It only took them about ten minutes to get back to Harper's street. She actually lived a little closer to the orphanage than Teddi did. Calvin thought Harper was a nice enough girl, a little sharp and brassy for Brookhurst, which was a good thing. He was glad she was Teddi's friend.

Teddi was happy that Calvin seemed to be getting along with Harper, though not too much talking took place for fear of drawing unwanted attention. The placid moon dictated the tone of their goodbyes.

After Teddi and Calvin watched Harper disappear into her house from the edge of the block, they continued hand in hand down the streets of Brookhurst.

"So, you're not mad at me?" Teddi asked after they'd been walking for quite a while. The sky was clear now and the wind settled into a nice breeze.

"I have to admit I was a little upset, but not at you. I thought that maybe you decided you didn't want to see me again. A little voice in the back of my head kept telling me that it was probably something else, but I kept falling back on what I know."

"And what's that?" she asked, her voice small.

"I lose out on everything."

"Not this time," she assured him with conviction. It was then that she looked up to take in their surroundings. She could not believe where they had ended up. "Calvin, look." The lighthouse.

Calvin guffawed. "How did we get here?"

Teddi offered him a lovley lop-sided grin. "I don't know. Maybe it was fate."

Calvin's throat worked over at the sight of her smile before he spoke with one of his own stretching his cheeks. "I didn't think you were the type to fall for stuff like that fate mumbo jumbo."

Teddi raised her eyebrows and thrust her chin out proudly. "Well, you learn something new every day, don't ya?" Without warning she broke into a run up the grass-lined hill. "Last one up is a rotten banana!"

The wind beat across her face, loosening her hair from its pins. To Calvin, she looked wild and free. "Oh no, you don't!" he shouted, running after her.

She squealed, enticing him to chase her for a while before letting him catch her at the top of the hill.

He looped his arms around her waist and turned her in his arms. His heart swelled when she didn't let go. Lowering his forehead to hers, while still trying to catch his breath, he whispered, "Gotcha."

Teddi's arms crept up and around his neck. Her hands dipped into his chestnut hair. She felt wanton, just standing there, staring into his dark eyes, touching him that way.

Calvin took the initiative, unable to stand it any longer and pressed his lips to hers. His feelings for her overwhelmed him. He pulled her closer, burying his hands in her silky hair, freeing it from any remnant of style it may have had earlier. He pulled away for a breath of a second, muttering her name as many times as he could before he had to kiss her again. He kissed her thoroughly, frantically, as if he needed it for survival. He wrenched his mouth away from hers and peppered kisses all over her face. "Teddi," he whispered again.

Teddi moved his mouth back down to hers, wanting more. Nothing had ever felt so good in her life.

They kissed for another few minutes before Calvin pulled away from her completely, breathing ragged, face flushed. "God, Teddi, you're so... I can't even... I didn't mean to." He stepped away from her, shaking his head. She was not that kind of girl.

"No, I wanted you to," Teddi stepped closer to him, pulling his hands into hers. "That was wonderful. Calvin?"

"Yeah?" he asked, swallowing.

"What's this scar?" she asked, touching the skin of his cheek. "It's really hard to see, but it's there."

"Oh, I got it as a kid when I spent the night in an old tree."

"You spent the night in a tree?"

"Yeah, I did. It wasn't so bad," he said softly. Calvin pulled one of his hands from hers and reached into his pocket. "Teddi, I have something to give you. That is, I meant to give it to you the other day." He stopped.

"What is it?" she asked, frowning a little.

Calvin couldn't think of anything particularly romantic about the way he was doing this, but it felt right, even after everything Miss Pinchley had told him. He pulled the small ring out of his pocket and held it out to Teddi in the middle of his palm. "It's yours. You don't have to wear it or anything. I just wanted you to have it."

A miniscule sob emerged from low in her chest. She covered her mouth for a moment, then slowly reached out to take the ring. "Calvin, I don't know what to say." She carefully held it up in the light wind, studying its fascinating design.

"The band is a Celtic knot. I forgot what the top part is called," he said, pointing to the symbol of two hands clutching a single heart.

"Oh, my grandfather has a book on these. They're called Claddagh rings, I think."

"I just wanted you to have it."

"It's perfect, thank you." Teddi slipped on the ring, but it was a size too large. "Well, almost perfect."

"Oh."

Teddi laughed. "No, it's only a little loose. See, I can wear it." She held out her hand so he could see that it was staying on.

"You sure?" he asked, not quite convinced.

Teddi nodded, putting her arms around him. "I love it. Thank you." They held each other for a few minutes more until Teddi spoke again, her head resting on his shoulder. "I can't believe tomorrow is September 21st."

"Time for Miss Carrington's, huh?" When she didn't reply, Calvin changed the subject. "You want to go inside?" he asked.

"Inside?"

"The lighthouse," he said, nodding toward the tall building.

Teddi pulled back and looked up at him with a frown. "Can you get in?"

"Of course, they don't lock anything around here. You're not scared, are you?" he teased.

"Not at all," Teddi said, chin high, moving away from him to begin a determined strut to the front of the lighthouse.

Calvin had been right. The door was open. She pictured her mother stepping inside and exploring too. It was dark and damp, and not exactly a place she'd want to be alone. But her mother had been different, braver than her.

"Boo!" Calvin startled Teddi halfway out of her skin as she began to step inside.

"I'll bruise you for that, Wynne," she said, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Ow, okay, sorry, jeez."

"This place is huge," Teddi remarked.

"Yeah, it's bigger than it looks from the outside," Calvin agreed.

The circular room expanded about thirty feet in front of them, then spilled into another room that seemed to look out onto the water. There was a winding stairwell directly in the middle of the room, which led presumably to the tower of the massive structure. Several small benches were placed around the room, while photographs of sailors and townsfolk lined the walls.

"I didn't think anyone watched over this place anymore," said Teddi.

"Oh, I think Old Man Hancock still comes in a couple of times a week to make sure things are okay. He tried giving tours a couple of summers back, but the tourists weren't interested."

"I didn't know that," said Teddi.

"Yeah, some people take the drive out to Montauk to see the lighthouse there. But it's hardly a destination spot."

"That's true. It's a lot bigger, but their beach is smaller," she said, feeling a little more comfortable than she had earlier. "Maybe one day, it'll all get built up."

"I hope not."

They explored every crevice. They climbed all the way to the top of the tower, despite Teddi's trepidation, and found no ghosts or goblins anywhere in sight.

When they returned downstairs, they found out that the area in front of the large main room was a lower lookout point. There were small windows all around it and a telescope that protruded from the middle of the wall. They found maps in an old desk scrunched into a corner and a bolted door along the floor, which they decided was probably used for storage. After they'd tired of exploring, they found themselves in the look out room, huddled together staring out over the vast waters of the Atlantic. The ocean reminded her of the truth of their parents' past—deep and unfathomable. It looked as if it could swallow them whole, like it had probably done with the lighthouse couple all those years ago. It frightened her, but if she had to go with someone, she thought she might just want it to be Calvin.