The Cove Conundrum Page 10

  "Yeah," said Nate. "She hasn't set up for any sort of a broadcast. Can't find her or her cameraperson. It's just weird."

  I had a flash of foreboding. "I'll go walk around a little outside just to see if maybe she fell or something trying to walk up here."

  "They're probably just taping somewhere remotely," Nate tried to offer, but I could tell he didn't believe a word coming out of his own mouth.

  "Let me know if you hear anything," I said.

  "Will do! Later!" And then the line went dead.

  I walked over to the front hallway and started putting on my boots.

  "Where you going, Paige?" asked Johnny, poking his head out of the doorway.

  "Lottie seems to be missing," I said. "Just wanted to make sure she wasn't stumbling around in the dark."

  "Hold your horses and I'll go with you," said Johnny, grabbing his slicker.

  "You don't have to," I protested.

  "Who has two thumbs and is trained in CPR?" He pointed at himself. He shoved his arms into the sleeves. "Plus, I like the water. Like a duck."

  "I appreciate it, Johnny," I said.

  "'Course!" he replied. He pulled open a drawer in the hall tree and rummaged around until he found a flashlight. "I'm not staying in this creepy old haunted house on my own."

  "It's not creepy," I insisted, but was cut off as the lights began to flicker. "Okay, so maybe moderately creepy."

  "If I didn't think you'd be scared, I'd totally go back to my trailer," said Johnny.

  "Sure, sure..." I teased, knowing as he flinched as a roll of thunder came through who the scaredy-cat in this situation was.

  I opened up the door and the rain was coming down in sheets. "This is pretty stupid of us."

  "Yo! Only stupid if Lottie isn't out there," said Johnny, stepping onto the deck.

  And I don't know what did it, but it was like the act of shutting the door was just enough to rattle the electrical system in the house, because all the lights went out.

  "Well, if that's not a sign..." mused Johnny, giving a shake like someone had walked over his grave.

  We dashed out into the night, shouting as loud as we could, "LOTTIE!"

  While Johnny wandered the road, I headed over to the cliffs. Maybe she had gone down to the beach to do her broadcast, and thought there was a staircase up to the house.

  I could hear the waves pounding the waves below. I stepped close-ish to the edge and shouted "LOTTIE!"

  It was tough to see. There was a cove a little farther down the beach, but it was protected by a big, stone archway that cut off my view. And despite the fact the sun was still up, the sky was covered in darkness. But then there was a flash of lightning, and in between the raindrops, it looked like there were two people beneath the arch leading to the cove.

  "LOTTIE?" I shouted, waving my flashlight, hoping whoever was there would see me and head this direction.

  But then there was another flash of lightning, and whatever I thought I saw was gone. The archway was empty. Maybe it had been my imagination.

  Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and the screen read. "Found her. On our way home."

  While it was a relief, it made me wonder who I saw in the cove. I texted back "Maybe two people in cove? Not sure. Could be trick of the shadows."

  There was a wait before a message came back. "Beach cut off. Tide too high. Stan and Fred will check as soon as they can."

  I put my phone away, not sure what to feel. If it had been my imagination, I would sure feel dumb if I put anyone in harm's way. But if there were people down there, they were in for a miserable night. There were caves and nooks in the cliffs and I hoped they had the sense to try to find some shelter. But there was, literally, nothing we could do at this point. The storm was too bad and any sort of a rescue would just be idiotic.

  I turned to walk back to the house. I waved my flashlight at Johnny to get his attention, and I saw his light bounce up the road.

  "They found her!" I shouted.

  "Let's go get some hot chocolate going!" Johnny announced, shivering in the cold. "I'm betting she's going to want some. Because I want some."

  I managed to say through my chattering teeth. "I think that is a great idea."

  We got into the house and I flipped the light switch. The electricity was still out.

  "Hang tight," said Johnny, going into the living room. He came out with a big box of long fireplace matches.

  "How did you know those were there?" I asked.

  "My coz and I make a lot of s'mores."

  "Really?" I asked.

  "What other reason is there for a fireplace?"

  There were wax tapers in the dining room candlestick holders and pretty soon Johnny had gotten us a little bit of light. I wandered around the house lighting every single candle I could find while Johnny went into the living room. He got the fire going so quickly, I was tempted to ask if he used lighter fluid.

  "How did you do that?" I asked.

  "Camping on the beach. Bonfires. All that kind of stuff," he said, dragging pillows off the couch and setting up a nest in front of the hearth. "Now, are you going to help me find the marshmallows or what?"

  The s'more fixings Nate had promised were waiting on the kitchen counter, and by the time Nate and Lottie arrived, we were ready for our slumber party.

  "Honey, I'm home!" shouted Nate as he and Lottie stepped through the door.

  Lottie was soaked to the bone and her hair was bedraggled from all the rain.

  "Dude! What happened to you?" asked Johnny.

  "Got caught running around trying to get the story. Wind broke my umbrella. We couldn't get our satellite hookup to work, so my cameraman is now at the hotel trying to upload our footage. I tried wandering down to Trevor's saloon to find Nate."

  Nate completed the thought. "But she got turned around and I found her in the alley behind Marnie's yarn shop."

  "Well, come in!" I said. "Electricity is out but the gas stove still works. I've got water for hot cocoa and we're going to need to eat through your refrigerator before all your groceries go bad!"

  "I'll grab the blankets!" Johnny shouted, running up the stairs, two at a time. And then he came back down, grabbed his flashlight, and went running back up again. "Frickin' creepy haunted house..." he grumbled.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Nate and I sat in the candlelit darkness of the room. The wind was still howling, the rain was still pelting, but we were safe and warm. The flames cast the living room in a golden flicker.

  Nate chuckled softly.

  "What?" I asked.

  He jerked his head toward the pile of pillows on the floor. Crashed out from their marshmallow sugar high, Johnny and Lottie had fallen asleep.

  "Come on," he said, getting off the ground and helping me up.

  "Should we draw mustaches on them or something?" I asked.

  He got a twinkle in his eye. "Very unhospitable."

  "She was late," I replied.

  "You got a marker?"

  Now, I wasn't actually going to draw on them with a Sharpie or anything mean. But I did have an eye pencil, and I figured that was fair game. Giggling, I pulled it out of my duffel bag and tossed it to Nate. With two quick swipes, he put a curly handlebar mustache on Johnny. He tossed it back to me and I decided not to be a total jerk. I gave Lottie a beauty mark and a little heart falling down her cheek like a tear.

  Nate nodded his approval. Trying not to laugh and wake them up, we tiptoed out of the room.

  Away from the fire, the house was dark and cavernous. I shivered, and it wasn't just because of the temperature drop.

  "Is it awful living here all alone?"

  He shrugged. "It would be nicer living here with someone else."

  And then his eyes caught mine and they held my gaze for a little bit longer than a simple statement like that demanded. The world almost seemed to go silent beneath the truth of his words.

  "Come here," said Nate, taking my hand and leading
me into the office.

  There was a big bay window and a long, leather, Chesterfield sofa parked in front of it. Nate sat and then pulled me down beside him, keeping his fingers lace with mine. I grabbed a thick blanket and wrapped it around us. I snuggled in as we stared out at the pelting storm. The flashes of lightning illuminated the sky.

  Nate rested his lips in my hair and I could feel his breath. Though he spoke low, his voice vibrated my bones. "Have you decided if you are going to stay or not?"

  A roll of thunder arrived, as if to underscore the earth-shattering decision I was having to make.

  "You could stay here, you know," he offered. "You wouldn't even have to work at Bitter Beans if you didn't want to. I have enough to take care of us both."

  Though his voice did not betray him, I could feel his heart racing through his shirt. It could be so easy. Just stay here with him.

  But was that what I wanted? To sit on an island with him for the rest of my days? Would we kill each other two weeks in from the boredom?

  I could feel him stiffen, bracing for my rejection. But he didn't say anything, didn't betray what I could read going on in his body.

  I gazed up at him. His eyes were so soft and caring. And I realized that in just these few short months, I had grown closer to him than any man I had ever known. He had proven day in and day out that I was the most important person in the world to him. I thought about how he had been there for me all the time, unflinching and without ever wanting anything back except to get to hang out with me a little more.

  And I realized that he was the most important person in the world to me.

  Yes, he was my boyfriend, but he was also my friend. I looked forward to seeing him every day. Every time I spotted him, I got butterflies in my stomach. I could talk to him about anything. I could be goofy and serious and just... be me.

  I couldn't imagine my life without him.

  The words came out before I realized they were on my lips.

  "I love you," I whispered.

  And I meant it. I loved him. This was more than just a crush, more than a summer romance.

  His eyes grew huge with wonder. He reached up, his fingertips soft and gentle on my cheek. It took a moment. I could feel it forming in his chest, but when he finally released the words from his lungs and his heart, it was as easy as breathing. It was a confirmation of everything we both already knew. It was a big deal, and yet nothing at all. "I love you, too," he said.

  And those were the only words either one of us really needed. That was the answer to his big question. We loved one another. And I realized I wanted this truth to be my guiding light. It didn't matter what I did if I didn't have him beside me. I just wanted to be here with him, forever, sitting cuddled up in his arms, safe and warm, no matter what storm was raging outside.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  We had fallen asleep curled up together on the couch. I woke to the sun streaming straight through the bay window and into my eyes. The raindrops glistened like diamonds and the rain had washed the world's face till it was shining.

  I smiled.

  It was a great day.

  I thought it might be nice to see if I could brew up a cup of coffee for my handsome host, but the moment I stirred, Nate woke up.

  "Good morning, beautiful," he murmured sleepily, giving me a kiss.

  You know, sometimes you like a person enough, you don't even care about the morning breath?

  I stayed for a little while longer, but then patted his knee. "Stay. I'll brew you up something strong enough to face this morning."

  He smiled and then stroked my cheek. "You have my sweater marks on your face."

  "You're a lousy pillow," I laughed, giving his nose a smooch.

  He shook his head, then sat up and stretched. "No. You're my guest. You stay here. I'll brew you up something strong enough to face the morning."

  "How about I brew you up a cup of coffee and you can brew me up a cup of coffee, and we'll call it even?"

  "You have yourself a deal." Eyes still halfway closed, he held up his hand for a high-five.

  Turns out we were both already behind the eight ball.

  The kitchen was filled with the sound of pots and pans clanging together and the smell of breakfast.

  We opened the door and Lottie was in there, whipping us up a feast.

  "Electricity is working!" Lottie announced, brandishing her spatula like a magic wand.

  "Aw! You didn't need to do all this," said Nate, yawning and scratching his fingers through his bed head. His hair was sticking out all over the place.

  "You gave me a warm, dry place to sleep last night," Lottie said with a smile. "It's the least I can do. Besides, I remember how much you always loved my breakfasts." Suddenly, she clamped her mouth shut as she remembered I was standing right there.

  Nate gave me a reassuring kiss on the top of my head and then shuffled over to the coffeepot, grabbing two mugs and filling them up for us like it was no big deal.

  I knew I had no reason to be jealous, especially after we had said that we had loved each other for the first time last night, and I knew that he really meant it. I knew that I really meant it. But there was a part of me that really wished he had left Lottie out in the mud.

  Johnny came bouncing in.

  Lottie held up her skillet. "Ready for some eggs?"

  "No can do. Gotta make sure the idiots stay out of the water until all the runoff sinks to the bottom of the ocean. I gotta run so that no one else gets the runs." He grabbed a piece of toast and shoved it in his mouth. "See ya!" And then he dashed out of the door like he was a fireman on the way to a four-alarm blaze.

  "I should probably get going, too," I said apologetically.

  "It's just breakfast!" insisted Lottie, her face falling.

  "Granny's down at Bitter Beans all by herself."

  "She has Richard," Nate reminded me. "I have a feeling she is going to be just fine not seeing you first thing."

  "But—" I started to say.

  Nate slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I could feel Lottie's eyes burning a hole in the back of my skull.

  "I really want you to stay," he murmured. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

  And then I realized that he didn't want to be here with Lottie any more than I did, and he certainly didn't want to be left alone with her. I felt myself melting into him.

  "Okay. But it's gotta be quick. I have a shop to open. You have damage to survey—"

  "Oh! Could I go with you?" asked Lottie. "Might be some good footage..."

  Nate's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you made breakfast? To sweeten me up so I'd let you do a ride-a-long?"

  "No!" But then her face screwed with guilt. "Okay, so maybe I was going to ask later. But I promise I won't get in the way! Just let me get some footage so that if anyone on the mainland has family members here, they know they're okay."

  Nate groaned. "You have a winning angle for everything, don't you."

  "I try."

  Nate threw up his hands. "Fine! Come along! I'm going to get ready." And then he stalked out of the room.

  "Boys!" said Lottie, wanting some solidarity from me. But I, personally, was on Nate's side.

  We stood there in relative silence until Nate returned. I mean, what was I supposed to ask her? How does it feel to hit on my ex, Trevor? How does it feel for me to be dating your ex? It was just weird.

  Instead, I asked her whatever I could think to ask about her job. But she wasn't really into the weather, she was just here as a field reporter, so that kind of killed that conversation, too.

  "So, tell me all about the shops on Main Street..." she said, sliding some scrambled eggs onto a plate.

  "Oh. What are you interested in knowing?"

  "Nate said I was in an alley behind them all and there was a yarn shop or something?"

  "Yeah, it's owned by Marnie."

  "Marnie isn't the one who found the time capsule, though," Lottie clarified as bre
ad popped out of the toaster.

  "No, that was Holly."

  "Holly?"

  "In the general store."

  "Wait. Is that the store that looks like an old general store that you work at or the one that actually IS an old general store?"

  "Bitter Beans is the one that looks like it. It's owned by my grandmother. Holly owns the general store that has the sunscreen and snacks."

  "Ooooh..." Lottie said, like I had cleared up some big issue in her head. "I thought they were the same place."

  "Two places."

  "I am going to need a map!" she laughed. As she put the toast on a plate and grabbed the butter from the fridge she asked, "By the way, anyone ever find that treasure or the missing map?"

  "Not a soul," I said. "We figure whoever stole it would have found the treasure by now, but no one is bragging or carrying heavy loads of gold onto the ferry."

  She was rummaging through the cabinets, but then, out of nowhere, she asked, "Was the general store ever in the place where the yarn shop is?"

  It was such an odd question. "Like, historically?" I clarified.

  "Yeah. Like, was it always a yarn store and always a general store? Or did the stores move around the main street over time?" She found the jam in the cupboard and brought it over.

  I shrugged. "Um... I know the general store always stood where it was, but I have no idea what Marnie's shop was before she took over."

  "Huh..." Lottie mused. She almost seemed lost in thought. "That's really interesting."

  I had no idea what was so interesting about a yarn store not always being a yarn store, but thankfully, Nate returned, freshly washed and shaved and ready to go. We rushed through breakfast. I changed into a fresh pair of clothes and made myself presentable. I wondered when Lottie was going to freshen up. I mean, if she was preparing to be on camera, it seemed like she would want to put on a little makeup or something.

  Nate went outside to start up the car, and I turned to Lottie. "Do you need some powder or lip gloss or anything?" I asked.

  "What?" she replied, looking at me like she didn't get why I was asking, and then remembered she was supposed to be on camera. "No. Um... I left all my bags with my cameraman in the Grand Hotel."