Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

No one answered. “They’re probably out back.”

I followed Josiah inside. The décor was cozy and welcoming. A couch and denim armchairs faced a wood stove and there were photos in mismatched frames all along the mantle. Lots of smiling little boys in various states of rough and tumble disarray.

There were more on the walls and one photo in particular caught my eye. Six boys lined up on a couch with what had to be Josiah in the middle, holding a newborn baby. It must have been their sister, Annika.

They were all looking at the baby dressed in pink, as if she were the most exciting thing in the world. It was so precious it made my heart ache. As an only child, I’d never known what it would be like to have siblings.

Maybe six brothers would have been a lot to handle. But it would have been nice to have had one or two.

“Is this you and all your siblings?” I asked.

“Yeah, right after Annika was born.”

“Tell me about your brothers. What are they like?”

“Pains in the ass.” He cracked that almost smile of his and pointed out each brother in turn. “You’ve met Garrett. He wanted to be a cop from the time he was a kid. He was married for a while but she was the worst. They got divorced a few years ago, thankfully. Now he’s raising their son, Owen.”

“He seems like a nice guy.”

“He’s solid. This one is Zachary. He’s the smartass of the family. Despite the fact that he’s a man-child, he does well for himself. He’s an electrician; owns his own business. And that’s Theo. He played professional football for about a minute but he got injured. Now he’s the high school football coach. That one is Luke. You met him, too. He inherited our great-uncle’s custom auto shop.”

“Who’s that one?” I pointed to a boy on the far left. He was a little chubbier than the rest of them, with round cheeks and a bit of belly showing beneath his shirt. The type of kid well-meaning grown-ups referred to ashusky.

“Reese.”

“That’s so weird, I knew who your other brothers were, but I don’t know if I’ve ever heard his name. What’s he like?”

He paused for a long moment. “I don’t know. He left Tilikum a long time ago. Hasn’t been back.”

Before I could ask why, he walked away, toward the kitchen. I understood. He didn’t want to talk about it. Despite my curiosity, I decided not to press the issue.

The back door opened and Marlene came in. She smiled warmly and adjusted her glasses. “Hi. Sorry, I was in the shop with your dad, I didn’t hear you drive up.”

“No problem,” Josiah said.

“Nice to see you again, Audrey.”

“Thanks. You too.”

“Is Dad around?” Josiah asked.

“He was right behind me.”

The door opened again and Paul came in. He was like an older version of Josiah, with the same perpetually furrowed brow and thick arms stuffed in flannel. He tipped his chin to me but didn’t say anything.

Yep. So much like Josiah.

“Audrey, are you responsible for the new Hometown Spotlight section in the paper?” Marlene asked. “Because it’s so charming.”

“Yes, that’s me. I’m glad you like it. My editor was a little stubborn about taking up front page real estate with something that’s not breaking news, but I convinced him to try it for a few weeks at least.”

“I loved it,” she said.

“Thanks. I’m hoping to interview the sheriff soon. I heard he’s originally from Seattle, so I want to know what it’s like to go from big city law enforcement to a small town.”

“Sheriff Cordero is such a good man,” Marlene said. “Hopefully you can pin him down. If not, let me know, I’ll put in a good word with his wife.”

“That would be great, thank you.”