Alex padded, barefoot, out into the main room of the suite.  She found Bonnie sitting in a chair, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Alex.  Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did.  I didn’t realize how tired I was until I went to bed.”

“I should imagine that you’re pretty hungry.  You barely ate a thing for lunch or dinner yesterday.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m famished.”

Bonnie smiled, happy to see that Alex was feeling so much better.  “Well, there are some pastries and fruit over there on the table, as well as coffee and orange and apple juice.”

“Don’t tell me.  All compliments of the hotel, right?”  She served herself some food and settled on one of the other chairs.  “You know, I could get used to this.”

“Yes, there are advantages to being financially successful.  When we started out, we served in a small church, not all that much bigger than Daniel’s church is.  As the years passed, we moved several times, each time to a larger and more prosperous congregation.  Then, when Daniel was fifteen, we got to Irvine, California, and that’s when Cooper Ministries was born.  Suddenly, money completely ceased to be a problem, and Cliff had what he’d always dreamed of.”  Bonnie paused.  “But I often wish that we were still in that first little church.  Things were a great deal simpler back then, and, in a lot of ways, we were happier.  That’s one of the reasons why I think Daniel made the right choice in remaining on Hope Island.  He has something there that no amount of money, prestige, or success can give.  I envy him.”

“Would you go back to that first church if you could?”

“If it was only myself we were talking about, then the answer would be yes.  I would give up what we have now to go back to a quieter, simpler life, where I could come to know the people we preach to.  But Cliff’s heart is in Cooper Ministries.  He’s worked very hard for a very long time to build what we have.  It would hurt him terribly to lose it all.”

“Why would he lose it?” Alex asked, puzzled.

“Oh, things happen,” Daniel’s mother said vaguely.  “Cliff isn’t a young man anymore.  His doctor told him he had to slow down because of his heart.  That was the main reason why he wanted Daniel to join his ministry.”

“It was?  Daniel didn’t tell me that.”

Bonnie nodded.  “Now that I’m helping him more, things are much better.”

A few seconds of silence passed between the women.  There was a question that Alex wanted to ask, but she didn’t know if she should.

“Um, there’s something I’ve been wondering about,” she said hesitantly.  “I never felt like I could ask Daniel because it was so personal.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the woman he loved before.”

“Kate.”

“Was that her name?  He never told me.”

Bonnie nodded.  “Kate Sullivan.  Daniel met her when he secretly attended the first Communion of a friend’s daughter.”

“She was Catholic?” Alex asked in surprise.

The woman nodded.  “Which, I’m afraid, was the heart of the problem.  Cliff didn’t like the idea of Daniel being involved with a Catholic woman.”

“Why?”

“Part of it was his natural concern over Daniel marrying a woman of a different faith.  Cliff believed that there would be insurmountable obstacles in the way of having a successful marriage with someone of another faith, especially for a minister.  He was certain that Kate was not the right woman for Daniel.”  Bonnie gave a soft sigh.  “But that was not the only reason or, I fear, the main reason why Cliff did not want Daniel to be with Kate.  He simply did not like it that she was someone who did not follow our religion, the religion he preached.  And he was concerned about the publicity it would cause and the unfavorable opinion many of his followers might have, especially after one of his books reached the bestseller’s list.  It had been on the bestsellers’s list for several weeks when Daniel announced that he and Kate had become engaged.”

“They were going to be married?” Alex asked, a little surprised.

“Yes.  When Daniel told Cliff, they had a terrible argument.”

Bonnie shook her head.  “I love my husband, and I respect him, but what he did was wrong, and both Daniel and Kate paid a terrible price for it.”

“What do you mean?”

“After the argument, Daniel was angry and upset.  He ran out of the house and drove over to Kate’s.  They decided to elope.  They were on their way to Nevada when a car ran a red light and hit them broadside on the passenger side.  Daniel escaped with just a few cuts and bruises, but Kate was killed.”

“Oh no.  How horrible.”  Alex felt sorrow over the grief that Daniel must have felt over losing the woman he loved.

“Daniel was devastated.  He blamed Cliff and himself for what happened.  He left, got on a plane to Las Vegas, and completely lost control.”

“I know.  He told me about it after Stella showed up here.”

Bonnie nodded.  “Daniel wrote to me and told me about Stella’s visit.  He also wrote a few weeks later to tell me that the divorce was final and that Stella was engaged to someone else.  I guess she’s married now.  I’m glad things worked out well for her.  She was yet another innocent victim in that whole thing.”

Alex thought about Daniel, Kate, and Stella, three people who suffered because of Cliff Cooper’s single-minded desire to protect his ‘empire’.  It angered her that the reverend had put his job ahead of his son--just as Steve had.  Suddenly, a thought hit her.

“Bonnie, what does Cliff think about Daniel being with me?”  She got her answer from the look that came to the woman’s face.  “It’s because of Dylan, isn’t it, because I wasn’t married to his father.”  Alex shook her head.  “I don’t want them to get into another argument over me.”

Bonnie laid her hand on the redhead’s.  “They already have, Alex.  Daniel called his father the night before the accident.  He told Cliff about you.”

“And Cliff said no dice, huh.”

Bonnie’s mouth quirked up in the corner.  “I wouldn’t put it exactly like that, but it’s true that he was not happy.”  Bonnie paused, hesitant to continue.  She didn’t want to upset Alex.  “He . . . tried to convince Daniel to end your relationship.”

Alex stared down at her hands, which she had clasped in her lap.  Was her relationship with Daniel doomed before it had really had a chance to start?   “What did Daniel say?”

“He basically told Cliff to take a flying leap.”

Alex’s head shot up.  “He did?”

“Not in so many words, but that was the feeling behind what he did say.  Cliff had the speakerphone on, and I heard the whole conversation from the other room.”  Her eyes slid away from Alex’s.  “And the next day, there was another accident, but, this time, it was Daniel who almost lost his life.”  She returned her gaze to Alex.  “I had a long conversation with Cliff in the hospital.  I don’t know what he’s going to do, but he has accepted your relationship with Daniel.  He won’t try to stop it.”

The door opened, and Cliff walked in.  “Good morning, Alex,” he greeted.

“Morning.”  Alex felt a momentary flash of anger upon seeing the minister as she thought about what he’d put his son through in the past and his attempt to stop Daniel’s relationship with her.  She quickly put a lid on her feelings.  What really mattered now was that Daniel was alive and needed them to be there for him.  All that other stuff was in the past.

The minister turned to his wife.  “Did the hospital call?”

“No.”  She looked at the newspaper in his hand.  “I assume the story didn’t get out.”

“No, but then we already figured that.  If it had, we’d be hip-deep in reporters right now.”

“Are you going to release some kind of statement about Daniel’s accident after he gets out of the hospital?” Alex asked.

Cliff shook his head.  “I don’t want Daniel to be bothered by the press, especially if he has to undergo some kind of therapy.  I can’t say that we’ll be able to keep this under wraps indefinitely, but it would be best if things stayed quiet until after this is all over.  He’s already gone through too much.”

Alex woke her son up, and they got dressed.  Once Dylan had eaten, the four of them headed over to the hospital.  According to the hospital staff, Daniel had not shown any signs of awakening yet.

The day passed slowly with the four of them talking quietly.  Bonnie and Cliff asked a lot of questions about Hope Island and the people there.  It was around two o’clock when the topic of food came up.

“Are you hungry, Dylan?” Alex asked her son.

“Uh huh.”

“Why don’t we all go get something to eat?” Bonnie suggested.

“Um, I think I’d like to stay here,” Alex said, “just in case Daniel wakes up.  I don’t want him to be alone when he does.”

Bonnie smiled faintly.  She didn’t bother asking if Alex would like someone else to stay so that she could go.  She knew what the answer would be.  “All right.  What would you like us to bring you back?”

“A sandwich about this big,” the redhead replied, holding her hands a foot apart.  Then she smiled.  “Just bring me a sandwich, turkey on whole wheat or a French roll.”

“Will do.”  Bonnie stood and held her hand out to Dylan.  “Come on.  Let’s go put some food in that stomach of yours.  If you play your cards right, we might even get some ice cream.”

Dylan smiled and took her hand.  Alex kissed him goodbye.

After they were gone, the redhead looked at Daniel.  “Your mom is so great.  She’d make a terrific grandmother.  And I just know that you’ll make a fantastic father.  You’re already a wonderful friend to Dylan.”  Feeling like she wanted to be closer to him, she laid her head on his chest, hearing his strong, steady heartbeat.  She remained like that as the minutes slipped by, content just to be there with him, knowing that he wasn’t going to die.

When Daniel’s respiration began to speed up, it took a while for Alex to realize it.  When she did, she quickly lifted her head, focusing her gaze intently on his face.

“Daniel?”

There was no response.  Seconds passed.  Then, suddenly, Daniel’s hand twitched.  She grabbed hold of it.

“I’m here, Daniel.  Wake up.”

The minister’s hand moved again, his fingers tightening, then loosening around hers.  Alex was almost holding her breath, her eyes glued upon his face.

“Come on, Daniel.  You can do it.  Come back to me.”

Daniel’s fingers moved again.  Slowly, his eyes opened.  Smiling happily, Alex stood and leaned over him so that he could see her.

“Hey there.  Welcome back.”  She began stroking his forehead.  “You’ve had us all very worried.”

The minister looked at her in a distant, unfocused way, not seeming to understand or recognize her.  His eyes slid away from her face, then came back.  She saw confusion in them.  After a minute or so, his eyelids closed again and his respiration deepened.

Alex sat back down, watching Daniel sleep.  She did not know if what just happened was normal or if something was wrong.  She was toying with the idea of having Doctor Watson paged when Dylan, Bonnie, and Cliff returned.

“He woke up,” she immediately told them.  “But only for a minute or so.  I talked to him, but he acted like he didn’t understand me or even know who I was.”

Cliff had both doctors paged.  Lily was the first to arrive.  Alex described the way Daniel acted when he woke up.

The doctor smiled soothingly.  “What happened is perfectly normal, Alex.  Things are bound to be a bit jumbled for him at first.  The fact that he awoke this soon is very promising.  When he wakes again, have me or Doctor Harding paged.”

The neurologist arrived.  Upon being filled in, he said pretty much the same thing Lily had.

“Don’t expect much more from him today,” he told them.  “It’s possible that he might not wake up again until tomorrow.  We need to give him time.  This sleep is good for him.  It will help him heal.”

Heartened, Alex ate her sandwich, then everyone settled down to wait for Daniel to rise to consciousness again.

Brian was as happy as a clam.  He’d spent the last four hours showing Joseph Mann the island.  He’d started out by showing the Bostonian houses that were available for sale, but the man seemed more interested in acreage.  When Brian asked him the reason for his interest, Joseph replied that he might be interested in building a small ranch.  It seemed that Mister Mann was an avid horseman and bred horses as a hobby.  Once that was said, the mayor began showing off the larger available parcels of land.

As they were passing the former intended site for Brewster Estates, Joseph asked him to stop.  He got out of the car, followed by Brian and Nub.

“This is a nice piece of property.  Too bad it’s flooded.  Does it flood like this every year?”

“No, only when we get hit by the really bad storms or excessive rain.  It’s only flooded five times in the past twenty years.”  Brian looked at the land rather sadly.  His dream of Brewster Estates was dead and buried.  He’d even had Nub remove the big sign that had heralded “Coming Soon.”

Joseph turned and looked in the other direction.  “Wow.  What a view.”  The acreage had a spectacular view of the bay.  He returned his attention to the land.  “Yes, too bad about the flooding.”  Without another word, he got back into the car.

Nub stared suspiciously at the stranger as he and Brian climbed into the vehicle.  Throughout the time they had been on the road, the man had plumbed the mayor for information on the island, particularly the residents.  He seemed very interested in what the islanders were like, what the crime rate was, how good the law enforcement was.  He even asked about religion on the island.  Brian, delighted to show off his knowledge of Hope and the people, answered all his questions readily.

“I was very pleased to hear that your minister is going to be all right,” the Bostonian commented.

“Yes, it’s wonderful news,” the mayor agreed.  “We have all been very worried about Reverend Cooper.”

Joseph frowned slightly.  He’d heard the minister’s name before, but, this time, something stirred in his memory.  “Reverend Cooper.  That name sounds. . . .  Wait a minute.  Daniel Cooper?  The televangelist Cliff Cooper’s son?”

‘Uh oh,’ Nub thought.  He knew that Daniel did not want knowledge of who he was and the fact that he was living on Hope Island to spread to the mainland, particularly to the press.

“Yes, that’s him,” Brian confirmed happily.  “It’s quite an honor having Cliff Cooper’s son living and preaching here on Hope.”

“Yes, it is,” Joseph agreed.  Well, well.  So, Reverend Cliff Cooper’s wayward son was the minister that the whole population had been worrying and praying over.  This was a nice bonus.  In fact, it made things darn near perfect.

The Bostonian looked at his watch.  “I need to get back to make a couple of phone calls,” he said.  “Thank you very much for showing me around, Mayor Brewster.  You have a beautiful island.  I’m very much interested in getting some land here.”

Beaming, Brian drove them back to town.

“Later, I’d like to look over some of those pieces of property on my own, if I may.  Is there, by chance, someplace I could rent a car?” Joseph asked when they got back to the Widow’s Walk.  His eyes went to the dock for a moment, then returned to the mayor.

“Derrick over at the garage has a car he loans out to people when theirs is being fixed.  You could ask him if he’ll let you borrow it,” Nub suggested.

“What, that old clunker?” Brian said.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Nub.”  He turned to Joseph.  “I can lend you my car.  I won’t be using it for the rest of the day.”

“Thank you, Mayor Brewster.  You are a very generous man.”

Brian’s chest puffed out a little.  “Whatever I can do to help a visitor to our fair isle.”  He gave Nub a little nudge in the ribs.  “Give him the keys, Nub.”

Nub surrendered the keys to the Bostonian, still suspicious of the man.  He watched as Joseph Mann looked at his watch, glanced toward the dock again, then disappeared into the Widow’s Walk.

“Come on, Nub.  I want to go back to the office and clean things up around there.”

“Um, I’ll be along in a minute, Brian.”

Frowning slightly, the mayor left.  Nub found a place to hide and positioned himself so that he could see the door of the Widow’s Walk without being seen.  The way the Bostonian had kept looking at his watch and then toward the dock, Nub had a feeling that the man was expecting someone soon.

Nub had been waiting around ten minutes when a well-dressed man with a small suitcase entered the inn.  Guessing that this may be who Joseph Mann was waiting for, Nub continued to wait.  A few minutes later, the two men came out.  They got in Brian’s car and drove away.  Wishing that he had a way of following them, Nub frowned and headed for the real estate office.

“So, what do you think?” Joseph asked.

“Uh . . . you may not have noticed, Joseph, but it’s under water,” Frank replied.

“Ha ha.  Very funny.  The land is apparently on a flood plane.  The mayor says that it has flooded five times in the past twenty years.”

“Which makes it pretty much useless for anything except as a grazing ground for the local wildlife.”

“Maybe, maybe not.  We could probably get it pretty cheap.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we could, but the question is why would we want a piece of land that will flood every time there’s a little extra rain?”

“Come on.  I want to see how deep the water is.”  Joseph began walking toward the property.

“Joe, what are you doing?  We can’t use this land.”  Frank watched as his partner walked to the edge of the flood water and stuck his hand into it.

“Hmm.  Around six inches, probably eight or nine farther out,” Joseph muttered.  “It’s been a while since the storm, so, taking into account drain off and evaporation, precipitation since then, I’d say . . . it probably doesn’t get any deeper than a foot or so.  That would be fine.”  He wiped his hand with his handkerchief and came back up to Frank, who immediately felt his forehead.

“Are you feeling all right?  Dizziness?  Headache?  Blurred vision?” the man asked.

Joseph jerked away from him.  “Cut it out, Francis.”

“Well, I figured you must have brain damage or something to actually think we could use this land.”

“Turn around,” Joseph commanded.

“What?”

“Turn around,” he repeated, taking his partner’s shoulders and turning him around toward the view.  “Spectacular, isn’t it?”

“Breathtaking.  But that doesn’t change the fact that we’d be knee-deep in water here.”

“Maybe water is exactly what we want.”

“Come again?”

“Look, we’ve been trying to come up with something different, something that will be unlike anything else that’s been done.  Well, I’ve got an idea, a great idea.”  He began explaining things to Frank.

His partner shook his head.  “Do you have any idea what that would cost?”

“Yeah, I do, but I think the returns will be worth it.  This place is just what we’ve been looking for.  It’s like Mayberry here.  I keep expecting to bump into Andy Griffith or Don Knotts.  And I just found out something that makes it even better.  You know that minister that everyone was so worried about?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he made it through the surgery.  I guess he’s going to be fine.”  A huge grin split his face.  “Guess who he is?”

“Billy Graham?” Frank responded sarcastically.

“Not quite.  He’s Cliff Cooper’s son.”

“Cliff Cooper’s son?” Frank repeated in surprise.  “Daniel Cooper?  The guy who was in the tabloids a year or so ago and hasn’t been seen since?”

“The very same.  All this time, he’s been right here, on this little island in Washington.  Just think, Frank, having the son of a famous televangelist as minister of this place.  Think what we could do with that.”

Frank walked off a few paces.  “You’re right.  That would be a big plus.”  He turned back to Joseph, finally beginning to look excited.  “The question is, will the residents go for it?”

“I think they will.  This is a fishing community, and the fishing industry isn’t what it used to be.  There are a lot of people in need of supplements to their income.”

“All right.  So, when do we approach them on this?”

“Tomorrow.  I’ve managed to learn that there are several people who are very influential among the islanders.  Their opinions hold a lot of weight.  One of them is Alex Stone, the owner of the Widow’s Walk.  She ran for mayor once, but pulled out of the race on the verge of winning.  By what I’ve heard, she’ll be the toughest to sell on this.  She’s off the island today.  She has been over at the hospital since the minister had his accident, but she’s expected back tomorrow.”

“What about the mayor?”

“He’s a braggart and a windbag, but harmless.  He’ll be the first to say yes.”

Frank smiled.  “This could actually work.”

“Yes, it could.  Come on.  Let’s get back to town.  I’m starving.”

It was seven o’clock, and Daniel had shown no sign of awakening again.  Alex knew that she had to be patient, but she so wanted him to wake up and look at her with recognition in his eyes.  She wanted to talk to him and have him respond.  She wanted to make sure that he was all right.  Tomorrow, she would have to go back to the island.  She couldn’t stay here yet another day.  If Daniel didn’t wake up tonight or tomorrow morning, she would have to wait who knew how long before getting the chance to talk to him.

“Shall I get something for us to eat here or would you like to go out?” Cliff asked.

Bonnie looked at Alex.  “How about if you get something to go?” she replied, guessing that Alex wouldn’t want to leave the hospital.

“All right.  What--” he was interrupted by a noise from the bed, which startled them all.  They immediately went to Daniel’s side.  The minister’s head moved.  His brow puckered, then smoothed out as his hands clutched the bedcovers.  Then, to everyone’s delight, Daniel’s eyes opened.  He looked up at them, his expression confused.

“Daniel, it’s Mom.  Can you hear me?” Bonnie asked, stroking his cheek.  His gaze turned slowly toward her.

“M-M-Mo..m?” he said, his voice hoarse and weak.

Brilliant smiles bloomed across everyone’s faces.

“Yes, honey, it’s me.  I’m right here.”

Daniel’s eyes flitted across the faces hovering over him, finally coming to rest on Alex’s.  “Al..ex?”

Alex grabbed his hand, feeling tears spring to her eyes.  “Yes, it’s me, Daniel.  Dylan’s here too and your dad.”

The minister looked at the others, his face still showing confusion.

“You were in an accident, Son,” Cliff told him.  “You’re in a hospital.  But you’re going to be all right.”

“Cliff, you’d better page the doctors,” Bonnie said.

Daniel’s father made the call.  Doctor Harding arrived within a matter of seconds.

“Well, hello there, Daniel.  My name is Doctor Greg Harding,” he said to the minister.  “Do you know where you are?”

Daniel hesitated, then nodded his head faintly.

“Good.  Can you tell me your name?”

The minister’s brow puckered.  “Dan...iel,” he managed to say.

“Excellent!  I know that you’re confused right now and wondering what happened.  I’ll explain everything to you when you’re ready.  Right now, I’d like to ask you to do some things for me.  All right?”

Daniel nodded again.

The neurologist ran some tests, asking the minister to do things like squeeze his fingers, move his hands and feet, and track things with his eyes.  As he was doing this, Lily showed up.

“Very good, Daniel.  You’re doing wonderfully,” Doctor Harding said.  “Now, I want you to count from one to ten.  Can you do that?”

Slowly, hesitantly, the minister counted, pausing often and repeating some numbers twice.  By the time he was finished, his eyes were growing slightly unfocused.

“You’re doing great, Daniel.  You get some rest now.  We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

Daniel’s eyes closed.  He was asleep almost instantly.

“How did he do?” Alex asked the doctor.  “He seemed so confused and . . . fuzzy.”

“That’s to be expected.  His brain has some readjustments to make, and he probably has no memory at all of what happened.  The important thing is that he understood my commands and was able to carry them out.  I’ll talk to him some more tomorrow.  He should be more clear-headed then.”  The doctor ran a hand through his hair.  “I’m going to be leaving now.  I’ve been on a double shift for the last three days in a row.   I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Cliff said.

After he’d left, Alex looked at Doctor Watson.  “What about you, Lily.  Aren’t you going to have to get back to Hope?”

“Yes, I am.  I’ll be going back tomorrow now that Daniel doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Thank you so much for staying here.  I know that it will mean a lot to Daniel.”

Feeling like celebrating, Alex, Dylan and the Coopers went out to a nice restaurant for dinner.  Cliff, of course, insisted on picking up the tab.  Afterwards, they went to the hotel, where Alex called Molly to tell her about Daniel awakening and the results of the tests.  She went to sleep that night confident that the man she loved was going to be all right.

NEXT CHAPTER