She grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him between the eyes. “I love you, you silly thing. Let me throw some clothes on and we’ll go walk.”
She really wanted coffee, but that could wait. Archie came first.
She opted for gym shorts, a tank top, and a baseball cap to hold back her hair. She brushed her teeth and slipped into her sneakers. Finally, she stuck her phone in the pocket of her shorts and made sure the sound was on. There was no text from Frankie yet, but Harper expected one soon.
She put Archie’s leash on him, and they went out the front door. Her plan was to check out the beach access and see what the beach was like so she’d know for when Frankie was here.
The closest access was one house away from hers. It was a wide boardwalk of planks, bordered on each side by a thick hedge she didn’t recognize.
As soon as they reached the halfway point, the sound of the waves really picked up. At the end of the boardwalk, they went down a few steps and came out onto a long stretch of pristine beach.
There were only two other people she could see. Quite a ways up, there was a man jogging near the waterline. And a few yards away, there was a woman in a beach chair that had its own awning for shade. She was reading a book.
Harper stood looking at how empty the beach was. Maybe it filled up more later in the day? Or maybe it was always like this. Unless you parked further up and walked down, this section of beach would be hard to access unless you lived in Hideaway Bay.
It wasn’t really a private beach, but it was pretty close.
Archie was sniffing a broken piece of clamshell.
“Come on. Let’s walk, Archie.” She gave the leash a gentle tug and started up the beach.
Archie trotted alongside her. The sun felt great, and the air was warm but the breeze off the water made the temperature perfect.
As they approached the woman who was reading, she put her book down and waved at them. “Hello.”
Harper waved back. “Hello.”
“Beautiful dog. What’s his name?”
“Archie.” Harper took a few steps in the woman’s direction. “He’s very friendly, I promise. He’s a big goofball, really.”
The woman pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and smiled at Archie. “Hello, Archie. You look like a very sweet fellow.”
Archie went right up to her and gladly accepted her pats.
“I’m Harper. We’re staying at the Marsh house.” She’d been about to say that she’d just moved in but that sounded so permanent.
“We?”
Harper smiled. “Me and Archie. Although my sister will be arriving sometime today, too.”
“Very nice. I’m Prisha Chatterjee. We live in the house that’s just behind me.” She pointed over her shoulder. “We being my husband and myself. Our children are grown, but they come to visit once in a while. It’s nice to have someone in the Marsh house. It’s sat empty for a while now.” Her gaze took on a touch of sorrow. “Arlington was such a dear man. Are you a relative of his?”
“No, just a good friend. Hewasa dear man. I can certainly agree with that. It’s nice to meet you, Prisha.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too. Have you met anyone else here yet?”
“I’ve met Joyce, the housekeeper for—”
“Mr. Ripley.” Prisha made a sad face and shook her head. “That poor man. He has some issues, but you can’t blame him. Joyce is lovely. Although I don’t get to talk to her that often. You should come to book club.” She picked up the hardback book she was reading. “Have you read it?”
“The Last of the Wildflowers.” Harper shook her head. The book had won some awards or been given the nod by Oprah or something like that. “Not yet, but I’ve heard of it. I probably should read it. Is it good?”
“It is…interesting. Suzanne, one of our members, picked it. But it doesn’t matter if you’ve read it or not, we mostly get together to catch up, drink wine, and eat sweets.”
Harper laughed. “That’s kind of you to offer, but I shouldn’t abandon my sister right after she arrives.”
“Bring her, too. The more the merrier. My house, tomorrow night, seven o’clock.”
