He picked up two crocks, navigated around Annie, and walked them to the table where he set them down. “Annie wants to know if you’d like to help her look for stuff on the beaches to decorate the Inn. I said no.”

“No?”

“No. But I didn’t get a chance to add that you can go if you want—but only after you’ve done something else.”

“What?”

“Help me think of a decent name for this dog.”

The puppy was at John’s feet, tail wagging, voice whimpering. He’d jumped up and raced over as soon as he’d heard the word “dog,” as if that’s what John had been calling the poor thing.

“How about Restless?” Annie asked. “He’d fit in with both of you that way.”

“Restless” was agreed upon. As was an hourly rate for Lucy to help comb the beach.

The rest of the evening was pretty close to perfect. It was too bad that Annie knew perfection rarely lasted.

* * *

The next day, the warm sun returned. Annie wrote for a few hours, and she barely heard the thudding, banging sounds emitting from the Inn. She was blissfully immersed in the land of make-believe where her characters lived and breathed and laughed and cried.

But at 12:30, there was a loud knock on her door.

She sighed. She shut down her laptop, reminding herself to be grateful for the quiet time she’d had. Then she went to the door. Lucy was on the other side. “Hey, kiddo,” Annie said as she let her in. “I didn’t think you’d be here this early.”

“It’s almost low tide, the best time to look for stuff. So I skipped study period. I also skipped English class. I figured I’d be with a famous author so I should get a pass.” She slung her backpack onto the rocking chair and smiled a bogus smile.

“Your father won’t be happy.”

“My father won’t know. Will he?”

“Lucy . . .”

“I know. I shouldn’t put you in the middle. My mom says I always do that with her and Dad. I’ve gotten good at it. Sorry.”

Annie wasn’t sure what to say; she was neither prepared nor had been asked to act as a stepmother. “Egg salad sandwich for lunch? I made them for the crew, with extra ones in case you were hungry.”

“Sure. And you won’t tell Dad?”

Dropping a couple of sandwiches, two small bags of Cape Cod potato chips, and two apples in a paper bag, she replied, “Not this time. But let’s not do it again, okay?”

“Deal. But so you know, tomorrow is Wednesday. I have study periods all afternoon, so I can come then, too.”

“Okay, you win. And as for today, we’ll have a walking picnic while we hunt for treasures. Do you have water?”