He didn’t actually need to know. At least until the owner showed up. And he could put that off until the end of the book. By then, he’d know.
But what if the dog’s owner was the son of the mayor, a man who hated the ogres? And what if by the end of the book, Charlie was working for the ogre king? But she and the mayor’s son had some chemistry?
He blew out a breath. He’d gone from having nothing to write to needing to make notes, real notes, about what was going to happen next.
All because he’d talked to the annoying neighbor next door. Who really wasn’t that annoying.
How was that possible?
He knew he’d been isolating himself. But that was nothing new. He’d always done that. He preferred it that way. It was how he worked best.
Except he hadn’t been completely isolated like he was now. He’d had Jeanie to talk to and work through his writing issues with. She’d been great at brainstorming, sometimes suggesting the most ludicrous things, but those things had led him to workable solutions.
No one could replace Jeanie. Ever.
But was talking to Harper the next best thing? He crossed his arms. Couldn’t be just talking to her, could it? Wouldn’t talking toanyonebe just as good?
He got up from his desk and went back out to the kitchen to test that theory.
Joyce was sitting at the counter, a notepad in front of her, her phone to her ear. “Yes, that’s right. He’s a good-sized lad. About sixty pounds, I’d say. All right. Perfect. Thank you. You, too.”
She looked at him. “The basket will be delivered tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Couple of quick questions. Just respond with the first thing you think of, all right?”
“All right.”
“Should the dog’s owner be the mayor’s son? Or someone more sinister?”
She made a face. “What dog? The mayor of St. Helen’s Beach? Sinister people shouldn’t own dogs. They should make that a law. If a wrong ’uns got a dog, you should tell someone. Is the dog in trouble?”
“No one’s in trouble.” Mitch shook his head. “Never mind. As you were.”
She frowned at him, got up, picked up her duster, and went back to work.
Well, that answered that question. Harper it was.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Harper spent her day going over the notes she’d written on the memoir, getting them really polished, rereading them again, and finally sending them. She hoped they were well-received.
Not long after she’d sent that email, she got another one from a client, Mimi Atwell, wondering if they could do a quick Zoom consult on her outfit choices for her appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
Harper couldn’t say no. Mimi’s email had sounded desperate, but Mimi always sounded desperate. She lived on the verge of a breakdown. They’d been working on Mimi finding ways to be calm and peaceful, but Harper turning her down wouldn’t help.
Mimi would spiral. The indecision about the outfit would snowball until Mimi would want to cancel the appearance, which would cause the production company to get upset. Mimi was doing the junket for her new movie,The Big Silence.
It was being billed as a return to film noir. Harper had seen a few dailies. It looked good. And Mimi was due for a hit. She’d done some independent films that had been critically acclaimed but hadn’t gotten the success they’d deserved.
Harper sent her a response that they could do a Zoom immediately, if that worked.
Less than sixty seconds after Harper hit Send, she got a notification for a Zoom meeting. Fifteen minutes. She ran to the bathroom and fixed herself up, putting on a little makeup and arranging her hair in a stylish messy bun. She pulled a few tendrils loose around her face to soften the look.
She changed into light-wash jeans and an oversized white button-down shirt, which she tied at the waist. She added silver Balinese dangling earrings set with garnets, a gift from Mimi after they’d first agreed to work together.
Then she stuck her head outside where Frankie was still working. And Archie was still snoozing, the lazy beast. She smiled at her sister. “Hey, I’m going to be on a Zoom call in about five minutes, so keep it down out here.”
Frankie laughed. “Tell Archie to stop snoring then. We’ll behave.”
