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Ronan kicked at the sand, sending pebbles into the water. "Or maybe there’s nothing to find. Maybe this whole thing is just a wild goose chase."
I wanted to argue and reassure him, but the doubt was too much. What if we were wrong about the clues? What if Great-Uncle Ian's message led nowhere?
"Maybe we’re missing something significant," I said finally. "The clue mentioned where the light meets the shore, but that’s practically everywhere. If we had a specific spot, we could dig. Whatever we need to find could be a foot down, but we don't have a backhoe to scoop out all of the sand on this little beach."
Ronan rubbed his chin. "Or maybe we need to come back during the day? There might be something we can’t see in the dark."
"Yeah, maybe," I agreed, trying to hide my disappointment.
Ronan stepped up close to me and put an arm around my waist. "You know, even if we didn’t find anything, I’m glad we came out here. It’s... nice, being here with you."
My heart skipped a beat at his words. "Yeah," I managed, "it is."
As we prepared to leave, knowing the climb up would be much easier than the trek down, I took one last look around the cove. The beacon's light swept over us, illuminating Ronan’s entire body for a moment. In that instant, I made a silent vow. I would make sure we would solve the mystery, no matter what it took. I wasn’t ready to let go of it or of him just yet.
"Come on," I said, offering my hand to help him up. "Let’s head back. We can regroup in the morning."
Chapter thirteen
Ronan
Istared out the window of my hotel room. The expansive view of Lake Michigan usually calmed my nerves, but now, the endless water stretching to the horizon only seemed to mock the turmoil inside me. My phone buzzed with yet another message, the fifth in the last hour. Each one sounded more urgent than the last.
"Client threatening to pull out... very upset with us… need you back ASAP... don't know how long we can stall them before they bolt..."
I stared at the screen, and the words blurred together while a wave of frustration washed over me. My visit to Blue Harbor was supposed to be a time for me to reconnect with my roots and uncover the secrets of my family's past. Instead, the chaos of my work life couldn't quite let me go. The demands of my clients and my team conspired to take over right when Tyler and I were close to sorting out Great-Uncle Ian's mystery.
My phone dropped from my hand onto the desk, the clatter of metal on wood echoing in the stillness of my room. Wearing only long pajama pants, I stared out the window again and placed the palm of one hand on the cool glass. My breath fogged the surface and my fingers left prints while I strugged to take deep breaths and calm my nerves.
It wasn't about whether I loved my work or not. I did. It was the best thing in the world until I met Tyler.
When I built my company from the ground up, from scratch, nurturing my ideas until they emerged as the pillars of a brand new tech company, the thrill was like nothing I'd ever experienced. It was an incredibly intoxicating rush, but it had a downside. The work could take on a life of its own and consume every waking moment and almost all of my energy resources.
Now, when I was on the brink of discovering something personally meaningful, something that could change the course of my life, the forces that drove my California life wanted to pull me away, back to the boardrooms and the conference calls along with the endless cycle of meetings and deadlines. It was a beast that wanted to keep me for itself.
I thought about Tyler and how his eyes lit up when we talked about the search. His hand was always warm in mine. He had kicked my emotional life into high gear. I cared about him in a way I'd never cared about anyone else. The thought of leaving him and Blue Harbor behind made my chest ache with physical jolts of pain.
I turned back to the desk and stared at the pile of papers and maps I'd scattered across its surface. It was a confusing mass of clues and riddles, breadcrumbs left by Great-Uncle Ian, leading us to a destination I still couldn't see ahead of me. The mystery was captivating. It was a puzzle that I couldn't leave unsolved.
My phone buzzed again, the sound grating on my nerves like sandpaper on raw skin. I picked it up and let my thumb hover over the screen. My impulse was to silence it. Failing that, I'd want to throw it across the room and watch it shatter into a thousand pieces.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take either action. Both were irresponsible. I had a duty to work with my team and my clients. I couldn't just abandon them, no matter how much my heart pushed me to stay in Blue Harbor. I'd assembled a team that depended on me to be a solid, trustworthy leader.
With a heavy sigh, I sank into the chair by the desk, lowering my head into my hands. The situation was tearing me in two, caught between the life I had built for myself and the life I wanted to build with Tyler.
I'd have to make a choice sooner or later. Tyler's roots in Blue Harbor were too deep. I couldn't expect him to drop everything and move to California.
For now, all I could do was try to find a balance. I wanted to hold on to the promise of what could be with Tyler while satisfying my company that I still had them on my mind.
A knock at the door tore me away from my spiraling thoughts. I opened it to find Tyler standing there, his brow furrowed with concern.
He reached out to hug me. "Hey, good morning. Is everything okay? You sounded tense on the phone."
I stepped to the side to let him in. His hair was still damp from his morning shower, and his cheeks were smooth.
"Yeah, it's some California work stuff. I need to pivot and let it lie. Let's get back to the search. Did you bring the map?"
Tyler nodded, and he unfolded the aged, yellow paper onto a small table by the window. We leaned over it together, our shoulders brushing, as we retraced our steps, trying to figure out what we'd missed.
