| Romance Fiction posted October 18, 2025 | Chapters: |
...48 49 -50- 51 
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The Finale
A chapter in the book Yesterday's Dreams
The Lighthouse The End
by Begin Again
The applause from the bluff still carried faintly up the hill when Lucy's phone buzzed in her pocket. She stepped away from the music and answered, half-expecting it to be Claire. "Hello?"
"Is this Lucy? Ruth Crandon's daughter?" a man's voice asked.
"Yes, this is Lucy. Who's calling?"
"Dr. Patel. I tried your mother earlier and thought it best not to wait. The new test results came in." Papers rustled faintly through the line.
"Tests? She didn't mention any tests."
"That's Ruth for you. Always carrying the weight on her shoulders."
"These tests -- what were they for?"
"Just routine checks on the breast cancer."
Lucy froze. "The -- what?"
"Her breast cancer," he repeated gently. "It's responding very well."
Her hand went to her chest. "Cancer? She never told me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know she kept it a secret."
"I guess until recently, I hadn't seen her very much. I was working in the city and going to school."
"Well, the good news is she's in remission. You can tell her she's got every reason to be hopeful."
Lucy turned toward the lighthouse, its beam sweeping across the dark water. Her voice trembled with relief. "Thank you, Doctor. You have no idea what that means."
"I think I do," he said softly. "Tell her I said congratulations."
She ended the call and stood still, the phone warm in her hand. "Cancer," she whispered again, shaking her head. "Oh, Mom, and you never said a word."
Then she smiled through the tears that finally came. "But remission -- thank God." She shoved the phone into her pocket and searched the crowd, mumbling, "No more secrets, you said." She huffed and mumbled, "Wait till I find you."
She slid the phone into her pocket and found Ruth near the edge of the bluff, a blanket around her shoulders. She strode over, heart thudding.
"I'm furious," Lucy said, stopping in front of her, hands on her hips. "We agreed -- no more secrets."
Ruth's brow knit. "Lucy? What are you talking about?"
Before another word could rise, Lucy bent and hugged her tight -- so tight Ruth gave a small, surprised laugh. "We'll discuss the fact that you didn't tell me about the cancer later," Lucy whispered into her shoulder.
Ruth gasped. "How do you know?"
"Dr. Patel tried to reach you and couldn't, so he called my phone, assuming that I knew about it. He wanted you to know the cancer's in remission."
Ruth froze, then drew back just enough to see her daughter's face. "Remission?"
Lucy nodded, eyes bright. "You're going to be fine, Mom."
Ruth's hand trembled against her cheek, half laughing, half crying. "Looks like I've still got stories to finish."
"You'd better," Lucy said, smiling, "because I know I'm not done writing them with you."
Meanwhile, music on the bluff softened to a hum. Claire rested her palm on the tower door and pushed. The iron gave with a sigh, and cool air wrapped her as she stepped onto the spiral stair.
Light moved like a slow heartbeat through the shaft—one sweep, then dark, then another sweep. The stones smelled faintly of oil and salt. She climbed, pausing on the seventh step and, out of habit, skipping it the way her father always had.
Halfway up, she stopped, forearm to the rail. The beam skimmed the wall and slid away again. "I'm happy for you," she whispered to the room and everything it held. "I am."
Bootsteps came below--unhurried, careful. "Claire?" David's voice floated up, low and steady. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she called down, brushing at her cheeks. "Just -- saying goodnight."
He came into view on the landing below, sleeves still rolled. "You disappeared. I got worried."
"I didn't mean to cause a search party," she said, trying for lightness.
"No search party, just me, but I hope that's all you would need," he said, smiling, and climbed to her step. He didn't crowd her -- just stood with her, watching the light revolve.
"I don't have much left to clear out," she said at last, eyes on the glass. "A few boxes. I'll be gone in a couple of days so that you can get started."
"Gone?" He blinked. "Claire, you've got it backward."
"Do I?" She kept her voice even, braced for the correction.
"We're building next door," he said, gently. "The lighthouse—the tours, the stories, the stubborn history—should be yours. I don't want you boxed up and gone. I want you here." He tipped his head, a rueful smile edging in. "Stay. Keep the light."
The stairwell went very quiet. Far outside, a last chord from a guitar thinned into the night.
"You're serious," she said. "Keep the light? You mean work for you? I don't think --"
"Not work for me or my family. This lighthouse will always be a part of your father and you. You belong here."
"As the Lighthouse keeper?"
"I can't think of anyone better," he answered. "And I don't want to."
Something unknotted beneath her ribs. Breath left her in a laugh she hadn't planned. "Then I guess I'm not packing."
"Good," he said, relief bright in his eyes. "I like sharing the moonlight and stars with you."
She shook her head at him, smiling despite herself. The beam passed and gilded the rail and their hands where they almost touched.
They climbed together. At the lantern room, the night opened on all sides. The lamp turned with a sound like breathing. The sea stretched dark and certain, stitched by the steady sweep of light.
Claire unwrapped the cloth with the compass rose and took out the brass urn. She set her thumb to the warm metal and drew a small circle there, a habit she hadn't known she had. "I thought I'd do this at dawn," she said, voice low, "but he never liked waiting."
"Neither do you," David said softly.
She set the urn on the ledge beside the glass, compass facing the water. For a heartbeat, she let her fingers rest there, as if her father could feel the touch through time.
"You're home, Papa," she whispered. "Your light's safe."
They stood shoulder to shoulder, not speaking. Below them, the bluff had quieted to the clink of a folding chair, the faint roll of talk; above them, the lamp kept its patient turn — out and back, out and back.
"You know," David said after a while, "when I was little, I believed the light could see me. If I were anywhere near the water, I thought it knew where I was and approved."
"It did," she said. "At least when my father had a say."
He nodded toward the urn. "I'd like to think he approves of this."
"He does," she answered, sure as the tide. "He liked builders who fixed what storms took."
A smile tugged at his mouth. "I build better with a partner."
"Careful," she said, amused. "I make lists."
"I'll carry them," he said. "And you."
She turned. The kiss they found was quiet and sure, the kind that rises from the center and works outward until even your hands feel different. The beam drifted past and painted them gold for a breath before letting them fall back into shadow, as if the light had given its blessing and moved on.
When they parted, she rested her forehead lightly against his. "Tomorrow, I'll make it official. Keeper's notes, tour hours, the sign for the seventh step."
"Bad luck?" he teased.
"Tradition," she said. "And the good kind of stubborn."
They stood a moment longer, watching the stripe of light cross the water and return, cross and return--steady as breath, sure as belonging.
From below, a stray whoop of laughter lifted and then smoothed away. The night settled into its familiar shape — sea, sky, stone, light. Home.
"Stay here with me?" he asked, though he knew the answer.
She slipped her fingers into his. "Until the light goes out," she said, smiling. "Which is to say--always."
Together they faced the glass. The lamp turned — the tower kept its promise, and a new warmth settled into the heart of the Lighthouse.
THE END
Don't Miss the Epilogue to Follow......
 Recognized |
Cast of Characters
Claire Crandon ó A writer and historian returning to her hometown after her father's death. Determined to restore the lighthouse and uncover the truth behind the secrets her father left behind.
David Reed ó Contractor overseeing the lighthouse restoration. Grandson of Douglas Reed, a man whose lost love and unanswered letter lie at the heart of the mystery. Steady, grounded, and quietly protective.
Lucy Crandonó Claire's cousin, raised by Ruth. Outspoken and loyal, but shaken when she learns the truth about her birth and the secrets that bound her family for decades.
Ruth Crandon ó Claire's aunt and Lucy's adoptive mother. Fiercely protective, burdened by the promise she made long ago to keep a secret that has cost her nearly everything.
Andrew Crandon ó Claire's late father. The former lighthouse keeper who pieced together fragments of a long-buried truth and left a trail for his daughter to follow.
Lily Wheaton ó A young woman from the past whose forbidden love with Douglas Reed and tragic fate shaped the lives of everyone on the point.
Douglas Reed ó David's grandfather and Lily's lost love. A man of quiet honor who never knew the truth about the child he left behind.
John Reed - David's father
Gideon Pike ó The harbor master. Rugged, loyal to the sea, and always first to answer a distress call.
Harper Benton ó Owner of the general store. A practical man with a good heart and a hand in every town effort.
Dr. Avery ó The retired town physician who once delivered a baby at the lighthouse on a storm-tossed night forty years ago.
Trudy Lansbury ó A persistent reporter from The Gazette, digging into local history and stirring up truths some would rather stay buried.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Claire Crandon ó A writer and historian returning to her hometown after her father's death. Determined to restore the lighthouse and uncover the truth behind the secrets her father left behind.
David Reed ó Contractor overseeing the lighthouse restoration. Grandson of Douglas Reed, a man whose lost love and unanswered letter lie at the heart of the mystery. Steady, grounded, and quietly protective.
Lucy Crandonó Claire's cousin, raised by Ruth. Outspoken and loyal, but shaken when she learns the truth about her birth and the secrets that bound her family for decades.
Ruth Crandon ó Claire's aunt and Lucy's adoptive mother. Fiercely protective, burdened by the promise she made long ago to keep a secret that has cost her nearly everything.
Andrew Crandon ó Claire's late father. The former lighthouse keeper who pieced together fragments of a long-buried truth and left a trail for his daughter to follow.
Lily Wheaton ó A young woman from the past whose forbidden love with Douglas Reed and tragic fate shaped the lives of everyone on the point.
Douglas Reed ó David's grandfather and Lily's lost love. A man of quiet honor who never knew the truth about the child he left behind.
John Reed - David's father
Gideon Pike ó The harbor master. Rugged, loyal to the sea, and always first to answer a distress call.
Harper Benton ó Owner of the general store. A practical man with a good heart and a hand in every town effort.
Dr. Avery ó The retired town physician who once delivered a baby at the lighthouse on a storm-tossed night forty years ago.
Trudy Lansbury ó A persistent reporter from The Gazette, digging into local history and stirring up truths some would rather stay buried.
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