Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
H arper sat with Frankie until she finished her lunch, then Harper went into the bedroom and changed into workout clothes. She grabbed her tablet and headed downstairs to get on the elliptical.
Mitch’s idea of getting Lucas’s private investigator brother to do some digging on the woman harassing Jack was genius. Or would be, if Lucas’s brother was able to find something on her that would get Jack out of this fix.
Despite the mess he was in, she was glad this situation had woken him up and gotten him to quit drinking. Would it last? She wasn’t sure. But Arlington had always thought Jack was too much of a partier.
Harper stepped onto the elliptical and got it moving.
Teddy had thought the same about his brother, once he’d gotten himself straightened out. Harper knew he’d spoken to Jack about his drinking, but sometimes a person just had to hit rock bottom for themselves. This seemed like that moment for Jack.
Harper increased the speed on the elliptical. She wanted to get a little sweat going. Living here in Hideaway Bay meant she was going to have to be more disciplined about working out. Just because she wasn’t in L.A. anymore didn’t mean she was going to let herself go.
She smiled thinking about the news that Frankie had shared, that Suzanne and her husband were most likely moving out of Hideaway Bay. Harper wasn’t going to pretend she had anything but hard feelings for the woman. She understood why Suzanne had sold her out to the press. Suzanne obviously felt like it would buy her some social clout or give her some added importance.
Maybe it had, but the act had come with a price. She’d ruined her reputation in the neighborhood, or at least that’s what it seemed like. Harper would call Prisha later and find out the details for herself.
Maybe now that Suzanne wasn’t going to be around anymore, Harper would start going to yoga, too. That would be a great way to do something healthy with her sister and get to see Prisha as well.
She truly wanted to get more involved in her new community.
That brought to mind her sister’s suggestion of having a small housewarming party. It really was a good idea. She didn’t need a lot of friends, but a few more would be all right. Getting to know the neighbors might be fun. So long as those neighbors were like Prisha and not like Suzanne.
Harper still wanted to have Buck and Glenda down for a visit, but that couldn’t happen until Jack moved out of the guest house, because they didn’t have the room. Jack’s presence meant Frankie couldn’t move in there, either. Harper had no idea how long he planned to stay. Maybe if Lucas’s brother could find out something about this woman Monica, something that helped, then Jack would feel like it was safe to go home.
It wasn’t that she wanted him to leave but his unexpected visit was a slight interruption to their lives and a big unknown. Harper didn’t love things being in limbo.
She hoped Lucas’s brother was good at what he did. She thought about asking if Frankie knew anything about him, but then Harper would have to explain why she was asking about him. Or how she even knew he was coming into town. Better just to let things work themselves out.
Sweat began to trickle down her back. She increased the speed slightly again.
Willa came in from the pool in her bikini and flipflops. She pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head. “Hey, Aunt Harper. Where’s Archie?”
Harper nodded toward the steps. “Last I saw him, he was asleep on the couch. If you feel like taking him out, I’m sure he’d appreciate it. If he wants to. He might not want to get up from his day-long nap.”
Willa laughed. “Okay, I’ll check on him.”
“Thanks.” Harper’s breathing was coming a little harder now. That was good. She needed this. Needed to stay on top of her health and fitness.
There was a remote on the deck of the elliptical. She grabbed it and pressed the power button. The big-screen TV across from her flickered to life. It was set on a news channel, which didn’t interest her at all. She knew all about the real world and the troubles therein. She didn’t need to see them to know that they were never-ending.
She flipped through the channels looking for something entertaining. She happened upon one of the entertainment channels, and their gossipy news show, Celebrity Eye . They talked about whatever was going on in Hollywood, the latest scandal, that sort of thing. Part of Harper still thought of L.A. as home, so she left the channel there and watched.
The talking head on the screen was a young blond guy who looked like he’d had a little work done. Probably just some Botox, Harper figured, since his forehead didn’t move. He smiled at the camera, showing off his whiter-than-natural veneers. “And now we get to our Social Media segment.”
Harper rolled her eyes. This ought to be good. Who’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t have? She knew for a fact that a lot of those supposedly candid pictures weren’t candid at all but set up for the sole purpose of publicity.
“Alicia Wilding was seen out on the arm of a new and much younger man,” the anchor said. A blurry photo flashed on the screen, but it was definitely the actress and her new boyfriend or whoever the man was. “Sources say they were seen leaving Mr. Chow together.”
Harper laughed. Celebrities only went to Mr. Chow if they wanted to be seen. It was one of those spots that always had paparazzi parked outside. The restaurant was known for that very thing. That and exorbitantly expensive food.
“Next, we have a shot sent in by a regular viewer who believes she spotted none other than The Rule Breaker himself, Jackson Marsh. But he’s not in Hollywood. The viewer tells us he was seen at a house in a secluded gated community for the uber wealthy in Florida known as Hideaway Bay.”
Harper almost fell off the elliptical. She shut the machine down and jumped off, taking the remote with her. She turned up the volume as a picture appeared on the screen. It was Jack, standing poolside, thankfully after he’d wrapped himself in his towel.
Harper felt a little sick to her stomach.
“We did a little research,” the anchor continued. “And it appears that his father, Arlington Marsh, once owned a house in Hideaway Bay. That house, however, has since been bequeathed to Harper Calhoun. If that name seems familiar, it’s because she’s the woman most recently linked to Ford Keating.”
Harper put her hand to her mouth as they showed the old photo of her leaving Ford’s house. Oh, crap. Not this again.
Willa came down the steps with Archie on his leash. “What’s the matter? Did someone die?” She looked up at the screen, where the picture of Harper was replaced by the picture of Jack again.
The anchor added, “What does it mean that Jackson Marsh is now shacking up with Harper Calhoun? Is she just an old family friend or is there more to the story? If there is, you’ll find it here first.”
The show cut away to a commercial.
“Yikes,” Willa said.
Harper nodded. “Yeah, yikes is right.”
“You aren’t, uh, shacking up with him, are you, Aunt Harper? I mean, I know a lot of older women think he’s hot and all but—”
“No, Willa. I’m not. Jack and I are just friends. Always have been. And that’s all we’ll ever be. That’s just a stupid show looking for ratings.”
“But someone got that picture of him. Suzanne, you think?”
“No, you could tell by the angle that the photo was taken by a passing boat. Could have been anyone. Jack’s pretty recognizable. They figured out who he was and probably sold that photo for enough money to make it worth their while.”
Willa made a face. “Ew. Tacky.”
“Exactly. And they mentioned Hideaway Bay by name, which means there will be more people on boats with cameras any minute. Keep your eyes open when you’re outside. I bet you spot some.”
“Can I flip them the bird?”
Harper laughed, despite her mood. “Better just to ignore them, honestly.”
Her workout was over. She had to tell Jack. She should probably tell Mitch, too. This was not how she’d imagined the rest of her day going.
She stormed up the steps, took a quick shower, then went to the guest house to see Jack.
He gave her an odd look as he opened the door. “What’s with the angry face, man?”
She shook her head and came in. “I take it you haven’t been on social media?”
“Nah, man. That’s not my jam.”
He had people for that. Not to be him online, but to run a Facebook page, Twitter account, and a website for him. She didn’t think he had anything else. “Well, someone got a picture of you at the pool.”
“What pool?”
“My pool. And they’ve connected you to me. They gave the name of the community and hinted that there might be something going on between you and me.”
His expression didn’t change, but he filled his lungs with air, then slowly let it out again. “Monica will know I’m not in Cali.”
Harper nodded. “She will. But so will the paparazzi. They won’t be able to get into the neighborhood, but there’s nothing stopping them from going through the channel from the river to the ocean. I doubt they can anchor out there. Maybe. I don’t know but Mitch might. He’s a boat guy. But you need to prepare yourself for more media coverage.”
“I came here to avoid that.”
“I know. Just be glad they didn’t get a picture of you sans trunks.”
He pushed hair off his face. “Hear anything about the PI?”
“I don’t even know if he’s gotten here yet.” She huffed out a breath. “This isn’t good, Jack.”
“Things are things. No one can control what anyone else does. Is it good? No. But we’ll get through it.”
How he could be so calm, she had no idea. “Do me a favor? Keep the sheers closed. At least on the windows that face the water, all right? Maybe we can get them to think you’ve gone home.”
“Whatever you say, Harper. It’s your place.” He tipped his head, eyes softening with concern. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to bring trouble to your door.”
“I know you didn’t. And it doesn’t change the way I feel about you being here. You’ll always be welcome. It’s just a complication you didn’t need.”
He nodded. “True that.”
“Listen, one more thing. It’s getting harder not to tell my sister what’s going on. The PI you’re hiring? That’s her boyfriend’s brother. She already knows something’s up.”
“Right. Cool, cool. You tell her whatever you want to. I just…I don’t want her to think badly of me. I really want her to do that painting of my dad, you know?”
“You’re serious about that?”
“Yeah, totally, man.”
“It won’t be cheap. Probably ten grand easily.”
He smiled. “Seems cheap to me.”
She laughed and gave him a quick hug. “Stay inside, okay? You need anything, you let us know.”
“You got it, boss.”
She went back to the main house, her eyes on the water. No boats.
Not yet, anyway.