Page 24 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
“That’s right.” He settled back against the booth.
“How would you feel about giving a nosy reporter a private tour?”
The bow of his smile reached straight to his eyes. “When?”
“Right now.” She wrapped up the calzone and laid some cash on the table. “I’ll finish this in the car, if it’s okay.”
He held up his keys, and they jingled. “Let’s go.”
The sunset sent a band of oranges and purples across the sky, reflecting on the water below. Reid thought it was a glorious backdrop for Kaiah’s visit to the black-and-white-striped lighthouse.
She took several photos through the fence before turning to Reid. “I read online that it’s been out of commission for almost two decades. What happened?”
“Faulty wiring.” He leaned on the chain-link fence. “It was built in the early 1800s and updated in the 1950s to electrical. But over the years, the folks responsible for maintaining the building changed hands several times. First it was the mayor’s office, then it was the parks department, and I don’t even know who had it after them. The place just sat empty for a while. Around the town’s two hundredth anniversary, the Coral Cove Historical Society wanted to get the lamp up and running for the town celebration, but when they assessed what needed to be fixed, the cost was much greater than they anticipated, so they abandoned the project. No one wanted to shoulder the extra expense to fix it.”
“And now it just sits?” She stuck out her lower lip, reminding him of an adorable puppy. “That’s a shame.”
“When Becca took over the historical society, she opened the grounds for tours, and her goal was to also get the lantern roomfixed.” He ran his finger over the stubble on his chin. “But they still haven’t gotten the funds to do it. Money for historical preservation in small towns isn’t easy to come by, you know?”
“Hmm.” She rested her hands on her hips and scrunched her nose in concentration. “I saw photos online of the inside of the lighthouse, but I’d love to see it for myself. The view from the top looks incredible. Any chance I can take a look?”
“Listen, it’s not open to the public. But since this may be your only chance to see inside...” He trailed off as he cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing her. “Can I ask you to walk only where I say is safe?”
“Scout’s honor.” She held up three fingers. “And by the way, Iwasa Brownie and a Girl Scout, so that promise has some weight.”
He chuckled. “All right, then. Follow me, ma’am.” He unlocked the gate and held it for her before locking it behind them. They walked up the cobblestone path to the lighthouse.
“You could put this lighthouse on any shoreline in Maine, and I swear it’d fit in. It looks so much like the lighthouses I’d see when I was a kid. It’s uncanny.” She pointed to the small white building at the base of the lighthouse. “What’s that?”
He unlocked the door and pushed it open, and a musty scent filled his nostrils. “The lighthouse keeper lived here. I don’t think it’s been opened since last summer during one of my last tours. I just let folks peek their heads inside.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re a tour guide, an Uber driver, a firefighter,anda dad.” Her eyes studied him. “Do you ever take a day off?”
“What’s a day off?” He flipped on the lights and made a sweeping gesture. “Go in but be careful.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Turner.” She saluted him and then proceeded into the building.
“These are the living quarters.” He directed her around the small house. “There’s a bedroom, a galley kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living area.”
She pulled out her camera and took photos. Then she pointed the lens toward him and smiled, and her camera flashed and clicked a few times.
Reid smirked. “I promise the lighthouse is a lot more interesting than I am.”
She shook her head, a coy grin on her lips. “I’m not so sure about that,” she quipped, and her teasing tone sent his heartbeat racing. She headed through a doorway that led to the lantern room. “Can we go upstairs?”
He rushed ahead of her and held out his hand. “Let me go first.”
Kaiah looped the camera strap around her neck before threading her fingers with his. He enjoyed the warmth of her soft skin on his as he guided her up the spiral staircase.
When they got to the top, she gasped. “Wow,” she said, her mouth a small Oshape.
Reid watched as she peered out over the 360-degree view that captured the cove and the edge of town. Darkness had begun to descend, and the streetlights created a warm glow, dotting the sidewalks. “This view is better than I could’ve imagined.”
With the light from the sunset highlighting her golden waterfall of hair and kissing her sun-warmed skin, he couldn’t have agreed more. “It sure is.”
She turned her attention from the outside view back to the lantern room. Panels of glass surrounded a lamp the shape of a beehive. But instead of dripping with honey, ridged glass panels overlapped to create the lamp of the lighthouse. Kaiah had never seen anything like it. “So, Mr. Tour Guide, how does the lamp work? Or, at least, how did it used to?”
Reid cleared his throat and put on his most professional tour guide voice. “The lamp is housed in a glass enclosure called a lens. Lenses were specially designed to concentrate the power of the light so that sailors could see it from several nautical miles out. Originally they rotated with a mechanism powered by weights before they were upgraded to electricity. But obviously, now this guy doesn’t work at all.”
