Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

He immediately went to the front door and wagged his tail.

“Not a chance. Whatever that is out there, you’re either planning to roll in it, or eat it, or both.”

He looked at me over his shoulder as if to say,yep, you’re right.

“Nope. Not happening.”

I went to the window and looked outside. It was still there—because of course it was, it was dead. When Max had gone after it, I’d been too preoccupied with keeping it out of his mouth to worry about what it was. It was small and gray with a bushy tail—probably a squirrel.

Why on earth had a squirrel died right in front of my door?

There were squirrels everywhere around here. They were up in Pinecrest too, although the Tilikum squirrels had a reputation for being particularly crafty little thieves. They got hit by cars once in a while, but this one obviously wasn’t in the road. What had happened to the poor little guy?

And how was I going to get rid of it?

I felt my gag reflex threaten at the thought of disposing of it. I didn’t think I could do it. But I couldn’t leave it there, either.

The rumble of a truck outside caught my attention. Josiah Haven pulled into the driveway next door.

Perfect. That big flannel wearing grump could help me.

I ran to the kitchen to get Max a treat to distract him. I tossed it down the hall, he ran for it, and I went running out the front door.

Careful to give the squirrel plenty of room, I went across the lawn to the other house.

Josiah was just shutting his truck door. I didn’t miss the flash of surprise that crossed his features when he saw me—eyes widening, his mouth parting.

Then I realized I wasn’t wearing a bra and it was still chilly.

Great.

Oh well, too late now. Besides, after the tub incident, this wasn’t so bad. And I really needed his help.

Still, I tried to casually cross my arms so I wouldn’t be nipping out all over the place.

“I’m sorry to bug you, but I’m so glad you’re here.”

His brow furrowed.

“There’s a dead squirrel outside my front door.”

“What do you mean, there’s a dead squirrel outside your front door?”

“I mean it’s there and it’s dead and I don’t know what to do with it. Max will try to eat it, or roll in it, so I need to get rid of it. And I’m not at all ashamed to say that if I try to do it myself, I’ll probably puke.”

“But why is there a dead squirrel outside your door?”

It was clearly a rhetorical question because without waiting for a reply, he stalked past me and across the grass. He stopped in front of the squirrel and looked down at it, resting his hands on his hips. I followed.

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, it’s gross. Poor thing. What are the chances it would just keel over and die right here?”

“Almost zero.” He glanced around then picked up a stick and poked at it.

I gagged a little. “What are you doing?”

He crouched down and used the stick to turn it over. “You don’t have a cat, do you?”