Page 137 of Unexpected Entanglement

Rae put an arm around her as if she knew Rowan needed a little steadying.

“But that’s not all,” Kieran added. “There’s another witness to Raven’s plan.”

All eyes were back on Kieran.

“His testimony is the final nail in the coffin,” Kieran said. “Apparently, he chatted with her when she bartended the wedding, exchanging stories about you and bonding over their bitterness toward you.”

Rowan’s breath caught in her chest.

“He rode back into town with Raven,” Kieran continued his story. “And this is why I both hate and love small towns. When Karen, who works the night shift at the Harbor Hotel, heard the police were investigating Raven, she told them she saw Raven dropped off a guest the night of the fire. Karen noted the guest looked shaken.

“That sounded innocent enough, but the police got ahold of the guest and questioned him. He admitted to riding with Raven, and during the ride, Raven said some damning things about her plans. He admitted to being intoxicated, but he realized she was trouble and bailed as soon as he could,” Kieran finished.

“And he didn’t report her?” Rowan questioned in frustration. “Who’s the witness?”

The displeased expression on Kieran’s face made Rowan brace for anything.

“It was Richard.”

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 townlike 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.

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