Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

“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.”

Tess heard Shawn’s voice and immediately reached for my phone, I handed it over and left the room again in search of much-needed coffee after my sleepless night. I took a few minutes to sit by myself in the hospital cafeteria and think of what an incredible experience it had been holding Tessa’s hand during the delivery and what a fool Nick was for giving all of it up so easily.

“You fucking idiot,” I murmured under my breath. “You had everything anyone could have wanted, and you fucked it all up.”

It made me double down in my decision to lay my feelings on the line for Finn. As soon as Shawn arrived, I was going to head back to Aster Valley and tell that man I had strong feelings for him.

When I returned to the room and Tess handed me back my phone, I noticed a missed call and a text from Finn. I glanced at Tess. “You could have answered the call from Finn. He probably wants to congratulate you. I sent him some pictures.”

She crinkled her brows. “The phone didn’t ring.”

The damned ringer. I toggled the mute switch back and forth and made sure the volume was all the way up. Then I checked the text.