He liked spending time with her. Enough that he was starting to wonder if his feelings for her were heading beyond friendship.
As she took Archie to get water, he shook his head, clearing out those thoughts. If anything, he might be a little infatuated. Jeanie had been his one true love. There was no reason to think he’d get a second chance at something like that again.
Chapter Sixteen
Harper dug out Archie’s bowl from her bag and filled it from a bottle. Both he and Scout drank. She cleaned up, then spent the next however many minutes daydreaming. Being a creative consultant on a Mitchell Ripley movie felt surreal to even think about. She’d never imagined in her wildest dreams something like that might happen.
Her mind went crazy with the thoughts of what it would be like to be on set. Wouldn’t be her first time. She’d had a few clients request her presence for various reasons. But she’djustbeen a presence. A physical support system.
Mitch was asking her to be an active player.
That was heady stuff.
The sound of the engines changed, and the boat slowed.
“All right, boys and girls,” Mitch called out from the cockpit. “We’ll be ready to disembark in just a few minutes.”
Harper joined him again. “What do you need me to do?”
“Not much. You and Lucas should probably leash the dogs. I’m going to back the boat toward the island, then anchor. That will put the swim platform in shallow water. It’ll be about knee deep or so from there. We can do a little exploring and then eat, or eat first, explore after. Whatever you guys want to do. There’sa little snorkeling to be done, too, if anyone’s interested. It’s nothing like the ocean, but the river has plenty to look at.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’m not starved, but I’ll do whatever the majority says.”
Willa came up to them. “Did I hear you say snorkeling?”
Mitch nodded. “There’s plenty of gear if you want to give it a try.”
“Yeah, that would be cool.” She looked at Harper. “Are you going to let Archie get in the water?”
“Yes. I’m sure Lucas will let Scout swim. Can’t have him feeling left out.”
Lucas and Frankie came in from the bow. “Can’t have who feeling left out?” Frankie asked.
“Archie. If Scout goes swimming, he’ll have to go, too.”
“You know that’s right,” Frankie said.
There was a small clunk sound, then the engines cut off. Harper realized they were at a standstill.
“Anchor’s down,” Mitch announced. “Do we want to eat or explore first? This is Thieves’ Island, in case you didn’t hear me earlier. During Prohibition, this island housed a very active moonshine distillery. The ruins of that distillery still remain. Just follow the path from the beach there.”
Frankie was all smiles. “Now I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. This is pretty cool. And we can just walk around the ruins?”
“We can,” Mitch replied.
Lucas nodded. “Don’t judge me, but I might have to do a quick live from there.”
“A what?” Mitch asked.
Harper grinned. He was so amazingly untouched by technology. “A live feed or broadcast,” she offered.
“That’s right,” Lucas said. “This is right up my alley. Granted, I’m not exactly a huge moonshine guy, not sure I’ve ever actuallytried it, but I do use wine in my cooking. I can’t pass this up.” He looked at Frankie. “How do I look? Camera-ready?”
She giggled like a teenager. “You always look camera-ready.”
Harper caught Mitch rolling his eyes in amusement at the same time she did.
Willa grimaced as if her mother and Lucas were too much to bear. “I’ll be in the water.”
