“I’ll sketch a picture of the bad guys if I get a good look at them and they get away.” Sierra loved the pack. The packmates were always there for each other whenever they needed them to be.
Leidolf said, “That’s what I love about the wolves on the police force. Always there to help take down the bad guys.”
They ended the call, and it didn’t take long for Adam and Sierra to arrive at the ranch. Two pickup trucks were sitting on either side of the gate with two men apiece carrying rifles, waiting for trouble. Two vehicles following Adam’s Hummer on the road continued on past the ranch entrance.
Sierra shook her head. “You know, we could have driven onto the ranch, and then if someone was tailing us, they could have tried following us and we could have nabbed them then.”
“True, though I suspect they might have looked for another less obvious approach since ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘Private Property’ signs are posted all over the place. Leidolf also has security cameras hanging up all over. Though there’s so much acreage, they could still slip by unnoticed if they tried to sneak in someplace else. If they see the firepower at the gate, they’ll know we’re protected at least. I really want to run with you without feeling threatened by Dover and his cohorts tonight.”
“I agree.”
Adam rolled down his window and waved at the men. “Thanks for helping out.”
“You got it!” one of the men said, the others agreeing.
Adam drove up to the main ranch house while the men remained at the gate as guards, probably until Adam and Sierra returned home.
Several homes were also located at the top of the mesa that overlooked the forested and pasture lands as far as the eye could see. The homes up there were for pack-member families that lived and worked on the ranch. A bunkhouse housed bachelor males who worked on the ranch.
Brad and his mate, Janice, came out to greet them, and to Sierra’s surprise, her mom and dad, Kirk and Rhonda Redding, were there too. Sierra couldn’t believe they had come from San Antonio for a visit and hadn’t told her. Brad hadn’t either.
Her parents both gave her a hug. And then so did Brad and Janice. Sierra and Brad’s parents were just as blond and blue-eyed as Brad was, and she was glad to see them.
“When were you going to tell me you were coming here?” Sierra was thinking maybe she and Adam should have gone to the reindeer ranch where they would have had more privacy for a wolf date. Though they also had a lot more security with all the pack members living here.
But she was really glad to see her parents too.
“We need to celebrate that you’re working full-time for the bureau now, Sierra,” her mother said, hugging her again.
But her father frowned and folded his arms across his chest. “Brad told us you were having trouble with the man you put behind bars.”
Sierra gave her brother a disgruntled look. He wasn’t supposed to worry their parents over it. That was why they had come? What were they going to do about it?
Leidolf and Cassie came out too. Cassie gave Sierra a hug. “The two of you go on and run and have a good time. We’re going to have some wolves and some men go with you, but not close by where they’ll be intrusive.”
“I’m going,” Brad said.
That was a given.
“We just want to make sure that no one comes onto the property with the intent to hurt you,” Leidolf said.
“We’ll be so far from the main road, we shouldn’t have any issues,” Adam said, “but we appreciate the backup. And if anyone sees these men trespassing, have our security take them into custody and turn them over to the police.”
Wouldn’t that be a great way to wrap this all up? Then Sierra could return home unafraid that anyone would trouble her again, though she had to admit she was enjoying Adam’s company—dinners and working with him. The situation had rapidly changed between them now that she was free to date him.
But with her parents here visiting, she needed to spend some time with them too. Her parents were eyeing Adam. She sighed. Okay, so they wanted to know what was up with him too, she figured.
“We’re going to the waterfall,” Adam said, which was his way of telling the others that he was dating her. That was a romantic spot for courting wolves. For kids to play in too, and families to go to, but when it was a single couple, it was a dating spot.
Sierra enjoyed being around Adam during work and during wolf gatherings—though she was always teasing Josh about one thing or another and not Adam so much. She felt like a sister to Josh and his brother, Maverick, but to Adam?
She hadn’t ever felt sisterly toward him.
“You can change at our house,” Janice said.
“Thanks.” Sierra headed for the house and Adam followed her lead.
When they were inside, she went into one of the guest rooms. Adam waited for her to leave the room as a wolf, and then he went into the room and stripped and shifted. Even though everyone was still outside, he must have felt the need to give her some privacy.
She waited for him, and as soon as he left the room, she wagged her tail and licked his face. He nuzzled her face with his, and then they ran out through the wolf door, her first, him following.
“Wait for me,” Brad said and headed back inside the house to strip and shift.
Her parents were still talking with Janice and Leidolf and Cassie.
Sierra wouldn’t think of running off without her brother and the other men watching their backs. Not that she thought they really needed it this time. But it didn’t hurt to be sure.
Before long, a couple of men armed with rifles climbed into a black four-wheel-drive Jeep Gladiator and headed out. Then the wolves spread out and Sierra and Adam took off for the falls.
She was feeling much more carefree again and enjoying the run. If anyone had followed them from Adam’s house to the ranch, they weren’t going to be able to see them after sunset at nine tonight unless they were carrying flashlights, and then the wolves could easily see them. At least that was what she hoped. Unless the men had infrared goggles, but she suspected they weren’t that well equipped.
Then again, how did they see them in the park last night?
She tried to put the possibility of the shooters following them here out of her mind and just enjoy the time she was spending with Adam. Every once in a while, she caught a glimpse of her brother in the woods running as a wolf, and she saw another wolf farther off on the opposite side of them.
She hadn’t been to the waterfall before this. She guessed it was because she didn’t think it would be fun coming on her own or with random wolves. But now, running with Adam, she was eager to see what it was like.
They finally reached the pool of water, which was surrounded by a rocky beach on three sides and had large stones in the middle with ferns surrounding the falls. She wanted to come here during the day too. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t come before this to see the beauty of the falls, despite who she might have gone with or if she had come here on her own. They were just gorgeous. The sound of the water rushing over the cliff and cascading down into the clear water made her feel relaxed and happy. But being here with Adam made it even better.