Page 44 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 2

I felt arms come around my neck from behind, and Finn’s unique scent hit my nose.

I closed my eyes for a beat to drink it in.

“My ears were burning,” he said before leaning in to press a kiss against my cheek, then temple, then neck.

I shivered and reached for his wrist to pull him around so I could see him.

He was drop-dead beautiful, this sexy leading man I wanted so desperately to be a fixture in my life. “I thought you were filming the night scene?” I asked, pulling him onto my lap. The guys around us scrambled to get a chair for him, and after giving him a quick squeeze, I let him settle into it.

“They moved it to tomorrow night because of a maintenance issue with the helicopter. It means I have to bring the climbing supervisor back tomorrow, but that’s fine.

I was hoping to find you here. Janine said to try the Roadhouse or Pie Hole.

I was hoping you were here because I could go for some pizza. I’m starving.”

It was so good to see him, I couldn’t stop staring.

The guys around the table welcomed him and introduced themselves if they hadn’t already met him.

I strode up to the bar to grab a cup and another pitcher of beer as well as put in an order for a greek salad I knew he’d probably want in addition to the pizza.

When I got back to the table, I saw him laughing with my friends.

I froze for a minute and thought back to the last time I’d been here and how I’d felt looking around the group of men, wishing I could feel a part of them and realizing I did.

Now it was even better. Not only did I truly feel like I had a group of friends, but there was Finn Heller, sitting and laughing with them as if he was simply… one of us.

Mine.

He glanced over at me with a frown, obviously wondering why I’d stopped before reaching the table. I continued over to him and set down the glass and pitcher before taking his face in both hands.

“Please tell me I can kiss you in public,” I said softly.

“Please tell me you will,” he replied. Before I had a chance to lean in, he added, “But know there are consequences. Like…”

Suddenly, I saw the fear in his eyes. I knew he meant media interference, attention I may not want. But if that was part of being with Finn, then that was inevitable anyway. I didn’t want to hide my feelings about him from anyone.

I leaned in slowly so he had plenty of time to stop me.

He didn’t.

We kissed for a full minute before the guys at the table began throwing up score numbers with their fingers. When I pulled away from Finn, he looked a little pink-lipped and dazed.

“So fucking gorgeous,” I murmured before sliding into my seat again.

“You’re dangerous, Sheriff Happycock,” he said, revealing he’d heard plenty of the teasing that had gone on before I’d noticed his arrival. Mikey snorted out a mouthful of beer, and everyone else started laughing.

“Not sure happy is the word to describe it at the moment,” I grumbled to Finn.

“Take me home later. I’ll make sure to fix it.”

The rest of the evening was some of the most fun I’d had since coming to Aster Valley.

My friends were used to spending time with celebrities, and it didn’t faze them.

Gent and Finn talked about some mutual acquaintances they knew in the entertainment industry, and Mikey updated us on Tiller’s upcoming season.

We left the restaurant on a high. Good food, decent beer, great company. When Finn mentioned his mother returning to LA, it was even better. “My place?” he suggested with bouncing eyebrows. “I had housekeeping come through after Mom left. Should be fresh and clean for us.”

“Did they smudge it with sage? If not, Truman might have?—”

Finn elbowed me in the side. “She’s not an evil spirit. Just a misguided one. I’ve decided to forgive her for being young and ignorant and for making bad choices. She made a lot of good ones, too.”

I pulled him closer before we reached his car. “Hey, I’m sorry. I was just joking about?—”

“No, I know. I just… I’ve learned some not great things about my mom this week, and I’m coming to terms with it.”

When we returned to the chalet, we sat curled up together on the sofa while he told me more about his mom, how she’d gotten him into acting and become “that” stage mom.

He talked about his conflicting feelings, knowing she was desperate but also wishing he’d been able to have a “normal” childhood out of the media spotlight.

I loved hearing so much about his experience and his feelings.

It made me feel closer to him. We hadn’t talked about our relationship yet, but we shared the kind of vulnerabilities with each other that created that kind of intimacy.

We’d blown well past casual sex territory into “I want this to become something real” territory.

But tonight wasn’t the night to press. He was tired and a little sad, mourning the last vestiges of thinking his mother was anything more than a regular person with regular faults.

After brushing our teeth and stripping off our clothes, we slid between clean sheets and made love slowly and silently, using our hands and lips to tell each other how we felt. It was both intense and familiar, something I’d both already had with him and desperately wanted from him again and again.

I fell asleep wondering for the first time in six months if I would even consider moving back to LA in order to pursue a real relationship with Finn when Gold Rats filming wrapped.

I had it bad. And it was time for me to tell him.

The next day, Finn went to work, and I did the same, but just when I was ready to clock out for the day and check in with Finn before his night climb, Penny came racing into my office.

“It’s Tessa! She couldn’t get a hold of your cell. She’s having pains and bleeding. Should I send a bus?”

I scrambled for my cell phone and noticed three missed calls and two missed texts. My phone’s ringer had been acting up ever since the night I’d gone to Slye Peak in the rain and gotten it wet. It was supposed to be water-resistant, but at this rate, that appeared to be bullshit.

I quickly got her on the line. “Where are you?”

“The house. I’m scared. I think we should go to Denver. To the specialist. Remember what they said about?—”

I snapped to get Penny’s attention and nodded at her, mouthing, “Get a bus.” An ambulance would be the best way to make sure she was in good hands as soon as possible. Penny ran off to arrange it.

“Tess, I’m sending an ambulance to the house,” I said, keeping my voice calm.

“I’m sure it’s overkill, but let’s not take any chances.

I’ll call the specialist and ask what they want us to do, but at least at Aster Valley Med you’ll be in good hands in case it’s something that can’t wait.

” Or in case it needed transport by helicopter, but I didn’t want to scare her.

I raced out to my SUV and went straight to the hospital.

When they arrived, one of the EMTs I knew from the job gave me a look that said we’d probably be going to Denver in the air ambulance.

Sure enough, within twenty minutes of being seen by the resident OBGYN, we were off to the city.

I wasn’t allowed to ride in the helicopter, but I got on the road in the SUV as quickly as I could, calling Penny to give her an update and then leaving a voicemail for Finn to tell him I wouldn’t be back that night.

After trying Shawn with no success, I remembered he was deep in the middle of the backcountry somewhere fishing with his dad and brothers. “Fuck,” I muttered, calling Penny back. “Hey, do you have an emergency contact for Shawn? I need to get a message to him about Tess.”

She patched me through to Shawn’s mother, and I explained politely who I was and that there was an item I needed to speak to him about as soon as possible when he came out of the woods.

It wasn’t a long trip, I didn’t think. He’d only asked for one full day off work.

If I wasn’t mistaken, it was a one- or two-night thing.

When I finally arrived at the hospital in Denver, Tessa had already been examined, and the doctors had decided to do a C-section in order to alleviate the preeclampsia and avoid abruption.

None of that sounded good. I knew preeclampsia had been the fear that had sent us to the specialist in the first place.

She’d had some childhood cardiac issues that had caused the need for additional monitoring, but I hadn’t expected it to culminate in an emergency C-section like this.

The doctor asked if I wanted to suit up and come into the operating room with them.

I glanced at Tess. “Mother’s prerogative.”

She got teary at the word “mother” and shot me the bird. “Of course I want you in there.”

She didn’t mention Shawn, but I knew she was thinking of him.

“I left a message with Shawn’s mom to have him call me as soon as he gets back in range.”

The next few hours were a whirlwind that resulted in the most perfect baby boy who’d ever lived. He was fat and purple, squinch-faced and loud as a siren. But he was healthy, and so was she.

And I was so incredibly grateful.

It was five in the morning when I finally had a chance to check my phone. I didn’t want to wake Finn yet, but I was happy to see a missed call from Shawn. I called him back right away.

“Is she okay?” he asked without even saying hello.

“She’s perfect. And so is her baby boy. We’re at the hospital in Denver, and I’m sure she’d love to have you here.”

I could tell he’d started crying. “It’s a boy? Really? And they’re both healthy? She’s okay? He’s okay? Are they?—”

I cut him off with a laugh because I knew exactly how he felt. “Hang on, let me turn on FaceTime.” I stepped back into Tessa’s room and showed Shawn the new mother and my little siren of a faux nephew. “Aren’t they incredible?”

“Yeah, they are! I’m heading to Denver now! Be there by midmorning.”