island held more wonder. As if God himself had planted the tower in this spot.
“When was it built?” she asked Joe, further breaking her promise not to act like a tourist.
“The original one was just a pole, and it stood on a different spot. That was in the 1700s. The shifting of the channel kept making the light obsolete, forcing the early settlers to relocate it several times.” Joe gave her a gentle nudge to theright, saving her from tripping over an unnoticed branch. “One of them was struck by lightning, but I can’t remember when. This one went up in the early 1820s.”
“Amazing. I’m not sure which is more fascinating, the lighthouse itself or the history behind it.” Beth imagined the generations of sailors, not to mention pirates, who must have used this beacon to safely reach land. For some odd reason, strolling the same ground as pirates gave her an unexpected thrill.
“You like history?” Joe asked, sounding slightly less bored.
“Love it,” she said. “My favorite field trips in school were our yearly treks to Jamestown and Williamsburg.”
“Did you grow up in Richmond?”
Beth hadn’t intended the conversation to become about her. Even Lucas didn’t know the details of her early years. Mostly because he’d never asked, but she’d also never volunteered the information. She’d tell her fiancé. Someday. Didn’t mean she had to tell his brother.
“Around there. Do you use this light to navigate when you’re out on the water?”
If he caught her deflection, Joe didn’t mention it. “Nah. We’ve got modern navigation equipment. We don’t need the lighthouse anymore.”
“Oh.” Beth realized Joe was smiling with the effort not to laugh at her question. Which was a pretty stupid question now that she thought about it. She couldn’t help but smile back.
If Beth shot him any more of those smiles, Joe was going to have to end the tour and head home for a cold shower. Not that the woman could ever look hard, and she wasn’t very good at angry either, but when she smiled like that, like she actually liked him, her face softened and her eyes glowed like lightning bugs dancing over the water on a warm spring night.
Good God. He’d just compared her eyes to lightning bugs. Next he’d be writing love notes and drawing little hearts over the
i
’s.
Giving Beth distance to explore what felt like his own backyard, Joe pondered his brother’s catch. The woman continued to destroy every assumption he’d made about the kind of woman who would marry Lucas. An interest in history usually meant an interest in people more than things.
A woman attracted to Lucas should have been more interested in shopping and getting off the island as soon as possible. Beth ignored the shops, except Lola’s, as far as he knew, and had yet to give an excuse for why she should head back to Richmond. Something she could have easily done with Lucas gone.
If he didn’t know better, Joe would say Beth liked Anchor Island. Which made no sense at all, so he ignored the thought. But what he couldn’t ignore was Beth’s unwillingness to talk about herself. His question about where she grew up seemed simple enough, but she’d changed the subject faster than a bluefin hitting fresh bait.
What didn’t she want him to know? And was she keeping the same details from Lucas?
Asking Lucas what he knew about his fiancée wasn’t an option. Asking Patty what she’d learned would send up more red flags with his dad. Joe would have to dig for answers another way.
“I think I’ve gotten all the pictures I wanted,” she said, sliding her cell phone into her pocket. “The horses are next?”
“The horses are next.” Joe reached for the small of her back as they moved toward the parking area, then realized what he was doing and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll warn you now, if Chuck isn’t working, we’ll be stuck on the small observation deck like the other tourists.”
“Who is Chuck?” she
“When was it built?” she asked Joe, further breaking her promise not to act like a tourist.
“The original one was just a pole, and it stood on a different spot. That was in the 1700s. The shifting of the channel kept making the light obsolete, forcing the early settlers to relocate it several times.” Joe gave her a gentle nudge to theright, saving her from tripping over an unnoticed branch. “One of them was struck by lightning, but I can’t remember when. This one went up in the early 1820s.”
“Amazing. I’m not sure which is more fascinating, the lighthouse itself or the history behind it.” Beth imagined the generations of sailors, not to mention pirates, who must have used this beacon to safely reach land. For some odd reason, strolling the same ground as pirates gave her an unexpected thrill.
“You like history?” Joe asked, sounding slightly less bored.
“Love it,” she said. “My favorite field trips in school were our yearly treks to Jamestown and Williamsburg.”
“Did you grow up in Richmond?”
Beth hadn’t intended the conversation to become about her. Even Lucas didn’t know the details of her early years. Mostly because he’d never asked, but she’d also never volunteered the information. She’d tell her fiancé. Someday. Didn’t mean she had to tell his brother.
“Around there. Do you use this light to navigate when you’re out on the water?”
If he caught her deflection, Joe didn’t mention it. “Nah. We’ve got modern navigation equipment. We don’t need the lighthouse anymore.”
“Oh.” Beth realized Joe was smiling with the effort not to laugh at her question. Which was a pretty stupid question now that she thought about it. She couldn’t help but smile back.
If Beth shot him any more of those smiles, Joe was going to have to end the tour and head home for a cold shower. Not that the woman could ever look hard, and she wasn’t very good at angry either, but when she smiled like that, like she actually liked him, her face softened and her eyes glowed like lightning bugs dancing over the water on a warm spring night.
Good God. He’d just compared her eyes to lightning bugs. Next he’d be writing love notes and drawing little hearts over the
i
’s.
Giving Beth distance to explore what felt like his own backyard, Joe pondered his brother’s catch. The woman continued to destroy every assumption he’d made about the kind of woman who would marry Lucas. An interest in history usually meant an interest in people more than things.
A woman attracted to Lucas should have been more interested in shopping and getting off the island as soon as possible. Beth ignored the shops, except Lola’s, as far as he knew, and had yet to give an excuse for why she should head back to Richmond. Something she could have easily done with Lucas gone.
If he didn’t know better, Joe would say Beth liked Anchor Island. Which made no sense at all, so he ignored the thought. But what he couldn’t ignore was Beth’s unwillingness to talk about herself. His question about where she grew up seemed simple enough, but she’d changed the subject faster than a bluefin hitting fresh bait.
What didn’t she want him to know? And was she keeping the same details from Lucas?
Asking Lucas what he knew about his fiancée wasn’t an option. Asking Patty what she’d learned would send up more red flags with his dad. Joe would have to dig for answers another way.
“I think I’ve gotten all the pictures I wanted,” she said, sliding her cell phone into her pocket. “The horses are next?”
“The horses are next.” Joe reached for the small of her back as they moved toward the parking area, then realized what he was doing and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll warn you now, if Chuck isn’t working, we’ll be stuck on the small observation deck like the other tourists.”
“Who is Chuck?” she
Similar Books
