Unexpected Entanglement (Echo #3)

47. Chapter 47

forty-seven

“Finally, we can start putting this behind us,” Rowan said to Rae and Dean as they walked from the house to the gray barn the next morning. They could start the rubble cleanup now that the case was closed.

Pulling on her working gloves, Rowan glanced at Rae, who had Maya with her. “You shouldn’t be doing any of this in your condition. I don’t even want you or Maya near it and inhaling any toxic fumes.”

“We will keep our distance. We just want to be a part of it,” Rae said.

“I won’t let them come too close,” Dean promised and pulled on a pair of borrowed work gloves.

“I’m not even comfortable letting you help.” Rowan gestured to Dean. “I don’t want your company suing me if you get even a nick.”

“Don’t worry. I’m insured.” Dean winked.

“Not funny,” Rowan said, but she laughed. “Kieran is bringing a couple of guys and an extra truck to haul the debris to the dump. It’s gonna be a long day.”

“I think there’ll be more than a couple of guys.” Rae grinned as they rounded the standing part of the barn toward the ruins.

“What do you mean?” Rowan got her answer in the next second.

A group of people had gathered with shovels, crowbars, buckets, and wheelbarrows. Further away, tables were set with jugs of water, lemonade, and plates of snacks. Rowan spotted most of the Bright Head crew there. There were also people from town like Bobbie, Morgan, Mickey, Greg, Charlotte, Ada, and other members of the women’s group. But she was most surprised to see Connor Gibbes among them.

“What’s going on?” Rowan approached the crowd, amazed at their presence.

“They came to help us clean up,” Kieran informed.

“It’s a disgrace that a fellow islander would do this to one of our own,” Charlotte said. “We will help get you back on track. Your sister and the women’s group asked if anyone in the community could spare some time and energy today. So here we are.”

Rowan just looked on with shock when Rae high-fived Charlotte.

“Usually, it’s me who doesn’t have much to say,” Kieran said, seeing Rowan was incapable of speech. “But I think Rowan means to say thank you.”

“Yes, thank you!” Rowan laughed as she gathered her wits again. “I am stunned. You don’t know how touched I am, seeing all of you here.”

“We look out for each other on this island, Rowan,” someone spoke up, seconded by the rest.

“Let’s get this party started then!” Charlotte started giving assignments.

In groups of three, they started shoveling debris into wheelbarrows and dumped them onto the pickup trucks. They broke for lunch with sandwiches Oliver, Sheila, and Donna had made and went back to finish the job. They’d cleared up everything by three. The only thing left was the charred grass and the other half of the barn still standing.

Rowan, Kieran, and Rae were thanking everybody for their help when Connor Gibbes approached them.

“My wife shared your vision for the inn with me,” Gibbes said. “Charlotte is very excited about your spa.”

“She told me.” Rowan smiled.

“I’m impressed with your plans for the reopening,” he added.

“Thank you. Unfortunately, we’ll have to postpone the reopening to rebuild and add those features.”

“Understandable. But I believe you’ll do a good job of it.” Gibbes nodded.

Skeptical by the vote of confidence from Gibbes, Rowan exchanged quick glances with Kieran .

The older man straightened his spine as if preparing to do something unpleasant. “I owe you an apology for the way I made things difficult for you. I might’ve done a few things I’m not proud of. I think Raven might've used our past family relations—you know, her being my nephew's ex-wife—to put unsavory thoughts in my head about you and Bright Head.

“I’ve told Chief Bennet everything Raven has ever said about you. She never told me explicitly about her doings or I would’ve reported that to the police. I hope you believe me on that count. But I think my words will help clarify the motive behind her actions,” Gibbes finished.

This time, he definitely stunned all of them.

“I am sorry,” Gibbes said again when neither Rowan, Kieran, or Rae said anything.

It was Kieran who first recovered from the shock. “That’s big of you, Gibbes.”

Rowan studied the embarrassed face of the proud lobsterman. He’d been a nuisance to her, and she didn’t believe he could blame it all on Raven. Rowan still had a gut feeling that Gibbes was behind the health inspector's surprise visit. But Rowan could be gracious and let bygones be bygones.

Rowan offered him a hand. “Apology accepted, Mr. Gibbes. We hope we all can get along from now on.”

“I’m sure we’ll butt heads from time to time, but I won’t expect anything less from the Kellys.” Gibbes smiled and shook her hand in a firm grip. “If you want to discuss a lobstering experience for your guests in the future, give me a call.”

Rowan laughed. “You betcha, Mr. Gibbes.”

“Please, call me Connor.” He patted her hand before letting it go.

“Connor,” Rowan repeated.

“Say, where’s that fiancé of yours?” Connor inquired.

“Chris needs to be with his dad at the moment,” Rowan answered smoothly. Since Chris had left, she’d practiced that line at least a hundred times.

“I see. Please convey my apology to him. He is always welcome on the island,” Connor said.

Rowan, Kieran, and Rae rolled their eyes at Connor’s back when he went to join his wife. Despite the apology, the guy still thought Vinalhaven was his island .

When almost everyone had gone, Rowan found Greg staring at the charred earth with a troubled expression. She went to him, knowing what was going through his head.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Rowan said gently.

Greg glanced at Rowan and twisted his lips in a regretful smile. “I know she can be explosive and even manipulative. That’s why I divorced her. But I never thought in a million years she could hurt someone this way.”

“We never know what might break us.”

“What she did—poisoning you—is unforgivable, Rowan.” Greg shook his head in disbelief. “And this…”

Rowan could only nod.

“She’ll be paying for what she did now,” Greg said and looked at her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, Greg.”

Rowan watched Greg drive away in his van and realized today wasn’t just a cleaning day for Bright Head. It was a cleansing day for the island of the hateful act of one person.

It was a good day.

Later that night, though they were all tired, Rae, Dean, and Rowan sat on the porch for a nightcap. Maya was asleep in the room with a monitor on. Oliver was at Bobbie’s, teaching her how to make mandu—Korean dumplings—because, apparently, Logan had loved the ones he’d made for them before.

“I hope big O is getting a foot in.” Rae raised her nonalcoholic cocktail to Rowan. “You think he has a chance?”

“Bobbie’s very cautious about dating.” Rowan sipped her drink. “In fact, I don’t think she’s dating at all.”

“I don’t know,” Dean chimed in. “She seems to flirt back with shy looks and smiles.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t interested. I just don’t think she’ll act on it, especially with O leaving,” Rowan added.

“He could stay,” Rae suggested. “Do you think he’ll stay if she asks him to?”

“What would he do here?” Rowan asked .

“We need a chef to plan the inn restaurant. Neither of us knows how to do that. Perhaps we can hire Alex as a consultant for now, with O executing the plans on site with you,” Rae said.

Rowan looked at her sister skeptically, though it wasn’t a bad idea. She loved Oliver’s food and planned to persuade him and Alex to run the restaurant. But she hadn’t thought it through.

“Are you ladies making hiring decisions based on someone’s love life?” Dean questioned with a laugh. “I think we need to bring Chris back to consult.”

“That I completely agree with,” Rae was quick to say. “Have you heard from him?”

Rowan looked down at the glass she was holding. She didn’t want Rae or Dean to see how even the mention of his name affected her.

“Rowan?” Rae questioned.

Rowan looked up, surprised.

“Have you heard from Chris?” Rae repeated the question.

“I thought you were asking Dean.”

“I talked to him when he arrived in the Cape a few days ago,” Dean said.

“I haven’t heard from him. I don’t think I will, either,” Rowan said.

“Why did you tell him to leave?” Rae leaned toward Rowan.

“He had to see his dad. He’d postponed his trip for two weeks already. It wasn’t fair to keep him here,” Rowan reasoned.

“I had the impression he didn’t want to leave,” Rae said.

“He was thinking of leaving when you showed up.” Rowan took a healthy sip of her drink. “Because of your arrival, he stayed for the full two weeks. That’s all we agreed on.”

Rowan could feel Rae’s and Dean’s eyes scrutinizing her, and she tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

“A lot happened in those two weeks. I’m sure if you had asked him, he’d stay,” Rae suggested.

“For what? There’s nothing here for him. He has a life and business he has to get back to.”

“He’d stay for you,” Rae insisted.

Rowan laughed at the conviction in Rae’s voice. “Sure, maybe for a few more days. A week tops while you two are here. But then what? I can’t keep relying on him. I had to cut it off. We both agreed. ”

“I’m not sure who you’re trying to convince here, us or yourself,” Rae said.

Rowan glared at Rae. “Chris and I had fun, that’s it.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why you’re still wearing the ring he gave you?” Rae looked pointedly at the gold band on Rowan’s ring finger.

Rowan’s gaze flew to the ring. The ring had twisted on her finger, so the stones were in her palm. With a laugh, she fixed its position. “This ring?”

Dean sat up to look closer at the ring. “Chris gave you that ring?”

“He thought we needed a prop. He slipped it on me at the wedding to ward off my ex-boyfriend. It worked like a charm.”

“A prop?” Dean repeated the word as he reached out a hand. “May I?”

Rowan shrugged, took the ring off, and gave it to Dean. He used the flashlight function of his phone to shine a brighter light on the stones and looked inside the band.

“It must be vintage costume jewelry he might’ve gotten downtown,” Rowan said.

Dean exchanged glances with his wife before returning the ring to Rowan. “I know that ring. It is vintage, but it isn’t costume jewelry.”

Rowan stared at Dean with a dumbfounded look. The ring suddenly felt heavy in her palm. She didn’t know what Dean’s revelation meant.

“It belonged to Evelyn Sullens, Chris’ late mother,” Dean elaborated.

Rowan’s jaw dropped as she stared unblinking at her brother-in-law.

“Breathe, Ro.” Rae touched Rowan’s hand, and Rowan automatically sucked in a breath.

She hadn’t realized she’d stopped breathing.

“Chris showed it to me once. When she died, she left him her engagement ring so he could give it to the person he wanted to spend his life with. There’s an inscription inside the band.”

Rowan was afraid to look, but she picked up the ring and read the writing. “For love. For life.” She quickly handed the ring to Dean. “You need to give it back to him.”

Dean didn’t move to take it. “Chris wouldn’t give that ring as a prop. ”

“He left in a hurry. He must’ve forgotten to ask me for it,” Rowan reasoned and tried handing it to Rae. “Please, he’s your friend. Give it back to him.”

“He gave it to you.” Rae took Rowan’s hand and folded Rowan’s fingers over the ring in her palm. “The only person who can give it back to him is you.”

What the fuck, Chris?

Rowan fell back into her chair, feeling the ring making an impression on her skin. “I don’t understand. Why would he give his mother’s ring to me?”

“I think you know why,” Rae said. “You just need to see how he looked at you and the way he touched you, stood by you, calmed you, how he’d do anything for you.”

Rae squeezed Rowan’s hand with a smile. “The man is crazy about you, Ro.”