to the house and came up short as soon as he saw Tessa uncurl from the shadows of the rocking chair on the front porch.
As soon as her big belly came into view, the image of Gene Stanner threatening his pregnant daughter-in-law flashed into my memory. I grabbed Tess in a fierce hug and held her for a long minute. “So glad you’re okay,” I whispered into the side of her hair.
She held me just as tightly. She’d been with Nick long enough to know something bad had probably happened on the job, so she simply let me hold her until the moment passed.
I pulled back and held up the shopping bag with a forced smile. “Truckload of pork products and sugar syrup, just for you,” I said proudly.
She clapped her hand over her mouth and bolted for the house.
“Are you crazy?” Shawn hissed at me. “You don’t use the phrase ‘pork products’ around a pregnant lady. For god’s sake, Sheriff. Don’t you know anything by now? She looks at least seven months along. Where you been for the last seven months?”
I led him into the house and to the kitchen where I had him take a seat at the table. “I’ve only had her in my house since Tuesday night. She was in LA until then. So, no. I’m not all that familiar with cravings and sickness yet.”
After putting the groceries away, I opened a beer and set it in front of him before getting one for myself. He took a sip while I went down the hall to my bedroom to find the first aid kit. When I got back, Tessa was sitting on a seat next to him with a tall glass of ice water in front of her, and Shawn was fussing around her like a granny.
“You cold? Want me to fetch that quilt? When my sister Madison is pregnant, she can never get warm enough,” Shawn babbled. I noticed his cheeks were a little pinker than normal.
I cleared my throat, and he jumped. “Sorry, Sheriff. I was only trying to make Mrs. Stone comfortable.”
Tess made a choking sound, and I snorted out a laugh. “This is not Mrs. Stone. And what happened to you calling me Declan at least outside of work? Tessa, this is Deputy Shawn Graham. Shawn, this is my friend Tessa.”
She reached out her hand to shake Shawn’s. “Nice to meet you. Sorry for the less than ideal welcome.”
Shawn blushed some more. “It’s understandable. He shouldn’t have… said what he did.” He blinked at me and realized he’d called me out in my own home. “Sorry, Sher… Declan.”
I nodded.
Tessa said, “I’m just here visiting for a little while. I used to be with Dec’s former partner on the force back in LA before… some stuff happened. Now I’m single, and I wanted to get out of LA for a while.” She rubbed her belly absently.
“You’re staying,” I said gruffly before taking a gulp of the beer. “I think you should stay.”
Shawn nodded. “Aster Valley’s a nice place, ma’am. Much better place to raise that little one than LA if you don’t mind a nosy opinion.”
She gave him a small smile. “It’s beautiful here. Are you from Colorado?”
The two of them made small talk while I thought back through the events of the evening. I couldn’t get over the look of fear on Finn’s face. I would have expected to feel smug, to think I told you so because police work was dangerous and unpredictable like I’d tried to tell him, but then I remembered his eager questions earlier in the day when he’d tried his hardest to get to know me, to make a personal connection. And I’d shut him down.
After a while I realized Shawn and Tessa had been talking for a while. I looked over and saw Tessa taping a clean bandage on Shawn’s eyebrow. Debris from her little first aid session littered the place mat in front of them.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “My mind was wandering. She get you sorted out?”
“Yes, and I’m grateful. But it’s late, and Tessa here probably needs to get some sleep. I didn’t mean to keep you up like this.”
She grinned at him. “It’s no bother. Now I at least know someone else besides Declan here in Aster Valley, so it was worth staying up.”
Shawn fingered the uniform hat in his hands. “If you want… I mean…” His eyes flicked at me and back at Tessa. “I could show you around. I have the afternoon