The Village of Gerard's Cliff (9 page)

When they reached the
spot, Connor started down first, crouching low, and using his hands
to steady himself on the slippery descent. The boulders were still
wet from the rain the day before, and small pools of water puddled
between clusters of smaller rocks. He looked up to check on Allie,
with the intention of helping her, but saw that she was climbing
down with apparent ease. He clamored down the rest of the way, and
when he reached the bottom, saw that she was right there with him.
They grinned at each other. Allie pointed northward. "Let's walk
this way." The wind was much fiercer down on the beach, and Connor
watched Allie's golden ponytail swirl around her head as they both
pulled up their jacket collars, and dug their hands into their
pockets.

They walked facing the
wind, lowering their heads, as they trudged through the sand and
rocks along the base of the cliffs. Occasionally, Allie would reach
down and examine a shell half buried in the sand, washed up from
the previous storm, when the tides reached almost to the
rocks.

Connor found it hard to
take his eyes off the pounding waves, crashing relentlessly on the
beach. He lived pretty close to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, and
was more used to tamer waters, unless a hurricane blew through. He
found it hard to take his eyes off Allie as well, as she seemed to
be thoroughly enjoying herself. They wandered toward the ocean,
venturing almost to the sea foam washing on the shore. The wind was
so strong, and the ocean so loud, that they couldn't hear each
other talk. A huge wave crashed and sent a deep crescent of water
rushing towards them. Allie shrieked with laughter, and without
thinking, they grabbed each other's hand and ran from the almost
certain drenching of their shoes and pants. Out of breath, they ran
hand in hand, back up to the base of the cliff. "This wind is
brutal!" Connor yelled, close to her ear, laughing. Allie looked at
him, and nodded in agreement.

"Come on...I know
someplace we can go..." Allie pulled his hand, and they walked
quickly northward, as she scanned the boulders. "Here it is!" She
ducked behind a huge boulder, and Connor followed, into a dark,
secluded cave. Connor discovered that he could stand upright, with
a few inches to spare. "This is better, isn't it?" Out of the
fierce wind, Allie let go of his hand and smoothed her hair, which
had been blown in all directions. "Whew....that was fun." She
leaned against the side of the cave, still breathing hard, and
looked around her.

Connor leaned on the wall
opposite her, propped one shoe back against the wall, and rubbed
his short, dark hair, which was wet from the ocean spray. He looked
around him at the small cave, and figured it to be roughly five
feet wide, and ten feet deep, as he could make out the back wall.
The sun shone into the enclosed area just enough to make it dim,
not pitch black, as he had expected. He looked over at Allie, who
seemed to have finished her visual scan of the cave, and realized
that she was watching him intently, her arms folded loosely across
her waist, a slight smile on her lips. Their eyes locked, and
Connor was aware of nothing but their breathing, as they leaned
against their walls in the quiet enclosure.

Time seemed to stand still
as Connor looked into her brown eyes...her beautiful eyes filled
with specks of light, rimmed with damp, dark lashes. She seemed to
be patiently waiting, her lips slightly parted, as she watched him.
Despite his previous misgivings the night of the storm, Connor knew
what they both wanted.

He pushed off slowly from
the wall, and even more slowly crossed the short space between
them, never taking his gaze off Allie's glistening, upturned eyes.
He didn't need words...her eyes spoke for her. He put one hand on
the wall behind her shoulder, and the other on her cheek, lightly
caressing her soft skin. As he saw her breathing quicken, he put
his fingers under her chin, and tilted her face upwards toward him.
She kept her arms lightly crossed, as he bent his head toward her
lovely face. Through his own lashes, he watched her eyes flutter
close, as he lightly brushed her soft lips. Connor raised his head
a little to linger on her face, and saw her eyes open as if she
were in a daze....eyes that were soft, and liquid, and smoldering.
She raised her arms, her hands moved upward, and she caressed the
back of his neck, as he bent his head and kissed her again, this
time with a passion that ignited them both. He pressed himself
against her, wrapping his strong arms around her trembling
body.

Damn, it's started
.
Connor
had
to talk to Allie...tell her everything...but, he had to
talk to Jake Ayers first. He had to know what he was talking about
first, before dragging her into it....hell, she was already
involved, wasn't she? Her wrist was proof of that, Ethan was proof
of that, however he was involved in all of this, and now, someone
had tried to break in....damn it
.
He hit the steering wheel with his
fist
.

He had wanted to work on
getting her trust before filling her in on the sordid details, or
at least what he was pretty confident to be the sordid details. And
now, he and Allie had discovered that their feelings for each other
were mutual...well...that had hit him like a bolt of lightening,
come out of nowhere...and changed everything. After this afternoon
in the cave.....Connor saw Allie's radiant face in his mind as he
spun around a curve in the road, something that he sure as hell had
not counted on when he took this assignment. Against his better
judgement, Allie had insisted on staying back at the inn to work on
bills while he went into the village. He argued with Allie to come
with him....hated the idea of her being there alone. He felt that
she was not safe, even with the gun, which seemed to give her a
feeling of security. He suddenly realized that he would have to
convince her to move in with a friend or family member as soon as
possible until everything was over. He was also sure, that she
would put up quite a fight....that she would not want to abandon
her inn.

It was ten o'clock at
night as Connor pulled into a parking spot in the Village of
Gerard's Cliff, anxious to see if Jake Ayers would be in the bar.
He knew he must appear calm, and try to get as much information
from the man as he could, probably in a very short amount of time.
He didn't imagine Ayers would just blurt out everything right there
on the spot. He might even decide that he wanted to meet somewhere
else, some other time...and that just wouldn't cut it...Connor had
to know now....he would have to make this fast.

Connor entered the bar from the darkness outside. Max's Bar
and Grill had transformed from it's daylight dark smokiness into an
even darker cavern with sporadic spots of muted light and even more
clouds of cigarette smoke. He found it difficult to get a good view
of the patrons, but he noted that there appeared to be a few more
customers tonight than there were the last time he was here. He
stood, hands on his hips, at the entrance to let his eyes and ears
adjust to the dim light, and the blaring rock music.

"Hey." He sat at the bar
and motioned to the bartender, a younger man this time. "Is Jake
Ayers here tonight? We're old friends," he added for good measure.
The bartender nodded distractedly. Connor ordered a Scotch, and as
the bartender pushed the glass of whiskey forward, he tilted his
head toward the back of the bar, where a row of booths lined the
wall. "Last booth in the back," he said, then turned back to his
other customers. Connor followed his gaze and could just make out
the lone figure of a man in that booth, slumped forward toward the
table.

Taking his drink with him,
Connor cautiously made his way through the maze of tables. He
slowed down as he approached the last booth. ..and hopefully, Jake
Ayers. Connor judged the man to be about sixty, maybe
younger...fishing was a hard way to make a living, and the elements
took their toll. The man sat with his arms outstretched on the
table, staring at the bottle of beer that he cradled in both
hands.

Only the quick, slanted
movement of the man's hooded eyes gave any indication that he
noticed the tall, dark-haired man standing a couple of feet to his
left.

Connor slid into the side of the booth across from the man,
took a sip of his drink, then set it down in front of him, rubbing
the side of the glass slowly with his thumb. "Jake Ayers?" He
inquired in as low a voice as he could manage and still expect to
be heard with the incessant loud music. "I'm Connor Garrison." The
man nodded almost imperceptibly, never taking his eyes off the
bottle.

Not wanting to rush him, Connor studied the man in front of
him. Ayers looked like a man in need of a bath, his hair unkempt,
with several days of gray-brown stubble on his ruddy, lined face.
His eyes were tired-looking, with bags above and below his pale,
reddened eyes, which had a glassy tinge to them. His brown and
orange plaid flannel shirt was rumpled, with the sleeves rolled up
almost to his elbows. Connor noticed that the hands that continued
to hold the beer bottle were rough, slightly grimy, and had
scabbed-over cuts as well as scars from past encounters with ropes,
and knives, on board a fishing vessel, he imagined.

Without looking up, Jake Ayers said simply, in a deep,
gruff voice, "I've been waiting for you to show up." His hand
trembled as he took a swig of his beer.

An hour later, Connor backed out of the parking space,
tires squealing, as he headed out of Gerard's Cliff, and sped over
the tiny roads back to The Colborne Inn. What Ayers had told him
was not what he had expected to hear....Allie...how could he have
missed it? Allie... involved in this mess? Damn...now what was he
supposed to do? She couldn't be...he refused to believe it. She was
the most open, honest woman he had known...he could tell that even
in the short time they had known each other...no...Ayers had to be
mistaken. If she were involved, why would Ethan be threatening her?
Why would he want to buy the inn? Why wouldn't Allie
sell
the inn? Was Ethan
holding something over her head if she didn't go along with him?
With the information he had gathered before, this made no sense to
him....but Ayers was adamant. Jake Ayers had told him quite a
bit....enough to bring a lot of people down.

Remain calm and think this
through, Connor admonished himself as he glared at the pitch dark
road ahead of him, trying to stay on the narrow, twisting road.
What was he going to do when he got back? Act as though nothing has
happened? He couldn't have that talk with her now....if she was
involved. He couldn't call the authorities or back-up now until he
knew for sure. Connor imagined Allie in handcuffs, being led down
the front steps of her inn, looking back at him...laughing...that
she had deceived him with her gentle ways. No, he would have to
wait...at least until he could call the office tomorrow, and tell
them this new information, and find out what they were going to do.
He would have to act as though nothing were wrong....and Allie
couldn't know anything more about him at this point, other than
what he had told her. Damn Jake Ayers.

Connor pulled onto the
graveled parking area, and shut off the engine. He felt frozen,
unable to move or think. He had to get out...now... and walk
casually into the inn, but his limbs wouldn't cooperate. His mind
swirled with memories of their time together....just a few hours
ago...in the cave. Would she notice now that he was watching her in
a different way...not caring, but suspicious?

He rubbed his forehead,
then the back of his neck, realizing that he had been sweating. In
turn, the cold night air made the sweat feel like icy stings on his
skin. And on top of it all, that headache was coming back. He put
his hands on the steering wheel, and stared straight ahead, then
closed his eyes. He could do this....he had to do this. He got out
of the car, locked the door, then turned and crunched on the gravel
toward the front porch.

Connor rapped quickly on
the front door. A few moments later, Allie opened it, and smiled at
him as he entered and walked past her into the parlor, noticing the
roaring fire that usually made the room seem so welcoming...not
tonight though.

"Well, that didn't take
too long. The time sped by." She seemed relieved. "I had a pile of
bills to sort through, and my gun was loaded and ready." She
laughed and looked at Connor, then tilted her head, her eyebrows
lowered in confusion. "Is everything alright?" He could tell that
she was trying to figure him out. He looked past her to the
desk.

"Yes, everything is fine."
Connor hoped he sounded normal, but he could feel his heart racing.
He jingled the car keys that still dangled from his fingers. He
tried looking her in the eyes, but found that he had to glance
elsewhere, or give himself away. He waited for her to say something
else...anything else....he couldn't stop himself from imagining her
as someone other than the person he thought he knew.

"Would you like some
coffee?" Allie walked closer to him, and looked up into his eyes.
"I just made some...we could sit by the fire."

"Not tonight, Allie."
Connor looked at the stairway leading up to his room. "I think I'm
going to call it a night." God, he was doing this all wrong. Why
couldn't he come up with some normal conversation?