Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Introductions and arguments...

Wynter looked out her window and sighed. The cops had taken over her driveway and her lawn and most of her privacy. Since she was the only house close to the crime scene for miles they requested use of her bathroom and somehow took over the entire bottom half of her house.
Of course she wanted to be of service and do her part to help catch a killer but there was a line and she intended to speak to Constable Woods about it. Even if it meant pissing her little brother off....
“Wyn!” called a voice from the bottom of the stairs.
“Speak of the devil...” she muttered and pulled on her bath robe.
“Oh, Wynnie....stop ignoring me! I knows yer home!”
“Got a fire lit under yer arse or wha’?” she demanded as she descended and came to a stop half way down. Standing beside her brother in a freshly pressed uniform was a man she had never seen before. A very hot stranger with gorgeous Celtic blue eyes and reddish brown hair.....
“Wyn?” said her brother in bemusement. “Earth to Wyn...”
“Hmm?” she said and then blushed in embarrassment as her brother laughed.
“I can’t find yer coffee...where’s it to?” he asked walking away from them and into her kitchen.
“On the counter!” she said in exasperation.
“Not dat instant crap! Where’s the good stuff...y’know da one dat I likes....” he said.
Wynter sighed and answered him but made no move to go down the stairs. The man was staring at her intently and she barely resisted the urge to smooth her hair or straighten her robe. “Hi, I’m Wynter” she finally managed to say. The man blinked, like he had come out of a trance and then a blush crept up his neck to his cheeks and he smiled shyly at her.
“Your name is Wynter Woods?” he asked curiously in a pleasant baritone voice.
“Yes. We also have an older sister named Autumn and if Rayne had been a girl he would have been called Summer....My parents attempt at being poetic.......Could have been worse though; could have been named Bertha....” she trailed off awkwardly as he just continued to stare at her.
“You’re out of eggs” said Rayne reappearing in the door way, an empty egg carton in his hands.
“That’s because you ate them all!” said Wynter not bothering to look at him.
“Oh” said Rayne and he disappeared into the kitchen again. The sound of cupboard doors being opened and slammed shut carried out and over the awkward silence as the man continued to stare at her and her at him. Finally Wynter couldn’t take it anymore and after clearing her throat she inquired after his name. Again he blushed.
“Constable Collins....Tanner Collins” he said with a crooked smile. “Just assigned here.....”
“You need to go grocery shopping” said Rayne reappearing with a box of cereal and eating a handful from it “You got no milk either”.
“I told you that if you finished it off you had to replace it....”she sighed and then looked at Tanner “Are you hungry? I think I might have some blueberry muffins left.....”
“Muffins? Where?” demanded Rayne with his mouth full.
“I hid them from you” replied Wynter “Otherwise I’d have nothing left to eat!”
“Not my fault I’m a growing boy!” said Rayne with a dimpled grin.
“Hmph; the only ting growing on you is yer stomach” Teased Wynter as she moved past them and into the kitchen. She felt that horrible sensation of butterflies in her stomach as she rooted in the back of her pantry. She could also feel Tanners gaze upon her and it was making her nervous but pleased at the same time. At least she hoped that his stares were due to his appreciation of her attractiveness and not because he thought she was weird.
Her stomach clenched at that thought. What if he had heard the stories? She glanced over her shoulder at them. Tanner’s unwavering gaze met hers even as he spoke with her brother. She quickly turned back to the cupboard and took a deep breath. “Here we go” she said in an overly cheery voice as she produced the plastic container of muffins.
Rayne raised an eyebrow at her and then clued into the nervous energy filling the room. Wide-eyed he looked back and forth between his sister and Tanner. He opened his mouth to comment but stopped at Wynter’s look and the warning shake of her head.
“So what you boys up to today?”she asked as she put the kettle on and took mugs out, carefully placing them on the counter. She poured the coffee and set the mugs on the table along with the sugar and cream. Then she made her own tea and sat down with them.
“You know that we can’t legally discuss the case, sis” said Rayne reaching for a second muffin.
Wynter rolled her eyes. “Stop showing off, Ray” she said and reached for a muffin at the same moment as Tanner. As their hands brushed she felt the jolt of lust and she jerked away sending a muffin flying across the table and onto the floor. Rayne snorted in his coffee mug, the expression on his face showing his enjoyment in her plight. She glared at him and made to pick up the muffin but Tanner had already beaten her to it. “Thanks” she said as she took it from him and lobed it in her compost bin.
“Nice shot” said Tanner. “As, for today we are heading into the woods to see what other evidence we can find....”
Wynter dropped her mug and it shattered sending tea and glass flying in all directions. “You found the body on the edge though! Why do you have to go in?” Tanner looked at her in alarm while Rayne sighed.

“You’ll have to excuse my sister Collins; she gives credence to old wives tales” said Rayne with a shake of his head.

“And I have good reason to!” she snapped “As do you!”
This time it was Rayne who gave the warning look. “Don’t ...Don’t you dare bring dat up.”
“You can’t act like it never happened Ray!” she said angrily.
“I ain’t! And I sure as hell ain’t gonna sit here and talk about something that’s none of yer business in the first bloody place! Lit it alone Wyn“said Rayne getting to his feet.
“You can’t keep it in Ray....” said Wynter “you need to talk bout it!”
“I said to lit it alone and I ain’t telling ya again” replied Rayne before storming out of the house. Wynter watched him go and only became aware of Tanner when he cleared his throat and stood.
“I better follow him. Thank you for breakfast......” he said and gave an odd half bow before following Rayne out the door. For several seconds Wynter just stood lost in thought then with great effort she set to cleaning up the broken mug.
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