Page 28 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

She nodded and moved to the kitchen with him, fully at peace for the first time since she walked away from him at the park.

~~~~

Nate glanced at Callie as they made their way down Route 1 toward the bluffs. He watched her glossy ponytail catching in the wind, still trying to equate the woman wearing blue jeans and a Carter Island Deli and Bakery T-shirt with the one he’d studied in paparazzi photos last night. Apparently, more than a few Sandersonians had taken notice of the island’s celebrity guest while he’d walked around the Fall Festival with Callie, oblivious to the fact that his date was famous. This morning he’d heard whispers here and there about himself and the stained glass artist dancing together and shacking up out at his place as the inevitable rumor mill started turning. He hadn’t missed the long stares and speculative glances when he stopped off at the bank and popped his head in at the Main Street Diner while he’d been out on patrol, but no one had said much to him directly.

He understood why Callie had kept a low profile during her first week on vacation. Clearly, privacy was rare and fleeting in her world, but the way Nate saw it, people could gawk and talk all they wanted. The town would move on to new gossip soon enough, anyway. He’d meant what he said when he told Callie that he didn’t give a damn about the trappings of her life. This was all he needed—Callie’s company on a gorgeous September day.

“I can’t get over how beautiful your family home is,” she said as they passed Mansion Row.

“I’ll give you a tour when we stop off to look at Mary’s pictures.”

She tore her gaze away from the window and smiled at him. “That would be great.”

He regretted that even as she smiled at him, he could tell her guard was up. It wasn’t lost on him that last night’s run-in with her fans had changed things between them a little—or at least, things had changed in her eyes. Every time they’d bumped into each other over the last week and a half, he’d chipped away at Callie’s shy side, eventually finding the fun, carefree woman beneath. If he accomplished nothing else today, he planned to show her that she was free to be exactly who she was with him. He reached over and snagged her hand off her lap, holding it firmly, waiting for hers to relax in his. “So, where’s home for you?”

“Here feels pretty good.”

He loved her answer, but that wasn’t what he wanted. After reading articles and scrolling through hundreds of Internet pictures, he needed to know who Callie Davis was through her own thoughts, words, and opinions, not journalists’ and photographers’ interpretations. “Are you originally from New York?”

“No. My family lives in Oregon. Lake Oswego.”

“I’ve never been to Oregon.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Do you have brothers and sisters?”

“A brother and sister.” She smiled. “I’m the youngest.”

He rolled his eyes, faking his derision. “The brat—I mean, baby.”

She laughed. “My brother and sister happen to adore me. Jacob and Jennifer are a few years older but they’ve always been wonderful.”

He navigated the sharp curve at The Point.

Callie sighed as Point West Lighthouse came into view. “I saw this from the ferry the day I arrived. It’s no less breathtaking up close.”

Nate slowed. “We can stop.”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “I’m more eager to get to the cave.” She looked back as they passed. “Now that I’m seeing the keeper’s house in person, it’s hard to believe someone lived in that tiny space.” She faced forward again. “Point West was automated in the early nineteen hundreds?”

Nate nodded. “Somewhere right around there. You’re quite a history buff, huh?”

She shrugged. “No, not typically, but there’s something about this place. The entire island.” She looked at him. “Your family has been here since the beginning. Generation after generation. You never have to question who you are or where you come from. You just know.”

He narrowed his eyes, considering her words. “I guess I’ve never thought about it quite like that.”

“Roots are a gift. You’re lucky you have them.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

They moved farther down the coastal highway, nearing the bluffs and the much smaller lighthouse at the midpoint of the island.

“Oh, this is spectacular.” She sat up in her seat, looking at the large expanse of the Atlantic through the windshield. “I haven’t made it out this far yet.”

He smiled as Callie got caught up in her excitement and forgot to be careful around him—the woman he’d spent hours with last night and had missed ever since. He slowed and pulled to the side designated as a lookout. “We can get out here.”

Callie wasted no time unfastening her belt and opening her door.