PROLOGUE

As an angel, sometimes you were just directed to go someplace and once you got there, you had no idea why you had been sent and this was very true for Monica on this warm, late afternoon.  As she squished her toes down into the sand, she observed the large lake with a combination of admiration and fear.  It was definitely serene and beautiful and the water lapping lazily upon the shore was certainly a sound that could easily lull her to sleep had she been lying down and snuggled up with her angelic “boyfriend”, Andrew.  But on the other hand, bodies of water had always been something that inspired fear in the little angel’s heart as she was in no way a strong swimmer.  Oh, swimming pools were sort of okay as she could clearly see the bottom and human beings tended to mark them with exactly how deep they were and at what point, but natural bodies of water, creations of the Father, were to be strictly respected.  Not being able to see the bottom of lakes and oceans was intimidating enough and then there was the fear of maybe getting her foot caught on a rock that might pull her under or not being able to touch bottom  and then growing tired of swimming or treading water.  No, as an angel of God, Monica could not die, but she also had no desire to even almost experience drowning.

The sand felt cool and comforting between her toes and the Irish angel knelt down to more closely observe the little rocks that lined the shore, each one looking as if it had been polished by none other than the Father Himself and were as many different colors as what was found inside a box of crayons.  Monica supposed they served as a reminder that there were no accidents or coincidences in God’s perfect plan, but after her last assignment she was finding cause to doubt the wisdom of her own thoughts. 

Some humans just didn’t want to change their spots, not even when an angel was standing before them speaking heavenly truth and John Tracey had been one of those humans.  An alcoholic and a drug user with a wife and two beautiful children, John would often drink and then take out his anger on Christine, his wife, while his two children watched in horror.  John’s eldest child, Jacob, had already been suspended from school twice and the boy was only ten, but he had been imitating his father’s way of dealing with problems.  Unfortunately, the violence hadn’t been working for either of them. 

Tess had warned her to be careful of when she chose to speak the truth to John because of his violent nature, but Monica had found it increasingly difficult to find a moment when John was not under the influence of some substance.  She had been filling in as a substitute teacher for Jacob’s class and when the moment of truth had finally arrived, not only had John refused her message from God.  No, he had gone a step further than that and had dealt with the issue the only way he had known how.  By striking her.

Though God had taken away the white hot pain of John’s fist meeting her cheek, Monica had been devastated.  Even though Tess had tried to reassure her that she had not failed and that John was simply not ready to listen, God had known the heaviness of her heart and she supposed that was why He had sent her here.

Maybe she was supposed to remember that human beings were as unpredictable as bodies of water and that no matter how inviting most of them could look, there was still the possibility of danger.  But even as that fleeting thought crossed the angel’s mind, it sounded trite and petty and she knew that was not how her heavenly Father wanted her to view the human race.  Unfortunately, Monica seemed to have little control right now over how she felt.

Reaching for two slightly larger stones, she stood back up and positioned the first rock between her fingers.  A long time ago, long before she and Andrew had known just how deeply they loved each other, he had tried to teach her to skip stones and she had been hopeless.  Now, she gazed at the rock in her fingers thoughtfully, desperately wanting to prove to herself that she was good at something as right now she certainly wasn’t feeling like a very good angel. 

Nibbling on her lower lip for a moment, she took a practice aim and then tried to release the stone smoothly across the water.  But the stone had other ideas.  Refusing to skim the top of the lake, it simply soared over the water and landed with a PLUNK into the water where it vanished from her sight.  Now feeling more defiant, Monica positioned the second stone in her fingers and hurled it as well, only to have the same result as the first time.

Much to her own surprise, her dark eyes filled with tears as she stared at the place the rock had landed, her vision turning the lake and the trees across the way into a water colored portrait.  How could she make John listen to her when she couldn’t even skip a wee stone?

Before the tears could fall, a stone went skipping across the water in front of her, skimming the top of the lake six times before finally sinking.  Before she could even turn around, she heard his voice.

“You almost had it, Angel.  All you need is a little more practice.”

Monica’s face lit up with a smile at the sight of Andrew, his blond hair slightly mussed from the breeze and his green eyes twinkling with love and adoration as he looked at her.

“Andrew!”  Her previous sadness temporarily forgotten, she ran the few steps to be caught up in his strong arms, laughing as he spun her around and completely delighted to be in his embrace again after two weeks of not seeing him, “I missed you terribly!”

Setting her back on her feet, Andrew gazed into her dark eyes, “My precious angel, you have no idea.”  Catching her face in his hands, he took in every delicate feature, from her sparkling doe-like eyes which contained the tiniest hint of sadness, to her slightly pale cheeks.  He knew that these subtle changes in her usually cheerful and rosy disposition were really only obvious to him as he knew her so well.  Andrew doubted even Tess or Sam would know at this moment that deep inside, something was troubling the little angel as she was smiling up him with trusting eyes, but he knew and he would get it out of her eventually.

His green eyes moved to her lips and unable to wait another moment, he pressed his firmly to hers, hearing the contented little sigh that emerged from her.  His fingers touched the delicate skin along her jaw line and his heart sped up when she silently begged for more.  As the kiss deepened. Andrew suppressed a smile as Monica stood up on tiptoe to better reach him, her own small hands linked behind his neck.

When the sweet moment finally ended, she found her breath and then whispered, “I love you so much, Andrew.  I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too, Angel and you know how much I love you right back.”  Moving to stand behind her, he wrapped his arms around her small waist and kissed her cheek, “Looks like we both have some time off here on our own private little beach.”

“We do?” Monica tilted her head back to gaze up at him hopefully.

“Take a look, my little Angel Girl.”

As he turned her around, Monica gasped at the sweet little cabin that suddenly appeared just beyond the shore.  It was made of logs and the porch that wrapped the whole way around it was decorated with rocking chairs and little tables.  There was even a porch swing and just beside the porch tied between two trees was a hammock. 

“Oh Andrew!  Isn’t it beautiful?” Grabbing his hand, Monica pulled him, laughing up the shore and then up the steps of the cabin.  The front door opened easily and the inside enchanted her every bit as much as the exterior did. The living room was cozy with hardwood floors and a stone fireplace.  The furniture had afghans draped over it and just beyond the living room was a small and fully stocked kitchen.  In the other direction there was a bathroom and two bedrooms, both beds covered with beautiful patchwork quilts.

Andrew held back a chuckle at the little girl sparkle in Monica’s eyes that so clearly showed her pleasure over this gift.  The trace of grief he had seen in her was now buried deeper beneath the surface and he was content with that for the moment.  He knew better than to push her before she was ready, but he had no doubt at all that she would eventually come to him with the problem or at least allow him to gently pry it from her.

“Andrew, there’s coffee!” Her glee was hard to miss and at this he allowed himself to laugh.

“Do you really think that the Father would send his beloved little Irish angel on a vacation and not allow her to have coffee?”  Andrew grinned, though it faded somewhat at the look that briefly came across her face.

His words had startled her for some reason.  Monica was feeling like such a miserable failure deep inside that the reminder of God’s love for her had caused her to feel a twinge of doubt that she was deeply ashamed of.  Seeing the concern flicker in Andrew’s eyes though, she slipped her façade back into place and smiled, “No, I don’t suppose he would.  Are you hungry?  Can I make you something?”

Those words were always enough to make Andrew’s heart both swell with love and accelerate in fear.  Monica had always lacked in any culinary ability, but her dear soul made her want to do things for him to make him happy.  One day he might be able to convince her that to make him happy, all she needed to do was to be in his arms.

“You know what, Angel?  As this is your surprise I’m afraid I will have to insist on pampering you tonight and cooking, though I would be quite honored to have your company with me in the kitchen.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, delighting in the blush that rose to her cheeks.

“If you insist.” She replied coyly, a playful grin firmly in place.

Guiding her into the kitchen, and after a loving kiss on her cheek, Andrew set her to work cutting up some vegetables for their salad as he worked on making the sauce for their spaghetti.  Though he liked the Italian dish well enough, it was Monica who truly loved it and was most amused by it.  The first time she had eaten it with him, she had been terribly funny with sucking in the long noodles, one so fast it had back lashed and splayed sauce all over her nose and cheek.  She had been much more careful since that time, though Andrew always had to smile at the adorable memory.

The little angel chatted amiably all throughout the dinner preparations and dinner itself and by the time they had cleaned up the kitchen and done the dishes, it was already dark outside and Monica’s eyes were beginning to droop.  Andrew had a feeling that her last assignment had been a difficult one that had emotionally drained her and he wasn’t surprised when she fell asleep leaning up against him on the couch at just past nine ‘o clock.

Tenderly, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her back the hall.  After tucking her into bed, Andrew just stood next to her, gazing down at her beautiful porcelain face and wondering at the secrets she was keeping at the moment.  He knew that if Tess were to show up, he would not be above asking her what had Monica so deeply upset that she was trying to hide it from him.