CHAPTER 4

Dinner ended later than usual that evening due to the presence of the new guests. Much to Andrew's amusement, Monica's eyes shone as Mr Snyder came from the kitchen holding a tray with two mugs of fresh coffee and other three with hot chocolate. Smiling, the blond angel kept picturing Tess' face if she saw that the assignment had come with an enormous bonus for her dear charge. Well, it had come with an enormous bonus for him too, which was his dearest friend's company all along.

The group talked for over an hour and they were told the story of the farm and its employees, and Monica was apprehensive to learn that the family trusted Ian completely, as Amazing Grace and other horses had won important races under his training. When the clock ticked eleven, however, Andrew noticed that his co-worker was unsuccessfully trying to hide a yawn and that image itself made him chuckle. He was the one to make the first move in order to head to their rooms and minutes later, the two angels were crossing the small path that separated the two farm houses.

"I do hope we are able to help them, Andrew. They seem such a loving family." Monica was glad that he had his arm around her shoulders so she could snuggle a bit closer. Andrew was right: no matter how sunny the day was, it was always rather cold at night and she could see her warm breath through the faint light coming from the lamp posts as she spoke.

"They sure do, angel. And the Father sent us here at the right time. From what I've seen so far I don't think Caroline would be able to keep this farm going for a month more." He spoke, noticing that the bushes and trees along the short trail up to the guest house made the surroundings rather shadowy and therefore slightly uncomfortable for a certain little angel to cross it all by herself.

"Poor her. She loves those animals, I can tell she does."

Their short walk finally came to an end. Andrew opened the front door and motioned for her to enter first, glad that now they were in a warm living room where a fireplace had been previously lit up.

"Well... I know a certain angel who also became quite fond of the animals around here and I sense that her human form could use some sleep right now, it's been quite a busy day!" He spoke, helping her remove her coat and then hanging it in the small closet behind the door.

Monica smiled sheepishly, trying to hide another yawn as she looked up at him. "I guess I'm always a wee bit tired on the first day..." Then, her eyebrows suddenly knitted together in some concern. "Would that mean I'm more prone to acquire human characteristics whenever I'm on Earth?"

The curiosity and seriousness in the way she looked at him were particularly endearing, even if he knew she was not joking. "I don't think so, baby." He replied, tenderly tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "You see, each angel responds differently to the transition between their human and angelic forms and it is perfectly fine that your way to react to it is feeling a little tired for a while."

Aware that he was trying to dissuade her from feeling bad about a natural reaction of her human body, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, eyebrows in an adorable pout, "You are not sleepy..."

Now he could not help chuckling at the accusing look she threw him. "Not yet, but I will be eventually! Plus, I'm bigger than you, I can resist more!"

Andrew watched in delight as a rather sleepy grin crossed her face due to his teasing. He quickly got rid of his jacket and then placed both hands over her shoulders, gently guiding her along the corridor. There were six doors there, three on each side, and the other employees had already retired to their rooms.

They stopped in front of the last two doors. Monica was happy to see that her dear friend's bedroom was just across from hers as in a new territory it was always good to have something familiar to hold on to if things got confusing.

"You try to rest as much as you can, angel. Things will be quite busy for us in the following days." He said, gently laying a hand against her cheek.

"I know..." She fell silent for a split second, but before Andrew could ask the reason for that, the Irish angel gave a step forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, in a tight hug which he returned just as warmly. "I'm so glad you're here..."

Due to the circumstances involving Ian, there was more meaning in those words that he himself could have fathomed.

"You're not the only one, baby..." he replied, caressing the long auburn waves in her hair with infinite tenderness.

Only a minute later did she pull away, gazing up at him with tired but joyful eyes. "I'll let you go to bed now, I guess you got quite a lot of my talking for the day..."

She was joking and even made him chuckle. But the truth was that he would never be tired of listening to her. "I'll say an extra prayer of thanks for that!" The blond angel replied, playfully touching the tip of her nose with his index finger.

Then, he lay both hands on each side of her head and brushed a loving kiss against her forehead. "Sleep well, baby." He said, pulling away to look into her soft brown pools afterwards.

"You too, Andrew."

Sorry that she reluctantly disentangled from his loving embrace, the blond angel remained on the same spot, watching as she opened up her bedroom door and then waved him goodbye, closing it a moment later. Only then did he move to his room, a constant smile playing on his lips.

X

Both angels awoke early, knowing that there was much to do, and Andrew was immediately concerned that his dear friend looked as if her sleep had been less than stellar.

"You didn't sleep well?" He grabbed her hand up in his as they met in the living room before heading to the main house for breakfast. Despite the dark circles under her eyes, she looked exceptionally adorable in jeans, boots, a heavy cable knit sweater and a knitted newsboy cap to match.

She gave a tiny shrug, feeling the comfort of his hand engulfing hers. She didn't want to tell him that nightmares of Ian and the horses had plagued her most of the night. She had never expected to be so effected after only one day, "New surroundings, I suppose. I guess I kept waking up."

"You should have come to get me, Angel," He replied sternly, giving her hand a squeeze to take the sting out of his gentle scolding.

"You needed to sleep. You have to look at numbers all day long in order to make certain the farm can be saved," Monica argued half-heartedly. Truth was she had been afraid of pouring out her worries about the horse trainer to him during the late hours. She knew how much he worried about her and she didn't want him distracted from his part of the assignment being concerned about hers.

"And had you come to me we both could have gotten a good night's sleep," Andrew countered, earning him a sheepish smile.

"You're right. If it happens again tonight, I'll knock on your door."

"You don't even have to knock. Just come in. Promise?"

"Promise."

Her answer satisfied him along with her sweet expression that followed her reply. By that time, they had arrived at the house and were immediately welcomed by Jonathan's booming voice.

"Get in here you two! Breakfast is ready and Monica, I have your coffee just the way you like it."

Raising his eyebrows in teasing at his friend, Andrew opened the screen door for her and chuckled at her giggle as she entered. Monica certainly had a way of leaving a lasting impression on everyone she met, himself included.

Breakfast was blueberry pancakes, which were Monica's favourite and though they were certainly delicious, a feeling of unease had settled over her during the meal. She felt a sense of urgency to get to the stables and Caroline's news did little to calm her.

"We spoke with Ian this morning and told him your recommendation to not work Dancer so hard, Monica. He promised he would give the colt the day off."

She nodded her head, but felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Though Ian may have been agreeable to Caroline, she had a sinking feeling he would not be so cordial with her.

Feeling Andrew's eyes on her, she forced another bite of her breakfast before pushing her plate away and rising to her feet, "I need to get to work. I want to check on Grace's leg. I'm hoping the swelling went down during the night."

Andrew relaxed a fraction. She had been worried about the horse. That was probably the reason for her insomnia last night and her silence at breakfast. A grin spread over his face when Jonathon rose to his feet.

"Hold on a moment, little filly," He stopped her, winking at her confused expression. A moment later, he was pressing a to go coffee cup with a lid into her hand, "Can't send you out into the chilly morning air without a hot cup of joe now, can I?"

Andrew had no doubts that her sweet smile went right to the man's heart, "Thank you, Jonathan. I'll see you at lunch. Have a good day everyone."

He'd tried to catch her eye before she hurried out of the kitchen but was unsuccessful, so instead Andrew said a little silent prayer that the horse was doing better this morning.

"She's a dear little thing," Margaret smiled, seeing a slight blush rise to Andrew's cheeks as he nodded his agreement. Turning to her husband, she put on a playful pout, "And you need to stop flirting with her. She is much too young for you. I am sure Andrew is more to her liking."

Andrew nearly choked on his orange juice, "Margaret, we're very good friends."

"Friends. Of course." Sensing his embarrassment, she immediately changed the subject, "More pancakes, Andrew?"

"No ma'am. I'd better get to work too."

Heading down the hall to the office, he shook his head. Margaret wasn't the first human to assume there was more to his relationship with the little angel, but he supposed on the other hand, humans could not begin to understand the depth of his relationship with Monica either. No, other than his relationship with the Father, their friendship was the deepest and most intimate he had ever known in his existence.