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“It’s a long story. Everything okay with you and the baby?” I asked her.
“Yep. This little monster is on a salad kick which is probably a good thing. Tell Finn if he wants a couch potato buddy to watch movies with, I’m his gal.”
“I will. Call or text if you need me, okay?”
“Declan?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to be everyone’s person, you know.”
She knew how hard that would be for me to hear regardless of how right she was. “What if I want to?” I teased her. I knew she didn’t mean to imply I shouldn’t be there for Finn. She was more selfless than that.
“I’m just saying, I’m okay for a while. Go be with Finn. He needs you. Besides, your friend Truman brought over a basket of fresh veggies from his garden and asked if I wanted to come hang out at his spice shop this evening. He’s doing some kind of seminar on homeopathic stuff for preggos and new parents. He said it’s a good place to connect with other Aster Vallians who are… what did he call it?… ‘harboring a fugitive.’” Her laugh rang out and made me smile. “I forgot to tell you that. I died laughing. He’s freaking adorable.”
When I arrived at the diner, I quickly ended the call and made my way inside to pick up the food. Solo was finishing packing everything up at the front counter.
“Hey, Sheriff,” he said with a smile. “Your crew at the station are going to love you today.”
“I’m off duty,” I said. “Taking it to Finn and some folks up at the lodge.”
He glanced over where Pim was busy taking someone’s order. He lowered his voice. “Ah. Well, tell him I said we’re on for another session on Wednesday night.”
“I’ll let him know. Hey, Solo? You’ve been doing some odd jobs for Mrs. Brainthwaite. Any chance you know what’s going on with her car?”
He looked at me in confusion as he swiped my credit card through the machine. “What do you mean? Is it acting up? I’m not really good with mechanical stuff about cars.”
“No, nothing like that. I keep meaning to ask you about this. Her car has been taken out of her driveway several times and left around town. She said sometimes she loans it to you…”
Suddenly, Solo’s face widened in fear. “Sheriff Stone, you have to know I would never, ever use her car without permission. I promise.”
I shook my head and tried reassuring him. “No. Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you took it. I was only wondering if there’d been a misunderstanding or anything.”
He pursed his lip for a minute while my receipt printed out. He slid it with a pen over for my signature. “Are you sure… I mean… she’s kinda getting up there. And sometimes she gets a little confused? I wonder if maybe she’s forgetting loaning it to someone else or… I don’t know. But I told my dads about a time earlier this summer when she called me the wrong name. They said it sometimes happens when you get older, but it seems like it’s happening more and more.”
Shit. I was going to have to figure out how to handle a delicate situation. But I was glad Solo didn’t have anything to do with the joyrides. When Finn had mentioned him wanting a car, I hadn’t known what to think.
“Okay, I’ll handle it. Thanks.” I picked up the big bags of takeout containers. “And tell Pim and Bill thanks, too.”
“You’ll tell Finn about the… thing?”
I nodded. “Promise.”
When I got back to the chalet, it was a damned circus. I handed most of the food bags to the PAs and told them to take everyone outside to the picnic tables and hand out the food. I recognized both the director and the show runner right away.
It took all of my self-control to put on my diplomatic mask. “Nolan, Shelly, nice to see you again.”
Nolan’s eyes widened comically, and he turned to Shelly as if to ask her what the hell the sheriff was doing there. She shrugged and kept her eyes on me.
“Sheriff, what can we help you with?” she asked.
I held up the remaining bag of food. “Burger delivery for the leading actor. Aster Valley is a full-service town.”
While they stood there trying to figure out what the hell I’d meant, I slipped past them into Finn’s bedroom.
“Please stop, Mom,” Finn was saying, pushing her hand away where she seemed to be doing that mother thing of putting the back of her hand against his forehead. “I don’t have a fever. I’m fine. I just want some peace and quiet for a little while. Can you please—”
He noticed me standing by the door, and his lips curved into a smile. His face had a bandage on it, and I noticed another on one of his elbows. He’d managed to get the T-shirt on and was partway under the covers in his bed. His hair had partially dried into a mismatch of brown waves.
