Standing there with the candy-striped lighthouse as my only witness, I cried my eyes out. 

FEARLESS SUMMER: RETURN TO CHINCOTEAGUE

The red and white beacon lighting the night over Assateague is one of my favorite sights on our family visits to Chincoteague. Stand anywhere on the east side of Chincoteague and you can’t miss it. Candy-striped by day, a warning to ships at night, it draws people from the beach and the walking trails, shops and pontoon boats. Everyone wants to walk along the trail to the lighthouse and maybe even—if the temperatures aren’t climbing into the 90s—take a hike up the lighthouse itself.

The wild ponies were already living here when the first lighthouse was built here in 1833. This one dates to 1860 but wasn’t finished until after the Civil War. It’s still signaling to ships all these years later.

The lighthouse is also a signal in my book, FEARLESS SUMMER: RETURN TO CHINCOTEAGUE. Reluctantly the suddenly-jobless Charlotte, 28, returns to her hometown. She finds she needs a moment to herself. She’s happen to be back in the company of her parents, her sisters and their families. But she’s also regretting the eight years she lost when her childhood sweetheart cheated on her. The whole island reminds her of what she lost. I’m hoping my readers cry—or at least sympathize—with her.

I won’t tell you the second time the lighthouse plays a role in my sweet second-chance romance but it’s definitely my favorite scene.