Poisoned Prose (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

Long after Harris had driven away, he stood in the driveway and stared off into the night.
    • • •
    Olivia slept unusually late the next morning. The recent nights of broken sleep had finally caught up with her, and the sun had risen high in a clear blue sky by the time she slipped on a pair of flip-flops and went down to the beach in search of Rawlings and Haviland.
    Cresting the last row of dunes, Olivia paused in surprise. Someone had set up a red-and-white-striped beach umbrella and a folding lounge chair on the sand, well out of reach of the waves.
    Olivia glanced around, but the beach was deserted. She didn’t even see foot or paw prints around the umbrella, so she had no idea if Rawlings or a trespassing stranger had placed the items in the sand.
    Squatting by the chair, Olivia noticed a plain white envelope weighted down by a large rock. Her name was written on the front in Rawlings’ hand.
    Olivia felt a pang of anxiety as she opened the envelope and withdrew a small piece of paper from within. She read it softly to herself:
    When I saw this I thought of you. The woman with the moonlit hair and eyes like the sea. Try it on, Olivia. You don’t have to answer me right now. All I ask is that you try it on and see what forever feels like.
    I love you.
    Always, Sawyer
    She reread the note three times before turning her attention to the lump at the bottom of the envelope. Reaching inside, her fingers closed around a cool piece of metal. She drew forth a ring—a simple band of platinum embedded with a row of dark blue sapphires. It was understated yet sophisticated and exquisitely beautiful.
    “Oh, Rawlings. What have you done?”
    She pivoted the ring this way and that, admiring how the gemstones soaked in the morning light. It reminded her of moonlight on the ocean, of the path she’d seen as a girl from the lighthouse balcony. The ring felt old and carefully crafted and, to her surprise, absolutely perfect for her. As if it had been made just for her.
    Sighing, she looked at the ocean as if an obvious answer might form in the waves, but the water did nothing but whisper on the shore. Glancing at the lighthouse, Olivia thought of how Flynn had never stopped loving Violetta and how his life lost its meaning once she was gone. Unlike Flynn, Olivia knew she could go on without Rawlings. She’d survive as she always had, but she didn’t want to merely survive. She wanted the rest of her days to be filled with his presence. The sound of his voice, the warmth of his body next to hers, the scent of his cologne, the sight of his paint-speckled fingers, the splinter of gold in his pond-green eyes, his tacky Hawaiian shirts—all of it. She needed all of him.
    Olivia wanted Sawyer Rawlings to be a part of her story.
    “All right.” She breathed. “All right. Let me just give it a try.”
    Slipping the ring on the third finger of her left hand, she looked at it and smiled.

Afterword
    A week later, Olivia was on the floor of her nephew’s nursery, watching him kick and swat at the plush toys dangling from a padded arch over his belly.
    “It’s called an infant gym,” Kim explained when she came into the room with a folded stack of Anders’ clothes.
    “He seems to like the lion best,” Olivia said and laughed as Anders grabbed the lion’s brown mane in his pudgy hand and gave it a violent shake. “Either that or he really hates it.”
    “The boy is a hair grabber,” Kim said. She arranged the clothes in a drawer and lowered herself into the rocking chair with a grateful sigh. “Why do you think I wear mine in a ponytail all the time? That poor lion will be bald by Labor Day.”
    Olivia laughed again. It was a balm to be with her nephew. She’d stopped by to play with him more than usual this week, and Kim had welcomed her without peppering her with questions. Often, Kim would brew coffee and sit with Olivia while she fawned over the baby. Olivia spent time with Caitlyn after school too, but she preferred to drop by right after Anders had gotten up from his morning nap. Just seeing him helped renew her spirit. She loved the little noises he made and the way he seemed to stare right through her with his dolphin-grey eyes. She knew she was biased, but Olivia firmly believed that he was the most beautiful baby in the world.
    “Are you sure you don’t want one of your own?” Kim asked as she rocked gently in the chair, a patchwork teddy bear on her lap.
    “I’m positive. Why would I mess with