Page 25 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
Kaiah nodded and took a few photos, then rested her hand on the doorknob to the gallery, the walkway outside the lantern room. “Can we go out there?”
“If you promise to be careful.”
She saluted him. “Always.” She pushed the door open, and the wind blew strands of her hair away from her face while she captured photos of the water. She rested on the railing and took a deep inhale of the fresh air. “It must be wonderful to breathe this fresh air all year round.”
“I guess so. I’ve never thought about it.” He touched her shoulder. “Please take a step back.”
She gave him a cheeky smile. “Yes, Lieutenant.” She moved away from the railing and pushed a few flyaway strands of hair behind her ears, but they immediately escaped and fluttered around her face once again. “Hmm, a fireman... It must be a great feeling to know you help people in your job.”
“Except when you can’t,” he muttered, but immediately he regretted it. He wasn’t ready to talk about the dark days, so he pushed them away in favor of a new topic. “So what’s your favorite story you ever worked on?”
She paused for a moment, considering his question. “One of my first stories was for a small local paper in upstate New York, covering the upcoming holiday celebrations. It wasn’t exciting, and I didn’t get to travel, but I was finally writing for a paper. I wasn’ta student or an intern. I was a real, paid journalist. Now granted, I wasn’t makinganymoney, but I had my own byline. That was enough for me.”
“That’s fantastic.”
Her eyes shot to the water again, and a comfortable silence settled between them. Soon the sky was cloaked in darkness, and the only sound Reid could hear was the water lapping against the shore. He wondered what this beautiful stranger was thinking about.
“Lighthouses remind me of my mom,” Kaiah suddenly said, her voice soft and almost reverent. “I’ve always been drawn to them because of her.”
Suddenly he longed to take her into his arms, to soothe any pain this woman might’ve felt. When his hand brushed hers, she threaded her fingers with his as if on instinct. The intimate gesture sent a happy glow radiating through him.
“That’s a nice way to remember her,” he said, and then he internally rolled his eyes.C’mon, man, don’t be so lame!
Reid frantically searched his mind for any subject to make up for his consummate lameness. His mind wandered toward Kaiah’s “friend” taking her dog. Should he ask her if that “friend” was an ex? Before he could stop himself, the words came pouring from his mouth.
“You said your friend took your dog,” he began. “Why?”
“My ex.” Her voice vibrated with sadness.
“He sounds sweet.” He hesitated. “I know this might sound weird coming from a guy you don’t know, so feel free to say no. But... losing your dog is hard. Do you want to talk about it?”
A sigh seemed to bubble up from deep within her. “I know, I’m still reeling from it. It’s my ex’s fault. His name is Hayes Walker, and basically he changed his mind about me.” She pushed her phoneinto her back pocket. “We met through work, which was probably my first mistake. We were both freelancing at the same online magazine. I thought he was arrogant, and I should have stuck with that assessment. But we worked on a story together, and I stupidly found his arrogance charming. Then we fell in love, or at least I thought we did, and then we started talking about a future together. And when we adopted George together, I thought that was like a real commitment.” She scoffed. “Ridiculous, right?”
“No, not at all.” Reid released her hand and rubbed her arm. “He would be so lucky to plan a future with someone like you.”
He could feel her eyes watching him through the dark. “I thought I’d have it all like my older sisters—a career, a home, a family. But I was wrong.”
“What happened?”
“Hayes decided he wanted a career more than he wanted me.” She shifted to face the horizon, and a weight landed on his chest as he took in her sadness. “I didn’t even know he was applying for jobs. I thought we were going to stay in New York together, but then one day he got a call, and the next day he was flying out to California for an interview.”
“What job?”
“Staff writer atGlobal Media.” Her posture wilted. “It was a position I thought about going after, but I stopped looking when we started talking about a future. I never considered putting my career before him.” She barked out a bitter laugh.
He took her hand and cradled it in both of his. “I’m sorry, Kaiah.”
Her eyes grew misty. “I was so naive. I thought I mattered to him. But obviously I didn’t. We switched off which days George lived at his place and mine. On one of his George days, Hayes justtook off. And he took George with him. My dog.Ourdog.” She blew out a breath. “I miss George so much. I’ve thought about getting a puppy, but it just doesn’t feel right. Not yet.”
“Hayes doesn’t deserve you, Kaiah. You’re way too good for him.”
She waved her hand, as if to stave off the compliment. “That’s why I’m done with love and all that.” She nearly spat out the words. “It only leads to hurt. I’m just... I’m just better off alone.”
An unexpected feeling wafted over him—disappointment?—but he nodded anyway.
Kaiah spun to face him, and he couldn’t make out her features in the dark. “It’s getting late. I guess we should go.”
They flipped on their phone flashlights, and then Reid took her hand and led her down the spiral staircase.
