Chapter 9

Four weeks later in Denver…

The last four weeks seemed like a blur to Shawn. Everything had happened so quickly. The hospital had called in the middle of Shawn's first night back in Denver to tell them that Mike Riley had died. They had rushed to the hospital to see him one last time and say their goodbyes. Kate, Shawn and Theodore had cried in each others arms all night long. Even though they knew that Mike's life was coming closer to an end they couldn't wrap themselves around the fact that it happened so fast.

The next morning Kate had called Ashley's school and informed them that she wouldn't come today. She and Shawn had quietly sat down with the little girl and told her how her grandpa's best friend had joined her daddy in heaven.

She had looked at them in tears. "But he's not feeling any pain anymore, right? And daddy isn't alone anymore and he'll look after him. They can talk and play cards together."

Shawn still couldn't believe how this 8 year old girl had made both of the grown ups speechless. She was right. Mike wasn't in pain anymore and he hadn't had to suffer too long. And if there really was a heaven up there he would be united with his best friend's son in law who had died of cancer 3 years ago.

The funeral was five days later. It was only a small ceremony since Mike was never really a man of many friends and he didn't have an own family either. When the ceremony was over, a small group of people stayed behind standing in front of his grave. Theodore had his left arm wrapped around his daughter's shoulder while she was holding hands with Shawn. None of them was able to hold back their tears at the sight of the marble tombstone.

The opening of the will had taken place the day after. Mike had stated in his will that one quarter of his fortune would go to Theodore and one quarter to Kate while the rest of his money as well as his company and all of his other properties and belongings would go to Shawn.

Not once in this one week he had bothered calling his dad or Gus or Juliet. He had just shut his phone off and never turned it back on.

In the following week he was crushed by a wave of grief. He tried to numb it by drinking, which only caused him the worst hangover in his entire life. Then he started working out like a maniac. He spent most of his day in the gym in the basement of the mansion that now belonged to him. He barely slept and ate. Only the constant rush of his pulse seemed to help him through the first two weeks without Mike.

The third week after the death of Mike meant going back to business as usual. The attorneys of the Riley Hotel group had called him to take part in a board meeting to discuss the future development of the company. Shawn had followed their wish reluctantly and was now officially the head of the company.

Shawn had finally sent an email to Gus, Juliet and his dad stating he was okay. He still couldn't get himself to call them. He knew that they would want to know what had happened and he wasn't ready to talk about it. He wasn't ready to relive this whole nightmare.

In the fourth week Shawn finally calmed down a little. His mood became lighter again and everyone in the house was glad to see a glimpse of the real Shawn.

In Santa Barbara…

To say that Juliet O'Hara was pissed was the understatement of the year. She was way beyond the point of simply being pissed by now. Four weeks and all she got was an email.

'I'm ok. Don't worry.' She snorted when she saw the words on the computer screen again. And no word from Shawn since then.

In the first two weeks after he basically bolted she had been worried sick, especially when he hadn't called her even though he had promised the day before. Gus and Henry had tried to calm her down. Both of them had experienced Shawn's behavior before and knew that he'd come around eventually.

Worry was followed by disappointment. Declan had called her a few times telling her he was sorry and wanted to get back together. She needed her best friend Shawn more than anything at that time and he wasn't there to help her. He broke his promise again.

When the email finally came she almost couldn't contain herself. That was the one day she had beaten Lassiter at the shooting range to blow of some steam.

It didn't help her mood at all that the Chief had called the FBI to take over the Rose Murderer case since she didn't get anywhere with it.

She had stopped by his apartment once a week to see if he had come back. But he hadn't come back. In the third week she had peered through a window and found herself shocked when she realized that all of his stuff was missing and there was a 'to let' sign taped to his door. Where were all of his things and who moved them?

Finally after three and a half weeks she had tracked Shawn's cell phone. It had popped up in Denver. So he didn't go anywhere else. There weren't any calls getting in or out but it was on which had to mean that he had to charge it once in a while which meant that he was still alive.

In Denver…

Juliet only took a split second to decide to follow him when she had found out where he was. Three days later she had checked into her hotel in Denver and was sitting in a rental car in front of the house where Shawn's phone signal came from. 'House' was an understatement though. It was huge with an enormous garden and even a swimming pool in the backyard as far as she could tell. She got out of her car and walked around the premise in order to get a glance at the situation.

Rounding a corner she finally found a spot with a good view, but when she looked through the fence she felt like her heart stopped for a second. There was Shawn Spencer (a very much alive Shawn Spencer) chasing a little blonde girl around the garden. Both of them were laughing loudly and the girl screamed in delight when Shawn picked her up and whirled her through the air. Then a brunette woman stepped out on the porch and called out to them. "Lunch is ready. Get in the house you two."

Shawn and the girl stopped in their tracks. "Better listen to mommy before she gets mad." Shawn told the girl and they raced back to the house. Juliet felt like someone had punched her flat in the stomach when Shawn gave the brunette woman a brief kiss on the cheek before he slung his arm around her waist and they stepped back into the house.

What the hell was going on?

She decided to head back to the hotel and take a shower and eat something before facing him.

Two hours later

Kate was sitting in the living room eyeing her daughter while she was doing her homework. Shawn had to go back to a business meeting and she was sipping on her coffee absentmindedly when the door bell rang.

"I'll get it, Ash." She exclaimed when she got up.

She went to the intercom and answered it. "Who's there?"

"Juliet O'Hara. I'd like to talk to Shawn Spencer." A female voice said.

Kate looked at the video monitor and was startled for a moment. Juliet O'Hara? Was that Shawn's Juliet? She hesitated for a moment. "He's not home right now but you can come in and wait. It shouldn't take too long before he comes home."

"Okay." Juliet swallowed hard. Home. This wasn't his home. His home was back in Santa Barbara. Right?

The huge iron gate opened and Juliet stepped inside. Kate opened the front door when she came closer.

"Welcome. I'm Kate Brooks." She stretched out her hand and Juliet shook it. "Come on in. Do you want a coffee or anything else to drink? Have you had lunch yet?"

"Coffee would be nice. You've got a beautiful house." She said while they walked through the entrance hall into the kitchen.

"It isn't mine actually. But I've lived here my whole life with my dad. He works for the owner. Well worked." She added with sadness in her eyes. "Shawn lets us stay here anyway."

"Wait. Are you telling me that this is Shawn's house?" Juliet asked in disbelief.

"Yes it is. Sugar or milk?" Kate asked if it didn't mean anything that Shawn owned a huge mansion.

"Uh… both." She answered irritated. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person here?"

"Yup, pretty sure. He talks about you a lot." Kate mused. "Oh. This is my daughter Ashley by the way." She motioned to the blonde girl sitting in the living room. "Shawn's great with her. But you'll see that later."

Juliet swallowed. Who exactly was this woman? Shawn's girlfriend? And was that Shawn's daughter?

"So you're a cop, right?" Kate asked when Juliet didn't say anything.

"Yeah, I'm a junior detective." Juliet answered in small voice. She looked at the woman in front of her. She was a little taller than Juliet, had long brown hair with natural curls that she wore open. Her figure was slender yet she had muscles in all the right places making her look athletic. With her beautiful face and perfect curves you could have mistaken her for a model.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I worked as a model during and after high school for a few years until I got pregnant and then I went to college and studied tourism and event management and worked for a big company since then." She smiled.

Juliet was about to answer when they heard a voice from the entrance hall.

"Honey, I'm hoooooome." Shawn's voice and his typical chuckle echoed through the house.

"Wow, sounds just like in one of those corny chick flicks when the husband comes home after a long day at work."

Ashley jumped up and ran straight into his arms when he reached the door to the kitchen.

"Hey, little princess. Have you finished your homework yet?" She nodded eagerly.

"Kate, I think your dad finally gave up calling me Mr. Spencer but…" he trailed off when his eyes landed on the woman sitting next to Kate.

"Jules?" His voice was barely above a whisper now.