Page 36 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

I chuckled and followed her into the house, closing the door behind me. After navigating a maze of boxes, I found Winn in the kitchen, standing against the counter, silently fuming.

“Friend of yours?”

“My ex.”

“Ah. Now the fake-boyfriend play makes sense.”

“Thanks for going along with it.”

“Welcome.” I leaned against the wall.

“Wait.” She gave me a wary glance. “Why did you go along with it?”

I shrugged. “He irritated me.”

“He irritates me too,” she muttered.

“Want me to hang out until he disappears?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“There something I should know?” Because if that bastard was harassing her, I’d march outside and make sure he understood the rules had just changed.

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s harmless unless you count him being a royal pain in my ass.”

“What’s the story there?”

She shrugged. “We were together for eight years. Engaged for six. We called it off four months ago and he moved out of our house. Which he refuses to sell.”

Eight years was a long damn relationship. Six years was one hell of an engagement. Why hadn’t they gotten married? “Is that why you moved here? Your breakup?”

“Part of the reason. It was time for a change. When Pops mentioned that the former chief was retiring, I decided to at least apply. I honestly didn’t think I’d be considered.”

“Even with Covie as the mayor?”

“Pops loves me, but he loves this town too. He wouldn’t put someone in the chief’s position who wasn’t capable of doing the job. And I am capable, Griffin.”

The more I learned about her, the more I suspected she was. “I heard you went to visit Melina Green yesterday.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Conor. He went to see her. Apparently he just missed you.”

“That was nice of him.”

“That was nice of you.”

She dropped her gaze to the floor. “The least I can do is show her that she’s not alone.”

That act, in and of itself, set her apart from the former chief. He’d always kept his distance from the community. Maybe it had been intentional. It had to be difficult to bust friends or family members. It was likely easier to remain apart than punish a buddy for breaking the law.

Or maybe he was just a cold bastard. That was Dad’s impression.

Winslow was anything but cold.

I studied her as she stood there, the silence of the house growing louder. There was a weight on her shoulders. An exhaustion in her eyes.

“Hell of a week, huh?”