BooksBarbecue
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

They stood up and walked the short distance over to the horses, across grass now striped in long shadows. Ryan untied the horses, coiled up the rope, stowed it in his satchel, then gave Amy a boost into her saddle. As she took the reins and wriggled to get comfortable, she directed her attention one last time to the distant lighthouse.

Ryan climbed into his saddle and drew up alongside, picking up on her distracted gaze. “Don’t like a mystery you can’t solve, huh?”

She blinked and let her eyes wander back toward his. “There’s still time. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky. Maybe it’ll light up again before I leave.”

“Twice in two days,” he said, his lips curling into a smirk. “Now wouldn’t that be something.”

18

18

Amy and Ryan enjoyed a pleasant, meandering ride back through the forest. Conversation flowed freely between them, and while the topic continued to center on the mystery of the lighthouse, all manner of things spooky were soon being discussed, from their favorite ghost stories when they were growing up, right down to their biggest pet peeves in horror films.

“Do you know what really bothers me?” Amy said. “When the family chooses to stay in a house that is clearly haunted. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a face in the window, or found some creepy doll watching me while I slept, I’d be out of there in a flash.”

Ryan laughed. “I know, right? Or why does someone always have to go down into the basement? You know there’s nothing good down there, so why do it?”

“And of course the lights never work.”

“And if there’s a flashlight, it’s always just about to run out of batteries.”

Amy laughed along as she bobbed up and down in her saddle. “I swear, I wouldn’t stay in the house at all. Wouldn’t even be hanging around town. I’d be straight to the airport and on a plane and getting as far away as possible.

Ryan nodded in agreement. “The idea of flying has always terrified me, but in that situation, I’d be right there with you.”

Amy gave him a surprised look. “Wait, you’ve never been on a plane?”

“Never had the chance, plus the thought of speeding through the sky in a metal tube has never sat too well with me.”

“Well, when you put it like that!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to put you off.”

“Nah, you haven’t. I’d love to see the world one day, so I plan on doing plenty of flying.”

Ryan steered his horse and led them both onto the last length of trail. In just a few minutes they would be emerging from the forest and arriving back at the ranch.

“Anywhere in particular you want to go?” he asked.