Page 39 of The Lightkeeper

Leaving the jar in my hands, she grabbed a label and a Sharpie and began writing.

I looked to the other women in the basement—Lou, Frankie, and Violet—who all appeared far too interested in the result for this to be some kind of trick.

“There.” Gigi beamed and handed the jar to me.

I blinked and read aloud, “Broken Brood.” My brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

Gigi patted my arm, her smile making her eyes almost completely disappear. “You will.”

When I turned to the other women for an explanation, they all shared a look among themselves like they already understood.

Broken Brood.

As we filed back upstairs, I took Lou’s arm. “I don’t understand,” I said quietly. “Is this about the brood sea star? Is it predicting problems with theLepasteriasspecies? Or does brood mean family, like my family is broken?”

Lou hesitated, her eyes flicking around to make sure no one was listening as she said softly, “I can’t say for certain—no one really can with Gigi’s labels, but I wonder if in this case, brood means… someone who is… a brood.”

My eyes went wide at the instant Frankie demanded,“Where’s Kit?”

“He left. Said he had to check on things at the lighthouse for the night,” Ailene said, her half smile weighted with sadness.

Everyone went about clearing and cleaning the table, but it was impossible not to notice the tightness in Jamie’s expression, the shadow over Frankie’s face, nor the subtle drop of Lou’s shoulders when she realized her brother had left without saying goodbye.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” I said quietly.

“No, it’s not.” Lou took my hands and squeezed.

I offered a brave smile but she could tell I didn’tbelieve her.

“I promise it’s not. It’s… come with me,” she urged and then guided me into the living room over to the bookcase. When we got close, my attention immediately went to the shelf with all the photos.

Jamie. The twins. The whole family when Gigi had pink hair. And then… I squinted, looking closer.

“He hasn’t been the same since he got back,” Lou said softly as I stared at the picture of a Kit I just barely recognized without his beard, garbed in camo, and standing in the middle of the desert.

He was in the military.

“Something happened over there… it’s not my place to share; I honestly don’t even know enough of the details to say much, but he was injured pretty badly. They flew him back to the states as soon as he was stable but he was in the hospital for months.”

“An injury to his head.”

Her head tipped with surprise. “Yeah. How did you know?”

I brought my finger to my lips, recalling that moment in the bathroom when I’d tried to pull him closer, my hands buried in his hair… I sucked in a small breath.A scar.That was what I’d felt on his scalp… and as soon as I’d touched it, that was when he pulled away. I’d almost completely forgotten about it until she mentioned an injury, and it triggered the memory of the raised flesh under my fingertips.

“I just…” I swallowed. “Guessed.”

She picked up the framed picture of the family and handed it to me. “This was before. When he smiled.”

Even in a grainy photo, I could tell his smile was devastating. In fact, I was pretty sure that anything those lips chose to do, from smile to scold, kiss to curse, was devastating.

“So, it’s not your fault. He just has a hard time being around people… letting them in. We’ve tried…” Lou bit her thumbnail. “Well, we’re just glad to see a little change in him. Aside from one Christmas painting and the drawings of your specimens, I’ve never seen his artwork involve anything but storms. And I don’t know the last time he came for dinner… it had to be around Christmas. He usually makes some excuse or another, but he came tonight.” She flashed a small smile. “I think you know how important it is to notice small changes… to try and figure out what’s causing them.”

Her earnest look gave no room for misinterpretation. She thought I was responsible for the change in Kit.The ball in my throat inflated until it was impossible to swallow. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t about to confess to the kiss we’d shared or the way he’d pushed me away.

“Well, anyway.” She replaced the frame on the shelf and we walked back to the dining room. “I’m glad you could come for dinner. You’ll come to our birthday party, right?”

“Oh, yes!” Frankie clapped. “You’ll get to meet our cousins, then, too.”

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