Page 38 of Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse
“I know.” Rebecca stifled some irritation that Niina wouldfeel the need to remind her of what was such a weight inside of Rebecca.
“The babe is small inside you.” Niina’s words increased Rebecca’s anxiety.
“Child,” Niina continued, “I can see you’re going places in your mind, entertaining fears, and that is understandable. You have experienced so much in such a short time.”
“How doyouknow?” Rebecca snapped before she could bite her tongue. “I’m sorry, Niina, I—”
“No, no, it’s all right.” Niina shook her head. “I only wish to encourage you. To help you not drown in despair.” She sighed. “However, I know...” Niina left her sentence unfinished.
Rebecca eyed her. “You know what?” Niina was Abel’s mother. She likely knew the same things Abel was keeping from her. “What do you know, Niina?”
Niina flushed and made a pretense of wiping her already dry hands on her apron. “I know you are a good person. I can see it in you.”
It was gracious, but it wasn’t what Rebecca wished to hear. She decided to be more direct. “Doyou know me, Niina?”
Niina frowned in genuine confusion. “Of course I know you.”
“I mean, do you know me from before? Are you holding secret who I truly am?”
Without hesitation, Niina shook her head and refused to answer truthfully. “Rebecca, your memory will return to you. Give it time. You must give it time.” She patted Rebecca’s arm and then motioned toward the kitchen. “I must go check on the bread.”
16
SHEA
So that her highborn kinsman came and bore her away from me...
Annabel Lee
ANNABEL’S LIGHTHOUSE
PRESENT DAY
PETE WAS STILL THERE.Shea grimaced as the lighthouse came into view. Holt must have caught her look because he bid her goodbye rather quickly and veered off toward his place. Shea noticed two legs sticking out from underneath Pete’s truck that he’d driven to the lighthouse the day before. She stopped and gathered her wits. A glance over shoulder told her Holt was out of sight and a guilty sensation washed over her. But it shouldn’t, she argued within herself. She had come here to the lighthouse forherand her career, and once again, Pete was inserting himself.
“What are you doing?” She didn’t mean her voice to sound as sharp as it did.
Pete’s voice was muffled. “Checking the exhaust. I thought it sounded a bit loud on the way here.” He maneuvered his way out from under the truck and pushed himself off the ground, brushing his hands together to wipe off any debris. “It’s getting rusty, but I don’t see anything serious.”
“How long are you staying?” Shea didn’t like herself in that moment. She heard the edge to her words. She sounded bitter. And she didn’t want to turn into a bitter wife. But it was hard not to. It was hard to look at her husband after just spending lunch with Holt and comparing the two. Holt wasinterestedin what she was doing. He gave her eye contact. He shared in the conversation and even bought her lunch. Pete was just—busy. Fixing things.
“I don’t know.” Pete was also oblivious to her tone and was horrible at reading her emotions. He looked over his shoulder at the lake. “This place is nice.”
Nice?How about beautiful, or gorgeous, or entrancing? But no. Pete could barely make his way through the basic thesaurus of synonyms.
“Yes. That’s one reason I came here.” Shea bit her tongue before she added, “Because you never brought me.”
Pete redirected his gaze back to hers, and she saw a flicker of something. Hurt? Or maybe irritation. Frankly, she couldn’t read him anymore like she used to.
He proceeded to answer and disregard her not-so-veiled complaint. “I’d like to stay until your windshield is repaired. I’ll check on the battery, probably replace it to be safe. I’d like to check the fluids too since I’m here. After your drive from home, it wouldn’t hurt to check.”
“I’m sure they’re fine.” Her car was newer than anything Pete drove.
“Probably.” He offered a nonchalant smile and lifted his brows. “You want to get lunch?”
Well, there was Murphy’s Law in action. Her cheeks warmed. “I’m not really hungry.”
“Okay.” Pete didn’t seem to care. He patted the side of his truck like it was an old friend. “I saw there is a bar down the road a couple of miles. I was thinking of getting a burger.”
