Frankie dried her hands on a dishtowel. “There. That didn’t take much work.” She looked around. Joyce and Beryl, having already got the coffee going, were setting out coffee cups along with creamer and sugar on the table.
Mitch had taken Lucas into his office to show him something. Willa seemed to have disappeared, too.
Frankie glanced at Harper. “Where’s Willa?”
Harper tipped her head toward Mitch’s rear deck. Frankie looked through the sliding doors and saw Willa holding Ruthie against her shoulder, rocking her back and forth. Kyle stood with her. They looked deep in conversation.
“Interesting.” Frankie caught her sister’s attention again. “Is that nothing or something?”
Harper snorted. “I think it’s just a young woman’s natural affection toward babies.”
“Maybe.” Frankie thought back to dinner. She hadn’t noticed any flirtation between Kyle and Willa. Could just be Willa wanting to hold Ruthie. Willa had always talked about having kids of her own, so her interest in babies was nothing new.
Even so, Frankie had to wonder if there was a little something more going on. Kyle was an attractive young man and Willa was unattached.
Frankie took one more look at them but couldn’t detect any signs of flirtation. She shook her head and went to see if Joyce needed help with the dessert.
Chapter Forty-Five
Mitch couldn’t believe he was sitting down at the table to eat again. He’d known there was going to be dessert and he’d still eaten too much for dinner. Couldn’t be helped. The food had been outstanding. The company even better.
His spirits were light and, for the first time in years, his heart no longer ached for Jeanie with the same kind of unrelenting pain that had plagued him since her death. He still missed her. He still mourned her passing. He still would have given anything to have her back beside him.
Nothing could change that.
But the presence of Kyle and Ruthie, along with Harper and her family, Joyce, Beryl, and Lucas, surrounded him with one of the biggest things he’d lost along with Jeanie: The sense of family. It was very much present in his house at the moment. The talking, the laughter, even Ruthie’s cries, filled the space. There was no room for sadness with all this living going on.
In a way, it felt like Jeanie was here. He couldn’t explain that, other than to think some of Jeanie lived on in Ruthie. Dear, sweet, perfect Ruthie.
What a gift Kyle had brought home with him. That child had brought happiness to Mitch’s heart again.
“What are you smiling about?”
He looked at Harper, back in her seat beside him. “Just…happy.”
When was the last time he’d said that? He couldn’t remember.
She smiled and it seemed like it was for him alone. “This dinner was a great idea.”
“I can’t take credit for it. Joyce and Beryl thought it up.”
“You said yes, though. You’re the host. And you bought the groceries.” She lightly touched his arm. “You getsomecredit.”
“Thanks.” His gaze lingered on her. Harper was a beautiful woman. She took great care of herself, but even the subtle lines at the corners of her eyes added to her beauty because she wore them so effortlessly. They were a tribute to everything she’d been through in her life.
And she’d definitely been through some things. Had Arlington guessed how she would impact Mitch’s life? He didn’t want to be so self-important as to think that Arlington would have left his house to Harper just so she’d find her way into Mitch’s life, but then again… Arlington had been a master chess player, always several steps ahead of those around him.
If he’d left his house to Harper with that kind of purpose, Mitch owed Arlington big time.
That led to another question. What would Jeanie think about Harper? Mitch liked to imagine they would have been friends. Harper was a bit more pragmatic in her thinking. Jeanie had always been such a free spirit, willing to go in whatever direction the wind took her.
Harper’s feet were more firmly on the ground. Look at how she’d asked about his intentions for employing her in the future. She thought ahead. Made plans. Tried to determine outcomes.
He appreciated that view on life. There were times when Jeanie’s come-what-may attitude had driven him slightly mad, but he wouldn’t have changed her. Not for anything.
Harper wasn’t Jeanie. She wasn’t meant to be. Nor did she need to be. She was her own unique, wonderful person.
And yet, he found himself drawn to her in the same way he had been to Jeanie. He’d fought it and would continue to do so, because keeping things professional felt like the right thing to do. But that didn’t mean his mind didn’t sometimes roam to the world of what might be.
