“It’s not that,” she said quickly. “But when I finally looked at the contact list, there’s way more people in there than just your team and their wives.”
“Like who?” Grover asked.
“Ghost, Fletch, Truck, Wolf, Abe, Cookie, Rocco, Phantom, Logan, Rex, Bull…to name just a few. Oh, and he sent me an email just yesterday, reminding me that he’s added Brick, Tonka, Spike, Pipe, Owl, Stone, and Tiny…the guys who run The Refuge, in case I have any questions for them before I head down to New Mexico.”
Grover couldn’t help but laugh. “Looks like he covered all his bases,” he told her.
“But I don’t know any of these people. Why would I get in touch with them?”
“Here’s the thing about Tex…when I say he knows people, he knows people. And not a single one of them would hesitate to drop everything to come to your aid if you let them know you needed it.”
“Do you know them all?”
“No. Some, yes, but not all of them. But if Tex thinks enough of them to put their numbers in your phone, I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to any of them if I needed help. And more importantly, if you needed help.”
“I’m kinda overwhelmed.”
“Just go with it,” Grover suggested.
“You guys are all pretty protective, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Grover said without feeling an ounce of regret. “We spend our lives doing what we can to help others. Whether that’s a person who’s been taken against their will, or in a more abstract way, by tracking down terrorists who might someday plan an attack that could kill hundreds or thousands.”
“Well, I have to say I’m happy to be included in with those you’ve helped.”
“Me too,” Grover told her. “What do you have on tap for tomorrow?”
They talked for another hour and a half. And for a man who didn’t particularly like talking on the phone, Grover didn’t even realize how much time had passed. When he heard Sierra yawn, and he looked at the clock, he saw that it was after midnight in Killeen. She was an hour behind him, but still, she needed to make sure she got plenty of sleep.
“I’m gonna let you go, Bean.”
She sighed. “Okay. You gonna be able to sleep?”
“Of course.” It was a little lie. He had no idea if he’d wake up covered in sweat and calling Sierra’s name, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. She had enough on her plate to deal with. “I’ll talk with Brick tomorrow, see about moving our visit up,” he told her.
“Are you sure it’ll be okay?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I’ll talk to my parents about it then. Grover?”
“Yeah?”
“It was good to talk to you tonight. I feel as if I can tell you anything. Talking on the phone with you, sitting in my dark room…it’s kinda like when we were back in that cave.”
“Except back then, I could touch you,” Grover said.
“I liked that.”
“Me too. And you can call whenever you want.”
“Okay.”
“Let me know how tomorrow’s chat with the Denver Post reporter goes.”
“I will. I wasn’t going to do any interviews, but I kinda figured if I got it out of the way, maybe it would calm everyone down.”
“Possibly,” Grover agreed. “Besides, the day after, someone famous will do something stupid and you’ll be day-old news.”
“From your lips, to God’s ears,” Sierra quipped.
“Sleep well, Bean. Thanks for calling. I needed to hear from you, to know you were all right.”
“Same. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Later.”
“Bye.”
Grover hung up and stared out at the dark night. He could hear the crickets even through the sliding windows. They were loud out in the middle of nowhere, like he was. He’d worked hard and saved for a long time to be able to afford this house. It was too big for him, but Grover liked his space. The kitchen was top of the line, had an open concept, five bedrooms, an office, and a huge media room. The barn was mostly for show, he hadn’t planned on getting any horses or livestock. But he loved how it looked, and the memories of his friends helping him raise it would last a lifetime.
Looking around his house now, though, Grover realized he was lonely. He was thirty-three. Not exactly old, but given how content and happy his friends were, it struck him even harder how alone he really was. Remembering Sierra’s story about Betty, how she’d found love at seventy-two, made him smile, but it also hammered home the fact that he didn’t want to be like her. He wanted to find a woman to love and cherish. Wanted to laugh with her and live life.
Was Sierra that woman? Grover was pretty sure she was. If she gave him half a chance, he’d do his best to show her that he could make her happy. That they could be good together. He respected and admired the fact that she didn’t want to jump into a relationship right now. She’d been through something traumatic and needed to concentrate on her own mental health. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be her friend. Couldn’t show her the kind of life she could have by his side.
Maybe the connection they had was only because of circumstances. Maybe when they spent time together on more even footing, where she wasn’t the rescuee and he the rescuer, they’d realize they didn’t click like they had back in Afghanistan.
Then again, maybe they’d find they had an even deeper bond than the one he’d already felt growing.
Time would tell, and Grover had to be patient. He wasn’t very good at that though. Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet and headed for the stairs. He wasn’t cleared to participate in PT, but he was still going to meet with the team while they worked out. Four-thirty would come early, but Grover hoped that because it was so late, he’d fall asleep quickly and not have any nightmares. Now that he’d talked to Sierra, had found out firsthand how she was doing…he should be fine.
And in two weeks, he’d get to see her again. Commander Robinson had already approved his leave, he just needed to get it switched to two weeks earlier. Grover didn’t think it would be an issue. Their commander was a good man who cared about the mental health of his soldiers as much as he did their physical health.
Grover would also talk to Doc and Ember about the possibility of Sierra working at The Modern Kid, her gym. Sierra was right in that she didn’t have any knowledge of the modern pentathlon sport, but he was confident Ember could still use the help with the children. Attitude and enthusiasm were more important than technical knowledge at this point.
He smiled, thinking about Sierra hanging out with Ember, Kinley, Aspen, and the other women. He had no doubt they’d get along. They’d all been through their own kinds of hell and would welcome Sierra with open arms.
He had no idea what would happen after their trip to New Mexico, but for now, all Grover could think about was seeing Sierra again. Talking to her on the phone was great. Amazing. But seeing her in person would be even better. He’d do his best to be the friend she needed, certain this connection they felt wasn’t going to fade. In fact, he had a hunch it would only get stronger as they continued to get to know each other.