Chapter 1:
Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald walked into Sheridan's Crane's cottage. He sure was
missing her again. He remembered the day everyone had "proof" that she had
died. But in his heart, he knew otherwise. She was still alive. She had to be. Look
at the first time around, when everyone presumed her to be buried alive and she
ended up surprising him around Christmastime. That was truly a miracle.

Ever since the boat explosion, Luis had known deep in his heart that
Sheridan was still alive. But that was twelve months ago. He began to move on.
Now he was very much involved with Beth Wallace and he was just on the verge
of asking her to marry him, but his heart still clung to the hope of Sheridan
returning to him. He believed that she wasn't killed in that boat explosion.

All of a sudden, he heard someone opening the front door and getting
inside. Who could that be? he thought to himself. No one lives in this abandoned
cottage anymore! He turned around and gasped at who he saw standing in front
of him, by the doorway.

It was Sheridan Crane, but it wasn't. She had the same vibrant, beautiful
features but something in her eyes looked different. But that was the last thing
Luis cared about at that moment.

"Sheridan?!" Luis asked, flabbergasted to see his "dead"
ex-girlfriend/former fiance in her old cottage. Was this another dream or fantasy
he was having? Please God, don't let it be, he thought to himself. Let this one be
real!

"Luis!" she hollered back. With one look at her "dead lover" all of her
amnesia seemed to disappear. She regained all of her forgotten memory. This
was the man she loved! He wasn't dead like she had assumed! She was just as
surprised to see him as he was to see her. She ran into his open arms.

Oh, if felt so good to be in each other's arms again! They clinged onto
each other as lovers do. After all, they had been apart from each other for alm0st
twelve months. But their connection was still very much strong and they both
knew it.

His mouth was inches away from hers and he hungrily began to kiss her,
missing the way her lips used to feel on his. Luis and Sheridan savored the
moments together as they "found" one another again. Their hearts had been
wishing, hoping and praying for this reunion and now were content that it was
finally taking place. Oh, it felt so good to be together again! Sheridan missed the
way she used to put her hand behind Luis's head and stroke his hair while they
kissed. She did that then, feeling so happy to be back where she "belonged."

Little did they know it then, on that faithful day in the summertime, that
something was going to try and come between them again, but this time around,
it was going to be permanent!

* * * * *

Beth Wallace was in her house, cleaning up the mess that her mother had
left behind. My God, she was such a slob! Beth was waiting for Luis's arrival later
that night. They had talked earlier in the day and from the looks of things, it
seemed like he wanted to come over and spend a romantic evening with her. She
couldn't wait. God, she loved that man. Ever since she could remember. They
had gone out in high school and everyone had thought that they would be
engaged right out of graduation, but things did not turn out that way. For one,
Luis had to deal with his father's disappearance and Beth had to cope with her
mother popping back into her life. So Luis and Beth decided to take a break from
each other for a while. By that time, Luis found himself a new love, by the name
of Sheridan Crane. And Beth? Well she found nothing and no one.

But Sheridan had died about a year ago, and Luis had found his way back
to Beth. Things were going great between them. In fact, Beth had the distinct
feeling that a marriage proposal was short-coming.

Right now, Beth wore her favorite (and Luis's favorite) lingerie as she
anticipated his arrival.

"You look like a hooker," her mother informed her. "A good Christian would
never have sex before marriage."

"Go to your room, mother," Beth ordered her, with a wave of her hand.
Wow, when her mother came back to live with her a few years ago, Beth didn't
think she was going to be so difficult to deal with. Oh well. She had Luis in her
life. Nothing else mattered.

Just then her telephone rang.

Beth had caller ID and noticed that it was Luis who was calling from his
cell phone.

"Hello," she said a bit seductively to the man she loved.

"Hi, Beth," Luis said, guilt showering over his tone of voice.

She instinctively could tell that he had called to cancel or postpone their
plans. She detected it easily. After all, she had known Luis long enough to notice
little things like that.

"Let me guess you have to cancel?" Beth asked lightly. She was
disappointed, but didn't want it to be very obvious.

"Ya, I'm sorry, Beth," Luis replied. He did not want to tell Beth of Sheridan's
"return" just yet. He needed time to think. And he needed to tell her face-to-face.

They talked for a few more minutes. After they hung up, Luis thought
about how much it was going to hurt Beth to lose him all over again. She was
going to feel the same way he felt when he lost Sheridan the first (and second)
time around. He loved her and didn't want to cause her pain. But he loved
Sheridan, too. He knew that choosing to be with Sheridan was the choice his heart
would have made - after all, fate had been handing her to him numerously. Death
couldn't separate those two love-birds. But something else sure could have.