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Allie stared at the cleared land. The large rectangular hole in the ground that had been the basement of The Colborne Inn was now partially filled in with earth, ready for the foundation to be erected by the new owners. The excited couple showed her the architectural renderings of what was to be their new house. She was impressed. The drawing of the house looked amazing. The architecture, based on homes built in the first part of the twentieth century, fit in perfectly with the landscape, especially with the Cliff Walk nearby. Allie wished the couple well, and headed back to her car.
The Cliff Walk. Allie turned her head toward the ocean. The last time she'd been there had been with Connor. She let her hand slide off the door handle, and turned toward the path that had led from the house to the ocean. She pulled up her jacket collar, and dug her hands in her pockets, figuring she had at least an hour before she was expected for dinner at Ben and Tilda's.
Allie crossed the small road. She turned northward and walked along the path, studying everything around her as if for the last time. This part of the walk had always seemed to belong to her, since it was so close to the inn. She was familiar with every twist and turn. As she neared the old gnarled tree at the edge of the cliff, Allie felt her chest tighten. She leaned against the tree, feeling the ocean breeze against her face, her mind conjuring up the vision of Connor laying their blanket on the rough soil. She stayed there for some time, lost in her thoughts, hating to walk away from the beautiful view and her memories.
"Allie..."
She swung around at the sound of his voice. Connor stood on the uneven path, a brown wooden cane in one hand keeping him steady. In his other hand were the handles of a large, wicker basket. He slowly set the basket on the ground, and walked toward her as she gazed into his smiling blue eyes. Tears started to spill over onto her cheeks as he reached her and wrapped his arm around her.
"I've missed you so much," she whispered into his shoulder, as he kissed her hair, and held her close. His warm hand went up to rub her shoulder, then, her ponytail, smoothing the windblown strands around her neck.
"Can we find that bench?" Connor laughed, as he nuzzled her ear. "I don't think I can manage a blanket on the ground yet. You'll never get me off it."
Allie laughed through her tears, as she picked up the basket to hand to him, then changing her mind, she wrapped one arm around his waist, and carried the basket in the other. They walked slowly together back toward the bench, arms around each other.
"What on earth do you have in here?" Allie glanced up at him.
"You can thank Tilda for that." He nodded toward the basket. "There's bread, and cheese, and wine, among other things." He winked at her. "She thought you might be hungry since you'll be missing her dinner."
At Allie's puzzled look, Connor raised his eyebrows at her. "Patience. Patience," he laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "There it is." She saw he was relieved to see the bench come into view. Allie could feel in his step that he was tiring.
Connor let go of Allie as they neared the bench, and she watched, as he sat down and rested the cane against its side, seeming pleased with himself. She set the basket in front of him, as she sat down beside him. She turned, shaking her head. "I can't believe you came all this way...and now...the Cliff Walk." She wiped her damp cheeks with her hand. "This is not an easy path. I'm impressed!" Smiling at him, she saw his eyes turn serious.
Connor took a deep breath. He leaned down, grabbed the basket, and unlatched it. He seemed so formal and serious all of a sudden.
"Tilda packed flowers..?" She started to laugh, and all of a sudden it hit her. She understood. Her heart started beating wildly, as she quietly watched him hand her the bouquet of flowers. She looked down at the mass of pink and white roses, at a loss for words. How could he know? Looking up into his eyes, a smile on her lips, she caught a glimpse of the small, white box in his hand.
EPILOGUE
Allie rubbed her belly, as she felt the baby apparently performing somersaults in its cramped quarters.
"Connor, come here...hurry." She looked over at her handsome husband, his dark head bent over the work table, absorbed in fastening a length of wire to the eyehook on the back of a painting.
Connor put down the pliers, and walked over to her. Smiling, he placed one hand on her back and the other on her protruding belly. Placing her hand on his, she guided him to the area where she felt the most movement. He grinned at her, as he felt a very large kick.
"Not much longer now." He cupped her face with his large, warm hands, and leaned down to kiss her. "What do you think, boy or girl?"
"If the super-human strength of these kicks are any indication - definitely a girl," she teased him, running her fingers through his dark hair. She could watch him look at her with that smile the rest of her life and be content. That's all she needed.
"Well, then, she'll take after her mother for sure!" Connor laughed, walking back to the worktable. He picked up the large oil painting and turned it over. "Where did you decide to hang this?" He held one of only a handful of Allie's paintings he had managed to salvage from the fire.
"Right in the center of that wall." She pointed to the white expanse to the left of the entrance to her art gallery, set to open in one week. "It's so large, it needs to be the anchor for the rest of the paintings."
As Connor was measuring to find the exact center of the wall, Allie walked over to the stack of paintings propped against the tall, dark wood counter near the entrance. She pulled them back one by one, propping them against her blue-jean clad leg, as she looked them over. Restoring them from the wet, sooty, condition she and Connor had found them to be in, had proven to be more difficult than they had anticipated.
"How's this?" Connor walked back to her, as she returned the paintings to their original position. She turned to look, with him beside her, at her favorite painting of the Cliff Walk. Blue-gray clouds billowing above a raging sea. White-capped waves crashing on the pristine beach, the gnarled wind-twisted tree in the foreground. All seen from the artist's vantage point high on the Cliff Walk. She felt that she'd finally captured the essence of Gerard's Cliff with this painting. Connor put his arm around her. "Do you miss it?" His tone was quiet, thoughtful, as he lightly rubbed her shoulder.
She looked up at him, and gazed into the blue eyes that had captured her heart the moment she saw him. Her long, golden hair swung against his arm, as she shook her head softly.
"Not in the least." She smiled,and her hand went up to rub his slightly stubbly cheek. "This is our home. Wherever you are is my home." His eyes crinkled into a smile, and he bent down and kissed her lightly. She sighed contentedly. Allie felt that she had to be the luckiest woman in the world.
It had been a year since the fire had claimed The Colborne Inn. So much had happened since then, it was hard to keep it all straight, Allie thought. Connor's promotion to an administrative position at the Treasury Department was a welcome change. No traveling, and no dangerous investigations, which made them both very happy. Their intimate wedding ceremony, held a month after Connor's proposal, was on the Cliff Walk, with just their immediate families, and Ben and Tilda in attendance. A month after their wedding, they moved into a cozy, blue frame house set on a hill overlooking the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where she immediately set to work trying to capture the serenity of the bay on canvas.
When she looked at her paintings of Gerard's Cliff now, the memories that came to her were of Connor.....her beloved Connor, walking with her on the Cliff Walk, spreading the blanket by the tree for their picnic, running with her from the waves, making love to her in the cave at the base of the cliff, and of course, his beautiful proposal and their emotional wedding.
In two months, they would be parents. Allie had no doubt that the man who was the love of her life, would also be a doting, and loving father to their child.......children, Allie corrected herself, smiling. She recalled the
ir spirited conversation concerning the size of their future family. They both wholeheartedly had agreed on at least three.
Allie leaned back with her elbow on the counter, smiling, her eyes closed, dreamily recalling the events of the past year. As if still in a dream, she felt Connor's warm hand caress her cheek, as his other arm went around to her back. He nuzzled her neck, his breath warm. She smiled, as he lifted his head. Opening her eyes, Allie looked into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.
The Village of Gerard's Cliff Page 27