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"Oh, Tyler! That's wonderful news. I'm so happy for you." She leaned forward to reach for each of our hands. "I've wanted you to find someone special for so long."
I watched his shoulders suddenly relax. They'd held a tension I hadn't noticed until it melted away. Tears of joy shimmered in Maggie's eyes.
Turning toward me, she explained. "I've known Tyler since he was just a boy. I lived in a house just down the street from his family when they first came to Blue Harbor. I've had the honor of watching him grow into a wonderful young man, but it always seemed like something… held him back from finding that special person. She looked back at Tyler. "My heart feels full knowing that yours is finally… complete."
Tyler lowered his head, and I watched a blush creep up the back of his neck. "Thanks, Maggie," he mumbled, touched by her kind words.
Next, she turned to me. "And Ronan." She reached out to take my free hand in both of hers. "Welcome to the family—both Tyler's and Blue Harbor's. We're fortunate to have you here." Her grip was firm. "We have a way of embracing new people, and I think you'll be a perfect fit."
It was difficult to figure out how to respond. I'd come to Blue Harbor expecting to find something charming from Great-Uncle Ian, perhaps an artifact from one of his trips, and I'd already found so much more. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Maggie broke the intensity of the moment. She clapped her hands. "Now, what brings you boys out here to this crumbling place? Surely, you didn't come to look at the cobwebs and dying rose bushes."
I glanced at Tyler. He was still working on pulling himself together. I answered for both of us with my heart still pounding.
"We're trying to solve a little mystery. Great-Uncle Ian left behind a number of interesting clues. It started with the safe-deposit box that caused me to meet you, and we've gone from there. We think the house might be helpful to us."
Maggie's eyes sparkled. "A mystery? Now, that's exciting. If anyone would leave behind a puzzle to solve, it would be old Ian. He had a tremendous flair for the dramatic, but you probably know that already."
Tyler was ready to rejoin the conversation. "Did he ever mention anything to you, Maggie? Anything about what he wanted to have happen with the house once he was gone? Is there anything unusual about it?"
She tapped the arm of her chair while she considered the question. "Ian was… well, he was rather extraordinary, and I suppose there is a lot I could show you, but honestly, there is one thing that really stands out to me. I always considered it a little odd to have with a regular old house."
I glanced at Tyler. "What is it?" we asked in unison, and Maggie laughed.
"Oh, the two of you. Aren't you so adorable? Follow me. I'll show you."
She led us to the side of the house facing Lake Michigan. Goosebumps rose on my arms in anticipation of what we might find. With Great-Uncle Ian, it was impossible to predict."
As we walked, Maggie told us, "Ian insisted I take special care of this. He never explained why, and I knew better than to ask him frivolous questions."
I instantly knew what she was going to show us when I first glimpsed it. I gasped. Attached to the side of the house was what looked like a slightly smaller version of a lighthouse beacon. Despite the worn wood and peeling paint around it, the glass itself was immaculately clean and cared for, while the brass fittings gleamed in the midday sun. The lens was about two feet across and crystal clear.
Tyler reached out to touch it. "What in the world?"
Maggie nodded and smiled. She was clearly pleased with our reactions. "It's a strange thing, right? That light shines down to the beach near a little cove at the bottom of the bluffs. Ian turned it on every night when he was here, rain or shine. He finally had me hire a local company to install a timer, and then he made me promise to check on it when he was away. I'm scared to turn it off now, even without him around.
An icy little shiver raced up my spine. The cove was in the mix again. I never knew there was a light that shined on it at night, but I'd never known the cove existed.
Tyler turned back toward Maggie. "Do you have any idea why he was so insistent about this light? Is there something down there? Does he know somebody who sails into the cove?"
She shook her head. "No, he never really said much about it that seemed to matter." She paused. "Oh, wait… the one thing. He said this over and over. He said someday somebody might need it to find their way home." She looked at both of us. "Does it mean something to the two of you?"
I nodded at Tyler. It had to be connected to our search somehow. We did need to explore that cove.
Tyler responded carefully to Maggie's question. "It might. Would you mind if we take a closer look at the light? I'm curious to see it up close."
"Oh, absolutely, feel free." She gestured toward the beacon. "Just please be careful with it. That thing is older than you and me put together."
When Tyler and I approached the light, it felt like all the pieces of our puzzle were slowly sliding into place. The journal, map, cove, and now the light all had to be part of the answer. There was some connection running through all of them.
Tyler leaned toward me. "Ronan, this has to be a major clue."
"Now, we just have to figure out what's it's pointing to and why."
Maggie watched us from a few feet away, her arms folded across her chest. "Be careful with that," she insisted. "Ian treated the whole contraption like it was made of pure gold."
Tyler ran his hands over the smooth metal surface of the casing. "You've kept this in such amazing shape."
