Alex had been reading for about forty minutes when Doctor Watson came in.
“Hi,” the redhead greeting.
“Hello. I decided to come check up on my patient. I see he’s asleep.”
“Yeah, he dozed back off around an hour ago.”
The doctor went over and checked Daniel’s pulse. “How has he been doing?”
“He’s getting a lot better. He still can’t remember a lot of things, and it’s upsetting him.”
Lily nodded. “Is he having trouble remembering things that have happened since he woke up? Does he forget things you tell him?”
“No, he’s been fine in that way. Lily, will he ever get back all the memories he’s lost? He’s remembered some things.”
Doctor Watson shook her head. “It’s doubtful. There are probably some memories that are irretrievable. He will most likely continue to regain bits and pieces of what he’s lost, but you mustn’t expect more. Though not severe, Daniel did suffer some brain damage. Through therapy, we can train the undamaged portions of his brain to take over for the parts that were damaged, but there are some things that not even therapy can bring back.”
“What about things besides his memory? He doesn’t seem to be having so much trouble understanding things, but could there be other problems we don’t know about?”
“A thorough series of tests have not yet been performed. We want to wait until he’s stronger. Once we conduct those tests, we’ll know the full extent of damage and what course of treatment he will need.”
“How long do you think he’ll have to stay here?” Alex asked.
“I really can’t say yet. We’ll see how he does over the next few days. Best case scenario, I’d say two weeks. But even after he gets out of the hospital, he will have to have someone with him a good part of the time to help him and to keep him from overdoing it and doing things that he shouldn’t.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been thinking about that. He could stay at the Widow’s Walk. Then Molly, Boris and I would be there to help him throughout the day. He wouldn’t have to fix any meals then, and he would be close to town.”
“Well, that is something that you and he will have to discuss when the time comes.” Lily looked at her watch. “I’ll be here for a couple of hours. Page me if he wakes up within that time.”
Alex watched the doctor leave. When she turned back to Daniel, she was surprised again to see that he was awake.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked.
“For a while.”
“Then . . . you heard what she said about your memory?”
The minister nodded, a deep sadness in his eyes.
“Daniel, I am so sorry. I wish there was something I could do. You should have let us know you were awake. Then Lily wouldn’t have. . . .”
“Been so blunt? That’s why I pretended to still be asleep. Yesterday, I asked Doctor Harding about the chances of my memory coming back, and he just told me that he’d have a talk with me in a few days when I was stronger. I think that he didn’t want to upset me so soon after the surgery. But I wanted to know.” He looked away toward the window. “Now I do.”
Alex touched his arm. “Daniel, I promise that any memories you don’t get back, we’ll give them back to you, me and the rest of the islanders. We’ll help you fill in those missing pieces. We’ll tell you all the things you did in those two weeks, at least what we can. I know it won’t be the same, but. . . .”
Daniel turned back to her, trying to push away his sorrow over what he would never get back. He laid his hand over hers. “Thank you, Alex. That means a lot to me.” He sighed. “I hate that I’m going to be here at least two weeks. I want to go home.”
“I want you to come home too, and so does everyone else. Everybody was asking yesterday how soon you’d be out of the hospital. They all miss you.” Alex scanned his eyes, still seeing sadness there. “Daniel, there’s something you should know. The night of your operation, the whole island was praying for you. Dozens of people came here to the hospital and prayed in the chapel and the waiting rooms, and hundreds more were gathered in the churches on the island. There were too many at your church to fit inside. Everyone loves you, Daniel. We’ll all do anything we can to help you.”
The minister gazed at her, his eyes bright with unshed tears. The people of Hope had gathered to pray for him. Months ago, he had seen them gather in prayer and well-wishing for Nub when he was deathly ill, and it had amazed him. Now, they had done the same for him, and Daniel found himself overwhelmed with emotion. How very much God had blessed him by sending him to Hope. He could thank Him every hour of the day for the rest of his life, and it would not be enough.
Swallowing, Daniel closed his eyes. He felt Alex touch his cheek, and, suddenly, he was crying, his heart overflowing.
“Shh-shhhh. Don’t cry. It’s okay, Daniel. It’s okay,” Alex said. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead, then his cheek, wanting to comfort him. But that desire to comfort went right out the window to be replaced with something a lot more powerful when she felt Daniel’s lips brush against her cheek. A shiver went through her as she was filled with the desire to bring her mouth to his. She quickly clamped down on the feeling. Daniel was in no condition to be doing anything like that.
Alex sat up straight, struggling to keep what she was feeling off her face. She looked down at Daniel, who was gazing up at her intently.
“I think you should get some more sleep,” she told him, amazed that she was able to keep her voice at a level tone. “You only got an hour this time. You need more than that.”
“You need to page Doctor Watson,” he told her, wiping the wetness from his face.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Alex went to the phone.
Hope Island’s doctor appeared a few minutes later. “Hello there, Daniel. It’s nice to see you awake. So, how are you feeling?”
“All right. Better than yesterday.”
“Good. I’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s all right.” Getting his consent, she began. “Have you noticed any difficulty controlling your muscles? Are you able to move your arms and legs all right?”
The minister nodded.
“How about your hearing, your vision? Do they seem okay?”
“Fine,” Daniel told her. “I’ve gotten dizzy a couple of times.”
“When did this happen?”
“When I tried to sit up.”
Lily frowned with displeasure. “And why were you trying to sit up? You should know better than that.”
The minister looked suitably sheepish. “Sorry.”
The doctor shook her head. “This might be a temporary thing brought on by the fact that you were moving around in ways that you shouldn’t be this early on, or there could bit a bit of a problem with your equilibrium. Once you’re strong enough to be moving around more, we’ll run some tests. In the meantime, stay put! If you need to roll over onto your side, get someone to help you. If you want to sit up a little, use the controls on the bed. But I don’t want you elevating yourself to a vertical position. You can bring it up a little bit, but not too much. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Daniel said meekly. “How long before the tests?”
“Let’s give you another two days. We’ll run some on Wednesday.”
The doctor checked a couple of things and asked a few more questions, then left, saying that she’d be back on Wednesday.
“You didn’t tell her that you knew about the situation with your memory,” Alex remarked. Her mouth quirked upward. “Didn’t want another lecture, huh?”
“No, not particularly. She and Doctor Harding will probably spring the bad news on me later in the week. I wonder if Mom and Dad know.”
“I don’t know. They may have asked.”
Daniel shook his head. “I have this vague memory of calling Dad, but I don’t remember why or when.” He noticed the expression that leapt onto Alex’s face. “Do you know about this?”
“Um . . . yeah. Your mom told me about it.” The redhead shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t want Daniel finding out about that conversation with his father like this, not if there was a chance that he would remember on his own. She also hadn’t wanted him to know that she knew about it.
The minister looked at Alex in puzzlement. Clearly, whatever that conversation had been, it was something that made Alex uncomfortable to talk about. What could. . . . All at once, he realized what it must have been about. He felt himself blush.
“Oh,” he mumbled.
Alex saw the blush and knew that Daniel had figured things out. What should she do now? “Daniel, I--” She was interrupted by the door opening. The minister’s parents came in.
“Hello, you two,” Bonnie said cheerfully.
“Hi, Mom,” Daniel said, smiling. He then looked at his father closely. If he had told his dad about Alex, as he suspected, then Cliff knew that she was not married to Dylan’s father. How had he reacted to this? What did he think about his son’s relationship with her? Daniel knew how the old Cliff Cooper would have reacted. Yet, watching him with Alex there in the room, Daniel did not see any sign of animosity between them. He wished that he could speak to his mother alone and find out what his father knew and how he felt about Alex.
They all talked for a while, discussing things that had nothing to do with Daniel’s injury, keeping the conversation light. Bonnie noticed that Daniel seemed more talkative than he had yesterday, and she guessed that it was because of Alex. Her presence was obviously very good for him. They would have to figure out a way for her to be with him more.
When Daniel grew tired again, the other three all insisted that he go to sleep and left the room to make sure he did.
“You look concerned about something, Alex,” Bonnie remarked when they reached the waiting room.
“Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I am, kind of,” she admitted. “It’s about Daniel’s memory. He found out that there’s a good chance he’ll never regain portions of it.”
“How?” Cliff asked. “Doctor Harding specifically said that they were going to wait until Daniel was stronger before telling him everything.”
“Doctor Watson came to see Daniel. He was asleep at the time. I asked her about his memory, and she told me the truth. Well, Daniel had woken up, but we didn’t know. He pretended to still be asleep and heard the whole thing.”
“How did he take it?” Bonnie asked in concern.
“It hurt. It’s really upsetting him that there’s so much he can’t remember. He’s remembered a few more things, but I think only a small fraction of what went on during those two weeks.” She glanced at Cliff. “I don’t think he remembers much of anything about the day of the accident and the day before.”
Bonnie nodded, understanding. “Alex, how long will you be staying here?”
“I have to leave tomorrow afternoon for a town meeting, then I’ll be back Wednesday morning. After that I don’t know. I can’t stay here for much longer. For one thing, I can’t afford to keep staying in a motel. The storm and its aftermath really cut into my business. I’ve had fewer visitors staying at the Widow’s Walk than I usually do this time of year, and not as many residents have been eating there. They have to watch their spending because of having to lay out money for repairs to their houses and boats. Things will bounce back, but, right now, it’s kind of tight.”
Cliff looked at Alex with new respect. Despite the fact that she was struggling for money, she had still refused to put the charge for Daniel’s room on the credit card. She was clearly an honorable person who stuck by her principles no matter what.
“I’m going to be leaving at the end of the week,” the minister told her. “I have commitments that can’t be broken or rescheduled. Bonnie will be staying here until next Tuesday, but she’ll have to leave then too. We’ll both be back in two weeks. If it’s possible, I’d like you to stay with Bonnie after I leave and remain here until we both return. You would be staying in our suite.” Cliff held up his hand when she opened her mouth to speak, able to tell that she was going to object. “I’m asking this for Daniel, Alex. He needs someone to be here with him. I don’t want him to be alone.”
Alex sat motionless. She hadn’t expected this. Cliff was asking her to stay and use that obscenely expensive suite. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was for Daniel’s sake, she wouldn’t even consider it. “I. . . . I’d like to stay, but I’d need to talk to Dylan about this.”
“Certainly. Of course, your son is welcome to stay in the suite with you on the weekends. I know that Daniel would enjoy seeing him.”
“Thank you.” Alex could hardly believe that this was the same man who had tried to get Daniel to stop his relationship with her because it would be bad for Cooper Ministries. Almost losing his son had taught Cliff Cooper a hard lesson. It’s just a shame that it had taken that to do it.
When they went back into Daniel’s room, they found him deeply asleep. They resumed their small talk, keeping their voices low. Around two hours later, Alex glanced at her watch and decided to call Dylan.
She’d been gone a little over ten minutes when Daniel awoke.
“Hello, Honey,” his mother said, smiling down at him.
“Hi.” The minister glanced around. “Where’s Alex?”
“She went to call Dylan.”
Daniel relaxed. He’d been afraid for a moment that he’d lost another day, that it was Tuesday, and Alex had gone back to Hope. He wondered if the fear of losing more pieces of his life would ever go away.
“What time is it?”
“7:20”
“Have you eaten?”
“No. We wanted to wait until you awoke so that you wouldn’t wonder where everyone had gone off to,” Cliff explained. “We’re just going to get something quick and simple.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be okay alone. You and Mom will have to go back home pretty soon, won’t you? I’m sure you must have appearances and other business.”
His parents looked at each other. “Yes. We were going to wait until tomorrow to talk to you about this,” Cliff said. “I have to return on Thursday. I can’t delay it any longer. Your mother will be staying until the following Tuesday. We’ll both be back two weeks from today.”
Daniel nodded. So, he would be mostly alone for the better part of next week. Though he wouldn’t let his parents know, it was going to be hard to be alone with him being cooped up in this hospital. He knew that Alex would come to visit and maybe some of the other islanders, but he couldn’t expect them to spend entire days with him.
“I’ve asked Alex to stay here with you,” Cliff told him.
Stunned, Daniel stared at him. “You did?” Maybe his father didn’t know about Alex.
“Yes. We don’t want you to be alone through this. You need someone here with you.”
“But Alex can’t just put everything on hold back home to be with me.”
“She wants to be with you, Daniel,” Bonnie said. “She wants to help you.”
Daniel felt himself smiling on the inside. It felt so good to know that Alex cared like that about him. “What about Dylan?”
“She’s going to ask him how he feels about it tomorrow,” his mother replied. “He’ll be able to come visit you on the weekends.”
“That’s a big expense for her. I know that she’s lost money at the Widow’s Walk because of the storm.”
“Don’t worry, Daniel. That will be taken care of,” Cliff assured her. “I will take care of her accommodations, and I will rent a car for her. I want you to have everything you need, Son. Paying for Alex’s hotel room and transportation is a tiny thing.”
“Did Alex agree to that?” Knowing Alex as he did, Daniel guessed that she would balk at Cliff’s offer to pay for things.
“She wasn’t going to, but because it’s for your sake, she agreed,” Bonnie said.
“Thank you,” Daniel murmured. He had been saying those words a lot lately. But then, there had never been a time when he’d had so much to be thankful for. “Um, Dad, could I, uh, talk to Mom alone for a few minutes?”
“Of course. I’ll be right outside.” The televangelist slipped out the door.
“What is it, Daniel?” Bonnie asked.
“Mom, does Dad know about Alex? Do you? I mean, that Dylan is illegitimate?”
“Yes, Daniel, we both know. You called your father and told him all about Alex and how you felt about her.”
The minister twisted the sheet around with his fingers, his eyes downcast. “What did Dad say?”
Bonnie paused. “He . . . he wasn’t pleased. He told you that you shouldn’t get romantically involved with her.”
Daniel quickly looked up at her. “Mom, I won’t let Dad try to stop my relationship with Alex. I won’t let this be like it was with Kate,” he said emphatically.
Bonnie laid a calming hand on her son’s arm. “It’s all right, Daniel. That’s all changed now. Your father has completely accepted your relationship with Alex.”
“He has?”
“Yes. He won’t do anything to discourage it or interfere.”
Daniel felt relief flood through him. But then, he thought of something. “I wonder if he’d feel the same way if he knew something else.”
“What’s that?”
The minister shook his head. “I’ll tell you some other time.” He wasn’t going to hit his parents now with the news that Alex did not go to church or even pray, that she was, in fact, against religion. He wasn’t certain that he would ever tell them, at least not for quite a while. Something like that would be even harder for his father to accept than Alex having given birth to a child out of wedlock. And if he found out that Alex was Catholic before she lost her faith, that would very likely tip the scales completely, despite Cliff’s change of heart. Wait. How did he know that Alex was Catholic? Daniel abruptly recalled a portion of a conversation he’d had with Father Mac, where they talked about Alex’s life before the death of her mother.
“Daniel, is everything all right?” Bonnie asked.
“Um, yeah. I just got back part of another memory.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m sure that you will keep remembering things.”
Daniel shook his head. “Not everything,” he said in a low voice.
Bonnie’s hand on his arm tightened. “Honey, I know this must be hard for you, but I also know that God will give you strength to get through it. You just need to trust in Him.”
“I do, Mom. I always do.”
Bonnie went to the door and called Cliff back in. A little while after that, Alex returned.
“Now, you need to go get dinner,” Daniel told them firmly. “A real dinner.”
Alex, Bonnie, and Cliff smiled at his tone. “I think we’ve been given our orders, ladies,” Cliff said, amused. “Shall we go?” They moved toward the door.
“Wait. Alex, could I talk to you for a second?” Daniel asked.
Bonnie and Cliff went out.
“I wanted you to know that when I cried, it wasn’t because I was sad, it was because I was happy,” the minister said. “I am so blessed to have you, and Dylan, and the people of Hope in my life. You all mean so much to me. All my life, I’ve wanted to find a place where I fit in, where I truly felt as if I belonged. I didn’t feel that way in California, even though I’d lived there since I was fifteen. But that first Sunday on Hope, when I gave my first sermon, I knew that it was the place for me, that it was home.”
Daniel searched Alex’s eyes. “There are . . . things that I want to talk to you about, but not here. When I get home, we need to sit and . . . and discuss things.”
Alex’s pulse had quickened. She knew what Daniel was talking about. How could she not with the way he was looking at her, so warmly and intensely? Not knowing what to say and not trusting her voice, she just nodded, smiling.
Daniel gave her a smile back, knowing that she understood. “But I need to thank you now for everything that you’re doing for me. Dad told me that you’re going to see if you can stay here next week. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Daniel. It’s what I want.”
The minister searched her eyes deeply, then gave her a smile. “You’d better go. I should imagine that you’re starving. I know that I’ll be glad when they stop feeding me with this IV, and I can eat real food.”
“Does hospital food qualify as real food?” Alex asked with a grin.
Daniel made a face. “Good point. Maybe the IV is better.”
With a laugh, Alex left. Daniel stared at the door. So, he had told his father about Alex, and she knew about it. He was a little embarrassed that she’d found out, but he wasn’t sorry she had. The time for hiding how he felt about her was in the past. He loved her, and he wanted her to know.
Daniel raised the bed a little, then picked up one of the books that Alex had brought, a very old volume of Tennyson poetry. The minister opened the book to one of the many passages he had memorized.
If I were loved, as I desire to be,
What is there in the great sphere of the earth,
And range of evil between death and birth,
That I should fear,--if I were loved by thee?
All the inner, all the outer world of pain
Clear Love would pierce and cleave, if thou wert mine.
Daniel pulled out a photograph from the book. It was of Kate, one of the many he had taken of her. She was wearing a straw hat similar to one that Alex had worn at times. The minister studied her face. Physically, she was very different from Alex. Her dark hair and eyes and light brown complexion were complete opposites to Alex’s fair skin, blue eyes, and red hair. Yet, inside, they were not so different.
“I love her, Kate,” Daniel said to the photo. “I never thought that I’d love again after you died, but God has given me a second chance. I really think that you’d like Alex. She’s like you in some ways. She has your spirit and fire and determination. Maybe that’s what drew me to her. I just pray that I won’t make a mistake this time. I couldn’t bear to lose her.”
Daniel replaced the photo and ran his fingers across the smooth, worn surface of the book cover. He smiled when he remembered what he’d said to Alex once when he was holding this very book. He had loaned it to Callie, hoping that it might inspire her when writing to her Internet romantic interest, Romeo. When it was returned to him by way of Alex, he quoted a passage from it from memory. Then, feeling rather embarrassed and suddenly shy toward her, he had said, “I think I’d better put this away until I can use it for myself.”
The time had come for him to use it for himself. The day he got home, he was going to begin courting Alex Stone. Smiling at that thought, Daniel turned the pages to another poem and began to read.
Alex stretched slowly and languidly in the big, luxurious bed as the morning sun painted golden patterns on the walls. After returning from dinner, she, Bonnie, and Cliff had stayed with Daniel until the end of visiting hours. Cliff and Bonnie had then both insisted that she stay with them in their suite. Alex hadn’t put up much of a struggle.
Alex got up and took a shower, then got dressed. She was eager to get over to the hospital. She would only have until five o’clock to spend with Daniel today.
She was not looking forward to the meeting tonight. There were going to be a lot of concerned people with a whole lot of questions to add to her own.
Sighing, the redhead went out into the main room. Bonnie and Cliff were just coming out of the other bedroom.
“Good morning, Alex,” they greeted.
“Good morning.”
There was a knock on the door, which turned out to be someone delivering their breakfast.
“Daniel told me about these people who want to build a retirement community on the island,” Cliff said as they ate. “He said that there’s a town meeting tonight to discuss it.”
“Yeah. I have some reservations about it,” Alex told him. “I just don’t know if it will hurt the community more than help it.”
Cliff nodded. “What do you want for Hope Island?”
“For it to stay mostly like it is, but for the economy to be better. I know that it can’t stay exactly the same forever. Sooner or later, it will have to grow to fit the population. New businesses will have to come in, more houses built.” She smiled. “One of the things that people on the island most want is a real video store. Ruby and Bonita have a few titles, but only one of each, and more often than not the title someone wants is rented, especially the new releases. I think that Ruby and Bonita would be relieved if someone would open a video store.” She shook her head. “But that won’t happen unless someone comes from the mainland and does it. Nobody on the island would have the money to build a place and buy the inventory.”
“Is the economy that depressed?” Bonnie asked.
“It has its ups and downs. We’re a fishing community. Our primary industry, really our only industry, is fish. Tourism brings in some revenue, but not a whole lot. That’s why Brian, the mayor, keeps trying to boost tourism or bring money in some other way. That’s also why he’s completely for Hope Gardens. It will bring money in and may attract attention to the island, increase tourism.”
“What are you concerned about?” Cliff asked.
“Among other things, that it will bring the wrong kind of people in, that it will hurt the self-esteem of the islanders when these rich people start coming in with all their expensive belongings and snobbish attitudes. We don’t have much on Hope, but we’re proud that we work hard for what we do have, and, most of the time, we don’t complain about the things we don’t have. We know that, while we don’t have much financially, we have each other, and that’s worth a whole lot more than any amount of money.”
Bonnie smiled faintly at the redhead’s last sentence. This was most likely why Daniel fit in so well on Hope Island, why it became a home to him so quickly. He had always wanted love and close relationships more than material things. Friendship was priceless to him, and he had never liked being alone. Hope Island with its small, close-knit community was the only kind of place where she was certain Daniel could truly be happy.
“Have you investigated these people to make sure they’re aboveboard?” Cliff asked.
“Um, no. I wouldn’t really know where to start. Besides, I’ve been kind of distracted with everything else.”
“Well, if you can give me their names, the company’s name, and where it’s based, I can have my people run a check on them. I have quite a few contacts in the business community.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Alex gave him the information he needed. Cliff called James and told him to have some people start checking things out. They then headed over to the hospital.