The Lightkeeper's Bride

by Colleen Coble

  But no, it had to be more than sheer attraction, didn’t it? Addie said God had a plan for her life and that finding it would bring the peace Katie sought. Peace wasn’t in a man, but in God.

  Mrs. Carrington appeared in the kitchen doorway. “I need a day off, children. When this atrocious weather breaks, I suggest we go for a sail up the coast. We can take Jennie out for some fresh air.”

  Will moved away from Katie and stood near the fireplace.

  “It sounds like a lovely idea,” Katie said. “I can point out some coves Will and Philip might want to investigate. Any idea when this storm will end?” she asked him.

  “By my readings, I think it will break tomorrow and turn beautiful.”

  “We can make a picnic. It should be quite pleasant to take my boat along the coast,” Lady Carrington said.

  “Can I do anything to help you tonight? You’ve been quite mysterious about what we’re having for dinner.”

  “The stew is my specialty secret. I haven’t even shown Addie how to make it yet, though I will do so when she comes home. Enjoy the fire a few more minutes. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” She stepped away with a satisfied smile.

  Katie glanced up to see Will watching her intently. A sail with him sounded quite lovely.

  The foghorn tolled its warning into the night. Katie rolled over and stared at the dim light shining in the window, wondering why she was awake. As Will predicted, the storm had passed and the moon was out, but the storm surge still crashed against the rocks. She sat up and pushed her heavy hair from her face.

  Katie wasn’t sure what had roused her, but the skin on the back of her neck prickled. The cat leaped from the bed to the floor, but Nubbins was silent in his movement. She held her breath and listened to the night sounds: the surf crashing on the rocks, the owl that roosted in the light tower hooting, and the blare of the foghorn.

  Was that a shout? She leaped from the bed and ran to the window. She stared out to sea. The sliver of moon outside illuminated a boat riding the waves toward the rocks. It listed to one side, and she realized it was damaged. A man pulled a dinghy toward the water. Will was going to attempt a rescue. He needed help.

  She grabbed her robe and thrust her arms into it. With her robe belted, she ran for the stairs. Should she rouse Philip? She peered through the open door of his bedroom and saw the covers still smooth. He wasn’t home from his night at the quay yet. She rushed down the steps and made her way outside. When she reached the porch, she paused and saw Will was already out on the rolling sea. He was rowing with all his might toward the ship that was breaking apart on the rocks.

  It took a lot of courage to do what he was doing. She wished she’d been able to get out there in time to help him. While she couldn’t put her back to the oar, she could pray. She gripped the porch post and prayed that he would rescue the three sailors, that all of them would return safely to shore. Will had reached the boat and was pulling a man from the waves. Another man leaped into the dinghy and nearly capsized it. A few minutes later there was nothing much left of the boat, and Will was rowing back to the beach.

  Katie leaned against the post and whispered a thank you. She thought of the medical kit, and as she turned back to the house to fetch it, she saw a shadow flit by the end of the porch. She froze.

  “Philip?” she asked, her voice quavering. When no one answered, her sense of unease grew. “Who’s there?”

  An inner warning bell rang. She should get inside. Turning, she stepped toward the door, but before she got more than two feet, hands grabbed her and she was pulled back against a hard chest.

  The man’s hand went over her mouth. “Did you tell the constable?” he hissed in her ear.

  She couldn’t speak with his hand smelling of horse over her mouth. All she could do was shake her head. If only she had her shoes on, she’d try stomping on his instep. He dragged her toward the edge of the porch, out of the beam flashing from the lighthouse lens.

  She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. If she could get her mouth free, she’d scream, though she doubted anyone would hear her over the sound of the surf. She seized the man’s wrist with both hands and yanked downward. She opened her mouth until she saw the glitter of a knife blade.

  “Scream and you’re dead,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

  She was good at recognizing voices because of her job, but she’d never heard this one before: guttural with an East Coast accent.

  “What did you tell the constable?” he demanded.

  “N–nothing,” she choked out.

  “He showed up to talk to my boss. You must have told him something.” His fingers tightened on her throat. “I want to know what you said.”

  “I told you—nothing.”

  The man’s grip tightened, and he swore. “You tell your father that if he talks, you’re dead. You and your mother both.”

  Several men came stumbling up the path from the beach. The man’s hand fell away and Katie reeled at her sudden release. She could only see the broad back of a man melt into the darkness. She thought he might be dressed in overalls but she couldn’t be sure. The survivors of the shipwreck moved past her as she stood in the shadows.

  “There are dry clothes in the well house,” Will called to them.

  “Thanks,” one of the men said. They all went around the corner of the house, and the door to the shed creaked open.

  At least the men were unhurt. When at last she saw Will’s broad shoulders crest the top of the hill, her feet seemed to move of their own volition.

  A trace of whiskers darkened his chin. His tired eyes sharpened when he saw her. “What’s wrong?” He reached out and grasped her shoulders.

  She nestled against him. All she wanted was to inhale his musky scent and rest in his strength. “There was a man with a knife,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  His fingers tightened. “Where?”

  “On the porch, but he’s gone now.”

  “He threatened you?” His voice was a low growl.

  “Yes. He wanted to know what I overheard. And what I told the constable.” She didn’t repeat the threat against her and her mother.

  “Did you tell him you didn’t know anything?”

  She nodded. “I don’t think he believed me.” Her fists grasped the cotton of his shirt and she buried her nose into it even more.

  “I’ll look for him.”

  “No!” she said as he started to pull away. “Just hold me a minute.”

  Shudders wracked her shoulders as she remembered the knife. Will embraced her more tightly and she rested there a few more moments before she lifted her head. “I’m okay now. I don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened.”

  His rough hands smoothed her hair. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  “You weren’t there,” she reminded him.

  “God was, though.”

  She heard the smile in his voice and smiled too. “Of course.”

  Waves lapped at the sides of the boat. The sails billowed with air above Will’s head. He smiled as he saw Katie sitting on the deck with Lady Carrington. Jennie played with blocks at their feet. The seas were calm today, blue and beautiful. They had a picnic lunch aboard. He’d invited Philip to come, but after the attack on Katie the night before, his brother decided to speak with the constable and see who he’d interrogated.

  The mynah rode the waves on one of the crossbeams as if he were scouting for land. “Six steps, matie,” he squawked. Nubbins hissed from under Katie’s seat when the bird meowed. Will grinned. They were like a family out for a pleasure ride. The thought made him turn his gaze from where it wanted to linger . . . Katie’s face.

  “Ahoy,” Katie called. She joined him at the helm and pointed. “Just past that thickly forested finger of land, there is a tiny inlet that looks as though it goes nowhere. It does. Veer into it and angle the boat around to the left. Don’t worry how tight it is. The passage is deep and will widen soon enough.”

  He
nodded and concentrated on guiding the boat. Katie grabbed the railing with one hand as the sailboat, leaning with its sails full of wind, veered toward the passage she’d indicated. He would have missed it if it hadn’t been for her. In fact, it appeared so narrow he would have guessed the boat couldn’t fit. The trees on either side nearly brushed the side of the boat, but he could see the water was as deep as Katie promised. A few more feet and they were through the narrowest part. The shores on both sides receded and the passage grew wider and wider. A small bay opened in front of him. The few feet of rocky sand soon gave way to heavy forest.

  “Isn’t it charming?” she asked. “We used to come here every Sunday when I was small.”

  “Lovely,” he said, looking at her. The pink in her cheeks was most becoming. Her blue dress deepened the color of her eyes. He forced his attention back to the inlet ahead of him. It was clear and empty.

  There was a nice beach to his right. “How about we have lunch there?”

  “Looks good to me. I’m hungry,” she said.

  He steered the boat toward the shore until just before he would scrape bottom, then dropped the anchor overboard. They had no dinghy attached, so he leaped over the side into the cold water. He held out his arms for Lady Carrington then carried the older woman to the beach, where he set her on her feet, before returning for Jennie.

  The baby wound her fingers in his hair and smiled, showing her small teeth. He grinned back and carried her to Lady Carrington.

  His pulse was running away in his chest when he returned to the yacht for Katie, and he told himself it was the exertion of slogging through the water from the boat to the shore. Katie’s smile was a bit uncertain, but she slipped over the side and he caught her. The top of her bonnet brushed his chin and she weighed hardly anything in his arms. He caught the scent of lavender. It made him want to hold her closer. Her arms came around his neck and she slanted a glance into his face. The little point of her chin and the way her eyes tipped up at the corners intrigued him.

  “I’m sorry you have to carry me,” she said.

  “I’m not.” The words were out before he could stop them. He grinned at the way the color washed up her neck. He liked the feel of her in his arms, the way her breath stirred the hair at his sideburns, the smell of her. They reached the shore, but he didn’t put her down right away. Instead, he carried her onto the sand to where Lady Carrington stood with Jennie at her feet, scooping up sand.

  He set Katie down and waded back to the boat where he climbed aboard and grabbed the wicker basket of food. As he jumped back into the water, he saw movement off to his right. Narrowing his gaze, he saw a flutter of red. A shirt? He rushed the rest of the way to shore, dropped the basket at Katie’s feet, then took off at a run to where he’d seen the flash of color. He heard a noise behind him and realized Katie was on his heels. It would do no good to tell her to go back.

  He reached the black sage clumps and glanced around. The vegetation here was matted down with footprints. Large ones. A man, maybe two, had milled about in this area. A chill ran down his back. He stooped and picked up something glinting in the sun, nestled among the matted weeds. A knife. It had a snake’s head on it. Just like the one from the night they discovered Miss Bulmer’s wedding gown . . . and were attacked.

  He wheeled to face Katie. “Get out of here!”

  TWENTY-SIX

  “WHAT’S WRONG?”

  He turned her toward the beach. “It’s dangerous. I’ll take care of it.”

  She turned back around and folded her arms. “I’m coming with you.”

  A forest mist curled around Katie’s feet. The dankness of the vegetation filled her nose. This place felt sinister, but she pushed away her sense of foreboding and tried to see what Will was trying to hide.

  His arm came out and blocked her forward movement. “You are the most inquisitive, bullheaded woman I’ve ever met,” he said.

  Katie managed not to smile at his peeved tone. She peered around him at the flash of silver in his hand. “Is that a knife?”

  He thrust it in his belt then took her arm and turned her back toward the beach. “I shouldn’t have brought you out here.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the thick forest. Tension etched the line of his shoulders.

  She tried to see where he was looking but all she noticed were tall redwoods that blocked out the light and ferns waving in the breeze.

  That sensation of being watched intensified. “What’s wrong?”

  “Let’s get out of here.” He propelled her away from the coolness of the woods toward the beach.

  She tried to look around him. “I think those footprints were fresh.

  Whoever left that knife might still be around.”

  “The very reason that I should get you to safety.”

  They stepped out into sunshine. Gulls cawed overhead and her earlier sensation of danger seemed overblown.

  He stopped and pulled out the knife he’d found. “This knife. The guy who attacked me on the island the night we found Miss Bulmer’s wedding dress had it.”

  She shuddered and stared into the coolness of the tall trees. “You mean he’s been here?”

  “He had to have been there just a few moments ago. I saw his shirt. That’s what made me go look.”

  She quit trying to resist. “We should get Lady Carrington and Jennie out of here.”

  “You too. I’ll have you take the boat out a safe distance.”

  “Now wait a minute.” She dug her heels into the sand. “You’re going to investigate it, aren’t you? Yes, we’ll get them to safety, but when you go to check it out, I want to help.”

  “I don’t want you hurt.”

  The concern on his face warmed her. “That fellow nearly killed you. You need me.” His lips twitched then stilled, but she saw the amusement in his eyes. “Really. You need assistance. You don’t even have a weapon, do you?”

  He moved her closer to Lady Carrington. “I have his knife.”

  “What if he has a gun?” They were nearly within earshot of Lady Carrington, and Katie didn’t want to worry her. “Please, let me help you. I led you here in the first place. You can’t take my help one minute then shut me out the next.”

  The frown remained crouched between his eyes. “I won’t have you in harm’s way, Katie. I–I care too much about you.”

  Before she had time to respond, something whizzed over her head.

  “Run!” He grabbed her arm.

  She picked up her skirts with her other hand and dashed across the sand with her feet barely touching the ground.

  Bullets spit at their feet and Katie nearly stumbled, but Will’s hand on hers kept her moving until she regained her balance. The sharp retort of the gun stopped.

  “What’s happening?” Lady Carrington asked as Will scooped up Jennie and grabbed the older woman’s good arm.

  “Danger! Run!” Katie splashed through the water toward the sailboat. The water dragged at her skirts and she nearly lost her balance.

  She glanced back to see Will coming with Jennie in his arms and Lady Carrington at his side. There was no sign of the shooter and she thought they were far enough away from the woods that bullets couldn’t reach them unless the man was ready to be seen.

  She finally reached the boat but had no strength to climb the rope ladder, so she stood panting in chest-high water until Will reached her. He boosted Lady Carrington onto the ladder and the older woman clambered slowly up the rope then took the wailing baby he handed up to her.

  “Your turn,” he told Katie. His big hands spanned her waist and lifted her.

  She forced herself up the ladder. Lady Carrington was sitting at the top and reached out to her with her good hand. “I can make it,”

  Katie said. She hauled herself up until she stood on the deck, Will right behind her. The bird fluttered and squawked above her head.

  Will cranked the anchor up and hurried to set sail.

  “I don’t see anyone,” Katie said, taking Jennie, who
was reaching for her. The little one lay with her head on Katie’s shoulder and one fist clutched at her neck.

  “I think they just wanted to scare us off. They could have hit us.

  We were close enough.”

  She peered toward the woods. “Maybe you’re right.” She hoped so.

  It was one thing to investigate with Will herself, but she didn’t want Lady Carrington in any danger.

  “Step away from the cake!” the bird squawked. “Six feet back.”

  She jumped at the loud noise. “Stupid bird,” she muttered. The wind blew a salty breath into her face as the boat got underway. She moved to the bow and watched the blend of redwood bark and deep green leaves recede as Will took it through the inlet. A hundred yards offshore, he trimmed the sails and threw out the anchor. He shucked his shoes and removed his belt and shirt.

  “Why are we stopping? Where are you going?” She had a sinking feeling she knew.

  “I’m going to swim back and investigate.”

  She grabbed his arm. “You can’t go by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I’ll be fine, Katie. If there’s a chance to end it now, I want to take it. You were accosted last night. He could have killed you.”

  Before she could respond, he leaned forward and brushed his mouth across hers. The sensation of his lips on hers was intoxicating. Of their own volition, her fists grabbed his shirt and she returned his kiss.

  His hand cupped her cheek and he smiled into her face. “If I’m not back in an hour, take the boat back to Mercy Falls and contact the constable.”

  “But—” Before she could finish her protest, he was gone over the side. She heard a splash then saw his head, dark and sleek as an otter, moving through the water. She ran to the rail and prayed for his safety. He had to come back safe and sound. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.