Sierra laughed and reluctantly let go of Grover’s hand. It almost felt weird not to be touching him, but she forced herself to climb off the mattress on her side. She slipped on her flip-flops and resisted the urge to run a hand over her head. She didn’t have any hair to smooth down, but it was a hard habit to break, especially with the way Grover was staring so intensely at her. “Nothing bad. We can talk about it later. If I’m gonna shower and we’re gonna make breakfast, I need to go.”
Grover stood up from the bed and stretched. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt—and Sierra’s mouth watered. If he looked that good mostly covered up, she was almost scared to see him without a shirt on…or more.
Then she immediately scolded herself. She shouldn’t be thinking about him without clothes. They were friends. Just friends. At least for now.
Shit…she was in big trouble here.
Unaware of her lustful thoughts, Grover wandered toward her, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, Bean. Go shower. I’ll see you in a bit. Take your time. If we miss breakfast, we miss it. We’ll scrounge around in the kitchen. We won’t starve. I’ll probably do that anyway, to grab some snacks so you’ve got something to nibble on while we’re out and about today.”
There he went again, being all sweet and protective. Not that Sierra was complaining. “Okay, thanks. I’ll try not to take too long.”
“As I said, take as much time as you want. You’ve earned all the hot water in the world. And, Bean…?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for helping me sleep.”
And there’s that tickle in the back of my throat again. “Ditto.”
He grinned. “Okay, enough. Shoo, woman. Go do your thing.”
She returned his smile and headed for the door.
“Oh and you’ve got a sweatshirt, right? Bring it with you. I have no idea what the weather is supposed to be today, but I don’t want you to get chilly.”
Sierra nodded, not sure she could talk normally. She could get used to his concern, his need to take care of her. She waved lamely at him, then left.
She heard his chuckle follow her as she headed for her own cabin. And for the first time in a very long time, Sierra realized she was happy. Content. It was a heady feeling, for sure.
Chapter Eleven
Breakfast had been a fun affair. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and the delicious food didn’t hurt either. They hadn’t taken a hike right after breakfast though. Instead, they’d spent all morning at the barn with the animals. Melba the cow was adorable, even Grover had to admit. She loved to rub her head on any human who came near. She was super inquisitive as well. Wanting to know what they were doing at all times.
The goats were a bit more obnoxious, but because Sierra seemed to love them, Grover put up with them trying to chew on his shirt. There were barn cats Sierra wanted to snuggle, and even though the horses intimidated her because of their size, she still spent quite a while with them too.
They also had a long chat with Tonka. He was former Delta, but didn’t talk much about his time in the military. Grover got the impression that something had gone terribly wrong when he got out, but he didn’t ask. The man now spent his time working with the animals at the ranch, which seemed to visibly calm him.
By the time they left the barn, it was lunchtime.
“How about we grab something and have a picnic?” Grover asked Sierra.
“That sounds wonderful.”
They went to the kitchen and made sandwiches. Even that was fun. Sierra teased him about making a sandwich big enough for three people and he made fun of her for putting ranch on hers, instead of the usual condiments, like mayo or mustard. The owners of The Refuge had thought of everything, and in the pantry they found picnic backpacks that could hold silverware and cups, as well as the food.
They set out not too long later, following a trail Spike had told them about. He said it had the best views and wasn’t too strenuous. Grover handed Sierra a granola bar to tide her over until they found a good place to stop and eat.
It felt good to have no agenda. To have absolutely no schedule. Grover loved being in the military and wouldn’t trade his Delta brothers for anything in the world, but being in the Army meant his life was very regimented. PT, meetings, sticking to a schedule, it was what made the huge bureaucracy work. Being out here in the fresh air, with no timetable, was freeing.
Grover walked behind Sierra and did his best to keep his gaze off her ass. It was difficult, because even after all she’d been through, she still had a butt that was meant to be admired. To try to take his mind off how attractive he found her, Grover asked, “So…the girls have been texting you?”
She laughed. “That was subtle.”
“Wasn’t meant to be. I’m not asking you to break any confidences, I’m just curious.”
“It’s funny,” Sierra said. “The first time I got a text from one of them, I was expecting it to be you. I was confused for a second because it didn’t make sense that anyone else would text. It was Gillian. She said she was glad I was all right, then said, ‘welcome to the crazy.’ I was even more confused.”
Grover chuckled. “Things can be pretty crazy, that’s for sure. Especially when we all get together. It used to be just a bunch of bros hanging out, having a drink and shooting the shit. Now we cook, change diapers, talk about princesses with Bria, fall all over ourselves to let Logan ‘win’ at kickball, and have discussions about the things the doctors don’t tell you about childbirth before you go in to have a baby.”
Sierra laughed. “And you love it.”
“I do,” Grover admitted. “The dynamic of our team has changed, but I honestly think it’s for the better. And it’s all because of the women. What else did they say?”
“Are you scared?” she joked.
“A little bit, yeah,” Grover admitted.
“They’ve all been really nice. It kind of floors me how open and welcoming they’ve been.”
“That’s just who they are,” Grover said.
“Yeah. Devyn’s been hilarious. And I should probably warn you, she’s in full-on ‘set up my brother’ mode.”
“Shit,” Grover swore. “I’ll talk to her and tell her to knock it off.”
“It’s fine,” Sierra told him. “It’s been somewhat enlightening to hear all her stories about you.”
“I’m gonna kill her,” Grover muttered.
Sierra giggled, and the sound was carefree and happy. And Grover freaking loved it.
“It’s all good stuff,” she reassured him. “Like the time she was getting harassed on the school bus and you stood up for her. You got suspended, but those bullies never said anything to her again. Or when she was sick in the hospital and you participated in an Easter egg hunt and brought her all of the plastic eggs you found. She said you guys spent an hour opening them all on her hospital bed. And of course, the lengths you went to in order to help your brother after his gambling thing.”
“Yeah…his gambling thing,” Grover said in disgust. He knew he’d forgive Spencer eventually for all that he’d put their sister through, but he wasn’t quite there yet.