Page 24 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 2

DECLAN

Getting called out of a warm bed with a hot man pressed tightly against my chest was agony.

The morning I’d awoken at Finn’s place to the insistent buzz of my phone, there’d been a near-fatal car accident out on the highway toward Steamboat.

I’d raced there directly and had spent hours dealing with all of the horrible aspects of a devastating multi-car accident with multiple injuries.

After all of the victims had been taken home or to the hospital, we’d had to spend even more time managing to collect evidence while also diverting traffic.

I’d practically crawled back to the office and spent the rest of the day and evening dealing with the paperwork.

That night I’d fallen into bed without even a word to Tess.

She’d heard about the accident from Shawn and had simply pressed a homemade sandwich and bottle of lemonade into my hands before urging me to eat it in a big bath before climbing into bed.

I’d slept like a brick.

But the following day was even crazier. Crystobell Edmund had booked a magazine photo shoot on the shore of Hungry Lake, which was a couple of miles outside of Aster Valley but easily accessible via a walking path from town.

The tourists walked, biked, or drove there to watch the leading lady strut around in couture gowns and skimpy halter-top bikinis for the photographer.

It was clearly the best of both worlds for the actress.

She was able to preen for her adoring public and earn money for the shoot itself.

In addition, the film people probably loved the extra media attention it brought.

Her adoring fans had their phone cameras out and were no doubt posting like crazy to social media with hashtags like #ComeToAsterValley and #DriveSheriffStoneCrazy or #WhoCaresAboutBoundaries or simply #FreeSideBoobHere.

Deputy Graham and I worked crowd control for several hours while I tried my best not to crane my neck in hopes of a Finn Heller sighting.

No luck. It was a Saturday, which may or may not have meant he had the day off.

Maybe I’d hear from him that evening, or maybe I’d get called out to Matt’s bar again to drag the sexy actor out to the parking lot one more time.

But that didn’t happen. I didn’t hear from him, and when I was inevitably called to Matt’s bar that night, I managed to ascertain there’d been no Finn in the bar all night.

On Sunday, I was grateful to be off the duty roster. Tess and I went to the diner for breakfast where we ran into Gent and Winter. They invited us to join them at their booth since the place was packed, and I enjoyed the chance to introduce Tess to the famous singer and his husband.

I was midbite when Gent casually mentioned setting me up with a friend of his who was coming into town the following week.

“He’s one of our backup drummers and cool as hell. I remember you mentioning mountain biking was one of the reasons you chose Aster Valley, and he rides, too. I thought maybe the two of you could hook up for a ride.”

Instead of choking, I forced myself to swallow and take a sip of coffee. “Oh, uh…”

Tess snorted and leaned forward as if to impart a secret on Gent and Winter. “I’m pretty sure he’s seeing someone already. In secret.”

I turned to her. “Not… not really.”

Now it was Winter who snorted. “You don’t sound convinced.”

My cheeks were hotter than the fresh coffee Pim had just poured me. “I mean, I… there’s someone who…”

I was being ridiculous. This wasn’t middle school. But at the same time, I had no idea what Finn was to me right now. A hookup? A date? A figment of my desperate imagination?

I liked him. A lot. But I also valued his privacy. It wasn’t my place to tell anyone what Finn was up to in his private time. I knew from living in LA that those details were often treated like currency.

Gent caught my eye. “A no, thanks is good enough for me.”

I swallowed and tried to calm down. “No, thanks.”

Winter’s eyes twinkled. “Not sure that’s good enough for me, though. I want the scoop.”

Gent elbowed him. “He clearly isn’t ready to talk about it, babe.”

“It’s just that… I’m not sure…” I realized how stupid I sounded. Gent had mentioned a bike ride. I could do that. “Actually, if you make it clear it’s not a setup or anything, I’d still be up for showing him around the local trails.”

Tess looked happy at the idea. “You could use some fun. You’ve been working so hard lately. I only wish I could go, too. Remember when you took me to Portuguese Bend?”

We talked about biking for a little while.

Gent and Winter expressed interest in trying it out, so we agreed to go as a group the following Friday on my day off.

I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something Finn would want to do as well or if he was even allowed to engage in action sports outside of climbing while he was actively shooting a film.

We lingered a long time over coffee and good conversation, but after Tessa’s third trip to the ladies’ room, I realized she would probably rather walk around than continue being trapped in the booth with us.

The weather was perfect with the typical deep blue sky and warm sunshine Colorado was known for. When we stepped outside the diner, Tess closed her eyes and turned her face to the sun. “God, I love it here,” she murmured. “No hazy smog. No horns honking or sirens blaring.”

After saying goodbye to Gent and Winter, I looped Tessa’s arm through mine and led her toward the market stalls set up in the park in the middle of town. While Saturday mornings in summer were for fruit and vegetable stands, Sunday afternoons were for local crafters.

We meandered through the stalls, stopping here and there to look more closely at various items. Tessa picked out a few baby items, and I bought a small watercolor painting of the sunset painting the granite face of Slye Peak in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows.

While standing in line at a table selling cold drinks, I glanced across the park at a cluster of teenagers laughing in a cluster under a large shade tree.

I recognized Solo from the diner and one of the underage girls I’d kicked out of the bar the other night.

But I also saw a man with very familiar body language.

Finn.

My heart sped up as I watched him gesture wildly. His face widened into a huge grin, and he looked… happy. The happiest I’d seen him yet. The kids around him seemed to be riveted to what he was saying, and something about it was different from the fan interactions I’d seen him have in town.

“Sheriff?”

I blinked and turned back to the line I was standing in, only to find there was no longer a line. Karen Vetter stood looking at me in anticipation. “Can I get you a cold drink? All proceeds benefit Aster Valley High athletics.”

I swallowed and nodded, stepping forward and reaching for my wallet. “Two bottles of water, please.” I glanced over at Finn and the fans surrounding him. “Actually, make that six bottles of water. Thanks, Karen.”

“Anytime, Sheriff.” She stacked the bottles in a little pyramid for me, and I took them in my arms after handing her the cash.

I found Tess sitting at a nearby picnic table talking to a young mother with a baby. I handed her a bottle of water, offered another to the woman sitting with her, and pointed to Finn. “Be right back.”

I wandered over to the group, taking my time in case Finn shot me a fuck off glare. My feelings still stung from not hearing from him the past couple of days, even though logically I knew I wouldn’t have had time to see him.

The phone works both ways, asshole.

There’d been several times since leaving his warm body the other morning when I’d pulled out my phone to message him, but I’d let doubting voices in my head get the better of me.

There were a million reasons this beautiful celebrity wouldn’t want anything to do with a boring small-town sheriff, and I wasn’t quite sure I could handle catching feelings for him just in time for him to roll back out of here in his fancy sports car, never to be seen or heard from again.

Not only that, but I still wasn’t sure I could trust him.

I’d spent almost twenty years learning over and over again how duplicitous some of the players in LA could be.

So many of them were out for themselves or all about their image.

They’d do anything to get special treatment, including pretending to be someone they weren’t.

Finn’s laughter turned to an uncontrolled giggle when one of the teens said something that set everyone off.

He was radiant. Even though he had a ball cap on over his stylish hair, I could see the sparkle in his bright green eyes.

His lips were pink and wide with laughter, and his perfect white teeth made him look like a model.

As he threw his head back, the sun snuck under his ball cap and lit up the spray of freckles over his nose, and I thought right then and there I might actually hurt when he left this town without me.

I didn’t have words for how he made me feel. Like I was a flat paper bag and he was the pop-pop-pop of corn kernels bursting inside. He made me feel warm, excited, full of… something.

I sucked in a breath. Finn turned his head at the sound and caught my eye. Was it possible for a man’s face to light up even more? Holy fuck, I was gone for him. I’d come to Aster Valley and fallen for a Hollywood star. This wasn’t the way my life was supposed to go.

I cleared my throat and held out the remaining water bottles. “I, uh…”

The teens turned to look at me. Finn took his sweet time sauntering closer. He moved like liquid sex in faded jeans and his plain T-shirt.

I felt sweat pool under my arms and behind my neck.

“Are those for me?” he asked softly.

I swallowed. How could I speak without telling him that I wanted him, that he was perfect, that he was somehow irrevocably mine ?

I nodded instead.