Early the next morning, Cassie showed up at Rudy’s lab for the final rehearsal with all major players. Before leaving Steve’s cell, she brushed a goodluck kiss on his cheek. As he watched her walking back to the door a fleeting romantic thought crossed his mind, one he quickly cast aside with a shake of the head.

Rudy had placed a call to the fake Agent 35 explaining that Steve wanted to apologize. When he sensed her hesitation he brought out the heavy artillery with a tearjerker that succeeded in melting her stone heart. She agreed to be at his lab at exactly ten o’clock.

In the room behind the mirror glass, Hanson began showing signs of restlessness, shifting his weight from one leg to another before he decided to take a load off in a nearby chair. It was slowly dawning on him that he was to be spectator to an elaborate hoax designed to get Austin off the hook. As he stood to leave Cassie shot him a leer that made him cower back in his chair.

Rudy was standing outside the padded cell waiting for the woman to arrive. As for Steve he psyched himself up to lapse into a feigned catatonia before receiving his visitor.

“Rudy, how is Steve?” our impostor asked with a seemingly genuine concern.

“Not good. He’s been mumbling your name over and over, weeping over the fact that he lost you. I wrung a faint smile out of him when I suggested that I call you over.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “I realize that I greatly overreacted. I had no right to snap at him considering the state he’s in. That was uncalled for. I was about to call you and ask if I could see him, but you beat me to it.”

Rudy frowned at the Tupperware container in her hand. “What’s this?”

“A small peace offering. It’s a slice of my chocolate cake. Steve would go miles for it.”

“We fed him his breakfast about an hour ago. I doubt he’ll have room for it now,” Rudy affected with a solemn voice, knowing his friend wouldn’t touch the doped food.

“Don’t worry. I won’t force it down his throat,” she joked with a crooked grin that belied her true intentions. Rudy reciprocated with a sly grin of his own as he ushered her inside the padded cell.

“I just gave him another dose of medication to subdue him. He was highly agitated this morning. I’ll leave you alone to talk. I’ll be behind the glass watching in case you need assistance.”

“I’ll be alright. Thanks Rudy.”

The mere touch of her hand on his arm made the hair in the back of his neck stand on end. In a deep breath he suppressed the anger simmering beneath the surface, and flashed a contrived smile before leaving her alone with Steve.

Hunched up in his corner, his face buried in his chin, Steve already savoured his victory. A machiavellian smirk flickered on his lips at the sound of approaching footsteps. He relished the moment he would send her tumbling down to hell. Steve didn’t have a malicious bone in his body nor had he entertained evil thoughts in his life, but the notion of this woman being part of a scheme that entailed killing his precious Brown-Eyed Girl was sending his senses reeling to new murderous heights.

She edged up to Steve and sat on her heels, putting the container onto the floor as she began murmuring his name softly to will his eyes to hers. Steve stole a few seconds to wipe the smirk off his face and step into the role of the lost soul before lifting his chin up to stare into the devil’s eyes. “C..Ca..Cassiiiiiiiiiiiiie. I’m…I’m sooooooo soooooooory,” he whimpered convincingly. She cradled his head in both hands; the mere touch stirred his blood. He strived to maintain his composure and remain in character, savouring the moment when he’ll pounce on her like a hawk on its prey.

“Don’t worry, 34. It’s my fault. I went too far by asking you to admit your guilt. I know you didn’t do it.” She flashed him a smile and turned her attention to the container that she picked off the floor. She opened the lid. “A little peace offering. My delicious chocolate cake.”

Steve licked his lips. “Thanks. But I’m not very hungry right now. Maybe later.”

“Sure.” She set the container down again and stroked Steve’s cheek with her thumb. He struggled to curb the urge to slap her hand away.

“This situation kind of reminds me of our mission in Madagascar, you remember?” Steve casually introduced the subject.

“Very vividly.”

“I was scared to death of losing you. My doctor’s skills weren’t so bad. You survived,” he said with a light chuckle. He could discern a tinge of perplexity on her face. He hoped this tidbit of information to be the first crack in the wall. “Do you still have the scar?”

“I don’t think I do. It’s been a while.”

“Was it on the right or left thigh?”

She shrugged. “I don’t remember. I’ve had so many injuries since.”

“Yeah I suppose.” Steve pushed the envelope as to feign a whimper. “Oh Cassie. With all the drugs I can’t remember our story. I’ve been cudgelling my brain into recalling the moment we met and the first time you called me 34 but I have been drawing blank after blank.” He looked up at her with imploring eyes. “Can you tell me, please? I need to remember.”

“Why? I’m here. You don’t have to cling to a memory when you’ve got the real thing.”

“But when you go, I’m all alone. I want the memories of those precious hours to comfort me in my darkest hours.” He shut his eyes and waited for her to speak. When she didn’t he cracked open an eye to gauge her reaction. “You don’t know, do you?” he spewed out between clenched teeth before seizing her arm. “Do you?”

“Steve let go of me. You’re hurting me,” she cried out, trying to wrench herself free of Steve’s powerful grip. She turned to the glass mirror. “Rudy!”

“Who are you?”

“Steve, what’s got into you?”

She stretched her neck back at the sound of the door opening; her eyes bulged out at the startling sight before her. “Will the real Cassandra Miller please stand up?” Cassie mocked with a vicious grin.

“How? You’re supposed to be dead!”

“I’m afraid Jake’s insatiable hunger for luscious curves gave him an indigestion. He’s sleeping it off in the county jail as we speak.”

The woman gave her arm a sudden jerk that caught Steve’s by surprise and he ended up losing his grip on her. She swiftly reached under her shirt collar for a small capsule that she popped into her mouth.

“Cyanide pill. Get it out!” Steve shouted to Cassie, standing inches from the woman. She dove to her knees to pry open her double’s jaw but it was too late. The poison had already done its job.

“Dammit it!” Cassie cursed her misfortune. She turned to Oscar standing by the door with Hanson and Rudy. “We had her! She was our only hope to crack down this operation.”

“I can’t believe this.” Hanson shook his head in disbelief, his eyes darting between the two identical women. “Who would have known?”

“Now what’s our next move?”

“I believe Hanson owes someone an apology,” Cassie scorned.

The man turned to her with an air of surprise. “Austin’s still not in the clear. All we know is that a spy infiltrated the OSI, that’s it. He’s still our primary suspect in the bank heist.”

“You’re a hard one to convince, Hanson.”

“Miller you weren’t there. You can’t vouch for your partner.”

“Hanson, for Christ’s sake!” Cassie hissed. “Think about it? What would be his motive for robbing a bank?”

“You forget that the blood stain recovered at the scene doesn’t match Steve’s blood type,” Oscar remarked.

“It’s irrelevant. It could have been an employee’s of the bank for aught we know. The cameras caught Austin on tape.”

“But not his face,” Oscar argued.

“Witnesses positively identified him,” Hanson countered.

“What a minute,” Cassie held her hands up to interrupt the heated discussion.” On that tape you said you saw the robber pull open the ironclad door with his bare hands. He used TWO hands?”

“Right.”

“Steve’s right arm is bionic not the left.”

“So?” Hanson shrugged. “He used the left as leverage.”

“I couldn’t possibly have performed this feat with just one arm,” Steve informed.

Hanson turned to Rudy for confirmation. “He’s telling the truth.”

“That leaves Barney Hiller. Unless we’re dealing with an organization that has knowledge of the cyborg project. And I hate to think Dolenz’s robots could have been involved,” Cassie heaved with disgust. “I say we need to review that tape from every conceivable angle. See what we overlooked. This time Steve, you are coming with us. ”

“No!” Hanson interjected. “I cannot allow him to walk around the premises without a police escort.

“Hanson,” Cassie stepped up to the man and levelled her smouldering eyes with his. “We are his escorts. I can safely warrant that Steve will not try to escape. You owe me for exposing the traitor.”

Hanson adopted a defiant stance to avoid wiltering under Cassie’s scorching glare. “All right. We’ll all go together. But I say it’s a waste of time. ”

“Even if we can prove Steve’s innocence that still doesn’t tell us who is behind this operation,” Oscar stated plainly to his colleagues. “The one person who could have blown the whistle is dead,” he motioned with his head to the double lying sprawled on the floor.

“I was thinking about that. I could assume her identity and ask to meet with the brain of the outfit. She duped all of you, including Steve. Therefore I expect I can achieve the same result with the conspirators. Oscar, check her pockets for a key, a phone number or an address, anything that might provide us with a lead. ”

“We could question your captor?” Steve suggested.

“Forget it, Steve. He’s tight-lipped. I can’t understand why he won’t spill the beans. He must have received a hefty sum to keep his mouth shut.”

“You could threaten to set him free. Knowing he’ll be an walking target might just convince him to switch camp.”

“Your suggestion is noted, 34. Let’s wait to see if I can find anything on my own.”

“Cassie.” Steve gripped her shoulders to look her straight in the eyes. “That woman had the advantage of knowing every detail of your professional and personal life before she stepped into the role. You have no idea what she was like. One false move and they’ll gun you down,” Steve drummed into his friend’s head. “No Cassie, it’s too risky.”

“34, “she placed her hands on top of his, “risk is my middle name. It goes with the territory. Besides I want to do this. Right now it’s our only hope of getting you off the hook and nail those creeps.” Her imploring gaze bore a hole through him and melted his heart.

“You just had a close call. You want to tempt fate again?”

“I told you before; I’d give my life for you.”

He closed his dewy eyes and pulled her into a stirring hug. “Make sure you don’t or I’ll never forgive you.”

Oscar retrieved a folded paper from the corpse’s shirt pocket. “It says Regency Apartments,” he read.

“Could be where she stayed. Does it have a number?”

“No. Just the name.”

“I’ll drive over there and see if what I can find out. I promise I won’t make a move without your prior agreement, Oscar.”

“You do that,” he warned, jabbing a finger at her for emphasis.

“In the meantime Hanson, I trust you’ll provide my partner with more comfortable quarters?” she sneered with a warning look.

“I’ll see to it, Miller. But don’t expect me to let him roam free. He’s still a suspect.”

“Of course not. That would make you a nice guy and we can’t have that,” she teased ill naturedly, her crushing cynism eliciting a few titters out of Steve. She ushered herself out the door.

“Cassie, wait!” Steve hurried after her outside the cell where he cupped her head in both hands and pressed his lips firmly against hers. He pulled back seconds later and gazed tenderly into her eyes. “You be careful out there.

She exhaled a long shuddering breath, her mind still reeling from the shock of the unexpected kiss. “I will.”

Cassie drove to the Regency apartment building, her mind still reeling from Steve’s sudden kiss. She parked the car alongside the curb and turned off the ignition. She remained seated, her head leaning against the headrest. She closed her eyes and exhaled a long shuddering breath to rid herself of the emotion Steve’s kiss stirred in her in order to focus on the job at hand.

She stepped out of the car and stepped inside the building. She stopped at the mailboxes to get the impostor’s room number but didn’t find any. Then it dawned on her that her double would have stayed at her apartment. Maybe she was meeting someone here.

“Hello Miss Miller,” greeted the manager, causing Cassie to leap ten feet in the air. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“It’s okay,” she breathed out, holding a hand to her chest in shock. “It’s been that kind of a day. My nerves are frayed.”

“Mister Tanner already took his mail today. If you’re waiting to see him I’m afraid he stepped out for a few minutes. He should be back shortly. Do you want to wait in his apartment?”

“Yes. I would. But,” she flashed an embarrassed smile, “I don’t have my key.”

“No problem. I’ll be happy to let you in. Come with me.”

As she followed the manager up the apartment in question, Cassie raked her memory of any man named Tanner that Steve might have mentioned. It didn’t register with anyone associated with his past nor hers for that matter.

The manager opened the door to apartment 36 and ushered her in. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcomed Miss Miller. I’ll be sure to tell Mister Tanner you’re here waiting for him when he returns.”

He waited for her nod of acknowledgement before stepping out of the room. No sooner had he closed the door that Cassie lunged at the desk to rummage through the drawers for any identification as to who the mysterious Mister Tanner was. She stopped at the sound of a key turning in the lock. She inhaled a deep breath to recover her poise and waited to face the brain of the outfit.

“Harry!” she exclaimed in shock.”

“Shuuuuuuuuuuuuu! You know you’re not supposed to used my real name,” he admonished. A sly grin curled up on his lips at the sight of his mistress. “Come here, Agent 35”, he purred, flinging one arm around her waist to savagely lift her to his mouth that he hungrily plunged into hers. Cassie’s eyes widened in surprise, her brow wrinkling in disgust at the devil’s tongue flicking inside her mouth. On the verge to belch she pushed him off her. “We don’t have time for this.”

“You know I was expecting you earlier,” he commented on an implying tone while he loosened his tie and removed his jacket that he tossed on the back of the couch.

“I know but something came up at the OSI. I had to fix it before coming here,” Cassie fibbed convincingly with a composed poise.

“Everything alright now?”

“Yeah. Tell me..uh….what happened to my counterpart?”

“Don’t worry about her. Jake got rid of her. You can permanently assume her identity. You’ve been doing a good job so far. Just imagine; you and me together at the organization? The possibilities are endless.”

“We can’t. They’ll be on to us if we push too far.”

“Yeah you’re right.” He lay sprawled on the couch with his hands laced behind his head. “Come here,” he hinted with a come-hither wink.

“What about the guy that did the job at the bank?”

“There you go again, worrying your pretty little head about trivialities. Our brilliant cosmetic surgeon gave him back his face and my associate caught up with him on his way to the airport. He gave him a dose of KCL and dumped him in the river. He still had a gram of adrenalisyne on him. He got it all.”

“So that’s it,” Cassie mumbled underneath her breath, remembering how the drug endowed humans with Herculean strength, hence the reason why the man was able to pull open the metal steel door of the bank vault.

“What d’you say?”

At that moment, the door opened and in came Clark Templeton O’Flaherty. “Everything okay?” asked Harry to his associate.

“Yeah. I got him. I tied a rock around his ankle so his body won’t come up floating. Here’s the stuff.” The black operative handed the gram of putty adrenalisyne to his boss. “I can’t believe it was this easy,” he gloated with a machiavellian grin. His eyes swivelled back and forth between the two people. “I am interrupting something here?”

“Nah! Nothing we can’t do later. What about Austin?”

“Last I heard he was still kept in his padded cage, thanks to our agent 35 here.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed with a cunning smile. He got up and stepped over to her to press her body against his. “She was wonderful.” As he leaned in to hungrily claim her mouth, she tossed her head aside. “I said not now!”

“Shannon what’s the matter with you? You used to crave my kisses.”

“Aren’t you supposed to call me by my rightful name, Cassandra? Especially now that the real Agent 35 is dead?”

“She’s right, Harry.”

“Where’s the money?” Cassie asked bluntly.

“Don’t worry, Cass,” assured Clark. “You’ll get your share.”

“We’ll get to the shack in due time when we know the coast is clear.”

“The shack?”

“Yeah, the shack. Where we kept your dearest Blue Eyes on ice. He’d been lying on five hundred million dollars and didn’t know it,” Harry sneered, winking at an equally amused Clark fixing himself a drink at the bar.

Cassie joined in with a hallow laugh. “Well I got to go.”

Harry grabbed her arm. “Hey, not so soon. We’ve got to celebrate.”

“I can’t. I have a dinner date with my Blue Eyes tonight. Got to give him another dose.”

“Won’t that eventually kill him?” Clark queried.

“That’s the idea, old chum,” Harry said. “With Austin gone, we can roam free. He’ll be blamed for the bank heist and the case will be closed.”

“I’m sorry for him. You know he was a good friend.”

“You’re not getting soft on us, are you?”

“Of course not. But you can’t expect me not to feel a bit of remorse.” He lifted his glass in a toast. “To Steve Austin. The man who made it all possible.”

Cassie summoned all of her fortitude to keep from bursting. She felt the vials of wrath about to pour over on the two conspirators who were once Steve’s most rusted friends. “I’m going now. I’ll be back later tonight and we can…” she threw a lecherous smile at Harry who responded with a wet smack of his lips.

“Later. Tigress. Whhuf!”

Outside the door, Cassie slumped heavily against the wall in total despair. She shut her eyes and drew in a lungful of air to quell the bile rising to her throat. She was utterly disgusted by what she learned but thankful to have had the golden opportunity to meet the two masterminds behind this operation. Now all she had to do was informed Oscar of her findings. She expected he and his men would charge in tonight with none other than her Blue Eyes. She relished in the vision of Steve hurling Harry and Clark out the window. “Cassie, that’s not nice,” she chided herself before leaving the building

She returned to the OSI and met with Oscar before driving over to Rudy’s lab to discuss the plan with Steve. Cassie was grateful that Hanson had kept his promise to provide his friend with more homey accommodations. Steve was settled in a spacious bedroom with a separate area for personal hygiene.

He was sitting in his bed leisurely reading a magazine when Rudy rapped on the door. “Come in!”

“Look at this place,” Cassie marvelled at the roomy apartment.

“Yeah. Hanson didn’t want to take any chance after your threat. You scared the devil out of him.”

“Good. Another one who’s under my yoke,” she joked as she fell into Steve’s outstretched arms. “Brace yourself, 34. You’re not going to like what we have to tell you.”

“What?” Steve’s eyes darted between Cassie and Oscar.

“Cassandra met with the engineers who orchestrated this elaborate scheme.”

“Who?”

Cassie flashed Oscar a look of concern before she turned to face Steve’s inquisitive stare. “It’s Harry Donner.”

“Harry?”

“And O’Flaherty,” Oscar added.

“Both of them?” Steve spat at Oscar who nodded in confirmation. Steve was beside himself, steam blowing out of his ears as he stepped up to the wall and rammed his fist through it. “It’s a good thing I’m not bionic anymore or this wall would have come tumbling down.” He spun around and jabbed an angry finger at Cassie. “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh yes. I can still feel his…” she cut in mid sentence for fear the mention of Harry’s bruising kiss would fuel the blazing inferno consuming her friend.

“What? What did he do to you?” Steve asked with concern as he walked up to her with a worried frown.

“Nothing. Do you think I would actually let him touch me? Steve, come on!” she quickly replied to douse the fire.

“The meeting went without a hitch. They both believe she’s their associate,” Oscar explained. “The boys down at the lab will set her up with a listening device so that when she meets back with Donner and O’Flaherty tonight we’ll be able to get their confession on tape.”

“You’re not going to let her go alone?” Steve scolded his boss with a warning glare.

“We’ll be in the mobile lab across the street from the building. At first sign of trouble we’ll spring into action,” Oscar assured.

“I’m going with you.”

“Steve,” Cassie interrupted. “I’ll be alright. This isn’t my first sting operation, you know.”

“I’m going!” Steve slashed, leaving no room for argument, including Cassie’s.

Cassie turned to Oscar with a look of defeat. “I say let him, Oscar. He has the right to be there.”

“I’ll need Hanson’s permission.”

“You want me to ask him?” Cassie teased with an arched eyebrow and a devilish grin.

“I’ll be sure to call on you if I fail to convince him,” Oscar chaffed back as he made his way to the door where Rudy stood.

Once Oscar was out the door, Rudy stepped up to Steve and asked if he needed anything. Steve assured he was fine and thanked him warmly for being a pillar of strength. The two exchanged a hearty handshake before the doctor left the couple alone in the room.

“What about the man who broke into the bank vault?”

“An ordinary Joe who was given Rudy’s miracle drug adrenalisyne,” Cassie explained as she sat next to Steve on the bed. “He had undergone plastic surgery to look like you for the benefit of the surveillance cameras and the witnesses. They restored his original face and had him killed. O’Flaherty apparently dumped his body into the river.”

“That explains the herculean strength.”

“They also used the latex hand to leave your fingerprints around.”

“What about Barney? Is he part of the game?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t mention him.”

Steve’s eyes dropped from the heavy burden being lifted off his shoulders. Cassie could see he was bordering on tears. She reached out to touch his arm. “It’ll be over soon, Blue Eyes. You’ll be free.”

He turned to her with a grateful smile and clenched her into a soul-stirring hug that shook the very core of Cassie’s being. She could feel him shivering in her arms. She didn’t pull back, wanting to absorb all of his pain.

Later that night, Oscar, Steve, Hanson and his men drove to the Regency Apartments to drop Cassie off at her meeting. Coordinating the operation was Hanson who took place in his car with two of his men, while Oscar and Steve were in the mobile lab with the engineer and two agents, all standing at the ready to spring into action the minute they got Donner’s confession on tape.

Steve was engrossed in the serious discussion between Cassie and the backstabber. ‘She’s sensational,’ he proudly mused to himself, nevertheless on edge at the mere though of her partner playing on the devil’s playground. Steve’s ears perked up at the sudden change of inflection in Harry’s voice. His inner alarm sounded the onset of trouble.

“What is it with you, Shannon?” Steve heard Harry spoke in grudging tones. “We’ve got another hour before O’Flaherty shows up. We have plenty of time,” he inferred to a roll between the sheets.

Oscar could see Steve clench his fist in fury and his face distort in anger. He relaxed when he heard her quickly veer off the conversation around to the topic of the stashed money. Cassie manoeuvred brilliantly. Harry didn’t suspect a thing until she made a dreadful slip of the tongue with the mention of Jake.

“How do you know they have him?” Harry queried on an accusatory tone.

“Has he called you?” Cassie replied composedly.

“He wasn’t supposed to.” Harry eyed Cassie suspiciously, “ Wait a minute!” He roughly grabbed her by the arm and stared deep into her eyes. “You’re not wearing contact lenses.”

“Oscar, I’m going up there,” Steve said, kicking the van doors open before Oscar could voice his objection.

He strode up the stairs to Harry’s apartment and bashed the door down with an adrenalin-induced force. He lunged at Harry about to rough up Cassie and plastered him against the wall. With eyes blazing murderously he tightened his grip around Harry’s neck.

“Steve! Let him go!” Cassie shouted at his friend blinded with an implacable rage. “Steve!” She hooked his arm. “Let him go,” she ordered calmly. She stayed with him until she felt his grip loosen. Harry slumped to the floor, gasping. Seconds later the cavalry arrived. O’Flaherty had been collared on his way up to the apartment.

“She’s duped us. She’s the real deal,” Harry squalled angrily at his partner in crime.

“Take them away,” Hanson ordered his men before holstering his revolver. He stepped up to Steve happily hugging Cassie. “Austin, I owe you an apology.”

“Forget it, Hanson. I guess I would have done the same had I been in your shoes. After all, the evidence was against me.”

“I’m glad to see you’re not sore.”

“Oh I am sore. I thought after all these years of proving my loyalty to the organization you’d have more confidence in me,” Steve slashed on a scathing tone. “But I accept your apology.”

Hanson strained a hallow grin at Steve’s harsh statement before leaving the apartment.

“You alright?” Steve asked Cassie still enlaced in his arms.

“I’m fine. But you know I could have handled Harry myself,” she teased with a mischievous smile.

“I’m sure you could have,” Steve humoured.

“Between you and me, I would have enjoyed seeing you hurl Harry out the window, had we been on the first floor, of course.” Her grin widened from ear to ear.

“Oh you!” Steve clenched her back into a warm embrace.

“It’s over Blue Eyes. It’s over.”

Oscar hawked embarrassingly. “I’m sorry to break this happy reunion but how about we get Cassie out of her listening gear and head on back to the office for a debriefing?”

“Sorry Oscar,” Steve said. “Tonight I’m treating this lovely lady out to a fancy dinner with all the trimmings. We’ll have the debriefing tomorrow,” Steve spoke authoritatively, expecting no argument from his boss. He wrapped his arm around Cassie’s shoulders to escort her out of the room. “It’ll be my pleasure to help you out of that contrivance, 35,” Steve teased, wagging his eyebrows.

After tying all loose ends and getting reactivated, Steve invited Cassie to spend Christmas at his parents’ farm in Ojai. With her own folks planning a ski vacation in Denver, Colorado, to which she had no intention of joining, Cassie accepted. They flew in a day earlier, on December 23rd, in order for Cassie and Helen to indulge in last minute Christmas shopping.

On Christmas Eve, Steve offered to help his mother with the dishes while Jim challenged their houseguest to a friendly game of checkers. His gaze never leaving the pretty brunette as he absentmindedly dried the dishes. Helen caught her son’s lovesick stare and smiled to herself.

“There’s a glint in your eyes I hadn’t seen since Barbara.” Helen observed, rousing Steve out of his reverie.

“Is there?” Steve replied innocently.

“Uhn uhn. You love Cassandra, don’t you?”

“That obvious?” Helen nodded. “Cassie and I are like brother and sister. I never really thought of her any other way. But lately with what’s happened I…well…something changed.”

“Best friends are often our kindred spirits. We ride along the same path for a few miles before it dawns on us that this person is a partner for life; one you want part of your destiny.”

“That makes sense,” Steve mused while watching Cassie and his father teasing each other. “I find myself thinking about her night and day. When we’re not together I hurt. I remember feeling this way with Barbara.”

“Have you discussed your feelings with her?”

“No. I’m afraid they might not be mutual.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Cassie is a free spirit. I don’t think she’ll be happy being caged up in a marriage.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask.”

“I’m terrified to take that step with her, mom. What if it doesn’t work out and we end up destroying our friendship?”

“Not after three years, son. The foundations are solid; they can withstand any tremor.” Seeing Steve’s hesitation she proposed to leave the two alone in the house while she and Jim went out for a drive. Steve thought it would look conspicuous since this was Christmas Eve and no stores were open at this time of night. Instead he opted to take Cassie on a tour of the stables.

Mother and son finished the dishes and went to join the players in the living room just as Cassie claimed victory.

“Steve, your friend is a delight. She hasn’t let me win once.”

“Oh, because I was supposed to?” Cassie teased with a wink.

“Cassie how about that tour of the stables I promised you,” Steve asked expectantly.

“Now? But I told your mother I would help her set up the table for tonight.”

“It’s okay, Cassandra,” Helen said. “I’m not quite ready yet. You two go.”

“You’ll wait for me, won’t you?” Cassie said with a friendly warning stare.

“I promise. Now go. Don’t forget to put on your coats. It’s chilly this time of night.”

While Steve helped Cassie with her coat, Helen pulled on mistletoe hanging above the kitchen entrance and walked over to her son. She tugged at his sleeve and whispered as she handed him the small clump. “You never know, it might come in handy.”

Steve gave her a mischievous smile before kissing her on the cheek. “Thanks.” He then turned to Cassie and with his hand on the small of her back, he escorted her out the front door and to the stables.

“This here is my cherished horse, Thunder.” Steve raked his fingers through the horse’s forelock, inviting Cassie to pat the animal’s head.

“Thunder? I take it only you can ride him?”

“He is pretty spirited, but not mean.”

“I can see that,” she marvelled at the gentle horse welcoming all the attention without budging. At some point Steve’s hand came to touch hers. She stopped petting the horse and allowed him to clasp it.

Steve took a silent deep breath to continue with the next step, which was to lace his fingers with hers. He waited for a reaction that would tell him his actions were too forward but when none came, he risked a sidelong glance at her. Their gazes met, making his heart pound against his chest. The moment of truth was at hand. Was she inviting him to profess his love for her? He had to take a chance. “Cassie, I need to confess something to you.”

“Yes.”

He momentarily lost himself in the glimmering brown eyes staring at him with wide anticipation. He lowered his gaze and took a deep breath to summon his courage. “We’ve known each other for almost three years.”

“That’s right.”

“All this time you’ve been the best friend I’ve ever had in my life.”

“I’m not anymore?” she teased.

“Oh no, it’s not that. It’s just…well something happened.”

“You too, huh?” she confessed to relieve the tension.

“You mean?”

She smiled her answer. “Your kiss did something to me. I never thought I would feel this way but I do.”

“How about another sample to see if we both still feel the same way?” Steve proposed nervously.

“I’m all for it.”

Steve fashioned a lopsided smile as he slowly leaned in to brush his lips delicately against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting him to deepen the kiss. They moaned in pleasure, as they tasted the sweetness of each other’s mouth.

“I wonder who won the pool?” Cassie breathed out with eyes still closed to keep the tingly feeling inside.

“What pool?”

She slowly opened her eyes and ran her hands through the back of his hair.” The one at the OSI, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Who cares!” Steve plunged his mouth back into hers. Their kiss lingered for more a good minute before Steve pulled back and asked, “Will you marry me?”

Cassie’s eyes widened in shock. “Steve! Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry I…I didn’t mean. I mean I did, but…”

“That was a joke, right?”

Steve took a deep breath and gazed into her inquisitive eyes. “No.”

“It’s kind of sudden.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Steve conceded with his head hanging low in defeat.

Cassie placed a tender kiss on his lips. “How about a long engagement instead and see where it takes us?”

Steve broke into a wide smile and pulled her into a bear hug. “I’d like that.”