PROLOGUE

Angie heard the sound of feet on the metal staircase and looked up to see Rollie descending it.

“Hey, Ange, I’ve got to run into town for a bit.  I need to pick up some stuff.”

“Okay, but don’t forget that we’re expected at the wrap party by five,” Angie reminded him.

“No worries, Love.  Wouldn’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

“Yeah, and all the free beer,” Angie added sarcastically.

Rollie grinned.  “From what I remember of the last wrap party, you drank almost as much as I did, and you were definitely enjoying it just as much, if not more.”  He smiled even more broadly, remembering the sight of Angie dancing around, having a good time that night.

“What’s that supposed to mean?  Are you saying I got drunk?”  Angie’s eyes narrowed.

“Nah, not drunk, just pleasantly tipsy.”

“Tipsy?  I never get tipsy,” Angie insisted firmly, her frown deepening.

Rollie chuckled.  “Whatever you say, Ange.”  He knew that, in truth, Angie had only drunk enough to give her a slight buzz, but he so loved teasing her, just like she loved doing it to him.  He glanced at his watch.  “I’ll be back by four, 4:15 at the latest.”

Angie watched the Aussie leave, then returned to what she had been doing.  She got so involved in her work that she didn’t realize the time until she happened to glance at her watch, which said that it was 4:32.

“All right, Rollie.  Where are you?  You said you’d be back by 4:15.”

Shutting down her system, Angie went to the bathroom to freshen up her makeup and brush her hair.  By the time she was finished, it was after 4:45, and there was still no sign of Rollie.  She sat down to wait, thinking of the tongue-lashing that she’d be giving the Aussie when he finally arrived.

The minutes ticked by, her irritation rising with each passing second.  Too restless to return to the computer, Angie began wandering around the loft, cleaning up the little messes that Rollie hadn’t gotten to.

It was 5:20 and Angie was in the van doing a little straightening up when she heard Bluey start to bark, then the sound of the front door opening.  Angie exited the van.

“Well, it’s about time, Rol.  If I’d known you were going to be this late--” Angie’s voice broke off abruptly when she saw that it wasn’t Rollie who had come in, but Leo and Frank.  Angie opened her mouth to ask what they wanted, but then she got a better look at the expressions on their faces.  They both looked . . . devastated.  There was an expression in Leo’s eyes like she’d never seen before, as if he’d just lost his best friend.  Suddenly, Angie’s heart started beating painfully in her chest, a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach.

“What is it?  What’s wrong?  Where’s Rollie?” she asked, her voice gaining a panicked edge.

Leo came forward and took her hands.  She could now see that there were tears in his eyes.  “Angie, something’s happened.  Rollie. . . .  It looks like someone put a bomb in his car.  There was an explosion.”

Angie began shaking her head.  “No.  No.”

“Angie, I’m sorry.”

Angie yanked her hands out of Leo’s grasp.  “No!  It’s a mistake.  It has to be a mistake!  Rollie can’t be . . . he can’t be. . . .”

Leo’s tears finally started to fall.  “I wish it was a mistake.  I’d give anything for it to be.  But there is no mistake, Angie.  Rollie’s gone.”

“Noooo!” Angie screamed, sobs tearing up out of her throat.  Her legs collapsed out from under her, and she fell to the floor.  Leo and Frank knelt beside her, their arms going around her.

“Rollie.  Rollie,” Angie whispered brokenly, the knowledge that she’d never see him again rising like a black cloud to envelop her.  Everything else faded away except the overwhelming pain.  She was not aware when Leo picked her up and sat her on the couch.  She did not hear his and Frank’s whispered conversation.  The only thing she heard was Rollie’s voice, his last words to her.  If she had only known that it was the last time she’d see him, she’d have told him how much she loved him, how much he meant to her.  If she had known, she would have stopped him from leaving.  And if she couldn’t . . . if she couldn’t have stopped him, she would have gone with him, joined him in death.  Death would be better than this horrible anguish and the emptiness that she could already feel consuming her soul.

The hours passed in a haze.  Leo had apparently called Connie, who came over in an attempt to offer Angie comfort.  She might as well not have been there for all the notice Angie took of her.

The night passed in aching loneliness, Angie’s tears returning again and again.  Leo and Frank had returned to the scene of the explosion to make sure that nothing was missed by the forensics team.  Connie had suggested that Angie might be more comfortable in her apartment.  Receiving only silence in reply, she did not make the suggestion again.

The investigation into Rollie’s murder yielded nothing.  No evidence could be found linking any particular person to the crime.  If Victor Loubar had still been alive, he’d have been the prime suspect, but he had died two years ago during an attempt to get revenge on Rollie and Angie.  Though lacking a solid suspect, Leo vowed that he’d never give up until the person who had killed Rollie was brought to justice.

The funeral took place three days after Rollie’s death.  Numbly, Angie stood at the grave site as the minister, then Leo, spoke about him and the good man that he had been.  The cemetery was filled with cops, people from the movie industry, and many other individuals whom Rollie had called friends.  There, too, were many whom he had helped in the past, those he had aided in times of trouble.  Angie had eyes for none of them.  She only saw the casket that sat before her, bearing the body of her best friend and the only family she’d had left in the world.

At last, it was over.  Angie stayed as everyone else left, only Leo, Frank and Lucinda, who had flown in from LA, remaining behind.  She watched as the cemetery workers lowered the casket into the ground and covered it up.  She continued to watch as they then walked away.  A cold rain had begun to fall, but she didn’t feel it, just like she didn’t feel Leo’s hands as they took hold of her shoulders and turned her away from the grave that held the man she now knew was the only one she’d ever love.

CHAPTER ONE

Angie got off the ferry and looked about at the little town.  She really didn’t know why she was there.  The only reason was that it had made Leo, Frank, Sarah and Lucinda happy.  For the last month or so, they’d kept suggesting that it would be good for her to get away for a while, find some quiet place where she could relax.  Angie knew it wouldn’t do any good.  No matter where she went, no matter what she did, all she thought about was Rollie and how much she missed him.  The three months that had passed since his death had not eased the grief or loneliness.  When alive, he’d been the central focus of her life, and he still was.  Angie could not imagine that there would ever come a day when she wouldn’t feel the cold, sharp pain in her heart that she experienced every time she thought about the fact that he was gone forever.

With a weary sigh, Angie headed toward what appeared to be the inn.  Leo had been the one to tell her about the island community.  An old friend who was in the Seattle police department before he retired had once told him about the island where his son lived and served as the one-man police force.  Leo had remembered the man’s description and decided that it sounded like a good place for Angie to get away to.

Angie ascended the stairs and entered the inn, which was also a tavern and restaurant.  She went up to the bar, behind which stood a tall, red-haired woman.

“Hi.  What can I get for you?” the woman asked.

“I’d like a room, please.”

“Sure.  How long will you be staying?”

“I’m not sure, maybe a week.”

“Okay, we’ll just leave the departure date open, then.”  The woman had Angie fill out the registration book, then gave her a key.  “There you go.  The rooms are right up that staircase.  My name’s Alex.  If you need anything, just ask for me or Molly.”

“Thanks.”  Angie picked up her suitcase and ascended the stairs.  Alex watched her leave, a slight frown on her face.  She looked down at what had been filled out in the registration book.

“New guest?” Molly asked, coming up beside Alex.

“Yes, an Angie Ramirez from New York City.  Did you see her face?”

“Yeah.  She looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks, and she was so thin and pale.  I wonder if she’s been sick.”

“I don’t know.  That’s what it looked like to me.  I was wondering if she was even going to make it up the stairs.”

“Do you think that you should tell Doctor Watson about her?”

Alex shook her head.  “I don’t want to invade the woman’s privacy.  If she has some kind of health problem that needs monitoring, I’m sure she’ll go to the doctor herself.”  Putting their new guest out of her mind, Alex smiled at her best friend.  “So, you and Kevin going to that play in Seattle tomorrow?”

“We want to.  Both of us need some time to ourselves.  I love my dad, but it hasn’t been easy with him living under the same roof.  I know that it drives Kevin nuts when he wants to . . . well, um, you know.”  Molly blushed faintly.

Alex laughed, thinking that the last thing she’d want was to have her father living with her if she was newly married.  That thought led her to ones of Daniel.  In the three and a half months that had passed since they shared their first real kiss and Daniel later admitted to having feelings for her, they’d gone out on several dates.  They had both agreed to take things slowly and see where their relationship went.  Alex had to admit, though, that she sometimes wished they’d pick up the pace a little.  She had finally admitted to herself that she’d fallen in love with the handsome, gentle minister and that, unlike Steve, he’d never put himself or his ambitions ahead of her and her son, Dylan.  In fact, he had no career ambitions at all.  He was happy being the minister of a tiny church in a small community.  He was definitely not his father’s son.  It was clear that the Reverend Cliff Cooper had been cut from the same cloth as Steve Kramer, a man who put his career above his family.

Alex saw some people coming in and went to attend to them.  It was perhaps an hour later when she glanced up and saw the woman from New York coming back down the stairs.  Alex’s sharp gaze did not miss the redness in her eyes and other signs of recent crying.

“Hi.  Is the room all right?” Alex asked her.

“Um, yeah, it’s fine, thanks.  I wanted to go for a walk on the beach.  Where would be a good place?”

“Well, if you head off to the left, past the dock, you’ll come to a nice stretch of beach in a little while.  It’s one of my favorite places.”  Alex paused.  “Um, is everything all right?  Can I get you anything?”

Angie gave her a sad smile.  “No, but thanks anyway.”

Angie left the Widow’s Walk and headed in the direction indicated.  After around ten minutes, she got to the beach Alex had told her about.  There, she sat on the sand and looked out across the bay.  As she stared at the waters, the thought arose that if she walked out into it and kept right on walking, she could disappear, perhaps never to be found.  She let that thought stay in her mind for only a few seconds before pushing it out.  She’d had similar thoughts many times since Rollie’s death, and, once, she’d almost followed through with it.  It was shortly after the funeral, and the grief had been unbearable.  Thinking that she’d rather be dead than live without Rollie, Angie had put half the contents of a bottle of sleeping pills in her hand.  She had been a second away from swallowing them when the image of Rollie’s face stopped her.  She knew that he wouldn’t have wanted her to kill herself.  If heaven really did exist and Rollie was there looking down on her now, she didn’t want to cause him pain.  Besides, according to what she’d been taught as a Catholic, suicide was a cardinal sin, a sure ticket to hell, and the only hope she had left in her life was that, someday, she’d see Rollie again in whatever afterlife might exist.

Angie knew that these months had not been easy on Leo either, and she partially blamed herself for that.  Several days after Rollie’s death, she had flown into a terrible rage, blaming Leo for what happened.  She’d told the cop that if he hadn’t dragged Rollie into helping the police, the Aussie would still be alive.  The pain and guilt she’d seen on the man’s face had instantly made her regret her words.  She was ashamed afterwards, almost able to see the upset, disappointed look Rollie would have had on his face if he'd heard her words.  Though she later apologized, she wasn’t sure if Leo ever overcame the guilt.

Angie sat alone on the beach until a chilly wind picked up off the water, causing her to shiver.  Wiping away the tears that had fallen, unnoticed, down her cheeks, she got to her feet and headed back into town, ignoring the weakness and tiredness that were with her every day now.  As she was approaching the inn, she saw a tall, slim man with dark hair come out and descend the staircase.  Angie froze, seeing something achingly familiar in the figure even at the distance that she was from him.  She stared intently at the man as he drew closer.  He was still quite a ways away when recognition hit her full force.

“Oh my God.  Rollie?  Rollie!”

Angie ran toward the man, who had turned at her outcry.  She threw her arms around him.  “Oh, God.  It is you.  You’re alive, you’re alive,” she sobbed.

The man pulled slightly away and looked down at her with a shocked, confused expression.  “I, um, I’m sorry, but I don’t know you,” he said in a voice that, while possessing strong similarities to Rollie’s, lacked his Australian accent.

“Rollie, it’s me.  Why don’t you recognize me?  Why are you talking like that?  Are you in the Witness Protection Program?  It’s okay.  I won’t tell anyone,”  Angie babbled.  “I just want to be with you.”

“I’m sorry.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  My name isn’t Rollie.  It’s Daniel Cooper.  I’m the minister here.  You’ve got me confused with this other person.”

Angie shook her head.  “No, you have to be Rollie.  You have to be!” she cried desperately.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not.”

Angie looked up into the man’s eyes, seeing there no spark of recognition, no hint that he was lying to her.  A crushing wave of disappointment and despair crashed into Angie.  He wasn’t Rollie.  He was just some lookalike sent to torment her with a face that was a mirror image of the man she loved.

Suddenly, all the months of anguish, of sleepless nights and little or no food caught up with Angie.  Blackness fell abruptly over her, and she collapsed into the arms of the man she had thought was her love come back to life.

Daniel gasped in surprise as the woman who’d thrown herself at him abruptly collapsed into a boneless heap.  He grabbed hold of her and lifted her into his arms.  Looking down at her, he saw the alarming parlor of her skin and the huge dark circles under her eyes.  Thinking that she might be seriously ill, he carried her toward the clinic.  Others saw him carrying the unconscious woman, and he soon had a retinue of concerned islanders following him.

When they got to the clinic, Doctor Watson took one look at Daniel’s burden and quickly told him to take her to the exam room.  She got the story of what happened from him, then shooed him out.  Daniel sat in the waiting room, deeply concerned for this woman whose name he didn’t even know.  He kept thinking about the expression of absolute joy that had been on her face when she’d thought he was this man named Rollie, then the look of utter desolation that replaced the joy when she realized her error.  Whoever this Rollie was, the woman apparently loved him deeply.  It made him think about the pain he’d felt when Kate died.  Happily, he’d been blessed with love again in the form of a certain redhead.  He hoped that this woman would eventually find someone else to love, too.

The door opened, and Doctor Watson came out.  Daniel rose to his feet.  “How is she?” he asked.

“She’s slipped into a natural sleep,” the doctor replied.  “She’ll probably be out for a while.”

“Do you have any idea what’s wrong with her?”

“I can’t be sure until I get the test results back from the blood I drew, but by her appearance, I’d say that she hasn’t eaten in quite a long time and was on the verge of exhaustion.  You said that she mistook you for someone else?”

“Yes.  She was positive I was him at first.  By what she said, I think that whoever this guy is, he’s either missing or presumed dead.  She said something about the Witness Protection Program.”

“Hmm.  Maybe that’s the root of the problem.  If she lost someone she loved, perhaps a husband or boyfriend, she might not have been eating or sleeping properly.  I’ve seen it happen.”

“What can you do?”

“Well, if it is a case of malnutrition and sleep deprivation, food, high doses of vitamins, and sleep will eventually cure her.  That is if she’ll accept treatment.”

“What do you mean?”

“This may have been a form of passive suicide, let the body die on its own by denying it something it needs to survive.”

The doctor’s words made Daniel recall Charlie and how he stopped taking his blood pressure medication because he wanted to be with his dead wife.  He thought again of the young woman who lay in the exam room.  It was such a tragedy that someone who had so much of her life before her would choose to end it.

“I’d like to see her when she wakes up,” the minister said.

“I’m not sure if that would be such a good idea.  If you remind her so strongly of the person she lost, it could just send her deeper into depression.”

“Maybe, but I might also be able to help her in a way that no one else could.  Perhaps because I do look like this man, she’d be apt to listen to me more.”

Doctor Watson thought about that for a moment.  “All right.  We’ll try it and see how she reacts to you.  I’ll let you know when she awakens.  Will you be at home?”

“No, I’ll go back to the Widow’s Walk.  I want to be nearby.”

The minister returned to the tavern, telling the people who had been hanging around outside the clinic that the woman was probably going to be okay, but the doctor didn’t know yet for sure.

“Daniel!  What’s this about you taking someone to the clinic?” Alex asked as he came in the door of the Widow’s Walk.

Daniel smiled at how fast the word had gotten around.  “It’s true.  I don’t know who she was.  Never seen her before.  She came running up to me, thinking that I was someone else, then she fainted dead in my arms.  I carried her over to Doctor Watson’s.”

An expression of realization spread over Alex’s face.  “Did she have blond hair and blue eyes, around five six and very thin?”

“Yes, that’s her.  Do you know her?”

“She checked in this afternoon.  Her name’s Angie Ramirez.  She’s from New York.  I thought she looked ill.  I hope she’s going to be all right.”

“The doctor took some blood for tests, but she suspects that the woman hasn’t slept or eaten in a long time, and that may be why she collapsed.”

“So, tell me all about what happened,” Alex requested.

Daniel told her the whole incident, including the expressions he saw on the face of the woman he now knew was named Angie.

“She really thought you were this Rollie?”

“Yeah, she was positive.  I must strongly resemble him.”

“What a funny coincidence that she ended up coming here, to a place where there was someone who looked so much like this man she lost.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“What do you mean?”

Daniel shrugged.  “The old saying that God works in mysterious ways is often very true.  He may have led her here.”

“Well, if He did, I hope he knows what He’s doing,” Alex said.

Daniel smiled.  “He always does, Alex.”

Choosing to change the subject, Alex asked Daniel about his plans for the next day.  The minister hid his smile over the obvious attempt to steer the conversation away from religion and answered Alex’s question.  Their conversation then moved onto other topics until Alex had to excuse herself to wait on customers.  Daniel sipped on a cup of coffee, awaiting the call from Doctor Watson.  It came nearly an hour and a half after he’d gotten to the Widow’s Walk.

“She’s showing signs of awakening,” the doctor said.  “If you want to be here when she does, you’d better come now.”

The minister hurried over to the clinic, then nervously sat in the waiting room, awaiting the doctor.  He wasn’t certain how he was going to greet Angie, what approach would work best.  If she was in a fragile state of mind, he’d have to tread very carefully.

At last, Doctor Watson came out.  “She’s waking up.  I’m going to explain some things to her, then I’ll let you in, if she’s willing to see you.”

“Okay.  Oh, by the way.  Her name’s Angie Ramirez.  She’s a guest at the Widow’s Walk.”

“Good.  It will help to know her name.”

The doctor went back into the room where Angie was.  She watched as the blonde’s eyes slowly blinked open.  Confusion filled them.

“Hello, Angie.  My name’s Doctor Watson.  You’re in the Hope Island clinic.  You passed out and were brought here.”

Angie looked up into the strange woman’s face, trying to remember what happened.  Then, all at once, the memories flooded back of the man who looked like Rollie.

“Rollie,” she whispered.  “He wasn’t Rollie.”  Tears came unbidden to her eyes.

“Shh.  It’s all right,” the doctor said soothingly.  “The man you saw was Daniel Cooper, our minister.  He’s very concerned about you and would like to see you, if that’s all right.  He’s waiting right outside.”

Angie closed her eyes.  “I don’t . . . I don’t think I can.”  The thought of seeing that face again and knowing he wasn’t Rollie was too painful to consider.

“That’s okay.  You don’t have to.  Daniel will respect your wishes.  He’s a very caring person.”

“Rollie was, too.  He cared so much,” Angie whispered, the tears flowing faster.  She turned her face away, trying to gain some measure of control.

Doctor Watson saw the open grief on the woman’s face and felt a deep pang of sympathy for her.  “Angie, when’s the last time you ate something?” she asked gently.

There was a moment of silence.  “I’m not sure.”

“Have you been getting any sleep?”

Another silence.  “Some.  A little sometimes.”

“For how long?”

Angie looked at her blankly for a moment, then realized what she was asking.  She turned away again.  “Three months.  It’s been three months.”

The doctor mentally shook her head.  Three months of virtual starvation and next to no sleep.  It was a wonder that Angie hadn’t collapsed before now.  She patted the woman’s hand.  “How about if I let you get some more rest?  You can stay here for a bit longer, then we’ll move you into the room I have set up for overnight patients.  I’d like to keep you here for at least a couple of days, try to get your strength back up.”

Receiving only a nod of her patient’s head as reply, Doctor Watson left the room and returned to Daniel.

“She’s not ready to see you yet,” she told him.  “She may be later, but I think it’s more than she can handle now.”

Daniel nodded, understanding.  “All right.  How about if I call tomorrow?”

“Sure.  In the morning, I’ll find out if she’s changed her mind.”

Daniel left the clinic, hoping that, by morning, Angie Ramirez would be well enough to see him . . . and that he would be able to help her get past the grief that was clearly destroying her.

CHAPTER TWO

Angie stared up at the textured white ceiling.  The doctor had moved her into a quiet room that looked more like someone’s bedroom than a room in a clinic.  The doctor had explained that she believed patients were happier and more at ease in a less sterile environment.  Angie really couldn’t have cared less what the room looked like, but had thanked the woman anyway.  As soon as she felt strong enough to walk, she’d request to go back to the inn.  After that, she’d have to decide what she was going to do.  She wasn’t sure she could stay on the island, knowing that someone who looked so much like Rollie was there.  The chance of seeing him again was too great.  Buried deep inside her was a spark of curiosity as to how there could exist somebody who was a physical carbon copy of Rollie, but that spark was all but drowned by the pain.  Why did he have to be here?  Why, of all places, did she end up coming to the one place that would make things worse rather than better?  Was fate playing some kind of cruel joke on her?  Wasn’t it enough that it had taken away the person she loved more than anything on Earth?

Angie muffled the sob that rose in her throat to strangle her.  She bit down on her knuckle and squeezed her eyes shut.  She didn’t want the doctor to hear her crying.  The woman meant well, but Angie didn’t want any help.  She knew that she couldn’t keep going like this, that, if she didn’t eat and didn’t start getting some sleep, she’d end up in a hospital, drugged and being fed with an IV.  But the only thing sleep brought was dreams of Rollie, and she had long ago lost any desire for food.

“I wish I could be with you, Rollie,” Angie whispered.  “I wish it was all over so that we could be together.”

Unknown to Angie, Lily Watson stood on the other side of the slightly open door, listening.  Her patient’s words sent a chill through her, confirming her suspicions.  Angie Ramirez wanted to die, and her failure to eat was her way of doing it.  Whether or not it had been a conscious decision really didn’t matter since it would achieve the same results if she didn’t start eating.

Lily wondered if she was out of her depth here.  She was not a trained psychologist, and that’s what Angie needed more than anything.  Then again, maybe a psychologist wasn’t what she needed.  Perhaps it was someone who could comfort her and show her a reason to keep on living.

Though the doctor wasn’t a particularly religious person, she did recognize the healing that religion could bring to a person.  Perhaps she should talk to Father Mac about this.  Lily then thought about Daniel.  In the time that he’d been on the island, he’d proven himself to be a gentle, caring man who seemed capable of working miracles in the community.  He’d helped a lot of people, and, under other circumstances, he’d be the first one she’d think of to help the grieving woman.  But his resemblance to the man Angie had lost changed everything.  The doctor was still concerned that seeing him again would just make things worse for Angie.  Then again, maybe he was right.  Maybe Daniel Cooper could help Angie as no one else could.  All she could do was ask Angie again if she was willing to see him.  But that would wait until tomorrow.  The most important thing right now was to get her to eat something.

Shifting the tray she was carrying, Doctor Watson knocked and entered the room.  Angie quickly wiped away the fresh tears that stained her face.  The doctor pretended not to notice.

“Hello there.  I’ve brought you some dinner.  Thankfully for you, it’s not something I cooked.  It came from the Widow’s Walk, and I have to say that their cook, Boris, has a lot more talent with food than I could ever have.”  The doctor set the tray on the table beside the bed.

“Thanks,” Angie said, not sounding very enthusiastic.

“You need to eat, Angie.  You’re never going to have the strength to get out of that bed if you don’t.”

Angie sighed.  “I know.  I’m just not hungry.”

“Well, try to eat a little bit for me, okay?”

Angie nodded and sat up.  The doctor put the tray on her lap.  She watched Angie pick at the food for a moment, then excused herself, hoping that her patient would eat something once she left.

Angie watched the doctor leave, then turned her attention back to the food.  She managed to choke down a few bites and drank most of the glass of milk.  She knew that she should eat more, but she just couldn’t.

With a sigh, she put the tray back on the table and laid down, turning her back to the food.  When the doctor came back a while later, she pretended to be asleep.

Lily looked down at the tray of food, disappointed at how little her patient had eaten.  It hadn’t even been enough to keep a fair-sized cat alive, let alone an adult human being.  Her eyes went to Angie, knowing that the woman was only pretending to sleep, but respecting her apparent wish to be left alone.

With a sigh, the doctor took the tray out, closing the door behind her.  She could only hope that, tomorrow, Angie would eat more.  If she didn’t, Lily would have no choice but to put her on an IV.

Wishing that she knew how to help her patient, the doctor left to get her own dinner.

Daniel walked down the hill toward town.  He hadn’t slept much last night.  The face of Angie Ramirez had haunted his dreams.  It was strange.  He’d aided several grieving people since becoming Hope Island’s minister, yet, never before had anyone he’d counseled affected him as strongly as this woman who was a stranger to him.  Her sorrow had touched something deep inside him, making him feel an odd connection to her.  He wanted so much to help her, to give her the will to live.  He’d done a lot of praying about it last night, seeking guidance from God.  He still felt certain that, if Angie could just be talked into letting him see her, he could give her comfort.

Daniel entered the Widow’s Walk and went to the bar to settle on one of the stools.

“Hey, Daniel,” Alex greeted, then frowned.  “You look tired.”

“I am, a little.  Didn’t sleep well.  Have you heard anything from Doctor Watson about Angie?”

“The doctor came in both last night and just a little while ago for a tray of food for her.  Last night’s tray came back barely touched.  Doctor Watson hasn’t brought back the one from this morning yet.  She said that she thinks Angie got some sleep last night, but she can’t be certain.  I can tell that she’s as concerned as you are.”

“I wish I could see Angie, talk with her.”

“She doesn’t want to see you?”

“No, at least not yesterday.”

“Because you look like this Rollie.”

Daniel nodded.

“I can understand that.  If I’d just lost someone I loved, then saw somebody who looked like him, it would hurt a lot.”

“I know.  I would feel the same way.  But I’d still like to have the chance to help her.  If you’d seen the look on her face when she thought I was him, then when she realized I wasn’t. . . .”  Daniel shook his head.  “I just can’t stand by and let her slowly die.”

Alex reached over the bar and laid her hand over Daniel’s.  She smiled into his eyes.  “Sometimes, Daniel Cooper, you make me very proud.”

The minister smiled back at her, feeling warmth spread in his chest at her words.  She had yet to tell him she loved him, and the truth was that he had not yet come right out and said the words to her either, but he believed in his heart that she did feel that way toward him or was, at least, starting to feel that way.  As for him, he had no doubt that he was utterly in love with her.

Glancing around, Daniel stood up and leaned over the bar to press his lips lightly against Alex’s.  Surprised at what was their first public kiss, Alex returned it, enjoying the feeling it sent coursing through her.  All too soon, it ended.  She was tempted to grab hold of him and deepen the kiss, but she didn’t want to embarrass him.

Daniel smiled at the heightened color he saw on Alex’s face.  He’d wanted to keep right on kissing her, but this was not the place to let out the passion he’d been holding in check for the past few months.  That was something that would happen when they were very much alone.  How soon he didn’t know.  He was a little afraid to let it out, afraid that things would progress far too quickly.  He’d never had such a hard time putting a rein on his desires as a man before, not even with Kate.  Of course, there had been Stella, but since he’d been drunk at the time and really didn’t remember much of his one night with her, he tended not to count that.

Daniel cleared his throat and ordered breakfast, pushing those thoughts out of his head.  He was just starting his meal when Doctor Watson came in with a tray of food.  It looked like not much had been eaten off it.

“How’s Angie doing?” the minister asked.

The doctor sighed.  “Not so well.  I can’t get her to eat more than a few bites, and I know that she’s not getting nearly as much sleep as she needs.  I may have no choice but to give her something to help her sleep and hook her up to an IV.  She’s got to start getting some nutrition in her body before her organs begin failing.  It’s clear that she’s already lost a lot of muscle mass.  Her body is feeding off itself in an attempt to stay alive.”

The dire news made Daniel’s appetite flee.  “Have you asked her again if she’ll see me?”

“No, not yet.”

“Would you mind if I go over there with you now?”

“No, not at all, but I can’t guarantee that it will do any good.  Her emotional state is extremely fragile, and I suspect that she’ll still refuse to see you.”

“I’d like to try anyway.”

Telling Alex he’d be back later, Daniel followed the doctor over to the clinic.  Lily left him in the waiting room and went into Angie’s room.  She was staring out the window, her eyes sad and distant.

“Angie, Daniel’s back.  He’d still very much like to see you.  Perhaps you should talk to him.  He’s a good man and a very good listener.”

Angie shook her head, not looking away from the window.  “No, I don’t want to see him.  Please tell him thank you, though.”

Heaving a silent sigh, Doctor Watson returned to the waiting room.  “I’m sorry, Daniel.  She still doesn’t want to see you.”

Hiding his disappointment, Daniel nodded.  “Okay.”  He turned, then stopped.  He couldn’t just walk away.  He had to do something, even if it meant baring a personal pain.  Turning back, he said, “Could you tell Angie something for me?”

“Certainly,” Lily replied, seeing an expression of both nervousness and sadness on the minister’s face.

“Please tell her that I understand what she’s going though, that I know what it’s like to lose someone, how the grief can consume you.  Tell her that she’s not alone, that, no matter how much she may feel like she is, there’s someone out there who loves her.  Tell her that . . . that Rollie loves her and is watching over her.”

Lily nodded silently, recognizing the truth in Daniel’s words.  As the minister left, she went back into Angie’s room.

“He understands your decision, Angie.  He asked me to tell you something, though.”  Lily repeated Daniel’s words, watching tears flood into Angie’s eyes.  The woman closed her eyes and turned away, her breath hitching in her lungs.  Knowing that Angie would prefer to be alone, the doctor headed toward the door.

“Wait,” said a small, trembling voice.

Doctor Watson turned back to her patient.

“I . . . I’ve changed my mind.  Could you . . . could you ask the reverend to come see me?”

“Of course,” the doctor said, careful to keep her voice neutral.  She left the room and hurried outside.  She saw Daniel in the distance and called out to him.  He turned at the sound of her voice.  Seeing the doctor beckoning him, he hurriedly returned to the clinic.

“She wants to see you,” the doctor said.

“That’s great,” the minister responded, smiling in relief.

“Take it slowly, Daniel.  If she shows signs of strain, it would be best if you left and came back later.”

“I will.”

In her room, Angie heard the approaching footsteps of a man.  She suddenly began panicking, thinking that this wasn’t a good idea after all.  But it was too late to stop it now.  She took a few deep breaths and clutched at the bedcovers, bracing herself as well as she could.  There was a soft knock on the door, and the minister walked in.  As prepared as she was, the sight of his face still hit Angie with the force of a semi.

“Oh, God,” she whispered, her voice catching on a choked gasp.  Her eyes slammed shut.

Daniel saw Angie’s face pale, an expression of terrible anguish reflected there.  “I’m sorry.  I think I’d better leave,” he said, distressed that he had caused her more pain.

“No.  No, don’t.  Please just . . . just give me a minute,” Angie responded, her eyes remaining closed.  She took a long, shaky breath and slowly opened her eyes.  Again, she looked upon the man who looked so much like Rollie he could be his twin brother.  She forced herself to study his face thoroughly.  The shorter hair made a difference in his appearance, but the resemblance was still uncanny.  Yet, now that she was really looking at him, she could see another difference, something in his eyes that only those who had really known Rollie would notice.  Something about this man led her to believe that he had not seen as much of the dark side of human nature as Rollie had.   He looked less . . . scarred by life.  Right now, though, the man’s eyes were filled with deep concern and compassion.

“I’m okay now,” she assured him.

Tentatively, the minister came all the way up to the bed.  “We haven’t really been introduced.  I’m Reverend Daniel Cooper.”

“Angie Ramirez.”

“I’m so sorry if I caused you distress.”

“It’s not your fault.  You just look so much like him.”

“Um . . . may I ask who Rollie is?”

Angie’s gaze fell to the bedspread.  “He was . . . he was my best friend, my work partner, the man I. . . .”  Angie halted, her voice losing strength.  How could she tell this stranger all that Rollie had meant to her?  No one could truly understand how vital he’d been to her, how he had been like the air she breathed, how she had never really known how much she needed him until after he was gone.

There was a long silence.  It was broken by Daniel’s gentle voice.  “A little over a year ago, I lost the woman I loved in a car accident.  It almost destroyed me.”

Angie lifted her eyes to the minister’s and saw an old pain there.  Seeing it made her feel a connection to him.  Maybe he did understand in some way what she was going through.  That thought made Angie want to open up to him, something she had been unable to do with anyone since Rollie died.

“Rollie was like the only family I had,” she began haltingly.  “I’d known him since I was eleven years old.  He worked for my dad as his apprentice in the special effects business.  After Dad died when I was eighteen, Rollie was there to look after me.  I went to work for him after college, and we’d never been apart for more than a few days since then.  He was. . . .”  Angie’s eyes filled up again.  “He was everything to me.  I loved him.  I loved him so much, and I . . . I never even told him.  He never knew.”  She looked up at the minister.  “Why didn’t I ever tell him?  Why?”

Daniel reached out and laid his hand over Angie’s, his throat tightening.  “I’m sure he knew that you loved him, Angie.”

Angie shook her head.  “No.  He knew that I loved him like a friend, but he didn’t know I loved him like . . . like that.  I was always afraid to tell him.  And, now, I’ll never be able to.  I’ll never know if, maybe, he loved me like that, too.”  Angie’s voice broke on another sob, the hot tears falling harder.

Daniel sat on the bed beside her, gathering her into his arms.  She clung to him, crying deeply, whispering Rollie’s name.

Angie held onto Daniel tightly.  He felt so much like Rollie that she could almost pretend it was him, that everything that had happened in the last three months had just been a horrible dream.  But she knew that he wasn’t Rollie, that he was just some stranger, a mere reflection of the man she wanted so desperately and could never have.

“I keep remembering our last conversation,” Angie continued.  “It was so stupid, so meaningless.  If I had known . . . if I had known he would never come back, I’d have told him so much.  I’d have told him I loved him and wanted to be with him forever.  I’d have gone with him so I could be.”

Daniel experienced something like a physical pain in his chest, remembering similar thoughts he’d had when he received word that Kate was dead.

“I had an argument with Kate before she left,” he said in a low voice.  “She wanted something that I couldn’t give at the time.  When I found out that she’d been killed, I blamed myself for it, thinking that if I’d only said yes, if I’d only been stronger, she’d still be alive.”

Angie heard the heartfelt words and clung to Daniel more tightly, feeling her heart open to him more.  Both Leo and Lucinda had tried to reach her, to get her to talk to them about what she was feeling, but it wasn’t until now, here in the arms of a stranger, that she felt like she needed to let the grief out to someone.  And so she did, telling Daniel how her heart had shattered when she got the word that Rollie was dead, how every day since then had been a never-ending spiral downward into a black pit of despair, how every night that she actually did sleep was filled with nightmares of him, of having him in her arms then seeing him ripped away to be consumed by fire.  Daniel listened to it all, his face wet with tears, recognizing that Angie had felt a love for Rollie the likes of which few people ever experienced.

Finally, Angie’s words faded to a halt.  After a silent minute, she pulled back.  Daniel let her go, resuming his hold on her hands.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

Angie nodded, not yet trusting her voice.  She saw the wetness on the minister’s face and felt gratitude that he empathized so deeply with her.

“Do you feel up to telling me what happened to Rollie or would you rather get some rest?” he asked.

Angie paused, thinking about it.  “I . . . I think I’d like to keep talking,” she finally decided.

“Okay.”

Angie took a deep, steadying breath.  “For a long time, Rollie had been helping the police, using his skills in makeup, special effects, electronics and more to help them solve cases.  He had friends in the department, particularly two, Leo McCarthy and Francis Gatti.  Because of the help he gave the cops, he made a lot of enemies.”  Angie stopped for a moment, mentally preparing herself for what she would say next.  “Three months ago, someone put a . . . a bomb in his car.  He was . . . killed.  They never found out who did it.”

Daniel felt a sharp stab of sympathy for Angie.  It was bad enough to lose someone in an accident, but to lose someone through an act of murder would be doubly hard, particularly when the guilty party was never caught.

“Angie, I’m so sorry.  I can only imagine what that must have been like for you.”  He paused, hesitant to bring up something Angie had said earlier when she thought he was Rollie.  But he decided that it might be best for her if she opened up completely to him.

“When you first saw me and thought I was Rollie, you said something about the Witness Protection Program.  If you know Rollie’s dead, why would you think he’s a protected witness?”

Angie’s eyes returned to the bedcovers.  “I’m sorry I did that, that I mistook you for Rollie.  You just look so much like him that I lost my senses.  I guess some part of me still can’t believe that he’s gone.  But he is.  The dental records confirmed that the . . . the body in the car was Rollie’s.  He isn’t going to miraculously come back to me.”  She reached for the wallet sitting on the bedside table and pulled out a photo.  She gazed at the picture for a long time, then handed it to Daniel.  “This is Rollie.”

The minister looked at the picture, unable to hold back a gasp.  It was like looking at a picture of himself, only with longer hair.  The resemblance was unbelievable, terrifying even.  Staring at the photo, Daniel felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

“Now you see why I thought you were him,” Angie said.

Daniel nodded, unable to take his eyes off the photo.  “How old was he?”

“Thirty-four.”

At her answer, a tightness began building in Daniel’s chest.  His eyes met Angie’s intently.  “What was his birth date?”

“July 28th.”

Daniel’s eyes closed, the tightness in his chest blossoming into pain.  “Oh dear lord,” he whispered.

“What?  What is it?”

The minister’s eyes opened to look at her.  “Angie, I was born on July 28th, too, in the same year.”

Angie’s eyes widened as the realization of what that meant struck her.  “Oh my God.  You’re his brother.”

CHAPTER THREE

Daniel leapt to his feet and strode away to the window, desperately trying to maintain control over the emotions that were suddenly threatening to overwhelm him.  He stood silently looking out beyond the glass for several seconds before speaking.  “I’ve known since I was quite young that I was adopted.  Mom couldn’t have children of her own.  They adopted me as a baby through a private adoption agency.  There were times when I thought about trying to find out who my natural parents were, but I decided against it.  I didn't want to hurt Mom and Dad.  I considered the possibility that I might have siblings, but I never imagined that I might have a twin brother.”  A twin whom he would never meet.

Daniel suddenly felt grief over the loss of a sibling hit him, though it was a sibling he’d never had a chance to know.  Now, the dreams he’d had in the past made sense, dreams of seeing himself reflected in a mirror, reflections that were him but also not him.  Some part of his soul must have known that there was another out there, someone who was connected to him in a way more profound than any other family connection.  He’d had a twin brother, and, now, that twin was dead.  He would never get to meet him.

Daniel felt a hand touch his arm.  He looked through tear-blurred eyes down at Angie, who was gazing up at him in shared pain.  She put her arms around his waist.  Gathering her against him, Daniel let his tears fall, feeling Angie’s own tears wet his shirt.

“Tell me about him,” he whispered.

“His name was Roland Nathaniel Tyler, Rollie to everyone who knew him.  He was . . . he was the bravest, strongest, most brilliant and caring man I ever knew,” Angie murmured.  “He would do anything to help others, go to any lengths, especially for a friend.  Sometimes, he was so much like a little boy playing with his toys, but, other times, he was like . . . like a white knight riding to the rescue.  When it came to special effects, there was almost nothing he couldn’t do.  He was a genius.  But he never flaunted it.  I don’t think he ever truly realized how brilliant he was.  He had a lot of deep scars, ones that never completely healed.  His mother died when he was eleven under terrible circumstances, and he never completely recovered from it.”

Daniel felt another stab of pain at the news that his birth mother was dead.  “What about his father?”

“Dingo.  He’s still alive.  I can’t say he’s much of a father, though.  He was rarely around as Rollie was growing up, and since I’ve known Rollie, Dingo’s only come to see him three times, and he was always in trouble when he did.  He wasn’t at the funeral.  He probably doesn’t even know that Rollie’s dead.”

The similarity to his relationship with his own adoptive father was not lost on Daniel.  If only they’d had a chance to know each other, maybe he and Rollie could have given each other some comfort over the failings of their fathers.

“Rollie was born in Australia and lived there until he was fourteen,” Angie told him.  “He and Dingo then came here.  Rollie just about grew up with the Aborigines.  They were like a family to him, especially one man named Mangela.  I always wondered why Mangela didn’t come to the funeral.  He must have known that Rollie was dead.  They shared a . . . a very unique bond, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  Rollie always knew when Mangela was nearby, and the same was true for Mangela.  I often suspected that there was even more to it than that.”  Angie paused a moment.  “Rollie had a special gift.  When he was a child, he had a vision, something the Aborigines call a Dreaming.  A few years ago, the vision came true.  Then, a couple of years ago, Rollie started having visions again.  Because of them, we were able to stop an old enemy that was seeking revenge against us.  Rollie hated having that ability, hated seeing things he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop, especially since he had no control over it.  He was planning on seeking some kind of training, something to help him control it, but . . . he never got the chance.”  Angie swallowed the lump in her throat, wiping away a stray tear.  “I think . . . I think he may have had a vision about his own death.  For several days prior to the bombing, he occasionally acted ill at ease, though he tried to hide it.  I asked him what the problem was, and he said that it was nothing to worry about.”  Her voice lowered to a whisper.  “I wish he’d told me.  Maybe if he had, we could have stopped it from happening.”

“Don’t, Angie.  Don’t fill your life with regrets and what ifs.  I did that with Kate, thinking about what I could have done differently to prevent what happened.  We can’t live like that.  We have to go on, accept what happened and let ourselves heal.”  He sighed sadly.  “I wish . . . I wish, though, that I could have known him.”

Angie curled her hand around Daniel’s.  “You would have liked him, and he would have liked you.  I think that you two were much alike in many ways.”

“And very different in many others,” the minister murmured.

“How so?”

“Well, let’s just say that, when it comes to technology, I’m a dunce.  Until around a year ago, I’d never even touched a computer.  I wouldn’t have had a prayer of doing what Rollie did.”

Angie smiled faintly, thinking about how interesting it was that twin brothers could be so different in some ways.  Her smile then faded.  Rollie would have loved knowing he had a brother.  Maybe it would have eased the loneliness she knew he’d felt over his mother’s death and Dingo’s absence from his life.  She wondered how it was that he’d had a twin and not known it.  How could Dingo not have known that he had another son?  Or had Dingo known and just never shared that knowledge with the son he’d raised?  Why would Rollie’s parents give up one child and keep the other?  If she ever saw Dingo again, she would ask him . . . right after she finished slugging him for being a poor excuse for a father, such a poor excuse that he hadn’t even been there for his son’s funeral.

Angie put a halt to those thoughts, trying to give some measure of charity to the man.  She was sure that Dingo didn’t know of Rollie’s death.  If he had, he would surely have come as soon as he could.  Yet the fact remained that Dingo had never been there for Rollie, and, now, it was too late.  She had to wonder if Dingo would show any more interest in his other son, the one he’d had no part in raising at all.

Going back to her bed when her legs began to tremble from weakness, Angie talked some more about Rollie, sharing with Daniel some of their adventures, telling him about Rollie’s personality quirks, his likes and dislikes, the things he did for fun.  Daniel, in turn, told her some things about himself.  In doing so, she found out other ways in which he was unlike his brother, their eating habits for one.  Rollie could never have been accused of being into healthy food.  Then, too, was Daniel’s love for music and poetry.  She’d never seen Rollie with a musical instrument, and he’d probably have preferred death to reading poetry.  And then there was Daniel’s deep, abiding love for God and the Church.  Though Angie knew that Rollie had believed in a higher power, he’d never shown an interest in religion.

But, for every way that they were different, there were equal ways in which they were alike, most notably their love and compassion for their fellow man.  They had both chosen, in their own ways, to give aid where they could, and that, more than anything, showed Angie that not only did Rollie and Daniel share the same face and the same bloodlines, they had also shared the same heart.  They were even more of a reflection of each other than she had thought before.  How cruelly unfair life was that they would never have the chance to know each other.

Angie gave a soft, shuddery sigh.  “I think . . . I think that maybe I should get some sleep,” she said, feeling a deep weariness wash over her.  How long had it been since she’d slept more than two hours in a night?  She couldn’t remember.  But she now felt like she could actually sleep without nightmares.  Knowing that there was someone in the world who was like a living part of Rollie seemed to have eased her grief a tiny bit.

“Of course.  You sleep as long as you like,” Daniel said, pleased that she was going to try to rest.  He moved to rise, but was stopped by the tightening of Angie’s grip on his hand.

“Could you . . . could you stay with me until I fall asleep?” she asked, so much like a small child that Daniel had to fight back the tears.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to, sweetie,” he murmured.

Angie’s eyes, which had been just starting to drift shut, snapped open.  She stared at him in shock.  “Why did you call me that?”

“Call you what?”  Daniel then realized that he’d addressed her by an endearment.  He blushed.  “I . . . I don’t know.  It just came out.  I apologize.”

“Rollie used to call me that.  He was the only one who did.”

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“No, it’s all right.  It’s okay if you call me that, too.  I think Rollie would like it.”

Daniel smiled down at her.  “Okay, I will.”

Angie scooted down until she was laying flat on the bed.  Pausing only a second, Daniel bent over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “Get some sleep, sweetie,” he whispered, feeling an odd sensation when he did.

Angie’s lips curled into a smile.  A moment later, she was asleep, the smile still on her face.  Daniel watched her for a long time, feeling something stirring in his heart that he’d never experienced before, a fierce protectiveness coupled with a love like a man would have toward a sister.  He had no proof to back his hunch, but he believed in his heart that his brother had loved this woman just as she had loved him, and it was now up to him to watch out for her and make sure she was going to be okay.

Daniel lifted his gaze toward the heavens.  ‘I feel in my heart that you can hear me, Rollie, and I want you to know that I’ll take care of her the best that I can for as long as I live,’ he silently vowed.  ‘I wish so much that I could have had the joy and privilege of knowing you, but I know that, someday, we will meet in God’s kingdom.  Rest easy, Brother.  Angie’s going to be all right.’

Rising to his feet, Daniel quietly left the room.  Doctor Watson studied his face closely as he approached her, not missing the signs that he’d been crying.

“What happened?  Is she all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think that she’s going to be just fine.  She’s asleep now, and I’m pretty sure that she’ll be sleeping for a while.”

The doctor shook her head.  “You continually amaze me, Daniel.  I’d say you pulled another rabbit out of your hat with this one.”

Daniel shook his head.  “I can’t claim credit for this, Doctor.  What happened in there was as life-changing for me as it was for Angie.  I can only say that God’s power and mercy are wonderful things.  He’s blessed both Angie and me by bringing her here.”

Lily frowned in confusion.  “What do you mean?”

“I’ll tell you later, or maybe Angie will give you the news.  Right now, I need to be alone for a while.  I have a lot to think about.”

Daniel left the clinic and headed to the bay.  He found a quiet place on a low, rocky bluff and sat down to stare out across the water.  He didn’t know how long he’d been there when he heard someone come up behind him.  He knew it was Alex without turning to look at her.  She sat down beside him.

“I called the clinic a while ago, and the doctor told me what happened.”  Alex studied the minister’s face.  “Daniel, what’s wrong?”

The minister let out a soft, sorrowful sigh.  “He was my brother,” he murmured.

“What?”

“Rollie.  He was my twin brother.”

Shock stilled Alex’s tongue for a long moment.  She reached out and grabbed hold of Daniel’s hand.  “Oh, Daniel.  I’m so sorry.”

Daniel turned to her.  “I’d always wanted a brother.  Growing up, knowing that I was adopted, I sometimes wondered if I might have a brother or sister somewhere out in the world, but I never thought . . . I never dreamed that I had a twin.  An identical twin, Alex.  Someone created from the same egg as me, someone whose cells were twins to mine, someone who had my hair, my eyes, my face, my . . . everything.  And I’ll never get to know him.  I’ll never get to hug him or tell him that I love him.”  The last words broke apart on a sob.

Alex pulled Daniel into her arms and held him as he wept broken-heartedly.  She was shocked and dismayed by the turn of events.  Daniel had already suffered too much pain in his life, and, now, this happens.  If there was a god, why was He putting Daniel, such a faithful and devout follower, though this torment?  She wished that Angie Ramirez had never come to Hope Island.  Daniel would be better off not knowing that he’d had and lost a brother.

It was a long while before Daniel quieted.  Embarrassed, he pulled away and wiped his face.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to fall apart on you like that.”

“Don’t apologize, Daniel.  I’m glad that you feel as if you can share your pain with me.  I just wish that you hadn’t had to suffer it.  It would have been better if Angie hadn’t come here.”

Daniel shook his head emphatically.  “No.  I’m glad she came.  I’m glad that I know about Rollie, that I’ve had the chance to meet the woman he loved.  I hope she decides to stay here.”

Alex felt jealously rear its ugly head.  Though she tried to hide it, Daniel apparently saw something.  A smile curled his lips.  “There’s no reason for that, you know,” he told her gently.  “I told you on that night three and a half months ago that I’d given my heart away to you.  It still belongs to you, Alex, and it always will.  What I’m feeling for Angie is . . . I think it’s like what someone would feel for a sister.  She needs me, Alex, and I need to be there for her.  Can you understand that?”

Alex gazed deeply into Daniel’s eyes, seeing his earnestness and need for her understanding.  She felt her jealousy melt away to nothing.  Giving him a smile, she nodded.  He gave her a tight hug, then pulled back to look at her, brushing his thumb over her cheek.

“You know, I just this moment realized that I never ate my breakfast.  You think that Boris might be able to whip something up for a famished minister?”

Alex’s smile became a grin.  “I’d say that Boris would be delighted to.”

The couple got up and headed, arm in arm, into town.

Angie awoke to the unaccustomed feeling of being well rested.  She was also experiencing another sensation that she hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever: hunger.  She got up out of bed and tottered weakly into Doctor Watson’s office.

“Hi,” she said, feeling almost shy.

“Hello, Angie.  How do you feel?”

“Better.  I don’t feel so tired anymore.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.  You slept for nine hours straight.”

“I did?  Wow.”  Angie bit her lip.  “Um, I was wondering if I could get something to eat.”

A big smile lit the doctor’s face.  “Of course you can.  I’ll call the Widow’s Walk and see if someone can bring over a tray.  What would you like?”

“Uh, maybe some eggs and toast and, um, some bacon, too.  Orange juice would be nice, and hot tea.  Oh, unless they don’t fix breakfast this late in the day.  I can have a sandwich or something instead.”

“No, I’m sure that there will be no problem getting breakfast.  Let me take care of it.  However, I think it might be a good idea to hold off on the bacon.  Your stomach needs to get used to food again.  Something heavy and greasy might make you sick.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  I didn’t think about that.  You’re right.  But what about the eggs?”

“I think they’ll be okay as long as you eat them slowly.  How would you like them fixed?”

“Scrambled?”

“Done.”

“I’ll go back to my room and get dressed, though I hate to put back on those dirty clothes.  Do you think that some of my stuff could be brought over here from the inn?”

“Certainly.  I’ll have Alex bring your luggage.”

Lily watched Angie return to her room, rejoicing inside.  The difference in her patient was amazing.  It was clear that Daniel had given her back the will to live.  She’d dearly love to know how he had done it.  If Angie kept improving like this, it would be safe for her to return to her room at the Widow’s Walk tomorrow or the next day, though she would need to be watched for several days yet since it would be quite some time before her strength and health returned to even a fraction of what they should be.  In fact, it could be weeks or even months before Angie was back to full health.  And to get there, she would have to start exercising, build back up the muscle and stamina she’d lost.  But that was something that she could discuss with Angie later.  Right now, food and lots of sleep were the things she needed the most.

Lily put in the call to the Widow’s Walk.  As luck would have it, Daniel was there and told her he’d deliver the food himself.  A while later, he came in bearing a tray laden with enough food to feed two starving lumberjacks.  The doctor started to laugh.

“Daniel, you can’t possibly expect her to eat all that!”

The minister smiled sheepishly.  “Don’t blame me.  When Boris found out that Angie was requesting food, he went a little overboard.”  The big Russian had found out a little of Angie’s story after getting back two trays full of food that had barely been touched and had apparently decided that it was his personal obligation to “put some fat on too skinny girl.”  Trying to tell him that Angie couldn’t possibly eat that much food had been about as fruitless as trying to get a sitting mule to stand up when it didn’t want to.

“A little overboard?” Lily repeated, chuckling.  She waved Daniel on into the room.

When Angie caught sight of the mound of food on the tray, her eyes got as round as saucers.  “Is there a football team in here I don’t know about?” she asked.

A big grin that was so much like Rollie’s it made her heart ache beamed across his face.  “Complements of Boris Obolenski, Love,” he said, laughing.

Angie’s sharp gasp and the loss of color in her face immediately sent concern washing though the minister.  He hurriedly set down the tray and went to her.  “What’s wrong?”

“You. . . .  Rollie. . . .  He used to call me that, too.  And you almost sounded just like him.  Even a little bit the accent was there.”

Daniel took hold of her hands.  “Angie, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you.  I don’t know why I said that.  It just popped out.  I swear I won’t say it again.”

“It’s all right, Daniel.  It was . . . well, it was just so weird.  It gave me a chill, like Rollie was reaching out from the grave or something.”  Trying to shake off her mood, she looked over at the tray.  “So, is that impossibly big pile of food supposed to be all for me?”

Daniel forced a smile back on his face.  “I’m afraid so.  Boris seems to think that everyone can eat like him.”

“And just how big is this Boris?”

“Well, as he once told us, he was that close to being a cosmonaut, but he couldn’t fit into the suit.”

Angie grinned, feeling her good mood return.  “Well, I guess you’d better give it to me, then.”

His own smile losing its strained look, Daniel fetched the tray and placed it on her lap.  He watched as Angie dug into the food.  Though she was clearly hungry, it didn’t take long before she was full.

“I hardly ate a thing!” she exclaimed.  “I never had a big appetite, but it used to be a lot bigger than that.”

“It’s understandable, Angie.  You’ve been starving yourself for so long that it’s going to take quite a while before your appetite’s back to normal.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.  But what about the rest of this food?  Won’t Boris be upset?”

Daniel grinned mischievously.  He went out for a moment and came back in with a plastic trash bag.  He then scooped a portion of the food into the bag.

“I happen to know a dog or two that will thank you immensely for the treat,” he told her.

“Why not give it all to them?”

“Because Boris would then think that you really could eat that amount of food and would keep on making that much.”

“Ah, good point.”  Her gaze ran over Daniel’s face, seeing the twinkle in his soft brown eyes, the beautiful smile that was still on his face.  It made her love for Rollie come back full force.  This minister was so very much like him, even more so than he’d seemed to be several hours ago.

Daniel saw the change in Angie’s expression, how it had turned melancholy.  He reached out and gave her had a squeeze.  “You okay?”

“Yeah.  I was just thinking about him.”

“It’s okay to think about him, Angie.  It’s okay to grieve.  I grieved for a long time for Kate.  I still do, to some extent.  But finding Alex has made so much of a difference in my life, and I know that you’ll find someone too someday.”

“Alex?  The lady who runs the Widow’s Walk?”

“Yeah.  We’ve had an . . . interesting relationship from the moment we met.  We’ve been dating the last few months, and it’s been great.”

Angie recognized the signs of love on Daniel’s face as only one who’d known love could.  “You love her.”

“Yeah.  Yeah, I do,” Daniel replied quietly, not feeling the least bit embarrassed about telling this person he’d only just met yesterday.

“Have you told her yet?”

“Um, no, not in so many words.”

Angie grabbed hold of Daniel’s hands with surprising strength.  She looked with shocking intensity into his eyes.  “Tell her, Daniel.  Tell her as soon as you get the chance.  Don’t wait until it’s too late, like I did.  You never know when the ones you love will be taken from you.  For the rest of my life I’ll regret that I never said those three words to Rollie.”

Daniel’s throat tightened.  He pulled Angie into her arms and held her, feeling quiet sobs shake her frame.  Her crying stopped quickly, though, and she pulled back, reaching for a tissue to blot her eyes.  When she was finished, she returned her gaze to the minister’s face.

“Thank you, Daniel.  Thank you for being here for me.  It’s kind of strange.  I’ve only just met you, yet I feel as if I’ve known you all my life.”  She shrugged.  “Maybe it’s because I see so much of Rollie in you.”

“I feel the same way, Angie, and I can’t make the excuse that it’s because I’m Rollie’s brother.  Him being my brother shouldn’t make me feel like I’ve known you for years when I never even knew you existed before yesterday.”

Angie looked at him more closely.  “Maybe being his brother wouldn’t explain it, but being his twin might.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve done studies on twins, particularly twins who were separated at birth.  They found that the similarities between them were astounding.  When twins grow up together, they develop their own distinct personalities and tastes, but when they grow up apart, they often become like carbon copies of each other, even down to buying the same furniture for their homes.”

“But Rollie and I aren’t that much alike.  Our tastes and lifestyles are completely different.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but maybe there’s enough of Rollie in you that you’re feeling emotions for me like what Rollie felt when we first met.  We became very close surprisingly fast.  I was eleven and Rollie was eighteen, but that difference in our ages didn’t stop us from becoming close friends in a matter of days.  I loved him from the moment I saw him, and I think the same was true for Rollie, though his love wasn’t the same as mine.”  Angie smiled a little shyly.  “I had a huge crush on him back then.  He was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen, and that accent of his could make the heart of a stone statue go pitter-patter.”  Her smiled faded, turned wistful.  “I never stopped loving him like that, though my feelings went through a lot of changes over the years.  For a long time, I denied that I still loved him in that way.  He was Rollie, the guy who’d always been there, my friend slash big brother slash employer.  It wasn’t until he was almost killed by a man named Victor Loubar that I woke up to the fact that I was hopelessly in love with him.”

Angie remembered the day Loubar had held a gun to Rollie’s head, a second away from pulling the trigger.  Only the Aussie’s quick thinking and something he’d seen in one of his visions had saved him, resulting, instead, in Loubar’s death.  Afterwards, realizing how close she’d come to losing him, Angie had been hit like a ton of bricks by the realization that she loved Rollie in the way that a woman loves a man.  Yet, she had stayed silent, never telling him, her fear that he did not love her in the same way keeping the words from being spoken.  If only she’d found the courage.  She might have had two blessed years with him as her lover, maybe more.  Maybe Rollie would still be alive today if she’d only taken that step.

Daniel saw Angie’s expression turn sad again and decided that a change of subject was in order.  He started to tell Angie about his relationship with Alex, how the sparks of their first meetings had grown into a warm friendship, then a deep love.  Angie listened raptly, smiling at some of the stories Daniel told.  She was glad that he had Alex, glad that he’d found love again after the grief he suffered.  She would like to hope that, someday, she’d find someone new to love, but she truly didn’t believe that she ever would.  Rollie would forever have her heart.  He’d taken it with him to the grave.  But, at least, thanks to Daniel, she felt that she would be able to go on without him, that she could have a life again.  Ironically, Angie felt that, if she could ever have loved again, it would have been with this man before her, a man so much like Rollie that--  Angie quickly stopped that train of thought.  He wasn’t Rollie, and he never could be.  He was Daniel Cooper, a man with his own personality, likes, dislikes, lifestyle and past.  It was not healthy for her to see too much of Rollie in him.

After a while, Angie grew sleepy again.  Daniel told her to get some rest and said that Alex would bring her clothes and other things later.  Waiting until after she had fallen asleep, Daniel took the tray and trash bag and exited the room.  The doctor’s eyes grew wide when she saw how much food was missing from the tray.

“No, she didn’t eat that much.  The rest is in the bag.  We didn’t want to disappoint Boris.”

Lily smiled, nodding.  “I knew that she wouldn’t be able to eat a lot, not after starving herself for so long.  It’ll take time for her appetite to return fully.”  She looked at the minister closely.  “So, are you going to explain to me how you managed to work this magic on her?  She’s a different woman from the one you carried in just yesterday afternoon.”

Putting the tray and bag down, Daniel sat on the chair across the desk from the doctor and told her the amazing thing he’d learned and a little bit of how he and Angie had found comfort in each other.

Doctor Watson shook her head.  “What an incredible coincidence, that, of all the places in the world, she would come here.”

“I’m certain that it wasn’t a coincidence, Doctor Watson.  God wanted this to happen and made it so.”

“You may be right, Daniel.  It’s as close to a miracle as I’ve seen happen.  So, what about the future?”

“I don’t know.  I hope that Angie will decide to stay here permanently.  That may not be what she’ll want, but I hope that she will at least stay until she’s completely well again.”

A slight frown marred the doctor’s face.  “I just hope that. . . .”

“What?”

“Well, that Angie doesn’t end up fixating on you as a new Rollie.  It would not be good for her.”

“I don’t think that will happen.  She knows I’m not Rollie, that I only look like him because I’m his twin brother,” he said, trying to convince himself as much as the doctor.  Yet, the concern remained that it might happen.  Angie had loved Rollie so deeply that her subconscious might begin seeing Daniel as him in an attempt to erase the terrible grief that had been killing her.  The minister would have to keep a close eye on that, make sure that she kept a clear distinction between him and his brother.

The minister looked at his watch.  “I need to get going.  Angie’s asleep, and I bet she’ll be hungry again when she wakes up.  I’ll let Alex know that another tray of food will be required today.”

“Thanks for all your help, Daniel.  I’m not being facetious when I say that you’ve been a godsend.”

The minister flushed faintly.  “It was God who sent Angie to me, Doctor.”

After Daniel had left, Lily poked her head through the door to check up on Angie.  She was still fast asleep.  Closing the door silently, the doctor went back to her office, hoping that there were no more setbacks for her patient.

CHAPTER FOUR

Leo McCarthy stared unseeingly at the file before him.  For the fifth time, he read the same paragraph, still not absorbing what it said.  Finally, he slammed the folder down in frustration.  Frank looked up from his own pile of work, his dark eyes reflecting understanding.  Ever since the explosion that had taken Rollie’s life, he’d watched his partner go through all the stages of grief.  Above all, anger and guilt were the emotions that Leo had yet to work though, and Frank feared that they might never fully go away.  The only thing that would stop the rage that had become a constant part of Leo’s life was if they found the person responsible for Rollie’s murder and saw them punished for it.  As for the guilt, Frank didn’t know what would stop that.  Leo was silently crucifying himself for Rollie’s death, blaming himself for the Aussie being involved in something he never should have been a part of in the first place.

“I’m going out for some air,” Leo said.  He grabbed his suit coat and left the station.  He drove to Central Park, a place that he’d been spending a lot of time at lately.

Aimlessly, Leo wandered through the park, paying no attention to the mothers and their children, the joggers, bikers, homeless and others that populated the place.  He finally ended up at the lake and stood there on the bank, staring out over the water.

“Damn,” he whispered.  Yesterday, another possible lead in Rollie’s murder had turned out to be a false one.  Every lead, every rumor, every shred of evidence had led to nothing.  After three months they were no closer to figuring out who planted the bomb in Rollie’s car than they had been at the start.  And, now, the trail was growing cold.  The case had been officially taken off the active list.  Leo was working on it in his spare time now.  He knew that the captain was aware of what he was doing, but the man had said nothing, understanding the detective’s need to find the people responsible for his best friend’s death.  The fact that he had been allowed to be on the case at all proved that Marvin VanDuran was sympathetic to Leo’s pain.

Leo found a bench and sat down.  In searching for the people responsible for Rollie’s death, he knew that he need look no farther than himself for one of them.  Angie had told him that Rollie would still be alive if it wasn’t for him, and the detective knew she was right.  Time and again, Leo had drawn his friend into the dangerous world of police work, putting the civilian into situations that could get him killed, situations that earned him enemies he wouldn’t have had otherwise.  Not even once did Leo think about the fact that he had no right to do so, that Rollie should have been left alone to make movies and live a normal life.  He’d taken Rollie’s extraordinary talents and ability to help stop the bad guys for granted, looking upon him as a weapon against crime.  And this was the result.  Rollie’s life had been forfeited to Leo’s desire to see justice done.  It was his fault as surely as the person who had planted the bomb.

Leo rose tiredly from the bench and headed back to his car.  Across the street, he saw a bar, one of the taverns he’d been a frequent visitor to lately.  For a moment, he was tempted to go in, but he quelled the urge and got into his vehicle instead.  He’d do his drinking tonight, after work.  He’d drink until he couldn’t remember his name anymore, then he’d take a taxi home and fall into a tormented sleep, where visions of Rollie’s accusing eyes would haunt him.  The only thing was that the drinking was starting earlier and earlier each night.  Now, he often went straight from work to a bar.  So far, he’d managed to get a few blocks away from the station before beginning his bar hopping, but, sometimes, he had trouble doing even that.  Only his fear that he’d be caught by a fellow cop had kept him from going into one of the bars down the street from the station.  He didn’t want someone to think he had a “drinking problem” and report it to the captain.  He didn’t have a problem.  The booze was just the only thing that helped him live with the guilt.

Leo pulled up to the station.  He was climbing out of the car when his cell phone rang.  “McCarthy,” he said into the receiver.

“Hey, Leo.  It’s Angie.”

“Angie!  How are you?” the cop asked, surprised that she had called.  For every ounce of pain that he had felt over Rollie’s death, Angie had felt a pound.  He’d been watching her slowly die from the grief, helpless to do anything to stop her slide into oblivion.  Not even Lucinda had been able to help.  The actress had stayed with Angie for over a month, trying without success to lift the woman out of the pit of anguish she’d fallen into.  Luce had even considered moving back to New York to be with Angie, forsaking the career that she’d been building on the West Coast, but when Angie found out, she’d refused to let Lucinda do so, telling her that there was no reason for the actress to throw her life away on her.  Lucinda had tried to argue with her, but it had been useless.  And, so, the actress had left, checking up on Angie frequently, often through Leo.  Not wanting the woman to be too worried, Leo had not told her the full depth of his concern for Angie, the concern that, one day, she’d choose to end her life.

“I’m doing okay,” Angie replied, bringing Leo’s mind back to the present.

“So, how’s Hope Island?”

“It’s pretty.  Quiet.  Um. . . .”  There was a very long pause.  “Leo, something’s happened.”

“What?  What is it?” the cop asked, concerned and puzzled by the odd tone in Angie’s voice.

“I met someone here.  He. . . .  God, how do I tell you this?”

“Straight forward is usually the best approach,” Leo replied, even more worried.

“He’s Rollie’s brother, Leo.  Rollie has a twin brother.”

Utterly shocked, Leo just stared at nothing, his mouth hanging open.  “What?” he finally whispered hoarsely, sitting back down heavily on the car seat.

“When I saw him, I thought he was Rollie.  I really did.  He looks exactly like him.  Later, I thought he was just some lookalike, but we got to talking, and we found out that he and Rollie have the same birth date.  He was adopted, Leo.  Somehow, some way, Rollie had a twin brother who ended up being adopted by a family here in the States.  He’s a minister.  He’s been here on Hope Island for for not quite fifteen months.  My God, Leo.  He’s so much like Rollie.  I mean, he’s different in some ways, but . . . but when I see him, it’s like Rollie’s alive again.”  Angie’s voice quivered on the last words.

Still stunned, Leo asked, “What’s his name?”

“Daniel Cooper.”

“And he’s a reverend?”

“Yeah.  I hear that tone in your voice, Leo.  This is not a trick.  He’s really who he says he is.”

“Are you sure?” Leo asked, unable to curb his suspicions.  Victor Loubar had succeeded in impersonating Rollie.  What’s to say that someone else wasn’t using his face for some kind of plan.

“Yes, I’m sure.  I told you that he’s been here for over a year.  I asked Doctor Watson about him, and she said that he’s a great guy, really cares about the community and has been a big help to the people here.  He virtually rebuilt the church on his own.”

“Doctor Watson?”

“Oh.  Um, I fainted and was taken to the doctor.  Actually, it happened when I first saw Daniel.  I’m all right, though.”

“Angie, I’m going to check this guy out.  This sounds like way too much of a coincidence to me, and Rollie never mentioned anything about a twin brother.”

“He never knew, Leo.  I’m certain of it.  I don’t know how all this happened, but Rollie and Daniel were separated at birth, and they both grew up not knowing that they had a brother.”

“Nevertheless, I’d feel better if you didn’t put too much trust in this guy until I know more about him.  Can you tell me anything else to give me some clues?”

Angie sighed deeply.  “Not much.  He's from Southern California, went to college there.  He mentioned, though, that his family moved around a lot as he was growing up.  Something he said leads me to believe that his father's a minister, too.”  There was another pause.  “I have to go, Leo.  Daniel’s here.  I’ll talk to you later.”

Leo listened to the silence on the line after Angie had hung up, then pushed the button to end the call.  He strode into the station and straight to his desk.

“Frank, we need to dig up everything we can on a Daniel Cooper.”

“Who’s Daniel Cooper?  A suspect?”

“I hope not.”

“Huh?”  Frank stared at Leo, seeing for the first time in three months a spark of life in the man’s eyes.

“He’s the man who may be Rollie’s twin brother.”

“What?!” Frank exclaimed.

Leo recounted his conversation with Angie.

“Do you really think he’s Rollie’s brother?” Frank asked, amazed by the story.

“I don’t know, Francis.  I really don’t know.  But . . . I hope so.”

“Me too, Leo.  Me too.”

Angie smiled brightly as Daniel came walking in.  The minister returned the smile and sat down in the chair beside her.

“Hey there,” Angie greeted, letting her eyes take in all the details of his face.

“Hey there yourself.  So, how are you feeling today?”

“Much better, stronger.  I’m hardly tired at all now.”

“That is such great news, Angie.  I’m glad.  Have you eaten yet?”

“Yeah.  I had breakfast a little while ago.  Boris is still fixing me too much food, but I managed to eat more of it today.”

Daniel laughed softly.  He was delighted by the return of color to Angie’s cheeks.  “I talked with Doctor Watson.  She thinks that you’ll be well enough to go back to the Widow’s Walk by this afternoon.”

“That’s nice to hear.  I’m definitely ready to get out of here.”

“Yeah, but you need to take it easy, Angie.  You’re still pretty weak.  No doing gymnastics or anything like that.”

“Darn!  I guess the parallel bars are out then, huh,” Angie said, sighing dramatically.

“Afraid so, sweetie.”

Angie stared at him for a moment, still surprised by how naturally Daniel used the endearment that Rollie had adopted as his own.  She then mentally shrugged.  It’s not like ‘sweetie’ was an uncommon endearment.  Lots of people used it.  It was just a coincidence, that’s all.

“I was thinking that, once you’re feeling stronger, we could start going for walks, build your stamina back up.  Then, later, if you’re interested, we could go bike riding.  Dylan--that’s Alex’s son--and I ride often.  The three of us could go out and make a nice day of it.”  Daniel paused.  “Um, that’s if you stay for a while.  I imagine that you’ve got things to get back to in New York.”

Angie studied Daniel’s expression and realized that he was hoping she’d stay on the island for a while.  That realization made her smile inside.  It made her feel good that he wanted her to stay.

“No, I don’t have anything to rush back to.  Since Rollie’s been . . . gone, I haven’t had the will to keep the FX business going.  I just don’t think I’d be able to do it without him.  It wouldn’t mean anything to me anymore.  I’ll probably just end up doing some computer graphics or something.”

“If you haven’t been working, how are you getting by?”

“Thanks to Rollie’s generosity, I had quite a bit saved up.  There’s also what’s in the business account, which is a pretty fair amount.  And Rollie made me the beneficiary of his will, which gave me almost everything he owned.  I. . . .”  She sighed.  “I don’t know if I could get myself to use any of that, though.”

“Why not?” Daniel asked gently.

“Because it would . . . make things so final, so absolute.  As long as I leave those things that belonged to Rollie untouched, it’s like he’s still there.”

Daniel took hold of her hands.  “Angie, there’s going to come a time when you’ll have to let go of him.  You can’t live the rest of your life waiting for Rollie to come back to life and walk in the door.”

Angie wiped the new wetness from her face.  “I know.  I’m just not ready yet.”

Daniel brushed away a tear Angie had missed.  “Have you ever considered moving out of New York, making a fresh start?”

Angie thought about Daniel’s question.  Before she came to Hope Island, she would have said no.  She’d have wanted to cling to the things that reminded her of Rollie, the loft, the van, the city where they’d spent the last sixteen years together.  But now. . . .  Looking at Daniel, she realized that she wanted to be close to him, close to the man who was like a living piece of Rollie.  She didn’t want to go back to New York and see him only on occasional visits.  She wanted to see him every day.  But could she really live here?  It was so different from what she was used to.  What would she do for a living?  She was pretty sure that there wasn’t much need for a graphic artist or CGI expert on this little island.  She could do work for clients in Seattle, but it was doubtful that anything faster than a dial-up connection was available on the island.  That would be a hindrance to transferring files.

Angie grew thoughtful.  Maybe it was time to make a complete break, start an entirely new life.  She could go back to school, learn new skills.  Teaching was out of the question.  She didn’t have the patience for it.  But there had to be something she could do.

“I don’t know,” she finally replied.  “Maybe . . . maybe that would be the best thing, start a new life.”

“Well, if you ever decide that’s what you’d like to do, I want you to know that you’ll always have a home here, Angie,” Daniel told her quietly.

Angie gazed into Daniel’s eyes, seeing the gentle earnestness there.  It made her feel warm and loved.  Wrapping her arms around his waist, she held him close, feeling him rest his chin on her hair.

“I don’t know what I would have done without you, Daniel,” she whispered.  “I really don’t think I would have made it.”

The minister’s arms tightened around her.  “We’ll never have to know, Angie.  God brought you here so that we could find each other.  It was meant to be.”

“I want to believe that.  I really do.  I want to believe that Rollie had a part in this too, that he can see us and is happy.”

“He can, Angie.  I know it.  And I know that he’s glad.  And I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he did have a hand in getting us together.  It sounds like just the kind of thing he’d do.”

“Yeah, it is.  He’d be grinning right now, pleased at how well his plan worked.”

Daniel gave her a final squeeze then released her.  “You know, I never asked you how long your vacation was.”

“No set time, really.  I had planned on staying around a week, but, what with everything that’s happened, I’ll be extending that.  Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I’d be up to that long flight.”

“So, do you need to call anyone, let them know you’re staying longer?”

“Only Lucinda and Leo.”  That reminded Angie of her earlier conversation with Leo. Guilt over the cop’s plans to investigate Daniel abruptly assailed her, and she realized that she needed to tell the minister.  “Um . . . Daniel, there’s something I need to tell you.  I called Leo McCarthy this morning.  Rollie was his best friend, and I felt that I had to tell him about you.  But, uh, well, he’s a cop, and he can be pretty suspicious at times, and. . . .”  Angie’s voice trailed off as she sought for the right words.

“He’s having me investigated, isn’t he,” Daniel guessed, his voice tense.

“Yeah.  I’m sorry, Daniel.  I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he worries about me.  He just wants to be sure.”

“I see.”  Daniel sighed.  “Angie, there are some things I didn’t tell you about myself, things that your friend is going to find out when his does his investigation.”

“What things?”

“My father is a very well known man.  His name’s Cliff Cooper.  He’s a televangelist.”

Ange nodded.  “I’ve heard of him.”

“My father and I . . . well, let’s just say that we haven’t had a close relationship.  Growing up, I didn’t see much of him.  He was usually off preaching somewhere or taking care of other church business.  By the time I reached adulthood, my feelings for him were pretty mixed up.  When I got involved with Kate, a big problem developed.  You see, she was Catholic, and my father was adamant that he didn’t want me romantically involved with someone of a different faith.  I wanted to please my father, but I also loved Kate and wanted to be with her.  I found that I couldn’t choose between the two of them.  As our relationship continued to grow, Dad’s objections became more vociferous.  He refused to condone it.  I kept telling Kate that he’d come around, that it was only a matter of time.  Finally, she asked that I make a choice.  She pleaded with me to go away with her, start a new life out from under my father’s shadow.  I . . . couldn’t.  I couldn’t break with him.  So . . . she left without me.  She was killed in a car accident on the way to Florida.”

“Oh, Daniel.  I’m so sorry,” Angie said, covering his hands with hers.

“I was devastated.  I blamed both myself and my father.  I completely lost control.  After the funeral, I hopped on the first plane out of town.  It turned out to be going to Las Vegas.  There I . . . well, I guess you could say that I went on the biggest of all benders.  I blew thousands of dollars of Dad’s money on the tables, all the while drinking myself into oblivion.  Then one morning. . . .”

“What?  What happened?” Angie asked, worried that something awful had happened to him.

“I woke up to find myself married to a Vegas showgirl named Stella.”

“You married somebody while you were drunk?” Angie asked, shocked and slightly amused.

“Yeah.  It’s kind of funny when you think about it now, but, believe me, it was anything but funny at the time, especially when the press started hunting us down.  They’d heard about my little gambling spree and about the showgirl that had been hanging on my arm a good deal of the time.  If they’d gotten hold of us, they’d have found out about the marriage, too, but, fortunately, Dad’s people had tracked us down and got us away before the press could find us.  I was taken back home to what was not a warm welcome.  You see, my dad being the public figure that he is, something like this would cause a lot of problems for him.  It was bad enough with what the press already knew, but if they found out that Stella and I actually got married, it would be a catastrophe.”

“And you’re afraid that, if Leo goes nosing around, some reporter’s going to catch wind of it, and everything will come out.”

Daniel nodded.  “I don’t want my father to get hurt.  After so many years, we’re finally starting to build a relationship, but if news of the marriage gets out, it could destroy everything.”

“Don’t worry, Daniel.  I won’t let that happen.  I’ll call Leo and tell him to stop the investigation.”

“He’ll wonder why, Angie.”

“I don’t care.  I won’t let you get hurt.”

After a moment’s thought, Daniel came to a decision.  “You could tell him what I just told you.”

“Are you sure?  It’s a pretty private thing, and you don’t even know Leo.”

“He’s going to find out most of it anyway if he investigates.  It would be better to go ahead and tell him.  Then he can be more . . . discreet in his investigation, if he wants to continue it.”

“All right.  I’ll call him now.”

Angie dialed the number, and the detective answered.  She could hear the sound of people talking in the background.

“Hi, Leo.  Is this a good time to talk or should I call back later?”

“No, it’s fine.  Let me get away from this crowd, though.”  There was a pause of a few seconds, things growing quieter.  “Okay, go ahead.”

“Now, don’t get mad, but I told Daniel about your plans to investigate him.”

“Angie, that was not a smart thing to do.  What if he’s not who he says he is?  You could have put your life at risk doing that.”

“Leo, I’ve spent a lot of hours getting to know him.  He really is who he says he is.  I have zero doubt of that.  He has some concerns about the investigation, though.  There are some . . . private things in his past that he doesn’t want made public because they could hurt his father.”

“What sort of things?” Leo asked suspiciously.

Angie sighed.  She really didn’t want to tell Leo the personal things that Daniel had revealed to her, even though he’d given her permission.  She felt like she’d be sharing a confidence.  “Hold on a sec, Leo.”  Angie covered the mouthpiece.  “Would you like to talk to him yourself?” she asked the minister.

Daniel hesitated.  “Um, yeah, I guess I could.  Maybe he’d feel better if he got to talk to me himself.”

“Okay.”  Angie put the phone back up to her face.  “Leo?  Daniel’s here with me.  I’m going to let him tell you himself.”

Nervously, Daniel took the phone from Angie.  “Hello, Detective McCarthy.”

Leo, who’d been preparing to grill this man who claimed to be Rollie’s brother, stilled in surprise.  Even without the Australian accent, he recognized that voice instantly.  It was Rollie’s.  He’d heard the Aussie fake an American accent plenty of times, and what he’d heard just then was exactly likewhat he’d heard on some of those occasions.

“Hello . . . Reverend Cooper.”

“Angie’s told me that you’re worried about some things, that you want to make sure I’m who I said I was.  I can understand that.  I guess it was quite a shock when she told you about me.  I know it was a shock to me when I found out I had a twin brother.  But I want you to know that you don’t have to worry.  I am Daniel Cooper, and I’ll answer any questions you may have.  If, afterwards, you still want to investigate me, I won’t object.  I only ask that you be discreet about it.”

Leo paused again, surprised by the man’s complete willingness to cooperate.  “Okay, it’s a deal,” he said.  He got out his notepad.  “First off, what are your parents’ names?”

“My father is the Reverend Cliff Cooper.  My mother’s--”

“Whoa.  Hold it,” Leo interrupted.  “The Reverend Cliff Cooper?  The big televangelist?”

“Um . . . yeah, that’s him.”

“Go on,” Leo told him, starting to understand why Daniel Cooper would have concerns about an investigation.

“My mother’s name is Bonnie.  That’s B-O-N-N-I-E.  Her maiden name is Hunter.  I was born . . . uh, I thought I was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 28, 1965.  Mom and Dad adopted me on September 15th of the same year.  I’ve seen my adoption papers, and they don’t list the names of my natural parents.  It was a closed adoption.”

“Can you give me the name of the adoption agency?”

“Um, it was Garfield . . . no, Carfield Adoption Agency, based out of St. Louis.  It was a private organization.  They don’t exist anymore.  Either that or they moved.  I know because I once toyed with the idea of finding out who my birth parents were, and I made a couple of phone calls.”

“So, you never knew who your real parents were.  What about your adoptive parents?  Would they know?” Leo probed.

“No.  Like I said, it was a closed adoption.  The names of the birth parents are kept secret from the adopting parents and vice versa.”

“I’m surprised that a public figure like Cliff Cooper would adopt a child without knowing where he came from.”

Daniel paused at that, not knowing exactly how to answer.  “They wanted a baby, Detective McCarthy.  My mom wanted a baby.  The waiting list through the public adoption agencies was two to three years.  With Carfield, they didn’t have to wait.”

“Did they pay for you?”

Angie, who had been listening in on the conversation, snatched the phone out of Daniel’s hand when she saw pain flit across his face.  “What the hell kind of question is that, Leo?” she asked the detective angrily.

“It’s okay, Angie,” Daniel told her softly.

“No, it’s not.  He had no right to ask it like that.”

“Angie, I need to know the circumstances behind this adoption,” Leo told her.

“And so you just throw out any sense of compassion or understanding?  How do you think you’d feel if you were adopted and somebody asked you a question like that?”

The cop paused, knowing she was right.  He could have been more tactful in the way he phrased the question.  He was letting his cop side take over.  “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” Angie responded coldly.

“Okay, okay.  Give the phone back to him.”

Angie handed the phone back to Daniel.

“I apologize, Reverend Cooper.  That was uncalled for.”

“It’s all right, Detective.  To answer your question, yes, my parents did pay a fee.  I don’t know how much it was.  I didn’t want to know.”

Leo heard the pain in the man’s voice and felt his attitude soften.  He decided to be a little more gentle in his questioning.  “Angie said something about your family moving around a lot.”

“Yeah.  It was mainly because of my father’s work.  I couldn’t tell you all the places we lived.  I can’t remember them all.”

“That’s all right.  The last place you lived was California?”

“Uh huh.  Irvine.  We moved there when I was fifteen.  Shortly afterwards, my father started his television ministry.  I went to college at UCLA, graduated in 1988.  I later entered seminary school.  I was ordained in 1999.”

“Why such a long delay?” Leo asked.

“There were . . . some personal issues that caused me to delay getting my ordainment.”

“I see.  So, Hope Island is your first ministry?”

“Yes, and I hope it will be my last.  I have no desire to be anywhere else.”

Leo heard the fervency in the man’s voice.  “Angie said that there were things in your past that you wanted to keep private.”

“Yeah.  It’s regarding something that happened shortly before I came to the island.”

“Go on.”

Daniel took a deep breath and told Leo about the circumstances surrounding Kate’s death and his flight to Las Vegas.  He left out some of the more personal details while adding other things that he figured the detective would want to know for his investigation.

“If the whole story got out, it would hurt my father and his ministry, Detective McCarthy.  I don’t care so much about what happens to me, but I care about that.  All I’m asking is that you try to be as discreet as possible in your investigation and not share what you learn with anyone.”

Leo didn’t reply for a moment.  When Angie had told him that this man had something in his past that he didn’t want to get out, he hadn’t dreamed it would be something like this.  He could understand the minister’s concerns.

“I’ll be as careful as I can be, Reverend,” the cop promised.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for being so forthcoming.  This marriage to the showgirl.  Are you still married?”

“No.  Stella’s now married to a dentist and has started a whole new life.”

Leo paused for a long moment.  “Reverend Cooper--”

“Daniel.  Please call me Daniel,” the minister interrupted.

“All right.  Daniel.  We all loved Rollie very much.  He was an extraordinary man and the best friend anyone could ever hope to have.  It’s been very hard for Angie since his death.  She’s gone through more suffering than you can imagine.”  A note of steel entered Leo’s voice.  “I won’t let her be hurt again.  I’ll crucify the bastard who does anything to bring her more pain.  I want you to know that.”

Daniel looked over at Angie, who had sat down on the bed to rest.  “I understand, Detective McCarthy.  I’m glad that she has a friend like you to look after her.  I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt her, ever.  I swear this under the sight of God.”

There was an intensity in the minister’s voice that surprised Leo.  Throughout the conversation with the man, the cop had found his suspicions gradually fading.  Now, with this final statement, he felt more of it disappear.  He was coming to believe that this man really was who he said he was.  But was he really Rollie’s brother?  The evidence seemed to support that.  The question is, how was it possible?  How could a baby that was born in Australia end up in an adoption agency in St. Louis?  And why?  Though Leo couldn’t say that he’d ever liked Dingo Tyler, he had a hard time believing that the man would willingly give up one son for adoption while keeping the other.  And, by the little that Rollie had said about his mother, Leo was positive that she wouldn’t have done so.

A new suspicion began brewing in his mind, one that caused him to feel a new anger along with it.  If he was right, his best friend had been cheated out of the joy of growing up with his brother.  That was not something Leo was going to let go unpunished.  He’d failed to catch Rollie’s killers, but maybe he could at least do this for his friend.

“Daniel, I want to investigate the circumstances of your adoption,” Leo told the minister.

Startled, Daniel blurted, “What?”

“It’s clear to me that something’s fishy about it.  Too many things don’t fit.”

“Are you saying that you think it was illegal?  My parents wouldn’t do that.”

“I doubt they knew.  There are companies that deal in the black market sale of babies, and quite a few of them put on a perfectly legitimate front.  The adopting parents never know that their child was stolen from his or her real parents.”

Daniel suddenly felt ill.  Angie, seeing the expression on his face, hurried over to sit beside him.

“I . . . I never even considered. . . .”  Daniel took an unsteady breath.  “Okay.  Find out what you can.  I think . . . I think that I need to call my parents about this.”

“It would be best if you wait, Daniel, at least until I get something more concrete.”

The minister considered Leo’s request, admitting that the cop was right.  This news would upset his parents a great deal, and he wanted to be sure of everything before he told them.  “All right.”

“Could you give me back to Angie?”

“Sure.  Thank you for your understanding concerning that incident I told you about.”  Daniel handed the phone back to Angie.  “I’m going to go out and get some air for a while,” he told her.  “I’ll be back later.”

“What’s going on, Leo?” she asked the second the door closed behind the minister.  “What did you say to him?”

Leo smiled faintly at the venom in Angie’s voice.  It reminded him of the times that Rollie had been shafted or cheated by people in the past and the blonde had verbally attacked them.  Her protective instincts had always reared up on those occasions and the claws came out.  Angie was now showing her claws in defense of Daniel.  Leo didn’t know how to feel about that.  He was glad that she’d found someone to care about, especially when it appeared that Daniel Cooper was bringing Angie out of the despair she’d sunk into, but, at the same time, he worried that she’d be hurt in the end.

“I told him that I want to investigate his adoption.  I think it may have been illegal.”

Angie’s anger dissipated.  “You think he was stolen, don’t you.”

“That is a possibility.”

“Well, that would explain things.  I admit that I was thinking the same thing myself.”  She sighed sadly.  “Oh, Leo.  If it’s true, it means that Rollie’s chance to know his brother was stolen from him.”

“I know,” Leo agreed quietly.

“He would have loved having a brother.”

“Yeah, he would.”  The detective cleared the lump that was starting to form in his throat.

“So, does this mean that you now believe Daniel’s who he say he is?”

“Maybe not one hundred percent, but enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“So, will you call off the investigation on him, all except for the adoption?”  Silence answered her.  “Please, Leo.  I do