Scenic Secrets
Our first stop was the lighthouse display. The almost seven-foot-tall unit, with the shelves inside the lighthouse, was a replica of the Covington Cove Harbor one.
Except it was better by housing bins of saltwater taffy, licorice ropes, and other candy. The regular lighthouse didn’t have anything exciting like that.
Reid and I started moving bins around, checking to see if there was an envelope under or behind any of them. I didn’t think I would have to go as far as digging through each bin, since Sam changed out the candy often.
We both came up empty. It had been the most obvious idea, but we were still missing something.
“Here’s my newest thought,” I said to Reid as we both stood staring at the display. “If they left it in plain sight, wouldn’t someone have noticed by now? Wouldn’t someone have grabbed it or even turned it in?”
He chewed on his cheek and nodded. “Maybe it’s with Sam or Mrs. Ruth?”
I shook my head, pulling on one of my curls. “I was just back there. She didn’t say anything to me about an envelope, and she’s not one to keep secrets.”
Not wanting to seem overly suspicious, I grabbed a bag of Pearls and headed for the counter.
“Everything alright? You kids were standing there for a while and Grace left without so much as a word or her favorite Raspberry Rose Delights,” Sam said as he rang me up.
I shrugged. “We’re good.” I didn’t know what else to say, so I just kept quiet. I took my bag and waved goodbye, joining Reid by the front doors.
Once outside in the bright sun again, we moved over to allow a family to enter the store.
Reid shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. He stared down the street, his lips twisted in thought.
I glanced to my left, finding a bench. I went to sit, but right before my butt hit wrought iron, I jumped up with a gasp.
Reid whirled around. “What? What is it? Are you okay?” He rushed to my side, laying a hand on my arm, his worry crossing his features.
Once again, instead of answering, I just pointed, like I had with the Cove Candy sign.
Reid’s gaze followed my outstretched hand in line to the lighthouse statue, resting on the sidewalk at the edge of the Cove Candy property. Neither of us had noticed it yet. Part of that was because it had been there my entire life; by now it just blended into the background.
“We’re smart people, right?” Reid whispered. We both stood frozen in place.
“Well, I know you are. I like to think I am occasionally,” I whispered back as we both still stared.
As if on cue, we turned to each other and smiled.
“After you,” Reid said, gesturing me forward with his arm. His other hand rested on the small of my back as we walked toward the decorative lighthouse statue.
The concrete statue was painted in the same colors as the Cove Harbor one, but chips in the paint revealed it hadn’t always been that way. At only about four feet high and two feet across, it was significantly smaller than the inside shelving unit, but massively heavier.
I circled around, looking for an envelope to be taped somewhere. Then, I crouched down, hoping to see something blended in with the white paint, like camouflage.
Suddenly, the whole thing moved, making me jump. I fell onto my butt and looked up, finding Reid tilting the statue back, a devilish grin on his face.
I scrambled to my hands and knees, then tipped my head upside down to look beneath.
And there it was. Taped to the bottom of the lighthouse was an envelope with my name.
I shrieked, grabbed it, then jumped to my feet and launched myself onto Reid.
He caught me easily, his strong arms winding around my torso, holding on tightly. The feeling of him embracing me, plus the excitement of finding the next envelope, had me practically jumping out of my skin.
“Want to open it?” he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine. All I wanted to do was turn my head and kiss him, I was so happy.
As if he could read my mind, he planted a kiss right behind my ear. My body shook in a full on shiver.
Reid put me down gently and we sat on the bench. Before I tore into the envelope, I dug into the forgotten bag of caramels and popped one in my mouth, chewing contemplatively. I handed the bag to Reid, who also took some before settling it on the bench between us.
“That was a tough one,” I mentioned, considering how much time we spent on figuring it out. When you lived in a small island beach town, having a clue about a lighthouse was about as vague as it could get.
“I mean, once you figured out it was a lighthouse, it left us with a one in, oh, I don’t know,” Reid pretended to count on his fingers, “six hundred chance of finding it.”
I laughed, still clutching the envelope in my hands. “That’s the truth. I wonder how many more clues there are. Like, how long is this supposed to last? I’m not sure if my anxiety can handle much more.”
Reid shrugged and knocked his shoulder into mine. “Only one way to find out.”
Nodding, I tore open the envelope, only to find…
Nothing.
Well, not exactly nothing. But it definitely wasn’t a clue like it had been with the others. There was only a single sliver of paper with one line on it.
Your last clue will come soon.
“Um, excuse me?” I whispered to myself, turning the paper over to see if I was missing something. After coming up empty-handed, I handed it to Reid and dug into the envelope. I tore it all the way open, still not finding a single shred of anything else.
“That’s… anti-climatic,” Reid mumbled, handing the paper to me. I tucked it into my bag and frowned.
“No kidding. After that search, there should have been, like, step-by-step instructions straight to the prize.” I leaned back on the bench, feeling rather defeated. So far, every clue had stressed me out, but this? Now I had to just sit back and wait for something to come to me? With absolutely no time frame given?
I’d need a good therapist after this hunt was over. My anxiety was going through the roof.
“Also, the fact that it says last makes me nervous,” I sighed. I folded and unfolded the envelope over and over again.
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just knowing that it’s almost over? Wondering if I’ll be able to figure it out? Being that close to some sort of unknown prize?”
“The unknown,” Reid echoed. “You’re scared of the unknown.”
I quirked my brow and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Yup.”
He leaned back and raised an arm behind me. I shifted, resting my head on his shoulder as he dropped his arm over mine. Immediately, his thumb started creating swirl patterns on my bicep. Soothing, calming circles.
“The unknown is scary. But think of it this way—whatever the prize is, will be a benefit to your life. Having it be unknown means that even if you’re not elated with it, it changes nothing about your current life. It can only be a positive thing if you want it to be. If not, at least we had some fun hunting down clues.”
I sat with his words for a minute. He, of course, was right. It wasn’t like house sitting for the Bennetts, where Mrs. Bennett told me the compensation from the start, so when I thought about losing it, it hit hard.
This prize could make a huge difference in my life, or it could not affect it at all. It was a bonus, and having it be unknown meant that even if I was disappointed with it, it changed nothing.
“What should we do now?” Reid asked.
I pursed my lips. “We have no clue to solve, so that only leaves one thing.”
“What’s that?”
I sat forward and smiled at him over my shoulder. “Get ready for that party you promised the crew.”