Steve kept a wary eye on his surroundings as he led Kayla up the trail to their cabin. The last thing he needed was for Deakins to suddenly pop up on the trail.

As promised, the cabin was out of the way. From what Steve could tell, it was located on the outskirts of the resort, a few hundred yards from the main buildings. If nothing else, he and Kayla would have plenty of privacy.

As they rounded another corner, the cabin came into view. Steve stopped and stared as he heard the intake of Kayla's breath behind him.

The cabin was in the middle of a small clearing, surround by trees. The cabin itself was an A-frame, with a deck encircling the entire perimeter, and a stone chimney peeking out from the side. The cabin was either nearly new or had been well-maintained. Its varnished wood gleamed in the sunlight.

"Wow," Kayla said from behind him. "When he said this was one of the nicest cabins, I guess he wasn't lying."

Steve chuckled and walked up the steps to the front door. "We haven't seen the inside yet, Sweetness."

Opening the door, Steve peered inside and smiled. Stepping aside, he swept his arm across the entryway. "Welcome to our temporary home, baby."

Kayla gave him a curious look and then stepped inside. Steve picked up their bags and followed her inside.

The interior of the cabin was as beautiful as the exterior. A large, overstuffed sofa and two recliners surrounded the rock fireplace and mantel at the center of the left wall. To the right was a small kitchen and breakfast nook with windows looking out to the creek that ran beside the cabin. At the end of the room were large windows, centered by french doors leading to the back of the deck.

To the immediate left, Steve saw a staircase. Guessing the bedroom was there, he climbed the stairs with the bags in hand. As he reached the top of the stairs, a smile broke out on his face.

"Guess what, baby?" he called down to Kayla.

"What?" Kayla answered, following him up the stairs. "Oh, Steve," she whispered as she arrived at the top of the stairs.

Steve smiled as he stood in the middle of the loft bedroom. A king-sized bed dominated the room and the open space of the loft allowed them to see out the windows at the back of the cabin.

"It's beautiful," Kayla said, walking to the railing and looking down at the cabin living room below.

"You can say that again, Sweetness," Steve replied, joining her at the railing. "No wonder that rich guy from Miami wanted it reserved." He winked at Kayla. "I hope the clerk doesn't get into too much trouble for selling him out."

Kayla returned Steve's smile and kissed him on the cheek.

"What's that for?" Steve asked as Kayla moved towards the stairs.

"For being smart enough to bribe the clerk," Kayla said with a giggle. "This place is amazing and I haven't even found the Jacuzzi yet."

Steve joined Kayla's laughter and followed her down the stairs. A quick look confirmed that the Jacuzzi was located on the back deck, just beyond the windows. As Kayla opened the lid, she shot Steve a knowing look.

"What do you think? You feel like a nice relaxing soak after that long trip?"

Steve could feel his body stir at Kayla's suggestion. But as much as he would have liked to indulge in a soak with his wife, he knew it was time to start moving on their real mission.

"Sorry, baby," he said with sincere regret. "That's going to have to wait."

Kayla looked down. "You're right. I guess I just got caught up in the moment."

Steve stepped forward and pulled Kayla into his arms. "Don't ever apologize for wanting to be with me. Besides, I'm not saying 'no.' I'm just saying 'not right now.'"

Kayla smiled and nodded. Together, they walked back into the cabin and sat down on the couch. Turning to Steve, Kayla asked, "So what do we do now that we're here? How are you going to contact Deakins?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," Steve admitted. "I need to get a chance to talk to Deakins alone, but if I try to catch him by himself first, he might just shut me down and take off."

"But if you meet up with him in front of a bunch of people, he won't be able to run." Kayla spoke slowly, a speculative look on her face.

"That's right, baby." Steve stood up and paced in front of the sofa. He always thought better on his feet. "He can't tell anybody that he knows me. Or at least how he knows me." Steve shrugged. "So . . . he'll have to play along for a little while, anyway."

"The clerk said they'd probably be in the bar tonight," Kayla reminded Steve. "Maybe we should just wait and go down their later."

Steve pondered that idea for a moment. It was probably the easiest solution, but it left too much to chance. What if Deakins didn't join the others in the bar? What if he later heard someone talking about meeting the one-eyed guy that night. Okay, there was more than one one-eyed guy in the world, but it was still too much of a risk. Steve had no idea what the ISA might have said to the soldiers.

"That's a good fall back plan, Sweetness," Steve finally said. "But I need to know for sure where Deakins will be tonight." He paced some more as he thought back to the other things the clerk had said. Suddenly, he remembered the mention of the lake. That was perfect.

"I think I've got an idea, baby," he said with a smile. "But I need your help."

Kayla's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed in suspicion. "What kind of help?"

Steve chuckled at Kayla's suspicious look. "Don't worry. It's nothing you can't handle. As a matter of fact, this is right up your alley."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I want you to infiltrate the Deakins clan."

"Infiltrate?" Kayla's voice rose. "Am I supposed to pose as some long-lost relative or something?"

"No. No. Nothing like that." Steve sat down next to Kayla. "You're the friendliest person I know. Every time a new person would come into the emergency center, you'd have their whole life's history in a matter of minutes."

"That's because I had to take a history as part of an examination."

Steve rolled his eye. "Please, Sweetness. You might have needed their medical history, but you'd find out about their families or jobs or whatever else." He tweaked the end of Kayla's nose. "Face it, Kayla. You're just a people person."

Kayla returned the eye roll, but chuckled softly anyway. "So what do you want me to do exactly?"

Steve kissed Kayla's cheek, then spoke. "Remember the clerk said there were a bunch of people at the lake?" At Kayla's nod, he explained, "I want you to go down there and mingle. Just talk to some of them and see if you can find out anything."

"Like what?"

"Like what kind of gatherings they're planning for this reunion. Is there a big dinner or get-together or something." Steve shrugged. "Just anything that gives us some idea of when will be the best time to catch Deakins."

"And you think they'll just tell me all about it?" Kayla's voice conveyed her doubts. "They don't even know me."

"Don't worry, baby." Steve kissed Kayla softly. "They'll fall in love with you just like everybody does."

Kayla returned the kiss and then pulled back with a sigh. "All right. I'll see what I can do."

"That's my girl." Steve stood up, pulling Kayla with him. "You go make friends with the Deakins and I'll do some reconnaissance around the resort." He checked his watch. "We'll meet back here in say . . . three hours?"

"Yes, sir," Kayla replied with a mock salute.

"Real funny, Sweetness." Steve kissed Kayla one last time. "Just remember that we are Mr. and Mrs. William Daniels."

"I'll remember," Kayla replied. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned back. With a shake of her head, she said, "I still can't believe you remembered that name."

"Don't worry, baby," Steve said to himself as she stepped out and the door shut behind her. "I remember everything."