Chapter 57
Chapter Fifty-Seven
H arper came back from Mitch’s ready for a quick bite to eat and a couple of hours of mindless television. She didn’t know when Frankie would be back from Lucas’s but it didn’t matter. Frankie was a big girl and could do what she wanted.
She could stay over, for all that it mattered. Harper smiled. A sleepover might do Frankie a world of good. She and Lucas probably weren’t at that stage of their relationship yet, though. And no doubt Frankie would be cautious about how fast things progressed.
Willa might have something to say about that, too. Then again, it was going to be a while before Willa got to say anything about her mother’s decisions.
Harper found Willa on the back deck, watching videos on her phone. She opened the sliding door and stuck her head out. “Did you eat yet?”
Willa barely shook her head. “No.”
“You want to make a big salad and watch some really bad television? Or good TV. Either way, you can pick it.”
Willa smiled reluctantly and looked up from her phone. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”
“So? What’s wrong with that? Come on. Quit being antisocial and get in here and slice a cucumber.”
Willa followed her in. Archie joined them in the kitchen, always ready to take care of anything that might fall to the floor.
Harper smiled at him. “You’re such a good helper, aren’t you, baby dog?”
He smiled and wagged his tail.
Willa pulled things from the fridge. “What meat is there?”
“Chicken breast, but there’s also some ham for sandwiches. Chicken’s probably better for the salads.” Harper grabbed two tomatoes and one small sweet onion from the bowl on the counter.
Willa got the chicken breast out, along with a head of lettuce, a cucumber, and a red pepper. “What else?”
“How about some feta cheese and kalamata olives?”
“Greek? Sounds good.”
They went to work chopping and slicing and building the salads. They threw in some chickpeas, too, then after they’d cleaned up, drizzled each bowl with Greek vinaigrette.
“Those look amazing,” Willa said. “Lucas would be proud.”
Harper got forks for both of them. “They do look pretty good.”
They went to sit in front of the television. Archie followed, taking his usual spot on his blanket.
Harper ate while Willa found a competition cooking show for them to watch.
She glanced at her aunt. “Is this okay?”
“Whatever you want. Your choice. But yeah, this is fine.”
“Cool. I don’t think I could ever compete on a show like this. Too much pressure.”
“I don’t know,” Harper said. “I think I could give it a shot.” She pointed her fork at the screen. “She’s going to get points taken off for not doing more with that basket ingredient. Just crumbling up the bacon seems like an uninspired move.”
“Oh, really?” Willa’s brows went up. “What would you have done with it?”
“Chop it up and add it to the corn fritters. She’s already making them. Bacon and corn are good together.”
“Yeah, actually, that would have been better. Point to you.” Willa grinned.
“Thanks.”
They watched three episodes, since the channel was running them back to back. The third episode turned out to be about dessert, which sent them into the kitchen in search of sugary snacks. Harper settled on a bowl of grapes. Willa went with chocolate. Not until the start of the fourth episode did Frankie return home.
Harper gave her a nod as her sister appeared at the top of the steps. “Hey. How was your night?”
“Really good.” Frankie stood there, smiling. She was practically glowing with happiness. Obviously, she’d had a fantastic evening.
Willa smiled hopefully. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Frankie collapsed onto the couch. “Is this what you two have been doing all evening?”
“Pretty much,” Willa answered. “We had salad for dinner. What did you have?”
“Same. But with grilled steak.” Frankie grinned. “And for dessert, the most amazing homemade coconut milk ice cream with dark chocolate shavings and chopped macadamia nut pieces. It was so good.”
Harper stared at her sister. “And you didn’t bring us any?”
Frankie shrugged, looking in no way sorry. “Ice cream doesn’t travel well by golf cart.”
Harper popped the last grape into her mouth. Good, but not even close to ice cream. “Who told you that?”
“Oh, it’s common knowledge,” Frankie said.
Harper laughed. “Is it?”
Willa leaned forward. “Mom, do you want to talk now?”
Frankie shook her head. “Tomorrow is fine. The bottom line is, you’re an adult and you’re allowed to make your own decisions.”
“Thanks,” Willa said softly. “But I know you’re not happy about what I did, and I get why. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Frankie said. “Part of being an adult means dealing with things in a calm, rational manner. I’m saying that to myself as much as I’m saying it to you. If this is what you want to do, then I’m here to support you.”
So much for talking in the morning, Harper thought. But she was glad they’d worked things out. She turned the volume down on the television.
“Besides,” Frankie said. She spread her arms along the back of the couch. “I’m going to be living in the guest house. Your aunt and I already discussed that. In fact, I might even start moving over there tomorrow, just so we can get into the rhythm of our new normal. It’ll help me figure out what kind of room I’m going to have, too.”
Harper nodded. “I told Willa you were taking the guest house. So you’ll have that space, Willa will have the upstairs, and I have the bedroom down here. There’s room for all of us to have our own areas and plenty of privacy. It’ll be fine. And with three of us contributing to the bills, it’ll all work out. Which won’t be that much for a while. Arlington had the foresight to set up an account to cover all the major expenses for the first five years of my owning this place. We still have four years of that left.”
Frankie’s mouth dropped. “You never mentioned that.”
“I’m pretty sure I did,” Harper said.
“Oh. Then I obviously forgot. What can I say? Menopause brain is real.” Frankie laughed. “But that’s huge. I really might be all right.”
Harper smiled. “You will be. I’m sure of it.”
Willa leaned back again. “Mom, after you move to the guest house, will you still eat with us? Or are you going to completely do your own thing?”
“We hadn’t really talked about that,” Frankie said. “I suppose a little of both. I’m going to be relying on my illustrating business for my money, so there will probably be some nights that I’ll work straight through. Assuming I can get the work, but I just have to have faith.”
“You know, Mom, I saw a sign up at the school about an art fair that’s coming up next month. What if you signed up to have a booth there and sold some of your prints? You could sell T-shirts and mugs and whatever else you have in your shop. Plus, you could advertise for your other services, like the custom greeting cards.”
“And pet portraits,” Harper added. “I saw you’re doing those now, too.”
“I am,” Frankie said. “I did one of Scout for Lucas and he loved it. He’s putting it on merchandise in his store. I’ll think about the art fair, Willa. It’s interesting, to say the least.”
“Hey,” Willa said. “Have you ever thought about doing custom wedding invites? Weddings are a major industry. People pay crazy money for stuff like that. The more specialized and individual, the better.”
“I’ve never considered that,” Frankie said. “But maybe I should do a few samples and stick them in my portfolio. Not a bad idea, Willa.”
“See,” she said, her smile widening. “Having me around is already paying off.”
Frankie smiled, but rolled her eyes.
Harper just shook her head. “This is what I’m in for now, huh?”
Archie climbed off the couch and looked at Harper with meaning.
“Okay, I get it,” she said. “You gotta pee. Let’s go, baby.”
She grabbed his leash, clipped it on and took him downstairs, then out through the rec room and into the backyard. He was quick about his business, which she appreciated. She was getting sleepy.
And tomorrow was a big day. She was going to help Mitch adopt a new dog. Hopefully. She also really needed to figure out the details for moving out of her L.A. place. But thinking about the new dog was more exciting. “You might have a new friend to play with soon. Won’t that be fun?”
Oblivious, Archie ignored her to sniff a clump of grass that for reasons unknown smelled much more enticing the any of the other clumps of grass. A few more minutes of that and they went back in.
Archie got his feet wiped off, then had a cookie in the kitchen. Harper wound his leash up and put it back in its usual spot. She thought about making a cup of tea and taking it into bed with her, then reading for a bit.
Frankie got up. “I’m turning in. See you all in the morning.”
“Night,” Harper said.
“Night, Mom,” Willa chimed in. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Frankie headed upstairs.
Harper was about to announce her plans to do the same thing when the doorbell rang.
Willa looked at her. “Who’s that?”
“No clue.” Harper’s phone was still on the couch. It was possible Mitch had needed her for something and she’d missed his text or call. But coming over? That didn’t seem like him. Not at this hour. It was nearly ten. “I’ll see who it is.”
She went down the steps and opened the door.
Jack Marsh, Arlington’s youngest son, smiled at her. “Hey, Harper. How are you, man?”
“Jack?” She hadn’t been expecting anyone, but certainly not him.
Even in the Florida heat, he was wearing his usual shawl-collar cardigan with a T-shirt and jeans. Strappy Jesus sandals bound his feet. “Yeah. I hope you don’t mind, but I needed to get away and…” He shrugged, still smiling. “You don’t mind if I take over the guest house for a while, do you?”
This had been his father’s home. Jack had spent a lot of time here. And he was a friend. If he needed a place to stay, she couldn’t very well turn him away. Not after all Arlington had done for her. “Sure. Is everything all right?”
He hitched up the strap of the leather duffel bag on his shoulder. “It will be. Thanks for asking, man. Hey, I have a key.” He pulled a hand from one pocket and dangled it off his finger. “I promise I won’t be in the way.”
She just nodded, still in shock at seeing him. “Okay. Great. Um, yeah, I’ll just be here then.”
“Cool, cool.” He headed across the lawn toward the guest house. “Sleep easy, man.”
“Yeah. You, too.” Harper shut the door, trying to process what had just happened. Why was he here? What could be going on? She’d have to check social media and see if she could figure it out.
When he’d called, she’d never expected him to show up here. Had she said something he’d interpreted as an invite? Nothing she could think of. He was welcome, of course. Jack was a decent man whose celebrity star shone brightly. He definitely swam against the stream sometimes.
For his sake, and his father’s, she’d help him out, whatever was going on. It was the right thing to do. She needed to determine what was going on, though, because right now, she was clueless.
One thing she did know? Frankie wouldn’t be moving into the guest house tomorrow. And maybe not anytime soon.