“I had a lot on my mind.”
“I reminded you I was coming a week before I left for Killeen. And you said you couldn’t wait! You do have prior notice about your field duty.” Richard could pretend he didn’t, but she knew better. “Which means you forgot about me coming. And that’s the issue right there. Nothing is more important to you than your next promotion. Certainly not me. You know it wouldn’t hurt if you said you were sorry for not telling me you were going into the field.”
“You should have paid for her airfare,” Adam said.
Yeah, he should have, if he really wanted to apologize for his actions.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Richard said, sounding really pissed off at Adam.
“No, you weren’t, but you could make amends for what you pulled by at least paying for Sierra’s airfare and Uber ride.”
Sierra shook her head at Richard. “Go back to your job. Make your promotions. It’s over between us. Go.” Sierra really hadn’t wanted to say all that in front of Adam, but she had to end this now. “We’re through.”
She stalked over to the coat tree and grabbed his wet rain jacket. “Here. Go. I’m sorry you had to travel all that way to learn I’d planned to call it quits. We have gone in totally different directions. You didn’t even have the decency to call or text me not to come. You know how upsetting that is when no one is there to greet me at the airport when I’ve flown all those hours and paid all that money to get there? You don’t need me.”
She handed Richard his rain jacket. “We had fun when we could while we were assigned to the same army post, but that was it.” She knew if he’d been the right wolf for her, she would have stayed with him and worked wherever she could, or she might not have retired.
Someone rang the doorbell, and she wondered who else would be here on such a stormy night.
Richard pulled on his coat and was texting someone, probably trying to get a ride out of here.
When she looked out the peephole, she was surprised to see it was DEA Special Agent Ethan Masterson, also a red wolf with the pack and also a bachelor. What in the world was he doing here?
“What brings you here tonight?” she asked, letting the agent inside. She figured Richard really wouldn’t like seeing another bachelor male arrive at her place.
“Hell, you have a revolving door around here for red male wolves?” Richard grabbed his bag and brushed brusquely against Ethan on his way out. “I should have known that’s why you left the service. All your talk of not seeing anyone. What a damn waste of money and time.”
Man, was she glad that was over between them.
Ethan raised his brows as he considered Richard’s scowl.
She’d never had anyone but a couple of female wolves over before. She couldn’t believe Richard would show up unexpectedly and she would have two other bachelor males at her place the same night.
“That was the ex-boyfriend,” Sierra said to Ethan, remembering he didn’t know who the other wolf was as she closed the door on Richard’s departure. He would have to wait on her porch to try to stay dry until his ride got there. Then she smiled. It might take a while because of the bad weather and downed power lines and trees. She realized Adam had gone out back to clean the grill. “Adam’s on the back porch, half-nude, but before you get any ideas about the two of us, don’t.”
Ethan smiled.
Adam opened the back door and saluted him. “You got here just in the nick of time.”
Ethan eyed his attire.
“Don’t tell me you called Ethan to come to your rescue,” Sierra said.
Ethan smiled at Adam’s clothes. Or lack thereof. “I like your outfit, Adam. It suits you.”
“Wiseass,” Adam said.
Ethan glanced at Adam’s plate with its remnant of the steak and the wineglasses. “Looks like I missed out on all of the fun.”
“We just finished dinner. Adam’s leaving just as soon as his clothes have dried. Unless he wants me to just bring them to work tomorrow and he can go home like he’s dressed.”
Ethan removed his raincoat, and Sierra took it and hung it up on the coatrack. She really was feeling like she had a revolving door tonight. “Would you like a glass of wine? I can make you a grilled cheese sandwich, if you haven’t eaten anything.”
“Sure, on both accounts. Thanks.” Ethan pulled up a barstool and sat down.
“Would you be fine with wheat bread?”
Ethan smiled. “Just the way I like it.”
She loved it when people were so agreeable. “Okay, so why are you here exactly?” she asked Ethan again as she finished making the sandwich. She added some potato chips, while Adam poured him a glass of wine like he was her wine steward. She gave the plate to Ethan.
“Thanks, Sierra, Adam.”
“You’re welcome.” She cleaned off her and Adam’s plates and put them in the dishwasher.
“The truth is Adam did call me. Not for his rescue, exactly. More like for yours, if you had needed it, but if you were going to patch things up between you and the boyfriend, then I was still here for moral support.” Ethan took a bite of the grilled cheese sandwich.
“Okay, all is forgiven then.”
Ethan smiled. “Good, and this is a great sandwich. I hadn’t expected to get dinner when I came here.”
“The cheese is extra sharp, making it the best.”
“I’ll need to get that when I go to the grocery store. Steaks on the grill would have been nice too,” Ethan said.
“I’m sure the ex-boyfriend was miffed he didn’t get one of those, but I did instead.” Adam looked like he was enjoying this just a little too much.
“So now you’re available,” Ethan said, smiling, saluting her with his glass of wine before he took a sip.
“I’m just getting over ending a relationship with my boyfriend. You know what they say about rebound.” She poured herself and Adam some more wine.
The guys exchanged glances, and she suspected they didn’t believe she was having that problem. How did she know how she’d feel a few days from now? Tonight even?
Relieved. That was how she felt right this minute, and she loved that Ethan and Adam were here for her if she had needed some moral support. Tonight after they left, maybe she would feel differently about ending things between her and Richard. But she really didn’t believe so.
“So how are things going in the DEA business?” she asked Ethan.
“Too busy.” Ethan bit into a potato chip. “How about the rest of the crime business?”