Page 30 of Hidden Harbor (Evergreen Rescue #1)
O wen’s message read: looks like you’ve found our man. When can I meet him?
The idea of him watching me at the docks made me sick to my stomach. It also meant he’d probably spotted Drew. Fear flickered. Owen had always been too pragmatic for jealousy. Maybe because he’d been using me. But if he thought he could manipulate me by threatening Drew, he would.
Owen had been smart enough not to claim to love me or mention our unofficial breakup when we spoke before.
I figured disappearing and changing my name sent a clear message.
But if he watched me meet with Agent Harris this morning at the docks, he had to have noticed I’d replaced him with an upgrade.
Drew was everything Owen was not: honest. Trustworthy.
I set the meet for seven and texted Agent Harris the details. Now, all we had to do was wait and hope Owen took the bait.
“What do you want to do today?” Drew asked.
We needed a distraction. Something to keep me from stewing about introducing Owen and Agent Harris.
“How about you show me the farm? I’ve always wanted a tour.”
“You have?” Drew seemed surprised by my suggestion.
“You’re kind of a big deal around here. I’ve always been curious.”
His slow smile of pleasure sent my heart flipping in my chest. “Sure. I can run you through the process this morning.”
I’d been to the farm before with Violet, but only for brief visits. Mostly when she needed to drop off something for her mom or pick up stock for the shop.
The Fenwick family homestead glowed like a beacon under the spring sky.
Lights shone from the dormer lights above the broad front porch.
The overall impression was of natural cedar shingles and glass, the multi-story family home warm and welcoming.
The large house would look out of place in town, but nestled among the rolling hills of the inner island, it fit perfectly.
Drew drove past the main house, parking in front of the administrative building next to the evaporation houses.
We walked through each greenhouse, Drew showing me the crystallization process as we toured houses with older batches of saltwater.
He explained how he harvested hundreds of gallons of saltwater, depositing the briny liquid in shallow pools in the evaporation houses, then let time and sunlight do the heavy lifting.
Over weeks, the water evaporated, leaving mineral-rich sea salt ready for harvest. The crystals were stunning, intricate patterns and shapes more beautiful than I’d imagined glistening on the top of the water.
The surface in the final house looked like frozen ice.
“There’s still a bit of brine beneath the surface, but this batch is ready for processing.” Drew’s pride in his operation was well-earned.
“It’s beautiful.”
I could sense his gaze on me. “Mmhm.” He extended his hand. “Come on, I’ll show you where we create the blends.” He walked me through the rest of their production process and packaging. Boxes of Island Salts lined the shelves in their small warehouse.
“How much of this gets sold through Vi’s shop in town?” I asked.
“She’ll go through at least a case a month of each blend and two cases of our signature sea salt. The rest is for online orders or local distribution. We run a weekly truck to the mainland to serve those customers.”
His passion shone, animating his voice as he spoke in more detail about the blending process and packaging design. I loved seeing him nerd out. It was adorable.
“You really enjoy the salt business, don’t you?” I asked.
“I do. I have dreams for expansion, but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
“You should be.”
He checked his watch. “Want to grab lunch? I bet Gran has something good in the fridge.”
“Now I see why your family calls you a freeloader,” I teased.
He shrugged. “Unless she finished everything already, I dropped off a casserole and some cheese board stuff earlier in the week. Her idea of cooking when my folks are gone is a glass of whiskey and a handful of crackers.”
“I take it back. You’re pretty sweet, Fenwick.”
Drew pushed open the back door to the house without hesitation. “Gran, you around? I’ve got Anya here with me,” he called out. “You only have to walk in on her naked once to announce yourself,” he muttered.
I snickered. Here I thought he was being considerate. And I guess he was. To my eyeballs.
When she didn’t answer, he shrugged. “She might be out for a walk.”
I followed him to the kitchen, taking a seat on an island stool. Drew ducked into the fridge. I turned toward the door to the living room and froze, unable to hold back my squeak. It took me a moment to recognize the large male figure for what it was: a cardboard cutout of Beetlejuice.
“Drew. Why is Beetlejuice hanging out in your kitchen?” I kept my tone carefully neutral.
“Oh, shit. Sorry about that.” He smiled sheepishly. “Our family has some creative traditions. Petty revenge is one of them.”
I guess if he could accept that Anya Rose wasn’t my real name, and that my family was likely to end up in prison, then I could roll with a few pranks.
“This is how you got back at your grandmother for kicking you out?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah-ha!” Gran jumped out from around the door to the living room. “Caught you!” My heart stuttered, my hands clammy and cold. Her appearance shocked me more than the zombie man in the striped suit. “I knew it was you.”
“How do you know I didn’t give old Mr. Reyes a key?” Drew asked calmly, seeming unbothered by his grandmother’s sudden appearance.
I glanced between them. They acted like all of this was entirely normal. Again, I marveled at the differences between our families. If I tried a prank like this at home, my dad would have filled the cutout full of bullet holes.
“That old coot wouldn’t know a joke if it bit him in the ass.”
Drew squinted at his grandmother, his expression suspicious. “Are we going to get another visit from the sheriff?”
“We’re not talking about that joyless stiff.” His grandmother turned her attention to me. “Hello, dear.” Her sly grin was my only warning. She launched herself at me, wrapping me in a wiry hug that was surprisingly strong for a woman who had to be in her eighties.
“Hello, Mrs. Fenwick.”
“Gran to you now.”
A little in awe of the older woman, I sat back down. Drew pulled ingredients for lunch from the fridge. “Want some cheese and crackers with us, Gran?”
“Sure. Beats cooking for myself.”
“Are you getting enough to eat?” Drew asked, pulling the lid off a baking dish. “It doesn’t look like you’ve touched this casserole I brought.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I poked at it. You put canned tuna in it.”
“You need the protein. You should eat it.”
“It’s an abomination. Besides, you know I only take orders from men when I’m naked.”
“Being wildly inappropriate is not how you win every argument,” Drew groused, frowning.
Gran slid a sly glance my way. “Don’t listen to him. I’ve got decades of victory under my belt.”
Watching their banter was fascinating. My memories of my grandmother were hazy at best, but mostly filled with tea sets and starched dresses.
This side of Drew was at once surprising and totally entrancing.
It figured he’d try to take care of his grandmother, ever the responsible oldest son.
But the pranks were something else. His sense of fair play and justice melded with his sense of humor in a quirky and unexpected way.
We enjoyed a low-key lunch with Gran, nibbling on cheese and crackers while she regaled me with stories from Drew’s childhood.
She seemed to delight in telling me how he couldn’t be convinced to keep his pants on as a toddler, and I chuckled at the image of a chubby little Drew, his tiny baby tush disappearing as he ran giggling from his grandmother.
“Thanks for lunch,” I said, hugging the wiry woman as we said our goodbyes.
“You’ll have to come back when my Vanessa and Gary return and join us for family dinner.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. “Thank you.”
“What do you want to do with the rest of the afternoon?” I asked Drew, sliding into the truck.
Drew pretended to think. “Well, we could go to my place and make out. Or, we could go to your place and make out. If neither of those sound good, I’d also be game to drive out to Cattle Point and make out. You choose,” he said generously.
“I’m sensing a theme here.”
He gave me a boyish grin. “You are one smart lady.”
After an afternoon in his apartment at The Anchor that went way beyond making out, I felt like I could face the evening ahead with a semblance of calm. No matter what happened with Owen, I’d be fine. We’d be fine.
Drew insisted on coming with me to the meeting with Owen. After thinking it over, I’d agreed. I didn’t want to face him alone. Maybe that was cowardly, or maybe it was smart. I needed to show Owen I wasn’t easy pickings anymore.