The Inn at Holiday Bay: Wallflowers in the Window

Book 35: The Inn at Holiday Bay

by Kathi Daley

Genres: Mystery; Animal Cozy Mysteries

Synopsis

Holiday Bay is a charming seaside town where every season brings a holiday, every holiday is a reason to celebrate, and healing comes in the most unexpected forms.

After a devastating loss, Abby Sullivan never imagined her road to healing would lead her to a quaint seaside inn in Holiday Bay, Maine—or to a new life filled with quirky companions, cozy traditions, and mysteries that seem to follow her wherever she goes.

Now, in Book 35 of this heartwarming series, Abby and her friend Lacy are roped into coaching a ragtag soccer team of first-time players—including Lacy's twins and Colt's niece—after the original coach moves away. With no experience but plenty of heart, the duo sets out to guide the underdogs, forming bonds with each of the girls along the way, especially a quiet player hiding more than just nerves. When the girl suddenly disappears from practice, Abby's instincts kick in, leading to a deeper mystery that proves some hunches are too important to ignore.

As the leaves turn and preparations for the annual harvest festival fill the air with the scent of cider and autumn cheer, the inn buzzes with seasonal excitement. With Colt in rehab, Georgia preparing for a life-changing arrival, and new beginnings on the horizon for all, Holiday Bay once again proves that healing, hope, and a little bit of magic can be found where you least expect it.

Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, small-town stories, and feel-good fiction that celebrates friendship, family, and the spirit of the holidays.

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Release date: September 2, 2025

Publisher: Kathi Daley Books

Print pages: 163

Sample

Chapter 1

“Okay, Thunder Cats, gather around.” I stood up, waved my arms, and called out as my good
friend and fellow coach, Lacy Parker, blew her whistle. The Thunder Cats were the U12 girls’
soccer team that Lacy and I had been guilted into coaching after the woman who had initially
signed up to coach the team moved away when her husband’s employer transferred him.
“Ms. Sullivan is handing out the game schedule for the fall,” Lacy said to the girls, as I
handed out the fliers I’d printed earlier today. “Ms. Sullivan’s phone number is on the bottom of
the schedule, as is mine. If your parents have any questions, they can call either coach. Our first
game is this Saturday. It’s a home game, so we’ll meet right here on this field. I need everyone to
be here one hour before the start time on the schedule.”
“Why do we need to be here an hour early?” Kimmy Pomeroy asked.
“To stretch and warm up,” Lacy answered.
“What difference is stretching and warming up going to make? We’re going to lose no matter
what time we get here,” Tammy Collins pointed out.
“While it is true that we’ve had a rocky start to the season, I think we’ve made a lot of
progress.” Lacy tried to sound encouraging, but her declaration came out somewhat flat. All I
could do was grimace.
“Even Ms. Sullivan thinks we’re going to lose,” a tall brunette named Jessie Swanson added.
“You can see it in her face. You can see it in both of your faces.”
I found myself wishing I’d done a better job schooling my horror at the state of the team just
five days before the first game. I hadn’t realized how telling my expression must have been.
Deep down, I knew that Lacy and I had been doing the best we could with what we’d been
handed, but I still felt bad for the underdog team that wasn’t expected to win a single game the
entire season.
“I think that it’s important to keep a positive outlook as we move forward,” I said. “Even
though we have an uphill battle ahead of us, and while this team might not have some of the

advantages of teams that have played together from the beginning, I still think we can be
competitive.”
The general consensus, based on the grumbling coming from the group as a whole, was that
these girls weren’t buying any of what Lacy and I were selling.
“Georgia sent cupcakes,” I announced.
That had all the girls on their feet, jumping up and down, and cheering. If these twelve girls
brought half the energy and enthusiasm to soccer practice and games as they did to the after-
practice snacks my best friend and business partner, Georgia Carter-Peyton, had started sending
every week, I suppose we might actually win a game. The problem was that the girls had been
told by, well, pretty much everyone, that they were losers who were destined to come in dead last
in the rankings, no matter how often they practiced or how hard they played.
“I need the balls and cones bagged, cleats off and in your bags, and everyone sitting in a
circle before Ms. Sullivan hands out the cupcakes,” Lacy called out.
The girls grumbled, but they headed back out onto the field, carrying the equipment bags.
“What are we going to do?” Lacy asked me as the girls began bagging up the balls and cones.
“I’ve tried everything I can think of to pump some energy into this group, but they’ve already
given up before they’ve even started.”
I looked toward the field where my boyfriend, Colt Wilder’s niece, Mackenzie Hudson,
Mackey for short, was kicking at a patch of grass while chatting with Lacy’s twin daughters,
Mary and Meghan Parker. None of the three were helping clean up as Lacy had asked them to. I
supposed that while Lacy and I only had so much control over the attitudes of the other girls, we
could at least talk to our three about trying to set a good example. “We need to find a way to give
these girls hope that they won’t be massacred all season,” I said. “We need to name a captain
who is in charge of team morale.”
“Okay. Who?” Lacy asked.
I looked at the field. “Anna has the best attitude of anyone, and she’s our best player by far,
but she’s just so introverted and quiet. I don’t see her stepping up to take control and motivate
the other girls when they’re feeling low and in need of encouragement. Maria is a lot more
enthusiastic and seems to have a bit of the cheerleader spirit within her, but she tends to be lazy,
and I’m not sure she’d set the best example when it comes to encouraging the girls to give their
all.”
“What about Rory? She isn’t the strongest player, but she tries hard and she gets along with
the other girls.” Lacy nodded out toward the field where Rory and Anna were the only two doing
what Lacy and I had asked them to, while the other girls were turning cartwheels or picking
dandelions.
“Rory might be a good choice,” I agreed. “I think we should define exactly what we expect
from a team captain and then talk to Rory about it before we announce our plan to assign a
captain to the team. Just so things go smoothly.”
“Let’s talk about it this evening, and then we can pull Rory from class tomorrow and present
the idea to her if we both conclude that she’s the best choice. Our next practice will be in two
days, on Wednesday. I’d love to be able to make an announcement by then.”

“That sounds good. I need to take Mackey home and get her started on her homework, and
then I need to meet with Georgia about this week’s guests. She also mentioned that she needed to
discuss updated plans for the Harvest Festival. I’m sure you need to manage dinner and
homework for your crew as well, so how about I call you around eight and we can go over our
options.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
I headed to my SUV to get the cupcakes as the girls began to wander back to the area closest
to the parking lot, where Lacy and I had set up our command post. Once all the girls had changed
their shoes and assembled into a circle, I passed out the cupcakes while Lacy gave a rundown of
her insights relating to the practice we’d had today. By the time the last cupcake had been eaten,
the first parents had begun to arrive to pick up their daughters. Lacy reminded each player to
give the game schedule to their parents as they trotted toward their cars. Fifteen minutes after the
first car had arrived, all the girls had been picked up except Anna, who was standing alone on the
curb waiting for her ride.
“Her mother is almost always late,” Lacy said.
I turned and looked at the girl, who was a bit of a wallflower anyway but seemed to draw
even further into herself each time her mother kept her waiting. “I feel bad for her. Anna is a rule
follower who understands that coaches have a life to get home to, so parents need to keep their
agreement to pick their daughters up on time. I’m sure Anna feels bad when her mother is late.” I
began gathering the practice bags to load into the cargo area of my SUV. “When Anna’s mother
was late last week, I asked Anna if her mother had a work conflict, and she said her mother
didn’t work, so I’m not sure why she can never seem to get here on time.”
“Maybe her mother just lost track of time. I guess we can ask Anna to call her.”
“I’ll do it,” I offered. I loaded the bags I had into my SUV and then walked over to where
Anna was standing on the curb, looking simply miserable.
“I’m really sorry my mom is late,” she said. “If you and Coach Parker are ready to go, you
don’t have to wait. I’ll be fine.”
“We’re not going to leave you. Do you think your mother might have just forgotten that
today was soccer practice?”
The girl shrugged.
“Maybe you can call her.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
I held mine out. “Here. Use mine.”
The girl reached out a shaky hand attached to a shockingly thin arm. She usually wore a
sweatshirt, even during practice, so until this moment, I hadn’t realized how thin she was. Anna
gave it her all on the field, so when I watched her play, all I saw was strength. Perhaps there was
frailty beneath the strength I might need to keep an eye on.
Anna dialed the number and waited. “It just goes to voicemail. I think I’ll walk home.”
“I’m ready to go,” I said. “Mackey and I will drop you off on our way home.”
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. Really. Grab your backpack, and we’ll head out in a few minutes.”
I noticed that Anna’s backpack, like her hair, was garnished with flowers that appeared to
have been handpicked that day.
“I enjoy the flowers you wear in your hair,” I said to Anna as Mackey hugged Mary and
Meghan goodbye, and then followed us to my SUV.
“They’re wallflowers. My mom planted them when we moved to Maine. They’re her favorite
flower. Mom loves all sorts of flowers, but wallflowers are her absolute favorite. She told me
that wallflowers are naturally beautiful and will effortlessly and quietly round out any garden.”
“That’s really nice. I’m not sure I’ve ever had wallflowers in a garden, but I love the
sentiment.”
Anna smiled, which was something she rarely did.
Mackey chatted with Anna during the drive to her house. Since Mackey was a natural
chatterbox, Anna didn’t really have to participate in the conversation, but I could see that she
enjoyed the camaraderie with someone her own age. Anna lived in a two-story house that
included an attic at the top. The house was situated at the end of a dirt lane. The drive from the
road to the house might have been ungroomed, but the garden was lovely.
“Is that your room with the flowers in the window?” Mackey asked. I could see that she
referred to the little room at the very top of the house.
“It is,” Anna answered. “I love flowers and refill the vase with fresh ones every few days
during the growing season. I’ll be sad when the snow comes and buries the garden, but I’m
enjoying it now.”
“The flowers are so pretty,” Mackey said as Anna gathered her belongings.
“Don’t forget to give your mother the game schedule,” I reminded Anna as she climbed out
of my SUV.
“I won’t forget. I’ll see you at practice on Wednesday.”
She went inside, and I pulled around and headed back to the highway.
“Do you ever hang out with Anna at school?” I asked Mackey as we drove back toward the
inn. Colt and Mackey were both living with me while Colt recovered from a work-related injury,
and since Colt couldn’t drive, I was in charge of driving Mackey to and from school and after-
school activities.
“Not really. It’s not that I try to avoid Anna or anything, but I usually hang out with Mary
and Meghan, and Anna likes to hang out by herself.”
“Even at recess?”
Mackey nodded. “Anna likes to read. Sometimes she sits on one of the benches outside when
she reads, but she stays in the classroom and reads most of the time. Mrs. Southerton doesn’t
usually allow us to stay in during recess, but she seems to be okay with Anna staying in.”
Mackey frowned. “I think something’s going on with Anna. Special circumstances, or
something. Not that anyone has said specifically what those circumstances might be, but she’s
given a lot of privileges the rest of us aren’t.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if those special privileges had something to do with an illness.
When Anna was on the soccer field, she gave it her all and appeared to be fit and healthy, but she
was thin. Very thin.
“Do you have homework tonight?” I asked Mackey as we made the trek home.
“I have a history project and reading for English. I started on the project in class after I
finished my science test early.”
“How did you do on your test?”
“I aced it.”
I smiled. I was sure that Mackey had no idea how much it meant to me that she and I had
been able to settle into a comfortable relationship after having gotten off to such a rocky start
when Mackey and her brother, Tyler, had first moved to Holiday Bay. There was a point in time
when I honestly worried that I’d lose Colt in the chaos of those first years, but with Tyler going
to school in California, and Colt’s parents traveling as often as they had as of late, things with
Colt, Mackey, and me really couldn’t be better.
“Can Mary and Meghan spend the night on Saturday after the game?” Mackey asked as we
pulled off the highway and onto the road leading to the inn.
“It’s okay with me, but you need to check with Uncle Colt and Lacy. Is there a special reason
you want them to stay this weekend?”
“Annabelle and I were talking about slumber parties yesterday, and it sounded like it would
be fun to have one.”
Annabelle Cole was a couple of years older than Mackey, but since both girls lived at the inn,
they were the best of friends.
“It does sound like fun, but as I said, you need to check with your uncle.”
“I will. Uncle Colt will say yes. He always says yes. I think he’s feeling bad about how
things ended up with Tyler, and he wants me to be happy.”
I turned slightly to my right and looked at her. “You aren’t taking advantage of your uncle’s
guilt, are you?”
She laughed. “No, but I could if I wanted to.” She reached out and put a hand on my leg.
“Don’t worry. I love you, and I love Uncle Colt. Most of all, I love living at the inn. I won’t do
anything to mess up what we have.”
The girl displayed a level of maturity beyond her eleven years. Given the chaos of life after
the death of her parents, I supposed that she’d had to grow up faster than most.
“Have you spoken to Tyler lately?” I asked Mackey as we neared the inn. Tyler was a
freshman in high school this year and had elected to attend a private high school with his
cousins, who lived in California. I knew Colt had been conflicted about allowing him to move so
far away. But Tyler had been struggling since losing his parents in a car accident, so when he
showed enthusiasm for the school he’d visited over the summer while staying with his cousins,
Colt decided to support his desire to make the move.
“I called him last week, but we didn’t talk long. He never wants to talk when I call. He says
he’s busy, but I think he wants to forget about Holiday Bay and everyone who lives here.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” I knew that while Tyler had likely decided to erase his old life here
on the East Coast for an exciting new life of his own making on the West Coast, Mackey loved
her older brother and missed him terribly.
“Oh, it is,” she insisted as she frowned. “And I guess I get it. Tyler has just been so angry
with everyone and everything ever since Mom and Dad died. I think it’s easier in California,
where he doesn’t have to remember the life we would have had had the accident never
happened.”
I reached out and took Mackey’s hand in mine. “You are an incredibly kind, sensitive,
intuitive, and intelligent young woman. Your uncle and I feel so lucky to have you in our lives,
and while Tyler might not always show you that he loves you, I know he does.”
“I know. And I’m okay. I miss Tyler, but I know he’ll be home for Christmas, so I can see
him then.”
When we arrived at the cottage, Mackey went into her bedroom to do her homework. Colt
wasn’t in the cottage, so I headed toward the inn to look for him. I found him sitting on the patio
with Beck Cage and Beck’s dog, Meatball. Beck was a retired cop, turned private investigator,
and Colt had been working cases with him since he’d officially been placed on medical leave
after being shot in the line of duty.
“Beautiful fall evening,” I said to the men as I bent over to greet my dog, Molly, and Beck’s
English Bulldog. “Where’s Ramos?” I asked about Georgia’s Newfoundland, who usually hung
out with the other dogs on the property.
“Georgia, Haven, Bailey, Hazel, and Danny took the dogs for a walk along the bluff.
Meatball’s legs are too short to keep up, and Molly decided to stay here with us.”
Haven Hanson and Bailey Sullivan were my employees and daughters by choice. Hazel
Sullivan was Bailey’s almost one-year-old daughter, and Danny Slater was Mylie and Jeremy’s
fourteen-month-old son.
“And Rufus?” I asked about my cat.
“Surprisingly, he went with them,” Colt informed me. “Is Mackey with you?”
“She’s in her bedroom, doing her homework. I’m going to head inside and talk to Jeremy
about dinner for a minute or two, and then I’m going to head back to the cottage.” Jeremy Slater
was Annabelle’s uncle and my second-in-command, behind Georgia. “Georgia and I are
supposed to have our weekly meeting before she leaves. Did she mention it?”
“She did,” Colt confirmed. “She said that she’d be ready to meet when she got back from her
walk, which should be any time now.”
“Perfect.” I looked at Beck. “Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m sure Jeremy has plenty.”
“As nice as that sounds, I’m having dinner with Lou tonight.” Lou Prescott owned Firehouse
Books, and Beck, an avid reader, had struck up a relationship of undefined status with her. I
wasn’t sure they were involved in anything romantic, but they did seem to spend a lot of time
together.
“Another time then,” I said to Beck, and then let Colt know that he should send Georgia to
the cottage if she returned while he was still sitting there.

“Something smells good,” I said to Jeremy, who was alone in the kitchen when I arrived.
Usually, Haven and Bailey helped with the cooking for the guests, but we only had two rooms
leased out for the night, and both couples had elected to have dinner in town, which meant that
Jeremy only needed to cook for the family.
“I made spaghetti. The sauce is ready, as is the salad, so all I need to do is boil the pasta and
brown the garlic bread once everyone gets here.”
“Mackey and I are home, Colt is on the patio, and Georgia and the girls went for a walk, so
they should be here soon. Are Mylie and Annabelle still at rehearsal?”
Jeremy’s wife, Mylie, was helping with the Halloween play Annabelle had signed up to
participate in.
Jeremy responded. “She just texted to let me know they are running late, but will be leaving
soon. I think I’m going to turn the sauce down to simmer and take a glass of wine out to the
patio.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Jeremy did as he indicated he would, and I headed back to the cottage. Georgia arrived for
our weekly meeting just about then, so given that Georgia was six months pregnant, I poured a
glass of caffeine-free iced tea rather than wine for each of us, and then the two of us headed out
to the small deck of my private cottage to discuss the week ahead. I wasn’t sure how things
would look once Georgia’s daughter arrived. Georgia had been a busy woman with numerous
commitments even before she became pregnant. I couldn’t imagine how she would juggle things
once a baby was added to the mix. I knew the inn meant a lot to her and would always be a
priority, but I knew she loved her cooking show and was determined to be the best mom possible
for her daughter. I’d watched her struggle with decisions relating to different aspects of her life,
and I didn’t envy her the task of deciding what to hang onto and what to let go of.
“Before we get sidetracked, I wanted to ask you about your doctor’s appointment today.”
Georgia pulled up a photo on her phone. “I have new photos.” She handed me her phone with
the image of her most recent ultrasound prominently displayed on the screen. “Isn’t she getting
big?”
“She is getting big. And she’s so cute.” It truly amazed me that expectant mothers could see
such clear images of their baby at this stage of their pregnancy.
“She looks so real,” Georgia said.
I smiled. “Your little girl is real.”
Georgia put a hand on her bump. “I know she’s real, but until I saw today’s ultrasound, she
was real in a vague theoretical sort of way. I mean, I can feel her moving around in there, so it’s
not like I didn’t intellectually understand that there was a baby beneath that bump. While I’ve
had other ultrasounds, when I saw the photo that was taken today, it really hit me that there was a
real baby in there.” She looked me in the eyes. “I’m going to be a mom.”
I reached out and hugged her. “You are. And you’re going to be the best mom ever.”
Her smile slipped just a bit. “I hope so.” She put a hand on her stomach. “My baby isn’t even
born, and I already feel like a failure at times.”

“Failure, how?” I asked, sensing that Georgia had something specific on her mind.
“I just feel like I should be further along by this point. Tanner and I still haven’t settled on a
name, and I haven’t even started on the nursery.”
“There’s time for both.” I tried to sound positive.
“Maybe, but if this baby were born today, she’d not only be nameless, but she’d be living in a
drawer.”
I smiled. “How about I help you get started on the nursery.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course, I will. I’m happy to do that. You’re my best friend, and this baby is going to be
my goddaughter.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ve had the hardest time getting started. I’ve tried to talk to Tanner about it a
few times, but his response is always something along the lines of anything I decide on being
fine.” Georgia blew out a long breath. “I wish he wanted to be more involved in this sort of
thing.”
“Tanner has been busy making sure he has everything in order so he can take some time off
when the baby comes.”
“I guess.”
“Have you settled on a theme or colors for the nursery?” I asked, steering the conversation
away from Tanner and his admittedly odd attitude since learning about the baby.
“Not really. I don’t want pink, blue, black, or brown. Since my baby is going to grow up at a
dog training facility, I thought a theme centered on dogs, or maybe just animals in general, would
be fun.”
“I like that idea. I can picture shelves displaying stuffed animals, a dog mobile hanging over
the crib, and other dog accents. You said you didn’t want blue or brown, but how do you feel
about green?”
“I like green.”
“I’m picturing white furniture to give the room a soft, feminine feel, but I’m not sure about
white for the walls, so I was thinking of a soft green. Nothing too dark or too bright.”
Georgia smiled. “That sounds nice. Serene.”
“I think it will be. Perhaps we can get together with Lacy and discuss bedding for the crib
and bassinet. I bet she would be thrilled to make you something that utilizes both your theme and
your colors.”
“She did mention that she wanted to make a crib set for the baby once I settled on colors. Just
the three of us getting together to discuss the options sounds perfect.”
“I’ll set it up,” I offered.
Georgia hugged me. “Thank you. I love this little princess so much. I never want to do
anything to let her down. I want her life to be perfect.”

I wanted to assure her that I was certain that she would always know exactly what to do and
never let her daughter down, but I was sure that at some point, she would. Not intentionally, of
course, but any relationship, especially a mother/daughter relationship, was bound to have ups
and downs. Instead of pointing that out, however, I decided to change the subject. “So tell me
about the guests we have checking in this week.”
“We have a slow week this week and next, but we are booked for both weekends,” Georgia
said, handing me a list she’d printed. “As for our current guests, both couples currently checked
in will be checking out on Wednesday. As for the cottages, all are currently empty, but we have a
family of four checking into the two-bedroom cottage and a couple celebrating their sixtieth
wedding anniversary checking into the one-bedroom cottage on Thursday.”
“Sixty years. How lovely. Will we be hosting a party or get-together?”
“No. The couple’s son lives in Holiday Bay, and I guess he’s having a party for them on
Saturday. Since we won’t be involved, I didn’t bother to get all the details.”
“And the six suites in the inn?” Technically, we had four cottages, but Haven, Bailey, and
Hazel lived in one of the two-bedroom units, and the second one-bedroom unit was undergoing
repairs after a water leak had ruined the floor and some of the cabinets.
“George and Brit Baxter are going to be here for eleven nights beginning Wednesday. They
will be staying in suites two and three.”
I smiled. “That’s great. I’m so excited to see both George and Brit.” George and Brit Baxter
were uncle and niece. Both were writers, and both lived in a writer’s community on Gull Island
in South Carolina. The writers group that George and Brit were part of enjoyed delving into cold
case mysteries, as did members of our local cold case group, led by a retired historian, Joel
Stafford, a good friend of George’s. At least once a year, George and Brit would come to Holiday
Bay and join the Murder on Tuesdays group as they worked on one of their projects.
“Will George and Brit be working with Joel’s group?” I asked. I knew that Joel’s group
consisted of Joel, his good friend, Savannah Garrison, Beck Cage, Lou Prescott, my good friend,
Velma Crawford, and her husband, Royce.
“Actually, George is the one with the case, and Joel and the local Tuesday night group plan to
help him. George asked if the group could meet in the library, and I told him that would be fine.
In fact, that was why I gave George and Brit rooms on the second floor.”
“Do you know anything about the mystery they’re in town to chase down?”
“No,” Georgia admitted. “George didn’t say, and I had a call on the other line when I was
speaking to him, so I just made the reservation and rang off. I figured he’ll tell us all about it
when he arrives.”
In my experience, the cases George and Joel tackled were quite intriguing. I couldn’t wait to
hear more about what they had up their sleeves during this visit.
“That all sounds perfect, but what about the filming next week? I thought you had made a
point of being guest-free on Monday and Tuesday. It sounds as if George and Brit will still be
here then.”
Georgia was under contract to film one episode for her cable cooking show per month from
the inn, which would be aired on Cooking with Georgia during a prime-time slot. She’d signed

the contract for these special episodes before she was pregnant, but even with the changes to her
energy and her body, she intended to fulfill her commitment. After giving it a lot of thought, she
decided to film the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas episodes during a two-day period,
which she blocked off so that the inn would be guest-free. She wanted to get the episodes filmed
before her pregnancy became too pronounced, and bending and lifting would be a problem. It
seemed like a good idea at the time, but the week she’d picked for filming was next week on
Monday and Tuesday, and I hoped that it all worked out.
“I told George and Brit about the filming for the show’s holiday episodes, and they were fine
with things. I’m fine with things as well.”
“And the other suites?” I asked.
Georgia filled me in on the guests for suites one, four, five, and six this weekend, and then
she jumped to the subject of the Harvest Festival, which was to be held here at the inn the
weekend after next.
“Between Jeremy and me, I think we have everything handled. Jeremy has the flowers for the
barrels on the patio ordered, and I have the cut flowers for the inn on order as well. Jeremy
assured me that the pumpkins for the pumpkin patch will be delivered on Thursday of next week,
as will the bales of hay for the maze, and the extra tables and chairs I ordered will be delivered
on Thursday as well.”
The inn had initially started sponsoring the annual Harvest Festival to attract guests during a
traditionally slow time of year. After the first year, however, we opened it up to the public, and
the turnout has grown each year.
“And the food?”
“Between Jeremy and me, we have it covered. Paisley offered to bring sweet treats so I
wouldn’t need to bake, and I accepted her offer. She wanted to have a showcase for her pastries,
and I’m getting to the point in my pregnancy where spending long days baking isn’t really
desirable.”
Paisley Bradford owned Courtyard Bakery, a space she shared with her business partner and
best friend, Piper Fairchild, who owned Piper Fairchild Events.
“I heard that Piper was planning the masquerade ball being held at the Breckinridge estate,” I
said to Georgia.
“She is, amongst other things. The masquerade ball is a high-profile job for her, and I know
she’s really looking forward to it. After her experience with the Homewood black-tie event, I
think she’s looking forward to a second chance to get everything right.”
“Based on what I’ve heard, Piper will have plenty of opportunities to get it right.”
“What do you mean?” Georgia asked.
“I was asked to attend the community event planning meeting last week to provide an update
to the committee on the Harvest Festival and other fall events we have planned at the inn, and
while I was there, at least five different committee members presented ideas for the upcoming
holiday season to enhance the Holiday Bay experience for their customers.”
“So the planning committee wants to expand on the plans we set up last year?”

I nodded. “That was how it sounded. Now that Piper is officially on board as a paid event
planner for the town, everyone with a half-formed idea suddenly wants to see their project get
the attention it deserves. We had the Halloween play, the Harvest Festival at the inn, and the craft
fair in town last year, but the committee wants all of that plus a pancake breakfast, pumpkin
carving, and a Halloween dance at the community center this year. It seems the town has gone
event-crazy. When I spoke to Piper, she was feeling pretty overwhelmed, but she didn’t want to
start telling people no since she’s just getting started.”
“I’d offer to help her, but I have enough on my plate right now.”
“Yeah, me too,” I agreed.
Georgia then segued into a conversation that included face painting, tie-dyed t-shirts, kiddie
games, caramel apples, and other festival-related things. I loved this time of the year when the
leaves were turning and the days grew both crisper and shorter. It was over a month until
Halloween, but I could feel the fall vibes in the air, and that made me happy.
After Georgia left, Jeremy announced that dinner was ready, and the full-time residents of the
inn all gathered around for a communal meal. After Annabelle shared an update on the play she
was currently attending rehearsals for, Mackey talked about the upcoming soccer season and her
hope that the Thunder Cats would win at least one game. Hazel and Danny sat in highchairs
between Jeremy and Mylie, and Haven and Bailey, and Colt and I sat at either end of the long
table Lacy had refurbished for me after I’d made the commitment to turn the giant house I’d
bought into an inn. When the inn first opened, it had been just Georgia and me, but while
Georgia had married and only dined with us some of the time, I now had an extended family to
take her place. Not that anyone could actually take Georgia’s place in my heart, but I was happy
that her absence didn’t leave me alone in the quiet.
After dinner, Haven and Jeremy did the dishes while Mylie and Bailey put the babies to bed.
Mackey and Annabelle both had homework, and Colt needed to return a call to Alex Weston, his
second-in-command, who had taken on the role of Police Chief after Colt was placed on medical
leave. Since everyone was otherwise occupied, I decided it was a good time to call Lacy and
discuss the idea of appointing a team captain. Not that appointing a team captain would make all
that much difference in our odds of winning, but it was a demonstration of confidence in our
girls, which at this point was about all that Lacy and I had to offer.

Chapter 2

Soccer practice on Wednesday was even worse than usual, given the hole in our offense left
by Anna, who hadn’t shown up. Without Anna, the team was missing the fulcrum the other girls
had learned to play off of, and of course, without the heart of the team to anchor the girls, the
team played worse than ever before.
“I hope Anna is okay,” Lacy said to me as we watched the girls who had shown up go
through the motions. “She was really down when her mother didn’t pick her up on Monday.”
“She was,” I agreed. “And when we dropped her off at her house, I noticed how thin her arms
really are. I can’t help but wonder if she’s ill. I don’t mean ill as in the flu, but ill as in something
that might chip away at a body over time.”
“She seems to have adequate energy when she’s here,” Lacy pointed out. “She isn’t socially
outgoing, but she plays hard, and I can tell she’s really giving it her all. If something was
seriously wrong with her, it seems to me that we’d notice her slow down when she’s on the
field.”
“I guess that’s true. Some kids are just thin.”
“Do you think we should try calling her mother?” Lacy asked.
“I’d wait and see if she shows up on Friday. If the reason she didn’t show up today has
anything to do with a situation at home, then calling to check on her could make it worse. If she
still doesn’t show up on Friday, I’ll call her mother.”
“I wonder if she went to school,” Lacy said.
“Good question. The girls will know. We’ll ask them during the break.”
I turned my attention back to the team just in time to witness two of the girls run into each
other. I was about to say something when Lacy jumped in. “Hannah, you’re a forward today. You
need to play closer to the goal and let Kimmy and Gia hang back. And, Maria, you should be
ready for the ball should it be kicked down the field. Anticipating where the ball is going to end
up next is half the strategy of this game.”

I watched as Gia turned around to look at something behind her, just as Lana kicked the ball
in her direction. I closed my eyes as it hit her in the head.
“I’m okay,” she called out as she turned and kicked the ball to a teammate.
“It really does leave a huge hole in our offense without Anna,” I said to Lacy.
“It does. I hope Anna shows up on Friday. If she’s ill and not able to play on Saturday I’m
afraid our humiliation is going to be much greater than even I imagined.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said, although I didn’t believe it.
“Given the current situation, do you think that we should still announce that Rory is going to
be the team captain?” Lacy asked me.
“I think we should. This may go down in history as the worst practice of all time, but we did
speak to Rory about it, and she’s expecting us to tell the other girls about our decision at the end
of practice today. Georgia sent eclairs, so the girls will likely be in good spirits despite their
simply horrific attempt to scrimmage today.”
Lacy groaned as Hannah kicked the ball backward rather than toward the goal.
“Maybe we should all call in sick on Saturday,” I said.
“Maybe we should,” Lacy agreed.
Things had turned around a bit by the end of the practice game, so the girls were left with a
mostly positive attitude. I even heard a few girls mention beating their opponent on Saturday,
which was unlikely to happen, but I was glad that the girls hadn’t given up completely. Lacy
enthusiastically announced Rory as the team captain, while I handed out the treats Georgia had
sent. I’d say that overall, the girls were in a pretty decent mood by the time the first parent
arrived.
On the way home, I asked Mackey about Anna and her attendance, or lack thereof, at school
that day. She said that she hadn’t been to school since Monday. Mackey didn’t know why Anna
was out but assumed she was sick. If she hadn’t gone to school either yesterday or today, then
that would explain why she hadn’t shown up for practice today. I just hoped that if she’d caught a
bug, it was the short-term type that would run its course before Saturday. I was tempted to call
Anna’s mother, but Lacy and I had agreed to wait and see if she showed up on Friday, so I
decided to follow through on our agreement.
Mylie was pulling into the employee parking area with Annabelle when Mackey and I
arrived back at the inn.
“Guess what?” Annabelle enthusiastically said to Mackey after she jumped out of the car and
hugged her.
“What?” Mackey asked.
“A boy asked me to go to the high school dance a week from Saturday. A ninth-grade boy!”
Mackey screamed excitedly and hugged Annabelle. I glanced at Mylie, who had a look on
her face that could best be described as complete terror. Given that both schools were relatively
small and shared the same property, the students at the middle school Annabelle attended as an
eighth grader often participated in activities with the high school students, which meant that the
middle school and high school students tended to know each other. While I supposed it wasn’t

unheard of for a ninth grader to ask an eighth grader to a school dance, I wasn’t sure how Jeremy
was going to feel about the young woman he still saw as a child being asked to a high school
dance when she still had another year of middle school.
“Was it Conner Brown?” Mackey asked.
“Better. Blane Brannigan.”
Annabelle and Mackey joined hands and jumped up and down.
Annabelle looked at Mylie. “I’ll need a dress. A really good dress. Something both fun and
mature. I’m going to a high school dance, and I don’t want to look like a baby. Can we go
shopping tomorrow after school? We don’t have a play rehearsal.”
Mylie balanced her son, Danny, on one hip. “Maybe we should talk to your uncle before we
do anything, but yeah, as long as Uncle Jeremy is okay with things, we can go shopping
tomorrow.”
Annabelle’s face fell. “You don’t think he’ll be okay with things?”
Mylie frowned. “I don’t know. He might be. But you are only thirteen, and I specifically
remember Uncle Jeremy saying something about not dating until you were sixteen.”
“But I’m not dating. I’m going to a dance. A school dance,” Annabelle emphasized.
“Yeah, I get it,” Mylie said. “Let’s go and talk to him about it, and see what he says.”
I watched as Mylie and Annabelle walked toward the carriage house.
“Do you think Jeremy will say no?” Mackey asked me after they had walked away.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Jeremy is a pretty cool uncle, and I know he trusts Annabelle, but
he’s also pretty protective of her. He wants what’s best for her, and I’m just not sure that he’s
going to think that a date with a ninth grader is the best thing for her.”
“Blane is a freshman, so he’s only a year older than Annabelle, and it is a school thing. There
will be chaperones.”
“There will be, and that might make a difference. Do you have homework?”
“Just math. Can we talk about Halloween costumes after I do my homework?”
I guess it was getting to be that time of the year. “I’d like that. Did you have anything in
mind?”
“A few things, but I wasn’t sure about the rules or the budget this year.”
“Rules and budget?” I asked. “Do you usually have rules and a budget for this sort of thing?”
She nodded. “Grandma preferred a practical costume and never wanted to spend money on
nonsense.”
I supposed that I understood that, but like Colt, I really just wanted Mackey to be happy.
Still, a Halloween costume sounded like the sort of thing Colt should weigh in on, so maybe
we’d talk about it after dinner. Colt wasn’t in the cottage, so after Mackey went inside, I headed
to the inn.

The last I’d heard, George and Brit planned to be here by dinner time, and Jeremy and
Georgia had been planning a big family meal to welcome them, so I decided to look for Colt so I
could let him know I was home and check in with my staff about the plans for the evening.
I was excited to spend time with George and Brit. They’d spent the entire summer with us a
couple of times in the past, although they hadn’t visited Maine at all this past summer. Not only
were they good friends, but they were excellent authors. Brit wrote chick-lit and paranormal
books, and George tended to focus on traditional who-dun-it type mysteries.
“Are George and Brit still planning to make it for dinner?” I asked Georgia, who was basting
a roast when I wandered into the kitchen.
“Brit actually just called to let me know they’d be here in thirty minutes. We’ll give them
time to settle in before we eat, so I’m thinking we’ll eat in about an hour.”
“That works for me. I’m really looking forward to hearing about George and Brit’s current
project. I know their writers group tends to focus on cold case mysteries and that they plan out
each investigation well in advance, but George called and asked about rooms less than a month
ago, which makes this visit seem a bit more spontaneous than their visits in the past.”
Georgia slid the roast back into the oven after basting it and began chopping the veggies for
the salad. “I think the case they are here to look into was prompted by the recent death of a
Holiday Bay resident, but the actual mystery they are here to solve has roots in the past,” Georgia
said. “I’m sure George will fill us in when he gets here.”
“I’m sure he will. Did you see where Colt went off to?”
“He went to look at something that was going on with the pond with Jeremy. I’m sure they’ll
be back soon. Grab the tomatoes from the refrigerator and hand them to me, please.”
I did as Georgia requested.
“What do you think about Genevieve?” Georgia asked.
“For the baby?”
She nodded. “Our discussion about the nursery got me motivated to talk to Tanner about
names last night. I suggested Emerson, but Tanner didn’t like that name. He suggested Diana, but
that didn’t appeal to me. He then suggested Pricilla, which is pretty, but I pictured my daughter
as being less girly and more of a fearless tomboy. I then suggested Dylan, but he wasn’t a fan of
a traditional boy’s name for a girl. We never settled on a name, but we both seem to like
Genevieve, only we’d call her Genny, and spell it with a ‘G’ instead of a ‘J.’”
“Genevieve is nice,” I said.
“It is, but I’m just not sure. I know I don’t want anything too common, yet I also don’t want
anything too odd. Annabelle told me that she has a girl in her class named Apple. I know Peach
is used as a girl’s name, and it actually sort of appeals to me, but Apple?”
“Maybe she was conceived under an apple tree.”
Georgia tilted her head just a bit. “Well, okay, then, I guess Apple might be romantic. But I
think I’d rather stick to something a bit less unique.”
“Just because the perfect name hasn’t come to you doesn’t mean it won’t. Just keep
brainstorming.” I picked up a slice of carrot from the board where Georgia had been chopping

veggies for a salad. “It looks like you have things handled here. I’m going to run back to the
cottage and clean up a bit, and then I’ll be back to greet our guests.”
After having attended soccer practice, I felt the need to wash my hands and face, change my
clothes, and brush my hair. Once I’d cleaned up, I checked in with Mackey, who was still
working on her homework in her bedroom, and let her know when dinner would be served. Since
she appeared to be intent on whatever she was doing, I headed back toward the inn, where I
found Colt sitting on the patio chatting with George.
“You made it.” I reached out and gave George a hug.
“We did. The drive from Gull Island to Holiday Bay always takes longer than I think it will,
but Brit drove most of the way, so we made it in one piece.”
“Is Brit inside?”
George nodded. “She wanted to wash up and return a couple of calls before dinner, but she’ll
be down shortly. I was going to head up to get settled in as well, but then I saw Colt sitting out
here and decided to say hi.”
“And I’m happy you did,” Colt replied.
“It’s such a lovely afternoon.” George inhaled deeply. “The air always smells so good at this
time of the year. I know this is going to sound odd, but it seems to me that the air smells
differently in the autumn as compared to other times of the year.”
I actually had to agree with that.
“Do you know what time Georgia plans to serve dinner?” Colt asked me.
“Georgia told me she should have it on the table in about half an hour.”
“I guess I should head in and get washed up,” George commented as he stood up. He looked
at Colt. “We’ll continue this conversation later.”
“Absolutely,” Colt answered as George turned and headed inside.
I sat down next to Colt. It was such a lovely fall evening. The sun had already set, but Jeremy
had turned on the overhead patio lights and lit the firepits, which were always a big hit with our
guests for much of the season. “So did George tell you about the mystery he and Brit are here to
work on with Joel’s group this week?”
“He actually called me about it before he even made the reservations here at the inn, but he
also asked that I not speak about it until he arrived,” Colt replied.
Okay, that sounded mysterious. “So now that George is here, can you share what you know?”
“With you, I guess, but I wouldn’t say anything to anyone else until George decides to share
his story.”
“Okay. I can live with that.”
“Do you remember hearing that Walter Wayne recently passed away?”
“I did hear something about that.” Walter Wayne, a longtime resident of Holiday Bay, had
owned an estate in the area for several decades. He was a widower, and I estimated he was in his
late seventies or early eighties and tended to be the reclusive sort, who spent much of his time

inside the large home he owned overlooking the bay. Walter was best known in the area for being
a suspect in his wife’s murder a decade ago. “Is George here to look into Walter’s death because
I’m pretty sure he died of natural causes.”
“Not Walter’s. His wife, Miram’s.”
“Does George think Walter was actually guilty of killing Miram? Because no real evidence
was ever uncovered to prove the rumors suggesting he was guilty. At least as far as I know. I
didn’t live in Maine when Miram died, but after Walter passed away, Lacy and I had a
conversation about the mystery he left behind and the answers it seemed probable had died with
him.”
Colt responded. “George isn’t sure whether or not Walter was guilty of killing Miram, but he
knew both Walter and Miram. George told me that he has always wondered about the truth.”
“Did George say how he knew Walter and Miram?” I asked.
“Apparently, they went to college together.”
“College. Really. And were George and Walter still friends at the time of Miram’s death?”
Colt took a moment before he answered. He was likely trying to decide what to say and what
to leave out, given his promise to George. Eventually, he spoke. “According to George, he met
Walter when they were both freshmen in college and assigned to the same housing unit. The men
came from different backgrounds, but they had enough common interests that they quickly
became close friends. While neither man arrived at college as part of a couple, by mid-year,
Walter met Miram in a poetry class, and the pair hit it off. Walter and Miram started dating, and
once things became serious, Walter set George up with Miram’s best friend, Misty. The four
hung out as a group for the remainder of the year and into the next. George said that, while he
wasn’t interested in a commitment, he casually dated Misty for a couple of years, mostly because
it worked out well for the group dynamic. He also said that while he and Misty got along well
together, neither was interested in pursuing a relationship with anyone else, so an uncomplicated
relationship worked for both of them. Then, during their junior year, Misty met a guy she really
liked and wanted to explore a committed relationship with, so the two parted as friends.
According to George, even though he was no longer dating Misty after the breakup, the four of
them, Walter, Miram, George, and Misty, continued to hang out as friends and even went on
vacations together.”
“And how long did this go on?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but eventually, Walter and Miram married, and Misty became engaged
to a man she met while living in Paris for a summer. The group stayed in contact, but didn’t hang
out as often as they once had. George had moved on to graduate school by this point and was
working to make a name for himself in the field of history, which meant he had a new social
circle as well. Then, in nineteen ninety-eight, Walter and Miram celebrated their twenty-fifth
wedding anniversary with a big party, which George attended. That led to a renewal of George’s
relationship with Walter and Miram. By this point, George was teaching at Harvard and living
part-time on Gull Island and in Cambridge during the school year. Walter and Miram, who had
never had any children, were living in Connecticut but were seriously discussing the purchase of
a summer home in Maine. By two thousand eight, Walter and Miram had bought the house on
the bluff, which Miram moved into full-time, while Walter continued to divide his time between
Maine and Connecticut.”

“You actually picked up a lot from your brief conversation with George,” I pointed out.
“Not really. George didn’t want to step on my toes during his investigation, so he called and
spoke to me about it ahead of time, which I appreciate. He asked me not to talk about it until he
was able to meet with Joel’s group, but since I was interested, I pulled the file relating to
Miram’s death and familiarized myself with the incident.”
“Ah. That makes sense. Go on. What else do you know?”
“Not a lot, just that George and Walter continued to meet from time to time, more often in
South Carolina or Connecticut rather than Maine, and that George considered him a close friend
until the day Miram was found broken and bloody at the bottom of the bluff.”
“George thinks Walter pushed her.”
“He isn’t sure. He did speak to Walter after Miram’s death, and Walter insisted that Miram
must have slipped, but there was evidence to suggest that someone may have pushed her. George
always suspected Walter, although as of this point, George hasn’t mentioned exactly why he
suspected Walter. I guess that will all come out once the group meets tomorrow.”
“And did you suspect Walter at the time of Miram’s death? I guess you would have been a
member of the Holiday Bay Police Department by then.”
“Walter was one of the suspects we looked at, but keep in mind that while I was an officer
when Miram died, I was not the Police Chief yet, so I wasn’t the one calling the shots. I
remember that there was a brief investigation into the matter after the groundskeeper called nine-
one-one to report the incident, but, at the time, we didn’t have evidence to suggest that anything
other than an accident had occurred, so after a brief investigation, the case was closed and life
went on.”
“But George thinks there may be more to Miram’s death than a horrible accident, doesn’t
he?”
Colt nodded. “As I indicated, when he called to speak to me about the matter, he told me that
he always had his doubts about Walter’s innocence, but he didn’t have any concrete evidence to
offer that would prove that Miram had been pushed, so eventually, he just let the whole thing
go.”
“But now that Walter is dead and can no longer block him from digging, he wants to reopen
the case,” I suggested.
“Not reopen the case so much as to look into it from an amateur perspective. While George is
a member of a mystery mastermind group on Gull Island, he felt that bringing the case here to
Holiday Bay, where the mystery originated, was the best idea, so he called Joel and worked it out
to utilize his group for his research.”
“It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with.”
“It will be,” Colt agreed. “I offered to sit in with the group if I have time, since I’m basically
just sitting around twiddling my thumbs as of late. Of course, if Alex has a case she needs help
with, that will have to be my first priority, and if Beck lands a case that he wants me to be
involved in, that will need to be my second priority.”

Colt had been working on cases with Beck since being placed on medical leave, and he’d
been meeting with or talking to Alex almost daily. Still, I understood his frustration about being
off his feet for so long.
“Be sure to keep me in the loop,” I requested.
“I will, but remember not to bring up the case until George does.”
“I’ll remember.”
As it turned out, George didn’t mention the mystery he was in Holiday Bay to look into at
dinner that evening, so no one asked. George had asked about the classes Haven was taking at
the local community college, and he and Bailey discussed the advanced classes she’d been taking
online through a program sponsored by the University of Edinburgh. George had been a guest
professor for a semester at the University of Edinburgh and had many wonderful things to say
about the program. At some point, Bailey would need to attend an intensive on-site session at the
university to receive her degree, and given the fact that she had Hazel to care for, that wouldn’t
be easy. But she’d talked to me about it and we’d both decided to take things one day at a time
and wait to worry about the intensive on-site session until she actually needed to.
George and Brit were both tired after their long drive from South Carolina, so they went up
to their suites immediately after dinner. Georgia went home, and Mylie took Danny and
Annabelle back to the carriage house so that Danny could have a bath before bed and Annabelle
could finish her homework. Jeremy and Haven offered to take care of the dishes while Bailey
gave Hazel a bath and put her to bed.
“I’m going to take the dogs out for a quick break and then maybe we can watch some
television,” I suggested to Colt after returning to the cottage. Haven had left her dog, Baxter,
with Molly and Ramos during dinner. Georgia had taken Ramos home with her, but since Haven
was busy helping Jeremy with the dishes, I decided to take Baxter with me while I walked Molly
before settling in for the evening.
“I need to return a call to Alex, so I’ll do that while you’re out with the dogs.”
“Okay. I won’t be long.” I grabbed a jacket and a flashlight and headed out the door.
As I walked along the bluff, I found my mind drifting toward George and his mystery. It
sounded like the police had looked into things at the time of Miram’s death and hadn’t
discovered enough to pursue the murder angle over the accident angle. I wondered if George had
anything new to build a case on or if he just decided to show up here in town and begin poking
around. I could almost see George taking that approach, but I didn’t see Brit wasting her time
unless they had something a bit more tangible, so maybe George had clues he’d chosen to hang
onto as long as Walter was still alive.
Colt was still talking to Alex when I returned to the cottage. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but
it was a small cottage.
“I’ll think about it,” Colt said to Alex.
Since I couldn’t hear Alex’s end of the conversation, I had no idea what they were talking
about, but Colt’s expression was one of deep contemplation.

“Yes, this does seem like a good opportunity, and I know I’d be a fool not to at least look into
it, but there are a lot of things to consider. You’ve given me something to really think about,
however, so thank you for that.”
With that, Colt hung up.
“So what was that all about?” I asked, handing him a beer.
“Alex told me that the county has an opening for a detective, and she thinks I should look
into it.”
“Detective? Really. I guess that does sound interesting. Would you be based here in Holiday
Bay?”
“I’d be based in the county office, but I would investigate serious crimes, mostly kidnappings
and murders, for the entire county. It’d be a lot different from my work here in Holiday Bay, but
Alex seemed to think there might be a way to make that job work even with the limitations that
will likely be part of my life in the future due to the leg injury.”
“Would you need to live near the county office?” I asked, hoping that Colt wouldn’t be
moving even further away from me than his house in town.
“No, I can actually live anywhere inside the county limits.” He looked around. “I could even
live here if I wanted to.”
Now that sounded like a positive.
“And the detective position doesn’t have a physical fitness requirement?” I asked.
It had become apparent over the past few months that the requirement to pass the physical
fitness test to requalify for his current job was going to be a problem. Colt was able to walk using
his cane, and he hoped to be cleared to drive by the end of the year. His physical therapist,
however, thought it unlikely that he’d ever have the strength or range of motion he once had.
“The detective job does have a physical that must be passed to be eligible for the job, but the
requirements are much lower than they are for a street cop.”
“But you aren’t a street cop. You’re the Police Chief.”
“I’m the Police Chief in an office with three police officers. All of us need to be able to carry
out any tasks that need to be carried out, so the physical fitness requirement is one of the
toughest to pass. While my team acts as first responders for crimes in progress and ones that
have just occurred, the county detective is called in after the first responders have arrived and
secured the area. The detective job doesn’t require anywhere near the level of running and
physical exertion that the front-line positions require.”
“But there is a physical requirement even for a detective?” I asked, even though he’d just
said as much.
“There is. Even a detective will occasionally have the need to take down a suspect who
decides to run.”
“So, how did Alex think you were going to get around that?”
“She thought Tanner would be able to help me with that.” ...