Harper took the chair, since Frankie’s tablet occupied part of the couch. She slipped out of her flipflops and put the soles of her feet on the edge of the table. “I think that’s the right attitude. Buck is just so…he’s a good man.”
“He is,” Frankie said. “I wish things had been different. That we weren’t just meeting him now, but I also know we might not have had this outcome. I don’t know. Things happen the way they’re meant to, I guess.”
Harper nodded, swallowing the sip of coffee she’d just taken. “What would you think about sometime in the future inviting him and Glenda down to visit? They could stay in the guest house. Or the main house, if you’re already moved into the guest house.”
Frankie thought for a second, then nodded. “I would really like that.” A question seemed to pop into her head. “But won’t you be in California? When exactly were you thinking about inviting them?”
“Not right away. We need to get to know them a little more, I think. But maybe in a month or so? Buck was talking about how he’s tapering down the amount of time he works on the charter boat.”
Frankie set her laptop on the coffee table, picked up her cup, and leaned back. “I notice you didn’t answer the part about you being in California.”
“Because…” Harper took a breath. “I don’t think I’m going to be there.” She smiled, then sighed and stared out at the water. “I’d be an idiot to leave this place.”
Frankie gasped. “You’re staying? You really mean it?”
Archie trotted out, stopping by Harper’s chair for some scratches. She obliged him. Then, no longer smiling, she looked at her sister and nodded. “I am.”
Frankie’s brow furrowed. “So why do you look so miserable about it?”
Harper hadn’t planned on confessing what was really going on, but if she couldn’t talk to her sister about it, who else was there? “Because I’m kind of grappling with something. Something that I think is going to be an issue for me. Living here.”
Frankie seemed surprised. “What?”
Harper chewed her bottom lip. “Promise me you won’t say a word to anyone.”
“Cross my heart. I swear.”
“It’s Mitch.” Just saying it out loud took a little weight off of Harper.
Archie went to lay down in the corner where the breeze was best.
Frankie looked confused. “Now I really have no idea what we’re talking about.”
“I…like him.”
“I know.”
“No. I mean Ilikehim. As in I think I have feelings for him.”
“Oh.” Frankie’s eyes rounded. “Have you told him?”
“Um, no. Do I look crazy?” Harper huffed out a frustrated breath. “What am I going to do? Staying here means I need him as a client. But I can’t be involved with a client, so, obviously, I can’t say anything to him. But I don’t know if I can feel this way about him and not do something about it.”
“What would you do?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. What if I’m over there one night and I’ve had a second glass of wine and suddenly decide to confess my true feelings? Or, worse, just kiss him and see how it goes?” Harper shook her head and leaned forward. “He’ll reject me. I know that. He’s still in love with his late wife.”
“Just because he loves her doesn’t mean he might not have feelings for you.”
“Frankie.” Harper rolled her eyes. “Come on.”
“I’m serious. Of course he still loves her. It’s not like they got divorced. Shedied. And she’s the mother of his only child. That kind of connection doesn’t just go away. But people are capable of loving more than one person at a time. Especially when it’s this kind of situation.”
Harper glanced at the water again. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t you think Mitch gets lonely? That he thinks about being with another woman? About the companionship he’s missing out on? It would only be human.”
“Okay, maybe he does. But…”
