Home for the Holidays by Rochelle Alers Page A

went all out when they hired a company to spray fake snow on the streets and sidewalks. Vehicular traffic was replaced with horse-drawn sleighs, and vendors lined the sidewalks selling carnival-type foods; the only thing missing were the carnival rides.
    The only event to eclipse the post-Thanksgiving celebration was the summer island-wide celebration, which began July 1 and ended with a spectacular fireworks show at midnight on the Fourth of July. The carnival-like events included amusement park rides, picnics, and fun and games for all ages. Even when he’d attended military school, Collier always returned home for Thanksgiving and the Cove’s Winter Wonderland Festival weekends.
    He’d missed the past three celebrations, but this year he looked forward to sharing it with Tracy, Layla, and Iris. The clock over the bank read seven o’clock, and with the exception of the supermarket and the Muffin Corner, none of the other stores had opened for business.
    Collier had traveled the world, and still he felt more at home on an island where everyone knew everyone and their business. He maneuvered into the parking lot between Jack’s Fish House and the variety store and walked the short distance to the rear of A Tisket A Basket.
    Unlocking the door to Iris’s apartment, he recalled the conversation he’d had with her father. James had asked if he was aware of what his daughter had gone through with her ex-husband. Collier was forthcoming when he repeated what Tracy had told him, but at that time he hadn’t known the full extent of the abuse. That’s when the retired colonel told him in no uncertain terms that he would willingly spend the rest of his life in jail for killing the next man who hurt his daughter.
    Collier hadn’t blinked an eye when he told James he’d walk away from Iris before hurting her. She’d suffered enough. However, Collier suspected Iris didn’t know her own emotional strength. She’d survived and started over with a new career, new friends, and a place she could call home.
    He opened the door, encountering silence, and left his running shoes on the mat. Helping to put away leftovers had afforded Collier a glimpse of the contents in Iris’s well-stocked refrigerator. He planned to prepare a traditional Gullah breakfast with grits, scrambled eggs, and sausage gravy.
    Collier had grown up eating Asian-fusion and Lowcountry cuisine. However, it was the Gullah dishes he favored most. His paternal grandmother had taught all her sons to cook the dishes indigenous to the region, and Garrett in turn taught his wife. His parents would occasionally compete as to who made a particular dish the best. His father usually won because his wife would invariably include an Asian spice, which would subtly change the flavor.
    Making his way to the kitchen, he heard singing coming from the bathroom. Slowing, he peered inside to find Iris in the shower, singing loudly. Collier could make out the outline of her body through the frosted glass, and it took all his willpower not to strip naked and join her.
    Without warning the singing stopped and the door to the shower opened, Iris stepping out onto a mat, dripping wet. She didn’t notice him standing there like a deer caught in the headlights until she reached for the towel from a stack on a low bench. With wide eyes, she watched his approach. Collier took in everything about her in one sweeping glance: firm breasts perched high above a narrow waist; a flat belly; firm, slender thighs and legs. Moisture shimmered on her hair and face turning her into a bronze statue.
    The quiet storm beginning in his groin roared to life so quickly Collier had to grit his teeth to keep from moaning. If only he’d come ten minutes later, he wouldn’t have caught Iris naked.
    He heard a sound, then realized he was gasping in order to catch his breath. “Oh, sweet heaven,” he moaned aloud. Collier stood inches away from