Lighthouse Way (Huckleberry Bay 1)

“I don’t know, but Wolfe is excited about it.”

I hear a pause on the other end of the line. “Wolfe Conrad was in the barn?”

“He was out for a walk and hung out for a bit. He’s going to fix it up for us so we can use it as a shuttle vehicle. Anyway, we’ll talk more about that later. Are you coming over for dinner?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there around six. I want to see this car. If June’s still there, I guess I could give her a hand, too.”

“Right, you’ll tear each other up rather than the rotten wood. Besides, she probably won’t still be there that late.”

I hear him pull the phone away from his ear and say something to someone.

“Hey, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight. Good job on the restaurant thing, sis.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

I toss my phone back into my bag and pull out of my parking space, headed toward home. When I pass the ice cream shop and see the line down the block, I decide against a treat.

I’ll just bake some cookies or something.

It’s a gorgeous drive back home, and I roll down all the windows so I can enjoy the fresh air. Tonight’s sunset will be spectacular. The stellar sunsets are something I absolutely have to advertise on the website and social media. I already have the perfect viewing spot from the gazebo fifty yards from the lighthouse. But most of the rooms in the barn will have water views, as well.

There will be whale-watching opportunities in the winter, and no one will even have to get on a boat.

I don’t know why my family didn’t do this sooner. It just feels like a no-brainer.

I park my car by the house and notice that June’s already gone for the day. I know she had another job to check in on. She’s been so busy, and I’m grateful that she’s making time for me and this project.

I quickly check the mail and sigh in defeat when I see there still isn’t anything from Sarah.

What’s going on with her?

February 10, 2000

* * *

Dear Diary,

Okay, so I didn’t get off to a good start with this diary thing, but it’s been really boring around here. The weather has sucked. I don’t think we’ve seen the sun in almost two months, but there has been plenty of rain. We even had some snow last month, and that never happens. I suppose I could have written about that, but I forgot.

I’ve been reading a ton. I go through a book every couple of days. Dad says I have to start checking them out of the library rather than buying all of them because it’s too expensive. But I like having them all on my shelf! I wish I were old enough to get a job so I could just buy them myself. Apollo says he’ll get me one a week since he’s sixteen and has a job after school and on the weekends. I guess he’s not always a big jerk.

Because of the weather, we haven’t been able to spend much time reading the diary we found in our secret spot, and I’m dying to read more! I want to know more about the woman and the man she loves. I hope he was able to come home to her. Maybe he was captured by pirates! That would suck.

I haven’t been hanging out with Wolfe as often as I used to either. We were always so close when we were kids, but now he’s more interested in cars and tools and probably girls. Girls prettier than me, anyway. And that’s okay because I do not like him like that. Ew. No. But he’s always been my friend, and I miss hanging out with him. Maybe I’ll see him more this summer. That would be cool.

Sarah and June are coming over this weekend for a sleepover. I hope the weather gets better, and we can read more of Rose’s diary. We’re going to have pizza and ice cream and rent some DVDs. It’ll be fun. Sarah’s been having a hard time at home…worse than usual…so I’m glad she can come here with me for a day or two. I wish she could just live with me. Her parents are the worst ever. Her baby brother spends a lot of time with his friends, too. If people don’t want to be nice to their kids, why do they have them in the first place? Seems stupid to me.

Anyway, I should sign off for now. I’ll try to be better about writing stuff down, but I won’t promise.

Love,

Luna

Chapter Three

Wolfe

“The drama around here is something you’d expect to see on daytime TV,” Zeke says and rolls his eyes.

“You don’t usually pay attention to it,” I remind him, but he shakes his head.