Wisconsin Wedding (Welcome To Tyler, No. 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

remembered his ever saying to her. She’d bumped into him on occasion at the hardware store, but Liza Baron’s fiancé had made clear he didn’t want to be disturbed at Timberlake Lodge. He wanted to be left alone. To heal his wounds and chase his demons or do whatever it was he did. Nora had heard all the rumors and possibilities. He was a tall, dark man. He didn’t look like…how had Liza put it? Like his family were East Coast mucky-mucks.
    “It’s quite all right,” she said, sounding stuffy even to herself. “I was expecting a piano student.”
    “You play?”
    “Mmm, yes.”
    His brow furrowed. “I didn’t know.”
    How could he have known? They’d never even officially met until now. “Would you care for a cup of tea? I made more than enough. I always end up having to throw out half the pot.”
    He shook his head. “No thanks.”
    And then he smiled. Nora found it an unsettling experience, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. She felt no attraction to Liza’s lover. It wasn’t that at all. Then what? Men in general, she thought, disgusted with herself. Tall, dark men from Rhode Island in particular.
    Too darned much thinking, she added to herself.
    “Are you all right?” Cliff Forrester asked.
    She nodded. “Perfectly.”
    “I gather you know who I am.”
    “Cliff Forrester. Yes, I think everyone in town knows.”
    The corners of his mouth twitched in an ironic smile. “I guess so. Look, I won’t keep you, Miss Gates.”
    “Nora,” she corrected.
    “Nora, then.” His dark eyes probed her a moment. “I came by because of Liza. She was grateful for the way you treated her the other day.”
    “I’d do the same for any of my customers, Mr.—”
    “Cliff. And I think you would. Liza and I are…” He paused, seeming awkward, even pained. “We want this to work.”
    Nora thought she understood what he was trying to say. The Body at the Lake, the wedding, Alyssa Baron, Judson Ingalls, Liza’s return to Tyler, the incessant gossip, long-lost Margaret Ingalls—it was a lot. And then there was Cliff Forrester himself. A recluse. A man uncomfortable around even small crowds. A man, it was said, afraid that something, someone, would trigger a bad memory and he’d crack. Hurt himself. Worse yet, hurt someone he cared about.
    “Is there anything I can do?” Nora asked, instinctively wanting to help.
    He seemed to relax, at least slightly. “If there’s anything you can think of to help Liza through this thing, I’d appreciate it. She doesn’t want to alienate anyone. She’s trying.”
    Wasn’t that what Liza herself had said about him? Nora found their concern for each other touching. This, she thought, was what love and romance were about. Two people coming together as individuals, not asking the other to change, not demanding perfection, not expecting fantasies to come true. Just loving and accepting each other and perhaps growing together.
    “I wouldn’t be interfering?”
    “No.”
    He was, she thought, a man who knew his own mind. “Then I’ll see what I can do.”
    His smile was back, or what passed for one. “Thank you.”
    “No need. It won’t be long before Liza feels at home again in Tyler. She has family and friends, Cliff. They’ll be here for her.”
    “I’m glad you already are,” he said, and before she could respond, he was out the door.
    Nora debated a whole two seconds, then went after him, catching him on the front porch. “Cliff?”
    He turned, and there was something about him as he stood against the dark night—something both dangerous and sensitive—that hinted at his pain and complexity. Liza Baron hadn’t solved all his problems. Nora suddenly wished she’d just sat down and drunk her tea instead of following him out. But what to do about it now?
    She licked her lips. “Um—Liza mentioned that you’re from Rhode Island originally. I was…well, I knew someone from Rhode Island once.” She sounded ridiculous! “It was a while ago, but