The Village of Gerard's Cliff Read Free Page B

one. Ethan Colborne had always seemed
much older than his actual years, and he was just an all-around
unpleasant person in her opinion...Patrick had seemed flamboyant in
comparison to his stodginess.
    She waited until the last
possible moment to get up off the stool and walk to the front door.
She dreaded seeing him again - the last time she had seen him was
at the funeral, and the distasteful discussion over the inn still
made her feel queasy.
    "Hello, Ethan." Allie
opened the door and leaned against its side, not offering him
entrance. "What do you want?" She didn't mince words with him - she
really did not want to talk to him at all. Allie didn't care if she
was rude....she preferred to have no more contact with him at
all...why did there need to be with Patrick gone.
    "Hello Allison...may I
come in? I have something to discuss with you." Ethan stared at her
with watery eyes. Allie realized, with an inward smile, that he was
trying to look forceful. His face seemed flushed and puffier than
she remembered, the result of years of heavy drinking.
    Allie sighed loudly, looked down at the stoop in
resignation, and opened the door. "I haven't much time, Ethan. My
guests are due back shortly."
    "Oh, you have guests this
time of year?" Ethan walked past her, looking around him with
interest as he entered the front parlor. "I'm surprised, Allison, I
would have thought you would have this place closed up by now." He
walked across the room and pulled a book from the shelf, made a
pretense of looking it over, then slid it back into
place.
    "Why are you here, Ethan?"
Allie tried to speak calmly, even though she could feel her blood
pressure rising. She left the front door open, not planning on
moving any further into the inn, for fear he would follow her.
Sitting down would just encourage him to stay, she figured, so she
planted her feet, crossed her arms, and stayed put.
    "You know very well why
I'm here, Allison. We discussed it at Patrick's funeral. I realize
that the timing may have been unfortunate on my part, and for that
I apologize," he turned to her with a look of mock sincerity on his
swollen face that sickened her.
    "I agree, that was neither
the time nor the place to discuss the inn, Ethan. I appreciate your
apology, but the answer remains 'no.' I have no intentions of
selling the inn, to you or anyone else. I'm happy here. I believe
the inn will do very well. I know what I'm doing Ethan." She
finished firmly. "I don't understand why the inn interests you. I
can't imagine you running this place. It would be way out of your
comfort zone to say the least." She looked at him quizzically. He
looked uncomfortable - as if he wanted to say something but was
holding back..
    He moved closer to her,
looking at her in a way that suddenly alarmed her, and Allie had to
force herself to stand her ground. He moved closer still, and her
heart began to race....something wasn't right. "Ethan," she began,
putting her hand out to stop his progress. "Have you been drinking?
Are you all right?" He was her brother-in-law, for goodness sake.
She might detest him, but she never had any reason to be afraid of
him in the past. She'd never seen him like this.
    Ethan stared at her, his
eyes fairly bulging with suppressed anger, "Allison.." his voice
began to rise, and, truly fearful now, she took a step back from
him. Her mind began to race, and she tried to think of what she
should do...her eyes skittered around her, looking for something to
grab and defend herself...she didn't think he was a violent
man...she'd never seen him violent.
    "Allison, you must come to
your senses, girl," Ethan's voice was getting louder. He lunged
forward, grabbed her wrist before she could react, and squeezed it.
Allie cried out, and tried to wrestle her hand free.
    "Ethan - what are you
doing? Stop...you're hurting me!" His grip was unbelievably
strong...
    "You can't stay here,
don't you understand? You shouldn't be alone here. I need to be
here. You don't...