“Had to say that,” I replied just as the door opened. A sweet-looking middle-aged woman stood there.
She smiled brightly at Alan, looked at me, and then back at him. “Unless I miss my guess, this is the new man in town.”
“He is,” Alan replied at the same time I said, “I am.”
“May we come in?” Alan asked, and then introduced us.
“Of course.” Mrs. Bartlett stepped aside to let us enter, then closed the door. “Why the back door, Alan?”
“We don’t want anyone knowing he’s staying here, presuming you’ve got a vacant room he can rent.”
“Now this sounds interesting.” She grinned, told us to sit while she made us coffee, “Then you can explain with all the gory details.”
Alan laughed. “Not sure they’re gory, but…”
We sat, and a couple of minutes later she joined us after handing around cups
