Page 15 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 2

DECLAN

I wanted to kill Finn Heller. Thanks to his interview with Nosy Nadine after the Gene Stanner incident, the media was all over my ass which meant the county council was all over it, too.

The opinions ranged from what a great thing it was for our little burg to what a nuisance it was to have to deal with spiteful implications of our ineptitude.

On top of everything, Tessa’s first visit with the OBGYN in Aster Valley had resulted in a referral to a specialist in Denver.

I’d dropped everything to drive her to the city for some tests.

It had been a rough couple of days in which Tessa spent most of the time in tears and I spent most of it wanting to kill my former partner for being the kind of selfish asshole who got her pregnant and then walked away from every sense of paternal responsibility.

Thankfully, the tests came out fine, and we returned to Aster Valley with nothing more than instructions for her to take it easy. It made the decision on whether or not she should stay a very easy one.

“As soon as this damned movie production is gone,” I told her this morning over breakfast, “I’ll have time to set up the back bedroom as a nursery. Maybe I can swing by the hardware store and pick up some paint swatches and magazines so you can decide how you want it to be.”

She looked up from her full plate of eggs, toast, and sausage. “You’ve already done so much. I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“It’s not a burden at all. I hope you know that. I’m honored you came to me when you needed to get away.”

She leaned back and stretched her feet onto a nearby chair. Her eyes met mine like interrogation lights. “I need you to stop feeling like this is all your fault. I don’t regret this pregnancy which means I can’t regret being with Nick.”

I turned back to the stove to finish cooking my own eggs. “I’m glad. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

“Look at me, dammit.”

I squeezed my eyes closed before taking the pan off the burner and sliding the fried eggs onto my plate. Once I was settled across from her at the table, I met her eyes again. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t regret everything that happened between me and Nick. I need you to hear that and understand it.”

I shook my head. “If only I’d?—”

“No. I begged you to introduce me to him. When you and I lived next door to each other, I saw him drop you off or come by for dinner or to watch a game with you or whatever. Every time I saw his handsome face, I daydreamed about being with him. You finally agreeing to introduce us wasn’t the same thing as forcing him on me, regardless of your damned savior complex. ”

I gritted my teeth. She was right. She had begged me.

But I still felt like if I hadn’t brought him around our building, she’d have never found herself in his destructive path.

Tessa had moved into the apartment next to mine for security, so she could live in the city but still have someone to rely on like family.

We’d grown up together in Encino. We’d known each other for years, and then I’d accidentally hooked her up with a criminal.

But she was right. She’d begged me for an introduction, and obviously I hadn’t known Nick’s true nature at the time.

“Fine,” I said finally. “But you need to know I don’t feel like taking care of you is a burden.

Taking care of my friend and her baby is a privilege.

Besides Nick, you’ve been my closest friend for five years, Tess.

I love you, and I want you to be happy and healthy.

I want the same for that baby. Let me do this.

Let me take care of you right now. We’ll figure the rest out later.

As you can see, I have plenty of room. When the crazy people from Hollywood aren’t overrunning the town, I actually have time on my hands, too. ”

Her face softened into a smile. “I’m looking forward to it. Shawn showed me around a little, and I really like it here.”

Her cheeks turned pink at the mention of my deputy.

“Did you tell him everything was fine with the pregnancy?” I asked, finally tucking in to my breakfast.

She nodded. “He was worried. He kept texting to make sure I didn’t need anything. Apparently one of his cousins had to go into Denver for similar tests, and he remembered how stressful it was.” She blinked down at her food. “He’s very sweet.”

I agreed and mentioned just how often he’d asked after her the day before at work.

“He did?” she asked, snapping her head up. “Why? I mean… why in the world would he care so much?”

I rolled my eyes. “Gorgeous single woman looking even more gorgeous thanks to a healthy pregnancy? Golly gee, Tess. I surely don’t know.”

She reached out a foot to kick my shin. “I know we were kidding around the other day, but nobody wants to date a pregnant woman. Do they?”

I put down my fork and met her eyes again.

“I am gay. Really very gay. But even I can see how gorgeous you are. Even I want to take care of you and be there for you. Maybe there’s something about seeing a woman so pregnant that calls up our protective instincts.

I don’t know. But I can tell you this. That man is goofy for you.

Penny asked me if she could send over a fruit basket, and Shawn damned near tripped over himself offering to deliver it for her. I don’t think Shawn was kidding.”

She blushed again. “He asked if he could take me to the movies, and I said no.”

That surprised me. “Just because he’s interested doesn’t mean you have to be. It’s okay to say no.”

“But… I am interested. I just feel…”

“If you’re trying to be loyal to Nick, stop that shit right now. I can’t think of anyone who deserves it less.”

Tessa shook her head. “That’s not it. What if I fall for Shawn and he…”

I finally got what she was so afraid of. “What if he turns out to be an asshole, too? That’s something we’re always risking when we give away our hearts, isn’t it?”

We ate our breakfast in companionable silence for a little while before she spoke up again.

“I think… I think I’m going to ask him if he wouldn’t mind taking me to Walmart to get some baby things.

He said he can help me pick out the basics, and if we have questions, he can call one of his sisters or his mom.

” She hesitated a beat. “And maybe I’ll be able to tell how he really feels about my pregnancy, you know?

If he looks uncomfortable or acts weird when faced with the reality of diapers and stuff, I’ll know to be more careful. ”

I glanced over at her with a smile. “I think that sounds like a good plan. And maybe if he passes your test, you can enjoy a nice movie.”

She nodded and let out a breath. “That would be good.”

We finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen.

I kissed the top of her head when it was time to head to work.

“Supposed to thunderstorm pretty bad today, so keep your eye on the weather if you go out,” I told her before heading out to my vehicle.

The sky was deceptively blue, but I’d lived here long enough to know how quickly the storms could come in across the mountains.

I hoped drivers stayed off the roads when the rain came.

Summer storms caused flash flooding that made for perfect hydroplane conditions.

I got to the department and didn’t even make it as far as my office before Penny sent me out on a call. “It’s Mrs. Brainthwaite.”

“Again? Christ, I thought they’d reached a stalemate,” I muttered, reaching for my rain gear just in case I was still out when the rain hit.

“No. It’s not the pet store. Her car was stolen out of her driveway.”

I headed out to her address and discovered she lived in a little blue house tucked a block behind the Mustache Diner. Before I had a chance to turn off my vehicle, Penny called. “Sheriff, the car was just found abandoned behind the high school. I’m sending Deputy Graham to check it out.”

After greeting Mrs. Brainthwaite and taking down a statement that basically amounted to “I woke up and my car was gone,” I called Shawn to ask for an update.

“The keys are in it, Sheriff. Nothing broken or disturbed. But there’s some fast-food trash in the footwell, so we might be able to check surveillance at the drive-thru.”

I glanced back up at Mrs. Brainthwaite. “Ma’am, have you had anyone in doing work here or given anyone access to somewhere you might have left your keys?”

She began shaking her head before stopping mid-shake. “Well, other than Solomon… he takes my car to pick up my prescriptions sometimes.”

I thought of the teenaged son of the couple who owned the diner.

Solo had always seemed like a good kid, so I hoped like hell he hadn’t done this.

I nodded and told her the car would be returned to her after processing.

I suggested she consider getting a video camera doorbell at the very least to keep an eye on who came and went in her driveway.

Then I gave her the number of the young woman in town who helped install them.

Once back in the car, I called Shawn to give him an update on who he might be looking for in that drive-thru footage.

I stopped by the diner to ask Solo about it but learned he wasn’t there.

His father, Pim, gave me his customary cheeky smile.

“Got himself saddled with summer school, actually. The boy takes after me, after all. Failed his literature class. So now he’s stuck with Danny Reyes and a summer full of Shakespeare. The kid is miserable.”

Bill hollered from the kitchen. “Quit sounding so smug about it. The boy’s gonna think you’re proud of him, for god’s sake.”

Pim laughed. “I’m not proud of him when it means I’m the one picking up his shifts. But when he cut out on his homework all semester, I warned him this would happen. He made his bed, and now he’s having to lie in it with Danny Snooze-Fest Reyes. Tell me that’s not karma.”