Free Safe Harbor by Marie Ferrarella

his dizziness immediately intensified.
    Struggling to keep upright, Mike took all of five steps away from the bed and toward the door before he felt his knees buckling beneath him. He began to bite off an oath, but the words vanished before they reached his tongue. Vanished as his knees met the floor.
    By the time the rest of him hit the floor, he was out cold.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    “I’ D LIKE TWO breakfasts to go, Jorge. Same as yesterday,” Stevi requested as she came sailing into the kitchen.
    “Good morning to you, too,” Cris called out as she glanced up from the steel prep table, where she was working.
    Lost in her own thoughts regarding the man she’d left in her room, wanting to get back there as soon as possible because she wasn’t really all that certain she could trust Mike to stay put, Stevi looked toward her sister in puzzlement. She’d heard her voice, but not what Cris had said.
    “Excuse me?”
    “I said ‘Good morning,’” Cris repeated, articulating each syllable.
    “Oh, right.” Stevi flashed a lightning-quick smile in her sister’s direction. “Good morning.”
    Cris frowned. “Are you okay?”
    “Just fine,” Stevi assured her breezily, then looked at her innocently. “Why?”
    “Where were you yesterday?”
    Stevi looked at her sister as if Cris had lapsed into gibberish. “What do you mean where was I? I was right here.”
    By that, it was obvious Stevi was referring to the inn. That wasn’t what Cris was asking her sister. “I mean for lunch and dinner. You didn’t come to the dining area, or to the kitchen. No one saw you,” Cris added.
    Stevi shrugged dismissively. She watched Jorge getting her order together. Faster, Jorge. I’m getting the third degree here.
    “I was busy.”
    Cris stopped chopping green onions, laying her knife down on the chopping block. “Doing what?”
    Stevi tossed her head. Her hair swayed about her oval face. “Do I ask you to account for every minute?” she asked defensively. “To account for every meal you make?”
    “I wasn’t asking you to account for every minute. I was just wondering where you were after running off with two breakfasts yesterday morning,” Cris pointed out.
    As if on cue, Jorge crossed over to Stevi and handed her a bag with the two breakfasts.
    Thank you! Stevi thought.
    Stevi gave the man a bright, grateful smile and said, “Thank you, Jorge. See you later, Cris.”
    The next moment, she was gone.
    Cris looked after her departing sister even after Stevi had gone through the swinging door. With a sigh, she shook her head.
    Turning toward her assistant, Cris asked, “Does she seem like she’s acting weird to you, Jorge?”
    Jorge busied himself with cleaning up his pans before going on to the next order that had been sent in. “Not my place to say.”
    “But if it was your place to say?” Cris prodded.
    Jorge raised his dark eyes as he looked up at her. “Then yes, she is being unusual.”
    “Even for Stevi?” Cris asked. Everyone was aware that her sometimes overly sensitive, certainly impulsive sister took things to new highs at times.
    Jorge gave her a long, penetrating look, then went on to prepare an elaborate Belgian waffle. “You already have the answer to that.”
    Yes, she did, Cris thought. She looked off in the direction her sister had taken and chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip.
    Something was up, she thought. The question was: What?
    * * *
    S TEVI HURRIED DOWN the hallway, hoping she wouldn’t run into anyone before she reached her room. Or at least not run into anyone who would bombard her with questions, such as where was she going so fast, what was in the delicious-smelling paper bag, things like that.
    She went as fast as she could without appearing to run, because that was sure to bring questions from even the most casual guest at the inn.
    It wasn’t until Stevi had closed the door of her bedroom behind her and turned that she saw him.
    Saw Mike.
    He was out of bed and lying facedown on