Hi, the mood just came. Hopefully, I'll finish this before my date.

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CAROLINE put the chicken pie into the wood-burning stove and straightened up, massaging her back with one hand. Well, that would take care of dinner. Wryly, she looked around the room, taking in the scrubbed wooden floor, the walls with their louvred panels for ventilation, and the wide-bladed ceiling fan churning the hot air round and round the room. She found it easy to imagine that, in conditions not so different from these; pioneer woman had their babies, tended their families, and probably flocks of goats and chickens as well. At least she did not have to cope with the goats and chickens.

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She pushed back a damp strand of hair from her forehead. Somehow she didn't think she was cut out to be a pioneer woman. Of course, it was kind of Tyler to let her and Candice use the house as a refugee, but they couldn't stay here indefinitely.

"Not for goof, just until you get things sorted out," Tyler had told her.

That was three weeks ago, and she was still no nearer to having anything sorted out. The swish of a skipping rope and the chants of a childish skipping rhyme reminded her that she would have to do something about Candice's schooling at least. If they stayed in York River, she could probably go to the little schoolhouse nearby. Caroline knew she would have to see about that at the end of the Christmas vacation. Thank goodness she will had a little time left before she had to make a final decision.

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Candice had been wonderful about everything, considering how bewildering the last few weeks must have been to a seven year old. The excitement of a second flight in a big plane so soon after her first had kept her from wondering about their hasty departure. Luckily, Hayley had fled the apartment by the time Caroline returned with a shaken but fast recovering Candice. Trying to make a game of it, she thrust a few clothes and personal items into a suitcase. When she checked her purse, she still had their open-ended return tickets and the money Klaus had given her incase she wanted to shop in San Francisco – enough, she estimated to pay for some food and a few nights' hotel accommodation until she could decide what to do next. There was no question of returning to their old house – it was almost certainly the first place Klaus would look for them. He was bound to check with Bonnie, so it was better if her friends knew nothing of her whereabouts. So an out-of-town hotel was the most anonymous place they could stay until she worked out the best course of action.

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They reached New York after dark and Caroline opened the front door with her own key. The staff had all been given a few days off so she didn't expect to meet anyone at the house. It was probably the only chance she would have to collect their belongings and some of Candice's favourite books and toys.

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She was packing and chatting away to Candice to keep her mind off their predicament, when a noise in the hallway made her turn, her heart thudding painfully.

"What is it, Mommy?"

She put a finger hastily to her lips. "Nothing darling, just the house settling." Her voice came out as a dry croak which turned to a shrill scream as a figure loomed out of the darkness of the hallway. The man caught her as she fell.

"Please wake up, Caroline – my God, I'm so sorry I frightened you!"

She came around to the sound of Tyler Lockwood's concerned voice. "Tyler, thank goodness it's you!"

"Well, who did you expect? You realise you gave me the fright of my life?"

Recovering rapidly, Caroline laughed. "I gave you a fright?"

"Well, think about it. I get a cable telling me half the household will be on holiday, and the other half is in San Francisco. As far as I knew, I was the only one staying here tonight. I just ducked out for a quick meal and come back to find two prowlers in the place." He looked at Candice and winked. "Well, one and a half prowlers."

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Caroline sat up quickly and clutched Tyler's arm as the room began to spin again. Gradually, it subsided. "I didn't realise you would be home," she said apologetically. "I thought you'd still be in your business trip."

"I finished my business over there a day or two earlier than I expected. It was only intended to be a flying visit anyway, so – here I am." He studied her curiously. "The question is, what are you doing here?"

Caroline looked down at the floor and Candice chipped in, "Hayley got mad at Mommy. She said my daddy was a cheat and a crook. So we came home."

Tyler looked totally bewildered. "Whoa there, little one! Let's get Mommy to explain in more detail, shall we?"

Caroline nodded, then took Candice's hand. "Before anything else, I think you ought to be in bed, young lady. How about it?"

"Only if Uncle Tyler tucks me in." Candice looked pleadingly at him and he made a show of giving in with great reluctance. Then he swung the child up under one arm and carried her squirming back to her own room. Caroline listened to the high pitched giggles and masculine comments with an aching hearts. The cosy family sounds only served to heighten her sense of loneliness. She was concerned about spending even one night in Klaus's house, half-afraid that he would charter a plane and come storming in at any hour. But as Tyler pointed out when they were alone together later, it would take Klaus some time to figure out where she had gone and, by then it would be too late to get any pilot to accept a charter. So next morning was the earliest they could expect him to appear. Silently, Caroline blessed the calm with which Tyler was taking their unexpected appearance. He didn't seem to find it at all odd that she was so anxious to avoid Klaus.

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"Now," he said, spreading his lanky frame over the couch and kicking off his shoes, "tell me what all this is about, starting from the beginning."

In a low voice that quivered with emotion, Caroline explained about her discovery of Damon's gambling addiction and the money he obtained from the casino by false pretences. When she reached the part about Klaus's proposal, Tyler whistled softly.

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"So you married him to prevent Candice finding out the truth about her father, and now Hayley's blown the whole thing. What a mess!" He leaned forward earnestly. "Let me tell you one thing, Caroline – whatever Hayley threatens, she won't go as far as running Candice's life. I know Hayley, she's had a rough life and it's tended to make her put material things before people at times, nut she doesn't really intend to hurt anyone."

"I'm afraid she already has," Caroline told him, and went on to describe the scene at the apartment, when Candice overheard some of Hayley's threats. "So you can see now why I can't stay with Klaus any longer?"

He nodded sympathetically. "What do you intend to do now?"

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Despite herself, tears welled in her eyes, making them look larger and more waif-like than ever. "I honestly don't know, Tyler. All I wanted to do was get Candice away from San Francisco before Klaus got back with Persia."

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He looked up in surprise. "You know about Persia? I thought Klaus wanted to keep her a deep dark secret in case people got the wrong idea about him."

"He probably did," she said sourly. "Please, let's not talk about Klaus any more."

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Tyler took her hand. "If that's what you want. Right now, we've got to decide what's best for you and Candice to do." He thought for a moment, then beamed with satisfaction. "I know – you can stay at Mom and Dad's old place at York River. When Dad retired, they moved down to Springs to live and left me the use of the old place. It's pretty run down, no modern conveniences or anything like that, but it does have electricity and an ancient wood stove that Mom used to conjure up the most fantastic meals on." His face lightened with the happy memories. "I think you and Candice would be quite comfortable there, at least while you think things over. What do you say?"

"Won't Klaus find us there?" she asked anxiously.

"He knows my folks used to live in York River, but I doubt if he knows exactly where the house is." He patted her shoulders. "You can rest assured if he finds out, it won't be from me."

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At first light the next day, Tyler drove them down to the small settlement nestling on the banks of the York River, south. The river itself was swollen with rain from the current wet season and the low-lying bridge was completely under water. Carefully, Tyler steered the car on the railway bridge which did double duty for cars each season until the river subsided. As they drove across, he looked at the new bridge which was rapidly taking shape alongside the old one. "We won't need to do this much longer," he said, indicating the bumpy bridge which they were crossing. "Soon the new one will be finished. I'm almost sorry, the old town won't be quite the same somehow."

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Caroline looked at him in mild astonishment. "Why, Tyler, I had you marked down as a city slicker. I didn't realise you were such a country boy at heart."

He grinned. "There's quite a few things people don't know about me. The city gloss is just a veneer I put on when I'm at work. You should see me on the end of a hunt shooting wild pigs! Too bad you're not allowed to shoot crocodiles any more – I think I would have made a pretty good croc hunter as well."

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Caroline fell in love with Tyler's old home at first sight. As he had warned her, it was run down and old fashioned, but it had an undeniable charm that was hard to resist. The rambling garden was a jungle of tropical bushes and banana palms with bunches of fruit hanging from them. The grass was waist-high in many places.

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"I'll cut that back for you before I leave," he promised. "It's too good a haven for snakes as it is."

Caroline shuddered. She had learned to live with most of the Territory wildlife, but she was still deathly afraid of snakes. "Thanks," she said heartily, then rested a hand on his arm, "but shouldn't you be getting back in case Klaus misses you?"

"Don't worry so much," he assured her cheerfully. "I'm Klaus's assistant, not his office boy. That means he trusts me to get things done pretty much in my own way and time. He doesn't expect an accounting of every minute. Besides, I'm due for a bit of time off after my trip, so I'll stay and get you two settled in – okay?

"Okay?"

He was as good as his word and within an hour of their arrival he had scythed the tallest grass down to manageable height, then mowed the rest with an ancient petrol mower he unearthed from a shed. Looking out of a newly cleaned window, Caroline should see Candice wielding a broom along the cobblestone path and smiled as she returned to the mammoth job of removing the layers of dust that coated all the furniture. At last the cupboards were clean enough to satisfy her and she could begin stowing away the supplies Tyler had insisted they pick up before leaving.

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"There isn't much shop here,' he warned her. "Like most of these towns, you've got the pub and – well, the pub. And that's it." In fact, it wasn't quite as bad as that, but in any event, they were all so tired by the time they had made the house shipshape, Caroline was glad all the supplied they needed were already in the cupboards.

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"Time I was getting back to Klaus," Tyler said at last. He shrugged into his shirt and accepted the glass of lemonade Caroline proffered. "Thanks, I needed that." He looked around. "The old house doesn't look half so bad when you see it spruced up like this. Be a good place to bring up a family – with a few more amenities of course. You , me and Candice – we would have made a good team, Caroline."

"If only you weren't in love with Hayley," she said gently. "And I …"

"I know, it will always be Klaus, won't it? Just as I'll always go on hoping things will work out for Hayley and me." Impulsively, he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, then turned and strode out to his car.

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With a lump in her throat, Caroline watched him go. He was right, of course. She couldn't turn to Tyler just because he was kind and he was there, any more than he could abandon his dreams of Hayley. Life was so unfair sometimes.

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During the three weeks they lived in the cottage, Tyler came down as often as he could get away from his work, to bring them supplies and news from home. Caroline tried to hide her hunger for news of Klaus, but Tyler sensed her need and regaled her with detailed accounts of life at home. It seemed to be going on very well without her, she thought, chagrined. Tyler did say that Klaus was still looking for her, and his grew blacker with each passing day. This had to be because he was kept from something he regarded as his property, she guessed, not wanting to encourage her own fantasy that he actually missed her. Hayley had predictably stepped back into her role as mistress of the house. At this news, Caroline felt renewed headache for Tyler as he described Hayley's capable running of Klaus's affairs. He still did not suspect the truth, that Hayley had her sights firmly set on Klaus, and Caroline did not have the heart to destroy his remaining illusions. Tyler often talked of how he was sure Hayley was softening towards him at last, and his wistful expression gave away how desperately he wanted this to happen. How could she tell him the truth? He would find out soon enough anyway.

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The smell of burning startled her out of her reverie and she jumped to her feed, scorching her hands as she forgot to use the oven cloth before opening the heavy iron door. She was just in time to save the pie from destruction – only the very edges of the crust showed a darker brown. Carefully, she lifted it out and placed it to cool on a wire rack on the old pine table. On impulse, she picked up her umbrella and headed out to where Candice was playing in the garden. "Coming for a walk?" she asked.

"Can we go as far as the Cemetry?"

Caroline nodded and at once, Candice set off ahead of her, skipping with enthusiasm. Ever since she and Caroline had discovered the beautifully tended war Cemetry just outside the town, Candice had been fascinated by the place. It was a major tourist attraction of the area, but between coaches, it was a haven of peace and transquillity. Now, with the wet season still under way, there were few tourists calling in. Candice had already struck up a friendship with the caretaker and the old man liked nothing better than to take her hand and explain the significance of the graves of civilian and service people who had lost their lives during the air raids. Despite the busloads of tourists, he told Caroline, few young people took a real interest in the place, or in the past at all, for that matter, so he found Candice's interest heartwarming. When Caroline explained about Damon's activities in Vietnam, the old man grew warmer towards them. It turned out he had been to Vietnam himself in the early days before the war, so he was able to give Candice all the background information she wanted about the places her father had visited.

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"You've picked the right day for a visit, little Candice," the caretaker said brightly as they came in through the gates.

"Oh, why's that?"

"I have a big job of weeding ahead of me, and you're just the person to help."

Candice cast pleading eyes up towards her mother. "Can I stay and help, please?"

"I'll bring her home safely before dark," the old man promised.

"Well, if you're sure she won't be in the way?"

"She'll be much too busy to get in anybody's way," he said, ruffling Kelly's hair affectionately.

"All right, then," Caroline conceded.

With a whoop of joy, Candice scampered off across the lawn towards the shed where the caretaker kept his garden tools, followed by the old man himself at a more leisurely pace. Watching them go, she couldn't help feeling a surge of motherly pride. Despite the difficulties in bring up a child by herself, Candice was turning out very well indeed. Her willingness to help the old man proved her generosity of spirit, and Caroline felt proud and a little humble. If she did nothing else with her life, she could regard Candice as quite an achievement.

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"I thought I would find you here,"

Her pulses began to race and the fine hairs on the back of her neck rose as she recognised the voice. Oh, how she had hungered for the sound of that voice! She turned slowly to see Klaus framed in the archway entrance to the cemetery and she drank in the sight of him, dwarfing the stone entrance with his height, the tan knitted shirt stretched taut over the rippling muscles and the cream linen slacks, immaculate despite the long drive. Somehow she knew he had just arrived and she knew he had wasted no time in coming to look for her.

"How did you find me?" she asked, carefully stripping all emotion from her tone.

"It took me some time to work it all out," he admitted. "But then there aren't too many places you could hide. The old Lockwood place wasn't too far down my list of possibilities. And by the way," he said as she was about to speak, "it wasn't Tyler who told me where you were. You've really got that man on a string. He wouldn't give me any help at all, not even when I threatened him with his job."

"That wasn't far!" gasped Caroline.

"Neither was your running out on me," he said grimly. "I mean to have an explanation for that?"

"But not here, please?"

"All right, we'll go back to your house."

She stepped up to his side and he jerked his head towards Candice. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"As if I would!" she retorted angrily, annoyed by his assumption that she would just walk off and leave Candice. "She's helping the caretaker this afternoon. He promised to bring her home after dark."

"Good. I was hoping to have some time alone with you," he said ominously. He gripped her elbow in an iron hold that outwardly looked like a courteous gesture. Caroline knew he was taking no chances on her getting away from him this time.