She forced a smile. “Just thinking about what we might find today.” And Gran’s strange reaction this morning. But she didn’t tell him that.
As they walked, her gaze wandered over the familiar storefronts. The hardware store where she’d bought a bicycle bell for her first bike. Gran had patiently taught her to ride until finally, one day, she’d mastered it and taken off, flying down the driveway of the B&B. And there was the ice cream parlor where she and Gran had gotten countless ice cream cones and consumed them walking along the boardwalk. Each place held a memory, tying her to this island in ways she was only now beginning to appreciate.
Brent’s voice pulled her from her reverie. “I was thinking we could focus on the years between 1922 and 1928 today. That seems to be when Prince Lawrence’s visits were most frequent.”
She nodded, still uncertain about this whole research into the prince.
They rounded the corner, and Second Finds came into view. Colorful flags fluttered out front, advertising antiques and local history.
Brent held the door open for her. The familiar scent of old books and polished wood surrounded them. Dale looked up from behind the counter, his face lighting up with a warm smile.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite historical detectives,” he said, setting aside the book he’d been reading. “Back for more clues about our mysterious prince?”
She felt a stab of guilt. Should she even be pursuing this if Gran seemed uncomfortable with it? But Brent’s enthusiasm was infectious, and she found herself nodding along.
“I’m glad you’re here again. I found another box with photos from that era, and I put it on the table in the back room.”
“Thanks.”
They headed toward the back room and settled at the table. Brent opened the book and started looking through the photos, flipping each one over to see if anything was written on the backs.
She reached in to get a batch of photos and found an old book. She pulled it out, trailing her finger along the spine. “Look at this.” The faded book was titledMagnolia Key: A History in Pictures.
As she opened the book, a loose photograph fluttered to the floor. She bent to retrieve it and turned it over. There on the back in scrolling penmanship someone had written: Prince Lawrence’s third visit.
Brent leaned over closer to her. “His third visit, huh? I wonder just how many times he came to visit. And when he stopped coming so often.”
“You’d think a prince would be busy back in his own country, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe he became king of his country? Too busy to come back? I still think my idea that he was interested in some woman here on the island was why he kept returning. Of course, that’s just a wild guess, but it makes sense.”
And that also made sense that Gran knew something about it and didn’t want the secret to come out. But why? And who?
Dale walked into the room. “Any luck finding anything else?”
“We found a photo of Lawrence. It says it was from his third visit,” she said, handing Dale the photo.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Brent said as he opened his satchel and pulled out a photo. “I have this old photo of my mother. I have no idea where she was, but there is a lighthouse in the background. Haven’t had time to really research it, but I did find out her family was from this area originally.” He handed it to Dale.
Dale took a close look at it and a smile spread across his face. “Yep, I sure can identify this lighthouse. It’s our lighthouse here on the island. Or it was. I’ve seen old photos of it. A storm came in and damaged it, and it was rebuilt stronger, so it no longer looks like this. But it’s ours. Let me find you a photo.”
Dale walked over to a shelf, pulled out a box, and brought over a handful of photos, handing them to Brent.
Brent’s eyes widened as he looked through them. “It is the same lighthouse. I can’t believe my mother was here on this very island. I wonder if she was just visiting. Or do you think she might have even lived here?”
“I don’t know.” Dale grinned. “Looks like you’ve got yourself even more research to do.”
Chapter14
Felicity and Brent headed back to the B&B. Townspeople smiled or nodded at them as they passed. The once-again familiar sights of the town slipped past them as they slowly strolled along the sidewalk. Brent was quiet as they walked along.
Finally, she looked over at him. “So, your mother. She might have lived here on Magnolia Key. That’s really something.”
He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s possible. From what Dale said, that photo I found with the lighthouse in the background is definitely from Magnolia Key.”
“But you’re not sure if she actually lived here, right?”
“No, I’m not. No one in my family ever mentioned it, but then again, they didn’t talk about her much.” He paused and frowned. “So it doesn’t give me a definitive clue. It could have simply been a vacation. Magnolia Key was a popular spot back then.”
