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“It felt good to talk about it, so thank you.” It had been tough, but he did feel a little lighter, sharing his side for the first time. Talking about his family’s past, the history of the lighthouse and what it meant had also reminded him how important this place and its heritage was to him.
He walked Rachel to the door just as a vehicle pulled up in front. He waved, seeing Callan behind the wheel. The man climbed out and walked toward them as Rachel snapped her fingers and turned to him. “The photos. Can I borrow the photo albums to scan some of the images?”
He hesitated. “Um...okay. Just be careful with them.” He went inside and brought them out for her.
“I’ll guard them with my life,” she said, noticing the image on the cover of one of the albums. “Is this your family crest?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. We even have a set of family wedding rings with the crest on it. They were passed down through family generations.” He hadn’t worn his in years, even before the disappearance. It was unsafe to wear when he was working in the shed with tools all the time. Alison used to tease him about not wearing it, said the single ladies in town would get the wrong idea, but she’d understood.
Callan leaned over the album and peered at the image. He frowned, leaning closer to inspect it. “So, the crest and the rings are unique?”
“One of a kind... Well, there used to be a second one,” he said. Alison had never taken hers off once it was passed on to her by his mother. She loved the sentiment, and Oliver had continued to offer to buy her a real ring with a diamond, something pretty and uniquely hers, but she insisted she loved the family heirloom.
“I know. I saw it,” Callan said.
It wasn’t the other man’s words that caused the chill to dance down Oliver’s spine, but the tone. One that said Callan had suddenly made headway on the unsolved disappearance that he’d just been about to lay to rest.
THETEXTFROMRachel had Carly reaching for the stool behind her before her knees could threaten to give way.
Callan might have found a lead into the disappearance of Alison and Catherine.
Her mouth was dry and her hand shook so violently that she nearly dropped her cell phone. He’d recognized the family crest, which had been the design for the wedding rings. Her heart pounded in her chest. The interview had opened up more than just old feelings...
She might actually find out what had happened to her best friend after all this time. Oliver and Tess might finally know.
Tears burned the backs of her eyes and the door opening a second later and the sight of Oliver had her stomach lurching. His expression was one of conflicted uncertainty, but also held traces of hope.
He headed toward her and Carly met him around the other side of the counter. He opened his arms and she stepped into them. As she rested her head against his chest, neither of them spoke. They just stood there in silence, holding one another, both lost in their own conflicted thoughts.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HOWONEARTHwas she supposed to write now?
For the last two days, Carly’s emotions had been spiraling and her thoughts had been on nothing but what Callan had possibly uncovered about Alison and Catherine’s disappearance. The cold case was now open again after all this time. She’d learned from Rachel that Callan had gone straight to the coast guard with the image of the ring he’d recognized and was working with several active members to try to locate the files from the year the two had gone missing, when he was an active member of the elite drug trafficking team. He’d refused to give any details to Oliver about where he’d seen the ring in case his memory was wrong, and he’d cautioned Oliver not to get Tess’s hopes up, to keep the information to himself for now. Carly knew she wasn’t the only one preoccupied with thoughts of the past.
It was as if she’d been transported straight back to that fateful day three years ago when the news had hit.
She and Oliver had barely said a word in the bookstore the day before, but there was definitely a new tension and anticipation that had made things a little strained between them. They were both so invested in this. They’d both lost people who were important to them. This new development was impacting them the most. They’d just started exploring the connection between them, but now Carly wasn’t quite sure what was happening...
And her creativity and motivation were definitely suffering.
But the email from her editor asking for more chapters meant she needed to push through...and maybe, if she could channel what she was feeling onto the page, it might help her process everything. Writing had always been therapeutic for her.
Opening the manuscript to where she’d left off during her previous writing session—the night after the BBQ, when her world had seemed to be on the biggest high—she noticed she’d stopped on the climactic scene at the end of act two. The dark moment was next and, ironically, she was probably in the best state of mind to write it that day.
Taking a deep breath, she started to type:
The storm had come out of nowhere.
That day had been mild and calm when the fisherman had left my side in the early morning to head out onto the water. But now, hours later, he hadn’t yet returned, and dark clouds had settled above. In the distance, I hear the rumble of thunder and can see flashes of lightning, illuminating a sky as dark as midnight.
From the house I can see the large waves crashing against the shore. I shiver in the damp, cold interior as I stare out the window, my heart pounding and fear closing in around me with each passing second that I don’t see him or the boat.
I can’t stay inside. I’m going insane with worry as the ticking grandfather clock pounds in my head. I have to at least go to the shoreline and see if I can see him...wait for him.
Putting on warm clothing and boots, I head out and down the trail toward the ocean’s edge. Rain starts to fall, big droplets covering my body, and the ground beneath my feet is muddy and slippery as I hurry, a sense of dread propelling me forward.
He will be okay. Maybe he’s found an inlet to dock and wait out the storm. I have to believe that everything will be okay. The power of our love connects me to him in ways I’ve never imagined possible and I need to stay positive and hopeful that he will navigate this storm and come back to me.
