Kyle nodded.
“Does that mean you got the signed books I sent you?”
“Yeah. I did. Addison thought acknowledging them would be a ‘win for the patriarchy,’ so I never responded, as you know, but I’m glad you sent them.”
“I don’t remember seeing them in your stuff.”
Kyle looked away. “Yeah, um…”
“I don’t care if you left them behind. All that matters is that you and Ruthie are here now.”
“I didn’t leave them behind.” Kyle’s shoulders tensed up. “I sold them to a local bookstore. I used that money to get here.”
Mitch blinked. Obviously, Kyle wasn’t proud of what he’d done. Mitch didn’t want his son to feel bad about that. In fact, it had been a good move. “That was really smart. I can get you all the signed books you want.”
“Thanks.” Kyle exhaled and the tension left his body. “Anyway, I’ve studied your books. And I read tons of thrillers, dissecting them for what worked and what didn’t. I made a lot of notes. I took all of that and used it as a guideline. I also gave my book a great deal of thought and tried to come up with a story that would embody the kind of reading experience I thought readers were after.”
“I’m blown away. You did an amazing job. You might end up being a better writer than I am.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Come on.”
“I’m serious. I’ve asked Harper to read the book, too. I hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s a little frightening, but she seems nice.”
“She is, but more than that, she’s got a true reader’s perspective. I want to see what she says. I have a strong feeling she’s going to agree with my assessment, though. What I’d really like to do after that is talk to my agent about it.”
Kyle focused on Ruthie, who was patting her hands on the water’s surface. “She knows I’m your son.”
“Yes, and I know you don’t want to use the Ripley name. I get that. In fact, the more I think about it, the smarter I think it is not to be associated with me.”
Kyle looked up. “You do?”
Mitch nodded. “Critics can be brutal. Going out as a debut author who also happens to be my son might put the book under some fairly harsh scrutiny. But I still think you should take full advantage of my connections. Let me help you with this, Kyle.”
Kyle went quiet, twirling Ruthie around and letting her splash. Finally, he glanced at his dad again. “This is a lot to think about.”
“I know.” Mitch got to his feet. Water trickled down his legs and puddled on the deck. “Why don’t you process it all and we can talk about it again tonight after dinner. Or whenever you’re ready. Timeline is up to you.”
“Okay. Sounds good.” Kyle quickly added, “I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate all of this. I do. I just…I guess I wasn’t prepared for you to like the book so much. I thought, I don’t know, that you’d think it was contrived or something.”
Mitch smiled. “What I think is that you wrote a breakout first book, and I could not be prouder of you.”
Kyle swallowed. “That means a lot, Dad. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I’m going back upstairs to get some of my own writing done. Don’t let that granddaughter of mine get too waterlogged.”
“I won’t.” Kyle smiled and went back to playing with Ruthie.
Mitch wiped his feet on the mat before going in, then jogged up the steps. Dinner was only a few hours away. Until then, he was going to write as much as he possibly could. Something that shouldn’t be all that hard. Except he had the stunning example of his son’s work in his head. Talk about giving him some motivation.
Joyce and Beryl were setting the table for tonight’s dinner as he went past. “Looking good, ladies.”
He smiled to himself. Jeanie would be thrilled to know what her son had done. She’d be his biggest champion. His greatest advocate.
But she wasn’t here. Which meant Mitch would have to take on those roles. He was fine with that. Kyle’s book deserved to be published.
Mitch pushed open his office door, closed it behind him, and went to his desk. He sat down at his computer. “Don’t worry, Jeanie. I’ll make it happen.”
