Page 34 of The Lighthouse at the Cove
“Yeah, I bet. That has to make you anxious.”
“Sometimes I’m prone to worry, especially when they’re on a dangerous call together, but I hold on to my faith.”
Kaiah nodded. “How’d you feel when Reid told you he wanted to be a firefighter?”
“Proud.” Becca gave her a sideways glance. “And not very surprised.”
“How come?”
Becca’s brow creased. “Are you interviewing me for your story?”
“I’m just curious about you guys.”
Becca seemed to consider the statement before she kept going. “Reid has always stood up for people in trouble. He’d stand up to bullies who were picking on smaller kids at school, even if he didn’t know them, just because it was the right thing. Being a firefighter seemed like the most natural fit in the world for him.”
Becca started walking toward the bakery, and Kaiah strolled beside her. Questions about Reid’s late wife floated through her mind, but she suppressed them. She hoped someday Becca or Reid would open up to her about what had happened to Brynn, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
They approached the bakery, and Kaiah pulled open the door. A bell above it rang, announcing their arrival. “Let’s go inside and meet the owners.”
The aroma of chocolate and butter filled Kaiah’s nose as she glanced around the bakery. She took in the sea of wooden tables and chairs where customers enjoyed their pastries. Photos of mouthwatering cakes and cookies adorned the baby-blue walls.
Behind the counter, middle-aged identical twins waited on customers. Kaiah made a beeline to the counter and took her place in line. “What’s your favorite treat to get here?” she asked Becca.
“Oh, that’s a tough one.” Becca examined the case of goodies in front of her. “I’ll never turn down a cupcake.” She pointed to a row of small cakes adorned with thick domes of icing, all in different colors and patterns. “But the cookies are out of this world too.”
“What can I get you?” one of the twins, wearing a name tag that saidJenni, asked.
“I’ll have a vanilla cupcake,” Kaiah said.
Becca pointed to the cookies. “I’ll take a big chocolate chip cookie.”
Jenni rang them up, and Kaiah paid.
“Thanks,” Kaiah said. “If I could, I’d love to talk to you and your sister.” She held up her notebook. “I’m a reporter withThe Traveler, and I’m doing an article on Coral Cove.”
Jenni’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Oh! Okay. Just give us a few minutes to help the other customers.”
Kaiah and Becca took a seat, and Kaiah made a few notes before taking a bite of her cupcake. The cake was light and airy, and the rich vanilla icing was luscious and thick on her tongue. “This is spectacular.”
“I told you,” Becca sang.
Kaiah smiled, then decided to return to their previous conversation. “So Reid told me you went away to school. What brought you back here?”
Becca swallowed a bite of her cookie. “Fair question. When I went away to college, I thought for sure I’d break the Turner family legacy and move somewhere else after I graduated. But when I was in school, I saw so many people missing their families who were far away. I always wanted to be a wife and a mom. And I decided thatwhen I raised my family, I couldn’t imagine doing it without my people around me.” She shrugged. “Wilmington was great, but this is my home, you know?”
Kaiah nodded. She was happy for Becca but couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. The woman knew exactly where she belonged. Why couldn’t Kaiah feel that way?
Becca picked up where she left off. “I taught eighth-grade history for a couple of years, and then I met Cash, and well, here we are.”
“Reid told me he introduced you two.”
Becca grinned. “That’s right. And I was not nice to Cash when I first met him.” She rested her chin on her palm. “To this day, I’m surprised he even gave me a second chance.”
Kaiah set her pen on her notebook. “Nowthisis a story I want to hear.”
Becca laughed. “Reid couldn’t stand my high school boyfriend. We were on again, off again both in high school and college, and Reid always said he never treated me right. I had gone to Wilmington for college, but Dawson stayed here in Coral Cove. In my senior year I thought we’d finally start making wedding plans for after graduation.” She let out a long sigh. “Instead, he said he was tired of waiting and wasn’t going to do it anymore. He married someone else in town six months later.”
“Ouch. I’m so sorry.”
