“Morning.” His sleepy voice was ridiculously sexy. So rough and growly. He leaned over and kissed my head.
“Morning.” I closed my laptop and resisted the urge to jump up and climb him like a tree. “There’s coffee if you want some.”
“Thanks.”
Max came over to get his obligatory morning pets. Josiah gave him a few scratches. That seemed to satisfy Max and he went back to his spot.
I took him in as he poured his coffee. The hard lines of his body. The muscle built on hard work. His rough hands that could be both possessive and surprisingly gentle. He was a marvel. So sturdy and stoic, yet with a softness on the inside that he rarely let anyone see.
He sat down across from me and took a sip. “Why are you always up so early?”
“Max.” I nodded my head toward my derpy dog. “He doesn’t understand weekends.”
Cupping his mug in his hands, he nodded.
“Are you working on the house today?”
“I probably should. And I need to run up to my parents’ place at some point.” He took another drink. “Wanna come?”
He said that so casually, like it was totally not a big deal that he’d just invited me to his parents’ house. I’d met them, of course, but going to their house seemed like a thing.
Although maybe it wasn’t a thing. Maybe he was just being practical and it didn’t say anything about our relationship.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
He didn’t say anything else. Just nodded.
A man of few words. It was refreshing.
I decided to take Max for a hike while Josiah worked on the remodel. He protested, telling me he didn’t want me to go alone. He had a point, so I promised to stay close to home and not go where my cell signal would drop. Based on his expression, he still wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t argue.
Max and I set out and did a couple of laps around the neighborhood. Then I took him out back and we climbed the hill behind the house. I let his leash out so he could sniff around the trees and the steep slope gave me a good workout. When we got to the top, I stopped and checked my phone. I had a signal, but just barely, so we made our way back down.
Josiah was still working next door when we got home. I gave Max a bully stick to chew and hopped in the shower. I took the time to wash my hair—too many dry shampoo days in a row probably wasn’t a great idea—and exfoliate with sugar scrub. I got out feeling fresh and clean.
After getting dressed, putting on a little makeup, and blow drying my hair, Josiah came back. He stopped just inside the doorway and the corners of his mouth hooked ever so slightly. Max ran over to greet him.
“You look good.” He absently petted Max’s head.
“Thanks.”
Of course, my preparations had nothing to do with going to his parents’ house. I wasn’t nervous or anything. It was probably just a quick stop. I didn’t even know if I’d go inside.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“What about him?” He nodded toward Max.
“He can stay here. After our hike, he’ll just pass out.”
Josiah didn’t shower, but I didn’t mind. I liked the way he was often a little dirty and he always smelled amazing. I brushed the sawdust out of his beard and off his t-shirt and we headed out.
Nervous energy thrummed through me as we drove to the Haven family home. They lived up a long gravel driveway that snaked its way up a small hill. The trees opened up on a gorgeous log home with friendly lights in the windows.
“Do they know we’re coming?” I asked, fighting the tremor in my voice. “Do they know I’m coming? Is this going to be weird? I’m probably going to make it awkward somehow, just warning you.”
“Audrey.” Josiah’s voice was low but gentle.
“Yeah?”
He didn’t say another word. Just leaned over and kissed me.
It helped.
With a deep breath, I hopped out of his truck and steeled myself to step into his family’s world.
He didn’t knock, which struck me as sweet. Upon opening the door, he walked right in. “Mom? Dad?”
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 as husky.
“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.”
Paul grabbed a towel and wiped off his hands. “I got the tile samples.”
“Let’s take a look,” Josiah said.
He slid a box closer and started taking out square tile samples. “You said neutral, so that’s what they gave me.”
Josiah moved them around, as if putting them in order. Some were in varying shades of beige, others gray. He slid a dark slate gray tile away from the others. I agreed. It was too dark.