Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

“Sorry about being an ass out there,” I mumbled. “But that guy is only looking for the scoop so he can tell everyone he got it from the horse’s mouth.”

Finn’s eyes were oddly intense as they met mine. “I liked it. I liked you taking charge. You know how I feel about seeing that side of you, and it’s kind of nice to be… protected. Feel free to take charge of me anytime.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and pointed to the bed. “Don’t tempt me, Finnegan. Get under the covers.”

He smirked at me but did as I said. When he slid beneath the sheets, he let out a groan of happy relief. “God this feels amazing.”

I sat next to him on the bed and ran my fingers through his hair. “I want you to sleep for a while. Ignore those two. Ignore your phone. I need to go back to work for a couple of hours, but then I’ll come back and see how you’re doing, okay?”

He nodded his head and settled deeper into the bed. “Thanks again. I feel better now. Sometimes I think watching you be confident and a little bossy makes me feel like I can do it, too.”

Finn laughed a little as he said it, but I didn’t think he was joking. I was proud of him for insisting he was done for the day, for knowing his limits and making them clear, but I still got the sense he was surrounded by vipers who were bound and determined to control him for their own various agendas.

Sure enough, after kissing him goodbye and closing the bedroom door behind me, both his mom and the sidekick approached me.

“Sheriff,” Lola began, “I’m not exactly sure what your role here is, but I appreciate your help. Poor Finn simply gets overwhelmed sometimes. You can hardly blame him when he has so much responsibility on his shoulders. He just wants to do a good job. His drive to be the best sometimes gets the better of him.”

I couldn’t get an accurate read on Finn’s mother. Sometimes I thought she was opportunistic and manipulative. But then I remembered her original circumstances and wondered if she was simply the product of an insecure upbringing and desperate circumstances. I’d yet to determine what her relationship with Finn would look like if he were to decide to give up acting. Would she accept it? Would she resent him? I wasn’t sure.

“I think it was the dangerous weather conditions on the mountain that got the better of him today,” I said. “Hopefully it was an oversight on the crew’s part rather than dangerous business practices.”

She waved her hand through the air in dismissal. “Nolan is one of the best. Finn is lucky to be on a Nolan Trainor project, and he knows it. This kind of film can make his career, and how fortunate he gets to do the kind of rock climbing scenes he loves. Any other director would have insisted on a stunt double, but Finn wouldn’t hear of it.”

“He refused a stunt double?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Lola’s eyes flickered away, and I kicked myself for pushing it. It was none of my business, and I had no interest in arguing with the woman closest to Finn’s heart. But it annoyed me to hear her imply it had been his choice. His choice had included having his climbing instructor there to oversee everything, something that hadn’t happened today.

I backed off, but only a little. “Hopefully, they’ll have a climbing supervisor on set for any future climbing scenes. I hate to think of him out there with no climbing expert to back him up.”

Kix spoke up. “Bo and Sara are climbers. That’s why they were hired as PAs.”

I held my tongue. Those two, while nice and attentive, were practically children. And if they were trying to get a foothold in the film industry, they would never in a million years stand up to someone as influential as Nolan Trainor.

I nodded and reached for my wallet. “I’ll swing by later to check on him. In the meantime, here’s my card. Please call or text my cell number if you need anything.”

Before I got to the door, I stopped and turned around to pin Kix with a stare. “Any idea how the websites found out about what happened on the mountain so fast?”

Kix glanced at Lola, and in that split second, I came to my conclusion about Lola.

She was opportunistic and selfish. Kix had come here looking for her version of the story because he knew the media had gotten it from her. He’d thought Finn was asleep which meant he’d come in talking to Lola, asking her for the story straight from the horse’s mouth.

“I see,” I said carefully before glancing back at the bedroom door where sweet Finn lay sleeping. While I didn’t want to leave him here with these two assholes, I needed to check in at work and follow up on a few things so I could come back here and spend the evening with Finn. My job was still relatively new, and I couldn’t risk being seen as a sheriff who was just as wowed by the Hollywood celebrities as half the people in town were.