Page 32 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
He relaxed on the chair, resting his left ankle on his right knee. “As a firefighter, I work ten days a month. My shifts are twenty-four hours at a time.”
“Seriously? Twenty-four-hour shifts?”
He took a drink from his glass and then set it on the table between them. “Yeah. Seven to seven. I’ll start tomorrow morning at seven and then get off Wednesday at seven. That’s why I also do rideshare, to break up some of the downtime I have. That’s also why I volunteer as a tour guide and at Piper’s school and the animal shelter.”
“You sure like staying busy.”
He lifted his eyes toward the sky. “You could say that.”
She studied his profile—his inviting dark eyes, his chiseled jawline, his high cheekbones and perfect nose, his thick, dark hair. She had the distinct impression this man had no idea how attractive he was.
His gaze snapped to hers, and his eyebrows sailed upward. “What’s on your mind?”
Oh no.He’d caught her staring at him. Her mouth dried up as she tried to recover. “What, uh, what was it like growing up here?” she asked. “What makes Coral Cove so special to you?”
He took another drink and then scanned the backyard. “Honestly? That’s hard to narrow down. Seems like everything about this place feels special.” He shrugged. “As far as growing up, we spent a lot of time at the beach—swimming, surfing, fishing, things like that.”
A vision of an eighteen-year-old Reid, lean and tan on a surfboard, riding the waves, filled her mind. A tremor rushed over her,and she tried to banish the daydream. “Did you ever considering leaving?”
“No.” He shook his head. “My folks are locals and grew up here, and all of our family is here. It’s home.” He took another swig of tea.
Darkness began to fall, blotting out the backyard. Reid hopped up and flipped a switch, illuminating a string of white lights that dangled over the large deck. A comfortable silence settled over them as Kaiah tried to commit every detail of this evening to memory—the vision of Reid sitting under the lights with her, the smell of the salt water, the soothing sounds of the frogs and cicadas. And here she was, sitting with a man as humble and solid as they came. She couldn’t remember a night more peaceful than this one.
“Becca went away to college.” Reid’s deep voice broke through her thoughts. “But she didn’t go far. She studied at Wilmington and then came home.”
“What did she major in?”
“Guess.”
She moved her fingers over the condensation clouding her cool glass. “History.”
“Ding, ding, ding!” he exclaimed. “We have a winner.”
She laughed. “She’s a history teacher, right?”
“Yup. She taught at the middle school until Astrid was born. She considered going back to work since my mom was already retired and could take care of Astrid and Piper too. But Becks wanted to stay home. Cash had been promoted to fire chief, so they were doing fine financially.”
“Cash is the fire chief?”
Reid nodded and took another drink from his glass.
“Does that mean he’s your boss?”
“Yes, but not directly. I report to the captain at my station, and the captain reports to him.” He set the glass down on the coffee table with aclink. “So he’s my boss’s boss.”
“Does that ever get awkward?”
Reid shrugged. “Not really. We rarely disagree on things.” He smiled. “Plus, he owes me. I introduced him to my sister, and I like to remind him of that when it comes time for him to sign off on my performance evaluation.”
“Good thinking,” she said, and they shared a smile. She recalled the photo of Piper and her mother in Piper’s room, and questions buzzed through her mind. How did she and Reid meet? How long were they married? What happened to her? Dare she even ask?
Before she could open her mouth, his voice snapped her out of her head.
“I bet you think I’m boring.”
Her eyes widened. “Why would I think that?”
“You’re so adventurous. You were driving down the East Coast alone. You’re a travel writer, so I’m sure you’ve been to plenty of exotic places. But I’ve stayed here my entire life.”
