When she finished, she fixed herself a light lunch of a tuna sandwich with a side of grapes. She cleaned up the kitchen, then took her meal out to the deck. It was beautiful outside. Warm, but there seemed to be a constant breeze off the water. That made the temperature bearable. And this part of the deck was covered, so the shade helped, too.
Archie accompanied her, sitting on the couch next to her. He was already settled in, and she wasn’t going to disturb him, but she’d put a towel down for him for the next time.
It was odd being in this house. It really did not feel like hers. Maybe someday it would. Having Frankie here would be make it seem more real.
She checked the time. Frankie was at least an hour away. While Harper ate, she downloaded the book club book onto her phone and started reading.
The story was good. Interesting in that kind of modern way of psychological domestic thrillers where the protagonist was a pretty gray character with obvious flaws and enough questionable behavior to make the reader wonder if they weren’t actually to blame for what was happening in the book.
She read until a few minutes before Frankie was due to arrive, realizing she’d lost track of time. She could see why everyone was talking about it. The book was hard to put down, even with the somewhat unlikeable characters. It was almost like the enjoyment of the book came from rooting against them.
She much preferred the intricate fantasy world of Mitchell Ripley’s stories. Not that she’d be telling him that anytime soon. “Come on, Archie. Let’s take you out for a quick pee.”
He hopped off the couch and followed her back into the house.
She put her plate and cup in the sink, then hooked his leash to his collar and put on her flipflops. They took the steps down going to the side yard this time, so she could watch for her sister.
As they headed toward the grass, her phone chimed.
A text from Frankie had come in.Are you kidding me? You said cottage. I don’t think there are any cottages in this place.
Harper smiled as Archie did his thing. She was about to respond when she heard tires on pavement and turned to see Frankie’s SUV coming down the driveway.
“Archie, look who’s here!” Harper went toward the vehicle, Archie at her side.
Frankie opened her door and stepped out, her mouth open in amazement as she looked at the house.
“Quite a place, huh?” Harper laughed.
“You said acottage. You made me think it was a trailer!”
“No, I did not. That was all on you. I just never corrected you.”
“Holy smokes.”
“I know. Trust me.”
Frankie grinned. “I might stay longer now that I know I won’t be cramping you.” She looked at the house again. “I honestly wasn’t sure I was in the right place. This house is…this whole neighborhood is…wow.”
“Let’s get your stuff inside and get you settled. We only have a few hours before book club.”
“Book club? I thought you’d only been here since yesterday?”
“I have been.” Harper shrugged one shoulder. “I just ran into a neighbor on the beach, and she invited me. You, too, actually.”
“That was nice of her.” Frankie squatted down and finally greeted Archie, who’d been dancing around her legs. “How are you, you handsome boy? It’s so nice to see you in person instead of a video call.”
She gave him scratches and pets and ruffled his fur before kissing his face. “You are too adorable.”
“He really is,” Harper agreed.
They brought all of Frankie’s stuff in, which wasn’t much. One large suitcase, one smaller suitcase, a computer bag, plus her purse and a cooler.
Harper took the big suitcase and the cooler, which she deposited in the kitchen after they exited the elevator. “What’s in the cooler?”
“Some perishable stuff I just bought. I didn’t want it to go to waste.”
“Well, there’s plenty of room in the fridge.” Harper planted her hands on the counter. “Where do you want to stay? There are guest rooms upstairs, but there’s also what looks like pullout couches in the rec room downstairs and the office on this level.”
