Chapter 4
Reid peeked into Piper’s room the next morning. “Hey, pumpkin, you awake?”
“Out here, Daddy!” her little voice called from the direction of the kitchen.
When he reached the kitchen doorway, he found her teetering on a chair, balancing on her tiptoes and reaching into a cabinet.
Panic shot through him.
“Piper!” He scooped her into his arms and set her on the floor. “You know better than to climb up on chairs, especially when
I’m not around. You could’ve fallen. What are you doing?”
“Making pancakes for Miss Kaiah.”
Reid’s eyes cut to the clock on the stove. “Honey, it’s only eight. She might be sleeping or just enjoying some quiet time.”
Piper pointed to the stove. “I bet she’s really, really hungry after her trip. We need to make sure she has something to eat.”
“Piper . . .”
“Pleeeease, Daddy,” she whined. “Pleeease?” She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
He stroked the scruff around his mouth and released a long, weary breath. Surely Kaiah had enough of his loquacious daughter
last night. If he invited her to breakfast, then she’d feel obligated to come. But on the other hand, Kaiah seemed to have enjoyed the company. And in all honesty, he certainly had enjoyed hers. What harm could it be to invite her for another
meal? She was going in a few days anyway.
“All right,” he said.
When Piper’s whining morphed into cheers, he held up his hand, silencing her. “But you have to agree to a couple of things.”
“Okay!”
“First,” he began, pointing to her mermaid pajamas. “You need to get dressed, brush your teeth, and comb your hair.”
She shuffled down the hallway, almost tripping over the cat lounging in the doorway.
“One more thing,” Reid called after her. “We’ll knock on the door once. If Miss Kaiah doesn’t respond, then we’ll leave.”
“Deal!” Piper hollered.
“I’m hoping my car will be ready in the next couple of days,” Kaiah said, holding her phone. She’d called Monica, the owner
of the Airbnb in Edisto Beach, as soon as she deemed it an acceptable hour to ping her. “If it’s okay, let’s keep the reservation
as is, and I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
“I’ll hold it for you, but please let me know if something changes,” Monica said.
Kaiah released a shaky breath. Everything was going to be fine. She had woken up at seven and couldn’t go back to sleep, so she’d started making phone calls to keep her plans on track despite the car issues.
“Thank you so much, Monica,” she said while pulling a granola bar out of her suitcase. As soon as she got off the phone, she
needed to order some actual food. She couldn’t live on granola bars until tomorrow.
“Have a safe trip,” Monica said before disconnecting the call.
Kaiah sat on the arm of the sofa and unwrapped the granola bar. What would go well with her minuscule meal? Coffee. Definitely
coffee. A coffee maker sat on the counter, which meant there could be coffee grounds stored in a cabinet.
She hopped off the arm of the sofa and began searching but came up empty. She unlocked her phone and started to tap a breakfast
order into a delivery app.
“I wonder if anyone in this town makes a better vanilla latte than the Roast Shack?” she muttered under her breath. She was
on the hunt when a noise pulled her out of the zone—was that a knock?
Hushed voices murmured outside the door, and she peeked through the peephole. She smiled when she found Reid and Piper standing
on the deck.
“Good morning,” she said as she pulled open the front door.
“See, Daddy,” Piper exclaimed. “I told you Miss Kaiah was awake.”
Reid’s smile was sheepish—and adorable. “Hope we didn’t wake you.”
“Nope. I’ve been up since seven.” She leaned on the doorframe. “What’s up?”
“Do you like pancakes?” Piper asked, her expression hopeful.
Kaiah bent and touched Piper’s button nose. “I do. How about you?”
“Yeah.” Piper clapped. “Did you have breakfast?”
Kaiah held up the empty wrapper. “Only if you count a smushed granola bar.”
“Me and Daddy want to make you pancakes.” Piper grabbed Kaiah’s hand. “Let’s go!”
Kaiah slipped the wrapper into the pocket of her jeans. “I’m ready.” She allowed Piper to steer her down the steps and into
the house, where Ariel lounged on the back of the sofa, snoring loudly.
“Hey, Piper,” Kaiah whispered, tapping the little girl’s shoulder. “Your cat snores.”
Piper cackled. “Sometimes she wakes herself up because she snores so loud.”
Kaiah shared a grin with Reid.
“Can I see a picture of George?” Piper asked when they reached the kitchen.
Kaiah unlocked her phone and scrolled to the last photo she’d taken of George, sitting on her deck smiling in a sunbeam. She
felt a boulder drop into the pit of her stomach as she took in the photo of her best buddy.
“He’s a beautiful golden retriever,” Reid said, standing over her shoulder.
Piper pulled the phone closer to her. “He looks nice. I think he’d be best friends with Ariel.”
“He likes cats,” Kaiah said. “But most cats don’t care for him.” She set her phone on the counter. “How can I help with breakfast?”
Reid found the pancake mix while Kaiah started a pot of coffee. Her stomach was rumbling a few minutes later as the rich aroma
of coffee mingled with the pancakes sizzling on the stove. Reid plated the pancakes, and the three of them sat at the table
and smothered their breakfast in butter and syrup. Piper kept Kaiah and Reid in stitches while she shared stories about school.
After they finished eating, Piper jumped from the table. “I need to show you the story I wrote in school last week,” she exclaimed before racing out of the kitchen.
“I wish I could bottle that energy,” Reid said. “Want more coffee?”
Kaiah shook her head and then stacked their plates. “No, thanks. Everything was delicious.” She carried the plates to the
sink, where she began rinsing them off. “I feel bad that you’re feeding me again. Maybe I can buy you lunch or something.”
When Reid remained silent, she craned her neck over her shoulder. He sat in his chair stone-faced, and his reticence sent
heat surging to her cheeks. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no.” He gathered up their coffee mugs. “I was just wondering . . .” He paused again. “Do you have plans today?”
“I don’t have a car, so nope, no plans.”
“Would you like a tour of Coral Cove?”
Piper slid through the doorway. “Are we taking Miss Kaiah out?”
Reid kept his focus on Kaiah. “Are we?”
Kaiah smiled. “Yep. I think I’d like that.”
“What do you think of Coral Cove?” Reid asked Kaiah. He was holding his daughter’s hand as the three of them meandered down
the boardwalk that afternoon.
The sky above them stretched across in a soft blue, and seagulls called to one another while the waves crashed against the
shore. Clusters of sunbathers scattered along the shore. Young families walked together along the water’s edge, and teenagers
played volleyball in the sand. In the distance, fishing boats bobbed in the water while sailboats glided along, their colorful
sails flapping in the breeze.
Reid couldn’t have asked for a better day to show Kaiah around town.
Earlier that morning, they had jumped into his Suburban, and he gave her a windshield tour of the surrounding neighborhood before they parked on Main Street.
They visited several stores before Kaiah insisted on buying lunch for them at Frank’s Seafood Grill.
He wasn’t surprised to find that he was enjoying this day with Kaiah even more than the last. Their conversation effortlessly ebbed and flowed, and her genuine delight in his daughter’s endless anecdotes warmed his heart.
Kaiah tented a hand over her eyes while she watched the waves. “As a travel reporter, I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this
place. It’s breathtaking here,” she said. “I feel so at home, you know? It doesn’t feel touristy. And the food was delicious—probably
some of the best shrimp I’ve ever had.” She turned toward him. “It reminds me of the beach towns we visited in New England
when I was a kid. Those were some of my best memories of my mom. And you know what? Those trips inspired me to travel the
world and write stories about the places I visited and people I met.”
“Daddy! Daddy!” Piper appeared beside him and pulled on his hand. “My friend Megan’s here.” She pointed toward the sand. “Can
I go say hi to her?”
Reid nodded. “Stay where I can see you. Miss Kaiah and I will sit on this bench.”
Piper kicked off her sandals and took off running onto the sand. The other little girl saw her, and they both shrieked before
hugging and dancing around.
Kaiah plopped on the bench and slipped on a pair of pink, mirrored sunglasses. “Your daughter is a ray of sunshine,” she said.
Reid sat beside Kaiah. “I’m glad you’re enjoying her, because she really likes you.”
“She’s a hoot.” Kaiah crossed her long legs, and her eyes lingered on the beach.
“That lighthouse is so beautiful. I saw it as soon as I drove into town, and after I met you at the coffee shop, I walked to see it. I felt like it was calling me.” She grimaced.
“I didn’t realize how weird that would sound until I said it out loud. ”
He chuckled. “Not weird at all.” He glanced at the lighthouse and then back at her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Plus it has
an interesting history.”
“Is that right?” She angled her body toward him.
“It was built in 1805, and it saved a ship full of sailors from running up on the shoals during a storm right around this
time of year, early April. One of the sailors was my great-great-so-many-greats-grandfather.”
“Wow.”
“The lighthouse is one of our historical sites. We have a museum just a few miles from here, and it details the history of
Coral Cove, how it was a fishing village in the early 1800s and then grew from there. In fact, there was a port a few miles
from here.”
“You seem to know a lot about it.”
“My twin sister is the president of the Coral Cove Historical Society. I help out with tours of the lighthouse sometimes,