“He’s done some questionable things to keep Paige safe,” Colin Lawrence tells EW of his character.

The more Preacher (Colin Lawrence) falls for Paige (Lexa Doig), the more hot water he finds himself in.

On Virgin River, chef and Jack’s buddy Preacher has encountered one obstacle

after another as he cares for Paige and her son Christopher (Chase Petriw). So much so that the end of season 3 found him left for dead in the woods and Christopher kidnapped by Vince (Steve Bacic), twin brother to Paige’s late husband Wes.

Season 4 shows us Preacher is alive and well pretty quickly, but can he move on from all this? He tries to forget Paige, striking up a relationship with his attractive Aikido instructor. But is he truly over Paige? “Preacher’s character has very strong feelings for Paige, ” Lawrence says. “He’s done some questionable things to keep her safe. He’s got quite the moral compass, but he crossed the line for her safety. He tends to be a character who is loyal to a fault.”

He’s so loyal that when Paige comes back into his life, Preacher can’t help but come to her aid, staking out the cabin where Vince has holed up with Christopher. When Paige makes a deal with Vince, herself for Christopher, Preacher comes to their rescue.

“He invested a lot of time in caring for Paige’s son in her absence,” explains Lawrence of his character’s devotion and new attempts at romance. “But truly, he didn’t know what the future held for them. So, he took a swing at a potential relationship. Preacher is looking for love. Preacher wants a relationship. Preacher wants to be happy. I think the audience wants Preacher to be happy. He’s been through a lot.”

That includes fighting Vince, alone, in that cabin in his attempt to rescue Paige and reunite her with Christopher. Preacher seems defeated and Paige’s life seems in imminent danger when Preacher rallies and clocks Vince with a piece of firewood, leaving him for dead. It is an intense climax to the storyline, so much so that it impressed Lawrence’s cast mates.

“Colin is a badass in this season,” says Benjamin Hollingsworth, who plays town bad boy Brady on the Netflix series. “He goes full Marine in a sense. It’s nice to see him really pull out the ‘I’m not messing around.’ The firewood smash at the end is my favorite part. Out of nowhere, he just completely K.O.’s him and it was fun to see that side and see Preacher being back to the roots of what bonded all these guys together.”

Of course, this just raises new questions for season 5. Namely, what will Paige and Preacher’s relationship look like going forward? And is Vince and all he represents really gone?