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Back The Lighthouse Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. PART ONE
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. PART TWO
  13. 12
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 18
  18. 19
  19. 21
  20. 22
  21. 23
  22. 24
  23. 25
  24. 26
  25. 27
  26. 28
  27. 30
  28. 31
  29. 32
  30. 33
  31. 34
  32. 35
  33. 36
  34. 37
  35. 38
  36. 39
  37. 40
  38. 41
  39. 42
  40. 43
  41. PART THREE
  42. 44
  43. 45
  44. 46
  45. 47
  46. 49
  47. 50
  48. 51
  49. 52
  50. EPILOGUE

“And next time you’re about to save the day, you won’t go stopping on my account, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Great. I feel much better now.”

He laughed. “Likewise.”

They exchanged one last smile and shook hands.

“Nice to meet you, Ryan. Take care.”

“You too, Amy.”

15

15

Amy made her way down the driveway with a smile on her face. Coming to the ranch had been the right thing to do. She could tell that the poor guy had been nervous and no doubt regretful over what had happened, so she was pleased to have set the record straight. The visit had been short, but at least she could head back to town with a clear conscience, knowing she had put her mind—and his—at ease.

But it seemed returning to Seabrook mightn’t be so simple, because when Amy reached the ranch gate, she discovered that her cab had disappeared.

Huh, that’s strange.

Figuring the driver must have repositioned and parked someplace else, Amy exited through the gate and crossed to the middle of the road. She stood and peered in either direction, expecting she would spot him, but the road was quiet and deserted—no sign of a cab, no trace of a nearby idling engine, nothing.

You’ve got to be kidding. Didn’t I tell him to stay and keep the meter running? I’m sure I did.

Complicating matters further was the fact that there was a No Service message flashing on Amy’s phone, meaning she couldn’t get a call through to the cab company. Not even the tried-and-true method of waving her phone in the air worked. She persisted for a few minutes longer, walking up and down the street, pointing her phone this way and that, hoping to catch a measly bar, but she had no luck. It seemed Amy had no choice but to turn around and seek help back at the ranch.

Ryan was in the barn tending to the horses when he heard the footsteps. He walked outside, surprised to see Amy back so soon.

“Hey! Did you leave something behind?”

“No,” she grumbled, “but my cab driver did—me.”

“Seriously?”

“He’s taken off. Didn’t even wait for his fare.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope.” She fumbled for her phone and held it in the air. “And I can’t get any service.”

“I’m afraid those toys don’t work so well out here in the valley, but you can go old school, if you like—we’ve got a phone inside the house.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not.”

Ryan led Amy inside and showed her to the phone, which was sitting on top of a sideboard cluttered with empty vases and framed photos. He pulled out a phone book from the drawer below, a publication no thicker than a magazine, and left Amy to search for the listing for Seabrook Taxis. She located and dialed the number.