“Can’t wait.” He rubbed his long, calloused hands together. “Dani tell you I’m a bit of a history buff?”

Ivy climbed the cottage stairs. “She did. And lucky for me you are. The wreck is remarkable.”

Ivy opened the front door, and Libby, who’d been rather quiet up until now, barked as she peeked around her box wall. “Just me. You and the kids are safe.”

“Bella would be here now, if not for school,” Dani said. “She’s dying to see the puppies.”

“She’s welcome to visit anytime.”

She set her folder of pictures on the table by the hotel-registration book and led Dani and Pete to the back door and over the dunes. The minute Pete saw the shipwreck, he pulled out his phone and began snapping pictures.

“You’ve become quite the talk of our family,” Dani said. “Bella and puppies, Dad and the wreck and Dalton and . . .”

Her cheeks warmed. “Dalton and what?”

“Let’s just say you’re a welcome addition to the Outer Banks as far as he’s concerned. Has he been by much?”

“Not really. Looks like he has his hands full with the jobsite.”

“It’s a big project for the company. Ten houses,” Pete said. “He’s under pressure to get them sold and built.”

“Business must be booming,” Ivy said.

“Beachfront land like this is a rare thing. Dalton’s already sold half the lots.” No missing the pride in Pete’s voice.

Pete walked up to the wreck and traced his hand along the beams. “She was transporting goods from South Carolina to New York,” he said. “Along with the crewmen, there was a woman and her two-month-old baby aboard. The woman was Francesca Wentworth, and the baby’s name was Sarah. Francesca was a young socialite who was traveling to join her husband. I found several articles in the New York papers with her picture. Her death was big news for a couple of days. She was only twenty-one. Of the twelve souls on the ship, all the bodies were recovered but the baby’s and hers.”

“What happened to their bodies?” Ivy asked.

“Best guess is Francesca’s heavy skirts pulled her under and kept her weighted on the ocean floor. Many theorized she was holding Sarah to the end.”

A cold breeze blew from the ocean, chilling Ivy’s skin. “That’s terrible.”

“I can’t imagine,” Dani said softly.

“Some say they’ve seen her ghost,” Pete said. “She’s wearing a black dress, and her curly blonde hair frames her pale face like a halo.”

“Wow, you have done your research.” Ivy ran her hands together, trying to generate warmth.