Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers, #1)

by Claire Kingsley

The crowd quieted while two judges picked through the wood, then conferred with each other. Finally, they brought Josiah and Levi in front of the chopped wood with one of the judges in between them. He held each man’s wrist, like it was the end of a boxing match, then raised Josiah’s arm in the air.

“Here, give me the camera,” Sandra said. “I’ll hold it while you go love on your sweaty boyfriend.” “I don’t know if he’s my—” “Just go,” she said with a laugh. I lifted the camera strap over my head and handed it to Sandra, then crossed the grass to meet Josiah.

“Hey,” he said. “Hi.” I popped up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Nice work, champion.” “I’m surprised I kept up with him. He beat Luke again last year, so my brothers goaded me into competing this time.” He pulled his T-shirt on over his sweaty body. I was slightly disappointed. “Do you win something or just the honor of being the fastest wood chopper in town.” “Oh yeah, I get pie.” “Pie?” He looked at me like I was weird for questioning that. “Yeah. I guess if you’ve never had Gram Bailey’s pie, you wouldn’t understand.” “Will you share some with me so I can experience this magical pie?” “I don’t know if I like you that much.”

“Then again, maybe I do.” “That’s very generous of you.” “Will you go out with me tonight?” Coming out of nowhere, the question caught me by surprise. “What?” His eyebrows drew in. “I thought that was how you asked a girl out.” “No, that’s right. I just didn’t expect it.” “You didn’t expect me to ask you out?”

Ahhhhhh!! Look at him being all confident!!

“What are we doing, then? I’ve been out of the loop for a while, but I thought that was how dating worked.” I laughed. “Sorry, you just keep taking me by surprise.” “I told you I’m bad with people.” “You’re not bad with people. Sometimes you’re just kind of blunt or abrupt.” “So, yes or no. I’m not good with subtle cues. You’re going to have to be straightforward.” Smiling, I draped my arms around his neck. “Yes. Definitely yes to a date.” “Good. I’ll pick you up at six.” “Sounds good.”

“I should probably go do some interviews and take more pictures. This is kind of my first really big assignment and I don’t want to mess it up.” He leaned down and planted a firm kiss on my lips. “Go get ‘em.” Reluctantly, I stepped away, my head swimming. How was I supposed to focus on being a reporter after that?

“Not sure if he’s your boyfriend, huh?” “Yeah, well, we got off to a confusing start. I didn’t want to assume and wind up looking like a bigger dork than usual.” I put the camera strap around my neck. “Where should we head next?” “This is your gig. You lead the way.”

The strange tingly feeling hit me again, like I’d just been touched on the back. My heart rate kicked up and I cast a wary glance over my shoulder. Was that Colin? As soon as I looked, a group of people walked in front of the man, blocking him from view. Had it been him? I’d only seen him for a second, so I couldn’t be sure. But it had looked a lot like him, and whoever it was, he’d been facing my direction. Was Colin here, watching me? The people walked past, and the man was gone.

A guy like me didn’t get nervous for a date. I’d been on tons of them. Maybe it had been a while, but that was by choice, not for lack of opportunity. Hell, Aunt Louise tried to set me up on dates all the time. But there was something going on inside me when I pulled up to Audrey’s house. A buzz, like from a shot of good tequila. I kind of liked it.

I didn’t know why I was talking to her dog through the window. Maybe she was rubbing off on me; she talked to him all the time.

I glanced at the dog. “Ready, Max?” “Is Max coming too?” “Does he like to hike?” “Yeah, he loves it.” “And do you want to bring him?” “Well, yeah.” “Then he’s coming.” I didn’t know why she was looking at me all starry-eyed, like I’d just done something surprising or whatever. We were going on a hiking date. Of course her dog could come. Besides, I kind of liked him.

That’s so sweet!!

I had to admit, his happiness was contagious. He posed with all the joy of a creature who couldn’t imagine anything better in life than to go for a truck ride with his mommy. And me, apparently, but I figured his doggy happiness was mostly due to the drive.

That’s adorable!!

“Ready?” I asked, slipping the backpack on. “Yep. Where are we going?” I pointed toward the trail. “That way. It’s an out and back, only about a mile.” “What’s at the end?” “You’ll see.” She smiled again. Damn, I liked making her do that. Her whole face shined. “Okay, then lead the way.”

“How did you know about this trail?” she asked. “I didn’t see any signs.” “There aren’t any. It’s private property.” “Are we allowed to be here?” “Yeah, it’s my family’s property.” “Wow. This is amazing.” “It’s nice. Actually if you went up the hill behind your house and kept going, you’d come out over there somewhere.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to her. Making people feel better wasn’t really my area. “That sucks. I’m sorry.” She stopped and looked up at me. “Thank you.” “For what?” “For saying that it sucks and not trying to fix it or make excuses for him or tell me I should have tried harder. I swear, every time I open up to someone about my issues with my father, I get the weirdest responses. It’s like people can’t handle hearing something uncomfortable and they want to fix it. But he’s gone, and there’s no fixing it. I didn’t have a great relationship with him and I never will and, yeah, that sucks.” “You’re right. It does suck.” “And so does the fact that your mom left you.” I glanced off into the trees. I didn’t like talking about her. It was easier to pretend it didn’t matter. “Yeah, it sucks a lot, actually.” Part of me wanted to say more. To admit that it hurt. That I hated knowing I wasn’t enough to make her stay. But I didn’t. I couldn’t get the words out. Audrey took my hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”

Max ran to the edge of the lake and sniffed the water. “Audrey?” “Yeah?” “Does Max know how to swim?” “Yes, but—” Whatever she was about to say, it was too late. Her dog dashed into the water and started paddling around. “Oh no. He’s going to make your truck smell like wet dog.” I chuckled. He looked so pleased with himself, I couldn’t even be mad. “That’s okay. Are you hungry?” “I’m starving, actually. Did you pack dinner?” “Of course.” I took off the backpack and set it down. “What did you think we were doing out here?” “Just a hike, I guess. A picnic by a waterfall is so –” “What?” “Romantic.” “Should I be insulted that you didn’t think I could be romantic?” She laughed. “No. I just wasn’t sure what to expect on a first date with Josiah Haven. You keep surprising me.” Surprising her felt good, just like making her smile.

I had a thing for the sound of water. It tended to undo the knots in my back and make me feel peaceful. I’d never brought a date out there before and I was glad it was Audrey. The dull roar of the waterfall as a backdrop to our first date felt prophetic somehow. Like it meant something. That made me nervous, but I pushed it aside. It was just a date. I didn’t need to worry about where this was going or how long she was really going to stay. Easier said than done, but the food was good, the company was better, and the setting was serene.