Page 31 of The Lighthouse on Plum Island
The car rounded into a steep incline with Brad, Harriet, and Connor captivated by the breathtaking scenery of the white beach flanked by cliffs jutting out into the sea zoomed out into the distance behind them. As the road climbed, a granite wallrose up beside them, blocking the view of the ocean while the reserve, a mesh of trees and local fauna, ran along the other side.
“If you look back, you’ll see Lower Point, where the Summer Inn is,” Sam instructed. “We’re nearing Lookout Point, the highest part of Midpoint. You can’t see it from here, but there is a wonderful restaurant and lookout stop on the cliff. My niece owns it.” He boasted and ducked his head to look at the cliff. “From up there, you can see the whole of Cobble Cove and the rest of Plum Island.”
“Do you have to walk to get to the restaurant?” Connor asked Sam because they were still climbing, and there was no turn-off to the top.
“No, there’s a turn-off up ahead.” Sam pointed to it. “Although there are some lovely walking trails you can hike up to the top.”
They drove a little further, and the road started flattening out as they neared a turn-off with a sign pointing to Lookout Point and Beach Plum Cottage.
“Was that where Beach Plum Cottage Furniture, Crafts, and Homemade Goodies is?” Harriet’s eyes widened, her head turning as she kept her eyes on the sign when they drove past it.
“Yes, that’s it.” Sam smiled at Harriet in the mirror.
“Why did it close down?” Harriet asked Sam.
“It’s a long story. One of legend, heartache, and a family feud!” Sam glanced at his passengers in the mirror, grinning. “But, that’s a story for another day.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Harriet warned Sam.
“She will, too!” Brad told him. “Harriet loves stories like that.”
“I promise to tell it to you before you leave,” Sam promised as he skillfully maneuvered the long vehicle through the next long sweeping curve.
“If you look ahead, you’ll see the red and white dome of the lighthouse peeking out of the thicket of beach plum treessurrounding it.” Sam pointed ahead. “We’re almost at Top Point.” The car started to curve with the road.
“What’s in the reserve?” Connor looked out the window at the reserve as the tall trees fell away, leaving an expanse of sea plants for a few miles toward the other end of the cliff they were driving on.
“Oh, various species of ocean-side flora, different bird and small animal species,” Sam answered as he slowed down and turned into a driveway.
Brad’s heart jolted, knowing they were driving onto Caroline’s property. His eyes caught the tall tower of the lighthouse that rose above the hedges and trees, staring out across the ocean. The building was white, with the octagon-shaped dome perched on top of it painted red. The windows that were the dome’s eyes glinted in the sun sunlight
“Wow!” Connor breathed as the tower seemed to get taller the closer, they got to it.
The long hedge-line driveway opened into a parking lot with picnic tables and chairs off to the one side. Sam drove past the area through another path of tall hedges until they popped into an opening in front of a whitewashed double-story house with a slanting red roof and attic windows. The driveway curled around a large boulder with a bronzed commemorative plate. Sam pulled into a parking off to one side and switched off the engine.
Harriet, Brad, and Connor stepped out of the car, taking in the quaint double-story house linked to the towering lighthouse by a single-story cottage. The warm breeze rattling the leaves of the tall beach plum trees engulfed them in the fresh tang of the sea air. As Sam led them toward the house, they were serenaded by the call of the gulls that soared above their heads and the sounds of the ocean as it crashed against the rocks below.
“It’s lovely out here,” Harriet commented. “The white picket fences holding back the hedges around the property make a perfect sea cottage picture.”
“This is kinda what I thought the Summer Inn was going to look like,” Connor admitted.
The barn-styled door of the main house swung open, and for a moment, Brad held his breath, hoping Caroline would appear in the doorway. Instead, they were surprised to be greeted by Liam Gains, the owner of the Summer Inn.
“Hi.” Liam sported a warm smile, offering his hand first to Brad, whom he’d met earlier that day. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Danes.”
“Please, call me Brad.” Brad shook his hand. “I don’t believe you’ve met my colleague, Harriet Joyce, and my son Connor.”
“Hi,” Liam greeted them warmly, shaking their hands before looking past them to wave at Sam, who’d stepped back when Liam had appeared. “Hey, Sam.”
“Hi, Liam.” Sam raised his hand.
“Hey, I know you!” Connor’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re Riptide Gains.”
“Wow!” Liam laughed. “I haven’t heard that name in a very long time.”
“So, it is you!” Connor stared at Liam in fascination. “You grew up with the Finnster until you retired when you finished college.”
“Ah!” Liam raised an eyebrow. “You’re a surfer.”
