Lighthouse Cove (South Carolina Sunsets Book 7)

by Rachel Hanna

  She adored Dylan, of course, but he was high energy and she was getting older. She didn’t expect to be raising a little boy at this stage of her life, but she was grateful to be his mom. Still, she enjoyed those moments where she could just sit quietly, close her eyes and take a few deep breaths.

  Janine had been trying to coax her back to a yoga class so that she could learn how to calm down a bit, but Julie had been resistant. She knew her sister was the best yoga teacher around, but there was just something about being in a class full of people. She preferred to sit alone when she wanted to rest her mind.

  As she finished wiping down the café tables, she heard someone walk through the front door. It was a woman she’d never seen before. She was well dressed for the area. Tall, thin, with beautiful short, red hair and porcelain white skin. She was obviously very high class, as her mother would call it.

  “Welcome to Down Yonder Books. Can I help you with anything?”

  The woman smiled. “No, thank you. I just wanted to take a look around before I go to a meeting.”

  “Feel free. You have the run of the place. Not many people come here this time of the morning.”

  She nodded slightly and then started walking around the store, slowly running her hands across the books on the shelves. Occasionally, she would pick one up, thumb through it and then set it back on the shelf. Julie noticed that she was mostly looking at fiction books.

  “What genre do you read?”

  “What?” the woman asked, turning around as if she was slightly startled.

  “Oh. I was just asking what genre you read. Maybe I could suggest something?”

  “Mostly women’s fiction. I like really emotional stories about strong women.”

  Julie smiled. “Well, a lot of people recommend this author named Charlotte McLemore. We have a table full of her books over there.”

  The woman turned and looked at the table, reaching down to pick up one of the books. “Do you have a particular one that you recommend?”

  Julie smiled shyly. “I have to say that I haven’t really read any of them. Well, I started one last night because my partner here at the bookstore has been bugging me about it. The author is supposed to be coming here soon for a book signing.”

  “Oh? So you haven’t read any of the books yet?”

  “No. I tried to start one last night, but in all honesty I felt like it was a little slow.”

  “Slow?”

  “Yes, and I’m never telling my friend because she won’t leave me alone about it. I’m going to try to read it again on my lunch break today.”

  “So you didn’t like it?”

  “I can’t really say that because I don’t know. I only read the first page.”

  The woman chuckled. “How can you tell anything about a book from the first page?”

  Julie leaned against the front counter and crossed her arms. “I just feel like a book should be able to grab you from the very beginning. And the first page was pretty slow. I fell asleep.”

  “You’re not doing a very good sales job,” the woman said, laughing.

  “Sorry. Everyone loves those books, so I’m sure it’s just me.”

  “I might give one a try. But I saw a different one over here that looked interesting from another author. I think I’ll look through that one a little bit first.”

  “Would you care for a cup of coffee or a muffin?”

  Her eyebrows raised. “I would love a cup! What kind of muffins do you have?”

  “Well, I have chocolate, blueberry and apple cinnamon. My mom owns the bakery down the street, and she provides them to us.”

  “I’ll take a blueberry muffin.”

  She walked over and sat down at one of the tables and started looking through the book she had picked up.

  Julie finished pouring the coffee and put the muffin on a small white plate before taking it to the table.

  “So, is this your first time in Seagrove?”

  The woman looked up at her. “It is. Very cute little town.”

  “You said you have a business meeting here? That’s pretty unusual for Seagrove.”

  “Yes. Just so happens that my business associate lives here. I’m actually staying over in Charleston, though.”

  “Oh, darn. My husband and I own an adorable little inn over on the island. I was going to tell you that you might want to consider staying there. It’s right on the ocean.”

  “Really? I’m not too fond of my hotel. Too much traffic noise. Do you have a room available?”

  “Of course! Here, I’ll write down the information and you can drive over when you leave here if you’d like. My husband is there and can get your room all set up.”

  She smiled. “That sounds fantastic. I’m looking forward to staying there for a couple of nights.”

  “Oh, and I hope you’ll be here for our spring festival. It starts the day after tomorrow. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

  “I might just check that out. Thanks for the hospitality.”

  Julie walked back behind the register. “I forgot to ask your name?”

  The woman looked up and smiled. “Oh, it’s Anna.”

  “Well it’s nice to meet you Anna. My name is Julie.”

  Janine sat there picking at her salad, staring off into the distance. She just couldn’t believe what had happened at the restaurant the night before with William. Something just wasn’t right.

  “Hey, Janine!” Emma said, standing beside her. Janine hadn’t even noticed her walk up. She was just too lost in her own thoughts.

  “Oh, hey. I figured you’d be over at the lighthouse giving tours today.”

  “We’re actually only open half a day. Something went wrong with the light, and they’ve got the repair guy up there. We had a field trip group this morning, and I swear one of them unplugged something,” she said, laughing. “Mind if I join you?”

  Janine smiled and nodded, pointing at the chair across from her. “Please.”

  “You look a little sad today. Is everything all right?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea.”

  “What can I get you, honey?” the server asked Emma.

  “I’ll just take a club sandwich and a glass of water. Thanks.” She immediately turned back to Janine with a concerned look on her face. “What’s going on? I know we just met, but if you need somebody to talk to, it’s not like I can gossip. I don’t know anybody else really,” Emma said, laughing.

  Janine smiled. “Last night my boyfriend took me on a very fancy date. We went dancing and then we went to the most expensive restaurant I’ve ever been to.”

  “That sounds nice. So what’s wrong?”

  “Well, I had the distinct impression that he might have been proposing last night. Another couple in the restaurant even got engaged. But then suddenly something changed. It was like he had second thoughts or cold feet. He barely spoke to me the rest of the night, and he definitely didn’t propose.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing. It sounds like he loves you very much. Maybe he just decided to go a different route.”

  Janine picked at her food. “I don’t know. I’m just ready to start my life with him. I don’t understand what happened, and I’m too afraid to ask. I don’t want to assume that he was going to propose if he wasn’t.”

  “Maybe just wait it out. See if he does it another way. Guys are weird.”

  Janine smiled. “They are very weird. I like you, Emma. You’ve made me feel a little better.”

  The waitress put Emma’s glass of water on the table. “Then my work here is done,” she said, taking a long sip.

  Emma enjoyed her lunch with Janine, but she had to get back to the lighthouse. The city council really wanted her to work on some flyers that could be handed out at the Spring Festival. Apparently, she would also have a little table with displays about the lighthouse’s history and would be doing a raffle for some free tour tickets.

  When she had taken the job, she’d assumed it was nothing more than wa
lking people up and down the stairs, telling them random facts. She hadn’t intended on doing marketing since it wasn’t her forte.

  Thankfully, she had been able to talk the city council into buying her a secondhand golf cart so that she didn’t have to walk everywhere since she didn’t have a car. She had turned in her rental car the day after she arrived on the island.

  Roger had delivered the golf cart this morning, and that had allowed her to finally get into the city to have some lunch. She didn’t have time to go by the bookstore or the bakery, but it was on her list of things to do very soon.

  She hated to admit to herself that she was starting to hit her stride. She felt more at home in Seagrove than she had in a while. Nobody knew her there. Nobody knew her history or what had happened. Nobody knew about her dead mother or her crazy grandmother. Nobody knew about her boyfriend that she left behind or the night that her life changed.

  A fresh start was a blessing, and she was starting to enjoy hers more than she thought she would. Instead of holing herself up on the island, she was starting to get out and make friends. She was starting to feel comfortable.

  As she rounded the corner down the gravel drive and passed Janine’s cottage, she noticed a car sitting in the parking lot at the lighthouse up ahead. It was weird because it was closed for the rest of the day. She assumed maybe it belonged to the contractor who was working on the light, although she thought he should be long gone by now.

  As she pulled into the parking lot, she noticed that it was a rental car. Maybe some tourist had shown up for a lighthouse tour not realizing that they were closed for the rest of the day. Perhaps the note she put on the door next to the ticket counter had blown away in the ocean breeze.

  She parked her cart and got out, being careful to remember that she was a woman alone on an island. If she screamed, it wasn’t likely anyone was going to hear her.

  Still, her training as a police officer always kept her in good stead. She knew she could take care of herself, and she always kept a concealed weapon on her. Just part of her job training, although touching a gun made her have flashbacks that she’d rather not experience.

  She walked up to the car and saw no one inside. There was also no one standing anywhere near the lighthouse. Now she was feeling a little bit uncomfortable. Perhaps the best thing to do was to get inside of her cottage and lock the door until she could figure out who was lurking around her property.

  She got back in her cart and pulled closer to the cottage. As she stepped out of the golf cart, she saw someone off in the distance standing on the beach behind her house. When she looked closer, she knew exactly who it was.

  “Steve?”

  Her boyfriend - ex-boyfriend - turned around and looked at her.

  “Emma! Thank God I found you!” he said, running toward her. He closed the gap between them very quickly, pulling her into a tight embrace and pressing his face into the crook of her neck.

  “Why are you here? How did you even find me?” She felt more irritated than she probably should have. He seemed overwhelmed with worry, although she had explained to Caroline that she was okay and that she should relay that information to Steve.

  He pulled back and looked at her, his hands on her arms. “I’m a detective, Emma. I can find anybody. The better question is why did you run away without a word? You scared all of us to death!”

  “I’ve been talking to Caroline. I told her that I’m fine.”

  She turned to walk back towards the front of the house, Steve following close behind. “She said you didn’t sound like yourself on the phone. She was worried that you might hurt yourself, so I had to get here as soon as possible.”

  “Well, I’m really sorry that you wasted a trip, but I’m fine.”

  He reached for her arm and turned her around. His eyes were starting to fill with tears, and his face was red. She knew the red face was from anger, and the tears were from fear. To be a detective, Steve wore his emotions on his sleeve.

  “You’re my fiancé. We’re supposed to be getting married and living a life together, Emma. How could you just run away like that?”

  “Steve, we’re not getting married. The girl that you were engaged to died that night. I am no longer her, and I can’t marry you.” She put the key into the lock of her cottage and walked inside, Steve following behind her. He pushed it closed behind him and stood there like he didn’t know what to do.

  “It wasn’t your fault. Nobody thinks that it was.”

  “Well, I do. I just don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”

  “Emma, he was a bad guy.”

  “So he deserved to die? I could’ve chosen to shoot him in the leg or tackle him. But I didn’t. I killed a person.”

  He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. “Every cop dreads the thought of taking a life. You know that. We had training on that.”

  “Well training and real life are very different, Steve. And you’ve never taken a life, so you have no idea. You might’ve been there that night, but you didn’t have to pull the trigger.” The reality was that she resented him for sending her in first. He thought he was giving her the gift of solving a big case, but she felt like he threw her into the national spotlight in one swift motion.

  “I know, honey, and I wish it had been me. I wish that I could take that weight off of you, but I can’t. And if you would just see the counselor…”

  She held up her hand. “I don’t want to see a counselor. There is no counselor who can tell me how to feel. I’m the one going through it! I don’t want to talk about this anymore or think about this anymore. I just want to move on with my life.“

  “I don’t understand. Why would you come to this little island where you don’t know anybody?”

  “That’s exactly the reason why I’m here. I wanted a new job and new friends. I just can’t go back. I needed to become a new version of myself, and it’s working for me. I’m happy here. Well, as happy as I can be right now.“

  He looked stunned. “How can you say that? We’ve been together for three years. We had plans, Emma. We were going to retire from the force together in a few years and travel. We were talking about opening our own security company.”

  She felt bad for him. He was so torn up inside, and she just wasn’t. She felt almost nothing. She had loved him once, but now when she looked at him all she saw was her old life and she just couldn’t conjure up romantic feelings anymore. She walked over to her purse and opened the inside zipper, pulling out her engagement ring. She handed it to him.

  “I release you, Steve. You need to find somebody who wants those same dreams with you. I don’t ever want to go back there. I don’t ever want to be a police officer again, and I don’t want to start at a security company. I’m happy right here on this little island running this lighthouse.”

  He stared at the ring for a long moment before finally taking it from her hand. “You can’t run forever, Em. How can you be happy living such a small life like this?”

  She smiled slightly. “Just because it’s a small life doesn’t mean it’s not a fulfilling one. People here are just different. I can be myself, my real self, the one that I’ve been hiding my whole life. I can be a part of a community, and I don’t have to be scared. I don’t have to be on the defensive. I can just relax and do what I love. I can follow whatever dreams I have right here. I already have friends.”

  “So, that’s it? You’re just cutting ties with me and Caroline and the whole community you had back home?”

  She swallowed hard. “Caroline will always be my best friend, and I will never cut ties with her. But everything else, I have to let go of. It’s like I was a different person before the shooting, and now I’m this person. You wouldn’t want to be engaged to her anyway, Steve. She’s a stranger to you.”

  He shook his head. “I think you’re making a big mistake. You built a career, and you were going to have a wonderful retirement. I just don’t understand any of this.”

  She walked over to
the front door and opened it. “That’s the beauty of this freedom I have. Nobody has to understand. I get to choose the life I want, and I’ve made my choice. I’m sorry, Steve. I never wanted to break your heart. But this is how it has to be for me, and I’m at peace with it. I hope you have a really happy life and you find someone who will love you the way you deserve.”

  He slowly walked past her and back out onto the porch.

  “I wish you all the best, Emma. I know you’re broken from what happened, and I truly hope one day you’ll get some help for that because you deserve to feel at peace about that too. Goodbye.”

  As she watched him walk down and get into his rental car, she felt lighter. This was something that should’ve happened months ago, but she didn’t know if she was ready to let go of the relationship when everything else in her life was falling apart. She watched the car disappear down the long gravel street, and she knew that she was finally starting her life over again.

  Chapter 8

  Julie loved having someone stay at the inn. Her whole life, she had enjoyed meeting new people and finding out about their lives. For a long time, she had even considered being a newspaper reporter or a television journalist so that she could go out into the world and ask people questions without them thinking that she was just nosy.

  When Anna had agreed to come stay at the inn while she was in Seagrove on business, it made Julie happy to have someone else to talk to. She was enjoying her new friendship with Emma, and she always enjoyed her time with Dawson and Dylan. But the constant in and out of guests was one of her favorite things about living there.

  “I hope you enjoyed dinner,” Julie said as she sat across from the kitchen table with Anna.

  “It was wonderful. I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed chicken and dumplings so much. Lucy is definitely genius in the kitchen.”