When Nicasio finally arrived at the equestrian facility on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, he found Daniela in Baylor's stall, brushing his back and mane affectionately. She had already changed his water and raked out his floor—normally duties of the stable boys, but for now it was a labor she felt compelled to do for her beloved animal. She was busy preparing him for their extended ride out into countryside. Daniela's hair hung down freely against her light green, cotton sweater. Long-sleeve apparel was necessary in the foggy, cool afternoons along California's Central Coast. As Nicasio greeted her and sat on the railing of the animal's stall he could see how her riding pants exquisitely defined the curves of her body which, after five years, he still found irresistible.

"So, Dr. Carvajal . . . fellow researcher and traveler to faraway lands . . . What do you have to say here to my most beloved Baylor, who it seems has missed me terribly?" She patted the horse affectionately on the neck.

Nicasio tried to deflect the playful bantering as best he could, but was in no mood for such levity on that afternoon.

"Daniela, I've known this horse for as long as I've known you. I'm not now going to start being jealous of him over your affections."

She laughed out loud, while throwing the heavy saddle on Baylor's back and carefully synched it securely.

"Well actually," she said, still playfully, "I have to let you in on a little secret. Baylor just told me that during all these years, he's actually been jealous of you."

She laughed again out loud while Nicasio reluctantly did so, causing Baylor to throw his head up and down several times, as if in on the joke.

"Dani, I just came here today to warn you about what I learned at the meeting today. I'm really concerned about how it might affect . . . you know, perceptions about you. It's a very serious matter."

"Well, everyone knows I'm such a bad girl," she said flippantly. "Right, Mr. Baylor-man? She addressed the unresponsive horse rhetorically, kissing him on the side of the head. She then synched his belt tightly once more and placed a riding bit into his mouth, which he tried to eject several times with his prodigious tongue.

"OK, Dani. I'll leave you two lovers to have your special time together, but first just hear me out. Members of the FBI, the CIA, the military, the State Department . . . even a guy from DHS was that meeting this morning."

"DHS? Oh No. Not him!"

"Dani?"

"Who . . . or what is DHS?"

"Department of Homeland Security."

"Oh. Alright. Well I'm good with that."

"Daniela!"

"So what's the big deal, Nicasio? I make a new friend while in Greece and suddenly my picture is in the Post Office? Wanted Dead or Alive?"

"They made a very strong case that the organization your friend Professor Vasiliou has helped develop, is . . . well it's involved in some pretty serious activities. They're monitoring women who are in the network she has set up. They trace these people through email and telephone logs."

"Well you're the only person I've talked to day, professor. Unless you want to count the Baylor-man here." She kissed the horse again on the side of his head.

"Dani, just be careful. With whoever you contact. That's all."

"OK. So what are the real charges against me? Going to Greece and having a lovely couple of meals and conversations with a retired female professor?

"As far as I can tell you are not implicated or associated with anything. At least not yet. And I hope it stays that way."

"Well then that makes two of us."

"You see, fortunately Simons must have never told the authorities of your travels with me. Or that you spent time in Vasiliou's village home on that island. But Dani . . . that could all change if they detect you are communicating with any of the woman in her circle. Anywhere in the world! They're all being traced now.

"OK. So I'll watch my step, Nicasio. Thanks for the warning."

"Look. I'm certain there's a lot of influential women out there who have a lot to lose. Especially now by association. The Feds might begin linking them with some of the criminal actives her group is involved in."

"Well, Nicasio, I'll keep what you told me in mind. But I won't start letting other people tell me what or what not to believe in. Or who I can or can't have as friends! I've done nothing against the law! And I don't intend to start any time soon.

"Fair enough, Dani. I only came here to warn you of that because . . . well because I still I love you and . . . I truly care about you . . . a lot."

Daniela was silent. She seemed moved by what he had told her.

"See . . . while we were in Greece . . . I had some things happen that . . . made me think about us. How special you are to me. And always have been."

"Yes, Nicasio. It was an awesome trip. I also learned a lot. I'll never forget any of it."

He waited for some sign of her past affections. It was what he needed most at a time of confusion and uncertainty about both of their futures.

She looked up from her preparation of Baylor, directly into his eyes while she spoke.

"That trip we took to Athens . . . and the island of Andros . . . was extremely important to me, Nicasio. It got me to see many things in my life more clearly. And maybe some things . . . much bigger than my own life. Things I was always looking for, but didn't know how or where to look for them. You helped me find a way closer to them. And I'll never forget you for that."

Nicasio stared back at her, too emotional and helpless to say more. He waited for some sign. Any gesture of her deeper feelings for him to return.

"I'm still not sure what's waiting out there for me," she said looking beyond him. "But I know it's bigger than anything else right now. I can't understand these feelings myself, Nicasio. Just allow me to continue that search. And I'll go on loving you as best I can. Alright?"

She leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the lips. She then placed her hand on the side of his face and looked into his eyes.

They both were then silent, as Daniela moved away and then led Baylor out of the paddock slowly. She placed her boot into a stirrup and hoisted her self up into the saddle, sitting securely on the powerful animal's back. Without so much as a second look at Nicasio's tearful face, she struck Baylor on both sides of his flanks with the reigns, causing horse and rider to storm out of the stable. Nicasio watched as they entered the trails at a gallop, leading them out of the large riding complex. And he followed them with his eyes still, as they became imperceptibly small, eventually disappearing into the foothills.

* * *