Chapter One

Clay hadn't thought much about death, something he realized when, without warning, it found him. Oh, he'd always expected to experience "beyond the sunset" or to "cross that river" or any other of the other glorious descriptions of entering Heaven.

What he hadn't expected was to find an ethereal beauty waiting to greet him when he crossed to the other side. A female ethereal beauty, that is, not the ethereal beauty of Eternal Glory his mind had pictured. And a not very pleasant female, to boot. Wasn't everyone in Heaven inherently pleasant and agreeable? Apparently not. Golden hair tumbled down her back in loose curls and summer-sky blue eyes met Clay's as she spread her long, shimmering white dress and sat on a rock beside the merrily bubbling stream, an opaque rainbow of inconceivable color on the stream's far side rising toward Heaven.

He was humbled, dazzled by the angelic glow that surrounded her and even as he mourned losing his earthly life, his heart soared at what he saw, the joy and peace that he knew awaited his soul. Soared, right up until the female opened her mouth.

"Drat it," she complained, adjusting wings that sat askew.

Clay remained silent. Maybe he hadn't died after all, maybe this was a bizarre dream warning him of an upcoming encounter with a woman he'd be wise to avoid.

"Well, it's about time," she snapped at him.

Clay inhaled a patient breath, then exhaled it, and though he anticipated the answer he was determined to remain calm. "Have I died?"

The girl stopped in mid-adjust of her wings and turned a disbelieving look to Clay. "Well, now, let's see," she told him. "You're driving along a winding pacific coast road, you get all excited when you hear your own song on the radio - no conceit there, of course - take your eyes from the road just long enough to shoot through the guardrail and down a loooooong, sheer drop, and you want to know if you've died?"

Clay instinctively felt his chest, then his stomach.

The girl sighed and sympathy colored her words. "Feels like you're still all in one piece, doesn't it?" She shrugged. "Technically, you still are...I mean your body is...but it's not nearly as pretty as it was."

"Oh," was all he got out.

She smiled. "I've got some more bad news for you."

"I can't wait," Clay muttered. "I thought you're dead was the ultimate bad news. Guess I'm wrong."

"Don't be a wiseguy," she advised. "That doesn't go over big here."

Clay stared at her. "Here. Where exactly is here?" He walked over to the rock and took a good look at her. "And just who are you?"

The girl held his gaze and the veil of sadness in those intense blue eyes came and went so quickly Clay wasn't sure he'd actually seen it.

"My name is Kelly Jo, and there's no need to introduce yourself."

Clay didn't know whether to laugh or not. Did she mean his name was on her list of "arrivals"? Could this get any more bizarre? As unobtrusively as possible he slipped his right thumb and forefinger onto the back of his left hand and pinched. Ow. Nope, he wasn't asleep. Realization jarred him to his very core and settled coldly into the very marrow of his bones.

He really was dead.

Irritated, Kelly Jo said, "What is it with you people? You never believe you're dead, you always need proof."

Irritated by her irritation, Clay stared at her. This wasn't at all what he'd pictured, but he didn't want to admit, even to himself, that he felt cheated by his lukewarm welcome into Heaven. "Where's my choir of angels?" he demanded. "Where's the light that I should walk into? Don't I at least deserve those two things?"

Kelly Jo rose, her gaze holding Clay's. "You're not where you think you are, hon," she said lightly.

Shocked, Clay was rooted to the spot. "Not...not..." he stammered, stunned as he rewound his life through his mind. Then he turned a determined gaze on Kelly Jo. "Uh uh. There's no way I wouldn't get into Heaven."

A smile played at her lips and her eyes fought to not reflect that smile. "Boy, I've heard that before."

"Now, listen here," Clay began in a huff.

"Oh, relax," she chided, then went again to sit on the rock, missed and fell backward. "Ouch!"

Instintively, Clay ran to help her to a sitting position. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern, then stopped abruptly. "Wait a minute. If we're dead, how did you hurt yourself?"

With one hand in his, the other on the rock, she struggled to her feet. "Your impatience will be the death of you," she said lightly, then said, "Sorry," when she saw Clay found no humor in her joke.

"Neither of us is completely dead. We have a job to do, one that will decide if we get to return to earth and resume our lives."

Clay said nothing. He just wanted to wake up and never again eat or drink whatever had brought on this nightmare.

"Did you hear me?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"I heard you," he responded. "But how can anyone be not completely dead?"

"Well," she told him, "this is considered a...I don't know...how about a holding area? One where someone who died when they weren't supposed to die gets a chance to help an apprentice save someone on earth. You're my assignment."

"Oh, lucky me," Clay offered, then turned thoughtful. "You're saying I wasn't supposed to die in that crash?"

"I'm saying nobody realized you'd jump to blast the radio just because your own song was playing and be inattentive to your driving. You know the rest."

Clay grimaced, but had to ask anyway. "What's in it for you? And what happens if I don't want to help you? Do I just get sent back and too bad for you?"

Kelly Jo walked to stand in front of Clay, her gaze steady on his. "You don't get sent back, Clay. You pass go, collect two hundred dollars and go straight into Heaven."

He held her gaze while he considered that. "And you?"

If there was one thing Clay never expected to see, it was tears in an angel's eyes, tears that spilled in a single drop down a flawless face.

"If you refuse, then I wait for the next unexpected death to be assigned to me. With so many of us hoping for that second chance on earth, that could take...well, it could take forever."

Clay stared at her, not pleased with the way she tugged on his heart. His voice softened. "Why can't you go straight into Heaven?"

She lowered her head, then raised it, her summer-blue sky eyes clouded with heartbreak Clay knew she'd never willingly share. Her soft voice echoed through his soul. "You're my final chance. Will you help me?"

Chapter Two

Clay's fingers reached to gently touch Kelly Jo's face, his gaze not leaving hers. "If it's your last chance and I refuse to help, what happens to you?"

Her attempt at a small smile faltered, then failed. "Then I spend eternity..." she gestured around the area "...probably here."

Clay chewed his lip and narrowed his eyes. "Let me get this straight. If I help you with...whatever...we both get to resume our lives...with no knowledge of ever being here, I assume. But if I refuse to help you I go right to the head of the class, aka Heaven, and you spend eternity right here."

"That's correct," she said serenely, spreading her skirt to sit on the rock. "So you'll help me?"

He held up a hand. "Not so fast," he told her, then lowered his hand. "This sounds a little too easy. Well, easy for me, anyway."

She shot him a look. "Then if it sounds so easy, what's the problem?"

"What kind of an assignment are you talking about? Preventing a suicide? Stopping a murder? Bringing a lost soul back into the church?" He paused when he saw her expression.

"Wow," she told him, her eyes barely concealing her laughter. "I think you watched too many television shows about angels, Clay. And pretty sappy shows, at that."

Annoyed, Clay folded his arms over his chest. "Is there anything else I need to know before I give you my answer of NO THANKS?"

Kelly Jo walked to Clay and stood in front of him, her blue gaze locked with his green one. "I'd think," she said cooly, "that you'd be thanking me for this chance. It's not offered to everyone, you know."

Clay couldn't believe his ears. "Thanking you? You've done nothing but poke fun at me."

"You had it coming."

Clay whirled at the male voice that answered Kelly Jo. "No, he didn't."

A tall, white-robed, gray-haired man with a blinding halo and massive wings walked to them, frowning down at Kelly Jo.

Kelly Jo smiled, but Clay clearly heard her muttered, "uh oh".

"I am so sorry, Clay, that you've been intercepted."

Clay stared from the man to Kelly Jo, who was now looking at the ground, back to the man. "Who are you?" Clay asked.

Kelly Jo answered with, "They call him Big Bob."

Startled, Clay took a step back. "An angel called Big Bob?"

The man frowned at Kelly Jo, and when he looked at Clay, though his voice was calm, the short look he shot to Kelly Jo said oh, just you wait.

"I am not called Big Bob," he corrected, unaware that Kelly Jo mouthed oh, yes he is, to Clay. "My name is Robert and I'm here to accompany you into Heaven."

Clay raised a finger. "Uh, wait a minute...I thought I was her assignment?"

Robert sighed, a soft sound that echoed on the breeze and rippled light waves in the stream. He turned to Kelly Jo. "You'll be dealt with later...severely this time." He turned back to Clay and smiled, a golden glow growing and pulsating around him. "Take my hand and be guided into the Light that awaits you."

Clay was nearly mesmerized by the incredible beauty, the sight of everything his soul had prepared during life to receive. Then from the corner of his eye he saw Kelly Jo turn her back to him, but not before he saw the devastation in her eyes, all hope slowly drain from her expression.

"Wait," Clay said sharply to Robert.

The golden glow dimmed but Robert's expression remained serene, patient. "We need to leave, Clay," he said gently. "It's your time."

"Kelly Jo," Clay said to Robert. "What's going to happen to her? And what did you mean by she intercepted me?"

Robert sighed and it took a while for him to speak. "Kelly Jo was given one last chance to go back and undo something on earth. She failed, mainly because she very foolishly attempted to do it alone. She's been forbidden to go alone again because her attempt ended with serious consequences for a human being and she's desperate to reverse it. She can only go with another willing soul."

Confused, Clay said, "Well, that's pretty much what she told me. But I don't understand..."

"Kelly Jo doesn't wait her turn," Robert interrupted. "She's on a waiting list but consistently waylays the new arrivals, pushing herself far ahead of those who have waited hundreds of years. This time she's gone too far."

"Too far?" Clay asked.

Robert sighed, but this time it sounded like thunder. "You don't know, do you?"

Though he didn't want to, Clay asked, "Know what?"

"She steered your car off the road."

Chapter Three

Clay whirled on Kelly Jo. Even though he knew it wasn't literal, steam shot from his ears, flames from his eyes. "You killed me?"

She pooh-poohed him. "Don't be such a baby."

Flabbergasted, Clay walked to her and towered above her, then lowered his face to hers when she raised it. Her expression was one of only mild interest.

"You..." he breathed harshly. "You...you..." he sputtered.

"What's the big deal?" she burst out.

"What's the big deal?" Clay shouted in disbelief. "You killed me!"

"You already said that," she reminded him. "Besides, the way you drive it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. I merely...helped it along."

Clay stared at her. "You helped it along?"

"A little," she admitted.

"By about fifty seven years," Robert added with a look of reproach to Kelly Jo.

Kelly Jo shrugged. "But it would be in an automobile accident and it would be with you hearing yourself on the radio and reaching for the volume." She shrugged again. "Same conceited scenario...I just speeded it up a little."

"How dare you?" Clay shouted.

Something leaped into Kelly Jo's eyes then, sparks of battle, but tinged with something Clay couldn't identify. "Go then, Clay," she said tersely. "Go with Robert. Into the Light. Forget me."

Deeply angered, Clay wagged a finger back and forth in her face. "Oh, no, you don't. You're not laying a guilt trip on me. You did this. Whatever trouble you're in is your own doing, and if you're waiting for me to say hey, it's okay, no problem that you killed me...FORGET IT."

Clay turned when Robert's golden glow intensified. His emotions were a mixture of sadness and joy. Deep sadness for the unfinished life he'd left behind, overwhelming joy for the everlasting life awaiting him.

Robert's hand reached for Clay's and Clay extended his to within an inch of the uncalloused hand waiting to take him Home. From behind came a soft, "I'm sorry, Clay. I really am."

Clay stopped and slowly turned to Kelly Jo. The remorse emanating from those beautiful blue eyes into his was genuine and despite his intent his heart melted in forgiveness. He smiled, but couldn't quite bring himself to say, "It's okay," because if given the choice, he'd return to earth.

He raised his gaze to Robert. "What's going to happen to Kelly Jo? Honestly."

Robert's gaze held Kelly Jo's and Kelly Jo lifted her chin, but didn't look at Clay.

"She'll not be allowed again to return to earth. She knew the rules, knew them well, and still made this choice. You've paid the ultimate penalty for her selfishness. My decision is irreversible."

Puzzled, Clay studied Robert. "I don't get it. Why can't you just return me to earth and undo what she did?"

Robert sighed. "Part of what Kelly Jo told you is firm rule. Those who've been chosen get a second chance at earthly life by helping an angel with an assignment."

"Oh, yeah," Clay said, shooting an unpleasant look at Kelly Jo. "She made a pretty hard pitch for my help. And I definitely get the part that she deserves to be punished for killing me..." He ignored Kelly Jo's scowl and added, "So what's the problem? Send me back. If I can't remember...problem solved."

Kelly Jo stared at Clay. "Are you dense?" she demanded. "Are you not understanding that only those names on that..." she broke off and came back dripping sarcasm and making quote marks with her fingers, "list...are offered the opportunity. You aren't on it."

"Oh."

"Unless..." Kelly Jo began, turning a bright, impish smile to Clay.

"No," Robert said immediately.

Suspicion flooded Clay and he narrowed his eyes at Kelly Jo. He didn't know if she was insane or something close to it and he knew he didn't want to hear what she had to say.

Her smile faded and her gaze riveted to Clay's. "You can return," she said quietly. "There is a way."

Robert's voice boomed from all sides. "I won't allow it."

Unsure, Clay looked from one to the other, but knew if there was a way he'd jump at it. Even if it did include the lunatic with long golden curls and summer-sky blue eyes. "What is it?"

Kelly Jo looked at Robert, her gaze defiant. "I have the right to tell him. You know that."

Though Robert's face became an angry mask, he remained silent and Kelly Jo turned to Clay.

"The Law says that if an angel accidentally causes death, the victim has two choices. One, they can voluntarily enter a relationship with that angel. If they succeed, on earth, with the angel's assignment, that person will be returned to their earthly life."

Clay waited, but Kelly Jo was silent. "That's only one. What's the other choice?"

"You can just follow Big Bob through the turnstyle."

Clay brightened. "The choice is mine?" Maybe he could ditch Kelly Jo when they got to earth and...no, one way or another, she'd find him.

"No," Robert interjected. "The choice is technically mine."

Clay turned to Kelly Jo. "But you said..."

Robert shook his head and gave Kelly Jo a side look before turning to Clay. "Kelly Jo has a way of twisting everything in her favor...to make it sound simple for you to just jump to her suggestions." He shot another look at Kelly Jo. "The choice normally would be yours, Clay, but not in this case. Kelly Jo has ignored repeated warnings of her interference. Unfortunately, this time, for you."

Clay couldn't take his gaze from Kelly Jo, from the free spirit he sensed lived beneath that cascade of golden hair and blue eyes. Eyes that now filled with unhappiness and brimmed with tears.

"Goodbye, Clay," she said softly and extended her hand to his.

"Goodbye, Kelly Jo," he answered gently, suddenly sorry that his death was her final downfall. He reached for her hand.

"Don't take her hand!" Robert ordered.

Too late. Clay's hand touched Kelly Jo's and in a flash they disappeared.

A second later, Clay found himself beneath a wide oak tree, dizzy and barely able to stand from the world spinning around him. Kelly Jo put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"It's okay," she said gently. "It'll pass in a minute."

Finally, everything stilled and Clay looked around. He took a step away from Kelly Jo and studied her, suspicion strong in his green gaze. "What did you do? Where are we now?"

Her smile was soft, her eyes bright with happiness when they met his. "Somewhere in the south, I think."

"In the south? Are we back on earth?" Clay's heart raced and he closed his eyes in pure joy. Robert had granted his heart's wish after all.

"Yes, but we need to get moving before they find us."

Clay's eyes flew open. "What?"

Kelly Jo grabbed his hand and started walking, dragging him with her. "We just ran away from Heaven. And, oh, boy, Clay, are you in big trouble!"

Chapter Four

Clay stopped dead, jerked on the hand Kelly Jo was pulling him with and yanked her straight into his chest. Her wings, still askew, vibrated from the impact and her long white gown shimmered in the light of the southern sun.

Clay grabbed her upper arms and stared at her, his jaw agape. "You kidnapped me from Heaven and I'm in big trouble? You're joking, right?"

"Come on," she urged, pulling away from him and casting furtive glances all around. She grabbed his hand again and started to run, once again trying to drag him along. "If Big Bob catches us we don't stand a chance."

Clay dug in his heels and ripped his hand from hers. "You're nuts," he informed her. "I'm not in any trouble. But I think it's safe to say you're about to have the wrath of Heaven crash down on you."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Do you have to sound so...so...hokey?" she asked him, then shot him an annoyed look. "And do you have to be so obviously pleased at the thought of me and Heaven's wrath?"

"Yes," he informed her flatly. "To both." He threw his head back and laughed, looked around, then asked her sweetly, "How loudly do I need to call Robert to be heard? Or is he so used to your antics that he's attached a tracking device?"

She took a firm stance and folded her arms over her chest, and though her words were tense, they rammed home.

"Clay, if you want a chance to regain your earthly life..."

"That you took," he reminded her.

"...then that chance is through going with me, not with Big Bob," she continued as though Clay hadn't interrupted. "He'll have you in tow and raising your hand to say here to Peter at the Gates lickety-split. Once Peter puts a roll call check beside your name, your opportunity to return is gone."

"Well, gee," Clay answered sarcastically and put a thoughtful finger to his chin. "Which is better? Running from an angel who will escort me to the Pearly Gates or running with the angel that killed me and is now attempting to coerce me into helping her do...I can't imagine what, but I'm guessing it isn't good."

Kelly Jo glared at him. "Big Bob warned you not to take my hand. You did it anyway. So you weren't kidnapped, you came willingly."

Clay threw his hands in the air. "That's it," he informed her and stretched his long form out beneath the oak tree. He squinted up, between the branches of the huge oak, into the sunlight dappling the leaves. "I'll wait right here. Run if you want to, but I'm not getting involved any further than you've already dragged me."

"Nobody dragged you," she said testily, kneeling in front of him. "You took my hand because you felt sorry for me and, you might as well admit it, Clay, you were torn between wanting to help me and going with Big Bob."

"No," Clay answered, looking up at her. "I wasn't."

Summer-sky blue eyes mocked green ones. "Oh, you were. Big Bob saw it too, and that's why he tried to hurry you away from me. So you couldn't take my hand."

Exasperated, Clay rose to his feet and scanned the sky. "Shouldn't Robert have found us already?"

Kelly Jo came to stand beside him. "No. He'll be looking for me in a small town many miles from here. I have to find a way to get there without being seen."

"Don't tell me anymore," Clay warned. "Just tell me how to call Robert."

"If I don't get where I need to be in time, Clay, to that little town…the consequences will be devastating. Someone might die that isn't supposed to die."

"They already did," he answered testily. "Me. Remember?"

"I need to fix something, to undo what I caused, and I can't do it alone."

"Yep," Clay said pleasantly, pointedly ignoring her and watching the sky for signs that Robert and or a posse had tracked them down. "It's going to be a nice day."

Kelly Jo gasped, but Clay ignored her and kept his gaze on the sky. She was not going to get to him. His resolve was stone that he’d not allow her to wheedle her way into his sympathies again.

"Oh, no," Kelly Jo cried in horror, and despite himself Clay turned.

Kelly Jo's wings were gone and her gown was nearly transparent.

Clay blinked twice. "You're not wearing anything under that gown."

Kelly Jo shot him a look and crossed her arms over her chest, then ran for the cover of bushes twenty five yards away.

Clay was hot on her heels, involuntarily checking his own clothes, doing the gentlemanly thing and not fastening his gaze on her very exposed, very curvy behind. Everything about his own clothes seemed the same. Solid.

Just as her gown faded completely, Kelly Jo dove behind the bushes.

Panting for breath from running, Clay demanded, "What's going on? If Robert found us and is carting you back to...wherever we were...does this mean that I'm staying on earth, that you're the only one in trouble and I'm off the hook? I'm alive again?"

Kelly Jo's head shot up above the bushes and though she carefully used her arms and long hair to cover her now completely naked body, her voice was curt. "No, Clay, it doesn't. What it does mean is that my power is dissolving."

"Oh, you mean like your clothes did?"

"Very funny," she shot at him.

Clay laughed. "You made it behind those bushes just in time." He couldn't help it. He snickered and added, "Well, almost in time."

Kelly Jo's eyes snapped fire and she lifted her chin. "Voyeurism of an angel isn't a good character trait, Clay, and Robert won't like it."

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Voyeurism? Not from where I'm standing. Flashing came to my mind. Is Robert okay with you doing that?"

"Go find me some clothes," she said sternly. "Steal some from a clothesline if you have to, but get something."

Clay let loose with a rip-roaring belly-laugh. "I'm thinking....NO."

She rose to her feet, then realized from the way his brows shot up in interest that too much showed, so she lowered to a near-squat, still using her arms and hair to cover herself. "Clay," she said sweetly. "I'll take the blame for everything...I'll even call Robert if you want me to, but PLEASE find me some clothes."

"Call Robert first," he said flatly, his gaze holding hers level, despite where his brain ordered his gaze to travel.

Kelly Jo lowered her head, then sank to her knees. She nodded, then lifted her gaze to Clay's. "I'll call him for you, Clay, but I'm not going back."

"Kelly Jo..."

"No," she said quietly. "This is it for me and I'm not throwing away my last chance. For you or for anyone else. Even if it means I get kicked out of Heaven."

Clay sighed. "Your theatrics are getting old, Kelly Jo. You won't get kicked out of Heaven." He studied her face and his alarm grew at the haunted expression in summer-sky blue eyes. "Will you?"

Clay heard the catch in her voice when she admitted, "Not actually kicked out." Compassion stirred deep in his heart when she added, "I'll remain where you first saw me. For a long, long time to come."

From behind Clay, Robert's voice boomed, "Kelly Jo!"

Clay spun to see a very angry Robert approach. "Where is she?"

Rattled at the punishment looming for Kelly Jo, Clay stammered, "Uh...uh...she's uh...we were...her clothes..."

Robert shot Clay a look and again called Kelly Jo.

Clay turned to the bushes but Kelly Jo was gone. How she'd sprinted to the nearby woods without he or Robert spotting her he didn't know, but somehow she'd made it.

"She's naked," Clay remarked, not with a little amazement.

"Yes," Robert confirmed. "I've stripped her power. It should be nearly gone."

Clay stared at Robert. Stripped was the operative word, all right.

Robert locked gazes with Clay. "I've permitted her only enough power for the both of you to return. You need to find her immediately, which shouldn't be too hard, given her choices are limited without clothing."

Puzzled, Clay asked, "Find her? You mean I can't return with you?"

Robert shook his head. "No. You can only return through her, just as you came here through her power. Find her."

"Can't you just...do whatever it is you do...see through things or whatever...and bring her back here with your power?"

Robert scanned the entrance to the woods. "No. It seems that one of Kelly Jo's final acts before I stripped her power was to use some of it to put up a field that blocks me from locating her." He turned to Clay. "She's made the consequences for her actions much more serious than they needed to be." He gave Clay one final up-and-down look. "No one can see you in your current form, but they can now see her. Call to me as soon as you locate her. I'll take it from there." Robert disappeared.

Clay took a step back. Whoa! Robert was one ticked off angel and Clay was glad that he wasn't the target of the anger emanating from him. Poor Kelly Jo.

Clay shook his head, as though to clear it. Poor Kelly Jo? She sure didn't deserve any sympathy or soft feelings, after all the uproar she'd caused. So, then, why was he feeling sorry for her, almost regretting that he hadn't gone along with her plea for his help?

He ran his gaze along the distant treeline, not at all happy about having to hunt down a troublesome naked woman.

"Pssst!"

Clay looked around, wondering if Robert had returned. Nothing and nobody but him and the clear afternoon sunshine.

This time the "Pssst!" was impatient, then followed by a whispered, "Clay!"

Bewildered, he turned to look in every direction. "Kelly Jo?"

"I'm over here."

"Where?"

He started toward the woods, then heard "No, I'm here," from the bushes.

Clay scoured the bushes but saw nothing. "Stop playing games and get out here and take my hand," he ordered. "Robert told me..."

"I can't," she shot at him. "Get in here."

Clay stepped into the bushes, still seeing nothing.

"Don't step on me," she cried. "Not with those big feet!"

Clay looked down. There on the ground was a small, framed painting, about 8x10. Standing against a background that mirrored where he stood was Kelly Jo, demurely posed, her arms and long golden curls covering vital areas.

Taken aback, Clay blurted, "What the..."

"I'm stuck," Kelly Jo informed him. "My power is gone, so you need to figure out a way to get me out. Quick, put me inside your shirt and let's get out of here!"

Chapter Five

Clay bent, scooped up the 8x10 and nonchalantly studied every aspect of the painting in the flat gold frame before his laughing gaze met the displeased blue eyes. "Not a very flattering picture," he observed.

"It's not a picture," Kelly Jo informed him. "It's a painting."

Clay's eyes continued to laugh, continued to study Kelly Jo's carefully maintained pose, one that concealed charms Clay had already noted during her flight to the bushes. "Whatever. If I were you I'd ask for my money back."

Kelly Jo's tone held no love of Clay's joke. "Ha ha ha. Now, if you don't mind, shove me up under your shirt and let's get moving."

Clay couldn't resist giving Kelly Jo just a small taste of the insecurity and upheaval she'd dumped nonstop on him. He chewed his lip in thought. "You know, when I envision holding a naked woman against my chest she's not usually seven inches tall...I don't think I want to..."

Clay nearly jumped from his skin when Robert boomed, "Clay!", but his sleight-of-hand when he whirled to face him was lightning quick and he shoved the painting under the back of his shirt, praying it didn't fall to the ground. Why did he do that??? He didn't need Robert's wrath on top of everything else and he was tempted to yell, "She's all yours", and toss the painting to Robert.

"What?" Clay asked as casually as he was able, wondering if Robert detected his pounding heartbeat.

"One more thing," Robert said, giving Clay an if you're up to something I'll find out look. "If by some chance you fail to locate Kelly Jo..." He frowned. "Did I say something to amuse you, Clay?"

"No...no. I'm sorry," he said contritely, doing his best to ignore that Kelly Jo was performing a slow, dragging tickle with her toes, starting at the waistband of his jeans and heading downward into the upper part of his boxers. Clay shifted back-and-forth on his feet when she wouldn't stop, then swatted the painting with one hand. The toe-dragging stopped. "You were saying?" he asked Robert.

Robert's frown was now strong disapproval in his dark eyes. "Should you fail to locate Kelly Jo, head northward to a town called Covey's Creek. It's a fairly large town but Kelly Jo will head straight for a second floor apartment at 17 Rosetta Street. She may be there already if she just dumped you here and used the last of her power to get there, but I doubt it."

The toe-dragging tickling started again and Clay jumped, then swatted, all the while trying to maintain a casual air. "Uh, can't you just take me there?" he asked Robert, his eyes widening as Kelly Jo pulled out his waistband and snapped it against his skin. "Cut it out," he cried and gave a firmer swat.

Robert studied him.

"One of those long-legged insects," Clay told Robert with a lop-sided smile. "You know what pests they make of themselves."

"To answer your question, Clay, no, I can't take you there. I need your eyes and ears on the ground because Kelly Jo is a master at concealing herself from me..."

"Really?" Clay quipped dryly. "She didn't strike me as that bright. Owwww."

Clearly annoyed, Robert continued, "Be aware that because I've stripped her power, if Kelly Jo is moving only on foot, by the time she reaches Covey's Creek her memory will be gone."

Clay stared. "Howzat again?"

"Within twenty-four hours she'll resume human form, but her memory of why she's here may have faded."

"You did that?"

"Yes. Her current time schedule puts her on a collision path with the event she wants to undo. She's been forbidden to try."

"But she's here," Clay argued. "Why not let it go, pretend she didn't waylay me, pull a fast one and trick her way back down to earth...owwwwwww! Knock if off!"

Robert's expression was unreadable as Clay swatted and muttered.

"Do you require help, Clay? Perhaps I can rid you of the pest..."

"No thank you," Clay said hastily. "If Kelly Jo can't remember why she's here, how can she try to change an event?"

"She'll automatically relive it," Robert said curtly. "If she's unable to reverse what she did, and without her memory guiding her that’s the most likely outcome, then she'll be immediately removed from earth. The tragedy she caused will stand. And Kelly Jo will no longer have her wings."

Clay eyed him. "You're kidding."

"Kelly Jo will spend eternity in the place where she summoned you. She knew that was the risk before she steered your car over the drop."

"And if she succeeds?"

"She's forbidden to try," Robert repeated. "I'm counting on you to stop her."

Clay held Robert's gaze. "What happens to me?"

Robert's dark eyes locked Clay's green gaze. "If you succeed in stopping Kelly Jo I'll reconsider returning you to your life on earth."

"And if I fail?"

Robert smiled. "You'll be welcomed into Heaven, where you would be right now if Kelly Jo hadn't tricked you."

Clay nodded, thoughtful. "But there's no similar possibility for Kelly Jo."

“No. Nor for you if you willingly help her.”

Stunned, Clay realized the fate of his soul rested on what he decided to do about the framed picture beneath his shirt. He held Robert’s gaze, knowing he really had no choice.

Resigned to his only reasonable decision, Clay sighed and reached behind his back.

Chapter Six

Clay bit back an oath as teeth chomped into his finger and he hastily pulled his hand from beneath his shirt and shoved it into his pocket. "Well, I'll do my best to hunt down the wayward angel. I guess I'll see you in Covey's Creek."

Robert disappeared before Clay's last word filled the air.

Struck by a thought, Clay called, "Wait!", but Robert was gone.

Kelly Jo smacked Clay's lower back. "He's gone. Get me out of here!"

"My pleasure," Clay snapped, pulling the painting out and holding it in front of him. He scowled at Kelly Jo, who scowled right back.

"You were going to turn me over to him, weren't you, Clay?" she accused.

"And why wouldn't I? Why shouldn't I?" he demanded. "You're lucky I didn't grab you and spank you...your antics certainly earned it."

Kelly Jo looked bored, though she continued to hold her demure, cover-herself pose. "We can play spanking games later, Clay. Right now we need to head north."

"I don't like this at all, Kelly Jo, and I'm already sorry I didn't hand you to Robert." He narrowed his eyes in green warning. "Maybe I'll just call him back and you can spend eternity falling off that rock by the stream."

Kelly Jo lifted her chin, but her smile was smug. "Go ahead."

Clay was furious. Boy, wouldn't he love to toss this painting as far away from him as his arm could throw. "Don't push your luck," he advised flatly.

"You know why you won't?" she challenged. "Well, one of the reasons you won't."

Clay sighed. "I have a feeling you're about to tell me even if I don't want your opinion...which I don't."

"You don't know how to call Big Bob."

Clay raised the picture higher and stared at her. She was right, but he wasn't about to admit it. "I'm sure I can figure it out, or better yet, figure out how to get out of here...without you. Maybe it works the same way it did with Dorothy," he added with a slight sulk. "Maybe if I click my heels together three times I'll wake up in Kansas. That would be really nice."

Kelly Jo giggled. "With those feet? You'd blow up Kansas on the first click. And that wouldn't be nice."

"You know what?" Clay told her, clearly annoyed. "I might not know how to call Robert back here, but I do know where to meet him." Still holding the painting he walked back to the oak tree and propped it against the trunk. "Bye, Kelly Jo," he said pleasantly and started walking.

"Clay!" she called desperately. "I'm sorry. Come back. Please?"

He stopped but stayed where he was when he asked, "Why should I?"

Kelly Jo's remorse vanished in a lilting laugh. "Because you don't know which way is north. I do."

Clay strode back but stared down at her. "I can find it without too much difficulty, and you know it."

Kelly Jo lowered her head, her long curls moving even further down her body. When she looked up, tears glistened in her eyes and her voice was soft. "I don't know how to make a serious apology, Clay, because I never learned how. But I need you. And whether you believe it or not, and even whether you like it or not, you need me. Can we put aside our differences just long enough to get to Covey's Creek? Big Bob will be there waiting and this whole thing will be over."

Clay studied her face. It wasn't the first time she'd been convincingly sympathetic, had tugged his heart into doing something he almost immediately regretted. "No tricks?"

Relief flooded the summer-sky blue eyes. "Promise."

"Can you get out of that picture?"

She shook her head. "I used the last of my power to create it. I know there's a way to get out again, but I'm going to have to find it. In the meantime, you'll have to carry me."

"Uh huh," Clay said thoughtfully. "And if a cop asks me what I'm doing concealing a naked woman under my shirt...I'm not keen on getting arrested."

Kelly Jo laughed and Clay ignored the natural sparkle she gave off. This was no time to think there was anything likeable about her.

"First, as of now, no one but me can see you. Second, so what?"

Clay frowned. "As of now? I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Big Bob told you that within twenty four hours I'd again be in human form. So will you, Clay."

Clay shook his head, relieved. "Great. Then I can just take off."

"Uh...no. Doesn't work that way. You'll be in human form only until this event has completed. Besides, you're not Clay Aiken yet. It's years before your time and you'd have nowhere to go anyway, even if you did take off, which you can't."

"I get the picture," he snapped.

"We need to go, Clay," she added softly. "Even if you've turned your back on me now, I have to get to Covey's Creek."

"Turned my back on you? Do you have any idea what I just risked by hiding you from Robert?" he demanded.

Kelly Jo waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, pooh...you risked no more than I did. Now, pick me up and let's find a house with a little girl's clothing hanging on the line."

Irate, Clay wanted to shake the painting, wanted to shake the self-centeredness out of Kelly Jo. "No more than you did? You killed me and kidnapped me to serve your own selfish purpose," he informed her.

"Yes," she agreed, "and you can thank or spank me later, whichever gives you the most pleasure. But for now..."

"Kelly Jo," he warned between gritted teeth, hoping she got the message that he'd reached the end of his patience with her.

"Let's go, Clay," she urged. "We have to find that house."

"I'm not stealing a little girl's clothing for you," he said flatly. "I'm not stealing anything...for you or for anyone else."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said haughtily. "I would never ask you to steal something. But we need to find a house where at least one little girl lives. Chances are good she would own a Barbie. Then you need to break in and get me some Barbie clothes to wear."

Chapter Seven

In less than half an hour of walking the countryside, Clay's feet hurt. His fingers and hand was stiff from holding the painting and even shifting hands with it didn't help for long. He ignored Kelly Jo's suggestion of finding something to tie the painting around his neck.

Oh, yeah, that's just what he needed: a miniature naked woman bumping around on his back or on his chest. Especially one he guaranteed would complain nonstop about either his stride was too long, he walked too slow, did he have to step over those potholes and badly jar her while he did it? Noooo thanks.

"Just a little further," Kelly Jo advised. "If I remember correctly, there's three houses on this dirt road. They're about a quarter mile apart and I'm not sure which one had a little girl, but...well, however long it takes, it takes."

Clay stopped and glared at Kelly Jo. "However long it takes, it takes? How very generous of you, since you're not the one doing the walking."

"Don't be such a baby, Clay," she chided. "This isn't easy for me either, you know. I never know if you're watching where you're walking or if I'm about to be bumped so hard I'll knock against your knuckles again." She grimaced. "That did hurt, by the way...a lot."

"That was your own fault," he informed her. "I told you to sit still, but you're so worried about your hair not covering what it should that you weren't paying attention." Though it was her own doing, he asked softly, "No bruises, I gather?"

"I don't think so," she answered, "but I won't know for sure until we stop and I can check them out."

Clay grinned, well aware of the "them" that had landed on his knuckles when Kelly Jo pitched forward.

Her dark look to his grin said she knew that he knew. And that she didn't like it one bit. His grin broadened, but he said nothing.

"There," she said, pointing through a copse of trees. "I can see a clothesline. I think the house is further back."

Clay grunted. "Think we'll get lucky and today was Barbie clothes washing day?"

Kelly Jo ignored him and lowered her voice as Clay moved to where they could see the clothesline in a large clearing. He couldn't believe the luck. Little girl's clothing flapped in the afternoon sunshine.

Clay glanced down at her. "Now what?" He nodded away from the clothesline. "The house is about twenty yards that way and there's no vehicle in the driveway so I'm guessing no one's home. Should we just sneak in and you can make yourself at home rummaging in the dollhouse?"

"Very funny," she told him. She looked at the ground, then at Clay, started to speak and then stopped, shock covering her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Look down," she stated.

He did. Then looked at her. "What?"

"Your footprints."

Clay looked again. Sure enough, his footprints were a clear path from the dirt road through the trees to where they now stood.

"What's going on?" he demanded. Then it hit him. "Oh."

"Yeah," Kelly Jo said dejectedly. "Oh. You're becoming human."

"Well," Clay said thoughtfully. "How do we find out if you are? Maybe you can just run around inside that painting and see if you leave footprints."

Kelly Jo sighed and Clay saw thoughts racing through her eyes.

"Or," he suggested. "Maybe you could just sit down and see if you leave..."

"Hush," she ordered, but Clay saw her blush clear to the roots of her golden curls. "I'll think of something."

Clay waited, and finally Kelly Jo shrugged. "I'm drawing a complete blank. This metamorphasis happened too fast." She sighed. "You'll have to go alone, Clay."

Startled, Clay asked, "To Covey's Creek?"

She shot him a look like he was dense. "No. Into the house."

"What?"

"It's going to be hard enough for you to get inside now that humans can see you, Clay. What if someone is home? Carrying a painting would make you conspicuous. We can't chance it."

Clay stared at her. "Carrying a painting makes me conspicuous...but barging into their house to hunt down Barbie clothes doesn't?"

"I would only slow you down."

Exasperated, Clay demanded, "Can't you just stay naked?"

"No," she said curtly. "Now, put me down over there and hurry up. This isn't very comfortable, in case you weren't aware."

"Oh, brother," Clay muttered, but propped the painting against the tree.

"And be quick," she advised.

Clay moved carefully through the trees, around the clothesline and toward the house. His brain refused to admit what he was doing.

He used stealthy steps to peek into the side windows and then the opened front windows. There was no sign of activity in the house, no sign anyone was home.

He went back to the porch and struggled with the wide window, but to his amazement it slid open. He briefly closed, then opened his eyes, still disbelieving the act of Barbie-theft he was about to commit. If he could find Barbie clothes, that is.

Clay stepped inside the living room and listened.

No sound.

He breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the staircase to the second floor. Just as he reached it and hurried up the first four steps, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, a warning he was being watched. He spun.

In the kitchen doorway stood the biggest, blackest dog he'd ever seen, a low growl reaching Clay's ears.

Clay eased his way back down the steps to the living room, repeatedly crooning, "Nice puppy," until he'd reached the bottom.

The growl grew louder and the dog made a beeline for Clay.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh," Clay cried, jerking the unlocked front door open and racing down the steps, the angry, barking dog hot on his heels.

Chapter Eight

Clay's long stride came in very handy. It gave him only a short head start on the huge animal protecting his family's home, but it enabled him to gain a small lead when he leaped from the porch to the ground and the dog halted long enough to carefully maneuver down the porch steps.

Clay tore across the lawn in record time, swatted his way around and through the clothesline and made a direct line for where he'd left Kelly Jo.

Panting and dragging for air in his lungs, Clay was keenly aware the dog was now close to nipping his heels. Or ripping them off. Just as the animal emitted a lethal roar and lunged, so did Clay. For the low-hanging tree branch. Clumsily, and almost completely breathless, Clay swung himself over the top and sat on the branch, his feet dangling just high enough to further tick off the irate dog.

Clay couldn't even wheeze out a warning to Kelly Jo.

Wait. Warn her about what?

He closed his eyes in intense irritation. Once again, thanks to Kelly Jo and her bright ideas, the risk was all his. He opened his eyes and confirmed it. The dog ran in wide circles beneath Clay's branch, his threatening bark deteriorating again into a growl when he stopped and stared up at Clay.

Clay lowered his head, gulping air and making go home gestures at the dog. Finally he'd drawn a normal enough breath to holler, "Go home!"

The dog sat down, still staring, still growling.

To Clay's displeasure, he heard a distinct giggle.

Kelly Jo stopped giggling long enough to advise Clay, "Most watchdogs won't go home if they think you're threatening them."

"That was one great idea, Kelly Jo," Clay said curtly. "You never mentioned a dog in the house."

"I didn't know," she said calmly. "My interest was in did they have a child who might own a Barbie. It's not my fault you didn't check first."

Clay's eyebrows raised as the dog's ears went on alert.

The dog heard Kelly Jo.

"Kelly Jo," Clay said softly. "Don't talk. The dog picked up the sound."

Kelly Jo remained silent. So did Clay.

To Clay's chagrin, the dog laid down beneath the tree branch to watch him. Now what? He knew he couldn't move, couldn't talk or he'd incite the dog again.

Clay and Kelly Jo had no choice but to wait. Quietly.

Half an hour later the dog tired of watching Clay and rose to his feet.

Clay heaved a sigh of relief as the dog began to wander off, but he knew not to climb down until the dog was well on his way home.

"Is he gone?" Kelly Jo whispered.

The dog's ears picked up again and he returned, this time to stare at the painting.

Clay's heart thumped. Was there anything this dog could do to Kelly Jo? Was she able to control her fright and remain still? He held his breath, hoping she realized just how unmoving she needed to be.

The huge black dog sniffed the painting, then circled the tree and came back to his original spot at the painting...and lifted his leg with uncanny aim.

Chapter Nine

Kelly Jo's shriek sent the dog jumping backward in panic.

Clay roared so hard with laughter he nearly fell from the tree, clutching hold at the last second, straddling the limb and hanging on for dear life, letting the tears roll down his face as his loud, unchecked laughter hit the air.

Kelly Jo's second shriek of indignation sent the dog racing for home, yelping in fright.

Clay's laughter continued unabated and though he tried to carefully throw one leg free and to jump down, he failed. He hung in the air, right leg dangling, his left leg and both arms still wrapped around the thick limb as he slowly, involuntarily, slid over the side. His stomach hurt from laughing so hard, but he couldn't stop, his mind kept replaying the moment.

This payback was the greatest, most appreciated thing he'd ever seen.

Finally the pull of his weight was too much and his arms and left leg followed the path of his right leg, pulled loose from the limb and Clay fell to the ground.

Still roaring with laughter.

"This isn't funny!" Kelly Jo cried in distress. "Look at what he did to me!"

Clay rolled over onto his stomach, still blubbering with mirth and belly-crawled the short distance to where Kelly Jo, both the frame and the person drenched, stared at him in shock. "You're wrong," he informed her. "It's definitely funny," Clay choked out between spurts of laughs.

"Help me!" she cried. "I'm...I'm...wet!"

"Oh...oh, yes, you certainly are," Clay managed to get out, not a shred of sympathy in his voice as his gaze rested on the thoroughly soaked naked woman. The cascade of golden curls were now a mass of ringlets flat on her head and down her body. Kelly Jo grimaced as her fingers only tentatively held the ringlets over what she needed covered.

Still prone, Clay put his hands on the ground in front of him and rested his chin on them, wrinkled his nose and made a face, but his tone remained one of sheer bliss. "You also have one God-awful awful stink to you."

"You have to wash me," she said flatly. "Right now. I can't believe you let this happen to me."

Clay shook his head, still grinning. "I'm not washing you," he told her. "I’ll get you some wet leaves or something, but..." he stopped and stared back at her. "What do you mean I let this happen to you? If you had kept quiet like I told you..."

"Go get the leaves," she ordered, then added hastily, "Oh, never mind. There's a creek not too far from here. Take me over there and I'll see what's handy for a bath. You can gather things..."

Clay threw his head back and laughed. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm touching that frame, let alone carting it around."

"This is all your fault," she seethed. "The least you can do is try to be helpful, try to find a way..."

"I am not touching that painting," he repeated. "Think of something else."

Kelly Jo's summer-sky blue eyes had turned to clouds of battle, but Clay grinned as various thoughts raced through those clouds.

"What if," she began, "you put dirt on the frame. Will you touch it then and carry me to the creek?" Sarcasm colored her added, "Or will that still be too much for your delicate hands to endure?"

"You know," Clay warned her, still fighting fits of laughter. "You don't exactly present a great case for people to come to your aid."

She opened her mouth and he saw the venom coming. He grinned ear-to-ear but put up his hand in a gesture of peace. "Okay," he conceded. "We'll try the dirt trick. But I absolutely am not washing you, Stinky. You're on your own."

Clay sat up and crossed his legs, facing the painting that rested against the tree trunk. He reached out his hand and ran his fingers in the dirt, gathered up a short amount and then screwed up his face as he held a careful finger to the painting's frame. If at all possible, he had no intention of touching that frame. "I have a better idea," he told Kelly Jo. "Close your eyes."

Her expression said not only did she not like the question, but that she didn't trust him. "Why?"

"I'm going to try to drop the dirt onto the frame and see how much sticks. If enough sticks, then I'll pick up the frame and hurl you to your bathtub."

"Very funny," she shot at him. "Just hurry. I can't take much more of this."

"Close them," Clay ordered and when she had he gently began dropping dirt onto the picture frame, doing his best to avoid even small drops going into the actual painting. Despite his unending glee at her predicament, he felt a small pebble of sympathy growing. And did his best to beat it back.

Kelly Jo jumped and grabbed her face. "Clay...stop," she cried.

Clay stopped immediately, guilt stabbing him at enjoying her helplessness. "Are you all right, Kelly Jo?"

Was she crying?

Clay grabbed the frame with both hands, aghast that he'd put dirt in her eyes.

Clay froze at Robert's, "What are you doing?"

Without thinking, Clay shoved the painting up the front of his shirt just as Robert circled around where Clay sat in the dirt.

"Why aren't you in Covey's Creek?" Robert asked.

Clay blinked several times, then asked, "Wha...what?"

Robert sighed. "You're late so I came looking for you. What are you doing here at this house?" Robert's face crinkled. "And what is that odor?"

Clay squirmed, but tried to keep his discomfort from his expression. He hadn't wanted to touch the offensive frame, but it would have been a cakewalk compared to the naked, urine-soaked woman now laying against his bare stomach.

"I...uh...I got lost and came to ask directions. A dog chased me," he finished lamely with a weak smile up at Robert.

Robert looked down at him like he was stupid. "Lost? Clay, all you have to do is follow Covey's Creek, about two hundred yards that way," he stated, pointing to the left. "You're ten minutes from town."

Clay's jaw dropped open and from the way Kelly Jo went suddenly still he knew she'd heard what Robert said, and that she was now the one in big trouble. With Clay. Kelly Jo's soft, soothing caress of Clay's stomach wasn't going to help her in the least. Especially since all she was doing was spreading the dog's stench.

"I...I..." Clay stammered. Oh, boy, was she going to get it.

Robert's nose crinkled. "Smells like the dog caught up with you. You stink," he added flatly. "I advise you to get to that water without delay. Do what you have to do to wash out your clothes. And then get into town. I'll see you there."

Robert disappeared.

Clay inhaled a deep breath, then realized there was no fighting his growing anger. He pulled the painting out and held Kelly Jo up in front of him, his green gaze locked with innocently-blinking summer-sky blue eyes.

"Okay, peewee," he said curtly. "Start talking."