body had washed ashore on Jeannie's uncharted island. Sam had checked and double-checked to make sure there was no way Reeves could discover the location of the island. Although Ollie and Marta knew about the island, as did the family lawyer, only Manton, Julian and Jeannie knew its exact location.
Years ago, the only means of communication had been a shortwave radio. With generators providing electricity to the house, Jeannie had provided Manton with a computer and fax-modem and had installed a telephone. One of the first things Jeannie had done after waking from her twenty-four hour rest, was to fax Manton, something she did almost every day.
'He'll be worried if more than a couple of days pass without hearing from me,' she'd said.
So like Jeannie, caring about others, worrying about the people in her life, loving wholeheartedly, giving freely, taking on suffering that was not hers.
Sam didn't pretend to understand the depth of Jeannie's goodness, but the purity of her soul made him question his right to desire her. Of all the men in the world, why would she want him to be her first lover? She knew he could promise her nothing permanent, that he could offer her a physical relationship and nothing more. Why didn't she wait for some gentle, kind man whose soul would be in tune with hers? Why would she want a man who wasn't even sure he possessed a soul?
Sam heard the distant beeping sound and couldn't quite identify what it was or where it was coming from. When he went out into the hall, he heard it more distinctly, a repetitive alert coming from somewhere downstairs.
Jeannie cried out his name. The beeping continued. Sam listened carefully. A smoke detector!
'Sam!' she cried again.
'I'll check it out,' he said, knowing she could hear the alarm, too. 'It could be nothing. I'll be right back.'
He flew down the stairs, followed the warning signal into the smoky corridor leading to the kitchen and flung open the door. Growling at the sight before him, he swore loudly. Flames engulfed the kitchen, the curtains burning in seconds as he watched. Smoke filled the room.
Ollie touched Sam on the shoulder. He jerked around to face her. 'Get out of the house. Fast. I'll send Julian and bring Jeannie down.'
'Can't I help?' Ollie asked.
'Don't argue. No time. Get out!'
Sam slammed shut the door, raced back upstairs, calling Jeannie's name. Julian, wearing pajamas and a silk robe came out into the hall. 'What's wrong? Is that the smoke detector?'
Ignoring Julian, Sam rushed into his bedroom, retrieved his cellular phone from his jacket, went back into the hall and tossed the phone to Julian.
'Go downstairs and out the front door quickly. I've sent Ollie out. Dial 911. Get the fire department here before this old house burns to the ground.'
'Jeannie?' Julian hesitated, but then he saw the look in Sam Dundee's eyes and, clutching the phone in his trembling hand, hurried downstairs.
Jeannie sat upright in bed, the lamp on the nightstand illuminating her frightened face. 'The smoke alarm went off downstairs. Is there a fire?'
Sam lifted her into his anus. 'The whole kitchen's on fire.' She had known somehow that the alarm hadn't gone off by accident, that it signaled a true danger. The moment she heard it, she'd called out to Sam, telepathically at first, but he hadn't responded.
She saw the panic in his eyes and realized how afraid he was for her. She held out her arms, waiting for him to rescue her. Nothing could ever truly harm her as long as she had Sam.
Although his mind functioned and he'd thought out every move in a reasonable fashion, one overriding emotion dictated Sam's actions—his concern for Jeannie. He had to get her to safety!
Jeannie clung to him as he rushed out of her room, dashing down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Billows of black smoke met them in the foyer. Fire licked at the walls. Jeannie closed her eyes against the destruction, coughing when the smoke filled her nostrils and crept into her throat. Ahead of them, the front door stood wide open. Sam didn't hesitate; he ran outside, down the steps and into the front yard, where Julian and Ollie stood huddled together.
'The fire department is on the way.' Julian touched Jeannie's face and smiled. 'Maybe they'll make it here in time to save the old place.'
Jeannie knew how much Julian loved the house his grandfather had built, the home where he'd grown up, the house where he'd brought Miriam as a bride. To lose this magnificent old mansion would be like losing a part of himself.
'Could the fire have been an accident?' Jeannie asked Sam, her voice a whisper against his ear. 'Or do you think Maynard Reeves—?' She swallowed, her emotions momentarily choking her.
'My gut instincts are shouting Reeves's name,' Sam said. 'We won't know for sure whether or not this was an accident until the fire inspector hands in his report.'
Jeannie felt Sam's frustration, his fear for her and his savage anger at Reeves. She could hear his heartbeat, loud and strong and wild. Wild from the race away from what would have been certain death had he not carried her to safety. Wild with the desire to protect at all costs. Wild with the need to take revenge against anyone who would dare harm her.
'We're safe,' she told him, and tried to draw the anger from him.
'Don't!' Tightening his hold on her, he lowered his head and nuzzled the side of her forehead. 'I don't need calming or soothing. I don't want you to take away the hatred I feel. Save your strength. You'll need it later.'
* * *
Sam was right. She did need her strength later. After the firemen doused the blaze and saved Julian's home from total destruction. After they stayed the night at Marta's, no one sleeping, all of them waiting to hear from the fire marshal. After they found out the house had been deliberately set afire. And after the police said they could do nothing more than question Maynard Reeves.
'He's sure to have an alibi,' Lieutenant Painter had said.
Sam hadn't wanted to change their plans to leave at seven o'clock for Le Bijou Bleu, but she'd told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't leaving the mainland until they knew more details about the fire and she saw Julian and Ollie settled.
She hadn't expected the fire marshal to detect the cause of the fire so quickly. The arsonist had done nothing to conceal his handiwork. And she certainly hadn't expected Marta to find Julian a temporary home that same morning.
Sam pulled Jeannie's Lexus up in the driveway behind Marta's Mercedes. The house, a small Victorian cottage between Long Beach and Gulfport, belonged to Marta's recently divorced son, who'd asked his mother to see about renting the place until he decided whether or not things would work out with his new job in Mobile.
Unlocking the front door, Marta stepped back and waited for everyone to enter. 'All their furniture is still here. Joel hasn't touched a thing since Patsy Ruth left him.'
The house wasn't half the size of Julian's home in Biloxi, but it was charming and homey and certainly large enough to accommodate Julian and Ollie for a few months until the restoration of their fire-damaged house was completed.
'I think the place is lovely,' Jeannie said. 'We're fortunate you hadn't already found a renter.'
'The place is Julian's as long as he needs it.' Marta turned to Jeannie. 'We'll get everything set up today. A new computer and fax machine for Julian. Luckily, we hadn't had the power turned off or the telephone disconnected. Joel left for his new job in Mobile only last week.'
'Yes, dear, you must contact me as soon as you arrive at Le Bijou Bleu and let me know all is well.' Julian kissed Jeannie on the cheek, then offered his hand to Sam. 'Take care of her. Her value cannot be assessed.'
'I know that she's priceless.' Sam shook Julian's hand, and the two men exchanged stares, one man pleading, the other promising.
'Get her beyond Maynard Reeves's grasp.' Ollie placed her hand on her hip. 'If I ever see that scripture- quoting weasel again, I'll boil him in oil.'
'You musn't delay any longer.' Holding Jeannie's hand, Julian lifted it and placed it over his heart. 'There's no telling what the man is capable of doing.'
'But what about you, Julian?' Jeannie couldn't bear the thought of her foster father being in danger because
