Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery) by Ellery Adams Page B

this game!” Harris exclaimed. “There’ve been all these studies showing that kids are more likely to eat unfamiliar food if they cook it themselves. Especially vegetables.”
    “In that case, I’d like to preorder a copy,” Laurel said. “Or do you need a few test subjects? My kids are all yours if you do. In fact, they could just move in with you for a weekend. What do you say?”
    Harris blanched.
    Olivia savored the exchange of easy conversation, imagining the words floating through the house on currents of cool air and eventually coming to rest in the cracks of the old pine floorboards. She liked the idea of the entire structure being filled with talk and laugher—the writers coating every surface with a patina of friendship.
    Not so long ago, the cottage had felt uninviting, haunted. Olivia had avoided the painful memories lingering within its walls by completely ignoring its existence. But then her friends had given her a reason to exorcise its ghosts and she had renovated it from the roof down, turning it into the perfect meeting place for small groups.
    Now, as she stood by the window overlooking the ocean, she marveled over how her life had changed for the better since she’d become a member of the Bayside Book Writers. They’d rescued her from decades of loneliness and neglect, just as Olivia had rescued her childhood home.
    “Can I interrupt your space-out session?” Millay asked, breaking into Olivia’s reverie. “I really need a napkin.”
    Seeing the dribble of soy sauce on Millay’s chin and the brown splotches on the counter, Olivia laughed and handed her friend a paper towel. “Are you working at Fish Nets or will you be at the festival?”
    “I’m only going if there are free samples,” she said. “If there aren’t, I might as well walk around Costco. If I go around the whole store three times, that’s lunch.”
    Olivia settled into one of the plush club chairs facing the water and gave Millay a bemused look. “I think the food you can taste at the event will top the corn dog bites and protein bars you’ll be offered at Costco. If nothing else, Hudson will feed you. The Bayside Crab House is setting up a tent in the vendor area.”
    “In that case, I’m in,” Millay said and Olivia caught the gleam of happiness in Harris’s eyes. She studied her ginger-haired friend. Had his boyish, Peter Pan appearance changed since he’d been shot? Yes, he did look different. He was still as smooth faced and bright eyed as ever, and his cheeks still dimpled when he laughed, but he seemed bulkier and much more confident than the lean, uncertain young man she’d first met over a year ago. He was coming into his own.
    Olivia couldn’t help but wonder whether Millay was seeing him through new eyes too, or if Harris would end up being just another man she dated for a spell before growing bored and moving on to the next bad-boy type. Harris was nothing like the surfers, punk rockers, bartenders, or mechanics Millay was typically attracted to. It was clear that he was in love with Millay, that he’d been in love with her since the first meeting of the Bayside Book Writers. Whether Millay was capable of returning those feelings was another story. However, Olivia had no interest in getting involved in someone else’s romantic drama. Having one of her own was enough.
    Rawlings’ name surfaced in her mind, making Olivia acutely aware of his absence. She glanced at her watch. The critique session would start within minutes. Laurel already had her copy of Harris’s chapter on her lap, the notes she’d taken in green pen clearly visible in the margins.
    “Am I ever going to stop being nervous about handing a chapter over to you guys?” Harris asked, trying to catch a glimpse of Laurel’s comments.
    “Probably not,” Laurel said. “And that’s a good thing. It shows that you want to improve—that you care what your readers think.”
    Harris smiled warmly at her. “Even if you ripped me to