Danica Winters - Ms Demeanor

Rainier swallowed back the growl that percolated up from his core. He had known this was going to be the closest thing to a welcome he was going to get from his brother, but his expectations paled in comparison to the reality.

Or maybe it wasn’t the lack of welcome he was upset with, but rather the reality that his brother had been correct in his assessment—he was in fact the reason they had been called. But Rainier would never give Wyatt the satisfaction of once again being right in assuming the worst about him.

“It’s good to see you, too, brother,” he said, trying to temper his disappointment before it had the chance to pepper his voice.

“Wyatt, Penny,” Laura said, giving each an acknowledging wave. “Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. There was no reason for you to rush. In fact, if you have somewhere else to be, you are welcome to come back later.”

From the stress in her voice, even Laura had to have known how futile and ridiculous she sounded. If there was somewhere else for the deputies of Mystery to be, they would have been there, but it wasn’t a town that was usually fraught with crime.

“Laura, you know if you’re calling we’re going to come running.” Wyatt chuckled as he came closer and gave Gwen a quick peck on the cheek. “Though I have to admit, I did drive a little quicker knowing that my fiancée would be here waiting for me.”

Gwen smiled, the jealousy disappearing from her features.

It was nice to see his brother in a relationship, but it was strange to see him act so smitten. Wyatt had always been the serious kind, and watching him loosen up in his presence made Rainier wonder if there was still hope for them to fix their relationship. Then again, Gwen and Wyatt loved each other, and he wasn’t sure he could say his brother loved him.

“The dispatcher reported that there was some kind of disturbance, something about a parole violation?” Penny asked, looking directly at Rainier.

“No, no. Everything’s all right,” Laura said with a bit too much indifference. “Actually, it had nothing to do with parole violation. Your dispatcher must’ve gotten it all wrong.”

“Wyatt,” Merle exclaimed as he came walking around the side of the barn. “What took you so long?”

Wyatt laughed. “We were worried you fell down or something. Didn’t want you getting hurt,” he teased.

Their father answered with a long laugh. “Nah, I just found something behind the barn Laura thought you and your friend would want to check out. It’s probably nothing, just some old animal bones. In fact, if you guys want to get going, I’m sure we can sweep this right under the rug.”

“Why does everyone want us to leave all of a sudden? We just got here,” Penny said. “Is this always the way you guys greet one another?”

Eloise’s cheeks reddened. “Oh, dear, Penny, don’t start thinking that. We’re nothing like that around here. We love our boys. We just understand how busy you all can get, being the pillars of this community and all.”

“Laying it on a little thick, Mom, aren’t you?” Wyatt asked, raising a brow. “Dad, why don’t you go ahead and show me those ‘old animal bones.’”

Merle glanced over at him, as if trying to decide exactly what to say or not say to Wyatt about their discovery. Rainier shook his head ever so slightly, reaffirming their decision to keep his role in the findings quiet. It wasn’t that he was being selfish, no. It was just clear that his brother had so much resentment toward him that if he caught a single whiff of his involvement, Rainier’s hope for a life surrounded by family again would be as good as over.

Chapter Five

Laura wasn’t sure she really believed that Rainier was as innocent as he and his father proclaimed him, but if she sent him back to prison, it would be an all-time record for the shortest turnaround. In her department, her friend Jim held the current record of three days before his parolee was sent back, after he’d been found in possession of a large amount of heroin. It was a running joke that the parolee had turned back to drugs after spending a day with Jim.

She could just imagine what the guys around the office would say if they learned that after only a matter of hours she’d found her parolee elbows deep in mud, holding a weapon with human remains at his feet. And that was nothing compared to what her father, the high-powered attorney Dennis Blade Esq., would say if he found out Rainier and the Fitzgerald clan were once again in trouble. He’d made it clear to her that he had nothing good to say about the Fitzgeralds.

She couldn’t understand her dad’s dislike of them. Though things were tense between Wyatt and Rainier, she could still feel a resounding warmth. And the fact that Merle would go to such lengths to help his son keep out of more trouble spoke volumes about his character.

Laura’s father hadn’t told her why he held such animosity toward the Fitzgeralds, only that they weren’t to be trusted.

Then again, she’d never been very good at following her dad’s advice.

Hopefully, this time it wouldn’t come back to bite her, but the knot in her gut told her there was a very good chance it could.

Wyatt and Penny disappeared behind the barn, following Merle. Maybe that was what the knot was all about—what they were about to find. No doubt the place would be filled with their investigation and forensics team, and the coroner would soon arrive. Then the questions would start. She’d have to keep her story straight, and she’d never been one for lying.

“Laura, how about you and I go ahead and step inside.” Mrs. Fitzgerald motioned for her to follow her into the house. “Unless you need to get running.”

The word running echoed in the air, almost as though someone had struck a bell. No matter how badly she wanted to leave the ranch and resume her normal life, she couldn’t go anywhere. They would have questions for her about her involvement, and if she left, she would only fall under further scrutiny.

“I could go for a cup of coffee,” Laura agreed.

“So could I,” Rainier said, but not before darting one more glance after his brother.

They made their way back inside. Though it hadn’t been that long since Laura had been in the kitchen, with everything that had happened in the last hour, it felt as if days had passed. As she made her way through the living room, the sparkle of silver bows atop colorful presents under the Christmas tree caught her eye. There were piles of wrapped gifts—red, green, blue and even a stack of pink ones adorned with Disney princesses.

“Do you have grandchildren, Mrs. Fitzgerald?” she asked, gazing toward the princesses in her best attempt to mask the elephant in the room—the coming investigation.

Eloise beamed. “Just one for now, a beautiful little girl named Winnie. She, Christina and Waylon should be home in a couple of days. He’s in the army, working as an MP, and they’ve been living at the base. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

“I’m sure. That’s something to be quite proud of,” Laura said, but as she spoke she noticed the way Rainier’s entire body seemed to tense as they mentioned familial pride and accolades.

“They’re going to get married soon.” Mrs. Fitzgerald reached over and gave Gwen’s hand a quick squeeze. “Just like my Gwen and Wyatt, and Whitney and Colter. I was hoping that we could have one big wedding over the holidays—you know, put everything bad behind us and use it to start the New Year off with something to really celebrate. Whitney and Colter have been in Spokane, getting everything they think they’re going to need. She sent me a picture of her dress the other day. It’s just beautiful.”

So all the brothers were engaged, except Rainier. Laura had an idea how he must be feeling. Both her sisters were spoken for, but not her. Her mother had made talking about her failing love life into one of her favorite pastimes. And she loved nothing more than giving Laura regular style hints. Last week’s had been that she should dye her hair, as she was starting to, as her mother put it, “get a little less shiny...you know, that happens as we ladies age.”