Sierra looked up at Grover, saw him glaring at Tex, but then, as if he felt her gaze on him, he dipped his chin to meet her eyes, and she saw the irritation bleed away.
“One month,” Tex said. “Go home to your family,” he told Sierra. “Relax. Heal. Eat some homecooked meals. Then go to New Mexico. I promise it’ll be good for you. For you both.”
Sierra could only nod. How could she refuse the generous offer? She couldn’t. She had no idea what the next month would hold for her, but then again, she didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. She had to take things one day at a time, and knowing this man cared enough to try to help her felt good.
“Oh, and one more thing. My wife, Melody, told me I had to tell you this part; that it wasn’t fair if I didn’t, and it was an invasion of privacy or some such bullcrap. The phone has a tracker. I’ll know where you are at all times when you have it on you. I’ve learned over the years that it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m not a psycho, I won’t be following your every move, but if you disappear, and you have that phone with you, I’ll be able to find you. Okay?”
Sierra stared into Tex’s brown eyes and swallowed hard. She knew she should be upset at the invasion of her privacy. But the simple fact was, she couldn’t be. She’d disappeared once and it had taken a year for anyone to find her. If it happened again, Tex would know where she was. The thought brought a level of comfort she hadn’t even realized she needed. “Okay,” she told him softly.
“All right then. I need to get going, and so do all of you. I’m very glad to meet you, Sierra. Take care of yourself. And don’t be afraid to open up to Grover and his inner circle. They’ll heal you if you let them.”
Tex nodded at her, and the guys, then turned and walked toward the end of the building.
“So…that was Tex,” Doc said with a little laugh.
“He’s…”
“Sneaky? A little scary? All of the above?” Lucky asked. Then he shrugged. “You get used to him.”
“If you don’t want that phone, I can get you a new one,” Grover told her.
Sierra tightened her hold on the phone. “No,” she said quickly. “It’s okay.”
“He means well,” Trigger said gently. “He’s helped more people than I’ve got time to talk about. He knows just about everything there is to know about everyone.”
“Like the nickname Grover gave me?” Sierra asked wryly. “How’d he know that?”
Oz smiled. “We’ve learned not to ask questions we know we won’t get the answers to.”
“For the record,” Trigger told her, “I think The Refuge is a good idea. For both you and Grover. And even if you don’t feel as if you need it, I’ve heard it’s beautiful up there. Brick and his team have done an amazing job setting it up. You can be busy all hours of the day if you need to be—hiking, fishing, riding horses—or you can lie around in a hammock and do nothing at all.”
Sierra nodded. The more she heard about the place, the more curious she got. And knowing Grover might join her there? Yeah, she was pretty darn excited about that too…if he showed up. She knew he was busy, and a month seemed like an awfully long time from now. Being apart, both of them dealing with their captivity, could make whatever this connection they felt now fade.
“Give me a second with Sierra, guys?” Grover asked.
Everyone nodded.
Before he left, Trigger stepped up to her. “May I hug you?” he asked.
Sierra was impressed he’d asked. But she supposed she shouldn’t have been. He, and all the guys, seemed very in tune to what she might be feeling. “I’d like that,” she told him.
Trigger stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a short but heartfelt hug. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
Then Lefty took his place. And Brain. One by one, each of Grover’s friends hugged her and told her how happy they were that Grover had found her. How strong they thought she was. How much they were sure their wives would love to meet her.
It should’ve been awkward, but instead, Sierra felt as if she’d known these men forever. Finally, they all headed into the building, leaving her and Grover alone outside.
She looked up at him, not sure what he was going to say…and suddenly she was nervous as hell.
But he didn’t say a word. Instead, he pulled her into his embrace.
Sierra lay her cheek against his chest and held on tightly, listening to his heartbeat under his uniform.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” he said, his voice strained.
“Do what?” Sierra asked, tilting her head back but not stepping out of his embrace.
“Let you go.”
She blinked at that.
“I know that sounds ridiculous. We barely know each other. Your parents are waiting for you. You have a life to get back to. Still…I can’t help but want to keep you by my side.”
Sierra swallowed hard. “I know,” she whispered.
Grover sighed, then palmed the back of her head and brought it back to his chest. Sierra held him tighter. “I didn’t know Tex planned on being here today, or bringing you that phone. I’d planned on giving you my number, of course, along with everyone else’s.”
“It’s okay,” Sierra told him.
“If it was anyone but Tex, I’d have thrown the phone at him and told him I can take care of you just fine without his help.”
Sierra didn’t know how to respond. Take care of her? What was that about?
“But it was Tex, and that man cares about his teams more than anyone I’ve ever met. So I’m gonna let it slide. Now that you have my number, I expect you to use it, Bean.”
“I will,” she said.
“I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night and you can’t sleep, or if it’s one in the afternoon and you think of something you want to tell me. Text or call. I’ll answer every time if I’m able to. I might be in a meeting or training, and if I am, I’ll always get back to you as soon as I can. Okay?”
Sierra wanted to ask him what they were doing, where this was going, where this intense connection was coming from…the one she’d felt even before getting kidnapped.
Instead, she simply nodded against him.
“I’ll see you in a month in New Mexico, but if you need anything before then, you let me know.”
Sierra took a breath and stepped away. Neither let go of each other. Grover’s hands moved to her upper arms, and hers flattened on his chest.
It was time she started trying to get her bravado back. She was tired of being a victim. She wanted to be the outgoing, carefree woman she’d once been. The one who wasn’t afraid to take a job in Afghanistan because it seemed both useful and like the adventure of a lifetime.
“And if you need anything, you let me know,” she told Grover a little bossily.
He smiled. “I will, Bean.”
Sierra tried not to smile. “That nickname is ridiculous.”
“Yup.”
“You aren’t going to stop calling me that, are you?” she asked.
“Nope. It fits you.”
“Whatever,” she said with a roll of her eyes.