ‘Boy, you got that right,’ she thought.

Daniel shot her a look that clearly said, “Not one word, Angela Ramirez.”

“Other than your hands, did you guys have a nice day?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, we had a great time,” Callie said.  “It was a lot more . . . exciting than I thought it would be.  Daniel and Angie really know how to have fun.  A person certainly couldn’t be bored hanging around them.”

“Really.  You never struck me as the fun and frolicking type, Daniel.”

“Well, there isn’t a lot to frolic about here on Hope.  There’s actually quite a bit you don’t know about me, Alex.”  Daniel’s last sentence came out a great deal more serious than he had intended.

“I’m beginning to realize that,” the redhead murmured.  She gave herself a mental shake.  “Well, I’ll let you decide what you’re going to eat.”  She walked off to wait on another customer.

“If she’d seen what I did today, she’d really have found out that she doesn’t know you as well as she thinks she does,” Callie whispered.

Daniel and Angie looked at each other, both of them thinking that the journalist had no idea how little the residents of Hope Island really knew about their minister.

Once dinner had been ordered, the threesome went back to talking about the pleasant part of their day.  Dylan had come down the stairs and was listening to the conversation.  When Callie brought up the race car game that Daniel had played, the boy’s eyes opened wide.

“You got a hundred and twenty-three thousand on Racetrack Maniac?”  There was awe in his voice and on his face.  “That’s almost as good as Bobby Richards, and he’s the school champ.”

“Well, I had a good day,” Daniel said.  “I think that’s my best score yet.  I didn’t think I’d do that well since it’s been so long since I played.”

“Could we play sometime?”  Dylan asked hopefully.

“Sure, that would be fun.  We’ll have to do that one of these days.  Would you like to sit with us while we eat, Dylan?”

As an answer, the boy immediately sat in the seat on Daniel’s left.  He then started peppering them with questions about what they did.  Angie’s score on the video game she played created as much awe in him as Daniel’s score had.

“Maybe . . . the three of us could go to the arcade,” Dylan suggested hesitantly.

“I’d like that, Dylan,” Angie said.  “We’ll have to try to do that before I leave.”

The boy glanced at Daniel and saw the reverend’s smile disappear for a moment.  Then it was back again, but only on his face.  It was gone from his eyes.

“Do you like living in New York, Angie?” Dylan asked.

“Well, I used to like it a lot, but now . . . it’s just not the same anymore.”  The smile was now gone from her face.

“Then why don’t you live here?  Or you could live in Seattle and come over on the ferry and visit every day.  Seattle is a big city, like New York,” the boy said eagerly.

Daniel and Angie shared a long look.  “It isn’t that easy, Dylan,” the reverend said.  “There are reasons why Angie can’t live here.”

“What reasons?” Dylan asked.

“Yeah, what reasons?” repeated Callie.

“Things that we can’t talk about,” Angie stated firmly.  She and Rollie were relieved when Alex came over with the food just then.

“Dylan, are you pestering Daniel and Angie with questions?” his mother asked.

“No, I just wanted to know why Angie can’t stay.”

Alex looked at the New Yorker and the minister.  They were both staring rather fixedly at their plates, and it wasn’t because of the food.  “Well, I think it’s time to change the subject,” she said.  She looked at her son meaningfully.  Dylan knew better than to argue with that look.

The dinner was a bit subdued at first, then Callie, in an attempt to lighten things up, began to talk about what she used to do for fun when she was a kid.  Angie then joined in.  Strangely, Daniel didn’t say much about his childhood, mentioning only a few incidents.  Callie wondered if it could be because he had a lot of unresolved issues in his childhood concerning his father.

They’d been finished with dinner for quite a while when the minister glanced at his watch.  “Well, I’d better get home.”

“And it’s your bed time, Dylan,” Alex commented.

“But Mom,” her son complained.

“Don’t ‘but Mom’ me.  You know the rules.”

The boy gave a huge sigh and got up from the table.  Everyone wished him a goodnight.  Alex went up with her son to make sure he brushed his teeth and did the other before bedtime stuff.  After tucking him in, she sat on the bed.

“Why do you want to know the reason Angie can’t stay?”

Dylan looked at her, wondering if telling her would be like blabbing a secret.  But then, Daniel hadn’t told him not to say anything about what happened yesterday.  “Because Daniel wants her to stay.  He cried when he told me that she couldn’t.”

“He did?”  There was a look of surprise and something else on her face.

Dylan nodded.  “I’ve never seen a man cry before.  Most of the guys at school say that men aren’t supposed to cry.”

“Well, don’t you believe it, Dylan.  Men can cry too, and there’s nothing wrong with it.  The idea that men aren’t supposed to cry is one of the stupidest things that anybody ever thought up.  And it’s all right for boys to cry too, so just ignore what those other kids say.”  She got up and headed for the door.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Is Daniel in love with Angie like how you were in love with Dad?”

Alex paused.  “I don’t know, Dylan.  I think that, if he is in love with her, he always will be.  It wouldn’t turn out the way it did with your dad and me.”

“Can people be in love and stay together forever?  You and Dad didn’t, and Grandpa and Grandma Stone didn’t.”

Alex sighed silently, regretting that her son had only failed relationships to judge love by.  “Yes, Dylan, people can be in love and stay together forever or at least for as long as they live.  I really think that Molly and Kevin will always love each other, and there are lots of marriages that last fifty years or more.”

“Why do some people fall in love forever, but others don’t?”

“That is a question that nobody knows the answer to.  Quite often, it’s just a case of finding, or not finding, the right person.”

“So, Dad wasn’t the right person for you, but Kevin is the right person for Molly.”

Alex was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with this topic of conversation.  She didn’t like to talk about her failed relationship with Steve, even with her son.  Her heart still ached over Steve’s choice to put his work above her and Dylan.

“Yes, Kevin is the right person for Molly,” she agreed.  She covered the rest of the distance to the door.  “Goodnight, Dylan.”

“And Angie is the right person for Daniel,” her son stated.

Alex’s hand froze for a moment in the act of turning off the light.  Not answering, she switched the light off and closed the door.  She stood outside the door for a moment, thinking about her son’s words.  Was he right?  Was Angie the right person for Daniel?

The redhead went downstairs to find the minister, Angie, and Callie talking softly by the front door.  They fell silent when they saw her coming down the stairs.

“Did Dylan try to sweet-talk you into letting him stay up later?” the minister asked.

“No, he knew it wouldn’t do any good.  So, what have you got planned for tomorrow, climbing Mount Rainier?”

Daniel laughed.  “No, that would be more of a climb than even Angie would be willing to tackle.  I think we’re just going to wing it tomorrow.  We don’t have any set plans.”  He looked at his watch again.  “Well, I’ve really got to get going.”

Everyone said goodnight to Alex and went out the door.

“Callie, I was wondering if I could borrow your jeep.  I want to watch the news with Daniel to see if they did what they were supposed to do.  If they didn’t, we . . . have to discuss what’s going to happen next.”

“Sure, no problem.”  Callie handed her the keys.  “But how are you going to check all three networks?  Isn’t it possible that one of the other news stations might have gotten hold of some footage from somebody else, like a tourist?”

“I’m hoping that none of the spectators had video cameras powerful enough to get shots of my face.  It’s possible that the other stations will run the footage that Alice got.  If they do, then it will be digitally blurred too.  But all the network news reports will have to be watched to be safe.  I can tape ABC while we watch CBS.  Would it be too much to ask that you watch NBC, Callie?”

“No, not at all.  I’ll call you if there’s something to worry about.  If you don’t hear from me, then that means everything’s fine.”

“Thanks.”

“I sure hope it turns out all right, Daniel.  I’d hate to see everything ruined for you.”

“Me too, Callie,” the minister said fervently.

Daniel and Angie remained silent on the drive to his place.  They were both thinking about what it would mean if Daniel’s face appeared on TV.

“Would you like some tea?” The minister asked as they walked in the door.

“Um, yeah, maybe something to help calm my nerves.”  She followed him into the kitchen.  “Daniel, what are you going to do if your face is shown.”

“I think you already know the answer, Ange.  I’ll be on the ferry in the morning.”  There was a faint tremor in his voice.

“But even if your face is shown and one of them sees it, they won’t know where you are.  Nobody got your name.”

“I couldn’t take the chance that they’d find me somehow.  I’d have to leave.”

“What about everyone here?  What about Dylan, and Callie, and everybody else?  You wouldn’t tell them anything?”

Daniel leaned on the counter, his head bowed.  “I don’t know,” he said softly.  His hands formed into fists.  “I hate this, Angie.  I’ve found another life here, a good life, and now I may lose it all, just like I lost my life with y--”  He cut himself off and straightened.  “Let’s just pray that my picture doesn’t get on the news.”  He resumed fixing the tea, but, suddenly, his hands froze and his face lost color.  His eyes turned to Angie, and there was terror in them.

“What is it?  What’s wrong?” the blonde asked anxiously.

“Angie, if my picture is shown and ‘they’ see it, they’re going to think that you came here because you knew I was here.  There’s no way they won’t think that.  They must know you flew to Seattle.  They would still be keeping track of your whereabouts.  And if they talk to Alice, she may tell them about you.”  Daniel sat down abruptly.  “What have I done?  If you go back to New York, they’ll hurt you.  They’ll try to make you tell them where I am, and when you can’t, they’ll kill you.  That’s why I couldn’t tell you where I was all this time.”  He dropped his face into his hands.  “What have I done?” he whispered hoarsely.

Angie dropped to her knees before Daniel and pulled his hands from his face.  She looked straight into his eyes and calmly said, “Then I’ll have to go with you.”

Daniel’s eyes widened.  “Angie, no.  I don’t want you to go through the same things I have.  I don’t want you to have to leave your friends and your career and live the rest of your life in hiding, pretending that you’re somebody you’re not.”

“Rollie, listen to me.  What is there for me to leave behind?  Tyler F/X is gone, and what I’m doing now doesn’t make me happy, not like doing F/X with you did.  I have some friends that I’ll miss, but other than your dad, Frank, and Mira, none of them are really that close.  They’ll get along fine without me, and once Dingo, Mira, and Frank find out about the broadcast, I think that they’ll be able to figure out why I disappeared.  I have no family.  You’re my only family.”

“But, Angie, I don’t want you to have to do this.”

“Well, it seems to me that I wouldn’t really have a choice.”

Daniel studied her face, wondering why she didn’t seem to be upset about the possibility of having to be on the run with him.

“But aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves here?  We may be worrying over nothing,” Angie said.

“Yeah, you’re right.”  Daniel got up and finished fixing the tea, then they both went into the living room.  He winced as he sat on the couch.

“What is it?” Angie asked.

“Just sore muscles.  I’m afraid that my arms aren’t going to be in very good shape in the morning.”

“You should have taken that bath.”

“Well, it’s too late now.  If I do it after the news, I’d probably fall asleep in the tub and drown.”

“Do you have any liniment?  We still have some time before the news starts.  I could rub some on your arms.”

Daniel got a tube of liniment.  Angie sat beside him on the couch and began massaging his arms with the cream.  She could feel the tightness in the muscles of his upper arms and began gently kneading them to work the tightness out.  Daniel gave a small sigh and rested his head on the backrest, his eyes closed.

“You have no idea how good that feels,” he murmured.

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.  Giving massages is not something I intend to make a habit of.”

Daniel lifted his head and looked at her.  “Oh, really.  I seem to recall a certain time when you were wearing this big blond wig and a very teeny pink dress--”

Angie firmly pressed her finger against his mouth.  “Stop right there, Rollie Tyler.  I told you then not to say a word, and that still stands.”

The minister’s lips twitched upward into a smile.  Not saying another word, he closed his eyes again.  A few minutes later, Angie was finished rubbing the ointment into his arms, and it was time to turn on the TV.  Daniel stuck a tape in the VCR and began recording the ABC news report, then switched over to the CBS affiliate, the station that had gotten the footage.  She and Daniel sat staring at the screen as the news stories were told one by one.  It was about halfway through the broadcast that the one they’d been waiting for came up.  They both tensed.  The newscaster began by recounting Ray’s climb, then fall.  After that, he got to the part they were worried about.

“A few minutes after Brinkman fell, a witness to the incident climbed up to get him.  Shortly after the man, who has asked to remain anonymous, reached the injured climber, the rope came lose.  The unidentified man then held onto Brinkman until firefighters could reach them.”  On the screen was the image of Daniel holding onto Ray as the basket of the fire truck was lifted toward them.  It was a wide angle shot, making everything too far away to identify anyone.  But then it switched to a scene that showed the fireman climbing up beside Ray, and the cameraman zoomed in.  To Daniel and Angie’s relief, the minister’s face had been digitally blurred.  After that, as the newscaster continued to talk, it showed the moment when Daniel fell.  Angie’s hand grabbed hold of his, and he squeezed it tightly, ignoring the twinge of pain it brought.  The cameraman had zoomed in on Daniel again as the fireman accompanied him down to the basket.  Rollie’s back was to the camera so there had been no need to do any blurring.  The broadcast switched back to the newscaster.  “When asked why he’d risked his life to save Brinkman, the unidentified man replied, ‘It was just something I had to do.’”

Daniel changed the channel, and they watched the rest of the news on the ABC affiliate.  The story wasn’t shown, so the minister rewound the tape and ran it fast forward through the broadcast.  He stopped when he found what they were looking for.  As he had thought, the ABC affiliate had purchased the footage that Alice’s cameraman shot, and it, too, was blurred.  Daniel turned off the TV, and his eyes went to Angie’s.  They looked at each other for a long time, then they were hugging each other.

“We’re safe, Angie,” Rollie murmured.  He pulled back slightly, meeting her eyes.  “I’m not going to rest easy, though, until I check all the papers tomorrow.  There is still the danger that some tourist had a still camera with a zoom lens powerful enough to get a shot of my face.”  His hand came up and cupped her cheek.  “But I think we’re going to be all right, Ange.  I have faith that we are.”

Angie smiled gently.  “I do too.”

Daniel smiled, then leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth, just as she had done with him that terrible night a year and eight months ago.  But, this time, something happened.  He felt a jolt pass through him, making his heart leap about wildly in his chest.  Daniel drew back and saw a stunned look on Angie’s face, which he was sure was a mirror of his own expression.  Wide-eyed, they stared at each other.  The minister’s gaze slid back down to her lips, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had lowered his mouth to hers.  They both let out gasps as they were submerged in the kiss.  Daniel pulled her body tight against his as his senses scattered to the four winds.  The kiss was slow and smoldering, filling them with euphoria.  It went on forever, both of them powerless to break it, both of them feeling the fire that was rising inside them.

At last, their lips separated.  Gasping for air and feeling like they’d been hit by lightning, they gazed at each other.

“What’s happening, Angie?” Rollie whispered, all thoughts of being Daniel Cooper gone from his mind.

“I don’t know.”  Her gaze deepened.  “But I don’t want it to stop.”

Rollie groaned and crushed her to him.  Their lips met again, passion exploding inside them.  The kiss grew deep, searching, consuming.  The Aussie pulled her up onto his lap so that their bodies could be closer together.  Angie buried her fingers in his hair, holding his mouth to hers, absorbing the taste and feel of Rollie into her soul.

The Aussie was fast losing control.  He felt like every cell in his body was burning up.  He was beyond thinking or reasoning.  He was only feeling, feeling Angie in his arms, her lips beneath his, her taste filling him.  He never wanted it to stop.  He could kiss her forever.

Finally, their need for oxygen forced them to separate.  Their chests heaving, they searched each other’s faces, each of them seeing a reflection of their passion in the other’s eyes.  Rollie covered Angie’s face with soft kisses as his hands caressed her shoulders and back.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he murmured.

“I can,” Angie softly said.  The Aussie’s eyes met hers questioningly.  She smiled gently.  “I think some part of me always knew it was meant to be like this.  I think that’s why it was so easy for Loubar to seduce me when I thought he was you.  I wanted you to be kissing me, making love to me.”  She pulled him close.  “Just like I want you to kiss me now,” she whispered against his lips.

Rollie’s mouth took hers, and they became absorbed in each other again.  More minutes passed before a tiny voice in the Aussie’s mind made itself heard.  He lifted his head from Angie’s.  Gazing at her flushed face, kiss-reddened lips, and deep, glowing eyes, he wanted to kiss her again and keep right on kissing her all night long, but they had to stop now.

“You need to go now, Angie,” he told her huskily.

She searched his face, then nodded.  Rollie released her, feeling suddenly empty without her in his arms.  They both got up.

“It’s probably a bit chilly outside.  Let me get you a sweater.”  The Aussie went to his bedroom and returned with his blue cable knit pullover.  Angie put it on and was immediately engulfed in it.  Rollie rolled up the sleeves a few inches, his eyes taking in every part of her.

“We need to . . . to talk about this,” he said.

“I know.  Tomorrow.  We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow.”  Of its own accord, his body had drawn closer to hers.  No longer able to stand it, he pulled her into his arms and was kissing her again.  Angie surrendered to the passion and pressed her body tightly against his.  Her feet abrupt left the floor as Rollie pulled her up to his level.  Time disappeared until, with a groan, the Aussie broke the kiss and lowered her back to the floor.  He dropped his arms from her and took a step back.  Angie swayed for a moment, fighting the urge to cover the distance between them and throw herself back into his arms.  Swallowing, she turned and headed for the door, Rollie following a few steps behind her.

“I’ll be at the ferry in the morning when they deliver the mainland papers,” he told her.

“I’ll meet you there.”

The minister walked her out to the car, then watched as she drove away.  He then went back inside and headed straight for the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face and neck.  He felt shaky and feverish.  His eyes lifted to meet those reflected in the mirror.  He was in love with her.  There was no sense denying it.  Maybe he always had been.

“What are you going to do?” he asked himself.  “What are you going to do when she has to leave?”

Rollie went to his bedroom and got dressed for bed.  He then sat on the bed staring at nothing as the minutes ticked by.  At last, he crawled underneath the covers and turned out the light.

Angie ascended the stairs to her room, trying to act casual, though there was no one around to see her.  They’d all gone to bed ages ago.  Once she was safely behind the door, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes.  She was still shuddering with fine tremors, her body feeling as if every molecule within it was vibrating.

After a moment, Angie headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.  Instead, she found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror.

‘I’ve fallen in love with him.’  Or could it be that she’d been in love with him all along?

Angie left the bathroom and sat on the bed.  ‘What am I going to do?  How can I leave and go back to New York?’

She got undressed, leaving Rollie’s sweater on, then turned off the light and slipped under the covers.  She snuggling into the softness of the sweater, imagining that it was Rollie and hoping that, someday, it would be.
 

CHAPTER TWELVE

Feeling more than a little nervous, Angie walked up to Daniel, who was standing on the dock waiting for the ferry.

“Hi,” she said shyly.  Shy?  Why should she feel shy toward Rollie?  Okay, so they kissed.  Well, actually, saying that they kissed was about like saying that the edge of the known universe was a little far away, just a wee bit of an understatement.  It still made her feel warm all over when she thought about last night.  It also made her want to pull his head down to hers and take up where they left off.

“Hi,” Daniel replied.  His eyes were looking deeply into hers.  Then they slid down to her lips, and she knew that he was thinking the same thing she was.

Angie cleared her throat, trying to get control of herself.  “Did you sleep well?”

“I slept on and off.  I had a lot on my mind.”

“So did I.”

Daniel looked up at the sound of the ferry’s horn.  He and Angie watched as it approached.

“Why, hello, Reverend, Ms. Ramirez,” Brian greeted as he walked up to them.  Nub was at his usual place by his side.

“Hello, Brian.  Hi, Nub,” Daniel said.  “Here to see if some new faces get off the ferry?”

“Of course.  I always like to be here when people come to visit Hope Island.  It’s the least I can do as mayor.”  Brian turned his attention to Angie.  “Are you enjoying your stay?”

“Yes, I am,” Angie replied.  “It’s a really nice place.”

Brian smiled at her.  “Well, you’ll have to come back again soon and tell other friends about it.”

Angie hid her smile at the man’s renewed efforts to get her to spread the word about Hope.  “How are you today, Nub?” she asked the quiet man beside the mayor.

“I’m doing good.  You were in Seattle yesterday, weren’t you?”

“We sure were,” Angie confirmed.

“Did you hear about what happened at the Space Needle?”

There was a moment’s pause.  “Yes, we did,” the minister admitted.

“That must have been something.  I wonder who the man was that saved the climber.  I can understand why he didn’t want anyone to know who he was, though.  Sometimes it’s better if nobody knows who you really are.”

Daniel searched Nub’s face, wondering if he had somehow guessed that the “unidentified man” was him, but there was nothing but curiosity and understanding on the younger man’s face.

Just then, Nub noticed the bandages.  “What did you do to your hands?”

“It’s nothing serious, just some minor burns.”

“How did you do that?”

Daniel was saved from answering by the arrival of the ferry.  The passengers began to disembark.  Brian spotted somebody he didn’t recognize, and he and Nub immediately homed in on the hapless visitor.  Once all the passengers had gotten off, several stacks of newspapers were unloaded.  Callie arrived at the dock just then.

“Good morning, you two,” the journalist greeted.  “The NBC news only showed a short clip of what happened, and your face wasn’t visible.  I’m assuming that everything was all right with the stations you watched.”

“Yes, we’re safe with that.  Now we want to check the papers,” Angie said.

They took the papers over to the little stand that Callie used for selling newspapers and quickly began going though them.  They were relieved to see that none of them had a recognizable picture of Daniel in them.

“Well, it looks like you’re safe,” Callie said, smiling.

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed, letting out a relieved laugh.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” the journalist asked.

“Nope, not yet, and all of a sudden I’m starving,” said the reverend.

“So am I,” Angie said.

They all went over to the Widow’s Walk and enjoyed a relaxed breakfast.  As they were finishing, Boris came out.  He looked around the room, then headed straight toward them.

“Hello, Angie from New York,” the Russian said with a smile.

“Hi, Boris.  How are things in the kitchen today?”

“Kitchen is okay.  Boris would like to fix Russian breakfast, but everybody is wanting pancakes and waffles.”  He shook his head, as if totally mystified by this.  He then looked at Daniel.  “I hear that you burn hands.  Not good.  Boris was fireman and burned hands once.  Very painful.  You must make sure not to get infected.  I saw man whose hand got gagging green.  It got all purple and puffed up like bloated fish and had to be chopped off.”

Glad that he’d already finished his breakfast, Daniel smiled at the man.  “Thanks for the warning, Boris.  Doctor Watson gave me a shot of antibiotics, and I have some cream at home that I’m putting on the burns, so I think I’m safe from getting gangrene or any kind of infection.”

“Good.  Boris would not want the reverend to get infected.”  The Russian looked at both him and Angie.  “I am hearing that you two very good friends, knew from long time ago.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Angie said.

The Russian nodded.  “Is good to meet old friends.  I am happy that Angie has friends here to make her feel better.”

“Feel better?”

“Yes.  I also hear of other friend, one who was partner.”

“Oh.”  Angie and Daniel’s eyes met for a moment.  “Thank you for your concern, Boris,” the blonde said.  “I’m doing much better now.”

Alex called to Boris, who then returned to the kitchen.

“Well, Boris certainly has taken a liking to you, Ange,” Daniel commented.

“He said that I reminded him of his best friend’s little sister.”

“The one who ran away?” Callie asked.

“Yeah.  How did you know about her?”

“I interviewed Boris a while back.  I was thinking about doing a short article about him in The Lookout.  I thought it would be interesting with him being from Russia, but I couldn’t tell how much of what he told me was true and how much was exaggerated.  He mentioned his best friend’s sister.  If you remind him of her, you’d better watch out.”

“Why?”

“Well, because the way Boris talked, she was like a sister to him too.  It sounds like he was very protective of her.  She ran away with a man whom her family didn’t like, and from what Boris said, it sounds like he’d have sicced the KGB on the guy if it still existed.”  She turned to Daniel and grinned.  “Actually, you’re probably the one who should watch out.”

“Me?  Why me?”

“Because if he starts hearing the other rumors about you two, you’re liable to get the third degree from him,” her grin turned mischievous, “to make sure your intentions are honorable.”

“Callie!  I’m a minister, for Pete’s sake.”

The journalist found it rather interesting that the reverend hadn’t denied that there was something going on between him and Angie this time.  For that matter, Angie hadn’t said a word of denial either.  Hmm.  Maybe there was something going on.

“Well, I’ve got to get back to work,” Callie said.  “I imagine that you two will be able to find something to occupy yourselves with for a few hours.”  A secretive smile curved her lips.  “Maybe we could get together later this afternoon, that is if you don’t find something more interesting to do.”  She put her share of the breakfast tab on the table, then got up and left, Daniel and Angie watching her departure.

“You don’t think she knows, do you?  I mean about, well, you know,” Angie asked in a low voice.

“I don’t see how,” the minister replied.  “So, what do you want to do today?”

“Maybe a walk in the woods.  We could go back to your place and fix a picnic lunch.”

Daniel smiled.  “That sounds perfect.  We’ll have to get some stuff at the store, though.”

They headed over to the general store.  Daniel opened the door and accidentally collided with Dolores McMaster, who was just leaving.  The reverend reached out a hand to steady her.

“I’m sorry, Dolores.  I didn’t see you.”

The woman gave him an extremely warm, welcoming smile.  “That’s all right, Daniel.  I’m not hurt.  How are you today?”

“I’m great.”  He introduced Dolores to Angie.

“I’ve been thinking that it would be nice for you to come over and have dinner again sometime,” Dolores said to the minister, smiling again.

“Yes, we’ll have to do that.  Maybe the three of us could get together.  You two would probably have a lot to talk about.  Angie likes Bruce Willis too.”

“Yes, that would be nice,” Angie agreed, smiling brightly.

“Um, sure,” Dolores said.  “Well, I’d better go.  It was nice seeing you again, Daniel.”

The minister held the door open for Dolores, then turned toward the counter.  Ruby was standing behind it with an expression of frustrated disappointment on her face.  The look disappeared, and a smile came to her face.

“Good morning, Reverend Cooper.  Good morning, Angie.  How are you today?”

“We’re doing good,” Angie told her.

“So, what can we get for you today?”

Daniel listed off some things, briefly discussing with Angie what they should get.

“I’m glad you’re finally going to be stocking that refrigerator with some food, Reverend . . . or is this going to be for something else?”  Her eyes went from the minister to Angie.

“Well, some of it will go in the fridge for another time, what doesn’t get eaten for lunch today,” Daniel said.

“Oh, are you going to be having lunch together at your place?”  There was a look of hope on the woman’s face.

“We’re thinking of having a picnic lunch.”  He turned to Angie.  “You know, Ange, we should ask Dylan if he’d like to join us.”  He snuck her a wink.

“Uh, yes, we should,” Angie agreed after an instant’s hesitation.

Out of the corner of his eye, the minister saw the look of hope vanish from Ruby’s face.

Bonita came in from the back room.  “Hi, Daniel, Angie.  I hear you had some excitement yesterday.”

Both Daniel’s and Angie’s hearts skipped a beat.  Then they realized that the woman couldn’t possibly be talking about what happened at the Space Needle.

“Yes, we had fun,” Angie said.  “So did Callie.”

“Did you get a chance to go to Pike Place Market?  Mom and I love that place.”

“No, we didn’t.  If we get a chance to go back before Angie leaves I’ll take her there,” Daniel said.

“What’s Pike Place Market?” Angie asked.

“It’s a historical marketplace that’s been around since 1907,” Bonita explained.  “There are lots of great old shops there.”

“Yes, it’s a very nice place for people to go strolling around just to spend time together,” Ruby commented.

Daniel covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile.

“Reverend Cooper!  What happened to your hand?” Ruby exclaimed.  She glanced down and saw the bandages on the other hand.  “Both hands!”

“Don’t worry, Ruby.  They’re all right.  I just burned them a bit.”

“Well, you take care of yourself.  We don’t want you to get hurt like that.”

“I’ve been hurt a lot worse than this, Ruby.  I’m a quick healer.”

Daniel and Angie did their shopping, then headed up the hill, each of them carrying a bag.  Bonita had offered to drive them, but they decided to walk.

Once they were well out of town, Angie looked at the minister. “Okay, so what was all that back there about inviting Dylan along on our picnic?”

Daniel grinned.  “That was to throw a monkey wrench into Ruby’s plan.”

“What plan?”

“She’s matchmaking again.”

“With us?”

“Yep.  This isn’t the first time.  She belongs to this secret society called the Angle Dogs that tries to match men and women up with each other.  It was founded way back when men were lost at sea on the old sailing ships.  The Angle Dogs found new husbands for the widows.  It just kept right on going even after that time was past.  A while back, right after the divorce was final, the Angle Dogs chose me as their next target.  They tried to fix me up with Dolores.”

“Dolores?  The woman in the store who was giving you the eye?”

Daniel looked at her, an eyebrow lifting.  “The eye?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you did notice.  I thought you were being oblivious to it.  You sure acted like you were.”

The minister stopped and turned fully to her.  “Are you jealous, Angie?”

“No, of course not.  I know how you act when you’re interested in a woman, and I could see that you weren’t interested in her.”

“Ah, well that’s good.  But then, you should have realized that you have no reason to be jealous anyway.”

“How’s that?”

Daniel looked intently into her eyes.  “Need you ask after what happened last night?” he asked quietly.

Angie blushed, which made the reverend smile.  The urge to kiss her came on him again, and he drew closer to her.  But then he glanced about.  It wouldn’t be safe here.  Somebody could come by.

They resumed walking.  “So, what happened with you and Dolores?” Angie asked.

“Well, after a while, I realized that she was trying to be more than just a friend, and I told her that I couldn’t feel that way toward her.  That’s when she let something slip, and I made her tell me what was going on.   She told me a little about the Angle Dogs, and I found out more from Bonita.  Well, I went marching right over to their secret meeting place and told them in no uncertain terms that they were to stay out of my private life.  I had to threaten to reveal the existence of their society to make them lay off.  When Dolores started ‘giving me the eye’, as you so quaintly put it, I was puzzled because I thought we had an understanding, then it suddenly dawned on me.”

“What?”

“That Ruby set that whole thing up.  She got Dolores to come onto me to make you jealous.”

Angie grinned.  “I bet she was pretty frustrated when I didn’t cooperate.”

The minister laughed.  “You should have seen the expression I caught on her face.”  The corners of his mouth turned up.  “You know, I think it’s time that Ruby learned a lesson about meddling.”

A wicked grin spread across Angie’s lips.  “You’ve got something planned, don’t you.”

“Maybe,” he said, his smile equally as wicked.

Daniel told her his plan as they continued on up the hill.  They were both laughing when they walked in the door of the minister’s house.

“So, what does Angle Dog mean?” Angie asked.

“It’s slang for bait.”

They took the groceries into the kitchen.  The instant the bags were placed on the table, Rollie pulled Angie into his arms.  She felt the fire flare up inside her again as he kissed her passionately.  Minutes passed before he lifted his head.

“I’ve been wanting to do that from the moment I saw you this morning,” the Aussie said.

“Me too.”  Angie pulled his head back down to hers, exploring his mouth hungrily.  An eternity later, they pulled apart.  They gazed at each other dazedly.

“I could do this for the rest of my life,” Rollie murmured.

“So could I.”  Angie began placing small kisses on his jaw line, working down to his neck.  She felt a shudder pass through the Aussie.

“We need to put the groceries away,” he said breathlessly.

She lifted her head and looked up into his eyes, which were dark with the desire to kiss her again.  Reluctantly, they released each other and started putting the groceries away.

“Are we still going for that walk?” Angie asked.

“Yes.  We need to talk, and if we stay here, that won’t happen.”  He looked at her meaningfully, making a rush of heat spread throughout her body.

They fixed some sandwiches and put them, a couple of apples, some strawberries, and sodas in the small cooler they’d gotten at the store.  Rollie got a blanket, and they headed out into the woods.  For the first fifteen minutes or so, neither of them spoke.  It was Angie who broke the silence.

“I need to call Mira and tell her that I’m not coming back on Monday.  She was going to pick me up at the airport.”

Rollie nodded.  “How are they?”  He hadn’t asked Angie how everyone was doing.  It had been too painful a subject.

“Mira’s doing good.  She got a commendation a while back for bringing down a serial killer.”

“And Francis?”

“Frank’s good, too.  For a long time, he was obsessed with finding out what happened to you and getting the guys responsible.  It was like when Leo died, and he went out on his own to bring down the men who killed him.  Sarah was really worried about him.  She was afraid he’d push things too far and get himself killed.  Then, about three months after you disappeared, she found out that she was pregnant.”

Rollie stopped and looked at her.  “Sarah’s pregnant?  That’s great.”

“Yeah.  Knowing he was going to be a father again helped Francis a lot.  They had an ultrasound done and found out that the baby’s a boy.”

A grin bloomed on Rollie’s face.  “A boy.  I bet Francis is on cloud nine about that.”  The child would be Frank and Sarah’s first son.  They already had three daughters.

“Oh, yeah.  I think that kid’s going to be spoiled rotten once he’s born, which will be in around a month and a half.”

There was silence for several heartbeats as they resumed walking.  “How’s Dad?” Rollie finally asked, his voice shaking slightly.  He’d been afraid to ask about his father before.  When Angie didn’t answer right away, the Aussie turned to her, afraid.  “He’s all right, isn’t he?  Nothing’s happened to him, has it?”

“No, he’s all right, Rol.  He’s just . . . changed from the way he used to be.  After you disappeared, we tried to find him, but we didn’t have much luck.  Mira finally sent out his description and his car’s license plate number to every police station in the four states we’d narrowed the search down to.  A week later, he called wanting to know what was going on.  When we told him about you, he took the next plane to New York.  He’s been there ever since.”

“He has?”

“Yeah.  He used some of his connections to try getting some news about you, and when that didn’t work, he tried to help Mira, Frank, and me in whatever way he could.  He got a part-time job working with one of his bookie friends to make enough money for food and stuff like that.  He was staying at the loft with me.”  Angie swallowed painfully.  “He kept saying, ‘Rollie’s alive.  My boy isn’t dead,’ but as the months passed, he said it less and less until. . . .”

“Until what?”

“I didn’t tell you this before because I didn’t want to upset you.  We found your car, Rollie.”

“What?!  But that’s not possible.  The feds destroyed it.  They said they were going to.”

“Well, apparently they didn’t.  Maybe after your new identity was established through the Witness Protection Program, they were going to ‘find’ the car to make it appear as if you were dead and hopefully stop the search for you.”

Rollie walked away a few steps, shaking his head.  “No, they wouldn’t do that.  Elena wouldn’t do that.  She’d know that I would never agree to that.”

“I think she would do it, Rollie, if she thought it would protect you.”

The Aussie turned back to her.  “Where was it found?”

“In the Hudson River, totally by accident.”  Angie paused.  “When I . . . when I saw the bullet hole through the windshield. . . .”  She couldn’t continue.

With two quick steps, Rollie was before her, holding her in his arms.  She clung to him for a long time before she could speak again.

“It was a few days after that, that Dingo said it was time to accept that you were dead.  He just gave up.  After the memorial service, he flew back to where he’d left the car and trailer and drove them to New York.  He’s working full-time for his bookie friend now, and I see him pretty much every other day.  He hasn’t made a bet on a horse or played any of his scams in all this time.”

Rollie had begun to cry.  Angie could feel his tears wetting her hair.  She lifted his head and kissed his face.

“You have to tell him, Ange.  You have to tell him I’m alive,” he said hoarsely.

“But, Rollie, what if he does something?”

“He won’t.  Dad’s done some pretty stupid things, but if he knows how important it is that things remain quiet, he’ll be able to keep it under wraps.  I just can’t let him go on believing that I’m dead.  I just can’t.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him.”

They started walking again, an arm around each other.  They were both putting off talking about the one thing that needed to be discussed, neither one of them wanting to bring the pain into the open.  Again, it was Angie who broke the silence.  “I don’t want to leave, Rollie.”

The Aussie stopped walking again.  “I know, Ange.  I don’t want you to go either, but you have to.  What would happen if you stayed here and a friend of ours came to visit you one day and saw me?  Would they keep quiet?  What if one of ‘them’ came here?  What if Loubar came?  They’d get suspicious over why a New York City girl would suddenly move to a tiny town in Washington.”

“I could live in Seattle like Dylan suggested.  I didn’t tell anyone exactly where I was going, only that it was in the Seattle area.  I would be careful, Rollie.  I could make sure I’m not followed whenever I come to the island.”

“It would be too dangerous, Angie.  It just wouldn’t work.”  He held her to him.  “Don’t you know how much I wish that there was some way you could stay?  I would do almost anything to make it so--except put your life at risk.”

Angie’s voice was getting desperate.  “I can’t leave and never see you again.  I can’t.”

Rollie put the cooler down and took her face between his hands.  “Hey.  Who says that you’ll never see me again?  You can come back and visit, can’t you?  If you talk enough about how much you liked it here and how great everyone is, nobody will think twice about you coming to visit again in a few months.  We’ll see each other again, Angie, I promise we will.”  The Aussie knew that there was some danger in Angie returning, but he knew that she could no more leave and never come back than he could let her.  He loved her too much.  Just the thought of being apart from her for a few months made him ache inside with a physical pain.

Angie pulled him to her, and they kissed, slowly, gently, both of them hurting over the thought of being apart for so many months, but clinging to the hope that they would be together again someday.

They continued their walk, eventually coming to the place Rollie had picked for their picnic.  It was a tiny glade with a brook trickling through it.

“This is beautiful.  How did you find it?” Angie asked.

“By accident.  I went hiking one day and came across it.  Fortunately, living in the outback with the Aborigines taught me a great sense of direction and how to recognize small landmarks, otherwise I never would have been able to find it again.”  He looked at Angie.  “We’re completely alone here.  We don’t have to worry about anyone coming along.”  Rollie had dropped the American accent.  Angie couldn’t help but smile at hearing his natural speaking voice again.

They spread out the blanket and began to eat, talking about the good times they’d had in the past.  A while later, the lunch was gone except for a few strawberries.  Angie was eating one, watching the brook, when she became aware of the fact that Rollie was staring at her.  She turned and found his eyes fixed on her lips, the desire to kiss her blazing within them.  They lifted slowly to her eyes.  Angie put down the half-eaten strawberry.  An instant later, they were in each other’s arms, kissing as if they were starving for each other.  Rollie lowered her down onto the blanket, his mouth never leaving hers.  He began to caress her back and waist.  When his lips moved down to her neck Angie let out a moan.  Rollie’s head lifted and their eyes met.

“I love you, Angie,” he said, his voice deep and vibrant.

Angie felt the joy of his revelation fill her.  “I love you, Rollie.”

They came together in another kiss, long, slow, and deep.  The Aussie then gently kissed Angie’s eyelids.  “We should head back now, otherwise Callie’s liable to think we ran off together,” he said with regret.

“I wish we could really do that,” Angie said, her voice sad.

“So do I.  But I’ve already run away from one life.  I don’t want to run from this one, too.”

“I know, and I don’t want you to.  We’ll find a way, Rollie.  We have to.”
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Back at the house, Rollie and Angie put away the leftover strawberries and cleaned up, then they headed down the hill to see what Callie was up to.  When she saw them, she looked at her watch.

“You’re earlier than I expected you to be.  I thought I wouldn’t see you until dinnertime,” she said.

“I think we covered enough of the Hope Island wilderness for one day,” Daniel said.  “Besides, we’ve got something planned for a little later, and we need your help to do it.”

Curiosity lit the journalist’s eyes.  “Oh really?  What sort of plan?”

“Well, it seems that Ruby is trying to play matchmaker with Angie and me, despite what I’ve told her before about staying out of my personal life, and we’re going to teach her a little lesson.”

A grin grew on Callie’s face.  She rubbed her hands together.  “Ooh, this sounds good.  Count me in,” she said, not mentioning that she had a feeling it wasn’t necessary for Ruby to do any matchmaking with them.

An hour later, Callie drove Daniel and Angie back to the minister’s house, then she went over to the store.  She wandered around pretending to be shopping until the other customer left, then, taking something that she really didn’t need up to the counter, she began her act.

“Hi, Ruby,” she said, sounding rather unhappy.

“Hello, Callie.  What’s wrong?  You seem upset.”

“Oh, it’s Daniel and Angie.  Between you and me, I really thought that something was happening between them.  It looked like they were becoming more than friends.  But now. . . .”  She sighed.

“What?  What happened?” Ruby asked anxiously.

“Well, it seems that Dolores bumped into Daniel and they began talking, and I guess she was acting like she was interested in him.  She mentioned about that time they had dinner at her place.  Well, Angie’s not happy.  I think she’s jealous.  She and Daniel were at The Lookout a little while ago, and things were definitely cool between them.  I don’t know.  I’m just afraid that they’re going to break up over this.”

A look of horror flooded Ruby’s face.  “Oh no!  That’s terrible!”

“I tried to tell Angie that Daniel and Dolores are just friends, but she didn’t believe me.  She thought I was saying that just because I wanted to patch things up between them.  If only there was someone else who could. . . .  Hey, what about you, Ruby?  If you tell her, I think Angie will be more apt to believe it.”

“Yes.  I’ll do that.  I’ll do that right now.  I can’t let them break up over what I. . . .”  The woman came around the counter.  “Thank you for telling me this, Callie.  I just pray that I’m not too late to undo the damage.”  She looked at her daughter, then quickly scribbled.  “I’ll be back later, Bonita.  This must be done.”

Callie followed her out the door, watching as she drove away, then the journalist quickly walked back over to her office.  She picked up the phone and dialed Daniel’s number.  “She’s on her way,” she said.

Ruby drove quickly up the hill.  She was appalled that her plan to make Angie Ramirez jealous had backfired so disastrously.  She’d never forgive herself if the two young people broke up, their friendship destroyed because of what she had done.

The woman pulled up to the house and got out.  She immediately heard angry yelling coming from the house, mostly from Angie.  Then the door opened with a bang and the blonde came storming out.

“I’m leaving on the next ferry and going back to New York!” she yelled.  “Then you and Dolores can live happily ever after, and I don’t have to see your face ever again!”  She grabbed Daniel’s bicycle.  “You can pick up your bike at the Widow’s Walk tomorrow.  I’m taking it.”

“Angie, please!  I said I could explain.  Please listen to me.  I don’t want you to go,” Daniel begged.

Ignoring him, Angie got on the bike and rode away down the hill.

“Angie!  Angie, please don’t go!” the minister cried.  He stared at the blonde until she was out of sight.  His shoulders slumped.  Only then did he seem to notice Ruby.  “Oh.  Uh . . . hello, Ruby,” he said dejectedly.

“Reverend Cooper, what happened?” the older woman asked, coming up to him in concern.

“Angie got mad about Dolores.  She thinks that something’s going on between us.  I tried to tell her that it wasn’t true, but she wouldn’t listen to me.  Oh, Ruby, what am I going to do?  I don’t want to lose her.”

Ruby took his hand in hers.  “Don’t you worry, dear.  I’ll think of something.  I won’t let you lose her.  Now, you go back inside and let me worry about this, all right?”

Daniel nodded wearily and went in the house.  Ruby immediately went back down the hill, hoping to see Angie on the way so that she could talk to her, but there was no sign of the young woman.  She must have driven the bike down the hill at breakneck speed.  Ruby headed for the store.

“Oh, what have I done?” she moaned once she was inside.

Bonita quickly picked up her chalkboard.  “What happened?” she wrote.

Ruby grabbed a pad of paper and pencil.  “Angie’s leaving.  She’s flying back to New York, and it’s all my fault.  I didn’t know this was going to happen.”

“What did you do?”  Bonita fixed a penetrating glare on her mother, then began to write furiously.  “You got Dolores to come onto Daniel, didn’t you.  Mom, I warned you about this.  I told you that you shouldn’t meddle.  Now look what you’ve done.”

“I know, I know.  I have to fix things.  I have to go and tell Angie what I did.  It’s the only way to stop this from happening.”  Ruby hurriedly went over to the Widow’s Walk.  She knocked on Angie’s door.  When the blonde answered, the older woman glanced past her and saw an open suitcase on the bed, clothes piled in it haphazardly.  “Angie, honey, I need to talk to you about Reverend Cooper and Dolores.”

“If Daniel sent you over here to beg me to come back, you can just forget it.  We’re through.”

“Angie, please.  I need to tell you something that you and Reverend Cooper don’t know,” Ruby pleaded.  “Can I come in?”

Angie reluctantly let her in, then shut the door.  “I don’t know what you have to say, but it won’t do any good.  I thought that Daniel cared about me, that he was interested in me, but he was just leading me on.  It’s that Dolores woman that he likes.”

“Oh, Angie, that’s just not true.  He was never interested in Dolores, not in that way.  That whole thing with Dolores a few weeks ago was a setup.”

“Setup?  What do you mean?”

Ruby explained about the Angle Dogs and what they’d tried to do.  She then told her what Daniel had said and that he and Dolores were only friends.

“But what about this morning?  That was a lot more than friendship that was going on between them,” Angie pointed out.

“That was my doing.  I wanted you and the reverend to get together, so I talked Dolores into doing what she did to make you jealous.  Reverend Cooper was completely innocent in that whole thing.”

Angie straightened her shoulders, and the anger suddenly dropped from her face.  “I know,” she said quietly.

“And so do I,” said a voice from the door.  Ruby turned around to see Daniel standing there, a stern look on his face.

“What going on?” the older woman asked, confused.

“What’s going on is that you went back on our deal about you staying out of my personal life, Ruby.”  He came all the way into the room and shut the door.  “You shouldn’t have meddled, and you shouldn’t have tried to get Angie and me together.  What does or doesn’t happen between us is our concern, and you shouldn’t try to force things to go the way you want them to.”

“Then all this was an act?  The argument?  Angie getting jealous?”  Ruby was stunned.

“That’s right.  We wanted to show you what can happen when you try to manipulate people into doing what you want them to.”  Daniel’s face softened and he stepped closer to her.  “Ruby, I understand why you want to get us together, and I appreciate that you think it would make us both happy, but you have to let things like that happen, or not happen, as they will.  I’m sorry that we had to do this, but it was the only way to make you see how things can go wrong.”

Ruby felt both relief and shame well up in her.  “I’m sorry, Reverend Cooper.  I know I shouldn’t have done this.  I thought that you two were so perfect for each other, and I wanted you to see it.”  Tears came to her eyes.  “I’m so sorry.”

Daniel looked at Angie, an unspoken message passing between them.  The minister then laid a hand on Ruby’s shoulder gently.  “If I tell you something, will you swear never to breathe a word of it to anyone?  And I mean anyone, even Bonita and the Angle Dogs.”

She scanned the minister’s face.  “Yes, I swear,” she said, meaning it.

“We don’t need you to make us see what’s between us, Ruby.  We already know.”  His gaze went to Angie.  “I love Angie, more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life,” he said, talking not to Ruby, but to his best friend.

Joy swelled in Ruby.  She turned to the younger woman, whose eyes were locked on the minister’s.

“And I love Daniel, more than I could ever say,” Angie said softly.

“But this is wonderful!  Oh, I am so happy for you,” Ruby cried.  “You’ll be staying then, Angie?  What am I saying?  Of course you’ll be staying.  You’d have to go back to New York to see about moving your things, but Daniel could help you with that.  We could do without him for a couple of weeks.  And then--”

“No, Ruby, you don’t understand,” Daniel interrupted.  “Angie can’t stay.  She has to go back to New York.”  There was infinite sadness in his eyes.

“But why?”

“It’s something that we can’t tell you about.  Please don’t ask us to, and please don’t try to find out what it is.  We’re hoping--we’re praying--that, someday, we’ll be able to work something out, but, for now, Angie has to stay in New York.”  He gave a small sigh.

Ruby looked at Angie and saw the same sorrow that was in the minister’s eyes reflected in hers.  She didn’t know what the reason was that Angie couldn’t stay on Hope Island, but it hurt to see two people who were so much in love be forced to remain apart.  She would pray that God would find a way to bring them together.

Ruby laid a motherly hand on Daniel’s face and kissed his cheek.  “Everything will work out all right.  I have faith that it will.  You two belong together.  It will happen.”

The minister smiled down at her.  “Thank you, Ruby.”

The woman went to Angie and gave her a hug.  “You keep strong, Angie.  It’s going to be all right.”

“Thank you,” the blonde murmured.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone.”  She went out the door, quietly shutting it behind her.

Daniel went to Angie and gathered her into his arms.  Their lips came together in a long, gentle kiss.  “We will think of something, Ange.  We have to,” the minister said.

“I know, Rollie.  Somehow, it’s going to work out.  I just know it is.”

Ruby went back to the shop, her mind on Daniel and Angie.  She barely even noticed her daughter as she sat in a chair.  It wasn’t until Bonita tapped on her shoulder that she pulled her mind back to the here and now.  Her daughter was holding up her chalkboard.  The words “Did you fix things?” written on it.  Ruby rose and got the larger chalkboard that they sometimes used.

“I didn’t have to.  The whole thing was an act to teach me a lesson about meddling in their affairs.”

A smile came to Bonita’s face.  “You’re kidding.”  She laughed.  “Well, I’ll be,” she wrote.  “Good for them.  So, did you get the message?”

“Yes, I did.  I will never try to interfere with Daniel’s and Angie’s lives again.”

“Does this mean no more Angle Dogs?”

“I didn’t say that.  The Angle Dogs have had a lot of successes.  Many of the people we’ve gotten together are still with each other.”

“And what about the ones who aren’t?”

“Well, they can’t all be successes.  That doesn’t mean that we should quit altogether.”

Bonita sighed.  Her mother would never learn.  “What about Daniel and Angie?”

“Things will work out between them.  I know it will.  They’re made for each other.”

Daniel walked down the street, Angie by his side.  They’d just finished telling Callie the details of what happened when Ruby found out that the argument had been a ruse.  They had, of course, not told her what they’d revealed to the woman about their love.  The journalist had been like a big kid throughout the whole scheme.  Everything had been timed perfectly.  Callie had been waiting with her jeep just out of sight from the parish and had picked Angie up and taken her to the Widow’s Walk.  Then, later, after Ruby left, she had gone up to get Daniel so that he’d be there for the big moment when Ruby would be told the truth.  Callie had wanted to see the expression on the woman’s face when she learned the whole thing was a scam, but she knew that Daniel’s talk with Ruby was something that should really only be between him, her, and Angie.

“So, do you really think that Ruby will leave us be?” Angie asked.

“Now that she knows how we feel toward each other, she won’t have any reason to meddle, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she probes us a bit over why you can’t stay.  I’m just glad that it was only her and not all of the Angle Dogs that got into this.  That would have been tougher.”  Just then, the minister noticed Father Mac coming down the street, a worried expression on his face.  “What’s wrong, Father Mac?” he asked.

“Oh, there’s a problem with Joan MacNeil.  She just got word that her father finally died of his cancer, and her husband says that she’s very depressed.  I was just going to go up to talk to her when I found out that a parishioner of mine with a high risk pregnancy has gone into labor.  There’s a chance that the baby won’t survive, and I have to be there just in case.  I simply don’t know what to do.”

“How about if I go up to talk to Joan?” Daniel offered.

Relief came to the priest’s face.  “Would you, Daniel?  I would truly appreciate it, and I know that Joan will welcome your presence.  She likes you.”

“I’d be happy to.  I’ll just change and get my stuff, then I’ll go right up there.”  He turned to Angie.  “Let’s see if we can borrow Callie’s jeep again.”

The journalist gladly loaned the jeep to Daniel, and he and Angie drove up to the parish house.  The minister immediately went into his bedroom.  A few minutes later, he came back out, and Angie couldn’t help but stare.  He was dressed in the clothing of a clergyman, the white collar gleaming in the black cloth of his shirt.

“I-I knew that you were a minister, but to see. . . .” she stammered.

“It kind of blows your mind, huh?”  Daniel smiled.  “It did mine too the first time I wore this.  I kept thinking it wasn’t really me that I was looking at in the mirror.”  He picked up his bible and crucifix.  “You keep the car, Angie.  You might want to drive back down to town and have dinner with Callie.  It’s only around a mile and a half to the MacNeil’s place, and I can cut through the woods to shorten the distance.  I don’t know how late I’ll be.  If it gets too late, I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

Angie nodded.  “I hope everything goes all right.”

“So do I.  This is the hardest part of being a minister, talking to grieving loved ones.  I don’t know how Leo, Frank, and Mira could do it as often as they had to in their work.”

“Well, they didn’t have to do what you do, try to bring comfort to people and ease their pain.  You’ll do all right, Daniel.  If that letter you wrote to me is any indication, you’ll do better than all right.  Joan MacNeil is in good hands.”

“Thanks, Ange.”  He gave her a brief kiss, then headed out the door.  Daniel went down the road until he got to the fork that would lead to the MacNeil place.  He kept to the road for a while, then entered the woods.  He’d been this way once before and it would save him nearly half the distance.  He walked more slowly as he passed the rotted remains of an old mine.  He’d asked some of the islanders about the mine, and they said that it was dug back in the 1800's when a vein of silver was found.  The vein had petered out quickly, and the mine was abandoned.  Since then, Daniel had wanted to explore the area, but he’d never gotten around to it.  Maybe he and Angie could come here.  That would be even more fun than exploring alone.

The minister passed the mine and kept going, his mind returning to what he had to do.  What he’d said to Angie was true.  This was the thing he found the hardest to do, this and talking to people about death.  When Nub had been so sick, and everyone feared he wouldn’t make it, Daniel had gone to him to talk about dying.  It had been really hard, and the minister hadn’t known what to say.  But Nub had made it easy.  The young man’s strong, quiet faith and gratitude to God had touched Daniel deeply.  He would never forget their conversation that day. . . .

“If I die, I want to be buried with a fork in my hand,” Nub said.

“Why a fork?” Daniel asked gently.

“Because, when I was a kid, my family would have dinner together, and, when my mother cleared the dishes, if she told me to hang onto my fork I knew it was because there was something better coming afterwards.  You know, like angel food cake or rhubarb pie, or . . . something good.  So, at my funeral I want you to stand next to my casket, and when people ask why I’m holding onto a fork, you to tell them it’s because I know there’s something better coming afterwards. . . .”

And now Daniel was going to a woman’s house to tell her that her father had gone to a better place.  He prayed that he could show as much strength of faith as Nub had.

Angie wandered around the house for a while, skimming through some of Daniel’s poetry books.  There was one from a poet named Percy Bysshe Shelley that looked very well read.  The blonde sat down and began going through it.  Several pages into it, she found a black and white photograph of a woman.  Angie wondered who she was.  She thought about it for a moment.  Was this Stella?  No, that didn’t make sense.  Rollie wouldn’t keep a picture of the real Daniel’s ex-wife.  Could this be the woman that Daniel had loved, the one who died?  Angie had a feeling that it was.

She put the picture back in its place and continued looking through the book.  To her surprise, she suddenly realized that she’d begun to really read the poems and was enjoying them.  All at once, it didn’t seem so strange or amusing that Rollie had come to love poetry.  She had a feeling that she could, too.

After a while, she got hungry and decided to see if Callie could join her for dinner.  The two women had a nice meal, then they loaded Daniel’s bike in the back of Callie’s jeep and went back up to the parish house.  They found that the minister had not yet returned.

“Are you sure you want to stay here alone, Angie?” the journalist asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  I want to be here in case Daniel needs to talk when he gets home.”

“Okay.  Call me if you want me to come pick you up and take you back to the Widow’s Walk.”

“I will.”

Angie went back to reading until her eyes began to grow tired.  She looked at the time and realized that it was nearly ten o’clock.  Joan MacNeil must have been in a bad way, requiring Daniel to stay with her longer than he thought.  He was going to be starving when he came home.  Angie decided to fix him something that he could quickly pop into the microwave when he got back.  After that was done, she decided to watch some TV.  She curled up on the couch with a cup of tea, thinking that she could very easily get used to being here in this house, being with Rollie every day--and every night.  She could imagine herself being loved by him, having children with him, growing old with him.  It was a beautiful picture, one that made her happy in a deep, lasting way.  Angie set the tea down and closed her eyes, letting herself imagine a lifetime with Rollie Tyler.

Angie awoke with a start.  She sat upright and looked about.  The TV was still on, some old movie playing.  Angie looked at her watch and saw that it was after 1 a.m.

“Daniel?  Daniel, are you here?”  She got up and checked the bedroom to find that it was empty.  She immediately got worried.  He couldn’t possibly still be at the MacNeil’s.  If something had made it necessary for him to stay that late, he would have called.

Angie paced across the floor, not knowing what to do.  What if something had happened to him?  What if he’d had an accident?  What if. . . .  Oh, God.  What if she had been followed to the island by one of ‘them’?  What if they’d gotten Rollie?  Suddenly terrified out of her mind, Angie grabbed one of his sweaters, ran outside, jumped onto the bike, and pedaled down the hill as fast as the darkness would allow.

Callie was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of pounding.  She realized that it was someone knocking on her door.  The journalist threw on a robe and went to see who it was.  She opened the door to find Angie, her face tear-streaked and white with fear, standing on the porch.

“Angie, what’s wrong?”

“He’s not back, Callie.  Daniel’s not back.  I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was still gone.  Something’s happened to him.  I just know it has.”  There was an edge of panic in the blonde’s voice.

Callie immediately felt fear rise in her.  “Come in, Angie.  I’ll call Kevin.”

Kevin was there minutes after Callie called him.  He contacted the MacNeil’s and found out that Daniel had left there hours ago.  Thinking that the minister might have had an accident coming back from there, he went out and searched the road to their place, but found no sign of him.  Fifteen minutes after he’d returned, a search party was well on its way to being gathered.  They had all gone to the church, knowing that they’d need the room and hoping that Daniel would eventually show up on his own, having sprained his ankle or something.

“Did you call Alex?” Kevin asked Callie.

“No, not yet, and I guess I should call Father Mac, too.”  The journalist went to the phone and dialed Alex’s number.  It rang four times before it was picked up.

“Alex, it’s Callie.  Daniel’s missing.”

“What?!  Oh no.  What happened?”  The worry was clear in the redhead’s voice.

“We don’t know.  We’re assembling a search party up at the church.  We could use your help.  Some coffee for the searchers would really be appreciated.  Also some rolls and such for them to eat just in case. . . .” Callie glanced at Angie, who was huddled alone in the corner, “just in case the search goes on into the morning.”

“Of course, Callie.  Anything that I can do to help.  I’ll call Boris, and we’ll fix some pots of coffee, gather some rolls, and bring them up there right away.”

Next, Callie called Father Mac, who was much quicker with answering the phone.  The journalist told him what was happening.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” the priest said.

Just then, Ruby and Bonita walked in the door carrying boxes full of stuff like flashlights and water bottles and some blankets.

“There’s more stuff out in the van,” the younger woman said.  Kevin went to get it.

Ruby put what she was carrying down and went to Angie.  She knelt before her.  “How are you doing, dear?”

Angie looked up at her with haunted eyes.  “I’m scared, Ruby.  I’m scared that I’ve lost him.”

“Oh, honey, don’t think that.  We’ll find him, and he’ll be just fine, you’ll see.”

Angie shook her head.  “No, no, you don’t understand.  You don’t understand.  It’s just like before.  He’s disappeared.  He’s gone.  But this time, he’s . . . he’s. . . .”  Her voice broke, and she drew herself into a tighter ball, tears beginning to fall again.

Not understanding, Ruby looked up at Callie, hoping for some enlightenment.  The journalist came and knelt before the blonde.

“Angie, are you talking about what happened to Rollie?”

She nodded.  “Rollie’s gone.  Now Daniel’s gone, and he’s not coming back.  He’s dead.  He’s dead.”

“Angie, no!  What happened to Rollie isn’t going to happen to Daniel,” Callie told her adamantly.  “Nobody wants to hurt Daniel.  He probably just had a minor accident and can’t make it back on his own.  We’re going to find him, I promise you.”

She and Ruby got up and walked a few yards away.  “What’s this about Rollie?” the older woman asked.  “He’s the friend of Angie’s who died, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but he didn’t die in an accident or anything like that.  He was murdered.”

Ruby’s hand flew to her mouth.  “Oh my goodness!”

“Rollie was instrumental in the arrest of some underworld figures, and they put a contract out on his life.  He disappeared and was never found.  For over seven months Angie looked for him.  Then, one day, they found his car in the river with a bullet hole through the windshield, and Angie knew that he was dead.  That was a month ago.”

“Oh no.  How horrible!  The poor girl!”

“Now this happens, and it’s like Rollie all over again.  I’m worried about her, Ruby.  If it’s really bad.  If Daniel is. . . .  She’s already lost one friend.  If she loses him too, I don’t think she’ll be able to handle it.”

“Well, she’s not going to lose him,” Ruby declared.  “Daniel is all right.  I know he is.  God is watching over him.”

By the time Alex and Boris arrived with the coffee and rolls, all the searchers had been assembled and had been assigned areas to cover.  Kevin was handling everything with quick efficiency, showing a side of himself rarely seen.  This was not the Kevin Mitchum who stumbled through his marriage proposal.  It was not the man who made a catastrophe out of trying to earn some extra money to buy an engagement ring.  It was the Kevin Mitchum who had gone through the police academy and was trained to help in life and death situations.

Boris set the coffee urn down and looked over at Angie, who had not moved from her place on the floor in the corner.   He grabbed a couple of blankets and carried them over to her.

“Why you sit alone on floor?” he asked.  “Is not right.  You should sit on pew.  Will be more comfortable.”

Angie shook her head, not saying anything.

“Then Boris will make this place more comfortable.  Move please, and I will put blanket there.”

Angie scooted over, allowing the Russian to lay a folded blanket on the floor where she had been.  He motioned for her to sit on it.  Once she had, he wrapped the other blanket around her.  His hand came out and stroked her hair.  She looked up into his eyes, and his throat tightened at the expression of anguish on her face.

“All will be good, Angie.  We will find Daniel, and he will be safe.”  He got up and went to Kevin.  “Boris will help, will search for the reverend and bring him back to Angie.  Tell me where to look.”

Kevin could tell by the tone of the Russian’s voice and the look on his face that it would be pointless to try talking him out of joining the search.  With a nod of his head, Kevin gave the man an area to search.  Right after that, everyone headed out.  Kevin remained behind to coordinate things.

Alex looked over at Angie.  Seeing the grief and terror on the younger woman’s face removed any doubts the redhead had about how Angie felt about Daniel.  She wondered if the feeling was shared by the minister.  If it was, then Alex had no hope of ever being more than a friend to him.  And she had finally admitted to herself that she did want to be more than a friend.  The thought of Daniel being missing and possibly seriously hurt had made her realize that.  She wasn’t in love with him, not yet, but it wouldn’t take very much for her to fall head over heels.

Ruby hadn’t taken her eyes off Angie for more than a couple of minutes since arriving.  She was terribly worried about her.  She had seen Angie’s love for Daniel in her eyes when they were together in Angie’s room.  It had been the kind of love that lasts a lifetime.  That same love had been in the reverend’s eyes.  It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be that they would find each other again after all this time only to be parted by death.

The woman felt a tap on her shoulder.  Bonita was beside her holding up a piece of paper.  “You should stay with her,” it said.

Ruby took the pad of paper and scribbled, “She barely knows me.  She may not want me with her.  Callie’s her friend, but she couldn’t get her to talk when she went over there a few moments ago.”

“Mom, Callie is a friend, but what I think Angie needs right now is a mother.”

Ruby looked at her in surprise.  “But I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Just remember how you were with me when I was little and was scared or sick.”

Her mother nodded and went to Angie.  She sat on the floor.  “Would you like some coffee or maybe a little something to eat?”

The blonde shook her head mutely.

Ruby paused, then, “Would you like someone to hug?”

Angie looked up at her and tears flooded her eyes.  “Yes,” she whispered.

Ruby immediately sat on the blanket beside Angie and gathered the young woman into her arms.  Angie held onto her tightly, quiet sobs shaking her body.

“I love him so much, and now he may be dead.  It’s all my fault.  Everyone I love dies.”

“Oh, honey, don’t say that.  This isn’t your fault, and he isn’t dead.  Callie told me about your friend, Rollie.  It was a terrible, terrible thing that happened, but that wasn’t your fault either.  You can’t believe that people will die just because you love them.”

“It is my fault.  I should never have come here.  It’s all my doing.”

Ruby just held onto her, not knowing what else to say.

The hours passed.  Searchers came in periodically to get more coffee or water and to be directed to a new area to cover.  The one person who hadn’t come back in was Boris.  The Russian had been searching nonstop.

With each hour that passed, everyone’s hopes dimmed a little more that there would be a happy ending to the search.  Daniel seemed to have vanished without a trace.  The greatest fear was that he was lying badly injured and unconscious somewhere, hidden from the searchers.  No one wanted to think about the possibility that he was dead.  The thought that the gentle, compassionate minister who had come to bless their lives with his presence might be gone forever was too much for any of them to bear.

Bonita had gone home to get some sleep, knowing that one of them would have to be up to tend the store.  Everyone had tried to get Alex to go home too, knowing that she would have to run the restaurant all day, but she had insisted on staying, so Molly had left instead, saying that she could take care of the few people who came in for breakfast.

It was 6 a.m. when Father Mac rose from one of the pews.  He had been praying almost ceaselessly.  He cleared his throat.  “I think it’s time that we all say a prayer together.”  His eyes briefly went to Alex, then returned to the others.  With the exception of the redhead, everyone nodded and bowed their heads, including Angie.

“Dear heavenly father,” the priest began “we come before you to ask for the safe return of Daniel Cooper.  Since coming here, he has brought joy and a wonderful gift of love and caring to our community.  Each of us has come to love him in our own way.  He has become a part of our family here.  In my years as a servant to you, I have never met someone more dedicated to helping people or more giving of himself.  He is a fine and generous soul.  Please bring him back to us, Lord.  Amen.”  Several softly spoken “amens” arose among those assembled.

Angie looked around at the people in the church, fresh tears in her eyes over the prayer that had been given.  The people of Hope truly cared about Daniel, even though he’d been here for only a few short months.  She felt grateful that he had found a place like this where he could be loved.

Sitting on a pew and drinking a cup of coffee, Nub watched Angie as she silently sat in the corner.  Father Mac came up to him and sat down.

“How are you doing, Nub?”

“I’m okay.  I’ll be going back out there in a few minutes.”  The young man was a member of the search party and had come back to rest for a few minutes and to get some coffee.  He was driving Brian’s precious 1958 El Dorado.  The mayor had told him to take it when the truck wouldn’t start.  Nub had been surprised by the offer.  Brian loved the El Dorado like it was his baby.  The fact that he had been willing to allow it to be driven around the hills of Hope as a search vehicle showed that the man cared about the reverend more than he let on, just as Nub secretly knew that the mayor cared more about him than he let on.

Nub turned back to Angie.  “I wonder if I’ll ever find somebody who loves me like that.”

The priest followed his gaze.  “To love so deeply can be a true blessing, but it can also bring terrible heartaches.  I pray that Daniel will be all right.  I do not want to have to comfort Angie over his loss.”  There was sadness in his voice.

“He’s okay, Father Mac.  I know he is,” Nub said with conviction.

“You seem very certain of that.”

The young man nodded.  “I am.  I just have a feeling that God has plans for Daniel . . . and for Angie, too.”

“I hope you’re right, Nub.”

Another hour passed.  It was light now, which would make the search easier.  This renewed everyone’s flagging hopes that the reverend would be found.

Angie was sitting alone again.  Ruby had gotten up a while back to stretch her legs and have a cup of coffee.  The blonde’s initial feeling of hopelessness had eased for a while as she tried to convince herself that the men who wanted Rollie dead hadn’t come and killed him, but now her despair was returning.  She kept seeing him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead from a bullet to the head.  The image made her want to curl up into a tiny ball and die.

Everyone was startled by the sound of the front door banging open.  Angie turned and saw Boris walk in--with a bloodied, limping, but very much alive Daniel Cooper beside him.  With a wordless cry, Angie leapt to her feet and streaked across the distance separating them.  She threw herself into his arms, shaking so badly that she felt in danger of coming apart at the joints.

“You’re alive.  You’re alive,” she whispered over and over again.

Angie had to force herself to release him so that he could be settled onto a pew.  The moment he was sitting, however, she was pressed up against him again.  Someone ran over to the minister’s house, where the doctor had gone to get some sleep a few hours ago.

“Daniel, what happened to you?” Kevin asked.

“I fell down a mine shaft,” he said wearily.  “I cut through the woods on my way back from the MacNeil’s place and passed by the old mine like I’ve done before.  I didn’t see that there was an old boarded up shaft in the ground.  It was covered by brush.  All I knew was that, suddenly, I was falling.  I don’t know how long I was unconscious.  When I woke up, it was dark.  There was no way for me to get out.  I kept calling for help, but nobody heard me until Boris came along.”

Doctor Watson had come in.  She sat on the other side of him and began checking him over.  A few minutes later, she looked up at the anxious faces gathered around them.

“Well, he’s got some nasty cuts and bruises and a twisted ankle.  He may also have a concussion.  I want him to go in for tests on the mainland to make sure there’s nothing more serious, but that will wait until this afternoon.  He needs rest now more than anything, that and something to eat.”

Daniel was taken over to the house.  Boris helped him wash up and get changed out of his torn and filthy clothing.

“Looks like I’m going to be needing a new suit,” the minister commented.

“Better you need new suit than we need new minister,” the Russian said.

Daniel looked up at the big man.  “Thank you, Boris.  Thank you for rescuing me.”  He could still clearly remember the sight of the Russian’s large frame eclipsing the moonlight at the top of the mine shaft.  The man had actually ripped a branch right off a tree and lowered it down the shaft, then pulled the minister up out of the hole.

Boris nodded.  “Is good I found you.  Is good for island, and is good for Angie.”  He ran his eyes over Daniel’s face.  “Angie loves you?”

“Yes.”  Daniel wasn’t going to try hiding it anymore, not after what had happened.

“And you love her?”

“With all my heart.”

“Is good, this love.  Boris thinks you make good couple, make lots of strong, healthy babies.”

Daniel blushed at the comment.  “Boris, we’re not. . . .  I mean, we haven’t reached that point in our relationship yet.”

The Russian’s eyes narrowed.  “You will be husband to her, yes?  You will not change your mind and say big mistake?  You will not hurt her?”

Daniel looked into Boris’s eyes levelly.  “I would die before I’d hurt her, Boris,” he said, his voice ringing with absolute conviction.  “And if there is somehow, someway, that I can someday marry her, I will.”

The Russian smiled.  “Is good then.  When you have wedding, Boris will fix big Russian banquet.  Everybody will come to sing and dance.”

Daniel smiled at Boris’s plans.  He hoped that they would become a reality one day.

The reverend’s cuts were treated and his ankle wrapped by the doctor.  He was then tucked into bed.  As Angie sat beside him, her hand latched onto his, Alex went to fix him some soup.  With the exception of her, Boris, and Kevin, everyone else had gone home.

Daniel listened to the church bell ringing.  It was the signal to the searchers that he had been found.  The minister turned to Angie, who was gazing at him like she wanted to pull him right into her soul.

“I thought they had come and killed you,” she said shakily.  “I thought that I’d led them to you.”

Daniel tightened his grip on her hand.  “Angie, I’m sorry.  The last thing I’d ever want to do is cause you more worry.”  He smiled ruefully.  “I just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.”  He lifted his hand to her cheek.  “But I’m all right, Angel.  They’re not going to come here.  And if they do . . . if they do, we’ll be okay.  They’re not going to get me, and I won’t let them get you.  I love you, Angie.  That’s more important to me than anything.  As long as I have you, I can overcome anything else.”

Angie leaned over and brought her lips to his.  He pulled her more tightly to him, kissing her tenderly.

A few moments later, Alex walked in the door, carrying a tray.  She froze when she saw Daniel and Angie kissing.  The sight brought on a feeling of pain and regret, yet, at the same time, calm acceptance.  Dylan had been right; Angie was the right person for Daniel--and Alex wasn’t, though she may have hoped she was.

The redhead cleared her throat.  The two people immediately separated, their cheeks turning red at being caught.  Alex brought the tray forward and put it on Daniel’s lap.  “Chicken soup.  Still the best thing to take when you’re not feeling well,” she said with forced cheerfulness.  Angie was searching her face.  Alex gave her a smile that told her everything was okay.  “Well, since you’re all taken care of, Daniel, I’m going to go home.  Dylan will be getting up soon, and I want to be there to tell him what happened and assure him that you’re not on death’s door.”

“Thanks, Alex, for everything,” Angie said.

The redhead nodded and left the room, closing the door.  Angie watched Daniel eat, not wanting to take her eyes off him.  Twice in the last two days, he had come close to dying, yet in the last four months, ever since coming to Hope, he had managed to steer clear of danger--well, all except for that dunk in the bay he’d mentioned.  It was enough to make her wonder if what she’d said about everybody she loved dying had some truth in it.  Since she’d come, his life seemed to be continually at risk, just as it had been before.

“What’s wrong, Ange?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing.  Just some silly thoughts.”

“What kind of silly thoughts?”

“I was just thinking about how, ever since I came here, you seem to always be in danger again, like you used to be.”  She didn’t look him in the eyes.

Daniel set the tray aside and turned her face to his. “You can’t possibly think that any of this is your fault.”

“No, not really.  It’s just that I seem to be bad luck for you.”

“That’s ridiculous!  You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.  That’s always been true.  You could never be bad luck for me.  If anything, it’s the--” He cut himself off sharply.

“What?”

“Nothing.  Look, Angie.  What happened Wednesday was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time--or the right place at the right time, depending on whose point of view you look at it from.  As for what happened last night, that’s something that probably would have happened sooner or later regardless of whether or not you were here.  It wasn’t the first time I’d passed near the mine.  You could say that it was an accident waiting to happen.  I’m just glad it was me and not some child who fell through that shaft.  At least it will never happen again.”  Kevin had told him that he would have the shaft boarded up and warning signs posted everywhere.  They were going to look for other shafts as well.

The minister smothered a yawn.

“I should let you get some sleep.”  The blonde rose.

“Angie, wait.  Would you. . . .”  A faint blush came to his cheeks.  “Would you stay with me?  I want to . . . hold you.”

Without a word, Angie took off her shoes and lay down on the bed beside him.  She curled in close to him, feeling his arms come around her and draw her close to his warmth.  With a sigh, they both surrendered to sleep.

Boris peeked his head in and saw the two sleeping figures.  Smiling faintly, he came in and tucked the covers more tightly about them.  The smile soon disappeared.  He had been standing outside the door earlier and heard what was said about people coming to hurt Daniel and Angie.  He did not know who these bad men were or what evil had come into the lives of these two people, but he made a vow that nothing and no one would hurt them as long as he was alive.

The Russian watched them sleep a moment longer, then left, shutting the door silently behind him.
 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Angie awoke to an incredible feeling of warmth and security.  She soon realized that the source of the feeling was Daniel.  She was snuggled against him, her head pillowed on his chest and his arms wrapped about her.  Angie lifted her head and looked at him.  He was sound asleep, his mouth slightly open, a look of peace on his face.  It was a sight she’d be happy to wake up to every morning for the rest of her life.

Trying not to disturb him, Angie slipped out of his arms and out the door.  She fixed herself a cup of tea.  Seeing that it was two in the afternoon and realizing that she was famished, she made a sandwich.  She was munching on it when she heard a knock on the door.  It was Doctor Watson.

“Good afternoon, Angie.  How’s the patient?” the doctor asked.

“Still sleeping.”

“Good.  That’s what he needs.  We’ll have to wake him up soon, though.  I want to take him over to a hospital on the mainland to have him checked out more thoroughly.  I’m concerned that he was unconscious for so long.”

Worry came into Angie’s eyes.  “You think he might have a more serious head injury?”

“No, no.  I still think it’s just a mild concussion, but I’d feel better with some more extensive tests.”

“He isn’t going to be too happy about that,” Angie told her.

“Oh?”

“Daniel’s really not all that fond of spending time in hospitals.  He despises laying around in a hospital bed.  He wants to keep on the go, even when he’s hurt.”

“You seem to know him very well.”

“Uh . . . yes, I guess I do.  I got to know him quite well when we knew each other before.”

“I see.”  There was a question in the doctor’s eyes, and Angie immediately knew what that question was.  A blush came to her cheeks.

“Not that well,” she said hastily.

Doctor Watson smiled at her discomfort.  At that moment, there was a sound from the bedroom.  The two women went to check and found Daniel trying to stand up.

“What do you think you’re doing?” they asked simultaneously.

“What does it look like?  I can’t stay in bed all day,” he said.

Doctor Watson turned to Angie.  “I think I see what you mean.”  She then returned her attention to her patient.  “You most certainly can stay in bed all day, and that’s what you’ll do if I say so.”

The minister sighed.  “I’m fine.  I’m just a little dizzy, and my head and ankle hurt a bit.  I’m a little sore too, but then I already--”  Oops!  Almost spilled the beans there.

The doctor crossed her arms over her chest.  “Yes, I can imagine you were already sore.”

“Oh.  You found out,” Daniel said, an interesting combination of sheepishness and worry on his face.

“Yes, I did.  When I saw the repeat of the report on the six o’clock news yesterday and noticed what happened with the rope and that the clothing of the ‘unidentified man’ matched what you were wearing, it didn’t take much for me to figure out how you got those rope burns.  Tell me, do you make a habit of rescuing people in distress?”

“Uh . . . I’ve done it a few times,” Daniel said evasively.

“Uh huh.”  The tone of the doctor’s voice made it clear that she suspected he’d done it more than a few times.  “Well, that incident, coupled with what happened to you last night, is going to make you very sore indeed.  I would recommend a long, hot bath and a deep massage.  But that will wait until after we take you to the mainland for tests.”  She braced herself for the minister’s objection.

“I really don’t think that’s necessary,” Daniel told her.  “The tests, I mean.  I’m fine.  I have a hard head.”

“I gathered that,” Doctor Watson said, not really talking about the toughness of his skull.

“Look, you have x-ray equipment there at the clinic, don’t you?  You can check for skull fractures and some other things with that.  If the x-rays come out clean, and I don’t show any signs of a more serious head injury, then what’s the point in wasting a trip to a hospital?  I swear to you that, if I have any other symptoms, I’ll let you know.”

The doctor looked at him sternly, then sighed.  He was right.  Other than a set of x-rays, further tests were probably unnecessary if he showed no signs of a more serious head injury.  His eyes were clear, he was alert, and there was no slurred speech, extreme pain, severe dizziness, or vision problems.

“All right, you win, Daniel, but if you have any trouble with your vision or speech, or if the headache and dizziness get worse, you are to call me immediately, is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the reverend said meekly.

“Okay, then let’s get you dressed and over to the clinic for those x-rays.”

“I can get dressed myself,” Daniel said, looking embarrassed.

“What’s the matter?  You were married once, weren’t you?” the doctor said with a smile.  The minster’s flush deepened, and she decided to take pity on him.  “All right.  I’ll just get your clothes and lay them on the bed.”

Daniel told her where everything was.  As the doctor got his clothing, he looked at Angie.  She was smiling in amusement.

“What’s so funny?” he muttered.

“Nothing.  I just think you’re cute,” the blonde said, her smile widening.

“Cute?  That’s not quite the compliment most guys are hoping for, Ange.”

The blonde bent down close to him.  “Well, if I told you that you were drop dead gorgeous, you’d just get a swelled head,” she murmured rather huskily.

Daniel looked at her in surprise, suddenly wanting very much to kiss her, but the doctor returned with the clothes just then.  The two women left the room, allowing him to dress in private.  Once he was finished, he limped into the living room.  The pain in his ankle was subsiding, as was the headache.  Considering the distance he’d fallen, he was in better shape than he had a right to be.  If it hadn’t been for his stuntman’s instincts kicking in when he fell, he’d probably have a broken bone or two.

The minister was helped out to the car and taken to the clinic.  The x-rays came out clean, as he had expected them to.  Doctor Watson gave him some stuff to put in the water of his bath to loosen his muscles and ease the ache and some liniment for his massage.

“Be careful not to get any of the liniment on your cuts,” she instructed him.  “I’d give you the massage myself, but I have other patients to attend to.  I’d recommend you get Nub to do it.  He has gentle hands.  You don’t want someone to get too rough.”

Daniel lifted his eyebrows and asked how the doctor knew that Nub had gentle hands.

“Brian suffered a severe back spasm a couple of years ago, and Nub offered to give him a massage since I was swamped with work that day,” Doctor Watson explained.  “Later, I asked Brian if the massage had helped, and he admitted that it had put him to sleep.”

Daniel smiled, picturing the mayor snoring away as Nub rubbed his back.  “I’ll keep that in mind, Doctor Watson.”

The doctor drove them back up the hill, then returned to her office.  As Angie ran his bath, Daniel called Nub.  Getting no answer, he called Brian to see if Nub was with him, but was also unable to reach him.

“I can’t get hold of Nub,” he told Angie as she came back out.  “I’ll try again after the bath.”

“So, you think you’ll be able to get in and out of the tub by yourself,” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Yes, I’ll manage just fine, thank you,” he assured her.

“Well, you call me if you need help.  We wouldn’t want you to take another tumble,” Angie told him, her mischievousness growing into a smile.

“Thanks so much for your concern, Angela,” Daniel said sarcastically.

A few minutes later, he was easing himself into the hot water.  He settled back with a sigh, letting the heat and the medicine in the water do their stuff.  He’d been there about ten minutes when there was a knock on the door.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help in there, Daniel?” came Angie’s voice, the faintest of quivers in it.  She rattled the doorknob.

Suddenly panicked that she might actually come in, the minister said, “No!” a bit more emphatically than necessary.  He then heard peals of laughter fading away.  “I’m going to get her for this one of these days,” he growled.

Daniel finished his bath, toweled himself off carefully, and redressed.  Angie was in the kitchen, which reminded his stomach that it hadn’t gotten any food since the bowl of soup that morning.  Angie fixed him a late lunch and sat with him while he ate it.

“Did the bath help?” she asked.

“Yeah, it did.  I feel a lot better.  I can probably do without the massage.”

“Well, I think you should have it anyway.  You can try Nub again after you finish eating.”

The minister still couldn’t get hold of Nub after he’d eaten.  “Oh well, I’m not going to worry about it.  Like I said, the bath was enough.”  His body then chose to prove him a liar by sending a lance of pain down his arm when he picked up the teapot.

“Uh huh, I can see that,” Angie said dryly.  She got up.  “Come on.  I’ll do it.”

“That really isn’t necessary, Ange,” Daniel said, a bit uncomfortably.  “Besides, you told me not very long ago that you had no intention of getting into the habit of giving me massages.”

“One more isn’t going to kill me, and it isn’t going to kill you either.  It’s not like I haven’t seen you half-dressed before.”

‘No, but things were a lot different between us back then,’ the reverend said in his mind.  He was extremely nervous about the thought of Angie giving him the massage.

Angie misunderstood his silence as acquiesce and got the liniment that the doctor had given them.  She led Daniel to the bedroom.

“Okay, get your shirt off,” she commanded.

With a martyred sigh, the minister complied.

“Ouch!  Those look nasty,” Angie said when she saw the bruises, which had grown and darkened in the hours since the accident.  “Lay down on your stomach.”

Daniel did so, turning his face away from her.  She immediately started working on his back and arms, kneading gently and being careful not to press on the bruises or get liniment on the cuts.  It felt wonderful.  It felt incredible.  It felt. . . .  Well, it felt a whole lot better than was conducive to Daniel’s peace of mind.  No, he wasn’t Daniel anymore.  Rollie was coming to the fore again or, rather, the passionate, unrestrained side of him that was a part of the man he used to openly be.

Angie felt a tremor pass through the body of the man beneath her hands.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Am I hurting you?” she asked, suddenly conce