Page 65 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
He moved his hand over the stubble on his neck. “Sorry, but I don’t—”
“Mr. TDH is short for ‘Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.’ That’s how my sister and I talk about you in texts,” she said, her voice sounding thin and reedy while he studied her. “I started calling you that when I first saw you in the coffee shop. I thought you were, well,hot. And, um, I didn’t know your name...” Her words trailed off while her embarrassment flared. “And well... it sorta stuck.”
Reid’s mouth formed a perfectly circular O. His jaw ticked, but no words came out.
Certain her face would burst into flames, Kaiah ran out his front door.
The front door slammed shut, and Reid stared at the spot where Kaiah made her mad dash. A mixture of shock and something he couldn’t quite identify—pride? flattery?—rolled through him while he tried to process the last two minutes.
Kaiah and her sister referred her him as Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
Apparently she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. And when she admitted it, she seemed mortified, while he couldn’t have been more pleased.
Kaiah was beautiful, smart, thoughtful, compassionate, and successful. And she was attracted tohim. Only hours ago he’d opened up to her, showing her the demons he’d been fighting for the past few years. She’d responded by consoling him, holding his hands and wiping his tears. Her kindness was more than he could’ve asked for.
There was no denying it, not anymore.
He was falling for her. And he longed to ask her to stay.
Plus, she’d looked absolutely adorable with her cheeks rosy from embarrassment.
It was time he told her how he felt.
Chapter 16
Monday morning, Kaiah waved as Piper and Astrid climbed out of Becca’s SUV and scrambled up the sidewalk toward the school’s front door.
While Becca navigated out of the school parking lot, the events of the night before washed over Kaiah, the familiar embarrassment creeping back into her belly. She was grateful she’d somehow made it through the evening without another horrifying incident. She had (strategically!) taken her time showering and packing another round of clothes before she returned to Reid’s house. When she finally got there, he was getting ready for bed. They briefly discussed his Monday schedule, she said good night, and that was that. Thankfully, Reid hadn’t mentioned Kam’s text again.
But still, Kaiah couldn’t sleep. She stayed up half the night working on another festival article and replaying the Mr. TDHconversation on a loop in her head. She was going to give Kam a piece of her mind when she spoke to her again.
She mercifully fell asleep around midnight and woke up in time to get Piper ready for school. She also sent her article to Libby, and she was on pins and needles waiting to hear what Libby thought about it. Till then, she and Becca were running festival errands.
“Let’s stop by the bakery and check on the lighthouse pastries. Then we can head to the historical society to see who else we need to call,” Becca suggested. “Sound good?”
Kaiah nodded. “Yep. Do you think they’ll get the lighthouse lamp fixed before Friday?”
“I don’t know.” Becca pressed her lips together. “But I sure hope so.”
The fire truck rumbled down the street after Reid and his team finished responding to a minor traffic accident. The morning had been busy with a couple of medical calls before they’d received this one. Thankfully the folks in the accident were fine and the cleanup was quick. A busy day, but at least it was a manageable one.
Reid looked out the window at the clear afternoon sky, and his thoughts turned to the festival. It was Monday, and the lighthouse needed to illuminate the sky Friday night. They were running out of time. He had to do something—and quick. He shot off a text to his brother-in-law.
Reid: Hi, Chief. Has Public Works found the white Christmas lights for the lighthouse?
After a few moments, the dancing dots appeared before Cash’s response came through:
Cash: No luck. Jerry couldn’t find them.
Reid: Bummer. They’ve only been in storage a few months. Wonder what happened to them.
Drumming his fingers on his lap, Reid tried to come up with another solution. He turned to Toby, who was driving the fire truck.
“Toby,” he called over the radio, “can you go by town hall?”
Reid’s captain tapped his shoulder. “Why, Lieutenant?” Chris asked.
“I’d like to go by the Public Works office. Chief checked to see if we could borrow the white Christmas lights for the lighthouse, just in case we need a backup way to light it up on Friday night. They told him that they couldn’t find the lights, but I want to have them just in case.”
