Chapter 8
Kaiah aimed her camera down the street and snapped a few photos of the lighthouse with the adorable stores in the forefront.
“I just love this place,” she said, turning to Becca. “Tell me more about the town. Something you wish visitors knew.”
“Well,” Becca began spreading out her arms, “all of the shops are family-owned, and most of them have been here for decades.”
She pointed to the Beachside Bakery down the street. “The Watson family has owned the bakery for as long as I can remember.
My mom told me they inherited it from their parents.”
“They?” Kaiah asked.
“The Watson twins, Jenni and Jessica. They’re both married and have families, but they’re still ‘the Watson twins’ to everyone
in town.”
“No kidding.” Kaiah jotted down some notes in her notebook. “What’s it like being a twin?”
Becca shrugged. “I’ve always been one, so I don’t know anything else.
But it’s interesting. It’s hard to explain, but we get a feeling.
I know when he’s upset or in pain or scared.
He feels it for me too.” She paused, keeping her eyes trained on the bakery down the street.
“Sometimes it seems like I can feel when Reid is in danger. Which is . . . a lot when your brother and your husband are both fighting dangerous fires.”
“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 said Jenni, 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 with
The 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 that when 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. “Now this is 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.”
“Yeah. I should’ve known better. In the meantime Reid and Cash were working together.
Reid kept telling me that I needed to meet Cash, and I kept saying, ‘No, thanks.’” She ate another bite of the cookie.
“Finally, Reid wore me down, and I agreed to a double date with him and Brynn—and Cash.” Becca glanced out the window toward Main Street.
“I was such a brat that night. We went to dinner and a movie, and I hardly said two words to Cash during the meal.” She ran her finger over the tabletop.
“When we got to the movie theater, Brynn took me aside and told me I needed to be nicer.”
“And what happened?” Kaiah asked.
“Cash bought me popcorn and a drink, and we went and sat down in the theater before Brynn and Reid came in.” Becca shook her
head. “And Cash said something like, ‘Reid told me you recently had your heart broken, and I know what that’s like. If you’re
not ready, I understand. But I hope you’ll keep me in mind when you are.’”
Kaiah clucked her tongue. “That is the sweetest thing ever.”
“Right?” Becca’s lips formed a dreamy smile. “I was speechless.”
“And what happened next?”
“We skipped the movie, went out to his truck, and talked until nearly two a.m. Half a year later, he took me out to the lighthouse
and proposed.”
“That’s so romantic!”
Becca sighed. “I know. We married a few months after that. And I had to tell my brother he was right all along.”
Kaiah smiled. “That’s amazing.” She couldn’t help but notice that Becca had brought up Brynn naturally. That would make asking
about her feel a little less awkward. Kaiah gnawed on her lower lip. Becca seemed so open and eager to share, but something
this personal . . .
Jenni suddenly appeared beside Kaiah and sat down at the table. “What did you want to ask us?” Her twin sister sat across
from her and beside Becca.
Kaiah sat up straight. “Oh. Right!” She cleared her throat, putting on her journalist voice. “I’m Kaiah Ross, and this is
my first time in Coral Cove. First of all, this cupcake is out of this world. Second of all, Becca told me you inherited this
bakery from your folks. Tell me more about that.”
“Well, we inherited our love of baking from our parents,” Jessica began, “so it only made sense that we’d take over the bakery when they retired.”
Jenni held up her hand. “We kept their menu, but we tweaked it a little bit.”
Kaiah wrote in her notebook. “What do you like best about Coral Cove?”
The twins shared a smile and then responded in unison, “The people.”
Kaiah spent the next thirty minutes interviewing the twins before she and Becca thanked them and then returned to Main Street.
She rubbed her hands together as excitement filled her. She turned to Becca. “This town is almost too good to be true. The
people are kind and hardworking. This place is beautiful beyond words.” She paused, thinking. “So you guys have the festival
every spring. What other traditions do you have?”
“Good question,” Becca said. “The farmers market is one block over. It’s open every weekend, even in the winter.” Becca pointed
down the street. “We also have a big celebration for July Fourth. The entire town comes together for a parade and a community-wide
barbecue. It’s a pretty big deal. Anybody can be in the parade, even the kids. They all decorate their bikes for it.” She
chuckled. “I remember how excited Reid and I were to put red, white, and blue streamers on our bikes and ride along the parade
route. The parade is so fun—the marching band from the high school is always fabulous, and different clubs and town organizations
have floats.”
Kaiah wrote it all down. “I’d love to see that.”
“That means you’ll have to come back in July.
” Becca looped her arm in Kaiah’s as they strolled down the street.
“We also have more fun little shops. Let’s go into the jewelry store.
All of the jewelry is handmade by Ted and Betty Sue Walker, and they teach classes.
” She steered Kaiah into the store, where a couple in their sixties stood behind the counter.
“Welcome to Waterside Gems,” sang the woman, sporting a silver bobbed haircut. “How can we help you?”
“I’m Kaiah, and I’m a reporter for The Traveler. I’d like to interview you for an article about Coral Cove.”