Daniel leaned toward me until his warm breath lingered on my face again. "You know, some religious scholars believe that when faced with overwhelming temptation"--
he reached out and brushed a tangled strand of hair off my neck---"you should commit a small sin, just to relieve the pressure a bit."
In the shadows, his eyes seemed darker than usual, and his stare didn't just make him look hungry--he was starving. His lips were almost close enough to taste.
"That's stupid. And ... and ... I don't need any pressure relieved." I shoved him away and stepped out of the alcove. "I'm going home."
"Suit yourself," Daniel said. "But I'm going in there, and unless you know how to drive a motorcycle, you'll have a long wait until you can get home."
"Then I'll walk!"
"You drive me crazy!" Daniel shouted at my back. He paused for a moment. "I just wanted to show you," he said, his tone much softer. "You're one of the only people I know who could truly appreciate this place."
I stopped. "What's in there anyway?" I half turned toward him.
"You just have to see for yourself." He cradled his hands together. "I can give you a boost, if you want."
"No, thanks." I took off my heels and flung them over the gate. I shoved my gloves into my coat pockets and mounted the brick pillar, finding a foothold with my barely thawed toes. I climbed up a few feet, grabbed one of the pointed iron fleur-de-lis spikes, and pulled myself up to the top of the pillar.
"I thought you didn't do this sort of thing," Daniel said.
"You know I could, always climb higher and faster than you boys." I stood up on top of the pillar and tried not to show that I was just as shocked by my performance as he was. I put my hands on my hips. "You coming?"
Daniel laughed. His feet scraped against the brick as he climbed up behind me.
I felt a bit dizzy as I inspected the at least ten-foot drop down to the other side. Crap, that's high. I was wondering how I was ever going to get down when I lost my balance and stumbled off the pillar. Before I could shriek, something hard and tight wrapped around my arm, wrenching me to a stop a couple of feet from the ground.
I dangled for a moment, my feet swinging above the frozen earth. I tried to catch my breath before looking up. But I found it even harder to breathe when I saw Daniel kneeling on the top of the pillar, holding me with only one hand. His face was completely smooth and calm, not puckered or creased by the strain of my weight.
His eyes seemed too bright to be real as he stared down at me. "Nice to know you don't do everything perfect," he said, and rather than just letting me drop the last two feet, he tightened his grip around my arm and pulled me effortlessly up to meet him on top of the pillar.
"How ... ?" But I was unable to speak when I looked into his bright eyes.
Daniel wrapped his arms around my trembling body and jumped. He stuck a perfect landing on the gravel inside the memorial, and set me on my feet.
"How ... how did you do that?" My legs felt as soft as a couple of well-kneaded putty erasers. My heart beat too fast. "I didn't know you were so close behind me."
Or that he was so strong.
Daniel shrugged. "I've had a lot of practice climbing since we used to race up the walnut tree."
Yeah, from sneaking into a lot of places, no doubt.
"But how did you catch me like that?"
Daniel shook his head like my question didn't matter. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and started down a narrow walkway that stretched in between two tall hedges.
I bent over and slipped my heels on. My head swam a bit when I straightened up. "So what's so special about this place?"
"Come," Daniel said.
We walked down the path until it opened into a wide gardenlike expanse. Trees, vines, and bushes, which were probably dotted with blossoms in the springtime, filled the open area. A misty fog swirled around us as we followed the meandering path deeper into the garden.
"Look there," Daniel said.
I followed his gesture and found myself standing eye to eye with a white-faced man. I gasped and jumped back. The man didn't move. The fog parted, and I realized he was a statue. I stepped to the edge of the path and studied him closer. He was an angel, not of the cute cherub variety, but a tall, slender, majestic figure, like an elfin prince from The Lord of the Rings. He was dressed in robes, and his face was carved with great detail. His nose was narrow and his jaw was strong, but his eyes looked as though he had seen the wonders of the heavens.
"He's beautiful." I ran my hand along one of the statue's outstretched arms, tracing my finger along the folds of his robe.
"There's more." Daniel gestured to the rest of the garden.
Through the fog, I made out more white figures, standing as majestically as the first. Little spotlights shone on their heads from above, making them look particularly divine in the dimming evening light.
I drew in a breath. "The Garden of Angels. I heard someone talking about this place once, but I never knew where it was." I moved down the path to the next regal statue. This one was a woman with long, beautiful wings that tumbled down her back like RapunzePs locks.
Daniel followed behind me as I floated from angel to angel. Some were old and ancient looking. Others were young children with eager faces, but they were still slender and noble like the rest. I stretched up on my toes at the edge of the path to brush another angel's wings.
Daniel laughed. "You never stray from the path, do you?" He passed close behind me, his arm brushing across the small of my back.
I looked at my toes perched on the border of the gravel trail, and rocked back on my heels. If only he knew how imperfect I felt most days. "Isn't that supposed to make life easier?"
"Doesn't that make life boring?" Daniel flashed me a wicked grin as he slipped between two of the statues and disappeared into the mist. A few moments later, he reemerged onto the path near an angel statue that was taller than the rest.
"This place was built as a memorial for Carolyn Bordeaux," Daniel said, his voice drifting back to me. "She was rich and greedy and hid away her wealth, until one day, in her seventies, she took in a stray dog for no apparent reason. She told people that the dog was an angel in disguise, who revealed to her that she was supposed to help people. After that, she devoted the rest of her life and fortune to helping the needy."
"Really?" I walked closer to him.
Daniel nodded. "Her family thought she'd gone crazy. They even tried to have her committed. But at the moment she died, an otherworldly chorus of beautiful voices filled her bedroom. Her family thought the angels must have returned to claim Carolyn's soul, but then they realized the house was surrounded by singing children from the orphanage where Carolyn volunteered. The Bordeaux family was so touched they built this memorial for her. They say there is an angel for each of the people she helped. There are hundreds of them throughout the garden."
"Wow. How do you know all that?"
"It says it on that plaque over there." Daniel grinned, as devious as ever.
I laughed. "You had me going there. I was starting to think you were some kind of intellectual, what with all this knowledge of obscure local history and quoting religious scholars."
Daniel bowed his head. "I had a lot of time to read where I was."
The air felt thick between us. Did Daniel want me to ask him where he'd been for the last three years? I'd wanted to--since the moment I first saw him. That question was just as important as finding out what happened between him and Jude. No doubt those two answers were connected. I told myself to seize the opportunity--to finally find the answers I needed so I could fix things for good.