The Village of Gerard's Cliff Read Free

past out of her head and focused on her here and
now. The kitchen smelled glorious, and Allie watched appreciatively
as Tilda plated the steaming French toast on two delicate,
flower-patterned plates.
    "Oh, Tilda, what would I
do without you!" Allie breathed in the warm, cinnamon-laced air
permeating the kitchen. "That smells heavenly." Tilda laughed and
placed two small pitchers filled with the warm syrup and pecans on
the serving tray. As she carried the tray to the Holland's table,
Allie was sure that she would never tire of her life as it was
now.
    "Who is that mystery man?"
Sarah, a petite young woman who cleaned the guestrooms for the inn,
had come in the back porch door while Allie was in the dining room.
She was perched on a tall stool, leaning on the island in the
middle of the kitchen. She eyed Tilda, who was pouring coffee for
her into a green mug, and turned as Allie walked in, raising her
eyebrows in question.
    "You mean Mr. Garrison?"
Allie, hearing the last comment as she returned to the kitchen,
gave Sarah a quizzical look as she set the tray down on the
counter. "Why is he a mystery man?" She laughed at the absurd
phrase.
    "I don't ever remember a guest not wanting their room
cleaned, do you? He was very stern, too, no...more like rude," she
snorted. "He gave me strict orders not to enter his
room.........very strange if you ask me." She sipped her coffee
from her mug with one hand, while smoothing the sides of her short
blonde bouffant hairdo with the other. "I'm not sure I like him. He
said to leave the clean sheets and towels by the door and he would take care of
it. Don't you think that's strange, Allie?"
    "Well, he didn't mention
any special requests to me when he checked in last night." Allie
walked over to the island. "I'll speak to him about it if he comes
down for breakfast."
    "Speak of the devil....."
Sarah didn't finish as the other women turned and followed her
gaze.
    The three women stared,
transfixed, as they watched the tall, and very masculine Mr.
Garrison enter the dining room. He was wearing dark blue jeans, and
a pale blue shirt which was open at the neck. The long sleeves of
his shirt were rolled halfway up his lower arms. He is a
good-looking man, Allie thought with a frown, biting the inside of
her lower lip. He appeared oblivious to the trio eyeing him from
the kitchen, as he nodded affably to the Hollands, then sat down at
a small table across the room from the couple, his back to the
kitchen. Allie noticed that his hair was slightly wavy in the back,
as if still damp from a shower, and his shoulders seemed extremely
broad...or were her dining room chairs too small?
    Allie, for no reason she could think of, suddenly felt
slightly flustered, and she discovered that her hand had
inexplicably flown up to the front of her throat and was fiddling
with her blouse button, while she, along with Tilda and Sarah, had
been furtively watching Mr. Garrison enter the room.
    "Okay, ladies, enough of
this!" She laughed softly, shook her head, and rolled her eyes at
the other two women as she went out to greet the mystery
man.

Chapter V
    "Good morning, Mr.
Garrison. I hope you had a restful night."
    Connor looked up from
reading the travel pamphlet he had picked up in the front parlor,
and met Mrs. Colborne's smiling, but slightly quizzical eyes. Why
did he get the feeling she was studying him and not liking what she
saw? His eyes narrowed. He laid down the pamphlet, and resting his
elbows on the table, interlaced his fingers.
    "I had a very good night,
thank you," he smiled, his blue eyes crinkling. As she described
the breakfast menu to him, he couldn't help himself from checking
out the rest of her face, which now seemed rather strained. She had
an oval face, with large brown eyes set below straight brows, her
hair pulled back again...this time in a single braid. Her
not-too-full lower lip was being chewed by even white teeth as she
watched him, her brows raised, and he realized that she was