Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
F aye woke with a slight start and a very bad kink in her neck. It took her a moment to realize that they had fallen asleep on the sofa the night before.
She was curled up against Nate, his heartbeat steady beneath her cheek. The steady rhythm had lulled her last night. Now, however, her body screamed for a different position, and she stretched carefully.
A soft groan escaped her as she sat up slowly, rubbing her neck. Nate stirred beside her, eyes cracking open, one arm instinctively reaching out toward where she’d been.
“Morning,” she whispered, leaning down to brush her lips against his.
“Mmm. Is it?” he muttered sleepily. Then he cracked one eye open. “Do we have to get up?”
She smiled. “If we want coffee and food before we explore the tunnels, then yes.”
That got him moving.
They showered together, something she enjoyed immensely since it usually involved Nate’s hands running shampoo all over her body. She couldn’t help but laugh when he hit her ticklish spots, making him look for more weaknesses. Then she returned the favor.
An hour later, she stepped out onto the back deck holding two steaming mugs of coffee.
Nate followed her outside into the morning sunlight, holding two plates piled with eggs, toast, and the leftover strawberries they’d picked up at the Fourth of July booth and had, thankfully, put in his truck before her incident.
They settled into the wooden chairs on the deck that overlooked the cliffs and ocean below, the rising sun glinting off the waves like scattered diamonds. A cool breeze stirred her still-damp hair, and seagulls called faintly in the distance.
“This view is amazing,” she said quietly, sipping from her mug. “Your place has a nice view too, now that you’ve cleared the pathway.”
Nate stretched out his legs and nodded. “Yeah, I’m hoping to have a lot of mornings like this on my back deck.” He took a sip of coffee. “There’s something about the way the sun meets the water that centers you.”
“That’s it. I’ve felt more centered since being here. I’m less worried about the scary possibilities than I’ve ever been,” she admitted.
“I hope I’ve had a little to do with that too.”
She grinned over at him. “You have.”
They ate for a few moments. “After I’m done checking the horses, we can explore the tunnels. Then I want to get your opinion on which tile to use in my bathrooms. I’ll be starting those this week. If you’re up to it?”
“Tile already? Wow. You’re ahead of schedule.”
He chuckled. “Not really. I still need to finish removing the old tiles from the walls. The kitchen’s almost done though.
The countertops come in two days. After that, it’s backsplash, which I will need your opinion on too.
Then it’s on to the bathrooms. I plan on doing the main bathroom first. I’m desperate for a shower where the shower head doesn’t spray in all different directions. ”
“Do I get a say in the shower design?” she asked, raising a brow.
He grinned at her. “That depends. Are you planning on spending a lot of time in it?”
Her laugh echoed across the deck. “That depends on whether you fix the hot water issues you keep complaining about.”
He held up his hands. “Parker and his crew are installing a new tankless water heater tomorrow.”
“Then it’s a deal,” she said easily.
“What are you going to do when Max and Juliette return?”
She sighed and glanced out over the water, her smile fading slightly as she thought. “I had planned on finding my own place, maybe a rental. But I suppose I let myself get too busy.”
“You could always move in with me. You know, help me finish the place. Plus, you could put your touches on each room. I’m hopeless without your help.”
Her heart skipped in her chest and for a split second, she dreamed. Really dreamed of living with him.
Then her implant buzzed softly and she shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”
“Take your time.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “No pressure.”
After breakfast, they rinsed their dishes and grabbed their boots before heading out to the small pasture where the horses were grazing lazily in the morning sun.
Nate walked the fence line while Faye checked the feed bins and water troughs.
Everything was in good order, and the horses trotted up for a quick scratch behind the ears.
With the chores done, they returned inside and she fetched the heavy-duty flashlight from her closet, flipping it on to test the beam. “Still works. Ready to go tunnel exploring?”
Nate had grabbed a smaller flashlight from the kitchen drawer and nodded. “Let’s see where this tunnel goes.”
The familiar click of the hidden wall mechanism sounded again, and the panel slid open with a soft hiss. She leaned in and looked down the dark passage as the cool air rushed toward her.
Faye aimed the flashlight beam into the darkness and took a slow step forward, her heart pounding—not in fear, but in excitement.
“You sure about this?” Nate asked, close behind her. “I can go first.”
She turned slightly and smiled. “No, I’m good.”
He was right, this passage was tighter than the others. Nate had to walk almost bent over, and even she had to duck in several spots before they reached the stairway.
“This wall,” she said at the top of the stairs as she looked back. “I think it’s part of the lighthouse.” She glanced back at him. “Are we right beside the lighthouse?”
He thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I think so.” He tapped what appeared to be a stone wall. “I think it’s the foundation.”
She nodded in agreement. “So we’re heading down and…” She glanced down the stairs that seemed to wrap around the base of the lighthouse as she aimed the flashlight. “Under it?”
He shifted closer and looked over her shoulder. “It appears so.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Stone steps this time, and they aren’t circular. They are probably slippery though.”
“Yeah, be careful.” He aimed his flashlight as she started moving slowly down the steps, counting them out in her head.
“Twenty,” she said at the bottom. “Semi-curved,” she added when he reached the bottom beside her.
They both aimed their flashlights up and noticed that they were now under the section they believed to be the foundation of the lighthouse.
“It’s kind of sketchy, knowing that we’re going under that thing. ”
“Look.” He turned his flashlight to the solid stone walls on either side of them. “There’s still plenty of foundation to hold the weight.”
“Right.” She moved her light around. “Which way?”
There were two passages. One headed under the lighthouse further, through a very narrow archway of stones, and the wider one went to the left.
“You choose.”
“Well,” she said, “since nothing has been easy in my life up until now, and wonderful things have happened because of it…” She aimed her light at the smaller pathway and started moving.
He chuckled, the sound vibrating off the stone walls.
“What else did those letters say?” she asked as they moved slowly through the darkness.
He was silent for a while as he remembered.
“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.”
“You memorized the letters?” She glanced over at him.
He nodded. “I like poetry. And riddles.”
She smiled. “Romantic.”
His smile grew. “You’re just now finding this out about me?”
She shook her head. “So, I guess I headed in the right direction.” When he frowned over at her, she continued. “ Safe beneath the light we once followed.”
“Under the lighthouse,” he gasped, glancing back to the way they came. “Of course.”
“‘ Where the earth meets the sea.’ Obviously, this passage must exit somewhere on the beach, or at least lead to the other passage that does,” she said. She kept moving slowly. “I just can’t imagine a woman in a long dress making this trek easily.”
“No,” he agreed. “But then again, Karnia was a rather small woman. Smaller than you.”
“How do you know?” She stopped and looked back at him.
“There are photos hanging in the lighthouse. Haven’t you seen them? Max found them in the basement and had them framed. I checked them out the other day when I found this tunnel. It was spooky, but my dreams were definitely of her.”
“I haven’t been over there yet. I’m…” She dropped off.
“What?” He took her hand in his, stopping her forward movement.
“I’m afraid of heights,” she blurted out.
“Oh, okay.” He nodded.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get the courage to go up there soon. Maybe.”
He took her hand in his as they moved. “I’ll help you through it if you want. When you’re ready.”
“Thanks,” she said and then motioned to a split in the pathways.
“Now which way?” he asked her.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “This way.”
“Thoughts?”
“I smell salt air.”
“Right,” he agreed, following her.
Almost five minutes later, they stepped into a room half the size of the other hidden room.
“Look,” she said, motioning to a dark spot along the wall.
“It rests in the quiet shadows,” they both said together.
She moved closer to the wall. Unlike the other room, there were no see-through seams on these rocks. No lines indicating that water had rushed into the cave. This one must be a little higher up than the other cave. They could hear the waves crashing not far from them now.
“We must be close to the other exit,” Nate said, shining his light around the room. “There.”
She noticed a ray of light coming from a small opening.
He walked over and glanced around the corner. “It goes down to the other exit,” he called back. He disappeared for a moment and then came back. “We’re at the back of the other set of stairs.”