Obsession Falls(56)

Garrett walked back over. He wanted Colin’s full name and any contact information I had, so I gave it to him.

“We’re going to need to process the scene,” he said. “What did you touch?”

“Just the doorknob,” Josiah said. “Didn’t touch or move anything else.”

“The squirrel was there when you found it?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t in a hurry to pick up another dead animal.”

“Fair enough. I don’t know if we’ll find much. Seems like whoever did this would have worn gloves, but you never know. And we’ll check with the neighbors. See if anyone caught something on a front door camera.”

“I’m installing one of those tomorrow.” Josiah shook his head. “I should have done it after the first squirrel.”

“What are you going to do with the squirrel’s body?” I asked.

“We’ll bag it up and take it down to the station to be examined.”

“And then what?”

Garrett’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“She wants to make sure it gets a proper funeral,” Josiah said.

He turned his confused look on his brother. “A funeral?”

Josiah sighed. “Can we just have it back when you’re done with it?”

“Probably.” Garrett sounded more bewildered than ever. But he didn’t say anything else. Just shook his head and walked back to his car.

“Thanks.” I could feel my lower lip protruding in a pout, but I couldn’t help it. I’d gone from deliciously happy after our date to horrified in the blink of an eye. I glanced at the door again and turned away. I didn’t want to look at it anymore.

“Stay at my place tonight,” Josiah said. It wasn’t a question.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

He moved closer and placed his big hand on my cheek. “You’re staying at my place.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Thank you.”

He lifted my chin and kissed me. I still felt queasy, but kissing Josiah helped. A lot.

Even more than petting Max.

“Go ahead and get whatever you need for you and Max. Then we can get out of here.”

I packed a bag, grabbed a few things for Max, and we got back in Josiah’s truck. As much as I hated the idea of someone driving me out of my own house, even for a night, I was filled with relief that I didn’t have to stay.

By the time we got to Josiah’s house, darkness had fallen. I clipped on Max’s leash before we got out of the truck. With all the scents of a new place, I didn’t want him taking off on us. The last thing we needed was another wild dog chase.

Josiah took my things and led us inside. He shut the door behind us, flipped on a light, and paused.

“Sorry.”

“For what?” I asked.

“I don’t have people over.”

I glanced around. It wasn’t exactly neat and tidy, and I could tell he was partway through fixing it up, but it wasn’t gross or anything. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

He gave me a quick tour and I let Max wander around sniffing everything. Even though it was unfinished, it had a lot of potential.

And it was definitely a bachelor pad. Considering Josiah had an eye for not just construction, but design, he hadn’t used it at all in his own home. I wondered if he just hadn’t gotten around to it or if he didn’t plan on staying in the house long enough to bother. He had the basics—furniture in the living room and one of the bedrooms and a small table off the kitchen. But the other bedrooms were empty and the light in the extra bathroom didn’t work.

He finished showing me around and took my things to his bedroom. “You can sleep in here. I’ll take the couch.”

I tried to hide the wave of disappointment that swept through me. It wasn’t that I was ready to jump into bed with him, not in that sense. Sure, I was wildly attracted to him, and that rough lumberjack of a man could probably ravage me in a hundred different ways. But that wasn’t where my head was. I was tired and upset and I didn’t want to be alone.

But what was I supposed to say? Could you please let me sleep in your bed with you without having sex?

That would be too weird, right?

“Unless–” He paused, as if he were trying to find the right words. “I won’t push you into anything.”

Deciding to take a chance and ask for what I wanted, I met his eyes. “Will you stay in here with me? Even if it’s just to sleep?”

The corners of his mouth lifted. “Yeah.”

Pleasant warmth spread through me at that smile.

It wasn’t late but I was happy to go to bed early. I took Max outside for one last potty break, then came in to get ready for bed. I felt a little awkward, being in Josiah’s space. I didn’t want to get in his way. But we navigated the process of getting ready for bed without too much weirdness, and the simple intimacy of it was oddly exhilarating. There was something about standing next to him in the bathroom while we brushed our teeth and almost bumping into each other reaching for a towel that felt familiar and sweet.

My heart beat a little faster when we got into bed together. Max jumped up and decided on a spot—he tended to be a foot of the bed sleeper and didn’t seem to care that we weren’t home and there was another person in bed with his mommy.