The Village of Gerard's Cliff (12 page)

He made his way back to
the inn at a pretty quick pace, in his estimation. There were no
sirens as of yet, which surprised him. He crouched as he approached
the north side of the inn, holding the gun, glad that there was no
moon. Staying close to the bushes that bordered the inn, he peered
through the side window into the front parlor. Damn....he couldn't
believe it. The gunman he had tackled was walking quickly around
the room, tilting a large can, pouring a trail of, what was,
obviously gasoline. Connor crept up further to the porch....he
couldn't let this happen to Allie's inn...it would kill her. He
didn't know if the men had succeeded in getting the money out of
its hiding place in the basement. They certainly had the time to
get it done. He heard heavy footsteps, and saw both men bolting
down the porch stairs. He glanced through the window and saw flames
already enveloping the curtains. Damn it to hell....he turned back
to the two men, now starting to get into a vehicle that he knew
wasn't there when he and Allie ran out earlier. Where were the
feds, damn it...he was left with no choice.

"Federal agent...stay where you are." Connor stood up and
aimed the pistol at the men, one of whom was just rounding the
front of the truck. The larger man immediately turned and pulled a
weapon. Connor fired, sending the man reeling against the hood, his
pistol flying into the darkness. His lifeless body slumped to the
ground. His partner had jumped in the truck and was frantically
trying to start the engine, glancing over at Connor nervously.
Connor fired at him, hitting him in the shoulder. The man screamed
and grabbed his arm, at the same moment that Connor heard sirens
wailing in the distance.

Keeping his gun trained on
the wailing man, Connor opened the door, and yanked him out of the
truck...at the same time, trying to see the extent of the
fire.

Within a minute's time, the front yard of The Colborne Inn
was swarming with police cars and unmarked vehicles. A fire truck
was dispatched, as well as an ambulance, but Connor knew it would
be too late. After handing over the injured man, he had run onto
the porch, and had been driven back by the heat and flames that
were now well up into the second floor.

His heart sank...at this
point he was not even thinking about the money in the basement, but
of Allie's precious inn....her home. He had failed her. Exhausted,
he bent over, his hand on his knee...his head down. Then, he jerked
up, and headed for the back porch.

Allie paced nervously
around the small living room, as Ben watched her from his recliner,
the rifle still in his hand. It had been way too long, she thought.
He should be back by now. Were the two men still at her inn? Her
mind was dizzy with worry for Connor. She kept her arms crossed
tightly to her chest. She jerked her head up as she heard what she
thought was a gunshot. She whirled around to Ben in a
panic.

"Ben, was that a gunshot?"
She was desperate. "We've got to do something."

"I'm not sure if we could
hear gunshots from your place." He tried to reassure her. "He's
okay...he looks like he can take care of himself."

Allie thought sure she
heard another gunshot. Before she could turn to Ben, the wails of
multiple sirens split the still night air.

Without a thought for
safety, Allie rushed to the front door, and swung it open. The
strong, stinging smell of smoke filled her nostrils, and her
stomach twisted in knots at the distant sight of flames and black
smoke spiraling high above the wall of trees.

"Ben, it's on fire...the
inn. We have to go there...." Allie thought she was going to be
sick. She stood, watching in horror, as he came to stand beside
her.

"Let me get some
coats...I'll take you." He knew she would run back through the
woods if he didn't take her himself. He quickly grabbed two coats,
and, still carrying his rifle, hurried out to his truck with
Allie.

She didn't utter a word on
their short ride to the inn. With Ben's thick, plaid coat around
her shoulders, she watched in silence as the extent of the fire
became apparent to them. Ben stopped the truck a safe distance away
from the inn, which was now totally engulfed in flames. She got
out, the coat dropping off of her shoulders, as she walked a little
ways toward the inn. Allie could see the skeletal frame of The
Colborne Inn through the flames, and knew that it would collapse at
any time. The sheer power of the massive fire sent chills down her
spine, even as she felt its heat. She realized that the firemen
were trying to keep the fire from spreading to the trees that
surrounded her property, although she could see a few hoses aimed
futilely at the top of the structure. Huge cinders were flying in
all direction, whipped by the breeze from the ocean. She scanned
the crowd of police and firemen for Connor.

"Connor!" she screamed,
tears started to stream down her face as she realized that he could
be in that fire. She didn't know what had happened after he left
her....he could have been shot, left for dead, and now burning to
death. She knew there had been gunshots....she couldn't bear the
thought of him in pain. "Connor!" she started to run toward the
group of officers and firemen closest to the burning inn. She heard
a voice calling 'Allie' somewhere near her, but she couldn't find
where the voice was coming from...it sounded so weak. She stopped,
looking around her at the chaos.

"Over here ma'am..." A
young officer walked up to her, and took her arm. He led her to an
ambulance a few vehicles down from where she had been
searching.

"Connor!" Allie almost
collapsed with relief, at the sight of him. He stood up slowly when
he saw her, and Allie could see that his face and clothes were
smeared with ash, and his lower right arm was bandaged. She ran to
him, put her arms around his chest, and held him tightly, no longer
able to hold back her tears of joy. He bent and kissed the top of
her head, wrapping his good arm around her. They held each other
for a few moments...until Allie's sobbing had subsided. She pulled
a little away from him and looked up into his eyes.

He held out his bandaged
arm. "I tried to save some of your paintings." She saw his eyes
moisten. "Allie, I'm so sorry. I couldn't save your inn. I tried.
When I got here, they were pouring gasoline inside...I was too
late."

"There it goes! Move
back!" Someone shouted. Connor and Allie turned their heads to see
the entire structure collapse upon itself, spewing out flames and
embers in all directions. The firemen backed off for a moment, then
raced back toward the flattened structure, continuing their efforts
to contain the spread of the fire.

Allie nestled her head
onto his broad chest, refusing to let him go, her face and clothes
now covered with the ash as well. She clung to him with one arm,
reaching out the other to lightly touch his bandaged hand. "Are you
hurt badly?"

"No, just some minor
burns...smoke inhalation...nothing to worry about." Connor managed
a slight smile. "I'll live."

They held each other in
front of the ambulance, watching the flames die down, until her inn
was nothing but a few charred, steaming beams and a pile of soggy
rubble.

Allie was only vaguely aware of Connor wrapping the bulky
plaid coat around her shoulders, as she stood, in shocked silence,
watching the fire crews pack up their gear. Now that she knew that
Connor was safe, Allie allowed herself to feel the full brunt of
what she saw before her. The Colborne Inn was no more...her home,
destroyed within minutes. The enormity of her situation began
sinking into her brain, as the firetrucks loudly dispersed. Until,
finally, there were only she, and Connor, and Ben. Allie wasn't
sure what she was supposed to be doing - what
was
there to do, she thought. It's all
gone...everything.....nothing left.

She felt like she weighed
a ton, and would sink into the ground...her eyelids kept trying to
close, and she fought to keep them open. Allie couldn't stop
looking at the ruin that had been her inn. There were no more
tears...she was spent. She was aware of the haze-like film of their
breathing in the frigid night air. It was getting late. What would
she do? Where would she go?

Allie heard Ben say
something to Connor. Dear, sweet Connor. His arms were wrapped
around her trying to keep her warm, as she leaned her back against
his chest.......but in Allie's mind...if he let go, she would sink
down to the ground. She tried to blink away the fog in her
brain....

"She's exhausted." Was
that Ben's voice? "Thanks, I think we'll take you up on that
offer." Now Connor's voice...but he was right here, and that
sounded so far away. It was all too much...too much....

"Whoa..." was the last
thing she heard, as she felt herself slipping...like her inn....
into nothingness.

"Allie...try to drink some
of this." Connor held a steaming cup of chicken broth closer to her
face, as he noticed her eyelids flutter. He saw her eyes open wide
in confusion, as she tried to look around the room to get her
bearing. She squinted at the sunlight streaming in a window near
her.

Connor smoothed her hair
back off her cheeks with one hand, as she leaned her head forward,
allowing him to put the mug up to her lips with the other. She
sipped the hot liquid, then dropped her head back on the pillows.
"What happened? Where are we?" She glanced at him briefly, then
closed her eyes again.

"You passed out last night." Connor continued to softly
stroke her hair. "Ben offered to take us in for a couple of
nights."

"Oh..." Allie's voice was
low. It was all starting to come back to her now. She remembered
now.....she tried to raise up off the sofa.

"I need to get up," She
protested, as Connor put his hand on her shoulder.

"You need to take it easy,
Allie, at least for a couple more hours." Connor looked down at her
seriously as she propped up on both elbows, returning his gaze.
"It's early yet...You need to get your strength back before you
tackle everything."

As Allie reluctantly
propped herself up on the pile of pillows behind her, she noticed
that she was wearing a pair of very large, blue flannel pajamas.
"Oh..." Connor grinned, seeing her brows knit. "Ben lent us both
pajamas last night, so we could wash and dry our clothes...they
were pretty filthy. You slept on the couch, and I took the
recliner."

Allie took the cup from
Connor and sipped the hot liquid. She reached down to feel the
texture of the home-made, multi-colored afghan that covered her,
realizing that she remembered nothing of the night before, after
hearing those strange, far-away voices. Connor could see that she
was beginning to seem more like herself. "Ben said that his wife
had made these." He was trying to give her time to drink the broth.
"Mine kept me very warm last night."

"Ruth was a sweet person." Allie's gaze was distant, as she
took another sip. "Ben was heartbroken when she died." She looked
around. "Where
is
Ben?"

"He and Tilda went into
the village to get a newspaper, and groceries." Connor leaned back,
jutting his elbows out and stretching his shoulder muscles. At
Allie's inquisitive look, he continued. "Tilda heard about the fire
and came by this morning. She's going to cook you your favorite
food, she said." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his
knees, one fist under his chin.

"You know, Connor, it just
occurred to me...that, I'm...homeless..." She shook her head
slowly, staring at the cup of broth. "I have to figure out what I'm
going to do." She looked at him solemnly.

"I know." Connor could only imagine how hard this was for
her. "You know....... you
could
stay with me in Maryland. I'll have to go back in
a couple of days."

Allie searched his eyes
thoughtfully. Connor already knew her answer. "That would be
wonderful, and I appreciate it, but..." she looked toward the
window that faced her inn. "There's so much to do...I have to
figure out what to do about the inn..."

"Won't you re-build?"
Connor had assumed that would be her intention.

"I...I don't know now."
Allie sighed, and sipped some broth. "I'm not sure if that's what I
want to do..." Her eyes darkened. "Is there a notebook or paper I
could use?" She suddenly perked up a little. "I need to make a
list."

Connor found a lined
notebook on Ben's desk, and flipped through it quickly. "Here, this
looks empty." He grabbed a pen, and brought them both to her. "I'm
going to the village when Ben and Tilda get back. I have to meet
with the police and other federal agents." He put his hands on his
hips, looking down at her. "Make a list, if you would, of what
clothes you need...and...you know...shampoo...things like that, and
I'll get them while I'm in town."

"Connor..." Allie looked
up at him. "Thank you for telling me everything last night...in the
woods. I never really believed that you killed that man at the
bar."

He smiled down at her, but
his eyes were serious. "If anything had happened to me, I didn't
want you to remember me as the bad guy." He searched her
face.