Harper hastily packed up the remains of Frankie’s sandwich and fries. She scraped the ice cream off the pie and put the remains of that in a box, too.
“I’m sorry,” Shar said softly. “I know you’re upset. I’m sure I can make it up to—”
“It’s fine.” Harper’s words left icy vapor in the air. “I realize now that you losing us to the state was the best thing that could have happened to us. So thanks for that. Maybe it’s best if we just leave it there.”
The second the server came back with the receipt, Harper added a tip and scrawled her name on the signature line. Then she grabbed the boxes of food and her sister and got them out of there without a backward glance at the woman still in the booth.
ChapterFifty-Six
Another beautiful evening, but Mitch was focused on telling Harper about his work for the day. “Then Charlie meets up with the councilman, who tells her she needs to watch her back, and that sets up the suspicion that Bekard might be playing her. You know, on behalf of his father the mayor.” Mitch paused there to let Harper respond.
She nodded. “Mm-hmm. Interesting.”
He narrowed his eyes. She definitely wasn’t herself tonight. “You’ve said that about the last three plot points I’ve given you.”
She seemed to shake herself, then blinked and gave him a quick smile. “I’m really sorry. I am not giving you my full attention and I apologize. Nothing to do with the book, I promise. Totally my fault. Letting my day get the best of me.”
“Did something else happen concerning the media attacking you? Would you like to talk about it?”
She laughed. “That’s not how this works.”
“I realize I’m paying you to be here, but doesn’t that also mean that this time can work however I want it to work?”
She was still smiling. That felt like an improvement over her mood when she’d arrived. A storm cloud had hung over her. He’d wondered if that’s how he appeared to most people. Hopefully, the cloud above him had begun to dissipate.
The good news was he rarely interacted with anyone other than Joyce. And now Harper. But both of them understood.
She splayed her hands out, then brought them back to her lap. “It can work however you want it to, but I’d also like you to get the input you’re paying for. I love the idea of casting the mayor’s son as a questionable character. It’s perfect. Will he really turn out to be a bad guy?”
Mitch shook his head. “I don’t think so. But it’ll be interesting to play with that idea for a while. Make the reader wonder. And it’ll allow me to set up the real bad guy in a way that I don’t think they’ll see coming.”
“That sounds great.” Her smile widened. “Very classic Mitchell Ripley.”
He frowned. “You mean it sounds…expected?”
“Yes, but in an unexpected way.”
He snorted. “Great. I don’t want to get into a rut.”
“You aren’t. Charlie’s never had a love interest before, so that’s new. It also makes sense in her world that it could be with someone who’s more than they seem. So readers might expect him to be the bad guy, likegenuinelyexpect it, but if he’s not,thatwill surprise them.”
Mitch nodded. “I need to be careful how I write him. I need to make him seem worse than he is. Really let them believe Charlie’s about to be double-crossed.”
“Yes,” Harper said. “I love that.”
He made a few notes before looking up again. “What had you in such a bad mood earlier?”
Her mouth came open but there was no immediate response. She sighed and glanced down at her hands folded in her lap.
“Sorry,” he said. “You clearly don’t want to talk about it. Forget about it.”
“It’s not that. It’s just…I don’t know how to talk about it.”
“You? You’re a great communicator.”
She flicked her gaze at him briefly. “Says the man who wrote my public statement for me.”
He laughed lightly. “True, but you were in crisis. It’s hard to string words together when you feel like your life is coming to an end.” Difficult memories erased his smile. “Trust me. I know.”
