Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
H arper took an umbrella to walk next door to Mitch’s. The hard rain that had come down earlier had diminished to a steady drizzle. She hoped it would disappear completely by tomorrow, since Buck had agreed, enthusiastically, to meeting. She didn’t love driving in the rain. Even if it was only two hours.
She knocked on the door. She knew Joyce wouldn’t be there. Her sister had come in today. No doubt the two of them were at the guest house catching up.
Harper smiled, happy for her friend.
Mitch appeared, a pink cloth draped over his shoulder. “Oh, hey. Is it six already?”
“It is.” The sound of a baby crying drifted down the steps. Was he watching a movie? “Not a good time?”
“No, I, uh, just a lot going on.” He grinned suddenly, then let out a big breath. “Kyle is here. With Ruthie. His daughter. My grandbaby.”
“What?” Harper laughed. “Are you kidding? That’s amazing.” But that explained the happiness radiating off of Mitch. “I’m sure you have your hands full. Don’t worry about me. We can catch up whenever you’re ready.” She started to back away.
“No, come in. I want you to meet them both.”
“I’d love to.” She went up the steps with him.
A young, tired-looking man sat on the couch with a baby in his arms. He was giving her a bottle. There was a stuffed duck and a blanket on the couch beside him.
“Hi,” Harper said softly. “You must be Kyle. And that little princess must be Ruthie.”
He nodded. “That’s us.”
“I’m Harper. A friend of your dad’s.”
Kyle nodded. “He told me about you. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Both of you.”
Mitch touched Harper’s arm lightly, getting her attention. “Why don’t we go in my office and talk for a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
He glanced at Kyle again. “Pizza should be here in half an hour. I’ll get it when it comes.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dad.”
“Yell if you need something.” He tipped his head toward the office. “Right this way.”
They walked together and he opened the door. She went in. “Joyce is off with her sister, I take it?”
“Soon to be. Beryl gets in around seven. I hired a car to pick her up from the airport and bring her straight here. Joyce is at her place, putting the last-minute touches on everything, I imagine.” He closed the door. “She did a lot of extra work today, what with Kyle and Ruthie showing up.”
“Did you know they were coming?” She shook her head. “I feel like you would have mentioned that.”
“I didn’t. Joyce didn’t, either, although she told me she’d been emailing Kyle, trying to get him to talk to me.”
Harper lifted her brows. “I’d say she did that and then some.”
Mitch laughed. “That’s for sure. Come on, let’s sit.”
She took one end of the couch, he took the other. “You never mentioned Ruthie.”
His eyes widened in emphasis. “I didn’t know about her. Until today.” He explained what Kyle had told him about Addison not wanting the baby, how Kyle had persuaded her to have it, then how Addison had asked them to leave.
Harper sat listening, mouth open in shock. “What kind of a mother…”
“I know,” Mitch said. “But they’re here now and everything’s going to be fine. Kyle and I talked a lot today. We’ve forgiven each other and we’re moving on. It’s what Jeanie would want. Especially with Ruthie in the picture.”
“She’s precious.”
Mitch’s wide smile returned. “She’s the most perfect child I’ve ever seen. I know Kyle was a baby, too, but I was stupidly not as involved with all of that as I should have been. That’s going to be different.” He lifted his chin slightly. “I already changed a diaper.”
“Did you?” Harper tried not to laugh. “And you lived to tell about it?”
Mitch rolled his eyes at her. “I also helped Joyce give Ruthie a bath. I am going to be fully involved. As much as Kyle will let me.”
“So they’re going to be staying here.”
“That’s the plan. This is their home as much as it is mine. Kyle’s back in his old room and we’ve got Ruthie set up in the guest room.”
“I guess you won’t be adopting a dog, then.”
“Actually, I still want to do that. I think it would be great for Ruthie to grow up with an animal. Kyle loves the idea. And why not? There’s room. And money’s not an issue.”
“Then I’ll keep researching. By the way, I won’t be around tomorrow. The three of us are driving up to Jekyll Island to meet Buck. Frankie’s and my biological father.”
His brows lifted. “Big day.”
She nodded. “Not as big as yours, but yes. I have a good feeling about him, but that might just be projection. I really want this meeting to go well, for Frankie’s sake.”
“Because of Sharlene.”
“Exactly.”
“I hope it goes well, too.” He glanced at the door. “Having Kyle home is really good. Finding out about Ruthie feels like this unexpected blessing I didn’t know I needed. I can’t express how much I love that child and I’ve known her for less than a day.”
Harper smiled. “I get it. I felt that way about Willa when she was born, and then Jason, her brother. But I can see it in you, too. There is something new and bright about you. It’s wonderful.”
“I would die for that little girl. I mean that. I feel that fiercely protective of her.”
“She’s a lucky baby to have you for a grandfather.”
He laughed, sniffing softly and staring at his hands. “Kyle and I put a crib together today. It’s the first time we’ve done something as father and son in more years than I can tell you. It was nice.”
“I bet it was. Was it his old crib?”
“No, sadly, that’s long gone.” He smiled. “I bought out half of Walmart today. There’s not a baby product in production that we don’t now have at least one of.”
She chuckled. He was adorable in a way she’d never witnessed before. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. I think it’s fantastic. I really do. You probably won’t need me for a while, though, huh?”
He looked up. “Why do you think that?”
“Won’t this put the writing on hold?”
“No. It can’t. I have a deadline. I wrote today. Not as much as I normally would have, but I did what I could. If anything, it’s focused me more on getting things done.”
“Okay, great. Do you want to talk about today’s work, then?”
“Yeah, I’d love to. Let me grab a pen and notebook.” While he did that, he asked. “Do you want to stay for pizza?”
“I can’t. I already promised Frankie and Willa I’d be home for dinner. Thank you for the invite, though.”
“You’re welcome.” He sat back down, pen poised.
“So. Tell me about the book. What happened to Charlie Nightingale today?”
For the next twenty minutes, he told her what he’d written, where he saw it going, and what he wanted to happen. She gave him feedback and a couple of ideas for potential developments that could come out of things already planted in the story.
They talked and laughed, and he was more animated than she’d ever seen him. It was great.
Then the doorbell rang.
Mitch jumped up. “Pizza.”
Harper stood. “My cue to head out.”
“Walk with me.” He was already digging into his pocket for cash. “I hope things go really great for you tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”
She waved to Kyle, who was walking back and forth with Ruthie. He nodded in reply.
Mitch got the door. The pizza guy was standing there, insulated bag at the ready.
She smiled at Mitch and grabbed her umbrella. “Talk to you soon.”
“You, too.”
She slipped past the delivery man and headed across the path to her own house. Mitch as a grandfather was pretty interesting. He certainly seemed excited about it.
There was no way this wasn’t going to change his life. For the better, obviously. But what did it mean for their working relationship now that Kyle was in the picture once again? Would Mitch still need her input? Would he still want to talk every day after work?
She wasn’t sure. And as much as she wanted to make a decision about staying here or returning to California, she just couldn’t. Not yet.
Not until she knew what her job status was with Mitch.