Obsession Falls(109)

“What if that’s Max’s long-lost brother? Or sister?”

“Where did you get him?”

“Idaho.”

“I kind of doubt they’re related.”

“Okay, fine, but can we go say hi?”

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

We walked across the grass and she stopped a short distance away. Max looked like he might burst, he was so excited. The volunteer greeted her and when she asked if Max could say hi, assuring him he was friendly towards everyone—humans and dogs—he said sure.

“This is Maggie,” he said.

“Oh my gosh, her name is Maggie,” Audrey said.

I wasn’t quite sure why she was gushing like that, but the dogs liked each other from the first moment. Of course, Max liked everyone, and apparently his almost-twin did too. They jumped around, circling each other, clearly having fun.

“She’s so sweet,” Audrey said. “Where is she from?”

“We just got her from our partner organization in Idaho,” the volunteer said. “She was wandering the streets and despite multiple attempts to find her owner, no one claimed her.”

Audrey whipped around to look at me, her eyes huge. “Idaho,” she whisper yelled. “She could be Max’s sister.”

I really didn’t think this dog was Max’s sister, but I had to admit, they looked similar. Maggie was a little smaller, but their coloring, face shape, and bushy tails were a lot alike.

As were their energy levels.

I watched for a few minutes while Audrey played with both dogs. And I already knew Maggie was coming home with us.

While Audrey was busy giving both dogs belly rubs, I moved closer to the volunteer. “That one’s available for adoption?”

“She sure is. Are you interested?”

I nodded toward Audrey, who was rolling around on the grass with Max and Maggie, laughing. “We both know she’s not going anywhere without that dog.”

The volunteer smiled.

And that was how I went from living alone to sharing my space with a woman and two dogs.

But let’s be real. There are a few extra bedrooms in our house. We have room for some kids, too.

Yeah, that’s happening.

I was going to marry that bubbly, dog-loving girl. And she was going to have my babies. That was not the life I’d planned—not the life I’d convinced myself I wanted. I’d been all about solitude. Doing what I wanted, when I wanted.

Thankfully, a ray of sunshine had burst into my life. And nothing would ever be the same.

Audrey wasn’t just my problem now. She was my everything. And she was going to be mine forever.





How about a sneak peek into Josiah and Audrey’s happily ever after! Tap here for a special BONUS EPILOGUE.



You’ve met Asher Bailey. Are you curious about his story? Fall in love with another small-town series set in Tilikum, the Bailey Brothers.

Keep reading for a preview of book one, Protecting You.





Protecting You: Chapter 1





ASHER





AGE 11


I startled at the sharp sound of grown-ups yelling. Dropping my stick in the trickling creek water, I whipped around to look, but my brothers were the only ones around. Evan was in a tree, probably trying to get away from the twins. Levi and Logan splashed downstream from me with Gavin, who was covered head to toe in mud.

Someone yelled again—a man’s voice, loud and booming—and my stomach twisted. I didn’t know why, but even if they weren’t yelling at me, the sound of grown-ups fighting always gave me a stomachache.

Gram and Grandad never yelled, especially not at each other. Which meant it had to be Grace’s mom, Miss Naomi, and her dad, Mr. Miles.

Grace’s dad didn’t live with them like some dads did, but he came to visit sometimes. I hated it when he came over. Not because it meant Grace would be busy and couldn’t come outside with me, although I hated that too. She was my best friend and we saw each other every day, except when her dad was visiting.

The problem was, everyone got upset when Mr. Miles was here. Once I heard Gram say he always left messes behind. I used to think she meant he didn’t clean up his dishes, but now I wondered if she meant a different kind of mess. A grown-up mess.

The yelling didn’t stop, the loud voices carrying all the way down to the creek. I hopped over the shallow water and ran up the slope toward Grace’s house. If this was making my stomach hurt, she was probably really upset.

I needed to find her.

It sounded like her parents were out front, so I raced across the grass. Gram was working in the garden, but she didn’t call for me as I ran by and veered toward the space between our two houses.

Grace wasn’t in her backyard, and I didn’t see her on the side of the yard that faced our house. I slowed to a walk and carefully crept toward the front. I peeked onto their front porch but didn’t see her there either.

Then I felt dumb. Of course she wasn’t sitting on the porch while her parents yelled at each other.

She’d be hiding.

We had a lot of good hiding places. Gavin found the best ones, but he was also the smallest and could probably fit into a snake hole if he tried. Most of our favorite spots weren’t near our houses. They were out on Gram and Grandad’s land, past the gardens.