Frankie liked Prisha. Not only had she invited them to her book club, but she’d been genuinely kindandon Harper’s side when Suzanne had outed Harper as Ford Keating’s mysterious heartbreaker.
Was it too early to text? Maybe. But Prisha seemed like a morning person. Frankie had brought her phone with her. She found her text thread with Prisha and added to it.
Hey there! Early, I know, but I’ve been up working. Big news! Harper and I are staying in Hideaway Bay. Permanently! I would love to get together again soon. Maybe yoga? Or the beach? Let me know. Hope you’re well. Talk soon.
She hit Send. That was an awfully chatty text. Prisha probably wouldn’t care. She was a little chatty herself.
By the time Frankie had finished her apple and gone back to the office, Prisha had answered.I would love to get together! I’m so excited you’re going to be here for good. What great news! Come to yoga with me today. I’ll swing by and pick you up at 10:45, if that works.
Eleven seemed like eons away. Maybe Frankie could get a short nap in before then. Or maybe she’d just power through. She felt all right so far. Probably by three she’d be ready to crash, hard, especially if she went to yoga.
But a nap in the afternoon was all right. She was her own boss now. She could do what she liked, when she liked.
Smiling, she texted Prisha back.10:45 sounds great. I’ll be ready. See you then!
Then Frankie remembered that she needed to do laundry, especially if she was going to yoga. She put her dish in the dishwasher, then ran upstairs to get her laundry. Once she got a load started, she returned to work in the office. Her goal was to get at least one T-shirt design done for Stacy before she headed out to yoga.
First, she did some research online to see what some of the bestselling designs looked like. To be honest, a lot of them were copies of each other and it was hard to tell where the original art had come from or who had created it.
It made Frankie wonder if her designs would be copied, too. She imagined if they got popular enough, they would be. On one hand, it was flattering, but on the other, if she was creating original artwork, she really didn’t want anyone stealing it. That was money out of her pocket.
She wondered if there was a way to protect her art, but figured there probably wasn’t. Anything that could be done could be undone, like a watermark or a trademark. People were ruthless and she wouldn’t put it past them to steal whatever they wanted.
All she could do was hope for the best. She took her tablet to the couch and began sketching out her ideas. But a few minutes later, she could feel her lids starting to drift. A yawn followed. The loveseat was pretty comfortable. She set her alarm for an hour and lay down on her side, knees bent, an accent pillow under her head.
“Mom, there you are. What are you doing?”
Frankie woke with a start and blinked, trying to shake off the sleep. “I, um, I was just resting. I didn’t sleep well and so I came in here to work and… What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Nine thirty maybe?”
Frankie grabbed her phone and checked the alarm she’d set. Only it wasn’t an alarm, it was a timer and she’d been asleep nearly three hours. Prisha would be here in a little over an hour to pick her up for yoga. “I can’t believe I slept that long.”
“Aunt Harper’s looking for you, too. She thought maybe you went out for a walk or something.”
“Nope. Just fell asleep on the couch.” Frankie got up and took her coffee cup to the kitchen, walking with Willa.
“Found her,” Willa announced.
“Where were you?” Harper asked.
Frankie shook her head at Harper. “Couldn’t sleep, so I got up to work, then I did sleep. Anyway, Prisha’s picking me up in alittle over an hour. I’m going to yoga with her again. First, I need to throw my clothes in the dryer and get a shower.”
Harper held up the coffee carafe. “You want some of this?”
“I do. Apparently, the coffee I had at five a.m. didn’t do a whole lot of good.” Frankie brought her cup over.
Harper filled it. “Did you get any work done?”
“I did. A lot. Which reminds me—I should check my email and see if Stacy’s responded to the logos I sent her yet.”
“Call me when breakfast is ready?” Willa said. “I’m going to put my suit on so I can go right out to the pool after.”
As Willa headed upstairs, Frankie leaned in. “The lights were on in the guest house last night. Late. I’m not asking what’s going on with Jack, but whatever it is, I don’t think he’s sleeping a lot.”
Harper nodded, her face solemn. “I know. Mitch is going to see him today. I have a feeling it’ll help.”
“Good.” Frankie smiled, but she couldn’t imagine what was going on with Jack that Mitch could help with.
