AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You did others?” If he was trying to make it sound less dramatic, he was failing. How much time had this man spent at sea? No wonder he liked living on a boat.
“I did two others while I was at the university. One as a research assistant and one when I was working on my doctorate.”
“I didn’t realize you had your PhD.” Over the past week, Molly had spent more time working and talking with Grant at Turtle Rehab, but clearly there was a lot she didn’t know about the mysterious man of adventure riding in her car, starting with his education. “What’s it in?”
“I studied marine biology.” There was a pause, and Grant shifted in his seat, looking the most uncomfortable he had since she’d met him. “But I don’t have my PhD. I left the university before I finished my dissertation.”
“Oh.” She did her best to keep her voice neutral although the news surprised her. She knew from friends who’d gotten their PhDs that the dissertation was a hard and sometimes frustrating process, but Grant didn’t seem like the type to give up when things got difficult. In fact, she would’ve said the opposite. What would’ve caused him to walk away from something he was obviously passionate about, especially so close to the finish line?
Molly considered asking him about it, but Grant changed the subject.
“I have to admit, I have an ulterior motive for wanting to leave so early this morning.” He had that sly Wile E. Coyote look that told her there was a better-than-good chance whatever he had in mind was going to be out of her comfort zone.
“You mean, you weren’t trying to pad our three-hour drive time by two hours in case we ran into summer traffic?”
“Summer traffic is nothing to joke about. Wait until the height of tourist season. You’ll avoid driving at all costs.” His eyes got wide with a look of mock horror. “But in this case, I wasn’t too worried about the tourists. As per our agreement, I’m taking you on your first excursion.”
“I thought the symposium was the excursion.”
“What kind of adventure tour guide would I be if the best thing I could come up with was a scientific symposium at a moderately fancy hotel?”
“An awesome one who cares about learning.” Seriously, Molly didn’t see the problem. They had to drive outside of the city limits. That seemed adventurous.
“Then consider this a two-fer.” He typed something into his phone and then slid it into the cell phone holder she had on her dashboard so she could see the new directions.
They drove for another hour, chatting about nothing special, when the computerized voice instructed her to take the next right, then a quick left, which put them on a much-smaller road in a more remote area.
There were a few houses that popped up here and there, but they were mostly surrounded by undeveloped land. After driving about fifteen minutes, they crossed over a long bridge to what appeared to be a small barrier island. From the looks of it, it was uninhabited.
“You’ve reached your destination,” the GPS announced.
“We have?” Molly asked, looking around. In the predawn darkness, it was hard to see much, but there didn’t seem to be anything around except sand dunes, sea grass, and a few scraggly-looking trees. She switched her headlights to the bright setting.
“Not quite yet.” Grant took his phone and stopped the directions. “The place we’re going doesn’t have a technical address, but it’s at the end of this road.”
Road seemed like a bold word for the trail they were on. Gravel crunched under her tires as they crept forward, and with all the overgrowth, it was hard to tell where the “road” ended and nature began. “What exactly is waiting for us at the end?”
“A lighthouse.” As soon as he said it, she could make out a large shadowy structure looming in the distance. “One of the oldest lighthouses in this part of Florida, to be exact.”
She leaned closer to the windshield to get a better view of the tall brick structure. “Is that it?”
“That’s her.” He tilted his head, looking at it through the passenger side window. “The original lighthouse in this location was built in the mid-1800s. That one was knocked down by a storm, and they replaced it with this one close to the turn of the century.”
“Fascinating.” Molly pulled to the side of the “road” so she could get a better look at it, although she wished it was lighter out. The darkness made it hard to see the details.
“Want to check it out?”
“Yes, please.” She shifted the car into park and killed the engine.
It was quiet outside. The chirping and buzzing of the nocturnal insects had already faded away, and the songs of the birds hadn’t started yet. Even the constant sea breeze was reduced to a soft whisper. The entire world seemed to be asleep, which added to the mystery of the towering giant in front of them. Molly walked across the sandy soil to examine the bricks that made up the exterior.
“A lot of lighthouses were built to warn sailors of hazards in the oceans. Jagged coastlines, unexpected islands, that sort of thing.” Grant stepped up next to her and laid a hand on the century-old bricks. “But this one was commissioned to guide sailors home. It marked the entrance to the river that led to a harbor.”
“Lighting the way home. I like that.” She tipped her head as far back as she could to stare up at the massive structure. It had to be close to a hundred feet tall, and from this position, it was impossible to see the top. “I’ve never been this close to a lighthouse before.”
“I figured they didn’t have a lot of lighthouses in Kansas.”
“Nope. The cows don’t usually have trouble steering clear of the corn.” She took a step forward and rested her hand on the weathered brick exterior, feeling the warmth it’d held onto from yesterday’s sun. “It’s beautiful.”
