Angie was concerned about Daniel.  He had called her last night, telling her that he was all right.  But there had been something odd in the tone of his voice.  It had seemed calm--too calm.  What made her even more concerned is that he again asked her if she was going to the Sunday services, only, this time, he had said it in a way that made it seem very important that she be there.  She had agreed to go.

Now, she was in Callie’s jeep heading up to the church, and she was more than a little nervous.  It had been so long since she’d been to a church service.  But Daniel wanted her there, so that’s where she would be.

They pulled up to where the rest of the cars were parked.  There was a group of people standing around chatting outside.  That’s when Angie saw Daniel.  Seeing him in his ministerial robes was almost as strange as seeing him wearing the collar.

The reverend saw her immediately.  Smiling, he came toward her.

“I’m so glad you came.”

“Daniel, are you all right,” she asked in a low voice.

“Yeah, I am, Angie.  I’m very much all right.”  He glanced at his watch.  “Shall we go inside?”

Everyone made themselves comfortable on the pews.  Callie dragged Angie to the front row despite the blonde’s objections.  The parishioners stood and sang a hymn while Daniel played the piano.  Feeling uncomfortable, Angie did not join in.  She noticed that Dylan was lighting the candles.  When the song was finished, everyone sat down and Daniel stepped up to the pulpit.  Silence descended on the congregation.

“Before I begin, I’d like to introduce everyone to a visitor to our community, Angie Ramirez.”

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Angie glanced about as people nodded to her, smiling.

“For those of you who don’t already know, and I doubt there are many, Angie is a friend of Callie’s.  They met in a place that has become the birthplace of many friendships, the Internet.”  A mischievous smile curved Daniel’s lips.  “And I bet you thought you only met axe murders on the Internet.”

Laughter arose among the parishioners.

“I’m sure that I don’t have to tell anyone here that Angie is also a friend of mine, more than a friend, in fact.  She and I met each other a very long time ago in what you could say was another life.  I am grateful to God that he’s brought her back into my life.”

There were knowing smiles on the lips of most of the people there.

The expression on Daniel’s face changed, grew serious.  He became very still for a moment and his eyes closed as if in prayer.  He then looked around at everyone, his face eerily calm.  Suddenly, Angie had a weird feeling that something significant was about to happen.

“There is a prayer I read once that has become one of my favorites,” he began.  “It says, ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.  Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.  Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.  That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

“When we have faith in God, when we put our trust in Him, then do we find hope when all seems hopeless.  Where there is faith, there is also hope.  But in putting our faith and trust in God, does this mean that we should do nothing for ourselves, that we should leave everything up to Him?  No, for God helps those who help themselves.  It is up to us to choose the right path, to make the right decisions, to do the right thing.  God lights our path before us; He guides us in our decisions; He stands beside us when we do what is right.  And that is where true hope and faith lie, that, if we do the right thing, He will be with us, always.

“All of us, at least one time in our life, will be faced with a decision that could change our lives forever.  Sometimes, the question of which choice is right and which one is wrong cannot be answered.  Then must we put our faith in God and have the hope that, whatever decision we make, He will be there for us.”

Angie sat frozen in her seat, her heart beating rapidly, every word Daniel spoke ringing in her mind.  She knew what he was saying, that he had made a decision that could change everything, but she did not yet know what that decision was.  Both afraid and excited, she waited for him to tell her.

“I said before that where there is faith, there is hope.  Yet there is another truth, that where there is hope, there is love.  Love is the greatest power of all.  It is a reflection of God and His perfection.  It is love that gives us the strength to help others no matter how much it hurts us.  It is love that often guides us to do what is right.  If we have love, we can move mountains, not of a physical kind, but the mountains of human indifference, cruelty, hatred, and greed.  Those things will one day pass away, but love is forever.”

Daniel’s gaze had been moving from person to person while he spoke, but then, his eyes suddenly locked upon Angie’s.

“Love shows us the way, and it is love, faith, and hope that will strengthen us when we face our greatest enemy, our greatest trial.”

Angie’s breath caught in her throat at the meaning of those words.  She knew, now, what Daniel had chosen to do.  She listened breathlessly as he continued.

The minister’s gaze left Angie.  “Let me tell you the story of a man.  This was a man who lived his life to the full.  He found joy in work and in play.  He was someone who had seen both the best and worst of humankind.  He had faced evil and death many times and had conquered them both.  He’d known great sorrow and great happiness, and he had known love.  Yet he did not truly know the meaning of love until all that he had, all that he’d known his whole life, was taken away.  Then, in starting his life anew, did he find the real meaning of love, for, in this new life, he also found God, the one thing that he had all but removed from his old life.  In finding God, he found a peace he had never known before.  And in finding God, and love, he learned that even that which seems impossible can be accomplished, that, if he put his faith in God and listened to His voice, the answers would be found.”

Daniel continued his sermon, but Angie only heard it with a portion of her mind.  The meaning of his words had burned deep into her.  If he truly intended to do what he appeared to have said, she could lose him forever.  But if, somehow, he succeeded, they would be together for always.

At the end of the services, people came up to Daniel, telling him how wonderful it had been.  Ruby was daubing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Oh, Reverend Cooper, that was lovely, the finest sermon you’ve ever given.  You always speak your sermons as if they come from your heart, but this time. . . .  Well, it brought me to tears.”

Daniel smiled gently.  “Thank you, Ruby.  I can honestly say that I was inspired when I wrote this sermon.”  His eyes went to Angie.

Ruby followed his gaze and smiled.  “Yes, I think I know what you mean, Reverend.”

Finally, all the other parishioners were gone, leaving Angie and Callie alone with Daniel.

“Rollie, I don’t want you to die,” Angie said.  “It would be better for us never to see each other again than for you to do something that could get you killed.”

The look of calm was still in the reverend’s eyes.  “Angie, I used to think that there was nothing I could do to change this, and I tried very hard to accept that and be at peace with it, but I couldn’t, not completely.  Now, I know that it can be changed, if everything works out right, and I know that I have to try.  There comes a time when we have to take a chance, when we have to leap forward and pray that God will catch us.  We have never had a better opportunity to put an end to this whole thing.  I have faith that between you, me, and the feds, we can bring this organization down and put a stop to Loubar.”

“What are you going to do, Daniel?” Callie asked, worried.

“Well, first, I’m going to make a phone call.”

They went to the house, and Rollie called the number that he was supposed to use only in emergencies.

“Serrano,” answered a familiar Latino voice.

“Answering machine,” the Aussie said.

There was a pause, then, “Phone tag.  Hold on.”  The phone was put on hold.

“Answering machine?” Angie asked in a whisper.

“That’s our code to confirm that I’m really Rollie.  It used to be that whenever Elena and I tried to get in touch with each other we just kept getting answering machines.  The correct response for Elena is phone tag.”

“Ah.”

“All right, I’m in a secure location now,” Elena said.  “Rollie, what’s happened?  Have they found you?”

“No, Elena, but someone else has.”  Rollie handed the phone to Angie.

“Hello, Elena,” the blonde said.

“Angie!  What are you doing there?  How did you trace Rollie’s whereabouts?”

“I didn’t.  This was completely accidental.”

“I see.  Please give the phone back to Rollie.”

Angie handed the phone back to the minister.

“Rollie, this could cause major complications,” Elena told him, clearly not pleased.  “If they suspect that she knows something--”

“Yes, I know, Elena.  That’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to try putting an end to this.”

There was an even longer pause.  “And what do you mean by that?”

“Your letter helped me make a decision and come up with a plan,” Rollie told her.  “I think it’s possible that, with all of us working together, not only can we get Robert Dales to talk, we can also find enough on the organization to bring them down.”

“Absolutely not, Rollie.  What would happen if your plan failed?  If you weren’t killed right off, you’d have to run again, assume another identity, one that wouldn’t be as secure.”

“I know that better than anyone, Elena, believe me.  But the time for hiding is at an end.  This is the best chance we’ve had so far, and I’m going to take it.  If we have to do it without you, then we will, but our chances of success would be higher with your help.”

Elena remained silent for a long time.  Then she sighed.  “If I didn’t help you, you’d just get yourself killed, so I guess I have no choice.  What do you want me to do?”

“Gather everything you have on Dales and the other politicians you’ve connected to the organization, all the transcripts from the wiretaps and bugs, and everything else you’ve learned about the organization and the people involved and send it to. . . .”  He turned to Callie.  “What’s your email address?”  She gave it to him, and he repeated it to the FBI agent.

“Who is that you were talking to?” Elena asked.

“She’s a friend.  I’ll explain later,” the Aussie said.  “Is there any way that you could get over here without raising suspicion or being tracked?”

“Well, as for taking the time off, that won’t be a problem.  My superior has just about ordered me to take some of the vacation time I’ve accrued over the past year.  Getting there without being tracked will be a bit tougher, but I am a federal agent.  I’ll work it out.  When do you want me there?”

“The sooner the better.  There’s something else I need you to do.  I need you to bring Bluey with you.  I figure that, with Angie gone, nobody has the loft under surveillance, but you should still go in the secret entrance in the alley just to be safe.  You’ll also have to deactivate the alarm system and get around Bluey himself.  He’ll cause a racket when you go in.”  He gave the agent instructions on how to open the entrance, deactivate the alarm, and deal with Bluey.

There’s one more thing,” Rollie said.  “Don’t let the others involved in the investigation do anything that will make Dales suspect that we know about him or the others.  This is very important.”

The conversation ended with Elena telling him she’d call when she had her flight information.

“Who or should I say what is Bluey?” Callie asked.

The Aussie grinned.  “You’ll see.”

“Okay, so what’s this plan of yours?” Angie asked.

Rollie got that special smile, the one he got when he was being particularly devious.  “Let’s just say that Robert Dales is going to see the light.”

Callie looked at the minister’s smile and realized that she was going to be seeing a whole lot more of the old Rollie Tyler very soon.

The information from Elena had come a couple of hours ago, and Angie had transferred it from Callie’s computer to her laptop and also printed hard copies.  The trio was now going over it in the minister’s kitchen.

“It looks like they’ve got some pretty strong evidence that this Irwin O’Brien has taken over the reins of the organization,” Rollie commented.

“Yeah, but they don’t have enough on him to arrest him,” Angie pointed out.

“Hmm.  That’s interesting.”  The Aussie was reading the personal info sheet on O’Brien.

“What?”

“Well, this says that O’Brien was raised an Irish Catholic.”

“So?”

“So, maybe it’s time that Mister O’Brien was reminded of the wages of sin.”

The two women smiled.  Callie had a sneaking suspicion that whatever Daniel had planned, it was really going to be something else.  She could actually see his mind working behind his eyes.  She had known that Daniel was an intelligent man, but she was now beginning to suspect that she had seen only a tiny fraction of the mind that was Rollie Tyler’s.  If half of what Angie had told her about him was true, then she was going to get a real education on his brilliance--and Angie’s, too.

Rollie slowly began outlining his plan to the women, Angie coming in and contributing thoughts and ideas occasionally, the Aussie agreeing with her most of the time.  Callie just sat back and watched them.  This, then, was what Angie had meant when she said that she and Rollie worked well together, and this was just the planning stage.

“What are we going to do about the holograph projector?” Angie asked.  “I seriously doubt there’s any place in Seattle where we can pick one up.  Maybe you should have Elena bring the one from the loft.”

“She’s going to have a hard enough time sticking Bluey in her suitcase, let alone the holograph projector.”

“You know, I am really dying to know what this Bluey is,” Callie muttered.

“Yeah, but it’s going to be so much more fun for you to meet him without knowing beforehand what he is.”  There was a mischievous smile on the minister’s face.  He looked back at Angie.  “As for the projector, I’ll have to build one.”

“Whoa!  Wait a minute!  Build one?” Callie exclaimed.  “You can do that?”

Rollie shrugged as if it was no big deal.  “Sure.  It’s not that tough.  Unfortunately, it is expensive.  If there was still money in my savings account, Angie could tap into that and--”

“The money’s still there, Rol,” Angie told him.  “I didn’t touch your private savings account, except for the money for your . . . memorial service.”

“Angie, you should have taken it.  That money would have helped you a lot.”

“It was your money, Rollie.  I couldn’t take it.  To take it would have meant that--”  Her voice cut off with a choked sound.  She suddenly got up and went into the living room.  Rollie followed her.  He tried to meet her eyes, but she wouldn’t look at him.

“Let’s go into the bedroom, okay?” the Aussie said gently.  Angie nodded.  Rollie shut the door and they both sat on the bed.  “Angie, please talk to me.  I feel like you’re keeping something inside, and I want to help.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Angie mumbled.

“Why?”

“Because I won’t be able to stop myself from. . . .”  Tears filled her eyes.

“From what?  Letting it all out?”  Rollie gently cupped her face in his hands.  “Angie, it’s me.  It’s Rollie.  We know each other better than anyone.  Don’t you know that you can tell me anything, that, no matter what you do or say, I’ll still love and respect you more than I ever could anybody else?  Please tell me what you feel.”

Angie looked into the deep, warm depths of Rollie’s eyes.  Her own eyes closed for a moment, then she began to speak.  “I didn’t take the money because that would have meant that there really was no hope, that you were never ever coming back.  When they found the car, in my mind, I knew that you were dead, and when we had t-the memorial service, my heart began to know it, too.  But deep down inside, this tiny little part of me kept hoping that it was all some horrible, awful mistake, that you’d come walking into the loft one day alive and well.”  She was crying in earnest now, but she kept right on talking.  “I didn’t want to live without you.  Sometimes, I just wanted to take the whole bottle of sleeping pills and stop the pain.”

A look of horror and terrible guilt came into Rollie’s eyes.  He pulled Angie into his arms.  “Angie, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he cried.  “This is all my fault.”

“No!”  Angie pulled away and grasped his face between her hands.  Rollie kept his eyes tightly shut.  “Rollie, look at me,” she commanded.

The Aussie’s eyes slowly opened.  Angie caught her breath at the look of torment and self-loathing that was there.

“This is why I didn’t tell you these things, because I knew that you would do this to yourself.  It was not your fault, none of it!  Rollie, if we were to do it all over again, I would still rather have you leave.  I would rather have gone through those months of not knowing than for you to have stayed and gotten killed.  If I had seen you die or had seen your . . . your body, it would have killed me.  I love you so much, and I’m not going to let you blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”  She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him with desperate intensity, as if trying to give her soul to him.  He returned the kiss in equal measure.  Before they knew it, they were lying on the bed, caressing each other with their hands and lips.  It was several minutes before their minds overcame the wild, uncontrolled fire within them.  They lay looking at each other, both of them trembling from the emotions raging inside them.

“Callie’s probably wondering what we’re doing in here,” Angie murmured.

“Yeah, I can imagine she is,” Rollie agreed.  They both sat up.  “You go on out there.  I think I’m going to have to stay in here a little while longer.”

Angie gave a small giggle, but chose to hold her tongue and not make a wisecrack.

Callie looked in concern at Angie’s red-rimmed eyes and flushed, tear-streaked face when the blonde walked into the kitchen.  “Are you all right, Angie?”

“Yeah.  We talked about things, stuff that should have been talked about before.  We’re okay.”

“Where’s Daniel?”

“He’s still in the bedroom.  He wanted to . . . compose himself before he came out.”

The journalist nodded.  She waved her hand at the papers and computer on the table.  “Angie, is this the way it was with you and Rollie before?  I mean this whole thing with you planning to get the bad guys.  I sat here and watched Rollie, and it was like I was seeing someone I’d never met.  His mind was working so fast it left me in the dust.  And the things he thought up!  What an imagination!”

Angie smiled.  “That’s Rollie, all right.  You should have seen the things he’s dreamed up in the past.  And when he really gets going, he’s like a kid with a new bicycle racing down the street at top speed.  I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to put on the brakes.”

“Impetuous?”

“No, not impetuous.  He was never reckless or foolhardy.  He always thought about what he was doing.  He just got too enthusiastic at times, and I sometimes had the feeling that he thought himself indestructible.  No, that’s not right.  He was aware of his mortality.  It’s more . . . it’s more like he thought that, no matter how bad things got, he’d be able to make it turn out all right, that the good guys would win in the end.”

“It must have really destroyed that belief when he had to run and go into hiding,” Callie remarked softly.

Her friend’s words hit Angie hard, making her realize something that she hadn’t thought of.  Always before, Rollie had beaten the odds, made things come out right regardless of how unlikely it seemed.  In the past, only twice had things turned out horribly wrong when Rollie was working on a case for the police: when Leo was killed and when his friend, Jimmy Swan, killed himself.  Both of those times, Rollie had suffered a long time afterwards from guilt and a sense of failure.  Then Loubar raped her.  What must he have felt then?  He must have felt that he’d failed her in the most horrible of ways.  And then, a year later, everything fell apart.  He found himself in a situation where he couldn’t win, where he just couldn’t be smart enough or clever enough to make things right, and he lost everything.

“Oh, Rollie,” Angie whispered, realizing what he must have suffered, the pain of utter failure.  She looked at Callie.  “I have to go talk to him.”

Just then, Rollie came into the kitchen.  He looked calm and composed.  “So, shall we get back to work?”

Angie searched his face intently.

“What’s wrong?” the Aussie asked.

“We need to talk about something.  But we can do it later.  So . . . I think you were talking about building a holograph projector?”

Rollie sat down.  “Yeah.  We’d have to be able to draw the money out of my savings account without anyone knowing about it.”  He smiled fondly at Angie.  “You should be able to handle that, shouldn’t you, Love?”

“Uh huh, no problem.  I can create an account at a bank in Seattle, do an electronic transfer of funds from your account to it, then replace the funds in your account with cyber money.  No one will be able to tell that the money in your account has been touched.”

“I assume that this cyber money will last longer than twelve hours,” the Aussie said, referring to the time that Angie had done virtually the same thing when they’d tried to trap an assassin.

“It can last a couple of weeks or more if we need it to,” Angie assured him.

“Good.”

“What’s cyber money?” Callie asked.

“It’s money that appears to be in an account, but really isn’t,” Angie explained.  “It only exists in the bank’s computer.  In a way, that’s true with the money in most people’s accounts.  All the money isn’t really physically there at the bank.  The difference is that, with funds actually deposited in your account, that money does exist somewhere and is available to be withdrawn.  But cyber money doesn’t exist.  It’s not real.”

“And you can create this cyber money and put it in an account?”

Angie nodded.

Callie shook her head.  “You talk like it’s the most normal and easiest thing in the world to do what you’re talking about.  What else can you do, Angie?”

“Hack into the pentagon’s computers in under four minutes,” Rollie said with pride.

“Okay, I don’t think I want to know any more,” Callie said, holding up her hands.  “I could get arrested hanging around you two.”

Both Rollie and Angie laughed.

The three of them had lunch, then worked out more of the details of the plan to bring down the organization.  Finally, Callie left, and it was just Rollie and Angie.

“I’m feeling kind of pent up, Ange.  I’m going to go for a run,” the Aussie said.

“Do you really think you should do that with your ankle?”

“The ankle’s fine.  It stopped hurting yesterday, and my muscle soreness is a lot better.”

Angie studied his face.  “Rol, we need to talk about your side of what happened.”

“My side?”

“Yeah.  I’ve told you what I went through during the time we were apart, but you’ve said hardly anything about what it was like for you.”

Rollie turned away from her.  His shoulders had stiffened.  “There’s . . . not much to tell other than what I’ve already told you,” he said, his voice clearly saying that he was lying.  He walked toward the bedroom.  “I need to change.”  He shut the door behind him before Angie could utter another word.  When he came back out a couple of minutes later, he paused only long enough to tell her he’d be back in an hour or two, then he was gone.

Angie sighed.  She could see that Rollie was not going to willingly tell her anything about that time.  He probably thought he was protecting her by not saying anything, insulating her from more pain.  She wondered if she would ever be able to get him to talk.

Rollie returned an hour and a half later.  He then took a shower.  When he came out, he was wearing just a robe and was towel drying his hair.  Angie smiled at the sight, then noticed something.

“Rollie, how did you get that scar on your leg?”

The Aussie glanced down at the jagged, two-inch-long scar on his left shin halfway between his knee and ankle.  “An accident.  It happened when I was still with Daniel,” he said evasively.  “It’s nothing.”  He went into the bedroom to change.

“Rollie, what about Loubar?” Angie asked a little while after he’d returned from the bedroom.

The Aussie sat down and rubbed his face with his hands.  “I have a plan for him as well, but it’s more iffy, and it would require getting some help.  I’m going to have to think about it.  I don’t want to put anyone else’s life at risk.”

A few seconds later, the phone rang.  It was Elena.  She would be arriving Wednesday afternoon.  As the Aussie hung up the phone, his and Angie’s eyes met.

“It’s being set in motion, Ange,” Rollie said quietly.

“Yeah.  I only hope that everything works as we’ve planned.”

“It will, Ange.  It has to.”
 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Rollie and Angie went into Seattle Monday morning to go shopping, but the things they were shopping for were not the kind of things that the average person would get.  Angie rented a car for the day so that they wouldn’t have to bounce from cab to cab with their purchases.  The first thing that had to be done was to make an I.D. for Rollie with the name Angie had opened the account under.  Back on the island, Angie had taken a photo of him, then scanned it and, using the computer, gave him a beard and moustache and changed the background to match what would be in a driver’s license photo.  She had also scanned his driver’s license and changed his signature and the information on in.  The first thing they did upon getting into Seattle was to buy a high resolution printer and a laminator.  They then rented a motel room.  Angie printed out the new driver’s license, and Rollie laminated it.  They both stared at the fake I.D. with a critical eye.

“Do you think it will pass?” Angie asked.

“I think so.  It looks like the real thing to me,” the Aussie replied.

Figuring that the bank might want a second piece of identification, Angie created a birth certificate with the fictitious name, which Rollie then “aged” by crinkling it slightly and fraying the edges.  Using a chemical he’d purchased, he even yellowed the paper a little.

Wearing a fake moustache and beard, Rollie went to the bank and withdrew several thousand dollars from the account Angie had set up.  They then went shopping in earnest.  Hitting every electronics store they could find, Rollie gathered the pieces necessary to make the holograph projector and the other equipment they would need.  A few of the components were so specialized that he couldn’t find them in stock anywhere.  Some had to be ordered and the others would have to be jury-rigged.  Fortunately, the parts he ordered would only take a couple of days to arrive.

After that, they went looking for what they would need to create the masks.  By the time they were done, they were tired and very hungry.  They got some take-out and went back to the motel.  The couple went through their purchases, making sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.  Then they stretched out on the bed and just relaxed for a few minutes.  Rollie propped himself on an elbow and looked down at Angie.  His hand came out and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead.

“If this works, I won’t have to hide anymore, Ange.  We can be together.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” the blonde asked.  “We need to have a backup plan in case we fail.”

The Aussie nodded.  “That’s one of the reasons why I’m having Elena come here.  She can help us set things up so that we can get away quickly.”

“We?”

“Yeah.  If the organization found out what part you had to play in all this, your life would be in as much danger as mine.  I hate the thought of you having to be on the run too, but there won’t be a choice.  I wish I could do all this without getting you involved.”

Angie reached up and caressed his cheek.  “Rollie, I don’t want to lose you again.  I would rather leave everything behind and spend the rest of my life in hiding than have that happen.  If you have to run again, I want to be with you.”

Rollie bent down and brought his lips to hers in a slow, gentle kiss.  He then laid his head beneath her chin and sighed.  “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

“Probably as much as I love you,” she replied, her hand stroking his hair.

With another sigh, this time one of regret, Rollie stood and pulled Angie to her feet.  “Time to see about how we’re going to get all this stuff back to the island.”

“Everybody’s going to wonder why we bought these things.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  We’d better get some boxes to put everything in, and you should call Callie and tell her what time to meet us with her car.  There are still going to be curious people, though.”  A thoughtful expression came to the Aussie’s face.  “There’s a small dock a couple of miles down from the ferry landing.  It’s seldom used, and a car can be driven down to it.  If we rented a boat, we could take the stuff over to the island that way.  Callie could meet us there, then we’d load everything into her jeep.  We could then come back and catch the ferry to the island.”

“Will we be able to rent a boat this time of day?”

“Yeah, I think so.  There’s still a few hours of daylight left.  If I’d thought of this before, we could have brought Emily instead of taking the ferry.”

They found cardboard boxes for their purchases, then loaded everything back into the car.  They rented a boat, loaded the boxes into it, and took off for Hope Island.  Just before leaving, Rollie called Callie on Angie’s cell phone and told her where and when to meet them.

The journalist was waiting at the dock when the couple arrived.  She gave a little giggle as they loaded the boxes into her jeep.

“I kind of feel like a spy engaged in covert activities.”

“Well, this sneaking around isn’t anything new to us,” Rollie commented, “though I have gotten a little out of practice over the last four months.”

“It’s just like riding a bike, Rol.  Once you learn how to sneak, you never forget.”  Angie’s eyes were twinkling.

“I’ll have to remember that.”

They finished loading Callie’s jeep, then headed back to the mainland.  They returned the boat, then the rental car and caught the ferry to the island.  Back on Hope, Callie drove them up to the church, and they all unloaded her jeep.

“Whew!  What a day!” Angie exclaimed as she collapsed on the couch.  Rollie settled beside her.  Callie gazed at the piles of electronics, chemicals, computer components, wiring, and other things she couldn’t hope to identify.

“Where are you going to put all this stuff together?” she asked.  “Anybody could come here and see it.”

“It’s going to have to be done in the bedroom, though it’s going to be pretty close quarters in there,” Rollie said.  “I think I’ll be sleeping on the couch for the next few days.”

They moved the boxes into a corner of the bedroom, then Callie left.

“Shall we get started tonight?” Angie asked.

“No, let’s start in the morning when we’re fresh.  Besides, I never did get a chance to read Callie’s article on my little mishap.  And it’s also dinnertime.”

As Angie fixed them some soup, the Aussie read the article in The Lookout about his disappearance, the search, and his rescue.  The story took up most of the paper and included interviews from Boris, Nub, and some of the other searchers, as well as Father Mac, Ruby, Bonita, Kevin, Molly, Alex, and Brian.  The article was a lot more than the dry facts; it was a story of a community banding together to help a cherished member.  It was beautiful.  Rollie felt his chest tighten as the words of love and concern from the islanders seeped into his heart.  He heard a sound and looked up to see Angie watching him.  It wasn’t until then that he realized he was crying.

“It’s really is good, isn’t it,” she said gently.

The minister nodded, his throat too tight for words.  He turned his eyes back to the article.  When he got near the end, he was surprised to see an interview from Angie.  “When did Callie get your interview?”

“When Boris was helping you get undressed and cleaned up.”

Rollie nodded and read Angie’s words.

“At first, I thought that he was dead, and it was the worse moment of my life, but I kept praying that I was wrong, that he would be brought back to me.  And he was.  When I thought he was dead, I was dead inside, and when I found that he was alive, my life was given back to me.

“I am so happy he’s found this place, a place where people will do what they did this night: forget their own comfort and safety and go out into the night to search for someone who has been here only four months, yet is already loved and cherished.  Hope Island is a wonderful place, one I would be proud to call home.”

Angie had sat beside Rollie and laid her head on his shoulder.  As the Aussie finished the article, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and deep, the salt of his tears mingling with the taste of her.

“I don’t deserve this, Angie,” he whispered hoarsely.  “I don’t deserve to have found a place like Hope and having you love me.”

Angie pulled back and gazed at him. “Why do you say that, Rollie?”

The Aussie drew away a little, and she could see that he regretted speaking those words aloud.  “I. . . .  It’s nothing.  Forget I said anything.”

“No, I am not going to forget it.  Why do you think you don’t deserve it?”

Rollie’s arms dropped from around her.  He stared down at his hands, which were clenched into fists.  When he finally spoke, his voice was so low that Angie could barely hear him.  “Because I’ve screwed up lives by not staying out of things that weren’t my business, because people have died because I interfered, because I’ve been living a lie here on Hope, lying to good people who care about me.”

“You’ve helped people, Rollie.  You’ve saved thousands.  Whose life have you screwed up other than the bad guys’?  Who has died because of you?”

“Leo died.  If I hadn’t gotten involved with him on that case, he might still be alive.  Jimmy killed himself because I betrayed and trapped him.  You almost died, twice, because of me getting involved with the police, and I’ve messed up your life so badly that I don’t know how you can even stand to look at me.”

“That has got to be the most idiotic thing you have ever said.”  Angie was more than upset, she was angry.  “How could you think that?  Leo didn’t die because of you.  Even if you hadn’t been there, he would still have set up that meeting in that warehouse, and it would still have been bombed, that is if he had even been alive by then.  If it wasn’t for you, that assassin probably would have killed him.  As for Jimmy, his alter ego, David, was a serial killer. Even if you hadn’t gotten involved, someday that alter ego might have resurfaced, and he would have started killing women again.  He had to be stopped.  Jimmy chose to die to stop David.  And as for me, if I don’t think you’ve screwed up my life, how can you?  I know that I used to tell you that you should stick to F/X and not play Batman, but I was wrong.  When you disappeared, I started thinking about all the people you’d helped, the good you had done, and it made me ashamed because I’d never really stopped to see it before, because I’d never told you how proud I was of you, how wonderful, and brave, and selfless you are.  Yes, I picked up a few bruises along the way, but I survived, and everything that happened to me was worth it because of the good that was done.”

“What about Loubar?” Rollie choked out.  “Was that worth it?  Was what he did to you worth it?!”

Angie held his face between her hands, looked straight into his eyes, and whispered, “Yes.”

The Aussie’s face paled, and he jerked away from her.  He stood up, breathing hard.  “How can you say that?!  He raped you because of me!  You gave him your love, and your trust, and your . . . your body because you thought he was me, and then he . . . he violated you.  He took what you gave him, gave me, and made it ugly, and horrible, and hateful.  And now you sit there and say it was worth it?!”  He was nearly screaming with the last sentence.  Abruptly, he ran out of the room and into the bathroom.  The door slammed behind him, and Angie heard the sound of retching.  She went to the bathroom and leaned against the wall beside the door, listening as the retching became sobbing.  Angie slid to the floor, torn apart by what Rollie was going through.  She knew that this had been building up inside him for a very long time, and the floodgates had finally opened.

“Rollie, listen to me, please,” she pleaded.  “When Loubar impersonated you to sell the smart grenade, he put your life in danger.  You had to do something.  And then when Elena asked you to help on that case in London, none of us knew that Loubar was involved.  Afterwards, you wanted to help stop him because he’d brought that bio weapon into the country, and we had helped him do it.  I wanted to help stop him too, Rol.  What would have happened if we hadn’t helped?  He would have sold that weapon to Willem Brink, and Brink would have used it to kill thousands of people.  Thousands!  But we stopped him, and because of that, Loubar came after us.  But Rollie, if I had to choose between saving thousands of lives and not being raped. . . .  Yes, it was worth it, because the alternative was unthinkable, because if we had turned our backs and chosen not to help, we would have been partially responsible for the deaths of those people.  I would far rather suffer what Loubar did to me than have that on my conscience for the rest of my life.”

There was only silence from the other side of the door.  Angie waited for about twenty seconds, then she stood.  “I’m coming in.”  She opened the door to find the Aussie sitting beside it on the same wall she had been sitting against.  His face was white, and his eyes were tightly shut.  Angie closed the door and sat beside him.  “I would do it all again, Rollie, if it was the only way to save those people in Africa,” she said softly.

Without a word, the Aussie laid his head down in her lap and wrapped his arms around her hips.  Angie stroked his hair and his cheek, letting him recover at his own pace.  It took a long time.  By the time he stirred, Angie’s left leg was numb from sitting on the hard linoleum.  Rollie slowly sat up, and their eyes met.  Angie wiped the lingering traces of wetness from his face.  The Aussie’s eyes dropped from hers in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry I fell apart.  I didn’t want to dump all that on you,” he said somberly.

“You didn’t dump anything on me.  I’m glad you told me how you felt, and I’m glad I could make you see the truth.  You do, don’t you?  You do see that you didn’t screw up my life, don’t you, Rollie?”

“I . . . know that you don’t think I did, and I know that you believe that what happened was worth it because we stopped Loubar and saved those people.  I also know that what I did to stop Loubar had to be done, that if I’d stayed out of it, terrible things would have happened.  But I. . . .”

“What?”

The Aussie shook his head.  His eyes closed, and he gave a deep, shuddering sigh.  “I’m tired, Ange.”  He smiled weakly.  “And I’m not feeling very well.  I think I’d better go to bed.”

Rollie admitting that he didn’t feel well meant that he must not be feeling well at all.  And no wonder.  That kind of emotional upheaval would be enough to make anyone ill.

“Is your stomach upset?  Do you have a headache?  Would you like some ibuprofen?” Angie asked in concern.

Rollie nodded.  Angie tried to get up, but her left leg was completely asleep now, and she ended up back on her butt with a little squeak and a padded thud.

“What’s wrong?” the Aussie asked.  The fact that he didn’t even crack a smile at her rather undignified descent meant that he really was feeling bad.

“My leg fell asleep,” Angie explained.  Just then, the pins-and-needles feeling began as the blood rushed back into her leg.  She rubbed the limb furiously.

Rollie slid around in front of her and started massaging the muscles, kneading and rubbing gently.

“You don’t have to do that, Rol.  You’re not feeling well.”

“You gave me a massage, twice.  Let me do this for you.”

Angie shut up and let him work.  He started with the large muscles of her thigh and worked slowly down to her calf.  He had good hands, strong, yet gentle, the long fingers knowing just how much pressure to exert.  When he got down to her foot, he slipped off her shoe and sock and massaged the foot from heel to toe.  It felt heavenly.  He then started to remove the other shoe.

“That leg’s not--”

“Shhh.” the Aussie commanded.

Angie closed her mouth and let him massage the other foot.  Oh, she could really get used to him doing this all the time.

Rollie leaned over and placed a kiss on her foot.  His eyes then lifted to hers.  “Feel better?”

“Mmm,” was the sum of Angie’s reply, followed by a contented smile.

The Aussie rose and helped the blonde to her feet.  He then got a bottle of ibuprofen and swallowed five.  Hmm.  Must be a bad headache.  Angie reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, immediately understanding why his head hurt so much.  His neck muscles were hard as a rock, probably from tension and his emotional flood.

“Looks like you need a massage, too,” she commented.

“I’ll be all right.  I just need to get some sleep.  I didn’t get very much last night.”

They went into the bedroom.  Rollie stripped off his shirt and had his pants unbuttoned and half unzipped before it filtered through to his brain that Angie was still in the room.

“I’ll wait outside,” the blonde said.  She closed the door behind her and stood there until Rollie said she could come back in.  She then tucked him in like one would a child and kissed his forehead.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” he mumbled, his eyes already closed.

“Bright and early, Boss,”

Rollie smiled and opened his eyes a crack.  “I missed hearing you say that, even though you always were more like a partner to me.”

Angie kissed his lips softly.  “Goodnight.”  She went to the door and paused, watching the Aussie snuggle down under the covers.  Then she turned off the light and shut the door.  Angie went to the phone, dialing Callie’s number.

“Hey, Angie.  Do you want me to come pick you up?” the journalist asked.

“No.  Rollie’s not feeling well.  I’m going to stay here tonight.  One couch is as good as another.”

“What’s wrong?  Has he been overdoing it?”

“He’s got a bad headache, and his stomach is upset.  I think he’ll be fine by morning.”

“Are you sure?  Didn’t Doctor Watson say to call her if his headache got worse or he had any other symptoms?”

“Yeah, but this doesn’t have anything to do with the accident.  I’ll explain later.  You can do something for me, though.”

“Anything.”

“Well, when the islanders find out I spent the night here. . . .”

“Say no more.  I’ll make sure everyone knows that you stayed there because he wasn’t feeling well.”

“Thanks.  Goodnight, Callie.”

“G’night.”

Yawning, Angie got a blanket and pillow from the linen closet and made up a bed on the couch.  She was tired too, also not having gotten much sleep because of worry over Rollie.  Five minutes after crawling under the blanket, she was asleep

The laugh came echoing from everywhere and nowhere, sending a cold chill running through her right to the bone.  Angie looked around for the source of the laughter and saw Victor Loubar come out of the darkness, smiling evilly.

“Hello, Angela.  Long time no see.  Did you miss me?”

Angie backed away from him, but found herself trapped against a wall.  Then, suddenly, there were walls on either side of her, blocking her escape.  And Loubar just kept coming closer.

“Tyler should have stayed hidden.  He was safe.  But now he’s mine.  I’m going to make him suffer, you know.  First, I’ll kill you before his eyes.  That will destroy his soul.  Then, I’ll torture him slowly, destroying his body one inch at a time until there’s nothing left but a lifeless husk.  I figure that I should be able to make him last, oh, say, five or six days if I’m careful.”

“No!  Please don’t hurt him.  Please!”

“What?  You don’t beg for yourself?”

“I don’t care what happens to me as long as Rollie’s all right.”

“Well, how very noble of you,” Loubar said, sneering.  “You know, he said the same thing about you not ten minutes ago when I caught him trying to get in here to rescue you.  In fact, there he is now.”

Rollie appeared by her side.  His eyes were black with anguish and defeat.  “I’m sorry, Angie.  I tried to protect you, to save you, but I failed you again.  Please forgive me.”

“She won’t have time to forgive you, Tyler,” Loubar told him.  “She’s going to die now.”  He lifted a gun and aimed it at Angie.  Just as he pulled the trigger, Rollie leapt in front of her, covering her body with his.  The bullet buried itself in his back.  Horrified, Angie looked up into his eyes.

“Forgive me, Angie,” Rollie whispered.  Then the life went out of his eyes, and he crumpled bonelessly to the floor at her feet.

“Noooo!!!”  Angie screamed.  She suddenly found herself sitting up on the couch, her body shaking violently and her heart beating so fast and hard that it hurt.  She threw the covers back and dashed to Rollie’s bedroom.  The relief she felt at seeing him unharmed and asleep in his bed was so acute that she swayed on her feet.  She collapsed against the doorjamb.  A nightmare.  It had only been a nightmare, but one reflecting the very real fear that was within her.

Angie fetched her blanket and pillow and carried them into the bedroom.  She began to spread them out on the floor, then stopped.  Not even thinking about what she was doing, Angie laid down on the bed beside Rollie on top of the covers and covered herself with her blanket.  She curved herself around the Aussie, pressing her face into the back of his neck.

“I won’t let him hurt you, Rollie,” she whispered.  “I’ll kill him before I let him hurt you.”  Having made that vow, Angie let herself drift into sleep.
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Rollie awoke slowly, his mind drifting for a while in that place between sleep and wakefulness.  Then the memory of what happened last night rushed in, and he came fully awake.  He’d really lost control and had said things he’d never intended Angie or anyone else to hear.  He couldn’t let that happen again.  He could never let Angie find out about the other things.

The Aussie shifted slightly, and, all at once, he became aware that he wasn’t alone in the bed.  He looked down and saw an arm draped lightly over his waist.  Then he felt the presence of a warm body pressed against his back.  Rollie twisted around and saw the sleeping form of Angie lying on top of the bedcovers.  She was covered by an extra blanket from the linen closet.  Moving very slowly and carefully, Rollie turned completely around so that he was facing her.  The minutes passed as he watched her sleep.  He wanted to kiss her face and her lips, waking her gently and lovingly, but he was enjoying watching her sleep too much.  More minutes passed before he saw her eyelids flutter, then open.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi.”

Not being able to wait a moment longer, Rollie pulled her to him and captured her mouth with his.  When they finally drew apart, she smiled at him.

“You must be feeling better.”

“Yes, I am, thanks to my nurse.  I must say that she has an excellent bedside manner.  If all nurses were like her, the hospitals would be packed to the rafters with people claiming to be sick.”  Rollie sobered.  “Though I do love waking up to find you here with me, why are you?”

“I didn’t want to leave, not with the way you were feeling last night.”

“Ah, and the couch wasn’t to your liking?”  He was smiling again.

“No, the couch was fine, I had a--” she stopped abruptly.

“Had a what?”  The Aussie searched her face.  “Did you have a nightmare?”

Angie nodded.

“About what?  Did it have something to do with what we’re planning?”

“Kind of.”  Angie kept her eyes focused on a point just below Rollie’s chin.

“Was it about Loubar?”  The Aussie’s voice had grown tight.  “Did you dream about the. . . .”

Angie lifted her eyes to his.  “No, Rol, it wasn’t about the rape.  I haven’t had nightmares about that for a long time.”

“Then what was it?”

Rollie was not going to let it go, she could see that.  “I dreamt that he killed you,” she told him quietly, managing to keep her voice steady.

“Oh.”  Rollie pulled her close.  “Well, that isn’t going to happen, Ange.”

“How can you be so sure, Rollie?”

“I. . . .”  The Aussie sighed.  “No, you’re right.  I’m not sure.  I can’t be.  But I have faith that isn’t going to happen.  I have faith that we’re going to win this time.  I have to have faith.”

Angie gazed into his eyes.  What he had just said was not something the old Rollie Tyler would have said.  The old Rollie would have had complete confidence that everything was going to work out fine.  Though she was glad that he had gained the wisdom to know that he couldn’t always make things turn out right, she kind of missed the somewhat brash confidence of the old Rollie.

“I have faith too,” she said, then kissed him tenderly.

“You know, we’d really have a lot of explaining to do if somebody came walking in right now,” Rollie said with a grin.

“You could always claim that I took advantage of you in your weakened condition.”

“Well, when everyone finds out you were here all night, I’m going to have some explaining to do anyway.”

“Nope, all taken care of,” Angie told him.

The Aussie’s eyebrows rose questioningly.

“Callie’s going to make sure everyone knows why I stayed here.  Like I said before, we wouldn’t want your reputation dented.”

“My reputation thanks you.”

Though he was very much enjoying lying there holding Angie, Rollie knew it was time to get up.  He went to take a shower while Angie fixed coffee.

The coffeemaker was just finishing when a knock came on the door.  It was Callie and Doctor Watson.  There was an apology on the journalist’s face.

“All right, where is he?” the doctor demanded.

“Uh, he’s taking a shower.  If this is about him not feeling well--”

“Ange, what do. . . .  Oh.”  Rollie had just come out of the bathroom wearing only jeans and had seen who was there.  “Um, hi, Callie, Doctor Watson.”

The doctor pointed at the couch.  “Sit,” she ordered.

Not daring to refuse, the minister, who now needed to be Daniel again, sat where she pointed.  She immediately checked his eyes.

“Look, if this is about the headache and upset stomach, I swear to you that it had nothing to do with the accident,” the minister explained.

“Then what did it have to do with?” Doctor Watson asked firmly.

“Something . . . personal, emotional.”  Daniel shifted uncomfortably.  “I’m fine.  There’s nothing wrong with me.”

The doctor stared at him through narrowed eyes.  “All right, but what I said before still stands.”

Daniel nodded in understanding.  After Doctor Watson had left, Callie started apologizing.

“I’m sorry about that.  When she heard that you weren’t feeling well last night, she insisted on coming up here.”

“That’s okay, Callie.  We should have expected that,” the minister said.  “Well, I’ll finish getting dressed.”  He went off to the bedroom.

“I brought a change of clothes for you, Angie, and your makeup bag,” Callie said, handing the stuff to her.

“Thanks.”

“So, what’s this about him getting sick because of emotional upset?  At least that’s what it sounds like he was saying.”

“Yeah.  Some things happened last night that brought up emotions that Rollie has had buried inside him for a long time.  It just all came pouring out.”

“Was it about the rape?”

“Yes, mostly.  How did you guess?”

“Well, when you told me that Loubar raped you and why, I figured that Rollie must have blamed himself for it.”

Angie sighed and nodded.  “He thinks he screwed up my life.  But there’s more to it than that.  It really hurts him that he’s had to lie to everyone about who he is.  I can tell that it’s been eating away at him.  He thinks that he doesn’t deserve to have the people here care about him.”

“What?!  But that’s ridiculous.  He’s a wonderful man, and he has done so much good since he came here.”

“I know, and I told him that this idea of his is ludicrous, but I think he still believes it.  I have a feeling he believes that if the other islanders found out the truth, they would hate him for lying to them.”

“But that’s simply not true,” Callie said.  Just then, the minister came out.  The reporter marched right up to him.  “You listen to me, Daniel.  They would understand why you had to lie, everybody would.”

The minister’s eyes went to Angie, realizing that she had told the journalist about last night.  A little angry that she had done that, he returned his gaze to Callie.  “Would they?  I’m not so sure.  Look how they were at first when we found out that Jo was a fugitive from the law.  They were upset and didn’t want to trust her anymore.  They were hurt that she’d lied to everyone all these years about who she was.”

“But they came around, Daniel.  They even paid her bail.”

“Yes, they did.  But, Callie, I’m their minister.  They’re supposed to be able to trust me.  What would they think if they found out that I’m not who I said I was, that my life here has been a lie?”

“But, it hasn’t, Daniel.  What did I say before?  Yes, you lied about your name and your history.  Yes, you pretended about some things, but were you faking it when you helped Kenny, and Jo, and Moses, and Melissa, and Mark, and dozens upon dozens of others on the island?  What about when you helped me, when you gave your friendship and trust to me?  Was it an act when you got up before us every Sunday and talked about God?  Was it just pretend when you slaved day in and day out over this church to bring it back to the way it should be?  This is the person whom we all care about.  It doesn’t matter what your name is or the real circumstances behind you coming here.  So just forget all this nonsense that you don’t deserve to have us care about you, because you do.  You earned it with every good thing you did for this community and by just being yourself.  And don’t think that the people here will turn against you if they learn the truth, because that isn’t so.”

Daniel didn’t speak.  He just stared at the floor, his expression unreadable.

“Besides, I didn’t have a problem with finding out the truth once I knew that you were still a minister, and you didn’t seem all that surprised about it,” Callie added as an afterthought.

“That’s because when you found out about Stella and what I . . . what you thought I had done, you didn’t think less of me; you didn’t judge me or think it was funny.  You just accepted it and continued being my friend.  Not only that but you let go of a story that could have made a name for you.  That day, I knew that if I’d had to choose someone on Hope to tell the truth to, somebody whom I thought would be least likely to judge or ridicule me, it would have been you, you and Alex.”

“Really?”  Callie felt overwhelmed by what Daniel had just said.

The minister nodded, his eyes showing the truth of his words.

“I-I don’t know what to say, Daniel.  Thank you.”

“No, Callie, thank you for choosing our friendship over your career.  I will always owe you for that.”

The journalist smiled, warmed by the thought of having such a good friend in Daniel.  But then she thought of something.  “What are you going to do if your plan succeeds?” she asked him.  “Are you going to continue living your life as Daniel or will you tell everyone the truth?”

The minister sighed and ran his hands over his face.  “I don’t know.  I don’t want to hide anymore, but if I come out into the open, my life as Daniel will be over.  I want the life I used to have back again, or at least the best parts of it, but I don’t want to lose what I’ve found here.”  An expression of helplessness came to his face.  “I just don’t know what I’m going to.  I know that I’ll have to make a choice, but I don’t know what it will be.”  He sighed again.  “Well, there’s no sense talking about it until I know if I’m even going to have any options.”  Daniel smiled at Callie.  “So, are you here to see if I really can build a holograph projector?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

Angie changed into the fresh clothes, then she and Daniel ate a quick breakfast.  All three of them then went into the bedroom.  As Angie made herself comfortable on the bed, her computer sitting before her, Daniel set up a folding table and began piling bits and pieces of electronics on it, as well as a new set of tools that he’d gotten yesterday.

Sitting on a chair before the table, the minister murmured, “Move over, Daniel Cooper.  It’s time for Rollie Tyler to take over.”

Callie smiled at the comment.  She sat on the corner of the bed and watched as he got started.

An hour later, Callie was still watching him, amazement on her face.  Rollie worked with confidence and precision, his hands unerringly assembling components.  He used the tools with practiced ease, showing no sign of the clumsiness that had earned him the band-aids of the past.  Angie was right.  His trouble with tools was limited to the hammer.

The journalist looked over her shoulder to where Angie sat creating the images that the device Rollie was building would project.

The morning passed, Rollie and Angie so absorbed in what they were doing that Callie doubted they were even aware of her presence.  She got up and stretched her legs, thinking about the Aussie’s dilemma.  She knew that Rollie had loved doing F/X.  Even if Angie hadn’t told her this in her correspondences, the expression on his face as he built the projector was evidence enough.  Callie also knew that Rollie had loved living in New York, close to the people he’d known for years, and had enjoyed helping the police on cases.  But she also knew that he loved it here on Hope Island, that he felt joy over helping people in the way that he had as a minister.  There was no way that he could have it all.  He would have to make a choice, and Callie hoped that he chose to remain on the island.

Lunchtime came.  Deciding to take a break, Rollie and Angie went with Callie to the Widow’s Walk.  As they finished their lunch, somebody came in to say that there had been a barn fire.  The minister immediately stood.

“Was anyone hurt?” he asked, worried.

“No, no, Reverend,” the man assured him.  “It was just a small fire, didn’t do more than toast a wall and some hay.  Rupert got it out before it spread very far.”  He smiled.  “He is pretty ticked off about the damage, though.”

Daniel returned the smile.  “I can imagine.  That barn is his pride and joy.  I’ll have to go up there to console him.”

“Um, I wouldn’t be going up there right now, Reverend Cooper.  His language when I left wasn’t, uh, exactly Christian-like, if you know what I mean.”

The minister chuckled.  “Well, it’s not like I haven’t heard that kind of stuff before, but you may be right.  I’ll wait until Rupert cools off a bit.”

“Well, I’ll brave his tirade,” Callie said.  “I want to get the story while it’s fresh.”  She rose from the table.  “I’ll see you back at the house in an hour or so, okay?”

“We’ll be there,” Angie said.

Daniel and Angie finished their lunch and paid the bill.  They were turning to leave when Boris came out of the kitchen.

“Ah!  Just who Boris wants to see!  Come!”  The Russian pulled them into the kitchen.  He led them to a table.  On it was a cake decorating book.  “You pick, please, which cake you want.”

“Cake?  For what?” Angie asked.

“For wedding.  I have meal all planned out.  Will be big party, everybody come.  But you must pick cake so I will know what flowers to practice making.”

Her eyes widening, Angie turned to the minister.  She’d seen him blush before, but this was the first time she’d actually seen his face beet red.  He took her arm.

“Boris, would you excuse us?” he said.  He quickly led her out of the kitchen.  Spying Molly, he headed straight toward her.  “Do you have a vacant room that we can borrow for about five minutes?”

“Um . . . sure, Daniel.”  She handed a key to the minister, who snatched it out of her hand and hurried Angie upstairs.

“What’s Boris talking about, Rollie?” the blonde asked as soon as the door to the room was closed.

“I’m sorry about that, Angie.  Boris has it in his head that. . . .”  The Aussie’s voice faded as he looked into her eyes.  He stepped closer and gently took her hands.  “This isn’t the way that I’d planned it, and I know that there are a lot of things in the way, but if our plan works, or even if it doesn’t, I . . .” he took a deep breath, “I want to marry you, Angie.  I want you to be my wife.”  When Angie just stared at him, a stunned look on her face, he rushed on.  “I-I know that this is way too soon, and maybe you don’t want to--”  He was silenced by her fingers against his lips.

“Yes,” she said simply.

“Yes?” Daniel repeated, not sure he’d heard her right.

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Rollie.”

A smile that would have lit Las Vegas for a week blossomed across the Aussie’s face.  With a joyful laugh, he swooped down and lifted Angie into his arms, spinning her around.  His lips then covered hers in a very thorough kiss.

“I love you, Angie.”

“And I love you, Rollie.”  She smiled.  “So, are you going to put me down or do you plan to practice carrying me over the threshold?”

As if only just realizing that she was still cradled in his arms, the Aussie put her down, a goofy grin on his face.  “I think we just gave Callie something else to write about in The Lookout.”

“And something else to get all the tongues wagging about.”  Angie became serious.  “Are we going to wait until after our plan has been carried out to make the announcement?”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to.  The way Boris is rushing forward with the wedding plans, word will be out in no time.”  Rollie’s expression grew somber.  “There’s also the fact that, if we fail, they’ll never see us again.  I’d at least like everyone to know that. . . .”

“That we’re together?”

The Aussie nodded.  Refusing to let the thought of leaving the island forever intrude upon the joy of the moment, Rollie shoved it aside and smiled.  “We’d better get out of here and back down to the kitchen before Boris comes tracking us down.”

They went downstairs.  Daniel gave the key back to Molly.  “Thanks.”  He turned to his fiancée.   “I’ll go talk to Boris, Ange.”  The minister went into the kitchen.

“Where did you and Angie go poof to?” the Russian asked when he saw him.

“I had to explain to her what you were talking about, Boris.  I hadn’t proposed yet.”

A look of dismay spread across the Russian’s face.  “I am so sorry.  I did not know this.  Boris really put toe in mouth this time.”

“Foot, not toe, Boris.  It’s all right, though.  Everything’s been taken care of.”

The Russian grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.  “Good, good!  Then we can plan wedding.”

Daniel laughed.  “It’s going to be a little while before we have to start making plans.  We haven’t even set a date yet.”

“Oh.”  Boris looked disappointed for a moment, then perked up.  “But I am thinking that you not have long engagement.  I see the way you look at each other.”  He shook his head, smiling sagely.  “No, not long engagement at all.”

“You may be right, Boris,” the minister admitted.  “You may very well be right.”

Molly glanced over at Angie for about the tenth time.  The New Yorker was standing just outside the entrance to the eating area leaning back against the staircase railing, her eyes focused on nothing.  Finally deciding to talk to her, Molly walked up to her.  “Are you all right?  You look a little dazed.”

“Do I?”  Angie laughed.  “Yeah, I guess that’s kind of how I feel.”  She glanced about, then moved further away from the entranceway.  A bright smile lit her face.  “Daniel just proposed.”

Molly beamed and grasped her hands.  “Angie, how wonderful!  You accepted, of course.”

Angie nodded, her smile growing even bigger.

“Well, he certainly didn’t waste any time,” Molly remarked, her tone clearly indicating that she wished the same could be said for a certain other person.

“That’s Ro . . . Reverend Daniel Cooper for you.  Once he sets his mind on doing something, he doesn’t put off doing it, though I don’t think he planned on popping the question quite this soon.”

“Oh?”

“Boris spilled the beans.”

“Oops.”  A look of comprehension came to Molly’s face.  “So that’s why Boris was looking through that cake book.”

“That’s why, all right.  I guess, somehow, he found out that Daniel wanted to marry me and immediately started planning the wedding buffet.”

“I’m not surprised.”  Molly hesitated for an instant, then hugged Angie.  “Congratulations, Angie.  You’re getting a wonderful man there.”

“Yes, I know.  The best.”

Daniel appeared and was immediately engulfed in a hug from Molly.

“I’m so happy for you, Daniel,” she said.

The minister looked back and forth between the two blondes, then his eyes focused on his fiancée.  “Well, you certain didn’t waste time telling people.”  There was amusement on his face.  “Let’s hope that we get a chance to tell Callie ourselves before she finds out about it through the island grapevine, otherwise she’ll never forgive us for not telling her first.”

“I promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone for at least . . . two hours,” Molly said.

“Well, thank you, Molly.  I know how very hard that will be for you.”  The minister’s eyes were twinkling.  “Does that include Alex?”

“Alex is gone with Dylan to Seattle for the day, doing back-to-school shopping.  They won’t be back until late this afternoon.”

“Then I guess we’re safe.”

Daniel and Angie went back up the hill.  Once they got in the house, the Aussie pulled Angie into his arms and began kissing her over and over again, feeling the passion rise with each kiss.

“Boris is right,” he murmured during a moment when his lips weren’t otherwise occupied.

“About what?” Angie asked, her voice a breathy whisper.  Not waiting for an answer, she pulled his lips back down to hers.

“That we won’t have a long engagement.”  This time Rollie didn’t even bother separating his mouth from Angie’s.

“You got that right.” Angie pushed the Aussie down on the couch.  Rollie groaned and crushed her to him.  Their kisses deepened even more.  Then their lips moved to each other’s necks, making them both moan.

“If we don’t stop now, we’re both going to be very embarrassed when Callie comes walking through that door,” Rollie gasped, just barely managing to string the words together in the proper order.

Angie sighed with regret.  “I suppose you’re right.”  She placed a final kiss on his Adam’s apple, feeling it bob up and down as he swallowed deeply.  “So, just how short can we make this engagement?”

The Aussie gazed into her eyes.  “I’d marry you tomorrow if I thought we could get away with it,” he said, completely serious.

Angie combed her hands through his hair.  “So would I.”

Putting aside their desire, the couple got up and resumed working.

Twenty minutes later, a knock came on the door, followed by a pause of three seconds, then another knock.  It was the signal that they’d worked out with Callie to let them know that it was her at the door.  A moment later, they heard the front door open.  A few seconds after that, the journalist came into the bedroom.

“Well, Rupert was definitely steamed when I got there,” she told him.  “I think that there was almost as much smoke coming out of his ears as there was from the burned wood and hay.”

“I’ll have to go up there in a couple of hours and see if I can calm him down,” Rollie said.  He glanced at Angie, and they both grinned.

Callie noticed the grin.  “What’s going on?”

“We have something to tell you,” the Aussie said.  He got up and sat beside Angie on the bed.  “Maybe you should sit down,” he told the journalist.

Puzzled, Callie took the seat he had just vacated.

Rollie took a deep breath.  “I asked Angie to marry me, and she’s accepted.”

Approximately one second of surprise passed before an ear-to-ear grin split Callie’s face.  She leapt to her feet and hugged them.  “Oh, wow!  This is wonderful!  I am so, so happy for you.  This is the best news ever!”  She pulled back.  “Boy, that didn’t take long.  You were reunited only eight days ago, and now you’re engaged.”

“I guess if you look at it that way, this does seem awfully fast, but the truth is that the last fifteen years have been leading up to this,” the Aussie said.  “We were both just too blind to realize it, or at least I was.”

“Oh, I was, too,” Angie told him.  “Even more than you since I ignored the truth even after . . .” she glanced at Callie, “it happened.”

Rollie nodded, understanding in his eyes.

“What’s ‘it’?” the journalist asked, her curiosity aroused to full intensity.

“Something that I’ll tell you about someday,” the blonde said, “but not today.  Today is a day for happy thoughts.”  She turned to her fiancé and smiled lovingly.  He cupped her cheek and gave her a tender kiss.  Callie smiled delightedly at the sight.

“I can’t wait to spread this news around,” she said.

Angie got a sheepish look.  “Um, you’ll probably be beaten to the punch, Cal.  I sort of blabbed to Molly.  Sorry.”

“Molly?”  Callie turned to Rollie.  “Exactly when and where did you propose?”

“At the Widow’s Walk about ten minutes after you left.”

“You just popped the question right there at the table?”  There was surprise in the journalist’s voice.

“No.  To be honest, proposing wasn’t on my list of things to do today, but Boris kind of changed my plans.”

“What does Boris have to do with this?”  Now Callie was really confused.

Rollie explained the events that led up to his unplanned proposal.

“Ah, okay.  Well, I have a feeling that Molly will wait to tell Alex first.  She wouldn’t want the surprise spoiled by someone else.”

The two F/X experts got back to work.  Rollie put in a couple of hours, then went to chill down Rupert.  As soon as he was gone, Callie plopped on the bed next to her friend.  “So, girlfriend, you’re getting married.”

Angie’s fingers dropped from the keyboard, a half-dreamy, half-disbelieving expression on her face.  “Yeah.  Amazing, isn’t it?  I keep thinking, ‘Wow.  I am marrying Rollie Tyler.’  Two years ago, the thought would have been ridiculous to me.  A year ago, it would have seemed impossible.  A month ago. . . .  A month ago, I would have given my life to be with him.  And now, we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Do you want children?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet, but I’m pretty sure that he wants kids.  I think I do, too.  Me a mom.  Now that’s a really scary thought.”

“You’ll be a good mom, and Rollie, well, he’ll be the kind of dad that spoils them rotten.  I can just see him in my mind bouncing them up and down on his shoulders and pushing their bicycles.”

A wonderful smile came to Angie’s face.  “Yeah, so can I.”  She sighed contentedly.  “I didn’t think that it would be possible for me to ever be this happy.”

“Have you set a date yet?”

“No, but I don’t think that either one of us is going to be able to wait through a long engagement.”  Angie smiled meaningfully.

“Ah, I seeee.”  Callie giggled.  “So, things get pretty . . . intense between you two, huh.”

Angie blushed.  “You could say that.”

“Is he a great kisser?”

The blonde’s blush deepened.  “Ohhhh, yeah,” she breathed.

Callie nodded.  “The ones who don’t flaunt it usually are the best.”

“And just how many guys have you kissed, Callie Pender?”

The journalist’s eyes dropped to the bedcovers.  “Not very many.  I wasn’t the one they went for.  It was my sister who attracted all the men.”

Angie looked at her friend in concern.  She could tell that this had touched on a delicate subject.  Callie saw the expression on her face and smiled rather sadly, shrugging.

“My sister was the pretty one.  I got the brains,” she explained.

“You’re joking, right?” Angie said.  “You’re pretty, Callie.  I always thought so.”

The journalist gave a small laugh.  “You know, Rollie said the same thing.”  She smiled shyly.  “Actually, he called me beautiful.”

“Well, then you know it’s true since Rollie doesn’t give empty praise.”

Callie got a look of fondness on her face.  “He’s the only man who’s ever told me I was beautiful.”  Her expression turned mischievous.  “If you hadn’t snatched him up, I just might have taken a crack at him myself someday.”

“Well, you’d be joining quite a list.  A lot of ladies have cast their eyes in his direction.”

“And did he look back?”

“Sometimes.  Most of the time nothing came of it, but there have been a few loves in his life, one in particular, a woman named Taya Kwan.  He was head over heels for her.”

“Well, I can’t believe that he could have loved her as much as he loves you, Angie.  I see the way he looks at you, and I think how blessed I would be if someone loved me half that much.”

“That day will come, Callie,” Angie assured her.

The journalist sighed.  “I hope so.”

Molly looked at the clock.  The two hours she had told Daniel and Angie that she’d wait had passed a long time ago, but she hadn’t breathed a word of the engagement to anyone other than to swear Boris to silence.  She didn’t want Alex to find out through island gossip when she returned from Seattle, which would be very soon.  Molly sighed.  She was happy for Daniel and Angie, but it was sad that their happiness would hurt Alex.  Since Steve, Alex hadn’t even looked at another man in that way.  Then, when she finally finds one whom she could fall in love with, his heart belongs to another.  Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair.

Molly heard the front door open, then Alex and Dylan’s voices.  They were both smiling when they came through the entranceway, numerous bags hanging from their hands.

“Hey, Molly.  How did the day go?” the redhead asked, putting her bags down.

“Good.  Did you enjoy your day shopping?”

Alex ruffled her son’s hair.  “Yeah, we had fun, though I can’t believe how much money I spent.  Back-to-school shopping gets more expensive every year.”  She turned to Dylan.  “You know, I just don’t think I can afford to keep you anymore.  I may have to throw you back.”

“If you’re even strong enough to pick me up,” her son shot back with a grin.

“Oh!  Well, I’ll show you who’s strong enough, young man!”  She picked him up and started tickling his tummy.  Dylan squirmed in her grasp, laughing.  After a moment, Alex put him down.  “Go take your stuff upstairs.”  She patted his rear lightly.  “Scoot!”

As Dylan ran up the steps with the bags, Alex walked up to the bar.  “Whew!  Pretty soon, I won’t be able to pick him up.”  She looked toward the staircase wistfully.  “They grow up so fast.”  She returned her gaze to Molly.  “So, anything interesting happen?”

“Alex, we need to talk.”  Molly looked around at the patrons.  “Privately.”  She took the redhead’s arm and led her into the kitchen, heading toward the back door.  Boris saw them.

“Ah, you tell Alex good news.  Yes, she will be happy, too.”  He nodded once and turned back to the soup he was stirring.

Molly and Alex went out the back door.

“What good news?” the redhead asked.

Watching her friend’s face closely, Molly said, “Daniel proposed to Angie today.  They’re going to be married.”

Alex’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out.  She just stared unseeingly.

“Alex, are you all right?” Molly asked in concern.

“Uh . . . yeah.  I-I’m fine.”  She leaned back against the building.  “I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.  Considering what happened with Stella and that other woman, I thought that Daniel would move a lot more slowly.”

“What other woman?”

“Oh.  Um, this was before he met Stella.  There was a woman Daniel was in love with.  She died.”

A look of sadness came to Molly’s face.  “Oh no.  Poor Daniel.”

“It was her death that led up to him marrying Stella.”

“Then he married her on the rebound?”

“Weeellll, not exactly.”  Alex told her friend the story of how Daniel ended up married to Stella.

“Oh my.  This is a surprise,” Molly said, a bit shocked over their minister’s past.

“Please don’t let him know I told you, Mol.  He really doesn’t want this to be common knowledge.”

“No, I can understand that.”  Molly gave herself a little shake.  “Well, we all make mistakes, but I think he’s got the right woman this time.”  A look of dismay widened her eyes as she realized what she’d just said.  “Oh, Alex, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Mol, really it is.  I’ll be fine.  So, who else knows about the engagement?”

“Boris and, I should imagine, Callie.”

Alex smiled wickedly.  “Shall we let the happy couple make the announcement or do we spread it all over the island ourselves?”

Molly appeared to think about it for a few second.  “We blab,” she said at the same time as Alex.  The two women laughed.  They went back in and returned to the front room.  Bonita was just coming in carrying a box of condiments.

“And I know just who to blab to first,” Alex said.

Bonita burst through the door of the general store, looking like she was going to pop from excitement.  Not even waiting to find something to write on, she blurted out, “They’re engaged!”

Her mother jumped at the unexpected sound of her daughter’s voice.  She picked up her chalkboard.  “Who?”

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Bonita snatched up her own chalkboard and wrote, “Guess.”

An expression of irritation flashed across Ruby’s face, then she looked at the way her daughter seemed ready to start jumping up and down with delight.  Ruby’s eyes grew wide.  “Daniel and Angie?” she wrote.

Bonita’s smile grew wider, and she nodded.

“Yippee!” Ruby cried.  She grabbed her daughter, and the two of them danced around and around for several seconds.  “Didn’t I tell you they were meant for each other?”  That’s when Ruby realized she was speaking aloud.  “Oops.”  She got her chalkboard.  “Well, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Mom, you were right,” Bonita wrote back.

“Oh, this is so wonderful!  They are going to be so happy together, and they’ll have such beautiful children.”

“Mom, they’ve only just gotten engaged.  One step at a time, okay?”

“But I am just so happy.  I guess Angie will be staying after all.”

“Well, I should think so--unless Daniel goes back with her to New York.”  Bonita’s expression had become serious.

Ruby shook her head.  “He wouldn’t do that,” she wrote with conviction.  “He belongs here.  This is his home now.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Alex knocked lightly on her son’s door, then walked in.  Dylan was sitting on the bed, playing with a new Nintendo game she’d gotten him.  “Did you get all your new clothes put away?”

“Uh huh.”

The redhead sat beside him.  “I have some news.”

Dylan looked up from his game.  “What kind of news?”

“It’s about Daniel and Angie.  They’re engaged.”

“Really?”  The boy smiled.  “Then that means she won’t be leaving.”

“I guess not.  So . . . do you like that idea, that Daniel is getting married?”

Dylan shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess.”

Alex hesitated, not quite knowing how to word what she needed to say.  “You know, Dylan, when someone gets married, they . . . don’t have as much free time as they did before.  Daniel is going to be busy with a new life, and, um, he may not have as much time to spend with you as he used to.”  Seeing the look on her son’s face, she hurried on.  “Now, I’m sure that he’s still going to spend lots of time with you, but it’s probably going to be a little less than it is now.”

Her son just sat and stared down at his game.

“Are you going to be okay with that, Dylan?  I don’t want you to think that he doesn’t care as much about you or that he’s no longer interested in doing things with you, because that will never be true.  You just need to understand that things will be different.”

“I understand.  He’ll want to spend more time with Angie doing stuff that married people do.”

“Yeah.”  She smoothed back a lock of hair from his forehead.  “Are you going to be all right?”

Dylan nodded.

“Well, if you want to talk about this, just let me know.  Or, better yet, you could talk to Daniel.”

As Alex left the room, she wondered if she’d made a mistake talking to her son about this.  She had just wanted him to be prepared for what would inevitably happen when Daniel and Angie got married.

Sighing, the redhead went back downstairs.
 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The next morning, the visits and phone calls began as word spread about the engagement.  Those people who didn’t drop by personally, called to give their congratulations.

Among the first people to visit were Ruby, then, after she left, Bonita.  Ruby had spent almost the entire visit giving the couple hugs.

Mixed among the phone calls from well-wishers was one saying that the parts Rollie ordered had come in.  He took off immediately for the mainland in his boat, saying that he had some other things to get as well and wanted to be sure he got back before Elena arrived.  Angie stayed home and continued working on the graphics.  She loved working with him again, the two of them joined like two halves of a whole in creating the magic they both delighted in crafting.

“It really amazes me watching you work together,” Callie commented shortly after she arrived.  “You’re like hand in glove.  It’s like you can read each other’s minds sometimes.”

Angie laughed.  “You should see us when we actually put it all to work.  We really smoke.  It is like we can read each other’s minds.  I’ve watched other F/X teams, and a lot of them work very well together, but Rollie and I, we just . . . click.  It’s perfect.  That’s why I didn’t really care when movie projects stopped coming in after he disappeared.  I didn’t want to do it without him.  Nobody would ever have been able to take his place, not in work and not in my life.”  She smiled.  “And, now, we’re so much more than friends and coworkers, and it’s still perfect.”

“All I can say is that you’re one lucky lady.”

“Yes, I am.”

“And Rollie is one lucky man.”

It was less than an hour before Elena’s flight was due in when Rollie returned.  Having some things to take care of, Callie had left a little while earlier, saying that she would be back later.  The Aussie came into the bedroom, smiling when he saw Angie.

“How are things going?”

“Good, although I didn’t get as much done as I could have if it hadn’t been for all the well-wishers.”

Rollie laughed.  “I know what you mean.   I lost count of how many people congratulated me and asked if we’d set a date as I went through town to and from the dock.”

“You too?  It seems like everyone wants to know when the big day is.”

“We may have to set a date just to keep our sanity.”

“Well, even with all that, I still managed to finish one set of images.  We’ll need to record the audio and put them in sync, and we have to get the shots of you, of course.  There’s still lots of work to do, but I think we’ll make it with plenty of time to spare.  I do miss having the Ambler, though.  This would be a lot easier with it.”

“Well, any computer in your hands can create magic, Love,” Rollie said.  He put down the stuff he’d gotten and sat on the bed facing her.  “Could you stop for a minute?”

Angie looked at him, noticing that he appeared nervous.  She set the computer aside and focused her full attention on him.  Not speaking, Rollie opened his hand to reveal a tiny black velvet ring box.  He held it out to her, his eyes never leaving hers.  Her hands shaking, Angie took the box and opened it.  A gasp escaped her lips as she stared at what lay within.  A one-carat diamond lay nestled at the center of a love knot made from rows of tiny sapphires.  The gems were mounted on a band that Angie realized was made of platinum.

Her eyes shining with tears, Angie met Rollie’s gaze.  “Oh, Rol, it’s so beautiful.  But it must have cost a fortune.  That money in your account should be saved for things that we need.  If we have to run--”

The Aussie put a finger against her mouth.  “There’s still plenty enough for what we need.  I don’t care how much the ring cost.  I bought it for you.  Look at the inscription.”

Angie pulled the ring from the box and read what was engraved on the inside of the band.  “You are the true magic in my life . . . forever.”

Rollie removed the ring from her hand and slipped it on her left ring finger.  He then gently took her into his arms, and they kissed.

“I love you,” Angie whispered and kissed him again.  Then they drew apart and prepared for Elena’s arrival.

Boris watched as the ferry docked, then studied the faces of each passenger as they got off.  The only strangers were a man and a woman with two small children.  Discounting them as tourists, the Russian began turning away, but then he caught sight of a small speedboat approaching the island.  It was a sleek craft, the kind that would be rented on the mainland.  The boat docked, and a pretty Hispanic woman got out, her expression serious.  Boris’s eyes immediately narrowed, watching her closely.  She pulled out a single metal suitcase from the boat.  As she did, her blazer hiked up a few inches, and the Russian caught sight of something that made him stiffen.  It was a gun holster.  He’d seen enough of them in Russia and in the movies to recognize it immediately.  Hiding behind a dry-docked boat, Boris glared at the woman as she walked into town.  She looked around for a few seconds, then her eyes fell upon the church.  She immediately began walking purposefully up the hill.

Boris panicked for a moment.  He had to warn Daniel and Angie!  Running into the Widow’s Walk, Boris slid up to Alex.  “What is phone number for Daniel.  Must call him quick.”  The redhead gave him the number, and he ran to the phone, leaving a very puzzled Alex in his wake.

When no one answered the phone, the Russian hung up and began pacing back and forth, his hands gripping his hair.  “Cannot let Daniel and Angie be hurt.  Must do something.”  Abruptly, he halted.  “Will stop her.  I will save them.”  He dashed out the door and marched up the hill, his shoulders held straight and his hands curled into fists.

Rollie and Angie left the church and headed back toward the house.  Because of the need for complete privacy, Elena would not be staying at the Widow’s Walk.  Instead, they had set up a temporary sleeping area for her in the back room of the church.  It would mean sleeping on a thin foam pad and a sleeping bag, but Rollie figured that the FBI agent could take it, though she’d probably be a grouch in the morning just like she was the morning after sleeping on his couch when they were trying to nail Victor Loubar the first time.  But then, for all he knew, she might be a grouch in the morning no matter what she slept on.

They heard a sound and saw the object of their thoughts approaching them.  She did not look very pleased.

“You said it was a bit of a walk.  You didn’t say that I’d be climbing halfway up a hillside,” the agent complained, breathing rather heavily.

“What’s the matter, Elena, too many hours doing desk work?” Rollie asked in amusement.

“Very funny.  You try lugging this suitcase up that hill.”

“Well, we did offer to pick you up.”

“No, that would have been too risky.  I hid my tracks here as best as I could, but I didn’t want anyone to see us together on the mainland just in case.”  She sat the suitcase on the ground, then put her hands behind her back and stretched.

Suddenly, something large, blond, and moving very fast appeared from nowhere and rushed the agent.  Shocked, Rollie watched as Boris grabbed Elena from behind, pinning her arms to her sides, and lifted her clear off the ground.

“Boris!” Angie cried.

“Boris not let you hurt them like KGB did father!” the Russian yelled.  “I will protect them!”  He gave the FBI woman a little shake.

“Boris, stop!” Rollie yelled.  “What are you doing?!”

“Boris hear you and Angie talk about evil men coming to hurt you and swear not to let this happen.  Then Boris sees this woman with gun and knows that she is the one they sent.”

Elena let loose with a tirade of Spanish curses that made Angie wince.  “Make this idiot let go of me now!” she yelled.

“Boris, let her go,” the Aussie ordered.  “She’s not with them.  She’s with the FBI.  She’s one of the good guys.”

“FBI?  Not with men who want to hurt you?”

“No.”

Boris immediately put her down.  Elena spun around, her eyes blazing.  More Spanish expletives flowed from her mouth, making the Russian back up a step, his eyes widening even though he didn’t understand a word of it.  When she’d finally finished, he looked at Daniel.

“Is she what is called a spitting fire?” he asked.

It took all of Rollie’s self-control not to burst out laughing.  Even so, a bit of one escaped, earning him a glare from Elena that should have turned him to stone.  The Aussie sobered and looked at Boris.  He was going to have to tell the man something, but it should be as little as possible.

“Boris, I can’t explain everything, but you’re right; there are people out there who want to hurt me.  Elena is here to help us make sure that will never happen.  But we need you to keep quiet about this and not tell anyone.  Can you do that?”

“I tell no one secret.  My lips are glued.”

“Thank you.  You’d better go now.”

Boris nodded.  “You call if you need help.”  He turned and strode back down the hill.

Elena straightened her clothing and smoothed her hair down.  “All right.  I want to hear the whole story from the top, why you’re here, Angie, and what this plan is.”

“Let’s go inside,” Rollie said.  He took Elena’s suitcase, and they went in the house.  He put the case on the floor.  “Is Blue in here?”

“Yes, it’s in there,” Elena replied.

Rollie opened the case, and there nestled amidst the agent’s clothes was the little electronic dog.  A grin of delight spread across the Aussie’s face.  He set Bluey on the floor, then reached underneath him and hit a tiny, recessed switch.  The robot came to life with a yip.

“Hey, Bluey, how ya doing, Boy?”

Bluey’s head tilted up to look at him, and, suddenly, he started barking and yipping like crazy, his tail wagging faster than Rollie had ever seen it.  He crawled right up to the Aussie’s knees and looked like he was trying his level best to climb into his lap.  Rollie laughed and lifted the dog onto his lap.  The barking finally stopped, but the tail kept right on going.

“I told you he missed you,” Angie said, grinning.

“I missed him, too,” Rollie murmured.  He stood up and carried Bluey to the couch.  Sitting beside Angie, he deposited the robot back into his lap.  He and Angie then told Elena the reason for Angie coming to Hope Island and what their plan was.  At the end of it, the agent shook her head.

“You do realize that if this plan fails, you’ll have to run again, both of you will.”

“Yes, we know.  That’s one of the reasons why I asked you to come here,” Rollie told her.  “Angie can create fake identities for us, but we need you to set things up so that we can get out fast.”

Elena nodded.  “Of course you’ll have to separate.  Your chances--”

“No,” both Rollie and Angie said, their voices firm.

“Excuse me?”

“We’re not separating,” Angie told her.  “Wherever we go, we go together.”

“That’s not wise,” Elena told them.  “Your chances are better if you don’t remain together.  As single individuals you can set up a new life more quickly and easily and with less questions from outsiders.”

“No,” Rollie repeated, steel in his voice.

“Why not?”

“Because Angie and I are going to be married.”

Elena’s mouth dropped open, a look of utter shock on her face.  “Married?”

“Yes, married,” Angie confirmed, holding up her hand to show the agent the ring.

Elena shut her mouth with a snap.  “I see.  Well, this certainly did happen fast.”

“If you discount the last fifteen years it did,” the Aussie said.

“I suppose congratulations are in order.”  There was no warmth in the agent’s voice, and it was clear that she wasn’t pleased by the announcement.

Angie studied the woman’s reaction and came to realize that Elena was on the list of women who’d had eyes for Rollie, and by the puzzled expression on his face, she suspected that he didn’t have a clue the agent felt that way.

Elena stood.  “Well, I want to unpack, and I need to start making some phone calls.”

Rollie showed her the place they’d prepared in the back room of the church.  “I know it’s not very comfortable, but it will be better than you staying at the house, for more than one reason.”

“So, what cover have you set up for me?”

“We’re going to say that you’re a cousin of mine visiting from California.”

“A cousin?” Elena said doubtfully.

“Second cousin,” the Aussie explained.  “You have to be a relative, otherwise there’s going to be talk about you staying here.  As it is, I’m going to have to make up a story about you not liking hotels and wanting complete privacy to explain why you’re staying in the back room of the church.”

The agent nodded.  “Very well.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to make your calls.”  He turned to leave.

“Rollie?”

“Yes?”

“It is good to see you again.  How have you been doing here?”

“I’ve been good.  Hope Island is a great place with wonderful people.  I’m going to try very hard not to lose what I have here.”

“Then you won’t go back to New York and the F/X business if your plan succeeds?”  There was surprise in the woman’s voice.

“I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to walk away from Hope, that’s one thing I know for sure.”

Elena nodded again.  “This thing between you and Angie.  I thought you were just friends and coworkers.”

“Angie and I were never just friends, not in the way you’re thinking.  I have always loved her.  I just didn’t know I was in love with her until now.”

Rollie went back to the house.  He nearly tripped over Bluey when he came in.  The dog was standing right at the entrance.

“He’s been standing there since you left,” Angie told him.  “I think he was afraid that you’d disappeared again.”

The Aussie grinned and picked up the robot.  “Hey, Bluey.  How would you like to play a little trick on somebody?”

“On who?” Angie asked, frowning.

A wicked grin lit Rollie’s face.  “You’ll see.”

As Callie pulled up to the parish house, she found herself thinking of it as Rollie’s house rather than Daniel’s.  In fact, more and more she found herself calling him Rollie in her mind.  She would have to be careful about that.  Calling him Rollie aloud when someone else was around would be disastrous.

The journalist stepped up to the door, gave the special knock, then walked in.  “We’re in the kitchen,” she heard Rollie say.  She walked to the room to find him and Angie sitting at the table, drinking tea.

“So, where is she?” she asked, taking an empty seat.

“Elena’s in the church making some calls,” the Aussie explained.

“Was she mad about you telling me the whole story?”

“Displeased is a better word, but she’ll get over it.”

Just then, she spied the ring.  “Angie!  How gorgeous!  Let me see.”

The blonde held out her hand so that the journalist could examine the ring more closely.

“Wow.  This must have cost a mint.  You’d better not let anyone else see it.  They’ll wonder how a minister could afford to get a ring like that.”

Angie sighed.  “Yeah, I know.  I do hate taking it off, though.”

“I would too if I had a ring like that,” Callie said.  “On second thought, if I had a ring like that--”

Arff!

Callie started at the sound of a dog’s bark.  “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Rollie asked.

“It sounded like a dog.”

“Hmm.  Nope, didn’t hear it.”

Callie shrugged.  “Oh, well.  Like I was saying--”

Arff!

“There it is again.  It sounded so close.”

“Maybe somebody’s dog is running around loose outside.”

“Could be.  It sounds like a small--”

Grrrrr!

“What in the. . . .”  Callie stood.  “I swear that sounds like it’s right in the house!”

“Well, there’s certainly no dog in here, Callie.  Sounds can play tricks on you sometimes.”  The Aussie stood.  “Would you like some tea?”

“Um, yeah, I guess.”  Callie resumed her seat.  She looked over at Angie, whose face was half-hidden behind her cup.  “Didn’t it sound to you like it was right in here?”

“It did sound close,” Angie agreed.

“Weird.”

Rollie set a cup before her.  Callie picked up the pot, which was sitting on the table, and began to pour her tea.

Quack quack!

The pot came back down onto the table with a thud.  “Now I hear a duck!” Callie exclaimed.

“A duck!  I didn’t hear a duck.  I just heard the dog again.”  Rollie turned to Angie.  “Did you hear a duck, Ange?”

“No, Rol.”  Angie’s face was hidden behind the cup again.

Meowww!

“And now I hear a cat,” the journalist said, looking a little wild-eyed.

“Callie, are you feeling all right?” the Aussie asked.

“Well, I felt fine until a few minutes ago, but now--” Callie let out a shriek as something touched her leg underneath the table.  She leapt about two inches off the seat, then stumbled to her feet, the chair tipping over backwards and crashing to the floor.  Wide-eyed, she saw what looked like a six-legged metal spider come crawling out from under the table.

Rollie started laughing so hard that he nearly fell over backwards in his chair.  Then the smile that Angie had been hiding behind her cup broke across her face, and she began laughing, too.

“Callie, meet Bluey,” the Aussie gasped between fits of laughter.

The spider-like thing barked and gave a single wag of what looked like a tail.

“This is what was making those sounds?”

“Yep.”  He grinned at the perplexed expression on the journalist’s face.  “He’s a dog, Callie, my dog, though he can make just about any sound I want him to.”

The journalist fixed a glare upon Rollie.  “Then you were doing all that, making it make those noises?”

He nodded, his eyes dancing with mirth.

“Why you!”  Callie punched him in the shoulder.  She turned to Angie.  “And you’re no better for letting him do that to me.”  Then she sat down and laughed.  “You are a wicked, wicked man, Rollie Tyler.”

“I try.”

“How did you make it do what you wanted it to?”

“He was giving Blue hand signals under the table,” Angie told her.

The journalist looked down at the little robot.  “So, you built it?” she asked Rollie.

He picked Bluey up and put him on the table.  “Uh huh.  Of course he’s more than a dog.  At the loft, he controls the security system, as well as environmental controls, lights, and stuff like that.  He’s also been used as a spy, a remote camera unit, a tracking device, and too many other things to name.  Oh, and he plays a mean game of chess, too.  Isn’t that right, Blue Boy?”

The robot barked and wagged its tail.

“Why the name Bluey?”

“I had a dog named Blue when I was a child.  He died when I was around eight.”

“Was he an Australian Shepherd or something?” Callie asked, thinking of that breed’s grey-blue color.

“No, he was a mutt with red fur.  In Australia, dogs with red fur are called blue.  Anyway, when I created this little guy, I decided to name him after the dog.”

The phone rang, and Rollie got up to answer it.  Bluey immediately crawled across the table in his direction.  The electronic dog came to a stop and started whining, acting like he wanted to jump off the table.

“Um . . . do you want down?” Callie asked tentatively.

The robot barked, which the journalist took for a yes.  She carefully picked him up and put him on the floor.  He moved straight over to the Aussie and stayed by his feet.

Angie shook her head.  “He’s been doing that ever since Rollie turned him on.  Bluey follows him everywhere, like this little shadow.  I think that he’s afraid Rollie’s going to up and vanish again.”

“But it’s just a robot.  How can it feel fear or any other emotion?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe it isn’t true emotion, but the artificial intelligence program is pretty complex.  Bluey knows that Rollie is his creator, his mother, for lack of a better word.  Though I’m in Blue’s database and am even authorized to give commands, I don’t get the same spontaneous reactions from him that Rollie does.  Rollie always comes first in Bluey’s eyes.”

“Did you write the program?”

“No, that was all Rollie.  He wrote the artificial intelligence and voice recognition programs, and programmed most of Blue’s other functions.  I added a few minor things to enhance his capabilities, a tweak here, a few lines of code there, but he’s still very much Rollie’s baby.”

“But I thought. . . .”

“What?”

“Well, when I needed his help on my computer, he acted like he’d barely ever touched the things before.”

Angie smiled.  “Yeah, Rol mentioned something about that.  He said that it was pretty tough pretending that he didn’t know anything about computers.”

“But I got the impression that you did all the computer stuff, and Rollie handled most of the things involving electronics, mechanics, robotics, and explosives.”

“Well, that is generally true, but Rollie’s still a topnotch programmer in his own right.  He’s just not . . . into computers as much as I am and doesn’t have all my training, especially in the graphics side of things.”

“What Angie is failing to say is that, compared to her, I’m a dunce on a computer,” the Aussie said, sitting back down.

“That’s not true, Rol,” Angie declared.

“Okay, a novice then.  I can write programs, and I can operate a computer with a certain amount of skill, but Angie is the best.  There’s nothing she can’t do with a computer.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” the blonde said.

“Well, I would, and I’m the boss.”  Rollie gave her a look,