Page 12 of Unexpected Entanglement

“Gosh, it hasn’t changed much, huh?” Alex looked around.

“There’s a new restaurant in town. Kinda posh,” Rowan informed her.

“Really?” Alex rounded her eyes in disbelief. “Well, we’ll have to check that out.”

Rowan studied her vivacious friend, from her pixie blue hair down to the tattoos around one of her calves. She was a walking piece of art. She’d stand out like a sore thumb in Vinalhaven, but Rowan thought the island could use and handle an individual like Alex.

“Hey, O, meet my girl, Rowan.” Alex waved over a man carrying a duffel bag and a backpack.

Rowan noted his milky complexion stood out against his dark hair and deep brown eyes. And like Alex, he bore tattoos on his person, which seemed to be the uniform of young chefs these days. But compared to Alex’s firecracker personality, this man’s general aura felt like a soothing cool stream.

“This is my friend from culinary school who I told you about, Oliver An. He came all the way from Chicago to help me out with this event. He’s awesome with seafood, and it’s a plus that he also has all of his grandma’s Korean food recipes. You think the locals want to trykimchi?”

“Let’s not rock the boat just yet. We just got here.” Oliver stretched out a hand to Rowan with a sideways smile on his face.

But Rowan bypassed the handshake and went straight for a hug. “You deserve a welcome hug for coming out here to help someone you don’t even know!”

He chuckled. “I am getting paid, aren’t I?”

“Chump change from what you’re used to in Chicago, I’m sure.” Rowan glanced at Alex for confirmation, “You offered him the amount we agreed on, right?”

“Yes. I was shocked he took it.”

Oliver just shrugged. “I’m between jobs, and this will feel like a vacation.”

“Well, let’s check out your new temporary home and get you settled. I’ll update you about the wedding on the way.” Rowan grabbed Alex’s bag and swung it into the cargo bed. Oliver followed suit, then they all piled into the cab.

But before Rowan started to drive, she exclaimed, “You have no idea how relieved I am that you’re finally here. Things are coming together now. I probably should’ve canceled, but she’s family. Her grandparents were married at Bright Head, and she wants to do the same.”

“Meredith, Ro, and I grew up together,” Alex explained to Oliver.

“Yup, so we’ll make it happen for her.” Rowan laughed. “I’ve figured out most of the weekend, but not everything.”

“Don’t worry. Between O and I, we’ll get the meals and cake covered. We can also train servers and any helpers we have.”

“Right. Servers and kitchen staff are the ones I’m still working on.”

Alex and Oliver exchanged glances. Perhaps they started to wonder what they’d gotten themselves into. But Oliver smiled at Rowan, “We’ll find a way.”

Between his soothing voice and Alex’s confident grin, Rowan felt they could pull this wedding off.

“All right, then.” Rowan drove out of the parking lot. “Welcome to Vinalhaven!”

“Woohoo!” Alex whooped.

“I got a good vibe from this place,” Oliver chimed in as they drove north.

five

Chris sat on his parked bike and studied his surroundings. He’d ridden North Haven Road to Bright Head. From the look of it, he’d arrived on the farm side. A large and fairly new-looking barn stood in front of him. A smaller building lay across from it, with people coming and going and a hut not too far away. Then the land opened up.

There were rows of colorful wildflowers nearer to the buildings. Beyond that, it looked like the farm also boasted an orchard of apple and pear trees. Chris wondered what else they had on the rows of beds and in the greenhouses.

Chris got off the bike, hung his helmet, and peeked into the big barn. He was expecting animals but found a whole operation that looked like cheese production. He moved to the next building and saw a woman walking out with an empty plastic basket tray.

“Excuse me,” he stopped her in her tracks. “Hi.”

“Hi. Can I help you?” She eyed him curiously.

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