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“This was your idea,” Ciara mouthed to Skyla.
Kiel nodded and jabbed Skyla in the ribs for good measure, mostly daring her to tell their parents so he could rat her out for making a sarcastic remark under her breath. Skyla glared at Kiel and showed him her clenched fist. She didn’t scare him.
Kiel leaned his head against the window and stared out into the ocean. They passed a small lighthouse and according to Ciara, it was haunted. She went on to tell them she saw it on television the night before and added the most of Seaport and the surrounding islands were haunted.
Skyla shuddered. “That’s not the one we’re visiting, right?”
“Nope,” Dad said. “You can only get to that one by boat. I’ll add it to the list though.” Emmett laughed.
Kiel straightened when he noticed a large barge coming into port. He briefly wondered what it would be like to work on a boat like that—one where he was gone for extended periods of time. He was a two feet on the ground kind of guy and the idea of being stuck on a boat for days on end didn’t appeal to him. His father had done it many times, but rarely talked about his at sea deployments.
Skyla talked constantly as she pointed out places of interest and asked their parents questions. They were in the front seat of the car, having lengthy conversations about the area, its history, and the people that lived there. Kiel leaned forward and saw a book in his mom’s lap. Of course, she had found a book about the area. He should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to stay out of a bookstore.
“The next time we come, I think we should take the train.” Kiel tilted his head toward Ciara, who stared out the other window. Sure enough, the Amtrak barreled across the other bridge, toward town.
“Definitely by boat next time,” Skyla added.
Emmett groaned.
“We don't have a boat, and no one knows how to sail one,” Kiel mumbled.
“Hey, I resent that,” Emmett said much to everyone’s chagrin. When the twins were little, Emmett took the family onto one of the ship's docks in New York City during fleet week. It wasn’t his ship, but one that was similar. Emmett showed them where he spent most of his time, but all Skyla wanted to do was sail the boat and begged their father to teach her. He jokingly told the kids he didn’t know how to skipper the ship. It wasn’t a complete lie. Emmet could captain a boat. He just chose not to.
“Daddy, maybe we can rent a boat or something?” Ciara asked sweetly, dropping “daddy” knowing Emmett would cave instantly.
“I’ll look into it,” he said as he followed the voice on the GPS. After a series of turns, driving along a narrow downtown road, and heading toward the horizon, Emmett pulled into a dirt parking lot. Ahead, Kiel could see the water and a bunch of people. This was definitely a tourist stop. He got out of the car first and opened the door for his mom. Kiel took her hand and then looped her hand into the crook of his arm.
“Such a gentleman,” she said as she patted his arm.
“You raised me well.”
“Hey, get your paws off my woman,” Emmett said as he came around the front of the car. Kiel laughed and stepped aside for his dad. He watched his parents kiss and then stepped back to walk with his sisters.
“You can hold my hand,” Skyla said.
“You can walk.”
“Rude,” she said as she smacked him in the chest. He grimaced and rubbed the spot she hit. Kiel stepped between his sisters and put his arms around them both. They walked like this until they met people walking toward them. He then stepped behind Ciara and kept a single file line, not wanting to crowd anyone walking along the path.
The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, the temperature hovered in the mid-seventies, and there wasn’t a trace of humidity in the air. Kiel didn’t know anyone who preferred humidity. Each time a front hovered, he prayed for a storm. Anything to break up the air pressure.
They stood in front of the lighthouse and stared up at it while Emmett read from the pamphlet. “Beavertail Lighthouse was built in 1856 and marks the entrance to Narragansett Bay. Other lighthouses are visible,” Emmett paused, turned, and pointed to the other three they could see from where they were. Castle Hill, Point Judith, and Rose Island, which was the haunted lighthouse Ciara told them about.
Emmett went on to tell his family more about the history of the lighthouse, the beacons and how they’d been there since the early 1700’s, and how Beavertail offered some of the most beautiful vistas along the New England coastline. He directed everyone toward the water and pointed. “That’s Seaport,” he said, pointing across the bay.
“Oh, no way,” Skyla said. “This must be the lighthouse we saw when we rented those coupe things.”
“So weird to think we were there and now we’re here,” Ciara added.
“I bet you could swim from here to there, Dad,” Skyla said.
Emmett shook his head. “No way in hell am I trying, that’s for sure.”
Kiel look the pamphlet from his dad and kept reading. “Dad, did you know there’s a Navy base here?”
“Naval War College, right?”
Kiel nodded. He wanted to suggest his father ask about transferring there instead of someplace farther from home, but he couldn’t do that in front of his sisters.
