WindSwept Narrows: #9 Guinevere Paddington

Extended family was an amazing thing, Gwen thought, brushing the bangs from her eyes as she took the wide staircase to the main entrance. She flipped light switches inside the foyer and opened the door with a smile.

"Mr. Collierplease, come inside. It's promising to be a wicked winter," she told him, stepping to the side for him to sweep into the house. He was dressed in black cargo pants, a heavy black overcoat and tee shirt beneath. She wondered if he had other clothing or realized there were other colors in the rainbow.

Ethan dragged two heavy hands back over the short cropped deep brown hair, raindrops raked through his fingers. Almost black eyes surveyed the interior swiftly before landing on the woman waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs. Dressed in jeans and a fitted girl tee shirt, she had socks on and flushed cheeks beneath a pair of amber eyes that watched him constantly.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Collier?" Gwen asked politely.

"I am not a happy man at the moment, Miss Paddington," Ethan said flatly. He wasn't prepared for the soft, lilting laughter.

"I'd be interested in knowing when was the last time you could honestly say you were a happy man, Mr. Collier," Gwen sunk to the steps, watching him pace. He was tall. A few inches over six foot with boots that echoed loudly, betraying his emotions.

"It was long before I ran into you."

"Perception is a funny thing, Mr. Collier," she said softly. "It's possible you're much happier than you realize."

"Perhaps you need to realize that I don't do well with riddles and even less well with some pompous do-gooder involving herself in my life," he ground the words out coldly.

"To business then, Mr. Collier. What can I do for you?" She asked politely, keeping the laughter inside at the stark disbelief capturing the angular features. Dark lashes first went wide and then narrowed considerably.

"I want my niece." He said each word slowly and concisely.

"What was she like when you met her the first time? Did you spend time with her as a baby?" Gwen asked curiously.

"DidI never met her before my"

"Before your brother and his wife died," Gwen filled in with a quiet nod. "I see. Then the first time you met herwhat was she like?"

"A crying kid, what the hell'd you expect her to be like? She didn't want anything but her mother and father"

"Did you look alike? You and your brother?"

"I" Ethan stared at her, his hands slowly coming out of the pockets. "I guess soa little shorter, maybe. What exactly are you"

"He was military, too, wasn't he?"

Ethan stopped pacing, locking his gaze on her eyes. "Different field of choice, but military, yeah. What's your point?"

"No point, really. Curious," Gwen said with a casual shrug. "So here's a crying child who just lost her parentstwo and a half years oldand the only thing she has to cling to is a man resembling her father. Who had never seen her before in his life and who doesn't really want her," she finished sadly.

"She's family. I'll take care of her."

"What'd you get her for her birthday? Was there a cake?"

Ethan thought briefly to the money he deposited into her college fund, his lips clamped tight. "Where is Zoe?"

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