Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“Yeah.” His lips turned up in a subtle grin. “I was the best man at his wedding.”

“Wow. I love that. What about your other brothers?”

“They’re good guys. Josiah got married in January. He’s not exactly a people person, but his wife Audrey is great. Theo coaches football at the high school. He played professionally for a while but he got injured.”

“He’s not married?”

“Nope. Neither is Luke. He owns a custom auto shop. Rebuilds classic cars and that sort of thing. My sister, Annika, is married, and has been for a while now.”

“Oh, to the firefighter?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“He was one of the responders when the fire alarm went off at the bakery. Owen said he was his uncle.”

“Levi Bailey. He’s a great guy.”

“Does he have a twin or was I hallucinating?”

“Yep, identical. That’s Logan.”

“Okay, things are making more sense. So there’s you, Zachary, Josiah.” I started counting off brothers on my fingers. “Theo, Luke, and who was the other one?”

“Reese.”

“What does he do?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. He left town a long time ago and never came back.”

I could hear the hurt in his voice. It was subtle, as if he were trying to hide it, but it was definitely there.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always assumed he had a falling out with Dad, but I don’t know what actually went down. Or why he’s stayed away so long.”

“That’s sad. I bet your parents miss him.”

“Mom does for sure. I think he’s contacted her a few times over the years, just to let her know he’s still alive. But he could be anywhere. What about you? Just the one sister?”

I nodded. “Her name’s Holly. Obviously my mom had a thing for H names.”

“What about your dad?”

“I don’t really know him. I don’t want to say my mom dated him just long enough for him to get her pregnant because she wanted a baby. But I think that’s what she did.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I try not to be judgy about it, but I’m pretty sure that’s what she did with my sister’s dad too. Of course, she doesn’t describe it that way, exactly, but Holly and I both have the same theory. My mom is… interesting. She’s super independent. I think it was hard for her to share her space with her own kids, so the idea of letting another adult in her life permanently was sort of unthinkable.”

“But she had you two on purpose?”

“Yeah. She wanted kids, so she found a way to make it happen. And she was a good mom, in her own way. I love her, but we’re not very close. I’m so different from her, and my sister. Neither of them really get me. There’s no animosity or anything, our relationship is friendly. But it’s just that. Friendly. That’s probably why I’m close to my aunt. We both love baking and we’re, I don’t know, weird in the same ways.”

He grinned a little. “How are you weird?”

A tingle of nervousness swept through me and I let out a breath. Vulnerability is hard. “Okay, so I’m a little bit superstitious. And by a little bit, I mean a lot.”

He kept smiling at me. “What are you superstitious about? Like walking under ladders and stuff?”