Page 110 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

SAM

I was going to kill Truman for doing this when I was so far away from home.

Why in the world had he decided to confront a dangerous asshole when Tiller and I were halfway down the road toward Breckenridge?

I crept up the edge of the meadow toward the back of the house as quickly as I could. I’d never seen Tiller drive so fast or been so grateful for his spending an obscene amount of money on an SUV with a giant engine.

I’d never make fun of him for it again.

Why Truman would choose to confront a crazy man without backup was beyond me, but it had been his call, and he’d obviously made it.

I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. But that didn’t mean I had to sit idly by while he did it.

My plan was to listen and wait to see if he needed me. And at first, it had seemed like he didn’t. But then I heard him shout.

I scrambled forward to the corner of the house and peeked around. Truman was hauling ass toward his costume shed on the far side of one of his garden plots when Barney grabbed the back of his shirt. Man, that old man could move.

Part of me… okay, most of me expected Truman to go down in a heap of shy, trembling plant geek. But my man surprised me. He swung around with the fire of heated vengeance in his eyes and roared as loud as his little lungs could possibly manage.

And he punched that fucker square on the nose.

I wasn’t sure who was more surprised: me, Barney, Truman, or the weirdo in the goat costume stepping out of the toolshed.

“Punch him again!” the goat cried in Chaya’s familiar voice.

“Chaya! Leave the shed, leave the shed!” Truman cried. “He’s going to torch it!”

“It’s fine! Beat the shit out of him,” she replied.

“Don’t beat the shit out of him,” someone else warned from behind me.

I didn’t stop moving long enough to say anything, I simply reached my arms around Truman’s body as soon as he followed up the jab with a right hook.

I pulled him back away from the older man and held tight as he scrambled to get out of my arms and pummel the librarian to death.

“No,” I said calmly.

“He did it!” Truman cried. “He did all of it! He did it!”

His shouts turned into sobs until his body collapsed in my hold. I let his weight take us to the ground and held him as Deputy Stone appeared from behind me and secured Barney. He spoke into his radio before reading Barney his rights.

Meanwhile, I turned Truman in my arms so I could check out his poor knuckles. The goat came skidding over to us, falling on her knees and shoving her giant furry snout into my face as she attempted to hug Truman.

“That one looks good on you,” Truman said through sniffles. “Especially since you’re not burned up in a f-fire.”

Chaya pulled off the headpiece and grinned wide. “I know, right? I think we should plan a skit party or a costume charades night. You’ve got the best shit in there. And I didn’t see any sign of fire stuff.”

Mikey came racing across the lawn only to be obstructed by a waiting Tiller. Tiller grabbed him up and kissed him, looking him over for injuries before learning that Mikey’s role had been more “consultative” than “participatory.”

“Thank fuck,” Tiller muttered.

When the sirens and lights finally came streaming through the gate, I was surprised to see they weren’t the familiar Rockley County Sheriff’s vehicles. Instead, they were state police. I glanced over at Stone.

“You can trust them. They’re good officers, and they know everything.

Sheriff Stanner has been put on paid leave while the investigation takes place.

There will be a formal announcement later this morning.

I can’t say much more than that right now, but you have my word everything you told me is in the right hands.

And Truman gave me the app and login to the cameras before Balderson arrived. I have it all recorded on video.”

Barney spluttered. “What video—there’s no video! I cut the feed.”

I looked over at him and smiled wide. “There are no wires to cut on a wireless system. You cut the feed on the backup set.”

Truman snugged even closer against me, holding on to me as tightly as he could. He was trembling, but he’d stopped crying after Chaya’s masterfully ridiculous costume comments, and he was watching everything with an intense focus.

“He told me I needed someone to protect me,” Truman said, watching Stone take Barney away. Then he looked back at me. “But I don’t.”

I nodded. “You certainly proved you’re more than capable of protecting yourself,” I said in agreement.

“You used your brain, your circle of friends, your technology, and your community resources. Not to mention your physical strength and agility. I’d say you proved yourself, babe.

Not that you needed to. Not to me. Ever. ”

He went quiet for another few moments as law enforcement moved around us.

“But what if I want someone to protect me?” he asked in a low voice.

I let out a breath of relief and kissed his hair. He smelled like sun-ripened cherries, and I would never get enough of it as long as I lived.

“Then I would say I know someone who’s looking for the job. Permanently.”

Truman sniffed and met my eyes. His lashes were spiky with tears, but his face was clear and his jaw was set. He looked determined, although I wasn’t sure about what.

I reached out and cupped his cheeks. “I love you, Truman Sweet.”

His face dropped into shock. “You do?”

I grinned at him. “I’m so damned proud of you.

You’re brave and happy and kind. You give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and you take on the world’s burdens to keep others from feeling pain.

You’re smart and hardworking. You’re adorably quirky and fun.

And talented. And so damned sexy. I… I’m head over heels in love with you.

” He still seemed shocked. “If that’s okay? I know it’s fast. Really fast.”

Truman’s jaw snapped shut. “Not too fast. Not too fast at all.”

I leaned in and kissed a tender spot behind his ear that made him hum. “Good. Because I get the feeling you have a few more things on your bedroom wish list I might be able to help you with…”

His eyes widened comically. “How did you know about my bedroom wish list?”

I blinked at him with as much innocence as I could muster. “Well, I know you wanted beadboard in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure you want a new picture window in the bedroom. Maybe some paint. Maybe some…”

Truman bit his lip to keep from grinning at me. “Maybe some…?”

“Spice?”

He flushed deep pink. “I’d like that. And Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, too.” He spoke the words with confidence, as if he knew how much they’d mean to me.

I wasn’t prepared for how they made me feel. They flooded my heart with a heady combination of love, peace, excitement, and relief.

“Even if I can’t even keep a fake plant alive?” I admitted.

Truman lifted an eyebrow at me. “I called your drill a hammer.”

I leaned in and kissed him softly before speaking against his cheek. “I don’t care if you ever learn a thing about construction as long as you continue to bloom and grow.”

Chaya’s goat mask shoved its way between us and knocked Truman’s glasses askew. “Sorry to break up the kissfest, but Deputy Stone has been trying to get your attention.”

I looked over to see the stoic deputy looking a little bit uncomfortable. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but I thought you’d like to know I pulled that video you asked me about.”

Truman’s brows furrowed since the deputy was talking to me instead of him. “From my surveillance system?”

Deputy Stone shook his head. “No. Sam asked me to take a look back through the surveillance video from the business located behind your shop. They gave me access to everything they had, and sure enough, I found the night of your assault. Craig and Patrick Stanner are clearly identifiable on the video and have been taken into custody as a result.”

Truman’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding?”

The deputy looked upset. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am that you had to go this long without justice for what you went through.

” His eyes flicked to me and back to Truman.

“I saw the assault, and it was awful. I’m grateful you’re with us today, and I hope you know that I will continue to monitor the case as it makes its way through the system. ”

Truman looked up at me. “It’s… it’s over. They’re in jail.”

Deputy Stone nodded. “And the state police are unraveling the pension scheme. We should have an update on that in the next couple of weeks for you. In the meantime, you know where to find me. There will be plenty of changes in the department, obviously, but you can rest assured, I’ll be here as long as I’m needed. ”

A nearby deputy snorted. “Gonna be longer than you think, Stone. You’re the only one they’ll even think of appointing in the sheriff’s place before they can elect a new one.”

I could have sworn Deputy Stone rolled his eyes and muttered, “Lord help us all,” before glancing down at his watch. “It’s not even ten in the morning yet and it feels like midnight.”

Pim came bustling over and grabbed Truman out of my arms to squeeze him in a big bear hug. “Christ, I thought they’d never let me over here to check on you. How are you? Okay? Did that good-for-nothing lay a hand on you?”

Bill caught up to his husband and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s in good hands, hon.”

They tittered around him, making sure he was truly unharmed.

I watched as our friends gathered together in a giant group hug.

A sassy-mouthed chef, a laid-back footballer, an overgrown goat with wild-ass hair, a jolly diner-owner slash coconspirator, a pair of lesbian knitters who looked more like sisters, a famous musician, his beautiful husband, and their oddball uncle, a stern-faced deputy whose watch face surprisingly had a tiny rainbow flag on it, and a beloved spice merchant with bruised knuckles.

And me. The man who’d finally found his heart and his true family in a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.