Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
H arper sprawled out on the padded bench seat and leaned back as she opened her book. This was not the day she’d had planned. It was better.
Mitch had cut the engines, and they were drifting, the salty breeze providing some natural air-conditioning. Jack had cast a line off the back of the boat. The peaceful expression on his face was priceless. It seemed knitting wasn’t the only way he found his zen.
Mitch came up from the cabin with two bottles of water. He sat beside Harper. “Water?”
“Thanks.” She scooted upright a little more. “This was a fantastic idea. Well done.”
He set the bottles on the deck. “I do have them once in a while.”
She laid her book flat on her stomach and admired the man next to her. “What’s new with you?”
“Nothing much. I should be writing, but this seemed more important. For the record, I did ask Kyle if he wanted to come, but he’s in the thick of things and didn’t want to leave. He’s about ready to do some brainstorming with you, by the way. Provided Ruthie doesn’t intervene again.”
“Whenever he wants. Tonight?”
“Maybe.” Mitch looked at her. “You think you’ll still be up for it after this?”
She snorted and gave him a wry smile. “I’m basically laying down, reading a book. If that wears me out, I have bigger problems.”
Laughing, he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “This is nice, isn’t it?”
“It is. Did you bring a book?”
“No, but I keep a supply of legal pads and gel pens in the cabin. I’ll do some longhand writing, then either tonight or tomorrow, I’ll type it all in.”
A gull swooped past, probably looking to see if they had any easily accessible food laying around.
“That’s interesting.” She hadn’t known him to do that before. “Do you write longhand often?”
“No, but it works pretty well. I used to do it a lot more.”
“When you and Jeanie came out on the boat?”
He nodded, his gaze aimed at the horizon. “Whatever I write out, I can generally double the word count when I type it in. That first draft is pretty spare, you know? As I type it, I end up layering in description and emotion, action sometimes, or some introspection. It’s a great technique. And not one I use often enough.”
“Have you taught it to Kyle?”
“No, but I will at some point.” Mitch glanced at his phone. The coast was still in sight, so they had signal.
“Waiting on a call?”
He nodded. He bent his arms back, resting them on the top edge of the bench cushion.
“Lucinda or Angelo?”
He gave her a quick look, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses. “Both. Either.”
“You think Angelo will be able to do what you want?” They’d only discussed it briefly, but she had an idea about what Mitch had sent Lucas’s brother to do. It had been her suggestion, after all.
“I can only hope.”
“And Lucinda?”
He picked up his water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. “Since I told her Kyle was sticking to his guns about not using my name, which I’m fine with, she promised she’d do her best. I have a feeling I know what she’s going to come back with.”
“What’s that?” Harper asked.
“An offer that hinges on the use of the Ripley name, regardless of what I told her Kyle wants.”
Harper sat up, set her book aside, and pulled her knees into her chest. “You really think Lucinda would go against your wishes?”
“No, it’s not that. I told her it’s all right to tell the publishers who Kyle is. That he’s my son. But also that we both agree he’s going to do this on his own merits. She knows that and she’ll respect it. The publishers, on the other hand, won’t care what Kyle wants.”
“Ah.” Harper frowned as she thought about that. “That kind of sucks. He wrote the book. It’s up to him.”
“It is, but…” Mitch shrugged. “That’s publishing. That’s most business, actually, but publishing is especially egregious when it comes to taking advantage of the producer.”
“You mean the writer.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Until you get to my level, not that I’m such a big deal—”
“Except you are,” Harper interrupted.
With a quick smile and a nod, he acknowledged her. “There are bigger authors.”
“Not many.”
“The point is, he has no pull. He’s a nobody right now. If he was using my name, it would get him some pull, but he’s still an unknown quantity. One they’ll undoubtedly throw serious money at, but that only gives him less say. The more money they give you, the more they dictate your career.”
“I didn’t know publishing was like that. Kind of reminds me of the movie industry.”
“Similar, I’d imagine.” Mitch glanced at Jack.
Harper studied Mitch’s handsome profile. He was a beautiful man. “You know, when Teddy came out of rehab, no studio wanted to touch him. He’d poisoned a lot of wells. His only real option was independent films for basically scale. It was sort of like he was starting over. But one of those movies, Operation Blackbird , made bank. Overnight, he was a movie star again. He’d taken a risk and that risk paid off.”
“I love that movie.” Mitch turned his attention back to her. “What are you saying?”
“Just wondering if you’ve ever thought about becoming your own publisher. Or if Kyle had. You must know enough about the business to be able to do that.”
“I do. But it’s a tremendous amount of work.”
“What isn’t?”
He let out a short, soft laugh. “Point taken.” He shook his head. “It would be good for him to start out traditionally published. The upside of a big advance is they’ll put some ad dollars behind him, some real marketing. At least they should. It’ll show him what it’s like to work with an editor, meet deadlines, all of the stuff that comes with being an author.”
“And if it’s not a great experience?”
“He can do whatever he likes for his next book. I’ll support him no matter what.”
She was facing Mitch, since he was sitting perpendicular to her. She stretched her legs out until her toes touched his thigh, her knees still bent. “I’ll help him in whatever way he needs.”
“Thanks,” Mitch said. He picked her feet up and put her legs across his lap. “If you can help him brainstorm, help him work out plot points when he needs it, do some beta reading, maybe some light editing, that would go a long way toward supporting him.”
“I’m in. You know that. Whatever you guys need.”
He rubbed one of her feet, working his thumb along the arch of her foot. “You seem to have this innate sense about what works in a book and what doesn’t.” Her eyes closed, but she was still listening. “If you ever want to make a little extra money, I have some friends who would pay for that kind of beta reading. Other authors, I mean.”
Her eyes opened. “You have friends?”
He grinned. “Smart aleck.”
“What kind of money?” It was something that had been on her mind more now that she’d decided to make Hideaway Bay her permanent home. Yes, Mitch paid well. So did her remaining clients. But how long would those other clients stick around without her being there in L.A.?
“Generally, it’s a per word sort of thing. I’d have to check the going rate. Are you interested?”
She nodded, hoping the foot massage would continue. “Definitely. As much as I appreciate you employing me, I don’t like relying on one source. I’m sure you can understand that.”
He shifted toward her. “Hang on. I thought you had other clients. Clients in California.”
“I do. But like I told you before, I think they will eventually get tired of me not being there. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what my gut is telling me. Having another source of income would be great. And reading a book now and then, making some notes on it, like what I did for Kyle? That would be great.”
His thumb worked down to her heel. “I’ll send out a few emails. See who’s interested.”
“Thanks. Speaking of gigs, remind me to tell you about the library thing I think you should do.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it now?”
She closed her eyes again, the foot massage taking over her thought processes. “Because I’m busy. But I promise I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Okay.” He chuckled softly and continued to knead his fingers into her foot. “You like that, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.”
A few moments later, Jack let out a, “Woohoo! Fish on, man!”
Harper opened her eyes and Mitch sat up straighter.
He yelled to Jack, “You need some help?”
Jack arched back as he reeled in the line. “Just grab the net, brother. Dinner’s on the line.”