In the morning, Cliff and Bonnie dropped Alex and Dylan off at the hospital to say goodbye to Daniel, then headed off to do some things. When Alex and Dylan arrived at the ICU, the redhead asked how the minister had done through the night. One of the nurses told her that Daniel had awakened briefly, extremely agitated. It had taken Doctor Watson to calm him down. The news made Alex wish that she had stayed with him. He was now asleep, although, by the way he was moving and the expression on his face, it appeared to be a restless sleep.
“Hey, Daniel. Good morning,” Alex said. “Dylan and I are here now.”
To her surprise, the minister instantly grew quiet, his restless movements stilling. She touched his face and was rewarded with a soft sigh. Sitting in the chair, Alex took his hand.
“Dylan? Come take Daniel’s other hand. Talk to him. Let him know you’re here.”
Her son went to the other side of the bed. “Um, Hi, Daniel. It’s Dylan.” He gave a small gasp. “He squeezed my hand, Mom,” he said, smiling.
“That’s great, Dylan. He knows you’re here.” Alex returned her gaze to Daniel--and was shocked to see that his eyes were open and he was staring at her. “Daniel! You’re awake!” A big grin lit her face. “Hi there.”
“Hi,” he whispered.
“How are you feeling? Can I get you something?”
“Water?” he said.
Alex quickly poured water from the pitcher into the cup. Carefully holding Daniel’s head up, she put the straw to his mouth and let him drink as much as he wanted.
“Better?” she asked, receiving a faint nod.
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes, but reopened them a moment later. His gaze went to Dylan, and, for a brief moment, there was fear on his face. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Now, there was confusion and frustration there.
“Tree,” he whispered faintly.
Alex drew in a sharp breath. “Yes, Daniel, the tree. Do you remember the tree?”
“I. . . . No.” The frustration in his eyes grew.
“We had another storm on Hope. Dylan got caught in it, and you went to get him. An oak tree fell, and you saved him, but you got hit by the tree.”
Daniel’s forehead wrinkled with his effort to remember. “Can’t . . . remember.”
“That’s okay. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal that you wouldn’t remember.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
The minister’s hand fumbled at the bandages covering his head.
“Oh. You had a head injury. They had to operate,” Alex told him.
Daniel’s eyes left hers as he appeared to think about what she’d told him. “How bad?” he finally asked.
“Um . . . it would probably be best if the doctors explained things to you,” she told him, not wanting him to know yet how close he came to dying.
He stared at her for a long time, then his eyes drifted away from her, an odd look coming to his face. “Light,” he murmured.
“Light? What light?”
The minister’s brow knit again in concentration, then he shook his head, looking at her helplessly, a faint shadow of fear in his eyes.
“It’s okay, Daniel,” she said soothingly. “I’m sure that things will come back to you.” She actually didn’t know that, but she felt like she had to give him some words of encouragement.
Daniel searched her face, his eyes full of gratitude. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here and . . . for being a friend.”
Guilt immediately hit Alex. How could she tell him that she was going back home, that she had to leave? The words caught in her throat, and she couldn’t speak them, not with Daniel looking up at her like that, his beautiful eyes gazing into hers. She saw the struggle there as he again apparently tried to remember something. Then she saw the defeat as he failed.
Daniel turned his face away from her, closing his eyes. “I want to remember,” he whispered, almost inaudibly. He sighed deeply. “Tired.”
“You get some sleep now. Things will get better. I promise.” She caressed his forehead. Under her touch, he soon fell asleep.
Alex gazed at the minister anxiously. How could she leave him? How could she go back to the island and back to work, business as usual, with him lying here in this hospital, so confused, upset, and afraid? Alex felt torn over what she should do. She had to get Dylan back home. He needed to go back to school tomorrow. And she couldn’t expect Molly and Boris to keep handling the Widow’s Walk on their own. She had responsibilities. But more than anything, she wanted to be with Daniel, to help him in whatever way she could, to soothe him when he was upset, explain things when he didn’t understand, let him know that everything was going to be all right.
Alex sighed. But Daniel had his parents for that. They could help him just as much as she could, maybe better. It would be best if she went back home.
“Mom, why can’t he remember?” Dylan asked.
“Because that part of his brain was injured.”
“Will he ever remember?”
“I don’t know, Dylan. I really hope so.”
Wishing that Daniel would awaken one more time before she had to leave, Alex waited with her son for the Coopers to return. They arrived just before eleven.
“He woke up again, once last night, according to the nurse, and once a little while after we got here,” she told them.
Just then, Doctor Harding walked in.
“What happened last night?” Alex immediately asked him. “The nurse said that Daniel was upset when he woke up during the night, that they had to get Lily to calm him down.”
“When Daniel awoke during the night, a nurse was in the room. He asked her what the date was. When he found out, he got very agitated,” the neurologist explained. “Lily told me that he kept saying, ‘Can’t remember.’ He apparently has very little memory of the three or four days prior to the accident, and only partial memory of the days before that. The last day he can remember clearly is the day of the big storm.”
Trying not to reveal how much this upset her, Alex looked at Daniel. So many important things had happened in the days since the storm. Had Daniel forgotten about his parents’ visit? Her conversation with him in the church? The kiss? Had he forgotten that he told her he’d given his heart to her? Was it all gone, like it had never happened?
Shoving her thoughts aside, Alex returned her attention to the doctor. “I’m worried about him. He’s so confused and frustrated. And I think he’s scared too.”
“All those things are natural, Alex,” the neurologist assured her. “His mind has a lot to deal with and adjust to. It’s going to take time for him to get past these initial feelings and reach the point where he can accept what happened and move forward with what’s needed to get back to living his life as normally as possible. Most importantly, he’s going to need a lot of love and support from his friends and family, both now and when he undergoes any therapy that will be required. Recovering from a brain injury is one of the most emotionally and mentally traumatic things that any human being can go through, not to mention physically exhausting if there are physical impairments. I have seen brain injured patients lose their will to live because they thought that they could never have a good life again. Many of those people didn’t have the support from their loved ones that would have helped them deal with it. But from what I’ve seen, I know that Daniel will have all the support and help he needs. I’m very glad of that.”
Again, Alex felt horrible about leaving. How could she help him, lend her support, if she was at home? But she had to go home. Other people depended on her.
After the doctor left, Alex called Kevin to see if he could pick her and Dylan up. He said that he could.
When it was time to leave, Alex kissed Daniel’s forehead. “Goodbye, Daniel. I’ll come back and visit as soon as I can,” she whispered, fighting not to cry. Dylan said goodbye, then they left and caught a taxi to the harbor. She barely spoke a word on the ride back to Hope.
“Hey, welcome back,” Molly said, as Alex and Dylan walked into the Widow’s Walk.
The redhead asked Dylan to put their stuff up in their rooms. “Hey yourself,” she then replied, trying to sound cheerful. Of course, her best friend saw right through her act.
“What’s wrong? Something didn’t happen with Daniel, did it?”
“No. I mean, not really.” Alex sighed heavily and sat on a bar stool. “I just didn’t want to leave him. Things are so strange for him. He remembers almost nothing of what’s happened over the last few days, and he’s so confused, frustrated, and afraid. I wish I could stay with him to help make him feel better.”
“So, why don’t you?”
“Molly, I can’t stay there indefinitely. I have Dylan to think of. He needs me here with him, and I can’t keep him out of school anymore. And there’s you and Boris too. I can’t just leave everything in your lap for days on end.”
“Alex, Dylan would be fine without you for a few days. He loves Daniel too. He’d understand. As for Boris and me, I’m sure we can handle things around here for a while.” Molly smiled. “Besides, in a pinch, I could always put Nub and my dad to work.” She grew serious. “You should be with Daniel, Alex. I know that he would want you there.”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it. I also have to consider the money. Cliff and Bonnie invited us to stay with them in their hotel last night, but I can’t keep doing that, and I can’t afford to keep staying in motels.”
“What are Daniel’s parents going to do? Cliff Cooper is a pretty busy man. I should think that he’d have to leave soon.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even think about that. I guess if he had to leave, Bonnie would stay with Daniel.”
Boris came out of the kitchen bearing two pieces of cake. “Welcome back to Hope. Have piece of celebration cake,” the Russian said.
“Celebration cake?” Alex said.
“Boris fix big cake when we hear that Daniel will be well. Saved two pieces for you and Dylan.”
“Thanks, Boris. I’ll eat mine later. I’m not really in the mood for cake right now.”
The Russian set the cake down and looked at her closely. “Why you down in the lips? Daniel will be well. Is time to be happy.”
“She wishes that she could stay with him, Boris,” Molly explained.
“Then you should stay,” Boris responded.
“It’s not that simple,” Alex said. “I have to consider other things.”
The Russian made a sound of dismissal. “What things? Daniel is friend. If staying would make you and him feel better, then that is what you should do. And Boris is thinking that Reverend would very much like to see your pretty face when he is cooped in hospital.” He gave Alex a wink.
“Boris!” the redhead exclaimed, blushing. She gave a sigh. “I guess I could talk to Dylan and see what he thinks, then check my finances and see how long I could afford to stay at a motel.” A small smile curved her lips at the thought that she might be going back to see Daniel sooner than she thought. Her eyes fell on the cake. “Maybe I will have a little of that cake now after all.”
Molly and Boris both grinned like Cheshire cats. Pushing one of the plates toward Alex, the Russian took the other upstairs to Dylan.
Before she knew it, Alex was halfway through the piece of cake. She was lifting another bite to her mouth when Brian and Nub came in with two men she’d never seen before. Though casually dressed, you could tell that the strangers had money.
“Hi, Alex,” Nub said. “How’s Daniel?”
“Doing better. He’s woken up several times, and the doctors are saying that he’s doing very well.”
“Alex, this it Joseph Mann and Frank Tate,” Brian said. “They’re interested in buying some property for a horse-breeding ranch.”
“Really? Well, that’s great. We’ve never had a ranch on the island.”
The two men exchanged looks. “Actually, I’m afraid that we haven’t been entirely honest with Mayor Brewster,” Joseph Mann said.
Alex’s and Brian’s smiles immediately disappeared. “You haven’t?” the mayor said.
Joseph glanced about the room. “Is there someplace where we can talk in private?”
“We can go to the office,” Alex told him.
She, Brian, Nub, and the strangers went into the office. The redhead studied the two mainlanders suspiciously, wondering if this was going to be another case of someone wanting to build a huge resort on the island.
“We apologize for not being aboveboard on our real plans, but we’ve run into some difficulties in the past with other places we’ve gone to,” Frank said.
“So, this isn’t about a horse ranch,” Alex’s tone was less than friendly.
“No,” Joseph confirmed. “What it’s about is a rather unique living community that we want to create.”
Alex’s frown deepened at the same time as Brian’s face lit up. You could almost hear the cash registers going off in the mayor’s head.
“What kind of community?” the redhead asked.
“A retirement community for individuals who want someplace to live that’s away from the crime, bustle, and pollution of the metropolitan areas,” Joseph explained. “Retired couples who want to be someplace where they can live out their years in a peaceful environment where they don’t have to worry about their homes being broken into and can enjoy being part of a community that truly knows what it means to be a community.”
“And we think that Hope Island is the right place for it,” Frank said.
“So . . . this retirement community. It would mainly be for wealthy retirees, right?” Brian asked, his eyes fairly glowing with the thought of all the money pouring in.
“Not necessarily, though it is true that the average retired couple would not be able to afford the price tags these houses will have and the monthly fees that will be charged to cover landscaping and such.”
“I want to mention right off that there will be job opportunities for locals,” Joseph told them. “This retirement community will include a residents-only recreation facility and meeting hall. We’ll need locals to clean, maintain, and man the facilities and for landscape maintenance. There is also a good chance that some of the residents will be looking for people to clean their houses, not to mention the fact that we’ll be seeking to employ locals during the construction phase. The retirement community will also bring in revenue to the island.”
“Um, look,” Alex said. “This sounds like a nice idea, but the people here on Hope don’t want to see the way of life changed on the island. We like our community the way that it is.”
“Alex,” Brian muttered out of the corner of his mouth, “could we talk about this?”
“No, wait,” Joseph said. “We understand your concerns, Ms. Stone. That’s why we wanted you to be a part of this meeting. But let me make something clear to you. We don’t want things to change on Hope Island. We want it to stay the way it is, a quiet, crime-free, small town community with a strong religious base, a community where the people all know and care about each other. That’s what we’ve been looking for for the past two years.”
“We’ve found several places that looked promising, but they all fell through for one reason or another,” Frank told them. “Sometimes, when the city councils found out what we wanted to do, they tended to . . . exaggerate when it came to the worthiness of their community or cover up facts that would make it less attractive.”
“That’s why we did not tell anyone here what we wanted to do. We wanted to see Hope Island the way it really is,” Joseph explained. “Do you know what really sold us on your island?”
“What?” Brian asked, his chest already puffing out in anticipation of the man’s glowing words of praise about him.
“Seeing the population gathered together in prayer and concern over your minister. I saw hundreds of people of different faiths gathered in the middle of the night, praying for a lone man who has only been here for a year. That sight left me in awe of your community.”
As Brian’s chest was deflating, a bright smile was lighting Alex’s face. It was so wonderful to think that hundreds of people had gathered on the island to pray for Daniel. Getting her mind back to the present, she asked, “So, where would this thing be built?”
“On that large parcel of land south of town, the one I got out and looked at as we drove by.”
“But it’s under water,” Nub said. He had been happy to hear that the two strangers weren’t up to no good, but now he was beginning to wonder about them again.
Joseph smiled. “Yes. At first, I dismissed the land as being unusable, but then I got an idea, a rather unique plan for how we can design and build Hope Gardens Retirement Community.”
“Hope Gardens?” Brian repeated, yet another idea he’d had shot down. Brewster Gardens Retirement Community would have sounded much better to him.
“Yes. We’re going to design it to be like an island. There will be ponds and waterways throughout Hope Gardens, and the entire community will be surrounded by a small lake. Actually, more of a moat, for want of a better word. There will be bridges on all sides. In this way, the flooding during the winter will not be a problem. The excess water will simply run into the moat. Just in case, we will have an emergency outlet for the water if it gets too high.”
“Wow, that sounds . . . expensive,” Alex said, trying to picture it in her mind.
The two men laughed. “Yes, it will be quite a project,” Joseph said, “but the beautiful and unique design, not to mention the view of the bay, will increase the value of the houses we build. It will be quite unlike anything done before.”
“And once people see our design, there may be corporations that will want the same thing applied to business properties,” Frank added.
Brian was back in the stratosphere again. The former Brewster Estates land was going to be used after all, and the spectacular design of Hope Gardens would not only attract wealthy residents, but also tourists coming just to take a look at the place. There would probably even be writeups in the newspapers and magazines. The mayor had visions of Better Homes and Gardens and other national magazines coming to photograph and write about Hope Gardens and the rest of the island. He was almost rubbing his hands with glee over the thought of all the benefits this could bring to the island.
“So, what do you think?” Frank asked. Both men were looking more at Alex than they were the mayor. “We want everyone to agree on this. It’s important for Hope Gardens to be a welcome addition to your community. We’d like to talk to the rest of your city council, if you have one, and other influential residents, perhaps even call a town meeting to answer any questions people may have.”
“I will have to discuss it with my advisors, of course, but I’d say that Hope Gardens sounds like an excellent venture,” Brian said importantly.
Alex fought back the snort of laughter that almost came bursting out of her. Brian was so eager to have this done that he was almost drooling.
“And what about you, Ms. Stone,” Joseph asked her. “We’d very much like to have your support.”
“Um, I’d like to think about it for a while. When do you need an answer?”
“We’ll be in the area until Wednesday morning. We’d like to have a definite answer from everyone before then. If possible, we’d like to schedule a town meeting and a vote for Tuesday evening.”
“We can arrange that,” Brian assured them.
The two Bostonians rose. “Well then, we’ll talk to you again on Tuesday,” Joseph said. “Frank and I will both be in Seattle on Monday, but we’ll be back on Tuesday morning.”
The men left, closing the door behind them. Brian turned to Nub. “This is it, Nub. It’s not Brewster Estates, but it’ll be a real boon to Hope.” The mayor looked at Alex, who still had an expression of reservation on her face. “Oh, come on, Alex. It’s perfect. It’ll bring in new business to the merchants, provide jobs, and increase tourism, but won’t cause any big changes to the way of life around here. You heard what they said. They don’t want things to change.”
“Nothing’s perfect, Brian,” Alex said. “There’s always a trade-off or compromise that has to be made. I told them I’d think about it, and I will.” Brian opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “Don’t try to influence me. I’ll make up my own mind on this, got it?”
The mayor sighed. “Yeah, I got it,” he grumbled.
Alex went back out into the other room, wondering what was going to happen next.
Daniel slowly rose to the surface of consciousness again. He opened his eyes to see his parents looking down at him.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Bonnie said, smiling. “How are you feeling?”
Daniel thought about the question. He felt strange. His brain felt muzzy, like someone had moved things around inside his head and stuck everything in molasses. It was hard to think clearly, though he felt better than he had the first time he could remember waking up. There was also some pain, in his head and chest, though he’d felt worse. Then there was his memory. He had these scattered, jumbled memories that he couldn’t put into order, and there were enormous gaps in the picture. He knew that things, important things had happened in the last few days, but he couldn’t get it all straight in his mind.
Daniel was scared. What if he stayed like this? What if he would never be like he used to be? How could he be a minister, how could he have a relationship with Alex if he was always going to be like this?
Choosing not to upset his parents, with his fears, Daniel replied, “I hurt . . . little bit.”
Bonnie caressed Daniel’s forehead. “We’ll get the nurse to increase your pain medication.”
Daniel looked around for Alex, not seeing her. “Alex?”
“She and Dylan went home,” his father told him.
Daniel was unable to hide his disappointment that Alex wasn’t there. He wanted to see her. It had been wonderful to wake up and see her face, her eyes looking down at him so gently and warmly.
Cliff and Bonnie saw the disappointment on their son’s face and suddenly wished that Alex was coming back soon to make him happy. Until she did come back, they would have to get his mind off her not being there.
Cliff called the nurse in to increase the level of Daniel’s pain medication. After she was gone, he smiled at his son.
“Your mother has turned out to be the perfect partner in Cooper Ministries,” he commented. “I don’t know whatever possessed me not to bring her back in years ago.”
Cliff and Bonnie went on to talk about what they had been doing, the projects they were involved in. Daniel listened to it all, still trying to piece his memories back together. As they talked, certain memories became clearer and fell into place. The fuzzy memory he had of his parents’ visit to Hope grew sharper. He recalled everything about his father asking him to join Cooper Ministries and their conversation when he turned his father down. He also remembered what happened the following Sunday at the church.
But there was something missing, some important piece that remained lost. He had a vague memory of Alex coming to the church, but why and when she was there he did not know, though he had a feeling that it had something to do with his parents’ visit.
Throughout their rundown of the news, both Bonnie and Cliff had noticed Daniel’s eyes occasionally drifting toward the door, as if he was waiting for someone to come in. It wasn’t hard for them to figure out who that someone was.
At that moment, Cliff’s cell phone rang. It turned out to be James.
“James, I’m with Daniel now. Can’t this wait?” Cliff asked.
Hearing those words sent a shock through Daniel. Never in his life had he heard his father tell James to call back because he was busy with Daniel. What had caused this sudden transformation?
“What? Why the sudden change?” Cliff asked after hearing the reason for the call. There was a long pause as he continued to listen. “Well, then they’re going to have to make other arrangements.” Another pause. “No, I’m not going to come back earlier. I’m spending this time with my son. Tell them that I can’t be there for it on that day. They’ll either have to put it back to the original date scheduled or find someone else for the ceremony.” He paused again, listening. “I’m sure you can deal with it. I’ll give you a call tonight.” Cliff disconnected the call and looked at Bonnie. “That new church decided to open their doors a week ahead of schedule. They want the opening ceremony performed tomorrow. They’ll just have to make other arrangements.”
Daniel searched his father’s face, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. His father had just put him above Cooper Ministries. With that thought, Daniel could feel the same joy and warm feeling rising inside him that he had experienced when Cliff told him that he was proud of him.
A lump came to Daniel’s throat. “Thank you,” he whispered, feeling tears in his eyes.
Cliff saw the tears and reached for his son’s hand. “I only did what I should have done a long, long time ago. I am so sorry it took me this long. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“I. . . .” Daniel found that he couldn’t continue. What he’d dreamed of his whole life was finally happening, and there were no words to express how much it meant to him. Closing his eyes, he felt a tear slip down his cheek. Bonnie reached out and brushed it away.
“Shh. Don’t cry, sweetheart. Things are going to be different from now on.”
Daniel opened his eyes and looked at his parents. Something had changed his father, made him look at things beyond Cooper Ministries. Was it the accident? How badly had he been hurt? He’d asked Alex that question, and she had refused to answer. Daniel decided that he had to know.
“How bad was . . . I hurt?”
Daniel immediately sensed the change in his parents’ mood. They looked at each other, then turned back to him. Cliff tightened his grip on his son’s hand.
“You almost died, Son. You were in a coma for two days, and your condition continued to worsen. When they operated, the doctors feared you wouldn’t survive. They almost lost you on the table.” Cliff took Daniel’s other hand. “But you pulled through, and, now, you’re going to be all right.”
Daniel’s gaze slid away from his parents. He had almost died. For some reason, the news didn’t surprise him. Something inside him had already known this, had known that he’d walked hand in hand with Death for a short while.
The minister’s eyes closed again, and he gave a sigh. He felt his mother’s warm hand on his cheek.
“You should get some rest, Daniel,” she said. “You need sleep. We’ll come back in a couple of hours, all right?”
Daniel nodded, his eyes still closed. He heard his parents leave. In the quiet of the empty room, he let his thoughts drift until sleep claimed him.