Her head rested on his shoulder and her short hair tickled the side of his jaw. Grover held her to him securely.
“I’m going to go back to Colorado with my parents,” she said.
Grover’s stomach plummeted, everything else turning to stone at her words.
“Then I’m going to arrange to move to Killeen.”
And just like that, his world changed. “What do you need me to do to help?” he asked.
Sierra lifted her head. “Are you sure about this?”
“Absolutely. Are you?” he countered.
She nodded and rested her head back on his shoulder. “I’ve thought about it a lot. And I even talked about it with the therapist yesterday. She thinks it will be a good thing. A change of scenery. I want what you have,” she said quietly.
“And what’s that?” Grover asked.
“A tribe. People who are there for you no matter what. Maybe if I had those kinds of friends to begin with, I wouldn’t have felt so restless, wouldn’t have been so eager to go overseas. Maybe when I disappeared, one of my tribe would’ve raised hell until someone did something to get me back. I don’t want to go back to being the solitary person I was before.”
“You won’t,” Grover vowed.
“I know I’m taking advantage by trying to slip into your group of friends,” Sierra started, but Grover interrupted her.
“You aren’t. They’re good people, and you already fit in with them. They wouldn’t accept you if they sensed you weren’t genuine.”
“Ember’s going to lose her mind,” Sierra said with a small chuckle. “She’s texted me every day, asking when I’m going to get my butt down there and help her out.”
“When?” Grover asked impatiently.
“Now you sound like Ember,” Sierra said.
“Well, I did promise you a date in my barn,” Grover told her.
“And a huge salad,” she told him.
“That too. So? When do I need to ask my commander for some time off so I can help you move?”
“I don’t know. But soon, I think. I’m ready, Grover. Ready to shake off the sand of Afghanistan and start living again. This place has been amazing, but I need to do something. I can’t just hang out here with Melba and the other animals and do nothing but hike the forest every day.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Grover told her, not able to stop himself from kissing the top of her head. “The girls will have you busy from sunup to sundown if you aren’t careful. They’re an ambitious bunch for sure.”
“They sound amazing. I can’t wait to get to know them. And explore Killeen. I’ve never been to Texas. I’ve heard a lot of stories about the state.”
“And a lot of them are probably true,” Grover said, knowing this was as good an opening as he’d get to warn her about the Strong Foot Militia. “One good thing is that it’s hot. You shouldn’t be cold there. I mean, the winters get chilly, but nothing like Colorado, and certainly not like Leadville.”
“Good. Grover?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you? I know you got another call from Trigger this morning, and you’ve been tense ever since. Are you guys going to be deployed again soon? Because if you are, it’s okay. I can deal with that part of your job. I mean, I’ll miss you and worry about you when you’re gone, but I’m not going to fall apart.”
“That means the world to me, but no. That’s not what’s on my mind.” Grover took a deep breath. “It might be a good idea for you to wait a bit before you come down to Killeen.”
The words were extremely painful, almost refusing to come out, but the last thing he wanted was to put Sierra in the middle of a powder keg.
“Why? What’s wrong?” She didn’t sound upset. Didn’t immediately get emotional and accuse him of not wanting her there, after all. She was levelheaded, which Grover appreciated a hell of a lot.
“There’s a Texas militia group that’s been causing problems in Killeen. They’ve been picketing outside the gates of the Army post and doing their best to cause fear, to terrorize anyone who lives and works there.”
“Why?”
Grover shrugged. “Because they’re young and dumb? Because they think white skin makes them better than everyone else? Because they like the attention? I don’t know.”
“Is that what your team has been updating you on?”
“Yeah. I don’t normally talk to my friends every day when I’m on leave,” he told her with a smile. “I mean, I like them, but jeez.”
Sierra chuckled, then surprised him again when she adjusted, straddling his lap to face him. It was all Grover could do not to pull her closer, so his cock was nestled between her legs. She wasn’t trying to make a move on him; he knew that. So he forced himself to stay completely still. The last thing he wanted to do was freak her out by acting like a horny teen.
She put her hands on either side of his neck and looked into his eyes. “I refuse to let anything scare me away from my new life. I was held captive by the Taliban for a freaking year. These idiots complaining about shit they know nothing about aren’t going to make me tremble in my boots.”
“You aren’t wearing boots,” Grover said, the joke falling flat even to his own ears.
“You know what I mean,” she said.
“I do. Anyway, they’re dangerous,” Grover told her seriously, putting his hands on her waist and holding her steady. “Brain’s been doing some research. He says they’ve got a shitload of explosives and are armed to the teeth. They like to show off their stash on social media to try to recruit other racist assholes to their cause.”
“Okay.”
“They’re against pretty much anyone who isn’t a white American male. Gay, Jewish, Black, Hispanic. Even women.”
“All right.”
“And they’re planning something. No one knows what. There’s talk about some big scheme to show the world how tyrannical and out of control the military is.”
“Grover, it’s okay.”
“I just can’t, in good conscience, let you move to Killeen without telling you exactly what you’re getting into.”
“I know what I’m getting into. I’m gaining a group of women who I hope will become my best friends. A badass Delta Force team who will have my back no matter what. And I’m getting a protective, honest, amazing boyfriend who hates spiders with a passion, but who I know would face down an armada of the eight-legged creatures if it means keeping me safe and happy.”
Grover barely dared to breathe. “Boyfriend?”
“Yes,” Sierra said, and he loved how her cheeks turned pink. “I know I said I wasn’t ready for that kind of relationship, but clearly I’m an idiot. The last two weeks have been the best in my life. And I’m not exaggerating. The thought of leaving and going to Colorado is killing me, because I’ll be leaving you. Even if you were stationed in Alaska, I’d follow you in a heartbeat, and you know how I feel about the cold.”
Grover tightened his hands on Sierra’s waist and pulled her closer. He needed to feel her against him. Was so relieved that she was going to give him a chance to show her how good they could be together, he wasn’t even thinking about shocking her with his arousal.