had been removed, the bones of a homey past remained—a bed with a bare mattress, a nightstand beside it was a spindle lamp, a long table against a wall, and a little sitting area beside a small gas stove.
“Yeah, when it was in continuous operation, the keeper lived in the cottage that used to be just a hundred feet or so up along the cliff. It was wiped out in the last hurricane, but that’s where my mom grew up. During bad weather, my grandpa would stay in the lighthouse around the clock, so yeah, it’s like a little house in here.”
“Did he lose his job when they automated?”
“Nah. He retired, and they automated after that.”
“What a cool job he had.” She brushed her fingers over the long table, making tracks through a rime of dust. Alex remembered when it had been like a little kitchen, with a microwave and a coffeemaker, a small fridge beneath it.
She turned and eyed the bed. Alex had not been thinking about that bed when he’d brought her here, but now he definitely was. Except it had been sitting there untouched for years now, and was certainly dusty like all the other furniture.
Still, though … a thought bloomed. He lived with his mother, she lived with her family, but he had a key to the freaking Quiet Cove lighthouse. The bed was small, hardly more than a cot, really, but still. There was potential here.
“Yeah, a pretty cool job. Really boring most of the time, but in bad storms, sometimes he was the only thing keeping ships afloat.” He took her hand. “Come on. I brought you here to go up and see the view.”
She didn’t complain about climbing the spiral staircase in her high-heeled boots, and she was in pretty good shape, with all the dancing and spinning and yoga she did, but when they reached the top, her cheeks were flushed and her breathing heavy.
Alex had turned on the fewest necessary lights so they didn’t catch notice—since, officially, they were trespassing on city property. The grandson of the last keeper and the daughter of the don would probably get a pass, but he didn’t want the interruption while cops or whoever figured out who was creeping around the old lighthouse.
The low golden light made a warm, almost cozy effect. As they rose into the circular lantern room, with its catwalk around windows showing a view all the way to Providence and far into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and the big Fresnel lens at the center, Alex felt pretty damn proud of himself. This was a good place to impress a girl.
“Oh, wow,” Lia gasped. “It’s so pretty. It’s like a jewel. I bet it’s even more gorgeous when it’s lit up.”
She was looking at the lens. “Yeah,” he agreed. “But it’s prettier this way, when you can see the patterns in the glass. If it was on, it’d fry your retinas.”
“Right, I guess so.” The view out the windows caught her eye, and she stepped onto the catwalk. “Hey—is that—that’s my house, isn’t it?”
Alex went to her side and looked. The don’s house was on the bluff above the beach, just a bit down from the top of Greenback Hill. The richest man in the Cove didn’t live in the most expensive house, but he did live in the same neighborhood. From here, the don’s back yard with its large pool, the garage side of the house, and about half the front yard was visible. Glow from several windows made the big house seem cozy and warm.
The dark SUV of the night guard was parked in its usual spot.
“Yeah, that’s your house.”
“It looks so much closer that I thought.”
“Less than a mile, as the crow flies.”
“I’ve lived there all my life and hardly ever think about this place. Close as it is, you can barely see it from our house.”
“That makes sense. On the ground, the neighbors’ houses would block your view.”
“The Cove is so small,” she said, her voice suddenly soft and distant.
He caught her hand again and pulled her close, leading her to another side of the catwalk. Part of it was blocked by the automating equipment now, but whoever had done that job had done it smart, leaving the walk clear at every point with the best views. Now, they were facing northwest. “Look here.”
“You really can see the city from here. It glows.”
“Yep. Night is best, because of the lights. In the day, it’s more like