Like this place.
She thought about getting up to see if the coffee was done but it could wait another minute or two. Some kind of white sea bird flew by, coasting on the warm currents of air that drifted past. This place was heaven. If she were Harper, she’d do everything she could to stay right here. There was no way California was better than this.
Of course, she didn’t really know how Harper felt about this house and her life in California. Frankie wished things were different. That they were closer. They were certainly working on changing that and their relationship improved every day. They’d spent most of their lives apart. Not because of choices they’d made, but because of choices made for them.
In their best interests.
A muscle in her jaw twitched. She’d come to hate that phrase. It was a panacea for so many ills, but in truth it cured none of them. It was a phrase that suited the decision-maker much more than the person who’d had the decision made for them.
Such was the life of a child in foster care.
She had fantastic parents, but she wondered about how different her and Harper’s lives might have been if they’d grown up together. Her parents had never been given the opportunity to adopt Harper. They’d been looking for a younger child and that’s all they’d been offered.
Frankie didn’t like to dwell on what might have been, though. She much preferred to focus on the future. To work on what could be instead of lamenting the past. She firmly believed most people deserved a second chance. Or they at least deserved a shot at one.
How they used that second chance was up to them.
She’d given Tom more chances than any man deserved. He’d squandered them all. She’d learned her lesson with that man. And yet, she held fast to the belief that peoplecouldchange. If they wanted to.
She still hadn’t shared her big news with Harper. Today had to be that day. Harper needed to know what Frankie had discovered.
But not until they’d had coffee.
Frankie reluctantly got up and went inside. No sign of Harper yet, and the bedroom door was closed. How was Archie not whining to go out? The dog must have a bladder like a horse. Or he’d peed on the floor, but that didn’t seem like Archie’s style.
Frankie fixed her coffee with sugar and creamer, although the sugar was the fake stuff and the creamer Harper had bought was some oat milk concoction. Frankie grimaced and used them anyway, since there was nothing else.
Oat milk creamer. Frankie thought that was a sign Harper had been in California too long.
As she turned to go back outside, Harper emerged through the slider from her bedroom, looking half-asleep and still in her nightshirt. Archie trotted out and went straight to his food.
“Morning,” Frankie said softly. “Rough night?”
Harper scratched her head and yawned. “Did the barking not wake you up?”
“Barking?”
“Ugh, yes. Let me get some coffee in me first.”
“It’s made,” Frankie said with a smile. “Come outside when you’re ready.”
“Will do.”
Frankie returned to the deck. Harper appeared a few minutes later with coffee in one hand and a square, lidded glass container in the other. Archie slipped past her and went straight to a sunny spot.
“Oatmeal bars,” Harper said in explanation of the container. “Made by Joyce next door.”
“That was nice. Who’s Joyce again? She wasn’t at the book club, right?”
“No.” Harper sat beside Frankie on the couch. “She’s Mitch’s housekeeper. She brought them over to make up for his behavior, but after last night I suppose we’re even.” She shot Archie a look. “That dog.”
Frankie squinted at her sister. “I need a lot more information to understand what you just said. Mitch is your next-door neighbor?”
“Right. And Joyce is his housekeeper.” Harper yawned, then drank some of her coffee.
“I got that part. What did he do that needed making up for? And what happened last night? Does this have something to do with the barking I didn’t hear?”
Harper had the container of oatmeal bars on her lap. She held up a finger, then took another long drink of her coffee. She closed her eyes as she swallowed. “Okay. I needed that. Still need more, but that’s a start.”
