Maybe his idea wasn’t as crazy as it seemed. If, down the line, she wanted to be a mother, adoption was definitely an option.
“Sleep, Bean, we can figure out the details later.”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“No clue.”
“We need to set an alarm. My stuff is supposed to be delivered tomorrow morning,” she told him.
“I’ll be up,” Grover said with confidence. “My body’s been trained to wake up early every morning. After so many years of PT, it’s rare that I can sleep in past seven.”
“Okay,” Sierra said, yawning huge. She’d seen firsthand that he was a morning person when they’d been in New Mexico. If he said he’d be up, he’d be up.
“And I know I’ll sleep well tonight, so I’ll definitely be up on time,” he said.
“I thought you said you were sleeping okay since coming back from The Refuge,” Sierra commented.
“I have been. But with you here by my side, in my arms, I’ll sleep even better.”
Gah! He might claim that he always put his foot in his mouth, but he kept saying the sweetest things. “Same with me,” she said quietly.
She felt his lips against the top of her head and realized in a moment of surprise that she’d forgotten all about her hair. She was used to getting a lot of looks, people staring at her since she was practically bald. The hairdresser had evened it all up, but it was growing back so slowly, and Sierra was still self-conscious about it.
But tonight, she hadn’t given her hair a single thought. Grover liked her exactly how she was, hair or no hair.
Sighing in contentment, Sierra allowed herself to completely relax. She had no idea where she and Grover might be in a month, a year, five years, but she hoped and prayed that she’d always feel as safe and comfortable with him as she did right this moment.
With the sound of his heart beating under her cheek, Sierra fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, secure in the knowledge that Grover would keep her safe from any bogeymen lurking in the darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
Grover placed the last box from the moving truck down on the floor of Sierra’s new apartment. With Doc, Lucky, and Trigger helping, along with the men who’d driven the truck, it hadn’t taken long to get her belongings unloaded.
“Looks like that’s the last of it,” Lucky said.
“I can’t thank you guys enough,” Sierra told them. “What can I do to repay you?”
Grover opened his mouth to tell her that they hadn’t helped her with the expectation of payment, but Doc responded first.
“You can come over to my place this weekend. Ember is dying to meet you, as are the rest of the girls.”
“I’d love that!” Sierra said excitedly.
“Great. How about Sunday? Any time after two or so. We’ll grill burgers and stuff, it’ll be totally low-key.”
“Low-key, riiiight,” Trigger said with a chuckle.
The others all laughed too.
Seeing Sierra looking a little confused, Grover said, “Whenever we all get together, it’s complete chaos. It’s never low-key. Throw in two babies and Logan and Bria, and it’s mayhem.”
“It sounds…nice,” Sierra said with a smile.
“Sorry the other guys couldn’t come over and help today,” Trigger said. “With that damn militia group still harassing anyone who comes and goes from the post, we’ve been tasked with extra security duty.”
“It’s okay, you guys were really all I needed. I don’t have a ton of stuff, as you can tell,” Sierra said. “Is the Strong Foot Militia dangerous?”
It was an abrupt change of topic, but Grover could see the worry in Sierra’s eyes.
“They’re mostly annoying,” Trigger told her. “Trying to get soldiers and family members to engage with them when they’re in line waiting to enter the post. They aren’t breaking any laws, since they stay on public property, but they’ve scared enough people that the post commander has assigned the extra duty to be safe rather than sorry.”
Sierra nodded. “What are they mad at, specifically?”
“What aren’t they mad at?” Lucky countered. “They’re anti-government and think the military is the root of all evil. They think anyone who’s working for the government is the enemy.”
“So, what do they hope to accomplish by harassing everyone who goes in and out of the base? It’s not like you guys can just quit…right?” Sierra asked.
“Right,” Grover said. “Many of the men who’re harassing people going on and off post are young. They look like they’re in their late teens or early twenties. I think they’re just bored and have kinda banded together in a sort of mob mentality. There’s safety in numbers, and for now, what they’re doing is fun for them.”
“There’s one guy who’s older,” Trigger noted. “He kind of stands at the back of the mob and lets the others do most of the harassing. That guy who’s five-ten or so, with a beard and longish hair?”
“That’s right. I’ve seen him. Do we know anything about him?” Lucky asked.
“No. But maybe it would be a good idea to see what kind of information we can dig up. If he’s the group’s leader, and we can take him out of the equation, maybe the men who are with him will slink back to San Angelo or wherever they came from,” Trigger mused.
“It’s worth a shot,” Grover agreed. “Chop off the head and the snake dies.” He looked over at Sierra after he’d finished speaking…and grinned at the expression on her face.
“That’s gross,” she said.
“But appropriate,” Lucky said. “You need us to help you with anything else?”
Sierra looked around at the boxes stacked up here and there in the small apartment. “No, I’m good. Thank you again so much for helping.”
“It’s what we do,” Lucky reassured her.
“We’ll see you this weekend,” Doc reminded her.
Sierra smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Don’t be surprised if the party gets brought up in your group chat,” Trigger warned. “The girls like to organize what everyone’s bringing. You know, like who’s got the desserts and alcohol.”
Lucky laughed. “Remember that one time when no one coordinated and all we had was meat and chocolate?”
“If I remember correctly, no one was too upset,” Grover threw in. “We all ate the meat and the girls stuffed themselves with the desserts.”
Sierra giggled.
Trigger gave her a chin lift, and Lucky and Doc did the same before the three of them headed out of the apartment.
“So, where do you want to start?” Grover asked her.
“Don’t you have to go back to work?” Sierra asked.
“Nope. My commander gave me the rest of the day off. He’s gotten used to us needing the time off to move our girlfriends in. I think we should start with putting your bed together. You’ll need someplace to sleep.”
Sierra raised an eyebrow at him.
Grover chuckled. “And no, I wasn’t trying to proposition you, although…that’s not a bad idea.”