Page 1 of Unexpected Entanglement

one

Vinalhaven Island, Maine—October

It’ll be beautiful.

Rowan Kelly stood and admired her handiwork in the bathroom of one of the newly built honeymoon cottages. The brass fixtures shone brightly against the cool gray tiles of the en-suite, adding a touch of warmth and elegance to the space. She envisioned the room with fluffy white towels, complimentary toiletries in glass bottles and jars, and fresh flowers from the farm in a quirky vase created by the island’s local potter, creating a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

She gathered broken-down boxes under one arm, picked up the toolbox with the other, and walked outside into the dimming daylight. She dumped the lot into the cargo bay on the back of her utility cart.

After sliding behind the steering wheel, she paused to study the cottage. It was one of four cottages they’d added to the property—three one-bedroom honeymoon cottages and one family cottage with four bedrooms. The exterior design echoed the classic New England look of the main house with its gray cedar-shingle siding and black roof, but everything inside was all about clean and modern design.

It’s all coming together.

Rowan wore a big smile of pride as she drove to the main house standing in the middle of over two hundred acres of land. It was a massive undertaking to overhaul the abandoned family property into a working farm and inn again. It proved to be the project that brought her family back together.

Between her and Dad’s work in Freeport and Kieran’s ambition to restart the farm on their late grandparents’ property on this island, they’d hardly spent time together as a family after Mom passed three years ago.

The main house slowly materialized as she drove up the little hill from the water’s edge. Seeing it now, standing large and dignified again, it was hard to believe that it’d almost been completely ruined by years of abandonment and sea weathering.

Rowan spotted a man standing at the top of a tall ladder leaning on the side of the house. Her brows knitted together over the bridge of her nose. “What the hell is he doing up there?”

She stepped on the gas pedal harder.

Skidding to a stop by the stone walkway leading up to the front of the house, she jumped out and skipped the stones two at a time. When she got to the ladder’s base, she looked up and found her dad grinning.

“I told you I would change those floodlight bulbs,” Rowan scolded her almost sixty-year-old father. “I don’t want you climbing too high without anyone spotting you.”

“It’s done!” Neal dismissed Rowan’s concern and climbed down the rungs. “I’ve climbed more ladders than you ever have, missy.”

“It’s not the climbing I’m worried about, Dad,” she retorted. “It’s safety. I wouldn’t go that high without someone spotting this old wooden ladder, either. We should get a new one.”

Neal stepped off the last rung and faced his daughter. “By all means, get a new one, but this one stays. This ladder has been a part of this place since your grandfather’s time. It should take part in its revival.”

Rowan smiled indulgently at her father. He’d been reminiscing about the past lately. “Fine, but let’s only use it for interior work, nothing so high that we need to use the extension.”

She helped him pull the top extension down and carried it inside to be used the next day. They had contractors do most of the extensive construction work, but they, as a family, haddecided to tackle the interior cosmetics themselves. She’d never seen her dad happier than when he was doing woodwork.

As one of the top executives at Maine’s largest outdoor clothing and recreational equipment retail company, Neal Kelly hadn’t had the chance to do much carpentry in the past few decades.

“Let’s call it a day. The sun is setting.” Rowan unbuckled her tool bet and set it down on the makeshift workbench in the middle of the large room that would become the lobby and sitting area. The walls were now fitted with large windows, letting the gorgeous outside views in.

“Ayuh,” Neal agreed in his Mainer drawl. “There’s a nip in the air, finally. A good night for a big bowl of chowdah.”

Rowan grinned. “You can take aMainuhout of Maine, but you can’t take Maine out of aMainuh.”

Neal had spent most of his younger days traveling the country, establishing branches in different states when the company had gone national. She remembered the times when he’d been gone for months. But he’d always come home to them. Maine was always in his blood.

They locked up the main door and walked down the stone pathway. But when Rowan headed to her utility vehicle, Neal turned toward the water.

“There’s still light. Let’s take a little walk,” Neal suggested. “I find my limbs a little stiff today.”

She studied her father. “Are you feeling okay?”

Neal nodded as he started walking across the lawn. “Just not used to all this physical work anymore, you know.”

Rowan stepped next to him and rolled down her flannel shirtsleeves. He was right: There was a touch of chill in the air. The temperature probably had dipped to the low fifties now that it was October. She loved it.

“How did you do at the cottages?” Neal asked.

---