Chapter 16 #2
“My heart.”
His own heart skipped a beat when he remembered that his sister and Max had found documents when they’d remodeled the house claiming that the lost diamond had been called the Ocean’s Heart.
It was well known that the rare diamond had been placed in a necklace long ago by an Earl, who had gifted it to the very young Karnia Bergman, the old owner of the light house, as a proposal gift.
However, when Karnia and her family had visited the Oregon coast one year prior to the wedding, the young girl had fallen for a local sailor instead.
When he got to his house, instead of starting to work on the kitchen, he went inside and logged onto his computer and found the message that Juliette had sent to him.
She had stumbled upon a box of letters in the basement and, thankfully, she had sent him copies in his email, knowing he would be interested.
First, he looked at the image of the old love note that she’d found. It was written by Harry Rothschild to Karnia Bergman. Harry would later be lost at sea while traveling off to war. A year after that, Karnia had died.
The letter read:
“Where the tides carry our laughter and the wind holds our secrets, love will always remain—tucked away where the earth meets the sea. Love H.”
It had seemed cryptic then and, even now, he knew that the meaning was only for the lovers.
Then he found another image that his sister had sent him. This time, it was a letter from Karnia to Harry after he’d passed.
“My love,
I still listen for your laughter in the tide and feel your touch in the wind’s embrace. Time moves, but I do not—I am here, forever waiting, just as I promised.
I have left my heart where the earth meets the sea, where only we would know to look. It rests in the quiet shadows, safe beneath the light we once followed.
If ever you should find your way back to me, you will know where to look. Until then, I will wait, as I always have, as I always will.
Yours, always.”
Had he somehow dreamed of Karnia? There was a grainy image of the couple that Max had found hanging in the lighthouse. He thought he had a picture of it, but he couldn’t find it in his emails or his text messages.
He supposed it could have been Karnia. Was she trying to tell him where the diamond was?
He itched to go back to the house. To look at the wall. Was there another secret tunnel behind it?
Then he heard a car out front and switched off his laptop and got to work. The entire day, the thought of discovering another tunnel that might lead to the missing diamond replayed in his head.
During lunch, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer and headed back up to the lighthouse. Besides, he needed to check on the horses.
Nate parked his truck beside the lighthouse and stepped out slowly, his boots crunching against the gravel. He stood there for a moment, staring at the tall windows, the upper floors of the house, then beyond to the white tower that rose above it all.
The dream had started as just a feeling. But now?
Now it felt like a whisper echoing across time.
He decided to take care of the horses after he looked, so he stepped inside and immediately made his way toward the staircase.
The house was still and very quiet as he stopped at the base of the stairs.
He could almost see her clearly standing there when he shut his eyes.
Then, he turned his attention to the wall where she had pointed in his dream.
“My heart.”
He moved toward the wall, which held a painting of stormy seas with a small yellow sailboat.
No doubt one of Allison Jordan’s works. Slowly and cautiously, he ran his fingers along the delicate wooden paneling.
He felt silly at first, like a kid playing pirate.
But then—he felt a slightly raised section of the molding and he froze.
It was just like the button in the library. He pressed it and heard something click behind the wall. A gentle movement of old mechanics whispered behind the solid wood.
When the wall slid backwards, he held his breath.
Beyond lay a narrow gap tall enough to step through, just wide enough for one person at a time. He stared into it, heart hammering in his chest. Is this how Faye had felt when she’d discovered the passage in her closet?
Cool air rushed over his face, causing his hair to move. There was a tingle down his spine, and he smelled the scent of damp stone and salt water.
“Well, damn,” he muttered under his breath. “This house really does have more secrets.” He smiled.
The space beyond the entrance was pitch-black, even in midday, but the pull was magnetic.
He grabbed his phone and clicked on the flashlight, the beam cutting a wide tunnel through the shadows ahead.
Beyond the first few feet, stone walls stretched along a passage not unlike the one that Faye had shown him before.
But this one was slightly different. It seemed older.
Untouched for far longer. There were tons of cobwebs blocking the pathway.
As he stepped through the opening, the air changed. It became denser. Heavier.
The moment both feet were inside, the door behind him closed, causing him to jump slightly.
He turned in time to watch the gap narrow, the wall sealing with a deep thud, leaving nothing but solid wall in its place.
Nate stood in the dark, only his own breathing and the faint drip of water echoing through the corridor.
He turned slowly back to face the tunnel.
After a moment of debate with himself, he took a step forward.