Megs’ gaze shifted to Darius. “And what does our town marshal think of this?”
Under the table, Darius squeezed Sasha’s hand. “I just want Sasha to be happy. If she thinks it’s time to leave professional climbing, then I support her.”
Mitch poured more wine. “What do you plan to do with your time?”
Sasha met Darius’ gaze, the warmth in his eyes encouraging her. “I was wondering if I could talk with you about changing my role with the Team. I’d like to become your apprentice, Megs. I’d like to learn how to manage the operation.”
Megs closed her eyes, exhaled as if she were relieved.
When she opened her eyes again, Sasha could see a gleam of humor. “Did you hear that, Mitch? Sasha wants to train to take my place in the unlikely event I don’t live forever. What do you think?”
Mitch laughed. “Well, if she’s going to take your place, one thing is certain. She’s going to have to learn to be a lot meaner.”
Sasha laughed, then tried to imitate Megs’ deeper voice. “I might could do that.”
“When are you sending out that press release?” Megs asked.
“Watch.” Sasha copied the text, pasted it into a box on her Facebook page, and clickedPost, a lump in her throat. “There.”
Megs stood, came around the table to hug Sasha. “You know, Mitch and I don’t have kids, but if we’d ever had a child, I would want her to be just like you.”
Darius satwith Sasha in their newly installed hot tub, both of them naked, nothing but stars above them. They scanned social media for responses to Sasha’s announcement that she was retiring from professional climbing.
“Apparently, I’m pregnant. Did you know? I didn’t.”
Beneath the water, Darius’ hand caressed her flat belly. “I had no idea.”
“This guy says you made me stop climbing. You bad, bad man.”
Darius made a disapproving grunt. “I knew someone would think that.”
Sasha set her phone aside and turned to face him. “I don’t care what they think. I did what was best for me, for us, and now I’m ready for the next chapter in my life.”
Darius kissed her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve dealt with worse.”
She leaned against his chest, her palm against one of his pecs, the feel of her precious. God, he had missed her.
Then he remembered. “I have it on very good authority that the Town Council is going to rename Third Street after you—Sasha Dillon Street.”
Third Street had been chosen because the climbing gym was there.
She gaped at him. “Really?”
“Really.” Darius wondered if she truly understood how much she meant to this town. He thought he’d known when he moved here, but the devotion he’d seen these past couple of months had blown his mind.
She was a hometown hero.
Sasha’s expression changed from surprise to worry. “Are you truly happy here?”
Darius was taken aback by her question. “Am I happy?”
“So much of this past year has been me chasing titles and big dreams. But you’ve sacrificed so much. You moved to a new town, started a new job. You’ve held things together while I’ve been away. I just hope you’re not disappointed.”
Darius laughed. “Disappointed? How could I be disappointed?”
“Well, you—”
He pressed his fingers to her lips. “I love my new job. Being the town marshal is a lot more interesting and fun than being a detective. Do you know how nice it is to get up in the morning and know that I most likely won’t have to see a dead body or tell someone that the person they love is gone?”
