Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

For about four minutes.

“I don’t understand,” I told Darius behind the counter. “What do you mean no bear claws?”

“I mean… we delivered them all down to the Gold Rats set. For craft services, you know? That movie has been amazing for business,” he enthused. But whatever expression he saw on my face had him licking his lips nervously. “Sorry about the bear claws, though, Sheriff.”

“Not at all. Don’t give it another thought.” It wasn’t Darius’s fault that the movie people were on a mission to destroy my breakfast and my peace of mind.

But the strikes against Gold Rats—and seriously, what was that name even about?—were adding up.

After dropping off the donuts and chatting up the firefighters for a while, Penny radioed to tell me they needed Shawn to fill out some paperwork. He and I spent the rest of the afternoon going over department protocol and housekeeping. He was easygoing but alert and attentive, and I decided I liked him.

When we joined the rest of the guys at Pie Hole, I introduced Shawn around. He played it cool with Tiller and gave his same easy smile to everyone at the large table.

“Any more trouble with the film folks since last night?” Tiller asked me once we’d ordered a couple of pitchers of beer and some pizzas.

“Not exactly.” I did not mention the breakfast food debacle.

“Wait,” Truman asked. “What happened last night?” The smaller man was tucked against his boyfriend’s side. Sam looked exhausted, and I was sure he’d been working his ass off getting the lodge and the chalets ready for the cast and crew who would be staying there for the next few weeks. As the general contractor on the lodge and ski resort project, he was undoubtedly burning the candle at both ends.

I opened my mouth to explain it was no big deal, but Chaya, who’d tagged along with Truman, leaned in and took over the story.

“That kid from Cast in Clover thought the good sheriff here was some kind of parking attendant,” she said. “Asked him to take care of his McLaren.”

A tableful of gasps surrounded me. “Oh no he did not,” Mikey said with a mischievous grin. “Finn Heller thought you were the valet?”

I shot Chaya a look. “How do you even know what happened?”

Her dark eyes danced almost as wildly as her big curly hair. “Because I heard him and his little groupie pal talking about it after you left. I was going to tell you about it this morning, but we were slammed.”

Tiller chuckled. “I hope you took that bad boy for a joyride.”

For a split second—seriously, just a sliver of a hot moment—I pictured a naked Finn Heller mounted on top of me. But then I realized Tiller had meant the car.

“No kidding,” Shawn said with eyes twinkling. “When in your life would you ever even get a chance to see a McLaren, much less drive one?”

I didn’t point out that I’d come here from the land of the douchemobiles. Expensive sports cars did absolutely nothing for me, and I’d also witnessed my fair share of them being repossessed from people who couldn’t actually afford them.

I swallowed a sip of beer. “Suffice to say, dealing with that prima donna was confirmation I did the right thing moving here,” I said lightly. “I wanted a slower pace of life, more natural beauty around me, and a town full of nice, genuine people. So far, so good on all three. Hopefully they’ll shoot their film and get gone without causing trouble along the way.”

Gentry Kane, who was a celebrity in his own right as a musician, leaned forward and clinked beer mugs with me. “Hear, hear. I found everything I ever wanted here in Aster Valley, and I don’t want the paparazzi to come in here and mess it up.”

After taking a sip of his beer, he leaned over and pressed a kiss onto his husband’s cheek. Winter blushed and turned to meet him with another kiss on the lips.

My heart did a strange twisty thing I was beginning to recognize. It was a combination of happiness and envy. I loved having so many new queer friends in town, but they all seemed to be matched up with their perfect someone already. While it was great for them, it made me more painfully aware of my single status than I usually was.

Maybe I hadn’t been completely truthful with Penny in my attitude about being single, but that still didn’t mean I wanted an office romance. It was my job to make sure the sheriff’s department was completely aboveboard. But maybe I could find someone else here in Aster Valley. Someone normal and nice.

LA had been too much of a hookup scene and not enough of a dating scene for my taste. I was almost forty. Hookups were fine, amazing even, but I wanted a partner. I wanted a family. Seeing these men and their partners made me want it even more.