CHAPTER 3

When Monica awoke the following morning, she rolled over to where Andrew was supposed to be lying, only to find the bed empty. Blinking sleepily, the little angel frowned before glancing at the clock on the nightstand.

8:30

Andrew had said he had to be at work at 7:00 so that explained why she was alone. Now she was just left to wonder about her own assignment. Her heart ached slightly at already missing Andrew's reassuring presence next to her, but she knew that they both had work to do. She could only hope that God would see it fit to bring them together again soon.

"About time you got your little angel butt out of bed."

"Tess!" Monica grinned sheepishly as she sat up, "I was just wondering what it was I was meant to be doing!"

"Well, lucky for you that being late today is not that big a deal, baby, as your assignment is literally right around the corner." The older angel crossed her arms over her chest and would have looked rather intimidating had her dark eyes not been sparkling with love for the little angel who was still blinking a little sleepily at her.

"What? Tess, my assignment is here? At the resort?" A little smile started to form on Monica's face, clearly delighted at being able to work so close to Andrew.

"You met her last night as a matter of fact. Sarah is going to need an angel in the near future." Tess sat down on the edge of the bed next to her young charge.

"Sarah? Oh Tess, she won't be in any trouble, will she? She's such a sweet wee girl!"

Seeing the distress in Monica's eyes, Tess patted her knee reassuringly, "Only the Father knows what could happen, Angel Girl. All I know is that you are being asked to be her angel, so I hope you like snow."

A second later, Monica glanced down at herself and her rumpled clothing from yesterday had been transformed into warm trousers and a heavy cabled Aran sweater with matching cap. Her feet were now covered with warm fleece lined boots and she saw on the edge of the bed a pair of fleece lined mittens as well as a heavy parka.

"I take it I'll be skiing?" Monica looked a little bit doubtful, which caused Tess to laugh.

"No, baby. Sarah isn't much of a skier, but she does love to do some snow exploring and as her parents are here to ski, you'll be taking care of Sarah for the day."

Looking a little bit relieved, the Irish angel nodded her head, "When do I start?"

"Half an hour, baby." An amused grin played on the older angel's face, "So, you have that long to go and say good morning to your Angel Boy. Then you'll be meeting the Cooper's in the main lodge."

X

Andrew's face was grief stricken as he knelt beside the body of a teenage boy. As soon as he had reported for duty that morning, word had hit that Austin Taylor was missing. The teen had apparently slipped out during the night for some not permissible after hours skiing and had gotten lost. Temperatures had dropped to below zero last night and with not having enough visibility, Austin had hit a tree during his skiing venture. He had fallen into unconsciousness and had never woken.

Two fatalities since he had been assigned here, and what bothered Andrew the most was that he had not had word that his assignment was over yet. He had taken Austin Home and though the boy's face had lit up with joy at seeing the Father, Andrew was now left with the difficult task of calling in that he had found the body. The parents would be devastated.

x

The morning had been difficult and now the Angel of Death elected to stop in the lodge for a cup of hot coffee. Austin's body had been recovered and someone else had volunteered to speak to his parents. He wondered if Monica had gotten off to her assignment safely and he suddenly desperately wished he had been able to leave with her, especially as this nagging feeling of something worse yet to come refused to leave his heart.

"Andrew!"

He stopped walking and whirled around, surprised to see Monica hurrying towards him. Despite his confusion, the sight of her off white cabled sweater and cap, with her dark hair lying softly against her shoulders nearly took his breath away.

"Angel? What…what are you doing here?" He immediately took her hands in his own and held them tightly.

The little angel smiled happily, "Tess was here this morning, Andrew. Sarah is my assignment!"

The blond angel's mind raced, suddenly feeling excessively worried, "Sarah? She's your assignment?"

Oblivious to his worries as she was so happy to be working close to him again, Monica nodded, "Yes! I'm meeting with her in a few minutes. Her parents have hired me to take care of her for the day, which apparently includes exploring a wee bit away from the skiing area with Bailey-."

"No," Andrew's voice was stern and Monica blinked in surprise, "I don't want you taking her outside, Monica. Just stay in here with her, all right?"

The angel's brow knitted together in confusion, "Andrew, she wants to be outside. She loves the snow!"

"But if something happens, Angel, you may not be qualified to help her! It's dangerous out there and the temperatures are barely above freezing."

"I may not be qualified to help her?" Monica repeated the words slowly as if trying to understand them, "I'm an angel, Andrew and I'm sure we'll be just fine."

"You weren't 'just fine' when an assignment led you to Jim now, were you?" His words came with little thought, but he instantly regretted them when he saw the hurt that filled his beloved angel's eyes.

"So, is that the standard that you measure me to now?" She asked quietly, blinking back the tears that were stinging her eyes, "That was not an official assignment, Andrew, and you know it."

As she pulled her hands away, his heart raced, "No, Monica, I didn't mean it like that-."

"There was no other way for you to mean it, Andrew," She replied softly, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her parka, her eyes downcast and refusing to meet his. She was doing her best not to cry. She had been so excited about being close to him and his reaction was not what she had expected and that hurt terribly, "You kept telling me that what happened with Jim was not my fault, but now you're turning that around completely and telling me that I can't handle this assignment because I couldn't handle him. You can't have it both ways, Andrew…you either trust me or you don't, now which is it?"

"No, baby, listen to me," He had never meant to hurt her like this and his heart was breaking over the fact that he had, "I just….I worry about you being outside with Sarah…a lot of things could happen-."

"You don't trust me to take care of her," Monica's voice had dropped to a whisper, "I guess you just answered my question."

The single tear that trickled down her cheek was nearly enough to make Andrew fall to his knees and beg her forgiveness, or at the very least explain to her what was at the source of his concern. He would have done just that, had the little angel's hurt not suddenly turned to quiet anger.

"It seems that you only trust me now with assignments as long as you're around, but you seem to forget that I don't always need your help. After all, I did just fine doing the Father's work for six months when you were nowhere to be found."

She was referring to that horrible time when he had not been honest about his feelings for her, and though he now flinched at the mention of it, he also knew he deserved it, "Angel, I know that-."

"I don't always need you to protect me or my assignments, Andrew. I'm very capable of handling it alone, and I don't need your consent to take Sarah outside or any place else for that matter. God is watching over us, even when you can't." Monica drew in a trembling breath, and managed to keep herself from bursting into helpless tears. She didn't want to argue with him! Just minutes ago, she had been overjoyed to have been assigned so close to him and now this! Why was he acting this way?

"I have to go," She murmured sadly.

"Monica, wait. Please?" He reached out to touch her shoulder, but at that moment the phone resting against his hip sounded and demanded his attention. With a frustrated sigh, he grabbed it, "Andrew."

His heart sank as he simultaneously watched his beloved Monica walk away from him while he listened to Cory, one of the other ski patrollers, inform him of a missing skier. Though he longed to run after Monica and make her understand, he knew it would have to wait until later.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Disconnecting the call, he looked back in the direction Monica had gone, but she was nowhere to be seen. Running a weary hand through his short, blonde hair, Andrew started walking through the lodge to the door.

He should have been honest with her last night. Monica had given him more than one opportunity to pour out to her just how troubling this assignment had been, but he had not wanted to waste the precious time with her talking about anything sad. But now, the things he had kept safely in his heart had come between them…again. He really needed to stop doing that; stop trying to protect her from things he felt. Now she was feeling hurt and disappointed, not to mention confused and he was powerless for the moment to do anything to remedy the situation.

They'd talk tonight, he promised himself. He would explain everything to her and then ask for her forgiveness for his callus words, but right now, his assignment was calling him. He only prayed that this lost skier would be found alive.

X

Monica darted into a restroom before going to meet Sarah and her family, thankful to find the outer room with a vanity deserted. Sinking into a chair, she covered her face with her hands and allowed the hot tears to fall.

There had been many times in her existence that she had doubted her abilities as an angel; when an assignment had gone differently than she would have liked or when her own fears had gotten in her way. But those times in no way came close to how it made her feel to have someone she loved with all her heart doubt her. Every fiber in her being now ached with the emotional pain of not understanding what would have caused Andrew to even think that she may not be able to take care of Sarah. Did he really believe that what had happened with Jim back when she had first met him was her fault? He couldn't possibly think that, could he? She had been in human form and not even on assignment when it had happened, so how could she have been at fault?

Sniffling, the little angel wiped at her eyes and drew in a trembling breath. She couldn't think about this now. She had to go meet up with Sarah.

X

"Monica," Mrs. Cooper smiled happily as she watched the young Irish woman approaching them, "I'd had no idea last night when you found Sarah that you were a personal assistant here at the lodge! You're a real answer to prayer!"

The angel blushed slightly, but smiled, "Well, I had no idea last night that you needed a personal assistant! Or rather, that wee Sarah here did!"

"Well, now you know!" Sarah grinned up at the angel, as Bailey laid quietly at her feet, "Bailey and I were hoping you could take us out snow shoeing for a while!"

"I would love to, providing your mom says that it's okay," Monica knelt down to be at eye level with the little girl and she smiled as Bailey's tail thumped in greeting.

"Of course," Mrs. Cooper agreed, "Sarah has been out on snow shoes many times with us and she loves it though she has never developed a fondness for skiing."

"What time would you like her to be back?" Monica moved to stroke the dog's head, not missing the excitement in Sarah's eyes nor the way the child was tugging on her hand, anxious to get going.

The woman laughed, clearly seeing her daughter's impatience, "We'll be out skiing for most of the afternoon, Monica, so an hour or so before dinnertime would be fine. In fact, if you don't have dinner plans, we'd love to have you."

The angel managed a faint smile, wondering if she had dinner plans. Hard to say with the way she and Andrew had left things, "I'll let you know this evening. Would that be all right?"

Mrs. Copper nodded her head approvingly, before she hugged her daughter close, "You listen to Monica today, Sarah. She knows the area and I don't want you getting lost because you decided to go your own way for awhile. Do we have a deal?"

Sarah rolled her eyes in a typical seven-year-old fashion, "Yes, mom. We have a deal. Can we go now, please?"

Chuckling, she kissed the child's head, "Yes, go. Thank you, Monica."

Taking Sarah's hand, the angel smiled, "We'll see you later."