Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

“Do you keep them all as rentals when you’re done remodeling?”

I picked up another chunk of flooring and tossed it in the dumpster. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

“I’m just curious.”

She had brown eyes but despite their dark color, they were bright, shining with pleasant interest.

It was frustratingly endearing.

“Depends on the property.”

I’d meant for that to be the entirety of my answer but she kept looking at me with cheerful expectancy while she threw the ball for her dog again. It was like she was drawing me into a conversation against my will.

“We’ve flipped a few over the years but the market has been slowing down so it’s generally better for us to keep them and rent them out.”

“Is it frustrating?”

“Is what frustrating?”

She shrugged. “Being a landlord. You have to deal with tenants all the time, fix broken stuff, chase them down for late payments, that sort of thing.”

“Annika deals with the tenants.”

“Right, because you’re bad with people.”

“Is that what she said?”

“Something like that.” There was that cheerful smile again. Was she teasing me? “You did a great job on the house next door. It’s really nice.”

“Thanks.”

“Sorry, I should quit bugging you. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do.” She picked up the ball but kept it tucked against her chest while Max did a circle around her. “I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Flashing me another big smile, she turned and walked back next door. Her overly excited dog was as bubbly as she was. I was surprised he didn’t do cartwheels around her.

It took me a second to realize I was watching her as she left. I shook my head to clear it and went back to tossing old particle board into the dumpster.

There. That was over with. We had a tenant in the two-bedroom and Annika had smoothed things over after my screw up last night. I didn’t need to worry about her.

Or think about her in those shorts.

But I did think about her in those shorts. I got back to work, ripping out the rest of the kitchen floor, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Audrey Young and her annoyingly beautiful smile.

CHAPTER9

Audrey

The Timberbeast Tavernlooked exactly how I’d pictured it when Sandra had told me where to meet her. She’d invited me out for a drink after work and this place was everything I’d expected. Vintage logging photos, old business signs, and rusty timber equipment adorned the walls, and the guy behind the bar had a thick beard, buffalo plaid shirt, and big hairy arms, making him look more like a lumberjack than a bartender.

In fact, he looked a lot like the cartoon lumberjack on the Timberbeast sign.

I’d gone home after work to take care of Max, grab some dinner, and change clothes. I’d opted for a short-sleeved shirt and jeans with a pair of sandals. It was getting warmer during the day but still cooling down at night—typical mountain weather in June. I hoped my feet wouldn’t get too cold, but I’d painted my toenails the cutest shade of pink and I wanted the chance to show them off.

Or at least enjoy them myself, since I doubted anyone in a dimly lit small-town tavern was going to notice my toes.

Sandra waved to me from her table. She’d also changed since work, into a t-shirt and casual pants. Her silvery-gray pixie cut was adorable as always.