Page 56 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
Reid came up behind her and pulled off his shoes. “It’s going to be cold,” he declared. “I’m warning you.”
“I know.” She walked out to where the water reached her ankles, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the cool water rushing past her toes and up to her ankles. When she opened her eyes, she found Reid watching her with an intensity that sent heat rushing through her veins. She held her hand out to him. “Humor me, Reid.”
He took her hand, and they stood in the waves together. “Itiscold,” he grumbled. “I told you it would be.”
“Don’t be such a sourpuss,” she deadpanned, and he laughed. “You must have loved every moment growing up at the beach.” She looked out toward where the waves broke.
“Honestly, I don’t think I really appreciated it until after high school. I love it now. I would hate waking up someplace where I didn’t have the option to come out here and do this. Even when the water’s freezing.”
“I can understand that.” She watched a few couples plodding past in the sand.
“Would you ever consider living in a small town like this?”
His question caught her off guard, and her gaze collided with his. “I-I don’t know. Maybe,” she said.
He nodded.
Kaiah took in the scene around her. “Say, what if we had a beach cleanup day during the festival? We could combine it with picnics at the beach.”
“You’re on a roll, you know that?” He snapped his fingers on his free hand. “We once made kites in Boy Scouts, and it was fun. Instead of just having an arts and crafts booth, we could also hold a whole arts and craftsday. Kids could make kites and then have a kite-flying contest. I bet we could ask the owner of Crafty Creations to sponsor it.”
“I love it!” Kaiah said.
“Let’s go talk to some more business owners,” he said. “We can get them to help out.”
Kaiah held his hand while they traveled back toward their parking spot, and her heart felt light. She was certain the festival was going to come together, and she hoped Reid believed it too.
“You two have been busy,” Becca said later that evening as she examined the list of store owners Reid and Kaiah had visited and convinced to participate in the festival.
They were gathered around Reid’s kitchen table, and they had just finished eating spaghetti and meatballs while the girls jogged up and down the hallway, singing songs and playing with Ariel, who trotted along with them.
“That’s true,” Reid told his twin. “We have banners in the works, and Trisha Witherspoon, who owns Crafty Creations, is sponsoring the kite-making day.” He touched Kaiah’s arm, and she smiled at him while he rattled off the other merchants they visited.
“What about the lighthouse?” Cash asked.
Kaiah’s smile wobbled.
“It’s not looking good,” Reid said. “Mr. Johnson is reaching out to other electricians, but so far no one has the right equipment. That means we may not have a lit-up lighthouse at the opening ceremony.”
“Hey, Daddy!” Piper called from the doorway. “Why don’t you put Christmas lights on the lighthouse?”
Reid scanned the kitchen table, and the three adults surrounding him appeared to be just as stunned as he was. After a few moments, they all grinned at one another.
“It’s the obvious solution.” Cash chuckled. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
“Because our intelligent niece did it for us,” Becca said.
“She sure did,” Kaiah agreed.
Reid pointed toward the doorway. “And she got her brilliance from Brynn.” He made a note on his list. “I’ll call Duke and see what he thinks.”
“You don’t need to call him,” Cash said. “We could do it.”
Reid’s eyebrows careened upward while he studied his brother-in-law. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s get the town’s Christmas decorations. We could do it with one of the ladder trucks.” Cash gestured around the kitchen. “I mean, we put up the other decorations in town, so what’s the difference?”
Reid grinned. “And since you’re the fire chief, I’ll make sure everyone knows thatyoucondoned this.”
