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Tyler lightly brushed his hand against mine. He spoke softly. "I think we need to see it for ourselves. Even if the rocks are gone, I think we'll feel something there."
A lump formed in my throat and I wanted to take Tyler's hand in mine. Instead, I accepted Jack's return of the pages of the letter and asked another question. "Jack, can you tell us how to find Whispering Bluffs?"
He smiled, grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper, and began writing out instructions. While I watched the words appear, I thought about standing in the same spot where Great-Uncle Ian whispered his secrets. It raised goosebumps on my forearms.
As we left the Whacky Shack, Tyler turned to face me. "Tomorrow," he insisted. "We'll go to Whispering Bluffs tomorrow and check out its secrets."
"Tomorrow," I whispered in agreement.
We decided to grab lunch at Joe's Diner downtown, a cozy, retro restaurant with a black-and-white checkered floor and red vinyl booths. The aroma of fried food smacked us in the face as we opened the door. As soon as we slid into a corner booth, a server handed us menus.
After we placed our orders—a classic cheeseburger for Tyler and a turkey club for me—Tyler fidgeted with his napkin. He asked a bold question. "You've mentioned how busy your work keeps you. It has to be tough to balance that with relationships."
I coughed slightly, caught off guard by his directness. "I think that's a fair assessment. Most of my past relationships came to a quick, untimely end because my dates were impatient with my work requirements. They resented me canceling dates at the last minute to focus on tech projects or leaving town on short notice for business trips."
"That does sound like a rough go from both sides." Tyler's gaze briefly flickered away from me. "It can get complicated when your work is more than a job—it's part of your identity."
I smiled, sensing there was some tension beneath his words. Without thinking, I started to dig at it. "You get it. So, what about you? Do you have any grand love stories in your past?"
Tyler laughed, a sharp, nervous sound. He took a sip from his water glass. I watched as his hand trembled slightly. "No, nothing like that to report. I can count my relationships on one hand. They've all been with women, but I've always kept an open mind about men. Theo and Dawson were close friends of mine almost from the time I set foot in Blue Harbor."
I leaned partway across the table, my eyes locked on his face. "So, Theo and Dawson." I tried to sound casual. "Did that ever make you wonder… like when you got to know a nice guy…?"
Tyler's jaw clenched, and he looked away. "I... I don't know if I'm ready to talk about this." His voice was rough and ragged. "It's complicated."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you. We don't have to..."
He interrupted me. "No, it's okay." He took a long, deep breath before continuing. "The truth is, I've thought about it before, but the timing's never been right. Or maybe I've just been too scared to go that route. It might change so much."
I reached out and brushed my fingertips against his hand. "It's okay to be scared. I've definitely been there. This stuff isn't easy."
He pulled his hand away. I thought I saw longing painted on his face for a moment, but then he pushed it aside. "I don't know what I'm feeling. All I know is it's a little too much right now."
The unspoken feelings came close to spilling over, but Tyler wasn't ready, and I knew I could lose him if I pushed him.
"So, tell me more about your most exciting work project lately," he requested, abruptly changing the subject.
I hesitated momentarily, but I knew I had to respect his boundaries. With a small sigh, I began to talk about work, and the tension slowly dissipated.
We parted ways after finishing our lunch and engaging in almost an hour of small talk. Great-Uncle Ian's love letter had been a catalyst—a wedge to open a door to the past, but also possibly one that led to the future. If I was brave enough to take the leap, my future might involve Tyler by my side.
Back in my hotel room, I tucked the envelope with the letter into my messenger bag. Tomorrow, I'd stand on the edge of Whispering Bluffs. It would be another step toward uncovering what Great-Uncle Ian wanted me to find, and, if I had the courage, I might reveal my own secrets to Tyler.
Chapter six
Tyler
When I pulled up to the curb in front of the Grand Harbor Hotel, my heart began to pound again. I watched Ronan exit the lobby. Something about his presence commanded my attention. A magnetic field drew my eye to him and held it there. He moved with purposeful, fluid motions as he approached the car.
He wore a crisp, blue button shirt that likely cost more than my entire outfit, shoes included. I recognized the high-end moisture-wicking fabric as it clung to his chest in all the right places. He'd left the top two buttons of the shirt open, giving me an enticing glimpse of his collarbone and a hint of well-defined pecs.
The tailored dark jeans perfectly fit Ronan's body. They emphasized the long, lean lines of his legs, hugging his thighs and his backside.
On one wrist, he wore a high-tech smartwatch. It was a subtle but unmistakable marker of his wealth and status. Back home, he inhabited a world very different from my Blue Harbor community.
When he slid into the passenger seat of my car, I caught a slight hint of his cologne, clean and fresh with something warm and spicy for a finish, like aged whiskey. It was a scent that made me think of stylish ads in magazines featuring men wearing Italian suits and cufflinks like Ronan's platinum set.
He turned to face me with bright, gleaming eyes. The colors, now a striking mix of seafoam blue and turquoise, shifted with his mood and the time of day. When he was thinking hard and working over an issue, they darkened into the deep midnight blue of a night sky. In lighthearted moments, I spotted flecks of gold.
