Winter Muse (Seasons in Colorado: Winter #1)

Prologue

Cole Miller stared across the bar at his twin sister, Kelly, and best friend, Ava Rose.

Kelly was completely plastered, which was rare for her.

She hardly drank and spent too much time working at their family bookstore, but tonight she cut loose at the small establishment in the neighboring town.

And cut loose she did, standing on top of the bar.

If they had been at a bar in their own town of Storyville, Colorado, Kelly would have been embarrassed when it traveled around to the locals.

Now it would only travel slower.

Ava gave Cole pleading eyes, and he chuckled, setting his beer bottle down and walking over to the bar top to help coax his twin down.

“Come on, Kel. It’s time to go home,” he said.

“But I’m having so much fun. I never have fun,” she said.

“Nope. You don’t. But I think it’s time to get you to bed.”

“Fine,” she said, with a slight slur to her words. She allowed Cole to help her down, and Ava glared at him.

“It’s about time you came to help,” she said.

He laughed. “I was having fun watching you try. This was your idea after all.”

“You have to admit she needed this.”

“She did.”

He helped walk his sister out the door and to his car. Once he got her safely into the back seat, he went around to the driver’s side. Ava slipped into the passenger seat and sighed.

“She got far more wasted than I planned. She’s going to hate me tomorrow.”

Cole chuckled. “Yep. Fat chance of getting her to go out again.”

Ava punched him in the arm. “You could have helped regulate her alcohol.”

Cole started the car and got onto the highway to head back toward Storyville. “Yeah, right. And miss this?”

Kelly fell asleep in the back seat in no time.

Cole tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he softly sang along to the music playing on the radio.

Soon, Ava had joined in. He smiled over at her.

It was just like old times back when they were younger and would hang out.

The three of them had been inseparable. It was no different now.

They pulled up in front of the small yellow house the three of them rented, and Cole helped get Kelly out of the car and into the house while Ava held the doors open. Once they got her settled into her bedroom with a glass of water and aspirin on her nightstand, they shut the door and sighed.

Cole tipped his head toward the kitchen. “Care to join me for a nightcap?”

“That sounds lovely,” Ava said.

They went into the kitchen and Cole reached into a top cabinet, pulling out a bottle of vodka and whisky. He held them out. “I guess we have slim pickings.”

She took the vodka. “Yeah, I guess we don’t drink that often.”

They leaned against the counter, side-by-side, each holding a different bottle. He took a swig of the whisky straight from the bottle while she swigged out of the vodka.

He bumped her with his shoulder. “You know, you should cut loose sometimes too. It’s not just Kelly who is serious all the time.”

Ava shrugged. “Don’t have time for that.”

“That’s not true.”

She looked up at him and took another swig, staying quiet.

He bumped her again. “Ava…”

“Cole, you know as well as I do that I need to be alert all hours of the day.”

He studied her for a moment. The weight of the world rested on his friend’s shoulders, and he always tried to do what he could to help. Kelly did too. But he didn’t like seeing her feel responsible for her eight-year-old sister all the time, especially when she wasn’t her legal guardian.

He dipped his head and captured her lips with his. He didn’t know what prompted it. Suddenly the urge to kiss her came over him, something he’d never entertained before because they had been best friends since they were kids. There was an invisible line he never dared cross.

But kissing her now, he realized he had always wanted it. Something about it felt right. He and Ava knew each other so well, there was no way this could be wrong.

Cole half expected her to pull away and slap him, but to his surprise, she kissed him back. His fingers tangled in her hair, and they walked backward until they stumbled into the nearest of their bedrooms—her bedroom.

They fell onto her bed, and he pinned her hands above her head, kissing her like his life depended on it. Something about her was intoxicating. It was as if he needed to kiss her to survive.

When her hands shimmied up his shirt, it was like a glass of cold water had been tossed on him. He jumped back and looked around.

What the fuck are you doing? This is Ava. Your best friend. Your sister’s best friend. And you’ve both been drinking. Not smart, Cole.

He scrubbed his hand down his face as Ava looked at him in confusion.

“We can’t, Ava.”

A look of pain flashed across her face before immediately clearing. “Okay.”

“We’ve been drinking and—”

“Cole, you don’t need to explain. I know.”

He tilted his head and looked at her. She wouldn’t meet his eyes as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Ava—”

“Cole, just go. You’re right. It was a mistake.”

“Ava—”

“Go. Please.”

He nodded his head, and against his better judgment, he left her room.

She needs space. It’ll be better in the morning.