Page 18 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
“Daddy! Daddy!” Piper appeared beside him and pulled on his hand. “My friend Megan’s here.” She pointed toward the sand. “Can I go say hi to her?”
Reid nodded. “Stay where I can see you. Miss Kaiah and I will sit on this bench.”
Piper kicked off her sandals and took off running onto the sand. The other little girl saw her, and they both shrieked before hugging and dancing around.
Kaiah plopped on the bench and slipped on a pair of pink, mirrored sunglasses. “Your daughter is a ray of sunshine,” she said.
Reid sat beside Kaiah. “I’m glad you’re enjoying her, because she really likes you.”
“She’s a hoot.” Kaiah crossed her long legs, and her eyes lingeredon the beach. “That lighthouse is so beautiful. I saw it as soon as I drove into town, and after I met you at the coffee shop, I walked to see it. I felt like it was calling me.” She grimaced. “I didn’t realize how weird that would sound until I said it out loud.”
He chuckled. “Not weird at all.” He glanced at the lighthouse and then back at her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Plus it has an interesting history.”
“Is that right?” She angled her body toward him.
“It was built in 1805, and it saved a ship full of sailors from running up on the shoals during a storm right around this time of year, early April. One of the sailors was my great-great-so-many-greats-grandfather.”
“Wow.”
“The lighthouse is one of our historical sites. We have a museum just a few miles from here, and it details the history of Coral Cove, how it was a fishing village in the early 1800s and then grew from there. In fact, there was a port a few miles from here.”
“You seem to know a lot about it.”
“My twin sister is the president of the Coral Cove Historical Society. I help out with tours of the lighthouse sometimes, but the interior has been closed for a while because it needs some repairs. Plus the light hasn’t worked for years.”
“That’s a shame. It’s such a gorgeous lighthouse. I tried to get some photos of it, but the fence was in the way. Seems like such an integral part of this town.” Kaiah nodded toward a banner. “I saw that sign for the Coral Cove Spring Festival. When is it?”
His mouth sagged downward. “In a couple of weeks, but Becks wants to talk to me about it. There are budget issues, and it might be canceled. But we really need the festival to help raise funds for the elementary school.”
“Are you replacing the school?”
He shook his head. “There was a fire.”
“Oh no,” Kaiah exclaimed. “Was everyone okay?”
“Yeah. Thankfully, it was during Christmas break last year.”
“Did you fight that fire?”
He nodded. “It was caused by faulty wiring and did a lot of damage in one wing of the school. The school board didn’t budget for such a huge expense this year, and the town hasn’t raised enough money to fix that wing, so the classes are doubled up right now. Plus the media center and the gym were also damaged, so we need to get those repaired too. We’d hoped that the festival would help raise the money, but last year the new mayor slashed the budget and gave the money to other projects. She just didn’t know how much we’d need this festival.”
“That’s a shame.”
A comfortable silence settled between them as they looked out toward the beach where Piper and Megan were digging in the sand. Taking in Kaiah’s profile as she gazed at the water, Reid felt the urge to know more about her. “What was it like growing up as the middle of five girls?”
Kaiah chuckled. “Noisy. Do you and Becca have any other siblings?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “It’s just Becks and me.”
She leaned on the arm of the bench. “Our house was chaotic. Someone was always running to dance class, cheerleading, sports games, things like that. My sisters and I bickered a lot, but we had fun too.” She paused, and her expression dimmed slightly. “At least, we had a lot of fun when we were younger...” Her voice trailed off, and she turned toward the lighthouse.
Silence stretched between them, punctuated by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and children laughing and playing on the beach.
Reid longed to know what was on her mind. He cleared his throat and tilted his head. “Five girls... whew.”
“Yeah.” She angled her body toward his, and her warm expression sent relief filtering through him.
He shook his head. “I can’t imagine. Are you close to your sisters?”
