Free Home for the Holidays by Rochelle Alers Page A

because the executive chef verbally abused his staff. Once again I loaded up my car and hit the road. After a while I knew I had to stop running, realizing my inability to stay in one place for any extended period of time stemmed from moving from base to base as a child.
    â€œThat’s when I stopped in Charleston. I spent a week there touring the Sea Islands. Then one day I took the ferry to Cavanaugh Island. It had to be karma when I saw the HELP WANTED sign advertising for a pastry chef at the Muffin Corner. Lester said he would hire me on the spot if I could make three fondant leaves, flowers, and hearts, unaware I’d excelled in cake decorating. He kept his word and hired me. I lived at the Cove Inn for two months before this apartment became available.” She exhaled an audible sigh. “So now you know all of the sordid details of my short-lived marriage and why I hadn’t slept with a man in years.”
    Collier brushed his mouth over hers. “Didn’t you realize he was the sick one, not you?”
    â€œSick or not, I blamed myself for not leaving him the first time he raped me, that I’d stayed too long and if he hadn’t hit me I probably would still be married to the sicko. I know inviting you to my place was risky, but somehow I’d felt safe with you. And if you’d turned out to be crazy, all I had to do was tell Sheriff Hamilton that Scrappy did it.”
    Collier laughed loudly. “Damn. Poor Scrappy can’t seem to catch break.”
    Her laughter joined his. “But didn’t you tell me Scrappy has been redeemed?”
    â€œYes.” His smile vanished, his expression becoming a mask of stone. “But unlike your ex-husband, Scrappy would never hit a woman. My father taught me real men don’t hit or abuse women, and that’s something I’ve never forgotten.”
    Iris felt Collier withdraw from her although he hadn’t moved. She’d just bared her soul and now she needed him to do likewise. “What do you want for your future, Collier?”
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    The popping sound and the shower of burning embers flared behind the fireplace screen, temporarily garnering Collier’s attention. He still couldn’t believe Iris’s ex-husband had raped her; that despite everything she still hadn’t fallen apart. He stood up, reaching down and bringing her to stand.
    â€œCome dance with me.”
    Iris wrapped her arms around his waist. She recognized the song. Brenda Russell’s “Piano in the Dark.”
    The smile parting Collier’s lips slipped into a wide grin as he spun Iris around and around in an intricate dance step. “You smell good enough to eat.”
    Leaning back, Iris’s grin matched his. “Didn’t you just say you’d eaten too much?”
    They continued to dance without moving their feet. He pressed his mouth to her ear. “I left a little room so that I can taste you.” It took a full minute before Iris caught his meaning. “Did I embarrass you?”
    â€œOf course not,” she said quickly. “You didn’t answer my question.”
    Collier groaned inwardly. Now he knew why Tracy and Iris were such good friends. Both were unyielding when they wanted something. He couldn’t have been more explicit; he wanted to make love to her and she wanted to know about his future. “I want to give the military two more years before hanging up my uniform.”
    â€œWhat do you plan to do after that?”
    Collier stared down at her. “I have a few options. I have a one-third share in Happy Hour, but I’d rather remain a silent partner. I’m thinking about buying the auto body shop in the Cove. The owner’s looking to retire in a couple of years.”
    â€œYou want to become a mechanic?” Iris questioned.
    Collier thought he detected a note of incredulity in her question. Did she believe dating a mechanic was beneath her social station? After