Lighthouse Cove (South Carolina Sunsets Book 7)

she said before she started walking again.
Even though she was the smaller in stature of her two daughters, Meg had the stronger personality. She was also way more stubborn than Colleen had ever been.
“Okay. But I can’t promise I won’t talk about it at lunch.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Oh, Mom…”
“Let’s change the subject,” Colleen said. “So, Tucker is busy working on Christmas toy ideas. This is going to be an amazing fourth quarter.”
“But it’s only spring time,” Meg said.
“You would be surprised at how far in advance toy companies have to plan for a Christmas selling season.”
They finally arrived at the parking lot. Julie looked up at the beautiful blue sky. The black and white striped lighthouse set against it perfectly and looked like a postcard.
“Have you met Emma yet?” Julie asked.
“No. I haven’t had a chance because of working so much. But Aunt Janine said that she’s really sweet,” Colleen said.
“Yeah, she seems to be really nice. Of course, your grandmother wants to know her entire life history. She’s convinced that she’s harboring some deep, dark secret,” Julie said, laughing.
“Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less of Grandma, She should’ve been a private investigator,” Meg said.
They stood in line to get their tickets and then finally arrived at the door to the lighthouse. At first, Julie didn’t see Emma anywhere. She assumed that she was finishing up with a group before them and would be down shortly. Sure enough, several people exited the building and then Emma was standing at her podium.
“Oh, hey, Julie! I’m so glad you got to come today,” Emma said, smiling.
“We planned to come this morning but we just couldn’t make it work. These are my daughters, Colleen and Meg,” Julie said, pointing at each of them.
“So nice to meet you both.”
“I know we haven’t met, but you look so familiar to me,” Colleen said. She squinted her eyes and tilted her head like she was really trying to figure it out. Emma looked slightly uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure why that would be. I’m new around here, and I haven’t even had a chance to go into town yet.”
“I guess some people just look familiar.”
“Let me take your tickets, and we will get started,” Emma said, barely making eye contact. Julie chalked it up to just being nervous with the line of people behind them.
The next twenty minutes consisted of walking up the spiral staircase and feeling her legs burn more than they ever had in her life. As she listened to Emma recite all the facts about the area and the lighthouse restoration, Julie found herself worrying that she needed to get more physical exercise. Her legs felt like they were literally going to burn right off her body. Lots of squats were in her future.
When they got to the top, Emma gave them all some time to take pictures of the view and really take it all in. Then, they were right back down the stairs so that she could take up the next group.
“Thanks so much for the tour,” Julie said. “You must have superhuman leg muscles to be able to do this all day.”
Emma leaned closer. “Trust me, I’m going to be soaking in an Epsom salt bath tonight and taking as many pain relievers as I can get away with.”
Julie laughed. “Listen, why don’t you come over for dinner this evening? You’re going to be exhausted from all of this, and I would love to serve you a home-cooked meal.”
She considered it for a moment. “You know what? I think I might just take you up on that.”
“Oh, good! I think Lucy is making pot roast tonight. Is that okay with you?”
Emma nodded. “That would be wonderful.”
“Excellent. Let’s say seven o’clock?”
“That should work perfect. This place closes at six, so that will give me time to take a shower and head over to the inn.”
Julie smiled and walked back toward Colleen and Meg who were waiting in the parking lot. As they walked back down the pathway, she was happy to have had this time with her daughters. It wasn’t often that they hung out together anymore what with all of them working so much of the time. But she also wondered about Emma. Did she have family? Or was she all alone?
Julie knew what it felt like to move to a new area and not know anyone. She wanted to do anything she could to make sure that Emma had a support system just like the one she had been blessed with when she moved to Seagrove. People became family very quickly, and she was hoping to extend that kindness to her new neighbor.
Colleen sat in front of the café with Janine, sipping on an expensive coffee drink and catching up. It seemed like they never got time to just sit and chat anymore. All of the women in the family were busy running their businesses or taking care of their families. Of course, Colleen didn’t have a family yet, but she was looking forward to the day that she and Tucker would get married and settle down. For now, she was happy running their business and dreaming about the future.
“I swear she just looks so familiar,” Colleen said.
“Maybe she just has that kind of face. You know, some people just look familiar for no real reason.”
Colleen took a bite of her biscotti and then dipped it into her coffee. “I guess it’s possible. She seems like a nice person. Definitely not a serial killer or anything.”
Janine laughed. “You really watch too much of that true crime stuff now. What got you interested in that?”
Colleen shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Tucker and I started watching a documentary one night, and I’ve just been interested in that kind of stuff ever since. I think I just like to know what makes the human mind tick.”
“Well, you can have it. I don’t like any of that dark stuff. Especially not at night time when I have to go to bed.”
“What’s