Page 59 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
Hayes: No. Although I’ve been reading your Hidden Gems series. Really good stuff.
She rolled her eyes. That was all she needed to know. If her dog was fine and Hayes didn’t have any business to discuss, then she was done with him.
Kaiah: Then there’s nothing for us to talk about.
Hayes: Kaiah, I need to explain to you why I left.
Her head swam with dizziness. Had she stopped breathing too? Her heart was thundering in her chest when she forced herself to look back down at the screen.
Hayes: I never would’ve let you go if I hadn’t gotten that job. You have to believe me. I’m still trying to convince Global Media they need another travel reporter. Once I do, you can move out here and we can be together again. We can be a family with George. Please, Kaiah. You have to understand why I left. I took this job for us—for you. I still love you.
Kaiah rolled her eyes before she locked her phone. Hayes was still the narcissist he always was, and that would never change. She was better off without him.
“Miss Kaiah.” Piper trotted over to the deck, and Kaiah was happy for the distraction. “Can we watchThe Little Mermaid?”
“You got it, sweetie.”
Later that evening, Reid walked out behind the fire station where a couple of his fellow firefighters were playing basketball. He sat on the curb to relax for a minute and watch the game. They’d had a calm day with only a couple of nonurgent medical calls.
He’d done his best to focus on work, but he also kept wondering how Piper’s day was going with Kaiah. He especially couldn’t stop thinking about his not-a-date-but-kind-of-a-date with Kaiah the previous evening. He craved more quiet nights with her but knew those nights were numbered. He’d just have to enjoy every minute he could manage to steal away with her.
“Lieutenant,” Cash called from the bay.
He joined Cash by the trucks. “Did you need me, Chief?”
“Have you talked to Piper and Kaiah today?”
“Yeah,” Reid said. “I checked on them earlier. They’ve been playing outside for a lot of the day. Sounds like they’re having fun.”
Cash nodded slowly. “It seems like you and Piper have gotten close to Kaiah.”
Reid sat down on a stool.Here we go.“We have. And Becks has too.”
“She’s mentioned that to me.” Cash paused for a moment. “Honestly, bro? I’m just gonna come out and say it. Kaiah seems great for you and for Piper.”
Reid nodded. “I agree. But there’s one problem: She’s not staying in Coral Cove. Once the festival is over and she finishes her articles about Coral Cove, she’ll be long gone.”
Cash didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know about that.”
Reid arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I just have a feeling that you and Kaiah might remain friends after all of this is over. If not more than friends.” Cash looked right into his eyes. “I’m sure you’re lonely. And Piper could sure use a mom.”
Reid let his brother-in-law’s comment settle over him. He couldn’t ignore the small feeling—was it hope?—that began sprouting in his heart. He cared deeply for Kaiah, and more than ever he felt compelled to ask her to stay. Was that a huge step? Absolutely. Was it too much too soon? Maybe. But seemingly overnight, his heart had been overtakenby this smart, beautiful, compassionate woman. He knew enough by now that if he wanted a shot with Kaiah, he had to take it, even if the circumstances weren’t what he’d choose.
But his thoughts were cut off as a long, shrill tone screamed through the loudspeakers. At the same time the fluorescent lights above them automatically flipped on and off.
“All available units respond to accident with injuries at Fifth Street and Ocean Boulevard,” the bodiless voice over the radio blared. “Repeat. All available units respond to accident with injuries at Fifth Street and Ocean Boulevard.”
A switch flipped in Reid’s brain. Gone were any thoughts of emotion, replaced with a cool head and the muscle memory of emergency response. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he and his team pulled on their turnout gear and piled into the fire truck. Soon they were on their way with the siren wailing and the diesel engine roaring down the road.
When they reached the scene of the accident, the fire truck parked in the center of the street. Reid and his team jumped out of the truck, and when his eyes focused on the scene of the accident, he froze.
A blue Hyundai sedan was lying on its side, a door crunched in, the hood smoldering. And a large pickup truck with its front smashed in sat on the side of the road.
Immediately Reid was yanked four years back in time when he’d responded to a similar accident. Only the sedan wasn’t a Hyundai. It was a Toyota. And the driver hadn’t survived.
Brynn wasn’t supposed to be there. Reid should’ve picked up Piper that day. It was his turn, but he backed out at the last minute for a work meeting that he could’ve skipped.
