Chapter 9 #2
When they walked inside the building, Sierra couldn’t help but be impressed.
This wasn’t some fly-by-night ranch. The interior of the reception building had been professionally decorated, and even from her untrained eye, looked as if it cost a pretty penny.
The men who owned this place had spared no expense to make everything welcoming and homey at the same time.
There were large leather couches and chairs around a huge fireplace.
Bright rugs on the hardwood floors, and they’d left the rafters exposed, which gave the room an open feel.
It even smelled like warm cookies fresh from the oven.
She had no idea if that was because of some sort of air freshener, or if there really were cookies being baked somewhere nearby.
Sierra had briefly glanced at The Refuge’s website before leaving to come down here, but since Grover had said he was looking forward to visiting, and had seemed impressed with the men who owned it, she hadn’t thought too much about it. She’d been too excited to see Grover.
He pulled her over to where her parents were speaking with a group of men. They were all tall and muscular. It was obvious they hadn’t let their physical fitness routines slack since getting out of whichever branches of the military they were in.
Without letting go of her hand, he nodded at the men in front of him.
One of them stepped forward and held out a hand. Sierra shook it as he introduced himself.
“I’m Drake, otherwise known as Brick. These are my partners in crime…
Tonka, Spike, Pipe, Owl, Stone, and Tiny.
I’d tell you their real names, but you’d forget them quickly and we probably wouldn’t respond to them, anyway,” he teased.
“Welcome to The Refuge. We started this place because we all needed a place to go when we got out of the military, but couldn’t find anywhere we felt truly comfortable.
Up here, in the mountains, away from judging eyes and from the constraints of civilization, we were able to find ourselves again.
We all met through a mutual friend, and came up here to camp, of all things.
Two nights turned into three. Then a week.
The next thing we knew, we were meeting with a real estate agent to see about buying some land. And here we are.”
Sierra smiled at him. “Let me guess, that friend was Tex?”
“You know Tex?” Pipe asked, his British accent barely noticeable.
Grover chuckled. “She met him at the airport in DC. He appeared out of nowhere, gave her a phone that he said he was tracking, told her he’d made arrangements for her to come up here, and left.”
“Sounds like Tex,” Stone said with a chuckle.
“Anyway, you’re standing in the main building.
We’ve got a big kitchen in the back that’s open to you at all times.
We serve three meals a day, but if you get hungry any other time, or prefer to eat alone, you’re more than welcome to raid the fridge.
We’ll give you the code to get in the back door so you can come and go whenever you want.
Each guest gets their own code, and when you check out, the code is never used again,” Tiny explained.
“There are a dozen guest houses, which range from one-bedroom studios to three-bedroom suites. Each has a bathroom and shower, as well as a fridge and microwave. We offer housekeeping every three days if you want it, but you can always simply request towels and whatnot when you want them, and if you don’t want any housekeeping, that’s okay too,” Spike said.
Sierra’s head was on a swivel as each man spoke. It was obvious they’d given this spiel many times.
“You can literally do whatever you want while you’re here.
Down the hill around the back of this building is a barn, and we’ve got horses, a cow, and two goats.
They’re all very friendly and completely tame.
Melba, our cow, will follow you around all day long if you give her scratches and if you let her.
There are several barn cats too, and I’ve got a three-legged mutt,” Brick told her.
“We’ve got a therapist who comes up from Los Alamos three times a week, and sessions with her are included with your stay.
She does both group sessions or one on one, if you prefer.
But if you don’t want to do anything but sit on your porch and enjoy the silence and the beauty of nature, you can do that too.
We want this to be a place where everyone can relax and try to center themselves in whatever way works best for them.
If you need anything, or want to do anything, just let one of us know and we’ll see about making it happen. Okay?” Tonka asked.
Sierra nodded. Everything sounded amazing. She knew she’d had it easy since she’d gotten back—her parents had cooked for her, done her laundry, taken her shopping. She loved them, and was extremely grateful…but she’d still felt a little smothered, which only made her feel guilty.
Being here, smelling the clean, dry air—similar, yet different from the air across the world in the desert—was already making her feel so much better.
“Everything sounds lovely,” Sierra’s mom said.
“We try, ma’am,” Spike said.
“I can go grab your things if you want to go with Tiny for a quick tour of the grounds and to see where you’ll be staying,” Brick said.
Her dad handed over his keys and soon they were all following behind Tiny as he showed them the property.
Forty-five minutes later, Sierra was giving her parents a hug as they prepared to head back to Colorado.
“We love you,” her mom said.
“I know.”
“We just want to see you happy. I know you’ve been struggling, and as much as it pains us, we know that we can’t make things better for you,” her dad said.
“You have,” Sierra insisted. “I love you guys too, and you’ve been so great.”
“I won’t say that I want things to go back to the way they were, because that’s impossible, but I hope this place can help you heal,” her mom said.
“I’m sure it will,” Sierra said. Her mom’s eyes watered, and Sierra actually regretted she couldn’t seem more emotional for her parents’ sake, but even after weeks at home, she still hadn’t been able to cry one real tear.
Her mom sniffled and wiped away her own tears as Sierra hugged her dad. “Drive safe and please let me know when you get to Pagosa Springs, and when you get home.”
“We will,” her dad said. Then he turned to Grover, who had stepped back to give them space, but hadn’t left. “Take care of her.”
Grover nodded.
“She’s our world,” her mother said tearfully.
Sierra smiled slightly. “Okay, Mom, enough. I’m good. This place is beautiful and perfect. No one needs to take care of me and nothing’s gonna happen up here. I’m gonna eat, sleep, and relax. That’s it.”
She could see her mom wanted to say more, but she merely sniffed and nodded. “I love you. Email me and let me know how things are going.”
“Of course,” Sierra told her.
“Feel free to call your old man too,” her dad said gruffly.
It took another five minutes for her parents to actually get in their minivan and drive off, but after she and Grover were finally alone, she sighed in relief.
“I love them, but man…they’re pretty emotional,” she said with a small chuckle.
“The last time they said goodbye, things turned out a bit differently than you all had planned,” Grover said seriously.
That sobered Sierra. “I know. And I’m very grateful for everything they’ve done for me since I’ve been back. I just…” Her voice trailed off.
“You aren’t used to it. You need your space,” Grover finished for her.
“Exactly.”
“What do you want to do first?” he asked.
Sierra didn’t hesitate. “I want to track down some of those cookies I smelled cooking and eat a half dozen of them.”
Grover’s lips quirked up into a huge smile.
It made Sierra’s breath catch, and she swallowed hard.
Damn, her plan to start as friends only with this man was in serious jeopardy if he kept smiling like that.
She respected and trusted the Delta Force soldier who’d rescued her from hell…
but this man? This easygoing, charming, gorgeous guy? He was going to be damn hard to resist.
He held out his arm. “My lady? I’m happy to provide an escort.”
Sierra hooked her arm with his. “Lead on. And don’t dally. If those cookies are cold by the time we get there, I’m blaming you.”
It felt good to be silly. It had been so long since she’d had the opportunity to tease. Most of the people she’d spent time with back in Leadville were somber and pitying, almost afraid to joke in her presence. As if her sense of humor had been beaten out of her while she’d been held captive.
For the first time since arriving back in the States, Sierra felt herself truly relaxing. She didn’t know if it was being here in this amazingly beautiful place, or if it was Grover. She had a feeling it was the latter.