Treasure Beach: Chapter Six, Part Four
Summer isn't "over" for us, thank goodness, but it's nearly over for Olivia and the women of Happiness Key, whose lives will be forever changed in Sunset Bridge , available now at your favorite bookstore. Meantime, Treasure Beach ends today. If you haven't been reading along, visit this page for enlightenment and instructions. And don't worry, you don't have to finish Treasure Beach to enjoy Sunset Bridge . The stories aren't directly related, even though the characters are the same.
Finally, please don't forget to visit quilter Pat Sloan's website to sew along on the charming Happiness Key quilt that goes along with the series.
Do you prefer to read in one big gulp? Every month I've included a complete chapter pdf on the last Tuesday. If you're new and you've missed those chapters? Here are links: Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. And today the final Chapter Six.
I've really enjoyed sharing this novella with you, and I hope you've enjoyed reading along with me. Stay tuned for more novellas down the road, and be sure to come back in August to see what's new at Southern Exposure. I'm "cooking" up a brand-new scheme and I hope you'll join in.
Treasure Beach: Chapter Six, Part Four
The door opened again and Janya, wearing something gauzy white and summery, came into the living room carrying a casserole dish. They caught her up on the conversation as she went into the kitchen to put the casserole in Wanda's oven.
"I went back to Randall's," Janya said when they finished, "but the manager had no one else for our list, although I could see he was trying."
The door opened yet a third time, and Alice came in, with Olivia, in yellow shorts and a striped T-shirt just behind her. "I bought rolls. I was . . . baking today."
"And what did you bring?" Wanda asked Olivia.
She paused a moment, then she gave them a big grin. "Apologies," she said.
"Why?" The women's voices were almost a chorus.
"I'm not going to be here. I'm going to a sleep over at a friend's house."
Wanda felt a profound sense of relief that started in her heart but progressed immediately to her aching feet, because they really, really hadn't wanted to go trekking all over Palmetto Grove on another wild goose chase.
She didn't let on, though. "And here we were going to talk about what to do next. You know, to figure out who put that message in the bottle."
Olivia looked surprised, then she seemed to shake it off. "Oh, that. Right. Well, I've decided you were all, you know, right about the bottle and all. It's got to be a joke, doesn't it? I kind of got carried away, I guess. But it meant a lot, all of you trying to help me."
She beamed another sunny smile. "Jessie's mom is coming to get me in a little while. So I have to finish getting ready. Will you save me a piece of pie? Nana will keep it for me."
"You know it," Wanda said.
Olivia waved goodbye and the door slammed behind her.
"Well," Tracy finally said, breaking the silence. "Is that the same girl who was living here last week?"
"She went to a . . . barbecue," Alice said. "For school. Sunday. She came back. . . feeling better." She looked mystified.
"We'd have to be dumber than a bucket of rocks not to see what's happened," Wanda said.
Janya took Alice's rolls and went to put them in the oven, too. "What?" she asked from the kitchen.
Wanda waited until she returned. "It's us," she said, without a trace of modesty. "We made all the difference by paying attention to what was important to her, just the way Tracy said. That's the thing she needed, just a little shot of neighborly love, and now she's fine again."
She didn't add that telling Olivia a piece of the truth about Lizzie had probably started the process. That was something the others didn't need to know, but now, she was awfully glad she'd done it.
"It is good to see her smile again," Janya said. "Whatever we did to help."
Tracy chimed in. "It definitely is. Whatever we did."
"It's nice to know she can let go of something and move on." Wanda checked her watch. "So, if we go out right now we can watch the sun set, then come back inside and eat. What do you say? I've got a bottle of wine chilling in my fridge. Somebody grab the wine glasses off my kitchen counter. We'll drink a toast to raising that girl. It's going to be some ride. Take it from someone who knows."
***
Author note: The Treasure Beach "novellini" will remain on my blog through the end of the year, then I plan to publish it at Amazon and B&N for those who've asked to have it available in ebook form.
