“I’m good,” he says. Staying with Katie is definitely not a hardship. Those two are barely coming up for air.
“Okay, Adrian, Smith, I need you to go check the upper trail today. A few hikers said a tree fell across the trail. Take the chainsaws.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Holden, you can take the afternoon off. I need you on gate duty tonight.”
I nod. We all take night shifts. I’m not going to complain about an afternoon off.
We’re excused and meet the guys on the front steps of the building. “Dude, you shouldn’t have said we can stay at Sierra’s without asking.”
“She’ll be fine with it,” he says, tugging on his brown baseball cap. He’d been in a relaxed, easy mood all morning. “But if you want, I’ll talk to her tonight.”
I shake my head. “I’m headed back for the afternoon. I’ll bring it up.”
We part, and I get in the truck, heading back home.
Home. I laugh to myself. No wonder Adrian had been quick to say we were staying. A stable home was something we hadn’t had in a while. We all know staying with Sierra is temporary—even she isn’t staying for long, but it’s been nice.
I get to the house and see her Jeep in the driveway. She’d been gone when we left that morning—off to breakfast with Katie. I park and climb the front steps, tugging on the door. It’s locked. That’s good. We’d all told her to keep the doors secure when she’s out here alone. I run my hand under the window ledge, looking for the key mounted underneath. I pull it out and slide it into the lock. The door opens but doesn’t go far, jerking to a stop.
She’d chained the door. That’s unusual.
“Sierra?” I call. I hear footsteps on the hardwoods, and a flash of dark hair in the crack between the door and the wall. When she looks at me her eyes are red and swollen. Fear grips my heart. “What happened? What’s going on?”
The crack closes, and she unlatches the chain. The door opens and she’s already halfway across the room, climbing onto the couch to wrap herself in a blanket. The TV is on but paused.
“Hey,” I say, dropping my backpack on the floor, “talk to me, what happened?”
She swallows. “I saw Reid downtown.”
“Bastard,” I swear under my breath. I didn’t like him the day I met him, and what happened with Smith only confirmed it. “Did he do something to you?”
“He’s just a fucking asshole.” She takes a deep breath. “He came up to me like he wanted to apologize. Really he just wanted to intimidate me and let me know it was my fault for sending mixed signals.”
I’m standing above her, thinking about how I want to rip his fucking balls off. This guy is a total asshole. I don’t like hearing that he’s harassing anyone, but especially not Sierra. I’m one second from driving into town and finding him, when I look back down at her and see how much she’s struggling.
“Can I sit down?”
She nods, pulling away the blanket.
“I’m really sorry this is happening to you. You don’t deserve it—no one does.”
“I hate how he makes me feel helpless.”
“You’re not helpless—that’s why he does it. Guys like him hate seeing strong, capable women. You intimidate him, and he feels like has to prove himself.” I shake my head. “He’s weak and pathetic.”
“Thank you,” she says, giving me a smile. “I’m really happy you guys are here. Not just because I’m not alone all the time, but because it’s nice to have people here to talk to.”
“I’m happy to talk whenever you need it.” She relaxes a little, leaning into the arm of the couch. “I have the afternoon off. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Want to watch TV with me?”
“I’d love to watch TV with you. What’s on?”
She gives me a look and rolls her eyes. “Supernatural, obviously.”
“Obviously.” This girl and this show. I’m not sure what it is, but she loves it.