Page 16 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
Kaiah disconnected the call and then chuckled to herself. She didn’t know what she’d do without her favorite sister.
Chapter 4
Reid peeked into Piper’s room the next morning. “Hey, pumpkin, you awake?”
“Out here, Daddy!” her little voice called from the direction of the kitchen.
When he reached the kitchen doorway, he found her teetering on a chair, balancing on her tiptoes and reaching into a cabinet. Panic shot through him.
“Piper!” He scooped her into his arms and set her on the floor. “You know better than to climb up on chairs, especially when I’m not around. You could’ve fallen. What are you doing?”
“Making pancakes for Miss Kaiah.”
Reid’s eyes cut to the clock on the stove. “Honey, it’s only eight. She might be sleeping or just enjoying some quiet time.”
Piper pointed to the stove. “I bet she’s really, really hungry after her trip. We need to make sure she has something to eat.”
“Piper...”
“Pleeeease, Daddy,” she whined. “Pleeease?” She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
He stroked the scruff around his mouth and released a long, weary breath. Surely Kaiah had enough of his loquacious daughter last night. If he invited her to breakfast, then she’d feel obligated to come. But on the other hand, Kaiahseemedto have enjoyed the company. And in all honesty, he certainly had enjoyed hers. What harm could it be to invite her for another meal? She was going in a few days anyway.
“All right,” he said.
When Piper’s whining morphed into cheers, he held up his hand, silencing her. “But you have to agree to a couple of things.”
“Okay!”
“First,” he began, pointing to her mermaid pajamas. “You need to get dressed, brush your teeth, and comb your hair.”
She shuffled down the hallway, almost tripping over the cat lounging in the doorway.
“One more thing,” Reid called after her. “We’ll knock on the door once. If Miss Kaiah doesn’t respond, then we’ll leave.”
“Deal!” Piper hollered.
“I’m hoping my car will be ready in the next couple of days,” Kaiah said, holding her phone. She’d called Monica, the owner of the Airbnb in Edisto Beach, as soon as she deemed it an acceptable hour to ping her. “If it’s okay, let’s keep the reservation as is, and I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
“I’ll hold it for you, but please let me know if something changes,” Monica said.
Kaiah released a shaky breath. Everything was going to be fine. She had woken up at seven and couldn’t go back to sleep, so she’d started making phone calls to keep her plans on track despite the car issues.
“Thank you so much, Monica,” she said while pulling a granola bar out of her suitcase. As soon as she got off the phone, she needed to order some actual food. She couldn’t live on granola bars until tomorrow.
“Have a safe trip,” Monica said before disconnecting the call.
Kaiah sat on the arm of the sofa and unwrapped the granola bar. What would go well with her minuscule meal? Coffee. Definitely coffee. A coffee maker sat on the counter, which meant there could be coffee grounds stored in a cabinet.
She hopped off the arm of the sofa and began searching but came up empty. She unlocked her phone and started to tap a breakfast order into a delivery app.
“I wonder if anyone in this town makes a better vanilla latte than the Roast Shack?” she muttered under her breath. She was on the hunt when a noise pulled her out of the zone—was that a knock?
Hushed voices murmured outside the door, and she peeked through the peephole. She smiled when she found Reid and Piper standing on the deck.
“Good morning,” she said as she pulled open the front door.
“See, Daddy,” Piper exclaimed. “I told you Miss Kaiah was awake.”
