Rollie and Mangela stopped to pick up Angie, then took the long drive to Harlan’s estate.  By the time they got there, it was well past dark.  The guards, having been informed that they would be coming, let them through the gate without question.  Parking the car in front of a side route that Harlan had said would lead them directly to the garden, the three got out.  The soft whispering of the trees and the songs of crickets filled their ears.

Tied around Mangela’s waist was a leather pouch.  In his hands, he held two unlit torches.  Rollie took one of them, and Mangela handed the other to Angie.  The Aussie gave his lighter to the Aborigine.  Mangela lit Rollie’s torch, then Angie’s.  By the flickering light of the flames, they all walked down the narrow, paved drive.  Mangela would have preferred walking through the trees, but the danger of fire was too great.

After about twenty minutes, they came to the high fence that surrounded the garden to keep the deer out.  Rollie opened the gate, and they all passed beyond.  They walked a few more feet and came to the end of the trees and the road.  Sticking his torch in the ground, Rollie took his shoes and shirt off, as did Mangela.  Having been told this was coming, Angie did the same, stripping down to her sports bra.  If they were Aborigines, both she and Rollie would be stripped naked, but Mangela had agreed to make allowances.

They walked down the gentle, grassy slope to the garden.  The sound of the waterfall grew louder as they progressed through the garden.  At last, they saw it glinting in the moonlight.  Making their way behind the miniature mountain, they began to climb.  Not a hard climb, it was made more difficult by the fact that Rollie and Angie were carrying the torches.  As they reached the top, they looked out across the garden.  The roar of the waterfall was loud in their ears.  Rollie and Angie turned to Mangela.

Shoving the torch in the earth beside him, Rollie sat cross-legged on the ground.  Angie did the same, sitting directly in front of him, their knees touching.  Mangela sat beside them.  He removed the pouch from around his waist and pulled out its contents.  A small wooden bowl, a pestle, and some leaves and berries were placed on the ground.  Mangela put the berries and leaves into the bowl and began crushing them with the pestle.  Soon he had a thick liquid.  Laying down the pestle, the Aborigine picked up the bowl.

“In the beginning, when the world was sung into being, the Ancestors created man and woman, who, in turn, gave birth to the race of Man,” he said.  “Each of their children, their children’s children, and the generations that came after chose a songline to follow, a life’s path to put their feet upon.  Each of these songlines is crossed by others.  Often, it is just a brief touching, a moment’s blending of the songs.  But there are other times when the songlines meet and remain together, each one touching the other.  Sometimes, as the songlines meet, they become no longer two, but one--a single songline where there once was two.  And so it has become with you.  Your songlines have joined in the true union of the spirits within you.  You are not two hearts, but one.”  Mangela dipped his fingers into the liquid and touched them to Rollie’s chest over his heart, then to Angie’s.  “You are not two minds, but one.”  The Aborigine’s fingertips brushed the liquid across Rollie’s forehead, then did the same to Angie’s.  He set the bowl down.

“You have each found the one whose songline has become yours.  Together, you will begin a new, stronger songline that is all that the others were and more.  Tomorrow, you will cease your journeys alone.  Together, your feet will walk until your songline reaches its end.”

Mangela looked deeply into Rollie’s eyes.  “Are you prepared for this journey that you will begin?”

“Yes,” Rollie replied.

“Are you prepared to give your life to her and accept her life being given to you?”

Rollie’s eyes went to Angie.  “Yes.”

“Are you prepared to join your mind, body, and spirit to her until you pass into death?”

“Yes.”

“Are you prepared for the sacrifices that you will need to make and the hardships that will befall you both?”

“Yes.”

“And are you prepared to give of yourself unselfishly to the children that will come of this joining?”

“Yes.”

“Then you are ready to begin your new life and join with her in this complete union of spirit.”

Mangela turned to Angie.  He repeated the questions he had asked Rollie.  Softly, Angie answered yes to each one, her eyes never leaving Rollie’s.

Mangela held a hand out to each one of them.  Rollie and Angie took the offered hands.  The Aborigine joined Rollie’s and Angie’s hands together, entwining the fingers.

“Just as the fingers of your hands entwine with each other, so too will your lives be joined together.  The strength of that union will be within your power alone.”

Rollie and Angie tightened their grip.  They held it like that until Mangela laid a hand over theirs.

“The Ceremony of Preparation is now at an end.”

In silence, they made their way down the hill and back to where they’d left their clothes.  On the long drive back, none of them spoke a word.  A great calmness and sense of peace had come upon Rollie and Angie.  They both knew that they were now ready for what tomorrow would bring.

The day was sunny and clear.  Rollie looked up into the great blue expanse overhead, feeling calm and prepared.

“I guess we’d better get going now,” Francis said.

With a smile, Rollie got into the detective’s car.  Since Loubar was in custody, the helicopter flight had been canceled.

Not much was said on the drive over to the estate.  Both men were busy with their own thoughts.  As they pulled up to the gate, the man who had been stationed outside it smiled and waved them on through.  By now, every one of Harlan’s staff members knew Rollie’s face.

Harlan met them outside the house.  There was a huge grin on his lips.

“Has Angie arrived yet?” Rollie asked.

“Oh, yes.  About an hour ago.  Many of the guests are here, as well.  Come on.  I’ll take you down there.”

They went around the back of the house.  Rollie paused as he saw the fleet of chauffeured golf carts parked on the lawn.

“What’s all this?” he asked

“Well, we couldn’t have your guests walking all that way, could we?” Harlan replied.

“Thank you, Harlan.  This is great.”

“Think nothing of it.”

They got into one of the carts, and the driver took off for the garden.  Rollie was amazed at the transformation that had taken place there.  Rows of folding seats sat on the big lawn.  Flower arrangements decorated the area around the bridge.  The bridge itself was adorned with ribbons, sprays of white flowers, and English ivy. At its crest, a lattice arbor had been placed.  Like the bridge, the arbor was covered with ribbons, flowers, and ivy.  Over to the left, a table had been set up with champagne and punch.  A waiter stood behind it, serving the guests.  To his surprise, Rollie saw a six-piece orchestra busy tuning their instruments.

“Harlan, we didn’t order that orchestra.  Where did they come from?  All we’d arranged for was a violinist and a cellist.”

Harlan smiled.  “I’m afraid you can blame me for that.”

Rollie shook his head.  “Harlan, you’ve really got to stop doing these things.  Angie and I already owe you so much for what you’ve done.”

“Now, you wouldn’t want to deny an old man his pleasures, would you?  This is probably the only wedding I’ll ever get a chance to have a part in.  This is the most fun I’ve had in . . . well, a lot longer than you’ve been alive.  So, I don’t want to hear any more of this talk about me doing too much for you.”

Rollie looked into the man’s eyes. “Thank you, Harlan, for everything.”  He looked back at the orchestra.  “There is one thing I have to know, though.  How on earth did you get the piano out here?”

The older man laughed.  “Ah, now that was a sight to see.”

Just then, Rollie saw Dingo and Mangela, who had come earlier to help set things up.

“Rollie, my boy!  So, you made it,” his father called as they walked up.  He then lowered his voice.  “How do you feel, Son?”

“I’m feeling good, Dad.  A little dazed, I guess.  Part of me still can’t believe this is happening.”

Dingo chuckled.  “Just wait until you see Angie walking toward you in that wedding dress.  Try not to faint like Joe Clancy did at his wedding, though.  Come on.  We’d better get you into that penguin suit.”

With a parting smile to Harlan, Rollie walked across the lawn with Frank, Mangela, and Dingo.  As he did, he was greeted and congratulated by all the guests there.  Passing beyond the seating area, the four men came to the cottage.  Dingo knocked and poked his head in.

“We’re coming in, ladies,” he called.

Lucinda came out of one of the two bedrooms.  As the men came in, she pointed to the other bedroom.  “You get that one,” she said.

Dingo smiled in appreciation at how she looked in her dress.  “You look terrific, Lucinda.”

The actress smiled with pleasure.  “Why, thank you, Dingo.”  She turned to Rollie.  “Now, don’t you come anywhere near this other bedroom, you hear?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Luce.  I promised Angie I’d stay all in one piece for the wedding.  And I think you look great, too.”

With a final smile, Lucinda returned to the bedroom.  The four men entered the room on the right.

In the women’s changing room, Angie was staring at herself in the mirror.  She turned to Lucinda.  “Was that Rollie?  How did he look?”

"Like a rabbit about to be dropped in the pot," the actress said with a smile, then, at the look on Angie's face, hastily added, "I'm just kidding, Angie."  She patted the bride-to-be’s arm.  “He looked fine, quite calm actually, except for a slightly befuddled look in the eyes.”

“I’m glad that at least he’s calm.”  She turned back to her reflection.  “I know I gained weight, I just know it.  The dress isn’t going to fit.”

Joyce walked up to her.  “Angie, you haven’t gained an ounce.  The dress is going to fit perfectly.”

“But what about this bruise?  I can still see it, even with all the coverup makeup.”

“I can’t see it,” Mira said.  “The bruise isn’t really that bad, Angie.  It could be a lot worse.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Angie whispered.  “I’m really getting married.  I’m marrying Rollie Tyler.  If you’d told me this was going to happen seven, eight months ago, I’d have said you were stark, raving mad.”  She sat at the vanity.  “Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Angela Tyler . . . Angela Tyler.”  Her eyes lit up with a smile.  “That sounds nice, doesn’t it.”

“Yes, it does,” Joyce agreed.  “Come on, Girl, it’s time to get you into that gorgeous dress.”

Over in the men’s changing room, Rollie was also staring at himself in the mirror.

“I don’t know.  Do you think I picked the wrong tux, Dad?  It just looked so different at the store.”

“You’ve never looked more handsome, Son.  I wish your mum was here.  She’d be so proud.”

Rollie looked at his father.  “You look good too, Dad.”  He smiled.  “Very dashing.”

Dingo tugged at his collar in discomfort.  “I really hate these damn things.  Whoever invented tuxedos should have been hung.”

Rollie chuckled and looked at Mangela, who was suffering in silence over having to wear the tux.  The Aussie had to admit that it was very strange to see the Aborigine wearing the formal attire.  Not bad, just strange.

Rollie turned back to the mirror and gazed into the reflection of his own eyes.  “This is really it.  It’s really happening.  I’m going to be a husband.”

Dingo clapped a hand on Rollie’s shoulder.  “It happens to the best of us, Son,” he replied solemnly.  Then he grinned.  “Okay, let’s get that boutonniere on you, and let me straighten that tie.”

A while later, the four men came out.  Rollie looked over at the other bedroom, hearing laughter coming from behind the door.

“You guys go on out there, I’ll be waiting here for Angie,” Mangela said.

Rollie nodded.  He glanced down for a moment.  That’s when he noticed something.  “Mangela, where are your shoes?”

“I can’t feel the earth with shoes on,” the Aborigine complained.

“Mangela, you can’t walk barefoot down the aisle with Angie.”  Seeing the expression on Mangela’s face, Rollie sighed.  “I’ll make a deal with you.  Just wear the shoes for the length of the ceremony and for the photos that will be taken afterwards.  After that, you can take them off.”  He looked back and forth between the Aborigine and his father.  “And you can both remove the bow ties after that.”

Mangela nodded, accepting the compromise.  He got his shoes and put them on.

Rollie left the cottage with Frank and Dingo.  Looking around the lawn area, he saw that virtually all the guests had arrived.

“Hey, Rollie!”

The Aussie turned to see David coming toward him, grinning.

“David!  Glad you could make it.”  The two men shook hands.

“There’s no way I was going to miss this.  So, how are you feeling?”

“I’m all right, better than I could be.  You should have seen me yesterday, though.  I was climbing the walls.”

David chuckled.  “Well, pretty soon, it will be all over and done with--then the real adventure begins.”

“You got that right.”  He looked at his watch.  “Well, I’d better get over there.  I just hope that I don’t forget my lines or trip over Angie’s gown or something.”

David patted his shoulder, laughing.  “You’ll do fine.”

As Rollie walked toward the bridge, he saw Charlotte and Lee coming toward him.

“Hey, there you are,” he said.  He gave Charlotte a hug and shook Lee’s hand.

“Oh, Rollie, I am so happy,” the woman said.  “You look marvelous, so very handsome.”

“Thank you, Charlotte.  Did everything go well with the food?”

“Oh, yes, just fine.  I had to cook some of the things here because of the long drive, but Harlan’s cooking staff was very helpful.  You should see the kitchen!  What I could do in a place like that.”

Rollie laughed.  “Yeah, I saw it.”  He turned to her husband.  “So, no houses to show this weekend?” he said jokingly.

The man laughed.  “Are you kidding?  I wouldn’t trade watching this for a chance to sell the White House.  Besides, if I had agreed to show a house today, Charlotte would have skinned me alive.”

“Then boiled him in a vat of oil,” his wife added.

Lee smiled down at her fondly, then returned his attention to Rollie.  “Actually, I don’t work on weekends very often.  That Sunday you came to dinner was a rare case.  It was the only day of the week that the people could look at houses.”

“Well, we’d better let you get up there to the bridge,” Charlotte said.  “It’s almost time.”

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it,” Rollie said, feeling his nervousness escalate.  He resumed his journey, stopping periodically to speak to well-wishers.  At last, he made it up to the foot of the bridge.

“Good afternoon, Mister Tyler,” said the minister.  “It certainly is a wonderful day, isn’t it?”

“It’s an incredible day.”

The minister studied the expression on his face.  “Would you like a little piece of advice?  I’ve done quite a few of these, you know.”

“Please.”

“When the music starts, just before the bride comes out, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think of all the reasons why you love her so much.”

“That would take a week, Reverend.”

The minister smiled.  “Well, then just think of the most important ones.”

“I’ll do that.  Thanks.”  He took up his position at the left side of the bridge as the minister went on up to the top.  Francis and Dingo both stood on his right.  The guests all took their seats.

A couple of minutes passed, then the orchestra began playing.  As the minister had suggested, Rollie closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  To his mind came the wonderful things about Angela Ramirez that made her so precious to him.  As his eyes opened, a gentle smile came to his lips.

The first down the aisle were Frank and Sarah’s three daughters, the youngest out in front.  They were all bearing baskets of rose petals and were tossing them on the ground.  Their addition to the ceremony had been Sarah’s idea, knowing that the three girls desperately wanted to be a part of the wedding of “Uncle” Rollie and “Aunt” Angie.  Mira came down the aisle next, looking beautiful in the blue-violet dress.  A few paces behind her, was Lucinda.  After her, came Joyce.  Then he saw Angie, and the breath stilled in his lungs.  Awed beyond thought, Rollie watched the indescribably beautiful creature that slowly glided toward him.  Her dress, shimmering in the sunlight, seemed to float about her like mist from the waterfall behind them.  Her hair, shining like spun gold, framed her face with soft curls.  Crowning her head were tiny snow white flowers and pearls blending into a veil that looked as if it had been made from spider webs.  Her intensely blue eyes looked huge, doe-like.  She looked utterly unreal, like some incredible, unearthly being from a fantasy.

Trying to breathe, to get his heart started again, Rollie watched her coming toward him, completely bewitched by the sight of her.  Every other person there faded away to nonexistence.  In the whole world there was only Angie.

Angie looked at the tall, dazzlingly handsome man standing at the bridge.  The warm, dark depths of his eyes filled her vision.  They caught her and held onto her, making her experience the most incredible feeling of peace and joy that she had ever known.  She continued forward, everything else around her becoming nothing but a fog.

At last, Angie and Mangela drew up to the bridge.  The Aborigine released Angie’s hand and placed it in Rollie’s.  He then went to stand beside Dingo.  Their eyes locked upon each other, Rollie and Angie made their way up to the crest of the bridge.  As if from a distance, they heard the minister’s voice.  Tearing their eyes away from each other’s faces, they turned to the man.

“From the beginning of creation, God placed Man and Woman together on this earth to live not as two, but as one, to join forever and fill the earth with their seed.  When a man and a woman are blessed with the gift of finding that one person with whom they wish to share their lives, then do they choose to show the world the depth of their love with the ultimate commitment.  This, then, is what marriage is.  It is more than just a symbol, more than a ritual.  It is the truest and purest expression any two people can give of their love for each other.  It is a declaration to the world that these two people have chosen to dedicate their lives to each other.”

Rollie and Angie turned to each other as the minister continued.

“Standing before you now is Roland Nathaniel Tyler and Angela Kathleen Ramirez, two people who have come here today to be joined as one.  In their hearts are the truest words that can be spoken this day.  So it is that they have each chosen to speak their vows in their own words.”

Rollie and Angie moved closer together.  They clasped their hands together and raised them to chest level.  Their bodies lightly touching, they gazed deeply into each other’s eyes.

His voice soft and deep, Rollie began to speak.  “From the first moment I saw you, I knew that my life would never be the same.  Only a child, you captured my heart with your smile, your laugh, your love for life.  As you grew to womanhood, I held onto the image of the child, for, as long as you were a child, I knew that you would never leave.  But the passage of time cannot be stopped, and eventually the day came that I had to see you as you are.  Then it was that I found a new and wonderful thing in my life.  Then it was that I realized that I no longer wished for you to be a child.  I discovered a love that I never knew could exist, a love more precious and rare than any jewel.  I knew, at last, the joy of finding someone whom I wished to spend eternity with.  And so, today, I say to you, Angela Ramirez, that you are and will always be the greatest treasure in my life.  I dedicate all that I have and all that I am to you until the day I die.  No matter what the passage of time may bring, I am yours alone.  I will stand by your side through all that life sends us.”

Fighting back the tears, Angie spoke the words that had come from her soul.  “On that day so long ago, when I first saw you, I felt something take hold of me that I’d never known before.  I found myself watching your every move, your every look.  I did not know that it was love I felt, only that I never wanted to be anywhere else except where you were.  As time passed, those first feelings changed.  I began to look upon you with different eyes, and I realized that you were more precious to me than just a childhood crush.  You had become a huge part of my life, a part that I could not bear to be without.  I had come to love you in a different, deeper way.  Yet those first feelings I never truly went away.  They lay hidden deep in my heart, where even I could not see them.  Then that day came when my life changed forever, and I knew that I could no longer deny the truth of what I felt for you.  When you were almost taken from me, I knew that you had become my life, my heart.  I could not survive without you in my world.  Roland Tyler, I give to you this day, all that I am or will ever be.  I give you my love and my life forever.  Through all the pain and hardships, through all the joy and triumphs, you and I will stand together as one.”

“Roland Tyler, you have pledged yourself to this woman.  As a symbol of this pledge, now place the ring upon her finger,” said the minister.

Francis handed Rollie the ring.  With a hand that shook ever so slightly, Rollie placed the platinum and diamond band on Angie’s finger.

“Angela Ramirez, you have pledged yourself to this man.  As a symbol of this pledge, now place the ring upon his finger.”

Mira gave Angie the ring.  Her hand also trembling, she slid the matching ring on Rollie’s finger.  Her eyes rose again to his.

“It now gives me great pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife.  May this be the first day of many joyful days to come.”

Rollie’s and Angie’s lips came together, and their arms slid about each other.  Lost in the kiss, they were only vaguely aware of the cheers and applause that rose about them.  Finally, they drew apart and smiled out at the cheering crowd.  They descended to the ground and were instantly mobbed.

After being hugged, and kissed, and patted, and their hands shook for the two dozenth time, they were ready to run away and hide somewhere.  Seeing that they needed rescuing, Harlan stepped forward and took control.

“All right, everyone, let the newlywed have a breath of air.  Food is being served up at the main house.  There are carts waiting at the head of the garden to take you there.  Take your time, though, there’s plenty of food for everyone.”

Slowly, the crowd around Rollie and Angie broke up and spread to other parts of the garden, until the only ones left with them were the members of the wedding party, Harlan, Sarah and the children.

“Thank you, Harlan,” said Rollie.  “We were beginning to feel smothered.”

The man laughed.  “Well, I had to get in here to do my own congratulating.”  He shook Rollie’s hand heartily, then gave Angie a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  He then put a hand on each of their cheeks and murmured, “You two have brought a lot of joy to me this week.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”  Blinking back the tears that had come to his eyes, Harlan then said, “Well, I had better go on up to the house and deal with the minor crises that will no doubt arise.  Take your time getting up there, you two.”

Rollie and Angie watched the man leave, both feeling a little sad that he’d spent so many years alone.  Then they turned to the remaining ten people.  Seeing their chance, the three Gatti children immediately ran up and hugged Rollie and Angie.  Rollie stooped down and lifted the littlest one into his arms.

“I knew, I knew you were going to get married someday!” Jessica announced, her face beaming.  “Mommy and Daddy said that you were made for each other.”

Rollie and Angie laughed.

“Well, they were right, Jess,” Rollie told her, “and so were you.”  He put Bethany down.

“Oh, the wedding was so beautiful.  I just cried like a baby!” declared Lucinda.  Sure enough, there were tear stains on her cheeks.  Sarah, too, showed signs of having shed a few tears.  Francis had his arm around his wife’s waist.  With his free hand, he shook Rollie’s hand.  A bit shyly, he looked over at Angie.

“Well, come on, Frank.  I’m not going to let you get away from me without a kiss,” Angie said.  She moved forward.  Frank gave her a peck on the cheek, blushing slightly.

“My turn now, Daughter,” said Dingo with a grin.  He gave her a tight hug and planted a big kiss on her cheek.  Mangela was next.  Then it was Rollie’s turn with the women.

Joyce looked over and saw the photographer patiently waiting.  “I think it’s time for the pictures, everyone.”

“Oh, no, my face!  I look horrid!” Lucinda exclaimed.

“You look fine, Luce,” Rollie said.

Sarah fished into her purse and pulled out some face powder and a mirror.  The actress gratefully accepted them and touched up her makeup.

The whole time that the photographs were being taken, the photographer kept saying over and over again that they were going to look wonderful.  She was apparently ecstatic to have such beautiful surrounding for a change.  At last, she was finished and went off to take more photos of the garden and house.

Dingo looked around at everyone.  “Well, we’re all going to go up to the house now, right everyone?”  Not waiting for a reply, he continued.  “You two lovebirds just take all the time you want.  We’ll still be there when you arrive.”

They all crossed the bridge and disappeared up the path.  Alone at last, Rollie and Angie put their arms about each other.  The Aussie touched his wife’s cheek in wonder.

“Married.  We’re actually married,” he murmured.  “A part of me still can’t believe it.”

“I know what you mean.  I feel the same way.”  Angie gave a happy sigh.  “Angie Tyler.  I really like how that sounds.”

“Yeah, me too.  So, Mrs. Tyler.  What shall it be?  A slow walk through the garden or shall we get more intimately acquainted with each other in one of the cottage bedrooms.”  One of his fingers slid down her neck to the curve of her breast.

Angie breath drew in.  “Oh, I like the bedroom idea, but once we got in there, we’d never come out.  And we do have guests waiting for us.”

Rollie sighed.  “Yes, you’re right.  I guess that part will have to wait for later.  A walk, then.”

Slowly, they strolled through the garden, their arms about each other.  Occasionally, they saw a wedding guest or two, who were also out enjoying the beauty of the place.  After about an hour, they finally decided that it was time to go up to the main house.

Every room in the house was lit, and the place was filled with the sound of music and laughter.  Rollie saw Harlan in a conversation with several other people.  He looked very happy.

The newlyweds made their way over to the buffet table.  Their eyes opened wide at the banquet laid out before them.  Charlotte had outdone herself.  Grabbing plates, they progressed down the table, take samples of everything that looked good, which was pretty much everything there.  Taking a seat at one of the tables that had been set up, they began to eat.

“Wow.  This is fabulous,” Angie said.

“You’re not kidding.”

Enjoying every bite of the meal, Rollie and Angie then mingled with the crowd.  At last, the time came for the first dance.  As everyone watched, Rollie took Angie’s hand and led her onto the dance floor.  The singing duo that Rollie had hired began the first song on their list, one of the two songs that Rollie had added without Angie’s knowledge.  His wife’s eyes widened as “Right Here Waiting” began to play.

“Oh, Rollie,” she said, smiling brightly.

“This is the first and only song I’ve ever sung for you.  It should be the song that we share our first dance as husband and wife to.”  He kissed her hand, and they began to dance.

Moving alone across the dance floor, they lost themselves in each other’s eyes.  The voices of the male and female singers rose in perfect harmony, singing the lyrics of love.  Before the couple knew it, the song was over.  As the next one began, other dancers joined them on the floor, but it made no difference to Rollie and Angie.  They might as well have been alone for all the attention they paid to the others.

As the evening passed, the guests gradually left, each person giving their best wishes to the newlyweds.  As the reception drew to a close, with only a handful of guests left, Rollie got up from the table he and Angie were sitting at.  He walked over to the singing group, who were taking a break, and said something to them.  The man and woman smiled and nodded their heads.

As Rollie came back to Angie, the band began playing another song.  The gentle sound of a lone guitar carried above the other instruments.  Rollie reached for Angie’s hands and pulled her to her feet.  As they walked out onto the dance floor, the female singer’s soft voice began the tender ballad “Born to Give My Love.”  Gazing into each other’s eyes, Rollie and Angie moved across the floor, the words of the song echoing their feelings for each other.
 

I don’t know what brought us here.
Something in the stars said you and me.
I don’t know where this feeling comes from,
But, surely, it was meant to be.

For I have known you, even in my dreams.
My eyes are opened, my heart can see.

The man’s voice joined the woman’s as they moved into the chorus.
 

As sure as stars light the midnight sky,
As sure as children wonder why,
As sure as newborn babies cry,
I was born to give my love to you.

Born to give my love to you.

The man fell silent as the woman continued into the second verse.
 

Heaven must be holding on,
For all the love I’m feeling right now.
Here we are, this is the moment.
I believe it’s our turn somehow.

Hearts together, hands across the night.
One forever finally in sight.

Again, the man’s and woman’s voices rose in harmony through the chorus.
 

As sure as stars light the midnight sky,
As sure as children wonder why,
As sure as newborn babies cry,
I was born to give my love to you.

I was born to give my love to you.

As the last of the music drifted away, Rollie’s lips came down on Angie’s.  Minutes later, they separated to find themselves alone.  Even the members of the singing group had slipped away.

The newlyweds came out of the ballroom and looked around.  The place was empty except for Harlan, Sarah, David, Charlotte, Lee, the kids, and the wedding party members.  The two youngest children were asleep on one of the lounges.

“Everyone else is gone?” asked Angie.

Mira nodded.  “They all told us to wish you goodnight for them.  They didn’t want to disturb you.”

“We’ll be heading off, too,” Lee said.  “We need to relieve a babysitter of her two charges.”

Harlan looked down at Charlotte.  “If you change your mind about my offer, please let me know.”

Rollie looked curiously at the man and woman.  “What’s this about?”

“I asked Charlotte to come work for me as my chef.  My present chef will be leaving in a couple of months.  Charlotte is an excellent cook, and I think she should be paid for her talents.”

The woman blushed at the compliment.  “Thank you, Harlan.  That’s really sweet of you to say.  But our life and Lee’s job is in the city.”

“Well, you give it some thought anyway,” Harlan told her.

Charlotte and Lee said goodbye to everyone and left.

“I need to head off, too,” David said.  He shook Rollie’s hand.  “I know you two are going to be happy together.  That’s obvious just by looking at you.  You’re both very, very lucky.”  There was a trace of sadness in his eyes and his voice as he spoke.  Then he looked over at Lucinda, and the sadness faded.  The actress smiled at him.

“Hey, David.  Why don’t you drive Luce back to her hotel?” Angie suggested.

The faintest of blushes colored the agent’s cheeks.  “Um, yeah.  I’d . . . I’d like that.”  His eyes returned to Lucinda, who was smiling even more brightly.

“Don’t you want me to help you get undressed and everything?” the actress asked Angie.

“I think that Mira and Joyce can handle it.”

“Sure we can,” Joyce quickly agreed.  “You go on with David.”

Luce positively beamed.  She kissed Angie on the cheek and gave her a hug.  “Have a wonderful weekend, Angie.” She glanced at Rollie.  “But then, I know you will.”

David offered her his arm, and the two left.

“We brought your clothes up here in case you’d like to change,” Harlan told the newlyweds.

“I guess we should get out of these before we head back home,” Rollie said.  He thought he saw funny little smiles flash across a couple of peoples’ faces, but decided that it had just been his imagination.  He and Angie were led to separate bedrooms to change.  Joyce and Mira went with Angie to help her get out of the wedding dress and to change out of their own dresses.  Rollie, Frank, Mangela, and Dingo all changed out of their tuxedos.

As Rollie waited back downstairs for Angie, he saw one of Harlan’s staff members come up to the man and whisper something in his ear.  Harlan nodded and smiled.  Just then, Angie came down.

“Are you ready to go?” Rollie asked her.

She nodded.  “Joyce and Mira said they would take care of the dress.”

“Dad and Mangela said the same thing about the tux.”

“Before you go off, I’d like to show you something,” Harlan said.

Rollie looked at Angie, and she nodded.  Harlan led them out to the backyard.  Just as the door closed, Rollie could have sworn that he heard someone giggle.  Then he saw what sat on the lawn.  One of the golf carts had been bedecked with ribbons and flowers.  No one sat in the driver’s seat.

“What’s this?” Angie asked.

“Wait and see,” Harlan replied with a smile.  Sitting in the driver’s seat, he motioned for the couple to get in.  Then he drove them down into the garden.  Tiny colored lights along the path lit their way.  Harlan drove across the temporary bridge crossing the stream.  Rollie could see that the arbor on the bridge where the ceremony had taken place was still up, but everything else from the wedding had been cleared away.  The lawn was empty.

The three continued down the path to the cottage.  A soft light was flickering behind the curtains.  Harlan opened the door, then stood aside for the couple to pass.  Rollie’s and Angie’s mouths opened as they saw what had been done inside.  The room was filled with hundreds of candles, their tiny flames bringing a golden light to the place.  The couple turned to Harlan.

“This cottage and the garden are yours for the rest of the weekend, if you want them,” the man told them.  “The refrigerator has been fully stocked, and you will find clothing in the closet of the left bedroom, which has been prepared for you.  I have left strict orders that not a soul is to set foot near the garden for the remainder of your stay.  You will be completely alone.”

“Harlan, we don’t know what to say.  We never expected this,” Angie said.

“There’s no need to say anything.  I will leave you now.”  He smiled gently.  “Until Monday morning, then.”

The couple heard the golf cart drive away.

“Come on,” Rollie said.  He led Angie outside.  Then, lifting her into his arms, he carried her over the threshold.  Shutting the door with his foot, Rollie gave Angie a long, slow kiss.  “I love you, Angela Tyler.”

Smiling at the sound of her new name coming from her husband’s lips, Angie whispered back, “And I love you, Roland Tyler.”
 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN -- CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Rollie carried Angie into the bedroom, feeling his pulse quicken.  In the soft candlelight, they saw a package lying on the bed.  Reluctantly, the Aussie put his wife down.  A smile came to her lips as Angie read the card on the box.

“It’s a present from Lucinda.  She says I have to go in the bathroom to open it.”

“That sounds interesting.”  He pulled Angie close and kissed her neck.  “Hurry back.  I’ve waited a long time for this, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.”

With a sultry smile, Angie picked up the box and slipped into the bathroom.  Rollie wandered around the room, trying to find things to distract him, but it was no use.  All he could think about was Angie and his overwhelming desire for her.  He’d been with other women, but none of them had ever made him feel the way Angie did with just a kiss.  Some instinct told him that more than the consummation of their love was going to happen tonight.

Not knowing what else to do, Rollie sat on the corner of the bed and took off his shoes, which had begun to bother his feet, being new.  He stared at them unseeingly for several seconds, then set them down and removed his socks.  His eyes went to the bed.  It had already been turned down, waiting for them to use it.  That thought sent him hopping back to his feet nervously.  It was Angie he was waiting for, Angie whom he would be making love to in this bed.  That thought made him go to the window to stare out sightlessly into the darkness as he tried to calm the trembling feeling inside him.

In the bathroom, Angie stared at herself in the mirror, trying to get control of her breathing and her nerves.  Not even with her first time had she been this nervous.  She kept thinking about the fact that it was Rollie in that bedroom, Rollie whom she was about to make love with.  Yet, no matter how hard it was to believe, she knew that this was the way it was meant to be, right from the start.

With that thought in mind, Angie took a deep, steadying breath and opened the door.

Rollie turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening.  His eyes widened, and his breath drew in sharply as he stared at Angie in a filmy white teddy.  The fabric was incredibly sheer and showed every glorious curve of her body.  Dragging his eyes upward, Rollie looked at her face.  Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shining.  Closing his mouth, Rollie swallowed heavily and watched the most beautiful creature on Earth move toward him.

Angie felt feverish.  Her breath was coming short and fast.  Tiny tremors kept running through her body.  Rollie’s eyes were burning her like fire, almost black with desire, as she approached him.

Finally, standing mere inches away, she turned her face up to his.

For a moment, Rollie was afraid to touch her, afraid that the desire that had taken control of him would cause him to be too rough with her.  Even now, he was fighting the urge to grab her and throw her on the bed.  She was so beautiful, so desirable, so. . . .  Rollie swallowed again and fought to regain a tiny measure of control.

“You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice rough with the emotions burning inside him.  He reached up and touched her face.  Then he slid his fingertips, feather-light, down her arms.  Angie’s eyes closed, a small shudder going through her.  When she opened them again, she found that Rollie’s gaze was traveling down her body, his eyes even darker than before.

“Rollie,” she whispered.

The Aussie’s eyes returned to hers.

“Make love to me,” she told him.

Go to PG-13 version

A tiny sound issuing from his throat, Rollie pulled her into his arms, his mouth descending upon hers hungrily.  Wrapping her arms around his neck, Angie returned his kiss with her own insatiable hunger.

In seconds their need for each other had grown into an unquenchable bonfire.  Rollie slid the teddy off her shoulders and down her body.  As the material fell to the floor, his hands moved across her skin, stroking, caressing.  Angie gasped as the touch sent a thrill of pleasure through her.  The gasp turned to a moan as he took her breasts into his hands.  In almost desperate haste she stripped off Rollie’s shirt, then his pants and boxers.

Their mouths parted wide in deep, searching kisses, Rollie lowered Angie onto the bed.  Maddened with desire by the feeling of her nakedness against him, Rollie slid his mouth down her neck, his tongue, lips, and teeth ravishing it while his hands kept touching her, unable to stop their search of her body.  His mouth traveled on down to her breasts.  Bold and hungry, it moved across their softness, seeking and finding her nipples.  Moaning, Rollie pulled one of the peaks into his mouth.  Angie gave an answering moan, her breath coming in short, heavy gasps as waves of ecstasy spread throughout her.  She pushed her body upward, holding him to her as they both began a slight rocking motion.

At last releasing her nipple, Rollie’s mouth continued its downward journey to the smooth skin of her belly as his hands sought out her most secret places, making Angie cry out with the rapture of his touch.  Hearing the cry, Rollie slid back up to take her mouth with his.

With a quick movement, Angie rolled over on top of him.  Her mouth then went to his neck, as hungry for the taste of his skin as he was for hers.  She moved on downward to a nipple.  Rollie moaned her name as she took it into her mouth.  Her hands traveled on down his body, finding the places that made him cry out with an ecstasy to match her own.  Wild with the pleasure of tasting and touching him, Angie slid further down his body.

With a ragged groan, Rollie grasped Angie’s shoulders and pulled her up, his mouth plundering hers as he rolled on top of her, Angie’s legs wrapping around him.  Their eyes locked upon each other, Rollie at last joined his body with his wife’s.  They both let out a wordless cry at the feeling of finally becoming one, their hearts filled with the joy of it.  Lying still for only a moment, they began to move.  In perfect unison, they rocked with each other, the ecstasy building with each passing second.  Lost in a feeling unlike anything they had ever known before, they clung to each other, their movements growing ever faster.

Then, suddenly, something happened.  All at once, it was as if they had ceased being two people.  Angie’s thoughts, her emotions, her ecstasy were Rollie’s and his were hers as they shared each other’s bodies and minds in a connection beyond understanding.  Not questioning what was happening, they grasped each other more tightly as their combined rapture soared upward.

Deep inside, they felt the tide rise higher and higher, the heat inside them growing incandescent.  And then, their climax was upon them.  Crying out, they felt their bodies erupt in the final, consuming rapture of culmination, each of them experiencing not only their own release but also the other’s.  For seconds that were eternity, they became consumed by the awesome power of it, seeming to touch heaven itself.

At last, they slowly descended.  Chests heaving, convulsive shudders passing through their bodies, they clung to each other, both of them overcome by feelings of utter fulfillment and completion.  Rollie felt tears come to his eyes.  Not stopping them, he let them flow, his breath catching.  He pressed his cheek against Angie’s, feeling her tears mingle with his.

“Angie, Angie,” he breathed, hearing her murmur his name in return.

The Aussie lifted his head and looked into his wife’s eyes.  Shining in their blue depths, he saw the same awe that he was feeling.  He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a long, slow kiss.  Holding on to her, he rolled over onto his side, carrying her with him, keeping their bodies joined.  Caressing her face with his lips, Rollie held her close.

“God, I love you so much,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

Angie’s hand came up and caressed his cheek.  Like his, her voice was soft and trembling.  “I never dreamed that it could be like this with someone.  I love you more than I could ever find words for.”  She laid her head against his chest.

“He was right,” Rollie said after a few moments, a note of wonder in his voice.

“Who was right?”

“Mangela.  He once told me that when I found my lifemate and we made love, our spirits would join completely.  At the time, I believed him, but, later on, I stopped believing in those things.  But then, when I kissed you for the first time, and every time after that, I felt us join in a way like I’ve never felt before, and I began to think that, maybe, he was right.”  He turned her face up to his.  “But I could never have dreamed that it would be like it was.  I . . . I just can’t describe it.”  Rollie felt tears prick his eyes again.

“I know,” Angie murmured.  “I felt it, too.”  A smile came to her lips.  “I think they probably felt the earth shake all the way to Miami.”

Laughing softly, Rollie replied, “I guess we should have gotten that addition to our insurance after all.”  He pulled her close.  With a deep, shuddering sigh, he laid his head upon her breast.  Holding each other close, they slowly drifted off to sleep.

It was still dark when Rollie awoke sometime later.  He looked down at Angie’s sleeping face, awed and humbled by the love he felt for her and could sense that she felt for him.  What had happened that night, the way that they had melded into each other, should have frightened him since it confirmed at least part of what Mangela had claimed when Rollie was a child.  But he couldn’t be afraid, not about that.  It had been the most amazing, beautiful thing he’d ever experienced.  He wanted it to happen again.

Rollie continued lying there in the darkness, drinking in the sight of his wife and lover.  He had no idea how much time had passed when Angie’s eyes opened and met his.  Speaking not a word, their lips came together.  Instantly, the flame of desire roared back to life.  The kiss deepening in intensity, Angie rolled over on top of him, straddling his thighs.  Her mouth and hands sought out the places they’d found before, seeking new ones to explore.  Again, she slid down his body, feeling Rollie shudder, a groan coming from deep in his throat.

Rollie’s hips bucked upward, his mind and body consumed by the fire that Angie was building with her mouth and hands.  His hands latched onto the bedcovers as his hips bucked upward again.

Angie’s eyes rose to Rollie’s sweat-beaded face, seeing his rapture reflected there.  Wanting to taste his mouth again, she slid back up his body.  He grabbed onto her and pulled her even farther up, his lips now upon her body.  Angie cried out as his mouth found a nipple at the same time as his hand found a place that made her ecstasy skyrocket upward.

Not able to wait a second longer, Angie moved back down and joined her body with Rollie’s for the second time.  Passion exploded inside them as they made love wildly, deeply.  The minutes stretched to eternity as they became drunk with the ecstasy that was burning through their veins.  And then it happened again, their minds and souls becoming one in a connection beyond the physical.  Crying out as their rapture multiplied, they moved together with wild abandon, reaching their climax in the same moment.  Once it was over, Angie collapsed upon Rollie.  He held onto her, unable to do more than fill his starving lungs with air.  Several minutes passed before Angie slid off Rollie.  She lay against him, her body still quaking.  Rollie gazed down at her, stroking her cheek.

“You are amazing,” he murmured.

“I’m not the one who’s amazing, Rollie.  You are.  You make me feel so incredible.  This,” she pulled him more tightly against her, “is incredible.  No one else could make me feel like this.”

“And no one else could make me feel like this.”  A smile filled his eyes.  “I think they felt that one in L.A.”

“L.A.?  I’d say that Mexico City is still shaking with the aftershocks.”

The Aussie pulled her even closer.  “Next time, we’ll have to try for Australia,” he whispered in her ear.

Smiling, Angie closed her mouth over her husband’s.

For long minutes, they kissed and caressed, building the fire back up slowly.  In less time than either of them had thought possible, it flared brightly yet again.  Rollie sat up, pulling Angie with him.  She wrapped her legs tightly about him.  Rollie’s mouth took hers prisoner, then traveled back down her neck to her breasts, his tongue roaming across her.  With a sound that was half gasp, half groan, Angie’s body arched and rocked against Rollie’s.  Almost desperate with their need, they joined a third time, engulfed in the white heat of their passion.  And, again, they melded as one, overwhelmed by the strength of their union.

Finally, they fell back, utterly exhausted.  Sleep came almost instantly.

The sun was brushing the treetops with gold when Angie awoke.  She looked up at Rollie’s face.  An overpowering tenderness filled her as she watched the innocent peacefulness of his sleeping features.  She lay a hand on his chest, feeling its slow rise and fall.  Her thoughts went to their night of passion, awed by it.  No words could describe the completeness of their union.  It was beyond understanding.  Angie had heard people talk about how they felt when making love to someone they loved, the depth of the union, but what had happened between her and Rollie was far more than that.  She knew that Rollie would wince at the term, but what they had experienced was a complete psychic connection.  Even now, she could still sense it faintly.

‘Rollie.  My love,’ Angie said silently in her mind.

As if hearing her, Rollie awoke.  His eyes went to hers, and he smiled.  “Good morning, Wife.”

Angie smiled, loving the sound of Rollie saying those words.  She pressed her body closer to his and murmured, “Good morning, Husband.”

“Mmm.  I like the sound of that.  I’d love to hear that again.”

“I’d rather use my mouth for something else,” she said as she slid upward to meet his waiting lips.  Sighing with contentment, the newlyweds kissed slowly and deeply.

“You know what I want?” Angie whispered against her husband’s lips.

A grin spread across the Aussie’s face.  “A shower . . . with me.”

“Hey, no fair.  You guessed.”  She pouted.

Rollie met her eyes, completely serious.  “It wasn’t a guess.”

Realizing what he was saying, Angie gazed at him for several seconds.  “Can you do that all the time?”

“No.  It only happens sometimes.”  He looked vaguely uncomfortable about the confession.

“How long has this been going on?”

“I’m not sure.  I became aware of it only a few weeks ago, but I think that it might have been there before then.”  He searched her eyes.  “Does it bother you?”

“I suppose that it should, knowing that someone can pick thoughts out of my head.”  She stroked his cheek.  “But, because it’s you, it doesn’t.  I trust you, Rol, in every way.”

A relieved smile filled Rollie’s face.  “I was worried about how you would react.  That’s why I didn’t tell you before.”

“You don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything, Rollie.”

The Aussie pulled her close, kissing her deeply.

“It does give you an unfair advantage, though,” Angie said when their lips separated.  “You’ll always know how I plan to make love to you before I do.”  She suddenly slid her hand down between them to an extremely sensitive portion of Rollie’s anatomy.  The Aussie let out a choked cry, his body reacting instinctively by bucking against her.

“Oh, did I surprise you?” Angie asked with feigned innocence.

Rollie crushed her to him as his hand did to her what she had done to him.  Angie moaned loudly, feeling her need for him rising rapidly.

“I think we’d better hurry up and get in that shower.  Otherwise we’ll never make it out of this bed,” she gasped.

Relieving themselves first, the newlyweds entered the shower stall.  They washed each other’s bodies, gentle hands sliding over wet skin.  The sight of Angie there in the shower with him and the feel of her skin as he ran the soap over it was making it hard for Rollie to concentrate on what he was doing.  Angie was having the same trouble.  The Aussie turned her around so that her back was to him and, fighting to focus on the task, began washing her hair, his fingers massaging her scalp.

“Oh, that feels wonderful.  I’m going to let you do this every morning.”

Angie’s body brushed against his, and Rollie felt his control slipping.  Giving into his desire, he said, “Unfortunately, if we did this every morning, we’d never get anything else done.”  Then he demonstrated the meaning of his words by sliding a soapy hand across her breasts and down to the inner juncture of her thighs.

Rendered instantly breathless, his wife gasped, “I see what you mean.”

Angie quickly turned around in his arms, and Rollie bore her up against the wall, lifting her onto his hips.  She wrapped her legs around him and surrendered to their passion.  As the hot water cascaded over them, they lost themselves in the rapture of their lovemaking, their ardor knowing no limits.  Caught in the wildfire of their passion, they felt themselves become one again.  Enveloped in her body and soul, Rollie felt their connection deepen even further.  He could feel her heart beating, the blood pounding in her veins, her muscles bunching and stretching, all as if they were his own.  He could feel her skin touching his and his touching hers.  He was experiencing the physical connection of their bodies not only from within his own body, but also Angie’s.  And he knew, beyond doubt, that Angie was feeling the same, for their minds were one as well.

Crying out each other’s name repeatedly, they exploded upward to their climax, a hoarse scream ripping from their throats.  When it was over, Rollie sank with Angie to the floor, his shaking legs unable to bear their weight.  For several minutes, they just held each other as their trembling bodies quieted.

“Rollie, what’s happening to us?” Angie asked weakly.  The completeness of their union this time was scaring her a little as she thought about it.

“I don’t know.  I had no idea it would be like this.”  He cupped her face.  “But I know in my heart that this is the way it’s supposed to be.”

Gazing into the soft brown depths of Rollie’s eyes, Angie felt her fear vanish.  How could she be afraid of something so incredibly wonderful?

Smiling, she snuggled against him.  After a few moments, they became aware of the fact that the water was growing cold.  Turning it off, they got out of the shower and dried off.  Still feeling a little weak, they crawled back into bed and just held each other.  An hour passed in complete contentment.

Slowly, gently, Rollie’s hands began exploring Angie’s body, his lips covering her face and neck with soft kisses.  They made love again, slow and tender, whispering endearments to each other.  As they joined this time, there was no overwhelming explosion of sensations.  With wonder, they explored the connection of their minds and bodies, feeling each touch, each kiss from both perspectives, learning as no others could how to give each other the most pleasure.  When they finally reached their culmination, they were so completely united that they could no longer tell whose body was feeling what, experiencing each climax--first Angie’s, then Rollie’s--as if it was their own. 

Warm and content in the afterglow, Rollie drew in a deep breath, feeling Angie’s body still surrounding him, her spirit still merged with his.  He slipped into sleep, and then into dreams, sensing Angie come into the dream with him.  They were sitting on a beach looking out over the ocean, his arms around her.  Angie was sitting between his legs, her back against his chest.  Rollie slid his hand over Angie’s stomach, surprised to find that it wasn’t  flat and toned as he remembered.  He looked down to see it swollen in pregnancy.

“Ange,” he whispered, cupping her belly in both of his hands with wonder.  He suddenly felt movement within it, two tiny kicks, testaments to the new life growing there.

“Rollie,” Angie murmured.  She covered his hands with hers, awed by the feelings inside her womb.

“I want this, Angie,” Rollie said softly, vibrantly.

“I do, too.”

They laid down on the sand, their hands upon Angie’s swollen belly.  Rollie awoke to find himself as they had been in the dream, his body spooned behind Angie’s, their fingers entwined over her flat stomach.  He felt Angie awaken with him.

“Rollie, I . . . I had a dream,” she said.  Her voice was trembling.

“I know.  I had it, too.”  He stroked her stomach.  “We had it together.”

Angie turned around in his arms to face him.  “We’ve never talked about that.”

“Children?”

Angie nodded.  “We should, you know.  I’m not on any kind of birth control.  The Pill always made me sick.  Whenever I was with a man, I had him wear protection.”  She blushed faintly, realizing that she was talking about past lovers while in the arms of her husband.

The Aussie smiled.  “I don’t think that birth control method would work well for us, not with our . . . spontaneity.”  He was surprised that he felt no jealousy when thinking about the other men whom Angie had been with over the years.  Perhaps it was because he knew that none of them had made love with her in the complete way that he did.

“No, I don’t think it would.”  Angie searched his eyes.  “Do you want children?”

“Yes, very much.  I want to see you like you were in that dream.  I want to feel for real what I felt when I touched your stomach.”  He ran a hand across her belly as if seeking the movements of a tiny life within it.  “But . . . I think we should wait, at least for a while.  I think we should concentrate on just being husband and wife before we step into parenthood.”  He looked deeply into her eyes.  “Do you want children?”

“Yes.  Yes, I do.  But I think we should wait, too.”

Rollie smiled again.  “For all we know, waiting might no longer be an option, Mrs. Tyler.”

Angie shook her head.  “I don’t think we have to worry about that.  I’m pretty sure that I’m in the wrong stage in my cycle.  You can’t get pregnant at any old time, you know, despite what most people believe.”

“No, I didn’t know that.  Thanks for the education.  Now I know that I can ravish you nonstop for the rest of the day and night without having to worry about us ending up with another Tyler in nine months.”

“Nonstop, huh?  Well, I sure hope you have lots and lots of stamina.”  She slid her hands down his back to his buttocks.

Rollie grinned wickedly.  “Just wait and see,” he murmured as he captured her mouth with his.

It was well into the morning by the time their thoughts turned to food.  Fixing a quick meal of fruit and English muffins, they ate it on the bed.

“It’s a good thing Harlan thought to have the kitchen stocked, otherwise we’d starve to death,” Rollie commented.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Angie asked.

A slow, meaningful smile spread across Rollie’s face.

Angie gave his arm a light slap.  “Besides that.”

Rollie’s brow furrowed with thought for about five seconds, then he shook his head.  “Nope, it’s no good.  I just keep thinking of that one thing.”

Angie shook her head and sighed with mock disapproval.  “That is just so like a man.  A one-track mind.  Day in and day out, they can think of just one thing.  What we women have to put up with.”

Rollie pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “Oh, my heart bleeds for you.”

With a laugh, they both fell back on the bed, their food forgotten.

It was quite a while later when, with the sun high in the sky, they got dressed, packed a picnic lunch, and walked down to the waterfall.  They spread a blanket out on a small section of grass beside the pond and settled down to enjoy their meal.  For obvious reasons, they were both ravenous.  Finishing every crumb of food they’d brought, the newlyweds stretched out on the blanket.  Angie looked up into the sky, watching the white clouds float lazily past.  She sighed with contentment.

“This is nice.”

“Yeah.  I could stay here for a week.  But then, just think.  In eleven days, we’ll be on our way to sunny Arabia.”

“Sunny is right.  I’m going to have to bring a gallon of sunscreen.  I wouldn’t want to get burned.”

“Definitely not.  That would cause all kinds of hindrances.”

Angie shook her head at the expression in Rollie’s eyes.  “There you go again with that one-track mind.”

“Sorry.  I guess I’m really going to have to work on that.”

“Well, you don’t have to start right away.”

With a grin, Rollie pulled her into his arms.  Their lips met hungrily.  In a matter of seconds their clothes were off and they had rolled off the blanket.  With the sun-warmed grass beneath them, Rollie and Angie again explored the depths of their passion and their union.  Afterwards, they lay entwined in each other’s arms and legs.

“Rol, there’s something that I need to tell you, something that happened when you were in the coma,” Angie said hesitantly.  “I had a . . . a dream.  I dreamed that we made love.  It was so real, so intense that, even after I woke up, part of me still felt like it really happened.”

Rollie stared at her.  “I had the dream too, Ange.  I didn’t remember it until weeks after I emerged from the coma, but when I did, I could have sworn it was something that really happened.”  Amazed, he gazed at her.  “This is incredible.  We shared a dream while I was comatose.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know.”

An expression of realization spread across Rollie’s face.  “That was it, Angie.  That was the moment it started.”

“The moment what started?”

“This.  This connection, this thing that allows me to sense your presence, hear your thoughts, and feel your emotions even when you’re miles away.  It started at that moment, when we made love in that dream.  Something happened.”

Angie remembered back to the dream, Rollie’s words to her.  “There will always be a part of you within me,” she recalled aloud.

The Aussie nodded, remembering the words.  “It was more than a dream,” he said, feeling a little scared.  Rollie was certain that what he and Angie had experienced all those months ago wasn’t the same as a Dreaming.  It was something else, something that Mangela had never told him about.  But what about the dream they’d shared a few hours ago?  Had that been a Dreaming?  Had he and Angie witnessed their future?  Or had it been just a shared dream?  He didn’t know.  There were so many questions that he did not know the answers to.

“What about the other things?” Angie asked softly, still trying to absorb what Rollie had just said.  “I heard you in my mind, twice.  That was before the dream.  And you said that you sensed when I was thinking of taking my own life.”

“In a way, we’ve always been connected, Ange, from the time we first met.  I came to feel so close to you so quickly.  I think I loved you from the very first day.  I know I loved you not long after that.  You are what Mangela called my lifemate, my spiritual mate.”

“Soul mate?” she said, smiling faintly.

Rollie returned the smile.  “Yeah.  Only, with us, it isn’t just some silly sixties phrase.  It’s real, and it’s true.”

“What does this mean?”

“It means that things will be like this with us for the rest of our lives.  This connection will never go away.  It’s forever.”

“Forever.  I like the thought of that.”

Rollie pulled her close, kissing her gently.  He then stood up and held out a hand to his wife.  Angie took it and rose.  “Let’s go exploring.”

“I assume you mean a type of exploring other than what we’ve been doing since last night.”  Angie smiled suggestively.

Rollie laughed and pulled her to him.  “We’ll do more of that later.  Lots more.  Right now, I’m talking about exploring Harlan’s forest.”

“That would be great.” She smiled mischievously.  “I think we need a little break from that other exploring.”

“Yeah, better take a break while we can.  Once we get back to the cottage, there won’t be many more of them.”  His eyebrows waggled meaningfully.

“Oh yeah, you did say something about ravishing me nonstop, didn’t you.”

“And I intend to live up to that.”

They got dressed and headed off in the direction of the trees.  Finding the gate they had used the night before the wedding, they passed beyond the sunlit outer fringes into the dense, shadowy depths.  The tranquility of the place enveloped them.

They had been wandering for perhaps an hour when they spied a doe and fawn in the distance.  The deer looked at them a moment, then chose to ignore them.  Not wishing to disturb the creatures, the couple altered direction.

“I wonder what Harlan does about the deer population?  Without any natural predators or hunters around, I can imagine it grows pretty fast,” commented Angie.

“I asked him about that.  He said that, every fall, they round up a bunch of them for release into the wild.  There are some smaller predators around, though.  He has some badgers, weasels, and foxes to help with the squirrel, rabbit, and mice population.  Then there are all the birds.  He has his own little mini ecosystem here.”

“I wonder why?  I mean, why have all this here?”

“I asked him that, too.  Back when he first came here from Australia, this area was just starting to be cleared for development.  There were still huge sections of forest land.  Harlan fell in love with the trees.  He bought this land, then hired a company to start building the wall.  Considering how big this place is, it took quite a while for it to be finished.  By that time, the rest of the trees in the area were all but gone.  After the wall was finished, Harlan had the road put in, then the house, and, finally, the garden.  With the permission of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, he brought more animals in, adding to the population that was already here.  The whole thing took quite a while to complete.”  He paused.  “I found out what the cottage was for.”

“I thought that maybe a gardener and his family had lived on the estate once and that was their place.”

Rollie shook his head.  “Thirty-four years ago, when Harlan’s wealth was really starting to amass, he met a woman.  She was beautiful, charming, and from the higher echelons of society.  He fell head over heels for her.  He proposed to her, and she accepted.  Then, one day, he came home unexpectedly, and she was there.  She was on the phone to a friend, talking about how big she had scored, that she would be set for life, and that she planned to ‘put up with’ Harlan for a year or two, then divorce him and take half of everything.”

“How horrible!  Poor Harlan.”

“Yeah.  He suddenly knew that she had never been interested in him.  Once again, it had been the money.  He broke off the engagement and told her he never wanted to see her face again.  She ended up marrying a rich banker who lost everything a year later.”

“What about Harlan?”

“He came here and built his Fortress of Solitude.  He’s been walled away ever since.”

“And the cottage?”

“When they got engaged, he had plans drawn up for a little honeymoon and vacation cottage that he was going to have built on a piece of land he owned in France, a place for them to go to get away, eventually with their children.  It was never built, of course.  Then, around three years after this place was finished, he found out that his former fiancée had died.  He had the cottage built here in her memory.  Even after all those years, knowing what he did, he still loved her.  We are the first people to stay there.”

“If I had known this, I don’t know if I could have accepted his offer.  It just doesn’t seem right.”

“Yesterday, Harlan told me something that makes more sense now that I know what he was planning.  He said that it was time the cottage stopped being a memorial to the dead and became a place to celebrate life.”

Angie smiled.  “A celebration of life.  That makes me glad we had our first night there.”  She took his hand in hers.  “I’m glad we waited, Rol.  I’m glad that last night was our first time.”

Rollie took her in his arms.  “Yeah.  I’m glad we waited, too.”  He smiled.  “Even though you did make it bloody hard sometimes.”

“I’m not the only one,” Angie replied as Rollie’s lips came down on hers.  Minutes later, he raised his head and commented, “I wish we’d brought a blanket.”

Laughing, Angie grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction they had come from.  “Let’s go back.”

With a grin, Rollie said, “I’m all for that.”

The return trip was made in a lot less time.  Passing through the gate, they ran down the slope, laughing like children.  Bypassing the garden entirely, they cut through a narrow space between it and the forest.  They barely managed to make it through the door of the cottage before their desire took control.  Tumbling to the carpeted floor, they made wild, passionate love, celebrating life in the most glorious of ways.

Sometime later, Rollie said, “You have no idea how much I wish we could forget everything and just hide away here all next week.”

“Oh, yes I do.”  Angie smiled.  “Do you think Sheik Alafa would mind if his guests locked themselves away in their room and didn’t come out for the entire two weeks?”

“He may not mind, but I think our stomachs would.  They’d have to slip food in under the door or something.”

“Hmm.  Well, we’ll have to see if we can figure something out.”

Rollie laughed.  “Now who’s got a one-track mind?”

Later, not bothering with clothes since they never seemed to stay on for long, the newlyweds lay down together on the grass just outside the cottage.

“I feel like Eve in the Garden of Eden,” Angie commented.

Rollie smiled and continued his activity of exploring the curves of her body with his fingertips.  “Yeah, but Eve never gave an eyeful to someone in a low flying plane.”

Angie’s gaze quickly moved to the sky, and Rollie laughed.

She punched him in the arm.  “You jerk.  Just for that, Rollie Tyler, you can forget about any lovemaking for. . . .”  Her voice trailed off as she decided on a suitable punishment period.

“Uh oh.  I’m in trouble now.  How long are you going to make me suffer?”

“Two hours.  Not a second less.”

Rollie gave a dramatic groan and lay back against the grass.  “Two hours!  How will I survive without you for that long?”  The corners of his lips trembled as he tried not to smile.

Angie saw the telltale sign and warned, “Careful, Bub.  I might decide to make it longer.”

“Oh, boy.  I’d better get out of here before I dig myself in really deep.”  Rollie stood up and went into the cottage, leaving the door open.  He came out a few seconds later wearing a pair of shorts.  He walked past Angie and headed off down the path.

“Where are you going?”

Her husband looked over his shoulder and said, “Come find me.”

Angie watched him pass out of sight.  She stayed where she was for all of ten second, then dashed into the house and grabbed the first piece of clothing that she laid eyes on, which turned out to be one of Rollie’s T-shirts.  Also grabbing her watch, she hurried back outside.

Barefooted, she ran down the path.  She stopped on the bridge and looked around.  There was no sign of Rollie.  Wondering how he could disappear so quickly, Angie continued down the path.  After spending half an hour searching for him, she began to wonder if he might actually have gone up to the main house, but then decided that he wouldn’t do that.  Refusing to call for him, she kept up the search, determined to win this game of hide and seek.  After another twenty minutes had passed, Angie stopped.

“All right, Angie.  Where would he hide?” she asked herself.  “Someplace he thinks I wouldn’t look.”  She studied a bridge up ahead.  Wading into the chilly waters of the stream, she checked underneath it.  She then went from bridge to bridge, looked beneath each one.

Less than half an hour was left of the two hours, when she thought of the waterfall.  Running back up the path, she went around behind the artificial hill and climbed it.  From the top, she could see the entire garden, but there was still no sign of Rollie.  By the time she made it back down, there were only ten minutes left.  She looked into the pond, but knew that, as cold as the water was, he wouldn’t hide in there for that long.  Angie had a feeling that she was very close to him, but there just wasn’t enough time left.

The final ten minutes ticked away as she looked around the area of the waterfall.  Still refusing to call for him after the two hours had lapsed, Angie just stood where she was and waited.

“That shirt looks a lot better on you than me,” said a low voice behind her.

Angie spun around.  She closely searched the area with her eyes, yet she still couldn’t see Rollie.

“What did you do, make yourself invisible?” she asked.

She heard a chuckle coming from a tree.  Angie stared into the shadows surrounding the tree and saw part of the tree move, then separate from the rest.  Rollie stepped away from the oak.  He had completely covered himself with dirt, transforming his skin to a rich brown.  Under his arm, he held a branch that he had used to partially obscure the line of his body.  The dark brown of the shorts he wore had completed the camouflage.

Amazed, Angie stared at him, “Wherever did you learn to do that?”

“Mangela.  When I was a kid, we used to play a game with the other kids to see who was best at hiding in plain sight.  My white skin was a big disadvantage, so I had to learn how to hide it.  I got pretty good at the game.  Then Mum died, and I just didn’t have the will to play anymore.”

Angie shook her head.  “Well, there is just no end to your talents, is there.”

Rollie smiled and took a step toward her.  “The two hours are up.”

“Don’t you dare, you filthy thing!  You’re not coming near me until you get cleaned up.”

“I see.  You’re sure about that?”

“Absolutely.”

Rollie shrugged.  “All right, then.”  He headed down the path in the direction of the cottage.

Surprised that he had given in so easily, Angie watched him for a moment, then hurried to catch up.  They both remained silent.  Occasionally, Angie glanced at Rollie.  Their game of hide and seek had reminded her how much she didn’t know about her husband.  She wondered if she would ever truly know everything.

Back at the cottage, Rollie headed off to the shower.  Angie sat and waited for him, wondering about his reaction.

Ten minutes later, he emerged, still damp and wearing just a towel.  Looking at her from across the room, he said, “So, am I clean enough for you now?”

“Yeah, but. . . .”

“But what?”

“I was just wondering why you gave in so easily.  What are you planning, Rollie?”

“Planning?  I’m not planning anything.”  He came up to within a hair’s breadth of her.  “Ange, it took every ounce of will power I had not to run all the way back to the cottage.”  His eyes were fairly burning with desire.

Angie smiled.  “Now that’s more like it,” she murmured.

Rollie snatched her into his arms.  He pulled off the T-shirt, then bore her to the floor, the towel being discarded somewhere along the way.

That evening, they had dinner by candlelight.  As the sky darkened to midnight blue, they went outside and lay down side by side on the grass.  Looking up at the stars, they lay together in silence.

“Rollie, earlier, I got to thinking about how much I still don’t know about your life before we met,” Angie said after a while.

The Aussie rolled onto his side and looked down at her.  “What would you like to know?”

“Everything.”

“Everything!  Well, that would take just too much time.  There are some things I want to get back to before Monday morning.”  He smiled meaningfully.

Angie returned the smile.  “Okay, we’ll have to limit it to a few things tonight, but, sooner or later, I’m going to get every last detail out of you.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will.”

Angie thought for a moment.  “To start with, you never told me about your first meeting with Mangela.”

“Well, I was six years old, almost seven.  We hadn’t been living in the area very long.  Mum and Dad knew that a band of Aborigines lived a few miles away.  Mum had great respect for their ways and culture and decided to visit them with me, sort of like a getting to know the neighbors kind of thing.  She wasn’t really sure how they would react to us, though.  Some Aborigines prefer to be left alone.”  Rollie smiled in remembrance.  “The first person who came up to us after we got out of the car was Mangela.  I remember him just staring at me with this odd look on his face.  Then he smiled at me, and, somehow, I knew that he was going to be someone important in my life.  He welcomed us with open arms.  After that, everyone else did the same.  It wasn’t until much later that I found out they had a reason to hate Caucasians.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  One of the women had been raped by a white man who came to do some trading.  She ended up getting pregnant.”

Angie’s body stiffened at the mention of rape, then her eyes widened.  “Luther Cale?  He was the baby?”

Rollie nodded.

“And the guy got away with it?”  The anger could clearly be heard in Angie’s voice.

“No, not really.  Months later, he was found dead by one of the People--or, rather, what was left of him.  The dingoes had gotten to the body.”

Angie shuddered.  “What killed him?”

“Short of taking the remains to a coroner, there was no way to tell.  The People chose not to do that.  They buried the body and left it at that.”  He was silent for a moment.  “Anyway, getting back to Mangela and me, for some reason, he took me under his wing.  He began teaching me their ways and beliefs.  I spent a good part of my time there.”

Angie was silent.  Rollie could tell that she wanted to ask something, but wasn’t sure how to approach it.  Though he was worried that she might ask more pointed questions about what Mangela had taught him, he leaned down, gave her a kiss, and said,  “It’s okay, Ange.  Whatever it is, you can ask.”

Angie propped herself up on her elbow.  “I was wondering about Cale.  Why did he try to kill you after your mother died?”

Rollie sat up, wrapping his arms loosely around his knees.  He stared down at the grass between his feet.  “I think he was jealous of me.  Mangela had spent a lot of time with him as he grew up, I think because of the circumstances of his birth.  But, after I showed up, Mangela devoted less time to him.  Cale blamed me for it.”  Rollie’s gaze traveled off into the distance.  “After Mum died, I was an easy target.  He used my grief and the things that Mangela had told me about death and the Dreamtime to lure me up onto that mountain.”

Rollie paused, and Angie sat up beside him, taking his hand in hers.  “I still don’t know how I survived that fall and those three days in that heat with no water,” he finally said.  “All I kept thinking was that I couldn’t die because Mum would want me to live and because Dad would be all alone.  I’ll never forget the look on Mangela’s face when he found me.  By then, I was almost dead.  I heard his voice saying my name over and over again.  When I opened my eyes, I found myself in his arms.  He was crying.  I’d never seen him cry before and never since then.  Then, later, when he found out what had happened. . . .  If Luther Cale had been a few years older, I really think that Mangela might have killed him.  Instead, he and the others shunned Cale, drove him out, though I didn’t find out about that until Mangela came here to get back the soul stones.”

“How old was he?”

“Fourteen.”

Angie squeezed Rollie’s hand.  “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For telling me all this.  It’s funny.  We’ve known each other all these years, yet it’s only been in the last few months that we’ve really started talking.”

Rollie raised her hand to his lips.  His gaze returned to the sky.  Angie looked at his face, sensing that there was something Rollie wanted to ask.

“What is it, Rol?”

He met her eyes.  “I didn’t want to bring up painful memories for you.”

“Rollie, there’s nothing you can’t ask me.  Don’t you know that?”

A brief smile touched Rollie’s face, then faded away.  “Neither you nor your father ever really talked about your mother, except that day you told me about how you got out of Cuba,” he said, then hastily added, “You don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”

Angie sighed.  “No, it’s time that I did.  After we heard that she’d been killed, Dad and I never talked about what happened, ever.  It just hurt too much.  I wish we had.  It would have helped us both heal.”

“She was American, wasn’t she?  Manny mentioned that once.”

“Yeah.  They met on location.  Mom was one of the spectators.  While they were trying to film this one scene, Dad got furious with one of the leading men because of the careless way the guy was handling an expensive piece of equipment.  He started yelling in Spanish, like he always did when he got really steamed.”

“How well I remember,” Rollie commented with a smile.

“The actor didn’t understand Spanish and neither did anyone else in the cast or crew.  The guy got really pissed off because he thought that Dad was calling him filthy names.  He demanded that Dad repeat what he’d said in English, and Dad, being stubborn, refused.  The director was right on the verge of firing Dad when Mom stepped forward and told them what he had said.”

“What had he said?”

Angie smiled.  “Well, she told them that he’d called the guy a clumsy fool.”

“What did he really say?”

“First, he told the guy that he had about as much grace as a drunken bull trying to walk across ice.  After that, he called the guy a horse’s ass, then took it back and said that a horse had more brains in its rear end than this guy had in his head.”

Rollie laughed with delight.  “That’s Manny, all right.  So, your mum didn’t really lie, she just toned things down.”

Angie nodded.  “Well, the director decided that the minor insult wasn’t worth firing Dad over, and told the actor to be more careful with the F/X equipment.  After filming was over for the day, Dad went over to Mom.  He’d cooled off by then and realized that his temper and stubbornness had almost cost him the contract.  He thanked Mom, and they got to talking.  He found out that her grandfather on her mother’s side was Cuban and was from a village near where Dad was born.”  She smiled fondly.  “And that’s how Mom and Dad met.”

“Manny said that you guys traveled back and forth between the states and Cuba a lot.”

“That’s right.  Dad had lots of family in Cuba, so he wasn’t willing to move permanently to the U.S., even though he hated Castro, like a lot of Cubans do.  Whenever he was in between movies, we lived there.  Then everything fell apart, and he realized that he had to leave for good.  You know the rest.”

Rollie put his arms around Angie’s shoulders and drew her close.  They were both silent for a long time, thinking of the loved ones they’d had who were now gone.  Then they both turned to each other.  This was not the time for sad thoughts.  As Harlan had said, it was a time to celebrate life.

“You know what I want?” asked Angie.

“What?”

She leaned forward and whispered in Rollie’s ear, “I want my husband to make love to me.”

Without a word, he picked her up and carried her into the house.  Rollie set her down on her feet before the bed, and Angie removed his shirt.  He pulled her top over her head, then got down on his knees and slowly slid her jeans off.  Slowly, tenderly, he kissed and caressed her body.  After long minutes, he raised his head to hers, and their lips met.  Rollie stood, lifted Angie up and carried her to the bed.

Their lovemaking was a slow and gentle thing, full of soft touches and whispered words of love.  Each time they made love that night, it brought to them moments of discovery and feelings of wondrous fulfillment.  For hours, they just lay holding each other, revealing their secret thoughts and feelings.  Not until the sun was peeking between the trees did they finally surrender to sleep.
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN -- MATCHMAKERS

The sun was well above the horizon, before the newlyweds awoke. With a sigh of regret, they got out of bed and showered, separately this time since they knew that they had a full schedule that day and couldn’t afford any time lost due to ‘distractions’.  They ate a quick breakfast, then began packing the clothes that had secretly been brought to the cottage.

“I wonder where these clothes came from,” Angie mused.

“Well, Dad and Mangela probably got mine, and Lucinda or Mira most likely got yours.  They must have all been sneaking around behind our backs to do this.”

Angie grinned.  “Yeah, a conspiracy going on all around us, and we didn't have a clue.”

After packing, they straightened up the cottage and took a golf cart up to the main house.

Harlan beamed at them as they came in.  “So, did you have a good time?”

Rollie and Angie smiled brightly.  “We had a great time, Harlan,” the Aussie said.  “I wish we could stay longer.”

“Well, any time you want to get away, you’re welcome to come stay in the cottage again.  It’s about time the thing started getting used.”

Angie kissed Harlan on the cheek.  “Thank you for everything, Harlan.  You’ve been terrific.”

Touching the place where her lips had been, Harlan smiled softly.  “It has been my very great pleasure.”

“Do you mind if we call a cab?” Rollie asked.  “We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, and we need to get started.”

“A cab?  Don’t be ridiculous!  My driver can take you home.  No, don’t bother objecting.  I insist.  Besides, you don't want to cram all those wedding gifts into the trunk of a cab, do you?”

“Oh, we forgot about those!” Angie said.

“There’s also your suitcase, Angie.  Mira took it out of her car.”

Angie nodded.  She’d packed a large suitcase Saturday morning to take with her to the loft.  The rest of her stuff would be gotten from her apartment later.

Rollie and Angie spent the trip home in the back seat of a 1947 Bentley convertible.  Loving every minute of the drive, they were sorry to see the loft come into view.  They noticed that Dingo’s car and trailer was not parked in front.

“Home sweet home,” Rollie said as they went in.  Bluey was coming toward them, barking happily.  They greeted the electronic dog warmly.  With the help of the driver, they got the arm loads of presents out of the trunk and piled onto a table, as well as the clothes that had been in the cottage and Angie’s suitcase.

Rollie saw a note beside the telephone.

“It’s from Dad.  He says that he and Mangela will be back tomorrow.  They thought that we might like another day to ourselves.”

Angie smiled.  “So, do we open these gifts now or wait until later?”

“As much as I hate to say it, we’ve really got to get to work,” Rollie replied.  “We have a ton of work to do, and we need to get the rest of your stuff this afternoon.”  He smiled.  “We can open the gifts tonight.  Besides, a few of those presents might be something that we’ll be using tonight.”  His smile turned sultry.

Angie gave him an equally seductive smile, running a finger down her husband’s chest.  “That may very well be.  I haven’t yet shown you what I got at the bridal shower.”

Rollie put his arms around Angie, sliding a hand down her body.  “Mmm.  I can’t wait.”  His head lowered to her neck, his lips wandering down it to the curve of her breasts.

“Oh,” Angie breathed.  Reluctantly, she pulled slightly away.  “We’d better not get started with that or we’ll never get any work done.”

Rollie sighed.  “Yeah, you’re right.  This is not going to be easy, Ange.”

“You said it.”  Angie walked over to a workbench.  “I think it would be a good idea if I see about going on a regular form of birth control as soon as possible.  I’m going to call my doctor and find out what she recommends.  There might be a pill that won’t make me sick.”

While Angie made the call to her doctor, Rollie got started on the pile of work they still had to do for White Light.  Fifteen minutes later, Angie joined him.

“So, what did she have to say?” Rollie asked.

“She wants me to come in for an examination and consultation.  She needs to determine if there’s a chance that I might already be pregnant before we decide what to do.”

“How can you tell this soon?”

“Well, you can’t tell if I’m pregnant.  It would be seven days before we could find that out.  But she can determine what the chances are of me being pregnant by calculating how close I may be to ovulating, or if I already have ovulated, by counting the days since my last period, taking my basal body temperature, and measuring my LH levels.”

Rollie’s eyebrows rose.  “How do you know all this stuff?”

“A friend of mine was having trouble conceiving.  She and her husband really wanted a baby, so they went through the whole thing with finding out when she was ovulating to try and time things perfectly.  She was pretty depressed about everything, so she talked about it a lot.”  Angie grinned.  “One weekday afternoon, Tabitha took her tests and figured out that she was right on the verge of ovulating.  She went to her husband’s office and told him.  He couldn’t leave work, so they, um, found a closet somewhere and. . . .  Nine months later, they had a baby girl.”

Rollie laughed.  “I sure hope we don’t go through that when we decide to have a baby.  I can just picture us hiding in some corner of a set, trying to make you pregnant and having the director come upon us.”

Angie pulled Rollie close again.  “Why a set?  The van’s plenty big enough, and we could lock the doors and cover the windows.”

Rollie held her tightly as one of his hands began wandering over her body.  “Hmm.  Are you planning ahead for some future ‘breaks’ from filming, Love?”

“Could be.”  She brought her lips to her husband’s.  “Anyway, my doctor has an opening in her schedule tomorrow.  Do you think that you’ll be able survive without me for an hour or so?”

Rollie gave her a squeeze.  “It’ll be hard, but I think I’ll make it through.”  He kissed her again, then turned back to his computer.  That’s when he remembered something.  He smiled.  “There is one present I’d like you to open now.”  He went over to the cabinet where he’d hidden Angie’s gift.  Placing the wrapped package before her, he stood back and watched.

Angie smiled and unwrapped the gift.  She studied the item revealed.  An empty glass dome was mounted to a polished metal base.  Angie looked inside the dome and noticed circuitry and what looked like a lens recessed in the base.  She couldn’t see it well enough to tell what it did.

“Turn it on,” Rollie said.

Angie found a tiny switch.  She set the case down and turned it on.  Inside the dome, a single red rosebud appeared.  Slowly, the rose opened, spreading its petals out to their full crimson glory.  Dew sparkled on the petals.  The flower looked so real that Angie felt as if she could touch it.  She watched in fascination as a butterfly came down and landed on the rose.  The flower began to glow.  It and the butterfly vanished in a shower of sparks.  In their place, a tree rose up.  The branches spread out, covered with delicate pink flowers.  After a few seconds, the flowers floated to the grassy ground beneath the tree and were replaced by bright green leaves.  Moments later, the leaves began to yellow, and they, too, fell to the ground.  The bare branches of the tree turned to silver, then gold, and the tree vanished.  There was a pause, then the sequence of images began again.

Speechless, Angie stared at the gift.  Finally, she found her voice.  “Rollie, this is incredible.  I’ve never seen a hologram that was so perfect.  How did you--”

Rollie put a hand to her lips, silencing her.  “No.  No questions about how I did it.  I’ll tell you eventually.  For now, let it just be a gift.”

Angie wrapped her arms around Rollie.  “It’s beautiful, Rol.  Perfect.”  She kissed him.  “I have a gift for you, too.”  She opened her suitcase and pulled something out of it.  Bringing the package back, she handed it to him.  Surprised by the weight, Rollie opened it to find several books inside.  They all had the word “diary” on them.

“What are these?” he asked in wonder.

“They’re me,” Angie replied softly.  “Those are my diaries, the ones I’ve kept since I was ten years old.  I went searching for a present, but I couldn’t find one good enough.  Then I realized that this is what I wanted you to have, my thoughts and my feelings.  I didn’t make entries every day, but I wrote what was most important to me.  You’re on a lot of the pages.”

Rollie’s throat tightened, tears stinging his eyes.  “Ange, I . . . I don’t know what to say,” he murmured huskily.  “This means more to me than any other present ever could.  Thank you.”

Rollie pulled her to him, his lips descending upon hers.  The kiss quickly grew passionate.  Deciding that an hour or so lost out of their work schedule could be made up later, Rollie began pulling Angie’s top off.  Unfortunately, the phone chose that moment to ring.

“Remind me to unplug that thing next time,” Rollie growled.  With a sigh, he told Bluey to put the call on speakerphone.

“Hello, there!” said Mira’s cheerful voice.  “I see you survived the weekend.”

“Just barely,” Rollie replied.  Angie nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Would you two mind some company for a few minutes this morning?  Frank and I have to go out that way and thought we’d drop by to say hi.”

“If you don’t mind us talking while we work, come on out,” Angie said.

The detectives showed up about twenty minutes later.

“Angie, you look wonderful.  You’re positively glowing,” were the first words out of Mira’s mouth as they came in.

Angie’s hands went to her cheeks.  “Am I?”

“Oh, definitely.”  Mira turned to Rollie.  “And you look like the cat that ate the proverbial canary.  I take it you must have had a very good weekend.”

Rollie smiled and Angie blushed.  “It was the best,” they said in unison.

The two detectives both grinned at them.  The newlyweds decided to change the subject.

“So, why did you really come out here?  Was it to probe us for details of the weekend?” Rollie asked.

“Actually, it was to give you this,” Francis replied.  He handed Rollie an envelope.

Rollie’s eyebrows rose when he saw what was inside.  It was a thousand dollar gift certificate for Bloomingdales.  “What’s this?” he asked in surprise.

“It’s a wedding present from the NYPD,” Francis replied.  “Everyone down at Midtown South, and a couple of the special units, pooled their money together.  We wanted to give it to you personally.”

“You guys shouldn’t have done this,” Angie said.

“Of course we should,” Mira replied.  “We’ve never really thanked you for all the help you’ve given us these years.  That doesn’t even come close to what we owe you.”

Angie hugged Mira and Rollie shook Frank’s hand.

“Be sure to tell everyone thank you,” Angie said.

After the detectives had left, Rollie and Angie got back to work.  They hadn’t been at it for very long when the phone rang again.  This time, it was Lucinda.

“Hey, you two.  How are you doing?”

“We’re doing great, Luce,” Angie said.

“Would you mind if I came over for a while?  I’m heading back to L.A. day after tomorrow, so it would be nice to spend a little more time with my two favorite people.”

Deciding that work could wait after all, the newlyweds told the actress to come on over.  When she got there, she took one look at Rollie’s and Angie’s faces and knew that their wedding night had been fantastic.

Having lunch together in the loft, they chatted for a while.  It was not quite an hour after lunch when Lucinda said, “You know what I really have a yen for?  Some ice cream, something with lots of chocolate.  Hey, Rollie, would you mind going to get some?”

Rollie smiled, knowing full well that the ice cream was just an excuse to get Angie alone.  “Sure, Luce.  I can get some ice cream.  How long do you want me to be gone?”

The actress started to say that she didn’t know what he was talking about, but seeing the expression on Rollie’s face, the cocked eyebrow and amused smile, she didn’t bother.

“Forty-five minutes.  No, make that an hour.”

“An hour it is.”  The Aussie turned to his wife and pulled her close.  “Don’t let her pry too many details out of you, Ange.  There are a few things we did that I’d like to remain between the two of us.”  A very sexy smile curved his lips, and he pulled her a little tighter against him.  Angie promptly blushed.  Laughing, Rollie kissed her, then, grabbing one of the diaries, left.

“What things?” Luce asked eagerly.

“Things that you will not get out of me even with torture, Lucinda Anne Scott,” Angie replied.

“Well, you’re no fun.”  The actress pouted.  The pout soon cleared.  “I have to say, Angie, that I have never seen you looking so . . . radiant.  And Rollie looks the same.  I never thought a man could look radiant, but he does.  That must have been some wedding night.”

“Luce, you have no idea.  It was . . . it was the most extraordinary, beautiful night and day . . . and night of my life.”

“Really?” Luce said, her voice hushed.

“Yeah, really.”

“It was really that good?”

Angie nodded, smiling.

“Well, I am really jealous now.  You just have all the luck.”  The actress smiled to let Angie know that she was happy for her.

Angie sat on the couch.  “But it’s more than what you’re thinking, Luce, a lot more.”

Lucinda sat beside her.  “What do you mean?”

Angie paused.  “I don’t know if I should tell you this.  Rollie might not be too happy about it.”

“Tell me what?”

“There’s a connection between us.  There always has been, but it’s much, much stronger now.  It started when Rollie was in the coma.  Something . . . happened between us.  I can’t explain it.  After he woke up, he began to realize that he could sense my presence whenever I was near.  As time passed, it became stronger, and other things started developing.”

“What kind of things?”  There was a look of wonder in Lucinda’s eyes.

“He always knows when I’m looking at him.  He can feel my emotions, even when I’m miles away.  When Loubar tried to grab me, Rollie sensed that I was in danger and managed to get here in time.  He can sometimes even hear my thoughts.  And . . . we’ve spoken telepathically.  I’ve actually heard his voice inside my mind.  We’ve even shared dreams, one just yesterday.”

Lucinda’s eyes had grown huge.  “Wow.  That’s . . . wow.”

“When we make love, every time we make love, it’s like we’re not even two people anymore.  I feel everything that Rollie feels, and he feels everything I do.”

Angie hadn’t thought it was possible for the actress’s eyes to get any bigger, but they just did.

“Everything?” Lucinda whispered.

Angie nodded.

“You mean . . . you mean . . . everything?”

“Yes, everything, Luce.  Absolutely everything.  It’s. . . .  There just aren’t any words to describe it.”

Lucinda sat back, staring out into space.  “Wow,” she said again, awe in her voice and on her face.  She turned to Angie.  “You have got to be the luckiest woman on the planet, Angie.”

Angie smiled brightly.  “Yeah, I am.”   Her smile turned mischievous.  “So, now that you’ve found out about the rest of my weekend, how did Saturday night go with David taking you home?”

“Nothing happened, if that’s what you’re asking.  We talked on the drive home, David saw me to my hotel room, then he said goodnight and left.”

“Were you hoping for a goodnight kiss?”

Luce sighed.  “Yeah, I guess.  I’d have been more than willing to give him one, but he didn’t even make a move toward me.  You think that maybe he doesn’t like me in that way?”

“Trust me, Luce, he definitely likes you.  Maybe he’s a gentleman.  I mean, you haven’t even gone on a date yet.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  I was hoping he’d ask me out Sunday, but he didn’t.”  The actress sighed.  “I guess that won’t be happening now, will it.  I’m going back home on Wednesday.  Why do I always become attracted to guys whom I can’t have, or want only my body, or dump me, or--”

Or die.  Angie knew that those were the words that had gone through Lucinda’s mind.

“You’ll find somebody, Luce.  I know he’s out there.  Until I realized that I was in love with Rollie, I went through pretty much the same thing.  I was beginning to think that I’d never find someone whom I could have a meaningful relationship with even for a month, let alone a lifetime.  And there he was all the time right before my eyes.  You know what scares me?  If Loubar hadn’t done what he did and Rollie hadn’t gotten shot, I might never have realized the truth.  I might never have experienced this wonderful thing that I have now.”

Lucinda shook her head.  “I think that, one way or another, you both would have figured it out, Angie.  As much as you love each other, it’s inevitable that you would have seen the truth eventually.”

“You may be right.  What I’m saying, though, is that you never know what surprises may come your way when it comes to love.  You may have already met the guy you’ll spend the rest of your life with and just not know it yet.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  I’m still young.  I still have time.  Thanks for cheering me up, Angie.”

“You’re welcome, Luce.”

“Now, tell me more about that wedding night. . . .”

Rollie sat on the bench, watching the people in the park.  He had known that it wouldn’t take an hour to get the ice cream, so he decided to spend the extra time here.  The Aussie looked down at the diary that lay on his lap, running his fingers across it.  Angie would never know how much it meant to him that she’d given him this.  He wished that he could give her the same in return, but he had never kept a journal.  He wished that he could tell her everything, everything about his time with the Aborigines, what Mangela taught him, his mother’s death, what happened after Cale pushed him off Kata Tjuta.  But there were things inside him that he just couldn’t talk about, secrets that no one knew.  Maybe someday, that would change.  Maybe someday, he’d find the courage to stop hiding.

Sighing, Rollie opened the book.  It was the first of Angie’s diaries, the dates showing that she started it a few months before her eleventh birthday.  He glanced through the pages, curiosity driving him forward to a particular day in March of 1984.  At last, he found it.
 

Papa hired a new assistant today.  His name is Rollie, and he’s Australian.  He is so cute!  He has wavy brown hair and these wonderful brown eyes that light up when he smiles, and he’s got the best smile in the world.  He isn’t stuck up like that jerk that worked for Papa before, even though he’s a stuntman.  I really like him a lot.  He makes me feel funny inside, all hot and quivery, but it’s a good kind of funny.  I like the way he makes me feel.  I like it a lot.

Smiling softly, Rollie kept reading Angie’s comments about their first meeting.  It was the longest single entry up to that point in the book.  When he reached the end of it, he wanted to continue to what Angie had written about the next day, but, glancing at his watch, he realized that he needed to get going to the store.

After getting the ice cream, he headed for the loft.  As he drove, he thought about what he’d read.  The image of Angie back then was still so clear in his mind, her bright face full of a child’s innocence, yet reflecting her intelligence and the maturity she had gained through the pain suffered over her mother’s fate.  He remembered holding her in his lap, giving her hugs and kisses on the cheek or forehead, playing games with her, tucking her into bed.

Then he thought about the Angie of today, the Angie whom he had come to know in the most intimate of ways this weekend.  He thought of the beautiful body he had made love to, her face, no longer that of an innocent child, but of a passionate, brilliant, lovely woman, her lips no longer giving him innocent pecks on the cheek, but locked with his in wild, soul-deep kisses.  Thinking about it in this way, it was hard to believe that they were the same person, Angie the child and Angie his wife and lover.  But it was Angie the child whom he had loved first, and the memories of her like that would always be precious to him.  And, perhaps someday, another little girl would sit in his lap, and he would see in her face the child he had come to love so long ago.

As Rollie walked into the loft, he heard Angie and Lucinda laughing, the actress saying something about waking up to the sound of the guy she was with snoring like a grizzly bear with a sinus condition.

“Well, at least Angie won’t ever have that problem,” he remarked, making both women jump.  They hadn’t noticed him come in.  Rollie almost laughed at the sight of both women blushing furiously.

“Rol!  Um . . . we didn’t hear you come in,” Angie stammered, still blushing.

“Yeah, I gathered that.”  The Aussie’s mouth and eyebrows quirked in amusement.

“How long have you been standing there?” Luce asked, also still blushing.

“Oh, long enough to hear about the guy doing an impression of a bear.”  Rollie looked at his wife.  “Now, aren’t you glad I don’t snore?”

Angie grew mischievous.  “Are you sure about that, Rollie?”

The Aussie’s smile grew.  “Yeah, actually I am.  Dani told me that I--”  Rollie cut himself off abruptly.  Now it was his turn to blush.  What had possessed him to say that?  Embarrassed and ashamed, he cleared his throat and took the ice cream into the kitchen area.  “Everybody ready for some ice cream?”

Lucinda glanced at Angie, deciding that it was time to leave the newlyweds alone.  “I’ll have to take a rain check, Rollie.  I need to take care of some stuff.  I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure, Luce,” Angie said.  She and Rollie told her goodbye.  There was a moment of silence after the actress had left.

“Ange, I’m sorry,” Rollie blurted out.  “That was so stupid of me to say that.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Angie said.  “We both know that we’re not the first relationships we’ve had.”  She put an arm around his waist.  “That’s all in the past, Rol.  All those old boyfriends and girlfriends don’t mean anything anymore.  You belong to me now, and I belong to you, forever.”

Rollie held her close.  “Yeah, forever.”  He gave her a gentle kiss.  “I love you.  That’s something I could never say to Dani.”

“I love you.  That’s something I could never say to any other guy I was with.”

“Really?  What about what’s-his-name in college?”

“Ted?  I only dated him for a few weeks.  He was fun, and I may have had a bit of a crush on him, but I never deluded myself into thinking that I was in love with him.”

“Even though he was Mister All American Quarterback and in your computer class?”

Angie wrapped her arms around Rollie’s neck.  “He couldn’t hold a candle to you, Rol.”

Smiling, Rollie crushed her to him, capturing her mouth with his.  Moaning, he lifted her up onto the kitchen counter.  Answering his moan with one of her own, Angie wrapped her legs around his waist.  Forgetting about the ice cream and the work that needed to be done, they made love, showing with every touch, every kiss the depth of their love and passion.  Afterwards, holding each other tightly as their bodies calmed, they both became aware that they were being watched.  Husband and wife turned to see Bluey staring up at them.  They looked at the electronic dog for a long moment, then burst out laughing.

“I guess I’m going to have to tell him about the birds and bees now,” Rollie said, grinning.

“You mean you haven’t already?” Angie asked teasingly.  “Kind of falling down on your parental duties, Rol.”

Rollie touched her cheek, smiling into her eyes.  “I promise to do better next time.”

Returning his smile, Angie hugged him close.  She gave a long sigh.  “I guess we should get back to work.”

“Um hmm,” Rollie mumbled as he began nibbling on Angie’s earlobe.

Angie’s breath caught.  “This ice cream needs to be put away.”

“Yeah,” her husband murmured as his lips moved down to suckle the skin over the pulse point on her neck at the same time as his hand covered her breast.

“Then again, we could just leave everything till tomorrow and go upstairs,” Angie gasped.

Smiling brilliantly, Rollie lifted his head.  “I like that idea much better.”

Laughing, the Aussie lifted his wife into his arms and carried her upstairs as Bluey stood and watched them, his tail wagging.

It was two hours later before they finally headed over to Angie’s apartment.

“You know, at this rate, we are never going to get our work done in time,” Angie said, still feeling the glow from their afternoon of lovemaking.

“Yeah, but we’ll have a lot of fun while missing the deadline,” Rollie responded.

Angie shook her head.  “Rollie, you’re hopeless.”

“Me?  I seem to recall that there were two people in that bed, Love, and you were having just as much fun as I was.”

“You bet I was.”

Arriving at Angie’s apartment, they got busy finishing the packing of her belongings.  Most of the furniture belonged to the landlord, so they wouldn’t have to deal with moving it.

“Hey, Rollie, has David said anything to you about Lucinda?”

“Uh, no.  Why?”

“Well, Luce and I got to talking about him.  He seems to be reluctant to get into any kind of relationship with her, even though it’s plain that he’s attracted to her.  Luce was hoping he’d ask her out on a date.”  Angie turned to Rollie and found him looking at her with laughter in his eyes.  “What are you laughing at?”

“You.  Angela Kathleen Ramirez Tyler, matchmaker.  It’s not a role I ever expected to see you play.”

“Ha ha.  And what about you, Roland Nathaniel Tyler?  Aren’t you the one who decided to call David and invite him to dinner that one night?”

“Guilty as charged.  I think that David and Luce would be good for each other.  They have some important things in common.”

“Like what?”

“David lost his fiancée two years ago.  From what I can tell, he’s still not completely over it.”

“How sad.  Maybe that’s why he’s reluctant to ask Luce out.”

“Could be, though I got the impression that David’s a little shy when it comes to women he’s attracted to.  It might also be the fact that he knows Lucinda is going back to L.A.”

“Yeah, but still. . . .”  Angie’s voice drifted off.  A slow smile spread across her face.  “How would you like to do some real matchmaking?”

“What do you have in mind?”

Angie explained her plan, which was actually quite simple.  Rollie nodded.  “Great idea.  You call Luce, and I’ll call David.”  He went into Angie’s bedroom to make the call.

“Hey, David,” he said as the agent answered his cell phone.

“Hi, pal.  So, did you and Angie enjoy your weekend in Harlan’s cottage?”

Rollie paused a moment at hearing David call him “pal.”  Deciding that he liked it, he grinned.  “You have no idea, mate.  The best weekend of my life.”

David chuckled.  “Glad to hear it.  So, what’s up?”

“We’re going to dinner tonight and thought you’d like to join us, if you can.”

“I’d think that two newlyweds would prefer dining alone.”

“We’re not going to be alone anyway.  Lucinda is coming, too.  She’s heading back to the West Coast on Wednesday, and we want to spend a little more time with her.”

There was a pause on David’s end.  “I didn’t realize she was leaving that soon.  I never asked.”

Rollie couldn’t help but hear the regret in the agent’s voice.  “Well, why don’t you come with us to dinner, then?  It’ll give you a chance to say goodbye.”

There was another pause.  “Yeah, okay.  I’d like that.”

“Good.  Shall we say seven o’clock?”

“Seven’s good.”

“We’ll make a reservation under Tyler.”  Telling the agent which restaurant, Rollie said goodbye, then disconnected the call.  He went back out into the living room, where Angie was just finishing her call to Lucinda.

“She’ll be there,” she said, grinning.

“What a tragic shame that we won’t.”  Rollie’s grin was an equal to his wife’s.

After making the reservation, they returned to the job of packing, finishing at a little past six.

Rollie stared at the pile of boxes.  “What are we going to do with all this?”

“Well, you did clean out your storage room, didn’t you?  A lot of things can go in there for now.” Angie picked up a sauce pan.  “I guess it’s time to start thinking about what’s going to happen down the road.”

“Such as?”

“Such as the fact that we don’t even have a real kitchen.  Back when Dad and I lived there, the kitchen was where the lounge is, and the lounge was where the VR chamber is.  What we have now is okay for us, but. . . .”

“But not for a family,” Rollie finished.

“Yeah.”

The Aussie sat down.  “You’re right.  I really didn’t think about how things like that would have to change.”  He studied Angie’s face.  “Do you want me to sell the loft?  We could get a house, I guess, and set up a separate studio.”

Angie sat beside him.  “No, I don’t want you to sell the loft.  I love that place.  It has so many good memories, of dad and you, of us.  Even after I moved into my own apartment, coming to the loft still always felt like going home to me.”

Rollie smiled, happy that she didn’t want to sell the loft.  He loved the place, too.  But he would have sold it if that’s what she wanted.

“Well then, I guess we’ll have to make some remodeling plans,” he said.

Giving each other a kiss, they got up and loaded the truck with Angie’s belongings, then headed back home.

David stepped up to the maitre d’.  “Hello, I’m with the Tyler party.”

The man checked his book.  “Ah, yes.  Party of four.  You are the first to arrive.”  He led David to a table tucked away in a secluded corner of the restaurant.  “May I get you an aperitif, sir?”

The agent ordered some wine, then settled down to wait.  He’d only been waiting a couple of minutes when he saw the maitre d’ leading Lucinda over to the table.  Feeling his heartbeat grow a little faster, David stood, giving the actress a smile.  “Hi.”  He moved over behind the chair to his right, pulling it out for her before the maitre d’ had a chance to.

“Hi.  Rollie and Angie not here yet?”  Lucinda sat in the chair, pleased at the agent’s gentlemanly courtesy.

“Not yet.” David sat back down, letting his eyes run over her face.  “You look very lovely tonight,” he murmured.

“Thank you.”

There was a brief silence, then David said, “I understand that you’re leaving on Wednesday.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a new movie project?”

“No, not yet, but I’m waiting for word back on a couple of auditions I did.”

David nodded.  “I remember you saying that you used to live here in New York.”

“Uh huh.  I started my acting career here.  I even did a few movies with Rollie and Angie.  We had fun.”

“Did you move to Los Angeles to further your career?”

“Yeah.  I got an offer to do a Hollywood picture,” Lucinda told him.  “While I was there, I looked into some other parts, and I decided that I might have more luck there than here.”

“Have you?  Had more luck, I mean?”

“To a certain extent, though things haven’t gone quite as well as I’d hoped.  This last movie I did was my biggest break so far.  Something else will come along, though.”

“I’m sure it will.  You’re a talented actress.”

Lucinda beamed at the compliment, able to tell that David had really meant what he said.  “Thank you.  That’s sweet of you to say.”

David blushed faintly.  “Well, I liked you in ‘Operation: Romance’.  It was a small part, but you did it really well.  It must not have been easy playing the part of a woman with cancer.”

Lucinda looked closely at David.  There had been something in his voice and his eyes that told her there was more here than a simple comment.

“No, it wasn’t, especially breast cancer.  It’s a fear that all women have.”

“Yeah.”  David looked down at his glass of wine, then took a sip.  Just then, a waiter came to their table with a telephone.

“There’s a call for either David Rain or Lucinda Scott,” he said.

“I’ll take it,” the agent said.

“David, it’s Rollie,” the Aussie said when the agent answered the call.  “I’m sorry, but we’re not going to be able to make it.  Something unexpected came up.  Give Luce our apologies, okay?  We’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Sure, Rollie, I’ll do that.  Bye.”  He disconnected the call and gave the phone back to the waiter.  “That was Rollie,” he told Lucinda.  “Something came up, and they’re not going to be able to make it.”

“Oh?  That’s too bad.”  She looked at the waiter.  “I guess you can bring us our menus now.”

“Certainly, ma’am.”  He hurried off to get the menus.

After ordering their dinner, the couple sat in silence for a few moments.

“So, um, how did you meet Rollie and Angie,” Luce asked.  “Probably on a case, huh.”

“Yeah.  An assassin was on the loose, and I was assigned to the case.  I’d heard about Rollie and his work with the police and the bureau, but I’d never gotten to meet him before then.  He’s an amazing man.”

“Yes, he is.”

“So, how did you meet them?”

“I was hired to help frame Rollie for murder and theft.”

David blinked.  “What?”

Laughing, Lucinda told him about being hired to play a role that ultimately resulted in the death of her roommate, her own close brush with death, and the addition of two good friends in her life.

David swallowed the bite he’d taken of his dinner, which had arrived partway through Lucinda’s tale.  “That’s quite a story.  So . . . Rollie was attracted to you?”

Luce smiled.  “Uh huh, and I have to admit that the feeling was mutual.  But it didn’t take long for us to realize that we were meant to be just friends.  Though he didn’t know it at the time, Rollie’s heart was already taken.  Then I met Rick and. . . .”  Lucinda stopped.  She hadn’t intended to bring Rick into the conversation.  It still hurt to talk about him sometimes.

“Who’s Rick?” David asked, seeing a flash of pain in the eyes of the woman sitting next to him.

“He was a stuntman, one of Rollie’s best friends.  He . . . he was killed while doing a stunt, an explosion.”  Lucinda stared down at her plate, trying very hard not to cry.  She felt a gentle hand laid upon hers.  Looking up, she met David’s eyes, which were filled with compassion and understanding.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Feeling warmth fill her heart, Luce laid her hand over his for a moment.  She gave him a weak smile, then fished into her purse for a tissue.

“It was a long time ago, two years,” she murmured, “but. . . .”

“You loved him,” David said gently.

“Yeah.  Yeah, I did.”

“You never really get over it, not completely.”  David’s eyes looked away to some distant point only he could see.  “I had someone once, too.  Her name was Stephanie.  She was beautiful, dark-haired like you, but with grey-green eyes.  I fell head over heels the moment I met her.  We were going to be married.”

Lucinda watched as the soft smile on the agent’s face disappeared.  “What happened?” she asked gently.

“A month after we got engaged, Stephanie was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Luce felt her throat tighten up, now understanding his reaction to their earlier conversation.

“It was in an advanced stage, both breasts.  She had a double mastectomy and the radiation and chemotherapy, but the prognosis wasn’t good right from the start.  I wanted . . . I wanted to marry her anyway, but she . . . didn’t want to leave me a . . . a widower.”

David’s eyes dropped to the table, then he reached for his water glass with a trembling hand.  He took a long drink, trying to ease the pain and tightness in his throat.  As he set the glass down, he felt Lucinda’s hand cover his, just as his had covered hers earlier.  He met her eyes and was surprised to see tears in them.

“I’m sorry, David.  I know that must have been a terrible thing to go through.  How long has it been?”

“Two years, just like with you.”

Not removing her hand from his, she kept looking into the FBI agent’s blue eyes.  David felt his heart stirring with a feeling he hadn’t experienced since Stephanie’s death.  Giving Lucinda a faint smile, he turned his hand up and curled his fingers around hers.  Lucinda returned the smile.  They gazed at each other for several more moments, then resumed eating, the conversation turning to happier topics.  They were still talking as David drove her back to the hotel.  He walked with her to the door of her room.

“I had a really nice time, David,” Lucinda said, holding her key in her hand.

“Me too.  Maybe . . . maybe we could go to dinner again tomorrow night or . . . or lunch, if you already have plans for dinner.”

Lucinda smiled at the faint blush that had colored the agent’s cheeks.  “I’d love to have dinner with you.”

A bright smile lit David’s face.  “Great!  Um, I’ll see you then.  Would 7:30 be all right?  I need to work late tomorrow.”

“That would be fine.”

“Good.”  David paused.  “Goodnight, Lucinda.”

“Goodnight.”

Lucinda watched as David began turning away.  A sudden urge took hold of her, and she grasped his shirt sleeve.  As he turned back to her, she reached up and kissed him full on the lips.  David gasped.  They moved apart and stared at each other.  David’s eyes then dropped down to her mouth.  Pulling her into his arms, he brought his lips to hers.  Moaning softly, they lost themselves in the kiss.  For several seconds, it remained slow and gentle.  Then, all at once, the fire building inside them flared brightly, and the kiss became deep and searching.  Moaning again, Lucinda felt herself pressed against the door of her hotel room.

Finally, their lips separated.  Both if them breathing hard, they gazed at each other dazedly.  David drew away from her.

“I-I-I’m sorry.  I don’t know what came over me,” he stammered.  “I don’t . . . I mean, I never. . . .  I don’t do things like this.”  He was flushed crimson.

“I don’t either.  I mean, I usually wait until after the third date before I pounce on a guy.”  A nervous giggle escaped Lucinda’s throat.  She was feeling extremely aroused right now, and if she didn’t cool down soon, their first date would end with their first breakfast together.

David swallowed deeply.  “I-I think I’d better go.”

Luce just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Do you, um, still want to go out tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Lucinda replied, feeling herself warming again at the thought of what might happen at the end of that date.

“I’ll pick you up at 7:30.”  David turned and hurried away down the hall, still shocked and a little appalled that he had lost control like that and kissed Lucinda in that way.  But, wow, what a kiss!  Just thinking about it was bringing back his arousal.

The agent hurried to his car and pointed it in the direction of home.

“Don’t fall in love with her, David,” he warned himself.  “She’s leaving day after tomorrow, and you’ll probably never see her again.”

His traitorous heart and mind refused to listen to him and kept right on thinking about what it felt like when he held Lucinda in his arms and kissed her, the taste of her mouth, the softness of her skin, the feeling of--

Pushing his foot a little harder on the accelerator, David sped home, trying to ignore the emotions that were growing inside him.

Lucinda lay on her bed, still fully clothed.  Her heart had finally slowed to a more or less normal speed, though she still felt feverish.  Wow.  She hadn’t felt that much heat when kissing a man since Rick died.  Just thinking about the kiss was making her respiration quicken.  She wanted to kiss him again.

“Don’t fall for him, Luce,” she told herself.  “You live on opposite sides of the country.  He has his life here in New York, and you have yours in L.A.  It could never work.”

As usual, she didn’t listen to herself and kept right on thinking about David.  Deciding that she needed to talk to someone, Lucinda picked up the phone and dialed the loft.  It rang four times before a slightly out of breath Angie answered it.  Lucinda mentally kicked herself, guessing that the newlyweds had been engaged in doing what newlyweds were prone to do a lot of.

“I’m sorry, Angie.  I interrupted you, didn’t I,” she apologized.

“No, that’s all right.  Rollie and I were . . . unwrapping our wedding presents.”

Luce smiled.  ‘And unwrapping a few other things too, I bet,’ she thought to herself.

“So, what’s up?  Did you and David have a nice evening?” Angie asked.

“Uh, yeah.  You, um, could say it was nice.”  ‘But incredible would be a better word for it,’ she added in her mind.

“Care to elaborate on what that means?”

“He kissed me.  I mean, I kissed him first, but then he kissed me.”

“Uh huh.  I see.  So, you got your goodnight kiss.”

“Ohhhh yeah.  I got that all right.”

“By the tone of your voice, I’ll guess that it was a good goodnight kiss.”  There was amusement in Angie’s voice.

“Good?  Good doesn’t come close.  I’m still flying about five feet off the ground.”

Angie laughed.  “I’m glad.  David’s a really nice guy.”

“I’m leaving on Wednesday, Angie.”

The somberly spoken words changed the mood immediately.

“Yeah, I know, Luce.”  Angie’s voice was now subdued.

“So, what do I do?  I can’t stay, but I don’t want to leave, not now.  We’re going out again tomorrow, but I don’t want to have just a couple of dates with him, then say goodbye.  I want more.”

“You can’t stay here for a couple of weeks?  If it’s the money, you can stay in my apartment.  It’s paid up until the end of the month.”

“No, I can’t stay.  I’m waiting for a call back on two auditions.  My agent is almost positive that I’m going to get the one role.  If it comes through, I have to be there in L.A.  The movie starts filming in two weeks.”  Lucinda sighed deeply.  “I really like him, Angie.  I haven’t liked a guy this much since Rick.  Why does this always happen?  Why can’t I meet a guy, fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after?  You and Rollie are so lucky.”

“Luce, that can happen with you, too.  If you really want to, you and David will work something out.”

Lucinda sighed again.  “Yeah, you’re right.  I shouldn’t give up so easily.  Thanks, Angie.”

“You’re welcome.”

Angie said goodbye and hung up the phone.  She turned to Rollie, who had been listening in on the conversation.  “Well, it looks like our little plan worked--and then some.  Poor Luce.  It sounds like she’s got it bad.”

“Yeah, it does.”

Just then, the phone rang again.  This time, the Aussie answered it.

“Hi, Rollie,” came David’s voice over the line.  “Um, I’m sorry to bother you so late.  I can call back another time.”

“No, that’s all right, David.  What’s on your mind?”  Rollie looked at Angie, who leaned forward and put her ear near the receiver.

“It’s, uh, about Lucinda.  We had a great dinner.  It’s the first time I’ve talked, I mean, really talked to a woman since I lost Stephanie.  She told me about your friend, Rick, and I was just suddenly pouring out the whole story about Stephie.  I don’t ever talk about it, especially not to dates.  But it felt good to talk about it.  Lucinda understands.  She knows what I’m feeling.  Anyway, I took her back to her hotel room afterwards.  She gave me a goodnight kiss.  Shocked the hell out of me.  I wasn’t expecting it.  Then . . . then, all of a sudden, I was kissing her like I haven’t kissed a woman in over two years.  I couldn’t stop myself.  And, now, I can’t stop thinking about her.”  There was a pause.  “I’ve, um, taken two cold showers already, and I’ve only been home twenty minutes.”  David’s embarrassment was evident in his voice.  He laughed self-consciously.  “I don’t even know why I called you.  Maybe it’s because I figured that you might understand what I’m going through.”

“Yeah, I do.  I took more than a few cold showers myself from the time I realized that I was attracted to Angie until I was put out of my misery on Saturday night.”  The Aussie gave his wife a wink, who muffled the laughter that was threatening to spill out at the thought of Rollie desperately taking cold showers as he fought his urges.

“So, what do I do?  She’s leaving on Wednesday.  We’re going out tomorrow night again, but that isn’t enough.  I want to keep seeing her.”

“I don’t know, David.  Lucinda is an actress.  Right now, she’s an actress in Los Angeles, but. . . .”  He left the statement hanging.

“But she used to be an actress here . . . and might be again someday,” David finished.

“You never know.”

“Thanks, Rollie.  I’m glad I called you.”

“Any time . . . pal.”  The Aussie hung up the phone and met his wife’s gaze.  “So, we got them together.  Any brilliant plans on how to keep them together, oh wise matchmaker?”

“I think that’s something they will have to work out on their own.  Those are decisions they’ll have to make for themselves.”

Rollie nodded.  A smile slowly spread across his face.  “So, shall we get back to unwrapping these gifts?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Angie leaned in toward him.  “Most definitely.  I wouldn’t want you to be forced to take another one of those cold showers.”

Pulling her into his arms, Rollie bore her to the floor, the gifts that lay scattered about them forgotten.
 

CHAPTER NINETEEN -- TAKEN

Angie awoke slowly, smiling at the thought of her first night sleeping with her husband in the place that was once again truly her home.  Not that they’d gotten much sleep last night.

Realizing that she couldn’t feel Rollie beside her, Angie turned around to find the other half of the bed empty.  Thinking that Rollie was in the bathroom, she was just about to call out when he came in bearing a tray of food.

“You fixed me breakfast in bed?” Angie asked, smiling in delight.  No one had ever done that for her before, except when she was sick.

“I fixed us breakfast in bed,” he corrected, climbing into the bed beside her.  He set the tray down so that it was over his right leg and Angie’s left.

“You are so sweet,” Angie said.  “So, who are you and what did you do with my husband?”

“Well, that’s gratitude for you,” Rollie said in a tone of mock outrage.  “See if I ever fix you breakfast in bed again.”

“Fix us breakfast in bed.”

“Yeah, us.”  Rollie gave her a long, slow kiss.  “Good morning, Angel.”

“Good morning.”  Angie brought her lips to his in a second kiss.  “Our first night at home as husband and wife.”

“Yeah.  I think I could get used to this.”

“Well, you’d better get used to it.  It’s going to be like this for a very, very long time, at least fifty years.”

“Fifty, huh?”  The Aussie looked somewhat disappointed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I had my heart set on sixty, at the very least.”

Angie smiled.  “Sixty years it is then.  If you play your cards right, we might even make it seventy.”

“I’ll be sure to eat all my Wheaties,” Rollie said, smiling as his mouth closed over his wife’s for a third kiss.

They finally got down to the business of eating.  Once breakfast was finished, they showered and dressed, then got to work, trying to make up for the time they’d lost yesterday.  Mangela and Dingo showed up at around ten o’clock.

“Well, you two are looking pretty pleased with yourselves,” Rollie’s father said about five seconds after he came in the door.

“What’s not to be pleased about?” Rollie responded.  “Except for this mountain-load of work that never seems to get done.”

“You should have forgotten about the work and stayed at Harlan’s estate for another few days.”  Dingo smiled at his son, not remembering ever having seen Rollie look so happy before.

“Well, that might have been great for Angie and me, but I don’t think that the producer and investors of this movie would be very pleased.”

Angie looked at her watch.  “Rol, I’ve got to get going to my appointment.”

“Okay.  Love you.”  Rollie gave her a kiss.

“Love you, too.”

The Aussie watched her leave.

“What’s the appointment for?” Dingo asked.

“With her doctor.  She wants to see about birth control.”

Dingo grinned.  “Birth control, eh?  Not ready to give me a grandkid, Son?”

“Dad, you’re not ready to handle being a grandfather,” Rollie said teasingly.

“You’re bloody right about that.”

Rollie chuckled.  He looked at Mangela.  “So, what about you?  You anxious to become a spiritual grandfather?”

The Aborigine nodded, his expression serious.  “It is possible that your children will be like you, Rollie.  I will teach them the beliefs of the People, if you will permit it.”

Rollie’s jovial mood vanished at the man’s words.  “Mangela, we need to talk,” he said.

Dingo looked back and forth between the two men.  “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, we’ll go outside,” his son replied.  He and Mangela went out the door.

Rollie didn’t speak for a while.  His back was turned to the Aborigine.  Finally he faced him.  “What you told me once, back when I was a child.  It was true.  Angie and I, when we made love, we . . . we stopped being two people.  It was as if her body and her mind were mine.  But, at the same time, I still felt the things in my own body.  It’s like I was two people at the same time.”  He shook his head.  “It’s hard to describe.”

“And did Angie feel the same?”

“Yes.”

Mangela nodded.  “It is as I told you.  You are what I said you were.  You can deny it, you can hide your face from it, but you cannot change what is inside you.”

Rollie walked away a few steps.  “I know.”  He closed his eyes for a moment, accepting what Mangela had said.  “But I can’t be what you want me to be, Mangela,” he murmured after a moment.  “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, Rollie,” the Aborigine said, his voice heavy with regret.  “I’m sorry that I could not protect you.  I’m sorry that I could not help you when you needed me most.”

Rollie faced Mangela.  “It wasn’t your fault.  You couldn’t have known.  And you did help me, Mangela, as much as I would let you.”  His gaze dropped to the ground for a moment, then returned to his spiritual father’s eyes.  “When I was in the coma, I had a dream.  I dreamt that Angie and I made love.  I didn’t remember the dream until quite a while after I awoke from the coma, but when I did, I could have sworn that it had been real.  On sunday, I found out that Angie had the dream with me.  Only . . . it wasn’t a dream, was it.”

A look of surprise had filled Mangela’s face.  It was the first time Rollie could remember seeing the Aborigine truly surprised by anything in a very long time.

“When two people walk the same songline, they can sometimes share a Dreaming.”

“But this wasn’t a Dreaming.  It was something else, something different.”

Mangela nodded.  “I have heard stories, ancient songs, but I had never spoken to one who had done it himself.  You and Angie did make love that day, as truly as if you had done it with your physical bodies.  But it was your spirits, your souls, that joined in lovemaking.”

“Was that what caused this connection that we now have, making love like that?”

“It is what awakened it, brought it forth.  The connection was always there, but you could not consciously feel it because you had buried your true self down deep inside you.  If you had not done that, you would have known from the moment you met Angie that she was your spiritual mate.”

“I did feel something, even back then, a bond between us.”

Mangela nodded.

“We shared another dream yesterday.  Angie was pregnant in it.”

The Aborigine smiled.

Rollie noticed the smile.  “What?  What does that mean?  Does it mean that Angie’s pregnant or will be soon?”

“Perhaps.  It might also mean that, though you say that you wish to wait for children, the truth is that you both long for them now.”

Rollie smiled, shaking his head.  “Sometimes, you know me better than I do.  I admit that part of me would be very happy if Angie was already pregnant.  But it is best if we wait a while.  So many things have happened over the last six and a half months.  We both need time to settle into our new lives.  Now that Victor Loubar is in the hands of the authorities, we’ll be able to do that.”

The door opened, and Dingo stuck his head out.  “Rollie, you’re wanted on the phone.”

Rollie and Mangela went inside.  The Aussie picked up the phone.  He talked for a few minutes, then hung up.  “I need to go to the studio about something.  If Angie gets back before I do, tell her where I went.”

“I’m afraid that we won’t be here, Son,” Dingo told him.  “Mangela and I are going off again.  We probably won’t be back until later today.”

Rollie looked at them suspiciously.  “What are you two up to?”

“We’re not up to anything, Rollie,” Dingo assured him.  “The truth is that Mangela has been teaching me some things.”

“What kind of things?”

“He’s been helping me get past my compulsion for betting on the horses, for one.  It has been bloody hard not to place a bet this past week.  Mangela offered to help.”

Rollie smiled happily.  “Really?  Well, that’s great.  I guess we’ll see you this afternoon, then.”

Saying goodbye to the two men, Rollie headed over to the studio, taking the pickup since he wouldn't be needing the van for this trip.  While he was there, Angie called.

“I’m through at the doctor’s,” she told him.  “I’m going to do some shopping and wanted to know if you’d like anything in particular for dinner.”

“Yeah, you,” Rollie replied.

“Sorry, Rol.  You’ll have to settle for something from the grocery store.  I’m not on the menu tonight, not since your dad and Mangela will be there.”

“Hmm.  I guess that I’ll just have to save you for a midnight snack, then.”

“If you don’t get hungry before then.”

Rollie laughed.  “So, what did the doc say?”

“That it’s extremely unlikely that I’m pregnant, just as I figured.”

Feeling mixed emotions over the news, the Aussie asked, “Are you going to go on the Pill?”

“Yeah.  We’re going to try something different from what I was on before.  I’ll be picking up the prescription on the way home.”

Letting her know that he was at the studio and that he should be home within an hour, Rollie said goodbye and returned his attention to the business at hand.  He had just finished when he suddenly got this odd, unsettling feeling, like something was wrong.  The Aussie stood still for a moment, then decided to call Angie.

“Ange, is everything all right?” he asked when she answered her cell phone.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.  Why?”

“I don’t know.  I just had this funny feeling, like something was wrong.  Must be my imagination.”

“Well, everything is just fine with me, unless I die of boredom and frustration over waiting in these long lines at the checkout counter.”

Saying goodbye a second time, Rollie shook off the feeling he had and left the studio, having finished earlier than he had expected.  He decided to head over to Midtown South to thank everyone for the gift.

“Well, what are you doing here?” Mira asked.  “I thought you and Angie would be hip-deep in work.”

“Angie had a doctor’s appointment, and I had to go to the studio for something.”

“A doctor’s appointment?” the detective asked curiously.

“Yes, and never you mind what it’s about.”

Mira grinned.  “Sorry.  Just my natural detective’s curiosity.”

Frank walked up to them.  “Curiosity?  About what?”

Just then, Captain VanDuran called for them to come into his office.  Rollie saw the look on the man’s face and knew that something was very wrong.

“We’ve got trouble, big trouble.  Victor Loubar was being transferred out of the hospital today.  There was an accident.  He’s escaped.”

“What?!” yelled Rollie.  “How?”

“Because of Loubar’s physical condition, the transfer was made in a squad car rather than the prisoner transport.  Someone ran through an intersection and crashed into the car.  The two officers were knocked unconscious.  Loubar got the keys to his cuffs and took one officer’s gun.  He stole a car and escaped.”

“Oh my God!  Angie!  He’ll go after Angie!”  Rollie headed for the door.

“Wait, Rollie!” called Mira.  “You’re not going there alone.  Come on.  We’ll get there faster in our car.”

They pealed out of the parking lot, siren blaring.  Rollie sat in the back seat, his stomach clenched tight with fear.  All at once, he was struck by the same horrible feeling of danger that he’d felt when Loubar went after Angie the last time.

“Oh, God!  He’s got her!  Loubar’s got her!  You have to hurry!”  Rollie was going crazy with the overwhelming terror that was ripping him apart.

Minutes later, they screeched to a halt in front of the loft.  Rollie was out of the car before it had come to a complete stop, but he knew, even before he reached the door, that his wife wasn’t there.  Nearly ripping the door off its hinges, he ran inside.

“Angie!  Angie!” he cried hopelessly.  There was no answer, as he knew there wouldn’t be.

For several horrible seconds, standing in the middle of the floor, Rollie didn’t know what to do.  Then he cried out to Blue.  “Bluey!  Where are you?”  The robot barked and came toward him.  Rollie swept him up and placed him on the counter in front of the security monitor screens. “Play back the recordings from cameras one, two, and three for the past half hour.  Run them at one minute per second and stop when you see any activity.”

The tapes rewound and began playing.  Rollie watched the images flash by at sixty times normal speed.  Suddenly, Bluey barked, and the tapes stopped.  A car had pulled up on the other side of Brewery Lane.

“Blue, zoom in on the driver.”

The image zoomed in on the face of the driver.  The features of Victor Loubar looked back at them.

“Damn!  Why wasn’t I here?  I should have been here.”

“Rollie, you couldn’t have known this would happen,” Francis said. 

They watched as Loubar sat there for a couple of minutes, then pulled the car around out of sight.  He walked back and hid in a dark recess in the building across the way.  Rollie saw a gun sticking out of the man’s belt.

“Blue, run the camera one tape forward at ten times normal speed until you see Angie’s car pull up.”

The images speeded up.  By the counter on the screen, seven minutes had passed when Angie pulled up.  The image slowed to normal speed.

His hands clenched tight, Rollie watched as Angie got out of her car, unaware that Loubar was lurking behind her.  Rollie wanted to scream as he saw the man come out of the shadows and sneak up behind her, his gun drawn.  Rollie leaned forward, his hands gripping the edge of the counter, white-knuckled.  On the playback, Angie suddenly spun around.  Her back was now to the camera, and Rollie couldn’t see the expression on her face.  But he could see Loubar’s.  The man’s mouth curved in his all too familiar smile.  His lips moved as he talked to Angie.  Slowly, she came around the car and approached him.  When she had drawn close enough, he grabbed her and put the gun to her head.

“Oh, God,” Rollie whispered raggedly.  He felt Frank’s hand rest on his shoulder.  His voice cracking, Rollie told Blue to zoom in on Angie and Loubar.  The image tightened in on them, and Rollie stared into the terrified eyes of his wife.  She was looking straight into the camera.  Rollie saw her lips move, mouthing the words, “I love you.”

Feeling like he was going to pass out, Rollie watched Loubar force Angie into her car.  With her behind the wheel, they drove out of sight.

Rollie was gripping the counter so tightly that the muscles of his arms were trembling.  Releasing his grip, Rollie sat down heavily.

Mira called in an APB on Angie and her car.  She looked at Rollie in concern.  “Do you have any idea what he’ll do now?”

“He’ll let me agonize for a few hours, maybe all night, then he’ll call and tell me to meet him someplace.  He knows that I’ll come, even though he’ll kill me.  I have no choice.  He’ll kill Angie first.  He’ll kill her while I watch.  That’s what he wants.  He wants to kill me inside before he kills me for real.”

“That isn’t going to happen, Rollie.  When you go to meet him, we’ll be right behind you.”

“Mira, he knows that you’ll plan on doing that, and he’ll figure that I will put a tracking device in the van so that you can follow me at a distance.  He’ll take steps to make sure you can’t follow.”

The door opened and Dingo and Mangela came in.  Rollie could tell that they knew something was wrong.

“The evil has returned, Rollie,” Mangela said.  “I felt your fear.”

“Loubar escaped.  He’s got Angie,” Rollie said heavily.

“Bloody hell!” cried Dingo.  “What are we going to do?”

“There’s nothing much that we can do until Loubar calls,” said Mira.  “You can record and trace the call from here, can’t you?  Not that there’s much of a chance he’ll be careless enough to talk long enough to get a trace.”

The door opened again to admit Lucinda.  “Hi. . . .”  Her voice faded when she saw the expressions on everyone’s faces.  Seeing Rollie’s white, drawn face and terrified eyes, Lucinda got scared.  She looked around and didn’t see Angie.  “Rollie, what’s wrong?  Where’s Angie?”

“Loubar’s got her.  He escaped from the police.”

Lucinda’s hands flew to her month.  “Oh my God,” she whispered.  Her eyes filling with tears, she immediately went to Rollie’s side.  “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t know where he’s taken her.”  Rollie had never felt so helpless in his life.

“Remember the Dreaming, Boy,” Mangela said.

“The Dreaming?”  A look of comprehension came to his face.  “Yes!  Mira.  We’ve got to get a list of all the vacant warehouses in the city.  It’ll be something big, really big.”

“What are you talking about, Rollie?” Francis asked.

“Before all this started I was having dreams about Loubar.  He had Angie in what must be a very large warehouse.  There was a lot I didn’t understand in the dream.  There were large glass bubbles on the walls.  I don’t know what that means.”

Choosing not to comment, Mira made another call to the precinct.  “This is going to take a while,” she commented.

Rollie went to the couch and sat down.  Lucinda sat beside him.

“This dream you’re talking about.  Was it some kind of vision?” she asked.

Rollie nodded.  “It’s not the first time I’ve had one.”

Accepting what he’d said without question, the actress took his hand.  “We’re going to get her back, Rollie.  You have to believe that.”

The Aussie turned anguish-filled eyes to her.  “I can’t lose her, Luce.  If I lose her, my life will be over.”

Fighting to hold back the tears, Lucinda cupped his cheek.  “You’re not going to lose her.  She’ll be all right, you both will.  You should call David.  He’s with the FBI.  They handle kidnappings all the time.”

“This isn’t a regular kidnapping, Lucinda.  Loubar doesn’t want money or anything like that.  He wants me, and unless he gets me, he’ll kill Angie before the feds or the cops can do anything to stop him.”

Lucinda tightened her hold on his hand.  “I still think you should call him.”

“There’s no need,” said a voice behind them, they turned to see David in the doorway.  “I got the call about Loubar’s escape.  I knew that he’d come after you, so I rushed right over here.  Rollie, I’m so sorry.  What’s our status?  Has he called yet?”

“No.  Mira is gathering a list of warehouses for me to take a look at.”

“Why do you think that he’s got her in a warehouse?”

Rollie paused.  Deciding that he didn’t care anymore who knew, he said, “I had a dream.”

David blinked.  “A dream?”

“Yeah.  I had a dream about Loubar and Angie that will come true if I don’t stop it.  It’s happened before.  I won’t let it happen this time.”  Rollie got up and walked away across to the other side of the loft.

“It’s true, then,” David murmured.

“What’s true?” Luce asked.

“In Loubar’s hideout, something happened that made me suspect that Rollie has some kind of extrasensory ability.  Apparently, I was right.”

Lucinda’s gaze went back to Rollie, who was sitting alone on the floor, his back against the wall and his head in his hands.  “I’m scared, David.  I’m scared for Angie, and I’m scared for Rollie.  If something happens to her, it’ll kill him.”

“Then we can’t let that happen,” the agent said firmly.

Rollie sat huddled on the floor, his mind filled with the knowledge that Loubar had Angie.  Every time he thought about what the arms dealer might be doing to her, he felt like he was going to throw up.

The Aussie heard someone approaching.  He knew it was Mangela and his father without looking up.  Dingo knelt beside him.

“How are you doing, Son?” he asked gently.

“I’m scared, Dad.  I’m so scared.  I tried to protect her from him, but I failed again.  Even with all my plans, he still got her.”

“This wasn’t your fault, Rollie.  It was just some freak thing that nobody could have guessed would happen.”

Mangela squatted on the other side of his spiritual son.  “Rollie, things are not good.  You need to do this alone.  If the police go, something bad will happen.  I can feel it.”

The Aussie met the Aborigine’s eyes.  “I know, Mangela.  I feel it, too.”

Mangela nodded.  “Your instincts are getting stronger.  That’s good.  You will need them against this man.”

“So, I need to figure out a way to get out of here without Mira, Frank, and David stopping me.”

“Leave that to us, Son,” Dingo said.  “When the time comes, we’ll keep them occupied.”

An hour later, Mira got a call from the precinct.  “They’re faxing over a list,” she said.

They all went to the fax machine.  Rollie grabbed the first sheet of paper the instant it finished coming out.  He skimmed over the list.  It had locations, the owners’ names, and the names of the previous tenants.  Nothing rang a bell.  He picked up the second sheet and handed the first to Mira.  It was the same with the second sheet.  About halfway down the third sheet was a notation that the warehouses listed below were not vacant, but were presently not being used for various reasons.  Rollie got to the third one down and almost cried out.  Quickly memorizing the address, he forced himself to continue to the bottom of the list.  He handed the third sheet to Mira.

“It could be any of them,” he lied.  “Is there any way of finding out the square footage?  What I saw was very big.”

“That’ll take more time.  But I guess there’s nothing else we can do for now.”  Mira made another call.

Lucinda watched Rollie as he slowly walked over to his office underneath the cleanroom.  She’d been watching his face closely when he was reading the list of warehouses and had seen the startled look that briefly touched his features.  She now watched as he typed something on the keyboard of the office computer.  Getting up, Lucinda walked over to him.

“You know where she is, don’t you,” she said in a low voice.

Rollie met her eyes.  He looked ready to deny it, but then he nodded.  “I have to do this alone, Luce.  If Loubar suspects that there are cops anywhere near, he’ll kill Angie in an instant.”

“But what about you, Rollie?  If you walk in there alone, Loubar will kill you.”

“I don’t know yet what I’m going to do, not for sure.  I won’t know until I get to the warehouse and see what the situation is.”  He looked over at David and the two detectives.  “Luce, I need your help to get out of here.  I’m going to need the van, but there’s no way that I can get it out of the loft without them knowing.  I need to have a legitimate reason for getting the van out of the garage.  I’ve already got a plan for that, but there are things here in the loft that I also want to take.  I need you to help keep Mira’s, Frank’s, and David’s attention distracted enough that they don’t pay a lot of attention to me.  Dad and Mangela will be helping with that, too.  When I pull the van out, I’m going to keep right on going, Luce.  I need a distraction so that it’s at least a couple of minutes before they realize that I’m gone.   Will you help me?”

Lucinda gazed into the Aussie’s pleading eyes for a long time before nodding.

“Thank you,” Rollie said, laying his hand upon hers for a moment.  “Remember when Rick showed you how to do a stunt fall down a staircase?  Do you think that you can still do it?”

The actress smiled faintly.  “Yeah, I can do it.”

“Good.  Just take a tumble down a few of the stairs going up to the bathroom.  Pretend to twist your ankle.  That should distract everyone enough that they won’t notice the sound of the van leaving or the fact that I didn’t come back in.  Time it so that you take your fall right after the garage doors close.”

“Got it.  What did you just do with the computer?”

“I activated Call Forwarding.  If Loubar calls here, it’ll automatically be routed to my cell.”

Lucinda gave Rollie a long look.  “Please be careful.”

“I will.”

As Lucinda walked over to David, Mira, and Frank and began to talk with them, Rollie caught his father’s eye.  Dingo came over, and Rollie explained the plan to him.

“I should be with you, Rollie.  Angie’s my family now too,” Dingo said.

Rollie’s throat tightened at his father’s words.  “Thanks, Dad.  I wish you could be there too, but I’m the only one who can do this.”  He paused, searching Dingo’s face.  “Dad, if I don’t--”

“No,” Dingo interrupted.  “Don’t say it.  You’re going to make it.  You’re a Tyler, remember?”

Rollie smiled, blinking back tears.  “Damn straight,” he whispered.  “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, Son, more than anything.”  Blinking away his own tears, Dingo grasped his son’s hand in a tight squeeze, which Rollie returned.

“Let Mangela know what’s going on,” Rollie said.  “Tell him that I’ll talk to him outside before I leave.”

Nodding, Dingo walked casually over to the Aborigine.  Rollie gave his father about half a minute to explain things, then he left his office.

“If we do figure out which warehouse it is, there are some things I can bring that will help us get inside.  I’d better start gathering them,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear.  He grabbed a duffel bag and began filling it with the equipment he thought he might need.  Mira and Frank watched him for a while, then Dingo distracted them by asking if they wanted to sit for a while and have some coffee.  The three went into the kitchen area, followed a short time later by Lucinda and David, who was sipping on another can of Diet Dr Pepper.  Mangela stayed apart from the rest, watching everyone closely so that he could send Rollie a warning in case Mira, Frank, or David grew too interested in what he was doing.

Putting all he could in the bag, Rollie then casually set it in the van.  He then gathered a few things that were too fragile or too big for the bag and put them in the van as well.  Nobody questioned this, apparently assuming that Rollie planned on taking the van when they went to rescue Angie.

Once he had everything that he thought he might need, Rollie walked over to where everyone was gathered in the lounge and poured himself a cup of coffee.  As he drank it, he pretended to have an accident, spilling the liquid on his shirt and jeans.  Mumbling something about changing, Rollie went upstairs and rummaged through a drawer.  Finding what he wanted, he then changed his clothes and went back downstairs.  Fortunately, Mira, Frank, and David were so accustomed to seeing him wear black that they didn’t think anything about the fact he was now dressed in black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt.

“I need some air,” the Aussie said.  He walked outside and gazed up at the sky.  A moment later, Mangela came up beside him.

“Remember the game you taught me about hiding in plain sight?” Rollie asked, his eye still staring up into the sky.

“Yes.”

“Well, this time, it isn’t going to be a game.”

Mangela nodded, understanding Rollie’s words.

Rollie turned to him.  “Thanks, Mangela, for everything.  I’ll always be grateful that you came into my life.  In case I . . . don’t come back, I want you to know that I have always loved you like a father.”

Mangela grabbed Rollie in a tight embrace.  As he pulled away, he said, “This won’t be the end of your songline, Rollie.  You’ll triumph against Victor Loubar, just as you did against Cale.  You’re still the eagle.”

“Only this time, it’s my life that I have to get back,” Rollie replied.

Mangela’s grip on his arm tightened.  “Remember, Rollie, you and Angie walk the same songline.  You must not let your emotions blind you.”

Rollie nodded.  He went back inside, followed by the Aborigine.  He headed back over to the lounge.

“When Loubar calls, we’ll want to try a trace,” he said, trying not to show the tension he was feeling.  “Angie installed some new software in the van that might help us get a faster trace.  I’m going to pull the van out of the garage so that I can use the satellite dish.”  Meeting Lucinda’s eyes for a moment, he headed for the van.  Lucinda watched him climb into it and start the engine.  She then got up and headed toward the stairs, murmuring that she had to use the “little girl’s room”.  As Rollie backed the van out, she climbed the stairs to the first landing where the VR chamber was.  She looked over the railing and saw the garage doors close.  She then started up the rest of the stairs.  About five steps up, she did just what Rick had taught her.  Pretending to stumble, she toppled back down the stairs, letting out a sharp cry as she did.

“Luce!” David cried in alarm.  He leapt to his feet and dashed up the stairs, Frank and Mira hot on his tail.

Kneeling beside her, David gently took hold of her shoulders as she sat up.  “Are you okay?  Are you hurt?” he asked anxiously.

Seeing the anxiety in the agent’s eyes, Luce felt a warm, happy feeling fill her.  Bringing her attention back to what she was supposed to be doing, she said, “I think I twisted my ankle.”

“Should I call an ambulance?” Frank asked.

“No, I’m okay.  I don’t think it’s broken.”

“Here, let me see,” David said.  He slipped off Lucinda’s shoe and gently examined her ankle.  Lucinda pretended to feel some pain when, in reality, the agent’s touch on her bare foot and ankle was driving her to distraction.

“It’s not broken,” David confirmed.  “I don’t see any swelling, so I don’t think it’s sprained either, just twisted.  It should be fine in a few minutes.  Mira can help you the rest of the way to the bathroom.”

“No, that’s all right,” Lucinda told him.  “I can wait.  Just help me back downstairs.”

David helped her to her feet, then abruptly swept her up into his arms.  Gasping, Lucinda wrapped her arms around his neck, liking where she was very much.  The agent carried her back downstairs and to the couch.  Lucinda was sorry when he set her down, but cheered up when he took a seat on the couch right beside her.

“I’ll get some ice for your ankle,” Mira said.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere else?” David asked, his eyes still full of concern.  “That was a nasty fall.”

Liking the fact that he was so worried about her, but also feeling guilty that she was deceiving him, Lucinda shook her head.  “No, I’m fine, though I may end up with a couple of bruises by morning.”  She made herself blush, a trick she’d learned in acting school.  “This is really embarrassing.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” David said.  “We all have little accidents on occasion.”

Mira came over with ice wrapped in a towel.  She knelt down and pressed it against Lucinda’s ankle.

“Let me get something to put your ankle up on,” Dingo said.  He fetched a box while Frank found a cushion.

A couple more minutes of fussing over Lucinda went by before Mira looked around, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Where’s Rollie?” she asked.

“Maybe he’s getting some more air or setting things up in the van,” Frank suggested.

The policewoman went to the door and looked out.  “The van’s gone!  Damn it!  He’s gone to get Angie himself.  He must have guessed right off which warehouse Loubar is in.  That stubborn Australian is going to get himself killed!”

“What are we going to do?” Frank asked.

“I’m going to put an APB out on the van, that’s what we’re going to do.”  Mira pulled out her cell phone.  Suddenly, Mangela was there, his hand on hers, gentle but insistent.

“Don’t,” he said quietly.

“Mangela, let go of my hand.  We have to stop Rollie.  He can’t face Loubar alone.”

“Mira, he has to face him alone.  That’s the only way he can save Angie.  If you stop him or if you interfere, she will die.”

Mira stared into the Aborigine’s eyes.  She saw the certainty of his belief in what he was saying there.  She also saw something that told her that if she tried to call in the APB, he’d stop her, by force, if necessary, and anyone else who got in the way.

“Mira, he’s right,” Frank said.  “If you call in an APB, and some cop in a blue-and-white spots the van while Rollie’s in the middle of trying to rescue Angie, it could get them both killed.”

Her gaze still locked with the Aborigine’s, Mira finally nodded.  Mangela’s hand dropped from hers.

“What are you going to do, then?” Lucinda asked.

“There’s nothing we can do,” David said, “except wait for Rollie to call or for some information to come in that will tell us where Loubar’s got Angie.”  He turned to Dingo and Mangela.  “You two were in on this, weren’t you.”

“We did what we had to do,” Dingo said bluntly.  “My son will bring Angie back.  He’s the best there is.”

“I hope you’re right, Dingo,” Mira said wearily.

Rollie drove as fast as he dared, praying that he made it to his destination before a cop stopped him.  He knew that as soon as Mira realized what he was doing, she might put out an APB on the van.

The moment he had seen the name Halcyon Trucking on the list of warehouses, he’d known that it was the right one.  The memories of the truck sounds in his dream, and the gas and oil on the floor couldn’t mean anything else.  Also, there was something else, something that he was only now remembering from the dream.  For a brief moment, he had seen an image of a Kingfisher-like bird.  Rollie knew that Halcyon, among other things, was the name of a mythical bird.  He recalled reading a news article that Halcyon Trucking was presently in the middle of a nasty legal battle after the death of the president and majority stock holder.  The business had been temporarily shut down, everything being locked down by the courts until the situation was resolved.

Rollie pulled into an abandoned parking lot.  He parked the van behind the rusted out body of a delivery truck.  Leaving the van there, he traveled the remaining distance to the warehouse on foot, being careful to stay out of sight of anyone inside it.  Crouched behind a trash bin, he studied the building.  About a hundred yards of parking lot separated him from it.  If Loubar had been planning for this to be the place of their final showdown, he would have set up security systems.  It was likely that the parking lot, as well as every other direction that the building could be approached from, was being monitored by closed circuit cameras.  Rollie had to have a way of getting to the warehouse without being seen.

The Aussie returned to the van.  He removed the contents of the duffle bag and began filling a backpack with the things he thought he might need.  Slipping the pack on, he hung his PDA around his neck and grabbed up another item that was too big for the pack.  He then reached under his shirt and pulled out what he’d gotten from the dresser drawer.  Rollie stared at the gun in his hand.  He’d never been forced to use one before, and he hoped that today would be no different. Shoving the weapon in his belt, Rollie exited the van and went back to the warehouse.

Taking a can of grey spray paint, Rollie painted a three foot long metal tube and two small casters.  As he waited for the paint to dry, he crept as close as he could get to the parking lot and snapped a picture of the asphalt with a high resolution digital camera.  He then uploaded the image to the laptop computer he’d brought.  Once he’d finished working with the image, he sent it to his PDA, then he got to work on the thing that was going to make it possible for him to become invisible to the cameras.

Picking up the rod he’d just painted to match the color of the asphalt, Rollie unrolled the contents of the tube, which was a paper-thin, translucent screen.  Stretching it to its full height of seven feet, he got a flexible, telescoping rod and fastened it to the top and bottom of the screen, then screwed the casters on.

Rollie propped the screen up against the dumpster and punched in a command on his PDA.  The screen grew opaque and changed colors.  Being sure to stay low, the Aussie moved a few feet away and studied the screen.  It now looked like a blank section of asphalt.  To anyone watching on a monitor, that’s all they would see.

Knowing it was possible that Loubar had set up other security devices besides cameras, Rollie pulled another item out of his backpack and hung it over his neck with his PDA.  The scanner would warn him if he came within range of any motion detectors or within fifty feet of any kind of active electronic device.  Out in the parking lot, he would be safe, but once he drew close to the building he was in danger of being detected by any motion sensors that Loubar may have set up.

Rollie looked at the distance separating him from the edge of the parking lot.  Crossing that distance would be the moments when he’d most likely be seen.  Somehow, he had to create a distraction that would draw Loubar’s eyes away from any cameras aimed in Rollie’s direction.  But it had to be a distraction that would not cause suspicion.  That’s when Rollie remembered his gift to Angie.  What he needed, though, was in the van.  He hurried back to the van and got it.  As he was leaving, he thought of something else and went back inside.

“Come on, Ange.  I know you must have a pair in here,” he muttered as he looked through the storage cabinets.  Finally finding what he was looking for, he returned to the trash bin.

Rollie checked the files on the computer.  “Good, it’s still there.”  He took the computer and the unit he had retrieved from the van and made his way around to the other side of the empty warehouse he was using for cover.  Fortunately, there was a loading dock on this side that he could hide behind.  Rollie set up the device he’d gotten from the van and set a timer on the computer.  He then went back around to where his screen was.  Rollie quickly put on the kneepads he’d found in the van and took up position behind the screen.

The Aussie waited one minute, then, using the rod as a handle, he rolled the screen out from behind the dumpster, hiding behind it.  Quickly, he moved onto the parking lot.  He glanced to his right and saw two children playing over on the other side of the empty warehouse--or, at least, that’s what it looked like.  After about thirty seconds, the children, creations of the holograph projector he’d set up, ran off out of sight.  They had served their purpose.

Careful not to cross any of the painted lines of the parking spaces, Rollie slowly approached the warehouse where Loubar and Angie were.  He was about sixty feet away when the scanner beeped a warning.  Rollie instantly stopped.  Very slowly, he moved back about five feet.  He studied the readout on the scanner.  What he saw on the screen told him that he was just outside the range of one or more motion detectors on the outside of the building.

Knowing that even the most sophisticated motion sensors would not detect movement at or below two inches per seconds, Rollie took a deep breath and began creeping toward the building.  The minutes passed.  When he was about twenty feet away, he very slowly got down on his knees.  Bending the rod, he curved the screen over him so that the cameras could not see him behind it.  Awkwardly, and with agonizing slowness, he crawled the remaining feet to the warehouse.  His knees aching, Rollie got as close as he could to the wall and stood up.  There was no danger of being seen by the cameras here since he would be beneath their field of vision.  Still moving slowly, Rollie looked around for the cameras and motion sensors.  He spotted a camera about ten feet to his left, mounted twelve feet up the wall.  A motion detector was with it.  Studying the design of the sensor, he determined that it would be blind to anything within three or four feet of the wall.

Rollie leaned the screen against the wall and turned it off.  He glanced to his left and right, looking for a door or window.  There was a door to the right and a window to the left.  Choosing the window, Rollie took off the kneepads and moved toward it, carefully staying close to the wall.

The glass was frosted, so Rollie could not see inside.  For all he knew, Loubar could be right on the other side of the window.  The steel walls of the building would make it impossible for him to scan the warehouse’s interior for heat sources with his PDA.  Wishing he had the more powerful equipment that was in the van, Rollie decided that he had to take the chance that Loubar was within sight of the window.  That’s when he thought of something.  Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the feeling of Angie’s presence.  Yes, she was in there, along the back wall and further down to the right.  Loubar would want to stay near her, so the danger that he was on the other side of the window was low.

‘I’m coming for you, Angie,’ Rollie told his wife in his mind, even though he knew that she couldn’t hear him.

Knowing that there was a good chance the interior of the building was set up with security systems, Rollie looked around for the electrical box.  He spotted it about fifty feet further down the wall.  Quickly, he went to it and studied the wiring.  There was only one way that he could disarm an alarm system and deactivate any cameras, and that was to turn off the power. But, if he cut the power, Loubar would be alerted to his presence.  He had to do it another way.  Fortunately, Rollie was prepared for this.  He reached into his pack, pulled out what he needed, and got to work.

Ten minutes later, he was back at the window.  He pulled out a glass cutter and cut a small hole above the lock of the window.  Leaving the cut out section in place, Rollie reached for his PDA.  He hit the icon that would cut off the building’s power.  A couple of seconds later, he turned it back on.  He waited about two minutes, then did it again--off, on.  He was trying to make it appear as if the local power station was having problems.  He waited another minute, then hit another icon on the screen that sent a power surge through the lines, causing the circuit breakers to flip off.

With frantic haste, Rollie removed the glass cutout, unlocked and opened the window, and climbed inside.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY -- SHOWDOWN

Crouched on the floor, Rollie quickly glanced about in the dim light coming through the window.  He appeared to be in a large office and reception area.  There was no sign of anyone nearby.  He carefully replaced the cut out section of glass in the window, securing it with glue, then he closed the window and looked around for some cover.  There were several desks in the room.  The Aussie picked a large one against the far wall.  The first thing Loubar would do would be to check the circuit breakers.  When he found out that they had flipped off, hopefully, he would just figure that a surge from the power station or transformer had caused it.  If he guessed that Rollie was there, all would be lost.

Almost afraid to breathe, Rollie waited behind the desk.  Around two or three minutes passed before the power came back on.  The scanner beeped, telling him that there were active electronic devices in the area.  Fortunately, it looked as if there were no motion or sound sensors, only closed circuit cameras.  Peeking out from behind the desk, Rollie searched for the cameras.  He saw one that was aimed at the window he’d just come in through.  Another camera was aimed at the door Rollie had seen earlier.  Seeing no others, and determining that he was beyond the cameras’ view, Rollie moved out from behind the desk.

Keeping low to the floor and hugging the wall, Rollie moved to the door that would lead to the main part of the warehouse.  By the placement of the cameras he’d seen, Rollie guessed that Loubar had only placed cameras to monitor the entrances to the building.  But he could be wrong.  He could walk out of the office door and be instantly seen on half a dozen monitors.  He looked at the screen of the sensor.  It did not show any electronic equipment on the other side of the door, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a camera beyond the sensor’s range.

Rollie realized that, sooner or later, he was going to have to take the chance of being seen.  As he reached for the door handle, a faint ringing came from his pocket, making him jump.  It was his cell phone.  He had turned down the ringer volume when he arrived at the warehouse.

Rollie answered the phone.

“Ah, Tyler.  I told you this wasn’t over.”

“Loubar, you bastard.  What have you done with Angie?”

“She’s alive, for now.  She’ll remain that way if you do exactly what I say.”

“I want to talk to her.”

“No.”

“Loubar, I’m not going anywhere until I’m sure she’s still alive.”

“Oh, you’ll go, all right.  You really have no choice.  Now, listen carefully.  In one hour, I want you to be standing at the tree in Madison Square Gardens wearing a red shirt and a baseball cap.  A delivery boy will come up to you and give you a package.  Your instructions on where to go and what to do from there will be in the package.  I don’t think I have to tell you to leave the police at home.”  The call disconnected.

Rollie’s emotions were mixed as he hung up the phone.  The fact that Loubar had called him meant that he didn’t know Rollie was there, which was a relief to the Aussie.  At the same time, however, his worry over Angie was stronger than ever.  More than anything in the world, he wanted to gather her into his arms and just hold her.

Rollie again reached for the doorknob.  Sticking his head out the door, he looked in both directions.  His view was blocked both ways by stacks of steel drums, the kind that were used to store oil and gasoline in.  He didn’t see any cameras.  Rollie picked up his PDA and brought up another screen.  Two white blips showed up on the screen.  They were both to the northeast along the back wall between one hundred fifty and two hundred feet away, confirming what he had sensed.  About thirty feet separated the two people.  Rollie focused his attention on Angie again.  Though he wasn’t certain, he was pretty sure that she was the one who was farther away.

Rollie slipped out of the office and crept over to the steel drums on his right.  The smell of gasoline was strong in the air.  He looked across to the far wall and saw an office about halfway up the side of the wall.  A steel staircase ascended to it.  There was a catwalk extending out from the office in both directions, and Rollie saw another office about seventy feet farther down to the left.  These, then, were the glass bubbles he’d seen in his dream.

Rollie carefully looked around the stack of drums.  From this distance, he couldn’t see anyone.  He also couldn’t see any cover.  Beyond the stack of drums was just a big open area.  There was no way he was going to get to either Loubar or Angie without being seen--unless. . . .  Rollie's eyes traveled up the stack of drums.  If they were full, they would be heavy enough not to shift under his weight.

Rollie turned off the sensor and slipped it into his backpack.  He would have to do without it from now on since he couldn’t take the chance of Loubar hearing it.  He then went to the other stack of drums and began to climb.  At the top, he looked up at the rafters above his head.  He fished out a rope from his backpack and tied a weighted bag to the end.  He had to get it on the first toss, otherwise, the bag falling back down would make a sound when it hit the drums.

Drawing a deep breath, Rollie began spinning the rope around and around.  With all his strength, he threw it upwards.  The rope sailed up toward the rafter and over it.  With a sigh of relief, Rollie played out the rope, lowering the weighted end back down to him.  He began to climb, the weight of the pack hindering him.  Finally, he reached the beam and pulled himself onto it.  He pulled up the rope and carefully made his way across to the opposite wall.  He then lowered the rope to the catwalk and climbed down.

Fortunately, the catwalk had wooden planks attached to the floor.  The planks would muffle his footsteps and hide him from anyone directly below.  Hugging the wall, Rollie headed in the direction that he knew Loubar and Angie were.  When he was within twenty feet of the closest person, he paused.  At this distance, Rollie was able to tell for certain that Angie was the person farther down the wall, which meant that it was Loubar who sat just a few yards away.  The Aussie’s face hardened with determination.  He crept across the final twenty feet.  According to the PDA, Loubar was almost directly below him.  A few feet farther down the wall was another stack of drums.  Rollie removed his pack, then, taking the chance of being seen, he lay down on the catwalk and peeked out over the edge.  Loubar sat in a chair behind a bank of monitors.  The table with the monitors was butted up against the stack of drums, leaving Loubar only one way to get out from behind it.

Rollie got to his feet.  Cutting off a section of the rope, he tied it to the guard rail.  He now had to draw Loubar out from behind the monitors.  He knew he couldn’t take the chance of getting into his backpack.  It would make too much noise.

Rollie looked down at the pocket knife in his hand.  It would do.  He swung one leg over the railing.  Grabbing hold of the rope, he drew his arm back and threw the knife as far as he could.  The knife sailed through the air and landed with a clunk on the concrete floor.  Quickly, Rollie swung his other leg over the railing.  With only his toes on the catwalk floor, he watched the screen of the PDA.  The blip that was Loubar moved a few feet.  He was now out from behind the table.  Holding his breath, Rollie waited until the man had moved out a couple of feet from the wall.  Then, tightening his grip on the rope, Rollie swung off the catwalk.

Rollie had one brief moment to see Loubar’s surprised face before his feet slammed into the man’s upper chest.  Loubar was thrown back against the wall.  Landing in a crouch on the ground, Rollie reached for his gun, but discovered that it had fallen out of his belt.  Loubar made a grab for his own gun, and Rollie dove toward him.  The two men rolled across the floor, fighting for control of the weapon.  Rollie’s rage gave him a strength he never knew he possessed.  All he kept thinking about was how much pain this man had caused Angie.  Slowly, Rollie forced the muzzle of the gun toward Loubar.

Seeing that he was losing the battle, Loubar tried shoving Rollie away.  The Aussie hit the legs of the table.  One of the monitors rocked and fell, striking his arm a glancing blow, paralyzing it.  Loubar ripped his hand out of Rollie’s grasp and pointed the gun at his head.  The man slowly got to his feet.  He had a hand pressed against his ribs and was obviously in pain.  On his knees and clutching his bruised arm, Rollie glared at him, hoping that he’d broken a couple more of the man’s ribs.

Loubar was staring at him, and Rollie was surprised to see admiration in the man’s eyes.  The arms dealer shook his head.

“Amazing.  After all my precautions, you still managed to get in here.  How did you do it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Rollie said.

“Yes, I would, but it isn’t worth spending time over.  For that matter, I’d like to know how you even found me.  You must have come by yourself because the police wouldn’t let you come in here alone.”

“Who says I’m in here alone?”

Loubar paused a moment, then smiled.  “Oh, you’re alone all right.  If you weren’t, some cop would have his gun on me right now and be telling me to put mine down.”  He motioned with the weapon.  “Get up.”

Rollie stood.

“Now, toss that PDA over here.  Don’t touch the screen.”

Rollie slipped the PDA off and tossed it on the ground before Loubar.  The man brought his foot down, smashing it.  Keeping Rollie covered, Loubar backed up until the steel drums were at his back.  Rollie took a couple of steps toward him.  Directly in front of him, a single drum sat on the floor.  A tire iron was sitting on it.

The man studied Rollie’s face.  “I have to say that I’ve never met anyone quite like you and Angela.  You’ve surprised me quite a few times, something that’s not easy to do.  When I posed as you and spent that night with Angela, I thought that it would drive you apart.  I thought that she would hate you, blame you for what happened to her.  And that is what I wanted.  I wanted you alone, suffering the pain and guilt over what you had brought down on her.  But you surprised me.  Instead, you actually grew closer.  I find that amazing.”

“Of course you do.  You couldn’t possibly understand what love can overcome,” Rollie spat.  “You’re not capable of it.”

Loubar sneered.  “Love, Tyler, is highly overrated.  It won’t get you anywhere in life.”

The assassin’s eyes bored into his.  “Right from the start, you’ve spoiled my plans.  The biggest mistake I’ve made in my career was not killing you that first time I posed as you.  I’ll be correcting that mistake soon.  When I first thought up this plan, I was going to make you suffer a long time.  I could have come after you months ago, but you got shot.  I waited all that time for you to recover fully.  I wanted you to be enjoying life to the full again before I took it all away.  For weeks, I thought about what I could do to make you suffer enough to satisfy me.  Then I realized that nothing I did to you personally would hurt you that much.  That’s when I decided that the way to hurt you the most was to take away that which you loved.  Then I found out that you and little Angela were getting married, and I knew that taking her away from you would be the worse thing I could do to you, worse than killing you.  I set up all this for that final moment when I’d have you in my grasp and you could watch her die.  But, again, you surprised me.  You’ve grown stronger since my attempt to frame you for the assassination, and more devious.  That stunt in the gardens was beyond what I thought you capable of, as was the setup in the parking lot.”  A satisfied smile curved his lips.  “But you still weren’t good enough, Tyler, not to beat me.  It’s finally come to an end, and, as I told you before, I am the winner.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny radio transmitter.  “I was going to torture and kill your wife right before your eyes, but, since I don’t know how long it will be before the police arrive, I’m going to have to change my plans.”  He pressed the button.  A vicious smile curved his lips.  “It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her.”

Rollie stared in horror at the remote control.  No, it couldn’t be!  Angie couldn’t be dead.  A white hot, blinding rage and crushing grief filled Rollie.  “You bastard!!!” he screamed.

Swaying suddenly, Loubar took a small step backwards, his hand going to his head, and for one instant, the gun shifted away from Rollie.  The Aussie acted.  His hand a blur of motion, he grabbed the tire iron and hurled it at Loubar.  The metal bar hit the assassin full in the chest, throwing him back against the stack of steel drums.  The empty drums on top tilted and fell, taking the rest of the stack with them.  Loubar only had time to throw his hands up over his head before being buried beneath them.

Rollie looked for a moment at the pile under which Loubar lay, then moved passed it.  He scooped up Loubar’s gun, which was lying on the cement, and ran around the other side of the drums.  There was no sign of his wife.

“Angie!” he cried.  She couldn’t be dead.  If she was dead, his life was over.  “Angie!” he screamed again.  There was no answer, only the echo of his own voice taunting him.

Rollie felt like he was dying inside.  He felt like he was falling back into the black pit that had almost swallowed him when he was shot.  His hand tightened on the gun.  If Angie was dead, there would be no point in living.

“ANGIE!!!” he screamed a third time, all of his anguish in his voice.

Suddenly, the last thing Mangela told him came into his mind.  He stopped, realizing that he was letting his overwhelming fear and anguish block out the one thing that would enable him to find his wife--if she still lived.

Rollie closed his eyes, attempting to quiet his mind.  He reached out for Angie’s songline--and found it.  With a shout of triumph, he spun around and looked up at one of the booths high up on the wall.  Without hesitation, he ran for the stairs leading up to it.  The blinds on all the windows were drawn except for the window on the door.  He looked inside and stared straight into the eyes of his wife.  She was gagged and tied to a chair in the middle of the room.  Rollie reached for the door handle, but some instinct stopped him.  He looked around the room.  At first, he didn’t see anything, then he noticed a small black cylindrical device on the left wall.  Attached to it was something that was clearly a bomb.  Rollie recognized what the device was.  It was a very sophisticated motion detector and heat sensor.  Any movement in the room, or any change in the room’s temperature beyond the device’s set tolerance level would set off the alarm, detonating the bomb.  Then he noticed something else.  The bomb had a timer and it was set to go off in sixteen minutes.

Rollie could hear what sounded like a cooling or heating unit.  He saw vents along the walls of the booth and a thermostat.  The room was climate controlled, which meant that the temperature in there was probably colder than it was out in the main warehouse.  Even if he did manage to get in the room without triggering the motion detector, the hotter air coming into the room would change the temperature enough to set off the heat sensor.  Rollie guessed that the tolerance level had been set to allow for fluctuations of perhaps a couple of degrees either way.  Not much leeway to work with.

Rollie’s eyes met Angie’s wide, terrified ones.  The only movement of her body was the rapid rise and fall of her chest.  If she moved more than that, she would set off the motion detector.

There had to be a way of getting her out of there!  The Aussie’s eyes returned to the sensor.  There were several wires leading from it to the bomb.  Without looking at the back of the sensor, there was no way of knowing what the purpose of each wire was.  One of those leads could be a trip wire that would set off the bomb if it was cut.  He would have to worry about that later.  First, he had to figure out how to safely get in the room.

Rollie’s mind thought up, then discarded one possibility after another.  If he’d had even an hour, he might have been able to rig something, but he didn’t have that much time.  Even now, the minutes were counting down at an alarming rate.

“How do I get in the room?  How do I get in the room?” Rollie muttered to himself.  Then it dawned on him.  He didn’t have to get in the room to disconnect the sensor from the bomb.

Rollie looked at Angie again.  He mouthed the words, “I love you,” then, “I’ll be back.”  He ran down the catwalk to where he’d left his backpack.  He grabbed it and returned to the office.  Rummaging through the pockets, he found one of the items he needed.  The other thing he needed was something he didn’t have.  He descended the stairs and began to search.  What he needed had to be here somewhere.  The minutes passed and he was beginning to grow desperate when he spied a locker marked “tools.”  Running over to it, he was dismayed to see a padlock on the door.  Wishing he had the tire iron he’d thrown at Loubar, Rollie looked around for something to use on the lock.  At last, he found a narrow length of steel pipe.  Wrenching the padlock open, Rollie scanned the locker for what he needed.  There!  He snatched up the item and ran back to where Angie was.

Back at the window, he waved to Angie, then moved around to the wall that the sensor and bomb were against.  Rollie sat down and laid the two items on the catwalk.  He picked up the tiny portable electric saw.  Rollie closed his eyes and pictured the location of the bomb in his mind.  He slid over about two more feet to the left, then carefully began cutting into the wall.  Fortunately, the walls were constructed of thin plasterboard and it did not take long to make a small opening.

Rollie carefully pushed the piece of plasterboard out.  Getting down on his stomach, he peered through the hole.  By some miracle, he had made the cut in exactly the right place.  He sat up and continued slicing through the plasterboard, making a long, narrow opening.  Hooking his finger through the hole, Rollie pulled at the thin strip of plasterboard.  He ripped it away, then got back down on his stomach.  Through the narrow opening he’d made, he could see the back of the motion detector/heat sensor and the bomb.  Reading the writing beneath each lead connector on the sensor, he didn’t see anything that he thought would be a connection for a trip wire.  There was only one way to find out.

Rollie reached for the other item, a pair of wire cutters.  He would have to cut all of the leads at the same time to be sure that the bomb wasn’t triggered.  He hoped that the cutters were big enough and sharp enough to do the job.  He squeezed the cutters and his hand in through the hole, then barely managed to get his other hand in.  It was a tight fit, but he didn’t want to make the hole any larger for fear that the increased air flow from outside would trigger the heat sensor.

Rollie gathered the wires together and put them between the jaws of the cutters.  He wished that he could see Angie’s face again, look into her eyes once more, but he couldn’t see her through the hole, and there wasn’t enough time to go back to the door.

Mouthing a silent prayer, Rollie cut the wires.

Slowly, Rollie opened his eyes.  He was still alive.  Scrambling to his feet, he used the handle of the saw to smash one of the windows.  The heat sensor blared a loud warning.  Ignoring it, Rollie swept the glass from the frame and climbed into the room.  He rushed over to Angie, glancing at the timer as he passed the bomb.  He nearly had heart failure.  There was only one minute left.  Frantically, he untied the ropes.  As soon as her hands were free, Angie ripped the gag off her mouth.

“Rollie!  I knew you’d find me!”

“Come on!  We’ve got to get out of here now!”

They raced out the door.  Rollie snatched up the backpack, and they headed down the stairs.  They were about halfway across the warehouse when a deafening explosion threw them to the ground.  They looked up to see burning pieces of the office fly through the air.  Several pieces landed among some of the drums of gasoline.  Rollie and Angie scrambled to their feet and ran as fast as they could for the exit.  They made it through the door and about thirty feet away from the warehouse when a second explosion rocked them.  Almost thrown off their feet again, they managed to make it another forty feet when the remainder of the gas drums blew.  The warehouse went up in a huge fireball.  Their arms about each other, Rollie and Angie watched as the flames consumed the building.

Rollie closed his eyes and laid his head on Angie’s hair.  Suddenly, he stilled.  Driven by an instinct he did not question, Rollie slowly reached for the gun tucked into his belt.  He grabbed the weapon and spun around.  His eyes met those of Victor Loubar.  The assassin was standing not fifteen feet away from them, pointing Rollie’s own gun at him.

Loubar looked more than slightly worse for wear.  Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, his left arm was hanging limply at his side, and he was greatly favoring his right leg.  There was blood on his shirt, and Rollie suspected that one of the man’s broken ribs had torn through the skin.  How he could still be on his feet was a mystery.

Ignoring the weapon aimed at him, Loubar kept his eyes locked on Rollie’s.  “Well, Tyler, I see you did it again.  You pulled off the impossible.  I don’t know what it was that happened just before you threw the tire iron, and I’d love to know how you did it, but there just isn’t time.  All this racket has, no doubt, drawn some attention.  I guess I’m going to have to kill both of you together after all.  It will be a bit disappointing for me.  I was so looking forward to seeing you suffer the grief and anguish of your wife’s death.  But, I’ll get over it.”

Rollie looked at the gun in Loubar’s hand, then at the one in his own, thinking about what Loubar had said in the hospital.  Rollie had never killed anyone except in a moment of sudden crisis.  All those months ago, when he had maneuvered the assassin who’d come to kill Angie underneath the pallet of bricks, he had known that the man would die, but Rollie had been acting in desperation.  This was different.  Never once during all the times that he helped the police, had he ever killed someone like this, face to face.

He looked back up at Loubar.  There was amusement on the man’s face, as if he knew what was going through Rollie’s mind.  Rollie looked into those cold, evil eyes, eyes belonging to the man who planned to kill the person he loved more than life itself.

In that moment, everything else, every other thought, burned away to nothing as his mind stilled with a cold, perfect clarity.

Rollie pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot rang above the roar of the fire as Loubar’s body was thrown back and fell to the ground.  For several seconds, Rollie stood rooted in place.  Then, slowly, he approached the fallen man, keeping the gun aimed at him.

Blood was spreading over Loubar’s chest.  His breath was coming in a harsh rattle.  The man’s eyes looked up at Rollie.  There was surprise in them.  The two men stared at each other for a timeless moment.

“I . . . didn’t think . . . you had it . . . in you,” Loubar rasped.

As Rollie stared down at his greatest enemy, feeling the life seeping out of the man, he sensed Loubar’s dying mind open to him.  Not understanding what was happening, he began to see images flash through his mind, Loubar’s memories of a past long gone, the past that had made him what he was.

“I can see it,” Rollie whispered.  “They came out of the night without warning, raiders striking your parents’ archeological dig.  You watched as your father fell dead to the ground, his blood soaking into the sand.  Your mother, seeking to protect you in the only way she could, threw her body over yours, covering you from the raiders’ sight.  She died from a bullet in the back moments later.  You lay there beneath her dead body for hours as the raiders sacked the camp.  After they were gone, you crawled out from underneath her.  Alone, you made your way across the desert, changed forever by what had happened.”  Rollie met Loubar’s shocked gaze.  “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for that little boy who lost his soul that day.  I’m sorry for the loss of the good man that he could have grown up to be if he had only remembered that it was love that saved him.”

Loubar stared at him.  “You are the one,” he whispered.  Then his body went limp and the life went out of his eyes.

Rollie kept staring down at Loubar for a long moment, then he turned away.  He made it about six feet before he began to shake.  The gun dropped from his nerveless fingers as he sank to his hands and knees, dumping the contents of his stomach onto the ground.  He felt Angie’s hands on his shoulders, holding him.

As his retching ceased, Rollie sat back on his haunches, feeling drained.  Angie gathered him to her.  He buried his face against her stomach and began to cry.  Tears sliding down her face, Angie held her husband tightly as he wept.  It was a long time before he grew quiet.  Still holding him, Angie gave him her silent support.  They were still like that when the fire engines and police arrived.

Loubar was dead, absolutely, positively.  Rollie watched as the man was zipped up into a body bag and loaded into the coroner’s wagon.  There was a hollow feeling inside the Aussie, as if something was missing.  He knew what it was.  He had lost one more piece of the innocence that all humans are born with.  He had looked straight into the eyes of another human being, then taken his life.  He had killed--deliberately, purposely.  Knowing that Loubar had been evil did not change that fact.  Neither did the knowledge that he’d had no choice.  He was still remembering the images of Loubar’s past that he’d seen, the innocent little boy whose life was destroyed that night in the desert so long ago.

As the coroner’s wagon drove away, Rollie looked over at Angie.  She had sensed that he needed some time alone and had gone over to where Mira, David, and Lucinda stood.  Frank was a few yards away, talking on his cell phone.  Dingo and Mangela were standing beside Mira and Frank’s car, their eyes on him.

The Aussie’s gaze returned to Angie.  These last few terrible hours had strengthened his love for her even more.  She was his life, his soul.  No power on Earth would ever change that.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Rollie turned to watch the firefighters battling the warehouse blaze, trying to get past the hollow feeling inside him.

Mira looked over at Rollie.  “How’s he doing?” she asked Angie.

Angie looked at her husband.  “He’s hurting.  He’s hurting a lot.  But then, that’s the kind of man he is.  It’s one of the reasons why I love him so much.”

“He had no choice, Angie,” David said.  “If he hadn’t pulled that trigger, Loubar would have killed both of you.”

“I know . . . and so does Rollie.  But it was still a hard thing for him to do.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Lucinda asked, wishing that she could do something to help her friend.

“Yeah, he’ll be okay.  It’ll just take time.”

“I need to get back to the bureau,” David said.  “I’ve got a report to fill out.  Tell Rollie that I’ll call tomorrow, okay?  And if there’s anything I can do to help, anything at all, please let me know.”

“I will.  Thanks for everything, David.  Rollie needs his friends more than ever now.”

The agent nodded, then looked at Lucinda.  “Would you like me to take you back to your hotel?  I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to go out tonight, not with this report to write plus my other work.”

“That’s all right.  I don’t feel much like going out anyway, not after what’s happened,” Lucinda said, feeling subdued and sad over what Rollie was going through.

“What time does your flight leave tomorrow?”

“10 a.m.”

“How about breakfast then?  I’ll take you to the airport afterwards.”

Lucinda smiled at him.  “That would be nice.”  She turned to Angie and gave her a hug.  “Tell Rollie that I’ll be thinking about him, okay?  If he feels better tonight, call me, and I’ll come over to say goodbye.”

“Thanks, Luce.  It’s been so good to see you.  I hope you can come back soon.”

The actress glanced over at David, who was waiting by his car.  “I hope so, too,” she murmured.

Dingo looked on as his son stood alone, his arms hugging his chest and his eyes staring almost unseeingly at the burning warehouse.  His boy had taken a life.  Though Dingo didn’t know Rollie as well as he should, he knew how much that fact must be hurting him.

“You know him so much better than I do, Mangela,” he said.  “How is he?  Give it to me straight.”

The Aborigine’s eyes never leaving Rollie, he replied, “His spirit has been greatly wounded by what he was forced to do.  He will heal, but it will take time, perhaps a long time before he is completely whole again.”

“I’m not sorry that bastard’s dead, but I wish that it could have ended another way for Rollie’s sake.”  Dingo looked at the Aborigine.  “Mangela, what’s happening with him?  What are these dreams he’s talking about?”

Mangela met Dingo’s eyes.  “He never told you of the Dreaming and the other things I taught him when he was a child?”

Dingo shook his head.  “Rollie didn’t talk to me much about what he learned from you, except for the normal stuff, like hunting.  I didn’t even know that you were teaching him those, um . . . other things.  He probably told his mum, though.  He always confided in her.”  There was regret in his voice, regret that he’d never been close enough to his son for Rollie to confide in him.  “These dreams.  Rollie can see things that are going to happen in the future?”

“Yes.  He always possessed the ability.  I merely showed him how to bring it forth, as with the other things.”

“Other things?  What other things?”

“There will soon come a time when you will need to speak to your son of these things.  That time is not yet.”  Mangela looked back over at Rollie.  “He is still hiding from what he is, though he has finally accepted the truth of it.  But a day will come when he will hide no longer, though I do not know how long it will be before that day comes.  Until it does, I will be waiting for him.”  He returned his gaze to Dingo.  “I will be leaving soon.  I need to return to the People.  I will leave it in your hands to watch over . . . our son.”

“I will.  From now on, I’m going to be the kind of father that Rollie deserves.”  Dingo hesitated.  “Thanks you for being a second father to him, Mangela.”

Bowing his head slightly, the Aborigine then turned back to Rollie, as did Dingo.

Angie watched Rollie closely.  He had barely moved a muscle in the last couple of minutes.

“Angie, there are counselors who work with the police,” Mira told her.  “They’re trained to help officers get through these same situations.  I could probably pull some strings and get Rollie in for an appointment.”

“Thanks, Mira, but you know that Rollie would never agree to go,” Angie replied.  “He’s going to have to get through this himself.  But he’s strong.  He’ll be all right.”  She returned her attention to her husband.  She did not know how, but she suddenly knew that he wanted her beside him.  Walking over to him, she slid her arms around his waist.  His own arms went around her shoulders and he pulled her close.

“He made me think you were dead.”  Rollie’s voice was low and unsteady.  “Thinking you were dead. . . .  There was nothing left for me.  Then, when I realized that you were alive. . . .  God, Angie.  I don’t ever want to go through that again.  I couldn’t take it.”  He glanced back in the direction the coroner’s wagon had taken.  “It’s over.  Loubar’s never going to hurt us again.”

In silence, they watched the fire, feeling both relief that Loubar was finally out of their lives forever and sorrow for how it had ended.

“I want to forget,” Rollie finally said in a voice that was nearly a whisper.  “I want to go far away and put all this as far behind me as I can.”  He looked down at his wife.  “Two weeks aren’t enough, Ange.  I want us to have a month for our honeymoon.”

“A month!  But what about Star Fury?”

“I talked to George Chapman a few days ago.  He said that they could rearrange their shooting schedule to give us the extra time.”

“A month,” Angie said again.  “What would we do with all that free time?”

“Well, there are the obvious things.”  Rollie gave her that special smile.  “In between time, I figured that we might visit a few places, like Egypt, Kenya, some spots in South Africa.  I understand that Victoria Falls are worth seeing.  Then perhaps we can go in the other direction and check out Morocco, Portugal, Spain--”

He didn’t get any farther.  His rundown of the travel plans was interrupted by Angie’s lips.  Lifting her up off her feet, Rollie filled the hollow place in his soul with the kiss, not caring if the whole world was watching them.

Mira smiled as she watched husband and wife embrace.  “Oh, yeah.  Rollie Tyler is going to be just fine.”
 

THE END

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