The Troublesome Angel

by Valerie Hansen

  Stacy swung the beam of her flashlight and spotted a dark recess less than thirty feet away. It might be full of wild things that objected to sharing their haven, but it sure beat standing out in the open where they were prey to lightning, rain and hail. Not to mention the tornados this kind of erratic weather spawned.

  She circled the fallen tree. Lewis’s leash was hopelessly tangled. There was no time to waste trying to free it, so she released him, leaving it behind.

  Her flashlight cut a hazy path through the damp atmosphere. “Missy’s right. It is a cave! Come on.”

  Gray followed, carrying the little girl. “How do you know it’s safe?”

  “I don’t,” Stacy called back. “You’re welcome to stay out here if you want.” As if to punctuate her remarks, a few bits of hail the size of marbles began to strike the oak canopy overhead.

  In seconds, the trees were being pummeled fiercely. Hail stung like a thousand needles when it struck Gray’s shoulders and back. He bent over Missy, absorbing the battering to protect her, and made a run for it.

  Stacy ducked into the limestone cave without pausing to assess its suitability. Gray was only a few seconds behind her. Lewis sniffed the ground and air while his mistress gathered everyone together in the widest spot by the door and started to give orders.

  “Okay. We’re safe enough for now. Wait here while I check out the rest of this place.”

  Gray reached out and grabbed her arm. “No. I’ll do it. You stay here and take care of Missy.” He lowered the clinging child to the ground at his feet.

  “Oh, fine,” Stacy said cynically. “And what can you do that I can’t? Suppose you find a bear or something?”

  Not about to let her deter him, he responded with equal sarcasm. “Then it’ll eat me and you two can run for it while I provide a distraction.”

  Missy squealed, “No!” and flung herself at his legs, gripping them at the knees.

  Gray spoke soothingly to the frightened little girl. “We’ll all be fine, honey. There aren’t any bears. Honest.”

  Glancing at Stacy he saw her give a noncommittal shrug and start shining her flashlight on the cave floor in a back and forth pattern. If there was any danger she’d soon find it. He’d been behaving like a macho idiot to insist he should be the one to check the shallow cave when she was far more qualified to do so. The trouble was, he’d felt an overwhelming urge to protect her and had spoken up before considering the situation intellectually.

  “I think we’re fine,” Stacy finally said. “If there were any large animals in here with us, Lewis would know it long before we did, anyway. Since he’s settled right down, I have to assume he isn’t worried, so I’m not, either.” She shone her light on the spot where the dog lay. “See?”

  Missy cooed, “Oh, poor Lewis,” forgot everything else, and headed straight for the weary animal. Settling herself beside him she stroked him gently from head to tail. “I’m sorry I made you go out in the rain and get all tired.”

  Gray’s cynical expression made Stacy chuckle and ask, “Hey, Missy, what about your uncle and me? We were with Lewis, you know.”

  Acting unusually shy, the little girl ducked her head and curled up, half on and half off the gentle old dog.

  “Give it up,” Gray said dryly. “When it comes to a popularity contest between us and that dog, we both know who’s going to win.”

  “With Missy, in particular,” Stacy agreed. Now that their temporary crisis was over and they were sheltered from the elements, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Or with Graydon Payne. The physical strain of the frenzied search was beginning to tell, though. The way she saw it, she could either stand there staring at him or sit down before she fell down.

  She chose the latter, easing down right where she was. “I don’t know about you, but I’m beat.”

  He shone his flashlight over the bare ground around her. “You sure it’s safe to sit there?”

  “Well, there aren’t any snakes, scorpions or centipedes. I checked. So I guess so.” Stacy yawned.

  “Good. Then I’ll join you.”

  Oops. That wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind when she’d been so flippant about the lack of danger. As far as she was concerned, letting Gray sit too close to her was far more risky than sharing her space with some innocent insect. Or even with a poisonous one.

  Before she could promise to find him his own safe spot, he’d plopped down beside her with a sigh.

  “Boy, I can see it’s time I went back to jogging,” he groaned. “That run really wore me out.”

  “The stress of worrying about Missy made everything more difficult. You kept up better than most.” A lightning flash illuminated his smile and gave Stacy the impression he was aglow with pride.

  “Hey, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Just don’t let it go to your head.” Loosening the chest strap on her pack she started to slip it off her shoulders. When Gray reached to help her, she said, “I can do it.”

  “I know you can. The fearless Stacy Lucas can do anything. Alone. Unaided. And better than most men. But give me a thrill. Let me help you a little, will you?”

  Even in the darkened cave there was enough light from the ongoing storm for her to see his face. It was like watching a scene illuminated by an irregularly pulsing strobe light. And every time there was a flash, Gray’s grin looked wider, more self-satisfied.

  Together, they freed her arms. Stacy laid the pack behind her. “You don’t have to be so smug. I never said I was invincible or infallible. If I were, I’d have recharged the batteries in my cell phone.”

  “You’re close to infallible,” he countered. “Have you always been so self-reliant?”

  She stretched her arms over her head to soothe her taut muscles, then shook her head. “No. When my parents died, I was a basket case. Couldn’t even think, let alone function. I had one aunt but she and her husband traveled all the time and they didn’t want me.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Oh, nothing much. A succession of foster homes. A reputation for running away.” She took a deep, settling breath. “Are you sure you want to hear all this?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay. But my life isn’t very interesting until I get to the part where I came to Jesus.” Stacy could see that he was paying close attention so she went on. “I must have been about fourteen. Thought I knew all there was to know about life—which of course is a joke.”

  “We all think we’re smarter than anyone else at that age. I did, too,” he said.

  “True. But in my case, I proved how dumb I was. I packed as many belongings as I could carry, hitched a ride to Utah—of all places—and got lost in the Wasatch Mountains. I’d have died of dehydration and hypothermia if it hadn’t been for a search team…with dogs.”

  Gray saw her shudder. “Are you cold, now?”

  “No. Just thinking. I’d already been alone for nearly four years when I headed for Utah. I was pretty scared and hungry by the time I realized I was in real trouble. That was when the miracle happened.”

  He sat up straighter, leaned closer. “Go on.”

  “You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Stacy warned.

  “Let me be the judge of that.”

  “Okay.” Nodding, she allowed the bittersweet memories to flood her mind, fill her heart. “I’d prayed hard after the plane crash that Mommy and Daddy would be all right. When I was told they’d both died, I was furious with God. I gave up any remnants of faith I might have had left over from my earlier days in Sunday school.

  “Then, up in the Wasatch, when I honestly thought I was going to die, I suddenly thought of Jesus. I didn’t know why, then, and I don’t have a clue now, either. I was crying my eyes out and babbling incoherently. Somewhere, in the midst of all that hysteria, was a plea for rescue. I do recall telling God that I was sorry and that if He wanted me, He could have me.”

  Stacy smiled over at her companion. “The rest is history. I knew He accepted
me. Just as I was. Messed up. Useless. A total failure with a reputation for being incorrigible.”

  There was a catch in Gray’s throat. “That’s when the rescuers with the dogs found you.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “There’s more. You see, nobody knew I was lost. The search party that saved me had been sent out to look for a missing hiker.” Her countenance glowed from the retelling of the tale. “And they came across me first. I believe the Lord directed them.”

  “Wow. That does sound like a miracle.”

  “I thought so.” Staring out into the storm she drew up her knees and wrapped both arms around them. After a brief silence she added, “I still do.”

  The temperature dropped rapidly when the cold front arrived to displace the stifling heat. Hail gave way to torrential rain. Still damp from perspiring less than half an hour before, Stacy rubbed her upper arms. “I think you’d better check on Missy. She’s probably cold.”

  “I put my jacket over her the last time I got up,” Gray said. “She’s fine.” He scooted closer to Stacy and laid his arm gently around her shoulders.

  She stiffened and inched away. “Don’t bother about me. I’m not chilly.”

  “Well, I am. We can’t light a fire because we don’t have any dry wood, and I know your dog won’t let me hug him to keep from freezing to death, so that leaves you.”

  Disbelief was quickly replaced by embarrassment when she looked over at Gray and realized he was telling the truth. His clammy shirt was stuck to his chest. Goose bumps dotted his bare forearms. And he’d given up his jacket to keep Missy warm, which really was sweet of him.

  When he shivered, she gave in and repositioned herself by his side. “Okay. But no funny business. I’m only doing this because I feel sorry for you.”

  Gray wrapped her in his embrace, smiled, and pulled her closer. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll remember that.” His hand pressed her cheek and urged her to lean her head against his chest. “You sleep a bit, then I will. It’ll be morning soon and we can start back.”

  Not nearly soon enough for her, Stacy thought. She could hear the steady beating of Gray’s heart, sense the runaway hammering of her own in response. Yet, allowing him to watch over her, even for a short while, gave her an unexplainable feeling of peace. On the other hand, she also had the urge to jump up and escape his clutches, no matter how illogical the idea was under the present circumstances.

  Disgusted, she made a face. There was nothing to worry about. She’d have plenty of opportunities to distance herself from Graydon Payne once they returned to civilization. Sure she would. She could join the foreign legion. Or become a missionary and volunteer to go to Africa. That should be far enough away to keep him out of her hair.

  Well, almost.

  She yawned, snuggled closer and rested her palm on his chest. Exhaustion overcame her. It felt so good, so safe, to be cuddling in his warm, strong embrace while the horrible storm raged outside. It couldn’t hurt to relax and enjoy the experience a little, as long as Gray didn’t know how much she liked being in his arms.

  Closing her eyes, Stacy let her imagination carry her. In her musings, Gray was holding her because he loved her the same way she loved him. His family was transformed into one as loving and kind as hers had been. And Mark and Candace became the perfect parents for Missy, loving her the way Stacy had once prayed to be loved when she was young and alone, too.

  It was a perfect world. A perfect dream. Cherishing those perceptions, holding on to them as long as she could, she slipped into peaceful slumber.

  Gray felt her relaxing. He tightened his embrace. As soon as he was sure she was asleep, he placed a tender kiss on the top of her head and murmured, “We have to quit meeting like this. It’s too hard on me.”

  Not that any other time they’d been together was any easier. Treating Stacy to the casual cookout hadn’t broken down the unseen barriers between them nearly as well as he’d hoped. He’d been sure it would help her see that they could breach the colossal chasm between their respective lives if they wanted to badly enough.

  Pensive, he sighed. Maybe he’d been expecting too much. After all, it wasn’t just the past that separated them. The present did, too. He knew Stacy wanted no more to do with the kind of life he lived than she did with his family. Which was another big problem. They might be hard to take—they were hard to take. Nevertheless, they were still his family. Nathan wasn’t an openly loving man but he’d married Estelle when he knew she was already expecting. That had to count for something. Even if the man hadn’t been able to love his first son the way he’d loved Mark, he’d at least provided for them equally.

  Gray closed his eyes. Thank God for James’s friendship and spiritual influence. Without that, Nathan’s emotional rejection might have soured him on everything and permanently ruined his life.

  “Thank you, Jesus,” he whispered. “For bringing me through.”

  Stacy took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. The hand resting on Gray’s chest moved in a slight caress.

  He held motionless. Listening to her slow, even breathing he decided she was still asleep. Which meant she didn’t know what she was doing.

  Snorting in self-derision he realized that he didn’t know what he was doing, either. Or why he was doing it. And he was wide-awake!

  “Please, Father,” Gray prayed fervently.

  “Guide me so nobody gets hurt. Especially not Stacy.”

  He began to slowly rock back and forth, cradling her gently, lovingly, and adding a heartful of wordless pleas to his spoken request.

  It was almost dawn before he dozed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Missy stirred when her canine pillow got up, stretched with a yawn and sauntered outside to bask in the early morning sun that had begun to filter through the trees.

  The child’s whimper startled Gray awake. He blinked rapidly, momentarily disoriented. To his surprise, he found himself slouched into an uncomfortable heap on a hard, rock floor, a backpack for a pillow. He was still holding Stacy Lucas. Even more disconcerting was the fact that she was hugging him, too!

  He took mental inventory. It had been so long since he’d moved, his left arm was numb. The right one wasn’t in much better shape. The rest of him was so sore from the prolonged contact with the unforgiving ground he wondered if he’d be able to stand, let alone extricate himself from Stacy’s embrace.

  He knew it would be easier on them both if he could get up and move away before she regained her senses. Stacy’s arm lay across his chest so he lifted it slowly, gently, trying to ease out from under without disturbing her.

  Instead of letting go, she tightened her grasp and snuggled against him with a sweetly murmured, “Umm.”

  Gray squirmed. Fidgeted. Tried to inch away. Stacy was going to be angry, and probably pretty embarrassed, if she awoke and found they’d wound up reclining against her pack. Together.

  He felt her hold slacken. She stirred. He tensed. It was too late to escape. In spite of all his efforts to remain alert, for her sake, he’d dozed off sometime during the night. He was about to pay the penalty for doing so.

  Stacy’s eyes popped open. There was a white T-shirt beneath her cheek. A shirt that contained a warm, masculine chest; one she’d just been snuggling against! Scrambling away on all fours, she stared back at him.

  Gray raised on one elbow and winced in pain. “Boy, I’m glad you finally moved. I think my arm died hours ago.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “Keeping you warm,” he said with a hopeful expression. “Or you were keeping me warm. I forget which.”

  Memories of the night and the storm tumbled through Stacy’s sleep-dulled mind, then began to sort themselves out. She clambered to her feet and dusted herself off. “You’re right. I—I’m sorry. When I woke up like that, I assumed the worst.”

  A lopsided grin lifted one corner of his mouth. Dark eyebrows arched. “Well…I didn
’t think it was that bad.”

  Stacy responded without stopping to consider that he was probably provoking her on purpose. “Well, I did! I hope you know I don’t go around sleeping with strange men.” Hands on her hips, she dared him to contradict her. Embarrassment colored her cheeks.

  Slowly shaking his head, Gray stood. “I never thought of myself quite that way. A little different. Maybe even eccentric. But never strange.” He stretched, yawned. “I’ll have to have my public relations people check on that when I get back to the office.”

  He started for the door of the cave. “Give me five minutes, then I’ll gather up our stuff and get ready to go while you take care of Missy.”

  Dumbfounded, Stacy watched him disappear into the forest. A public relations department? Did he really have one? Probably. She knew so little about his business that almost anything was possible. In spite of all they’d been through together, all they’d talked about, he’d never shared that part of his life.

  She shrugged. Did it really matter? Yes, it did. If Gray had been getting serious about her, the way she’d hoped, he’d have wanted to tell her about his work, to share the other important elements in his life, whatever they were. In truth, Missy’s continuing disobedience was the only reason they were together. If Stacy hoped to hang on to even a tiny piece of her heart, she’d better put a stop to it. Soon.

  Before she could change her mind, she crossed to where the girl sat, whining, and dropped to her knees next to her, determined to be firm. “Okay. Listen to me, Missy, because this is the only time I’m going to say this and I wouldn’t want you to get yourself into more trouble because you didn’t pay attention.”

  “Where’s Lewis?” Small, dirty fists rubbed the sleep from little eyes.

  “Outside. So’s your uncle,” Stacy said. “You and I will go out in a minute. First, I want to tell you something very important.”

  The child pouted and refused to look up. Stacy lifted her chin so she’d be forced to meet her gaze. “Listen to me. Lewis and I will not come looking for you again. Ever. Do you understand? I don’t care how many more times you run away or where you go, we won’t come.”