News about their bid for sole custody of Ruthie.
The email he’d hoped for was there, along with a handful of others. He read through the attorney’s message, nodding as he digested it. He shot a quick reply back, telling the man to move forward and that he’d send money via bank transfer immediately.
There was an email from Lucinda as well. He smiled as he read that one. The movie forThe Light Withinwas a go. They had a director attached, Jin Huang, who was known for doing big, artistic productions. Impressive choice, Mitch thought.
Also, casting was underway, and the first payment for the rights would be arriving via direct deposit very soon. Money that would more than cover what he was going to send to the attorney.
This was good. Maybe even a sign that he was doing the right thing where Ruthie was concerned. Not that he needed convincing. Addison’s attitude had done that.
He logged onto his bank’s website and got the money transfer started.
Chapter Forty
After a night of restless sleep, Harper got up earlier than intended, but there was no point in just lying there. She threw on shorts, a T-shirt, and flipflops and took Archie out to pee. He didn’t seem very interested in being awake, either.
He plodded along in the grass, damp from the sprinklers being on, yawning as he searched for the perfect spot to do his business on. At least it wasn’t raining today.
She took him off the leash and let him do his thing. He was too lazy to run off, and he also knew that breakfast awaited when they went back inside. Archie was nothing if not food motivated.
She sat on one of the lounge chairs by the pool, soaking up some of the early morning sun. It felt good. Maybe she could squeeze out an hour or so to sit here later. A nap in the sun by the pool sounded like the best thing ever.
They had dinner tonight at Mitch’s and she was looking forward to that. Not just to see Mitch, but to see Ruthie again. She was an adorably sweet child.
Confident Archie wasn’t going beyond the yard, she took her phone out and checked messages.
There were a few client emails but nothing she wanted to dig into just yet. And an email from Mitch.
She tapped on that one. He’d sent her Kyle’s book. Maybe that’s what she’d do today. Sit by the pool and read. She’d set up one of the umbrellas so she’d have some shade. Workandrelaxation. What could be better?
Not much. Certainly not sitting in an office. And working by the pool wasn’t something that would ever happen in California. She didn’t have a pool there.
She sighed. Who was she kidding? She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t even want to go back to get her stuff, although she would.
What lunatic would walk away from all of this? Had Arlington known he was going to change her life with this house? Maybe. He was a brilliant man.
The place was beautiful. And it was all hers. Staying seemed like a no-brainer. More than that, being here would mean getting to live with her sister. After years of being separated, how amazing would that be?
Buck would only be two hours away. They’d be able to get to know each other.
But Mitch remained the elephant in the room. The handsome, charming, talented elephant. She laughed, wondering what he’d think of being referred to like that.
Archie, done with whatever he’d needed to do, came over and lay down by her lounger.
“Ready to go back in?”
He sat up.
“I thought so.” She got to her feet. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”
He had more energy going in than he’d had coming out. No surprise there. She gave him his usual scoop of kibble, rinsed out and refilled his water bowl, then helped herself to the coffee that had been made.
Through the glass doors, she saw Frankie with her laptop out on the back deck. Harper went to join her, stepping outside and leaving the door open behind her so Archie could come out when he was ready. “Am I interrupting?”
Frankie shook her head without looking at her sister. “Nope. Just answering a few quick emails from some potential clients.” She tapped a couple more keys then glanced over, smiling. “Morning.”
“Morning. Thanks for making coffee.”
“Thanks for buying it.” Frankie laughed. “I feel a lot better about the money Buck gave me this morning. I don’t know why but I woke up with peace about it. I mean, I still don’t love it completely, but I know he gave it to me with pure intentions and love. I can’t feel bad about that. I sent him a nice long thank-you email.”
