Page 32 of Unexpected Entanglement

“I think if she’s sure you and Kieran won’t treat her like your father’s mistake, she’ll be open to it.”

“My father made many mistakes when it comes to her, but she wasn’t the mistake.” She glanced at him, regret in her eyes. “No child should ever have to feel that way.”

The glimpse of emotion took aback Chris. He hadn’t expected Rowan to harbor guilt toward Rae.

“As you told me yesterday, it isn’t your guilt to bear,” Chris said gently.

“Yet, I—” Rowan abruptly swore, “What the hell?”

She floored the gas pedal, and the cart lurched forward as it picked up speed.

Chris grabbed the frame to keep himself on his seat as Rowan veered the cart to the side of the barn instead of the main sliding door.

“What is it?” Chris demanded, jolted from the sudden change of course.

Rowan didn’t reply but slammed on the brake, threw the gear into park, and jumped out of the vehicle, running. Chris hurried after her and finally saw what had grabbed her attention. Water was shooting from a burst pipe on the side of the barn, like a fountain show in Vegas. Rowan reached the spot, her eyes bulging at the flooding, and tried to cover the leak with her hands.

“Where’s the main shut-off valve?” Chris yelled to Rowan.

“The back of the barn. This way!” She gestured to her left with her head. Water was leaking from under her hands. It wasn’t doing much, but she cleared the path for Chris. He ran through the muddy grass and around to the back of the barn.

Chris found the valve and closed it. “Got it!”

He went back to Rowan and saw the water losing its pressure and turning into a dribble. Rowan stood aside, drenched from head to toe.

“Crap!” She wrenched off her wet hat and threw it at the burst pipe.

Damp, messy, loose red waves dropped around her shoulders as she kicked mud in frustration.

“Hey, it’s just a pipe. We can fix it.” Chris went to her, surprised at her reaction.

“No, it’s not just a pipe. It’s the third pipe—a relatively new pipe, by the way—that broke! Either our contractor cheated us and gave us crappy pipes, or I have the worst luck. Now this garden is ruined!”

Chris turned to the bed of wildflowers, which looked droopy from the drenching, but mostly fine except for the messy, muddy surrounding. “The flowers are fine. The rest is an easy cleanup,” Chris assured her.

“What’s going on?” Alex’s voice came from above them.

Chris and Rowan looked up at the main house’s kitchen balcony. Alex and Oliver were staring down at them.

“Burst pipe, that’s all,” Chris told them. He trudged to the pipe, studied the breakage, and frowned at the jagged edge of the broken PVC. “It’s busted at the seam. But it’s a simple fix. You won’t even have to replace the entire length of pipe.”

Rowan gave him a side eye as if mocking,What? You’re a plumber, too?

“Spent a summer apprenticing with the maintenance crew at The Sullens flagship in Boston,” Chris answered her silent question. “I can fix that.”

“That’s all right.” Rowan shook her head. “The plumber should fix it. It’s his job, after all.”

She pulled out her phone from her side cargo pocket and hissed in pain. She almost dropped the phone but managed to transfer it to her left hand.

“Oh shit, you’re cut.” Chris cupped the back of her hand to examine the bloody gash on her palm.

Rowan jerked her hand away in shock.

“Sorry. Did I hurt you?” Chris asked.

She hissed. “It stings.”

“It doesn’t look big, but it’s deep.” He gently applied pressure on the cut with the heel of his own hand to stop the bleeding. “Come on, we gotta dress it.”

---