Page 49 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 2
EPILOGUE
DECLAN - SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
“I feel like I’m going to puke.”
I rubbed Finn’s lower back in the soothing way he liked.
“You’re not going to puke.” I wished there weren’t so many layers between my palm and his skin, but I had to deal with it.
Not only was it cold in Aster Valley in December, but as the director of the play, he was expected to wear a coat and tie.
Finn Heller in a coat and tie was a borderline violation of public decency laws. I was staying extra vigilant by keeping my eyes laser focused on him just in case I needed to make an arrest.
“This is worse than the time I had to sing at the Emmys with Dolly Parton,” he said, shocking me out of my inappropriate—and honestly way too frequent—sheriff/perp sex fantasy.
“The Emmy people put you in a duet with Dolly Parton?” I asked incredulously. I’d never heard that story, even though we’d been living together four months now. And Finn was a talker. I loved his stories, but I’d have remembered a Dolly story.
He shot me a glare. “I can sing. I can sing just fine.”
“No, of course you can.” He couldn’t. “Of course. It’s just…”
“Fine. It was a gag sketch between award presentations. Whatever. Anyway, this is way worse.”
I bit back a laugh. “They’re going to be fine. You’ve been practicing every night for weeks.”
Finn and I looked out onto the Aster Valley High stage while the curtain was still closed. Solo was trying to laugh silently at something Abbie Vollmer had said. Every time she shot him her “moody Kate” look, as Finn called it, Solo cracked up again.
“It’s going to be good, isn’t it?” Finn asked me in a soft voice only I could hear. The crowd made enough noise on the other side of the curtain to cover up his words. They were still busy finding their seats and chatting with friends.
“Babe, it’s going to be amazing. Last night’s dress rehearsal had me in tears I was laughing so hard. Plus, they’re clearly having so much fun with it. I love that you let the kids put their own spin on the story.”
Finn’s smile was shy but proud. “That’s the whole point of what I wanted to teach them in class. This stuff is timeless. The themes and issues can be put into modern…” His cheeks darkened as his voice trailed off. “And you’ve heard me talk about this a million times already. Sorry.”
“I never get tired of seeing how happy you are in your new job. You have to know that by now. Even if I have to send a patrol vehicle over here to lure you out of work sometimes.”
Tessa came rushing up and handed Finn something tiny along with a bottle of water.
“Headache medicine. Trust me, it’s a preventive for afterward when all the parents come to meet you under the guise of ‘thanking you’ for putting on the play for little Timmy and Tonya.
Remember the night of the parent-teacher conferences? ”
Hell. That night had been sheer hell. Finn had come home looking like he’d been jumped and stripped for parts. “They’re uh… really excited I’m their kids’ new teacher…” he’d said in a daze.
Finn took the pills and threw them back in his mouth before gulping water. He muttered something about the poorest service being repaid with thanks. I was fairly sure it was a quote from the play.
After swallowing the meds, he winked at Tess. “Thanks. Where’s Hoss?”
She laughed. She didn’t think it was funny when I called Conley the same nickname, but Finn could get away with murder when it came to that baby, and anything else for that matter.
“Shawn’s parents came to town to watch him so we could come see the show. We’re going out to dinner after this. By ourselves. Without the baby .” She looked almost reverent. “Like a real date that real people get to go on. By themselves.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Finn and I had offered to watch Conley plenty. It wasn’t our fault she didn’t trust us to be alone with him.
Finn leaned over to me and spoke under his breath. “10-32.”
I sighed. Fine. So there’d been one teeny time when we came a little bit too close to letting the kid drown in his bathtub. But it had been fine. And who had better access to EMTs than the sheriff? No one.
Finn straightened back up and gave Tess his red-carpet smile, the one I couldn’t wait to see in person on the actual red carpet when Gold Rats was released next spring and I accompanied Finn to the premiere.
Nolan Trainor’s shocking diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease had rocked the film industry and shocked the cast and crew of Gold Rats , including Finn.
Ironically, it had been the medical testing after he hit his head that had led to his diagnosis.
It had explained his rapid mood shifts and inability to retain critical information such as safety and legal regulations.
That hadn’t explained the DP and stunt coordinator who’d been complicit, though.
The three men would be wound up in red tape for a long time to come.
Meanwhile, the film was able to finish under the directorial guidance of a woman named Lan Iradia, who’d been about the quirkiest human being I’d ever met.
But she’d been a rule follower which was good enough for me.
As soon as filming wrapped, Finn had packed up his house, shipped everything to a storage unit in Aster Valley, and driven straight through until pulling into my driveway and flinging himself bodily at me.
I’d been on cloud nine ever since, but I hadn’t actually fully relaxed until he’d gotten the job as the head of the drama department at Aster Valley High. The look on his face had been enough to convince me this was it. He was here for good.
“We’d better get this show on the road,” Finn said. “Go find your seats.”
Tess grabbed my hand. “Come on, we saved you one with us.”
I squeezed her hand and asked for a minute before looking back at Finn and taking his hands in mine.
“You’re going to be amazing. You are amazing.
Your kindness and passion overwhelm me. Your love for others and for fun and growth and giving back…
” I took a breath. “I am in awe of you, Finnegan Heller. And tonight is proof you can do anything you put your mind to. You have so much talent to share with the world, and this is just one of many, many examples.”
He scraped his lip with his teeth. “Damn you,” he breathed. “I hate you so much right now.”
I leaned in and pressed a long kiss against his cheek. We’d agreed a long time ago not to be too “ooey-gooey” in front of the kids while he was at work, but this was a moment that deserved coming close.
“I love you so much,” I whispered against his skin, the skin that felt warm and familiar against mine. That smelled like coffee, woodsmoke, and the floral shampoo he special-ordered from his stylist in LA. He smelled like comfort and home.
He smelled like mine.
And I was never letting him go.
“I love you, too, now go!” he said before turning and hustling away.
I took a minute to make sure his ass was to code before turning and allowing Tessa to lead me to our seats.
“Did you decide on a Christmas gift for him?” she asked softly without looking over at me.
“Yes. And it’s a good thing you reminded me to shop early. Mikey and Sam called to ask for security help with some big family reunion group that’s staying at the lodge this weekend.”
“What did you decide on?”
“A ring.”
Tessa had learned the art of the slow-pan from the master.
“Tell. Me. Everything.” She yanked me down in my seat and ignored Shawn on her other side.
My heart thumped excitedly in my chest. I couldn’t wait to see his face on Christmas morning when I asked him to be mine forever. “It’s black zirconium on the outside and rose gold on the inside.”
“Oooh! He’s going to flip.”
I nodded. He really was. “And I had it engraved with a Shakespeare quote from Taming of the Shrew .”
Tessa fluttered her hand over her heart where her own engagement ring sparkled under the bright auditorium house lights. We’d come a long way from our lonely single days in LA.
The lights suddenly dimmed, and Tess and I had to stop talking. I tried to focus on the show, but when scene two began, I couldn’t help but listen out for the line I’d selected for Finn’s ring.
“Sit by my side and let the world slip…”
I blew out a slow breath and sat back. Neither of us was in purgatory anymore.
And our piece of paper would never be blank again.