“Hey, thanks for everything,” he said.

  “I need to thank you for coming to my aid with the pregnant lady tonight. I thought she might deliver her baby if the ambulance didn’t get there in time. Not to mention I wouldn’t have had a ride after she and her toddler were picked up.”

  “The Uber driver should never have abandoned you like that.”

  “He was afraid his car would be damaged in the storm, and it’s his only income.” Sierra felt she had to see the driver’s point of view. Not all people were born to be heroes. She was glad Adam was.

  “He still shouldn’t have left you and the woman and her child to fend for yourselves.” Adam took a deep settling breath. “Why did you call Leidolf first and not me?”

  She was surprised that he thought she should call him first. She would have, if she had thought he was close by. “I didn’t know where you were. I thought you might still be in the middle of a case like you can be. I called Leidolf, since the ambulance couldn’t get there right away, hoping one of our wolves would be close by. He said you had headed home and thought you were nearest to my location. As to another matter… About the driver’s door?” She had struggled and struggled with that door, and she figured there was no getting the woman out that way.

  He smiled. “Yeah, it just needed a little more muscle.”

  “Ha! I loosened it for you.”

  He laughed, then he started the steaks.

  She went inside and set up several candles on the bar and lit them. Once she’d put the silverware and place mats out, she was thinking this looked more like a date than just something nice to do during an electrical outage and bad weather. She brought out a tub of butter and set it on the bar. “Do you want some red wine?”

  “Sure, that would be good.”

  She opened a bottle of burgundy and poured each of them a glass of wine. Then she fixed them each a glass of water.

  He gave a quick call to the hospital to check on the pregnant lady and the toddler. “Thanks,” he said, then ended the call. “Both the pregnant mom and little girl are fine.”

  “Oh, good. I would have worried about that tonight if you hadn’t checked on them.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  When they were finally ready to eat, they sat down on the leather barstools. This was really nice, she thought, looking at Adam’s bare chest as he began to eat. Really nice.

  She sure hadn’t expected this to happen! “So how is your new partner?”

  * * *

  Adam wasn’t entirely surprised Sierra would ask him about Tori. The guys all wanted to know about her, naturally, but so did some of the women, curious if he was interested in dating her.

  “She’s good. She’s prompt. Hell, she often gets to work before I do. She has a good head on her shoulders when it comes to investigating a case. She’s former FBI, but she wanted to work with me because I’m a—”

  “Wolf, naturally. So she knew you before? How did that come about?” Sierra sounded surprised because he’d never mentioned her before.

  But he didn’t know her. “Leidolf knew her, apparently. I had never met her before. He convinced her to come here to join the pack.” He buttered his potato.

  “That’s what a good leader does. Looks for valuable assets to add to the pack. So is it a matchmaking effort on our leaders’ part?”

  Adam smiled at Sierra. He swore she was fishing to see if he was actually dating Tori or even interested in dating her. “Maybe. But several bachelor males in the pack are interested in dating her. I’m sure that was another consideration for convincing her to join us.” He carved up some more of his steak. He guessed if Sierra was going to get personal with his life, he might as well ask about hers. “Did you have fun on South Padre Island?”

  “Yeah, I did. It was relaxing. I swam in the pool, walked on the beach, swam in the Gulf, ran as a wolf at night on the beach. I even sketched some drawings of people at restaurants and at the beach. I had a great time.”

  “That sounds like the kind of vacation I would have enjoyed, only I would have been building sandcastles and taking pictures instead of drawing. My drawing is in the vein of stick figures.”

  She laughed. “You did great on the first photoshopped photo art that you created. Sandcastles, eh? That would have been fun.” She took a sip of her wine.

  “But you came home early.”

  “It would have been more fun to have stayed two whole weeks if I’d had a friend along . I would have too. I certainly hadn’t expected to come home to a tornado.”

  “I so agree. I thought about you on the beach while we were socked in with rain. I would have been there in a heartbeat if I could have been. It sounds like the perfect place to take a vacation.”

  “It is, but knowing you, you would never have the time.”

  Adam suspected that he was in the same boat as her boyfriend as far as the notion of dating her went. “Especially after Josh retired, though with Tori to help, we’ll get caught up eventually. So what happened with the boyfriend?” He wanted to know if Sierra was still dating the ass or if she had finally given up on him and ended the relationship.

  She sighed and picked up her corn on the cob. “He’s going to bite the dust once I’m able to tell him so.”

  That was good to hear. Adam didn’t like that anyone would treat her with so little regard. “You still haven’t talked to him?”

  “Jethro, his brother, finally got through to me once you asked me to turn on my phone. I told him I was fine and having fun, not to worry. He was anxious about me telling Richard that he had been having sex with a human woman in Richard’s bed. I thought he was also concerned that I was upset that I had come all that way to see Richard and he wasn’t even there.”

  “So are you going to tell on his brother?”

  She chuckled. “That’s all you guys would worry about.”

  “Not me. If I had a brother, I would never have abused his trust like that. So are you?”

  She ate the rest of her corn. “I doubt it will come up in the conversation whenever, if ever Richard calls me.”

  “Do you think Jethro will have told him you were there and angry about Richard not being there?”

  “Yeah. And Richard will undoubtedly smell that I’ve been there. If he ever checks all the messages I left him, he’ll know.”

  “And you still aren’t sure Richard’s going to call you back?”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “Let me put it this way. His work always comes first. When he’s back at the office, he’ll be busy playing catch-up.”

  “And when he’s home at night?”

  “Maybe then he’ll think to call me.”

  “You’re not going to just call him and get it over with?” That was what Adam would have done. Ended the relationship right then and there.

  “Ha! I texted him three times. I don’t know when he’s getting out of the field. It could be another week if he had just gone out before I arrived. I’m not going to keep calling and texting him. It would sound like I’m desperate to get in touch with him.”

  “Did you call it off between you and him in your texts?”

  “No. I wanted to talk to him in person. I feel I owe him that much. Though I guess I really shouldn’t feel that way. And if he doesn’t respond in a couple of days, I’ll just email him a Dear Richard letter.” She took another bite of her steak. “Not to change the subject, but did you ever get any response on the sketch I did on the suspect with a shaved head?”

  “Not yet. It’s a great sketch, but either no one wants to come forward with any information, or he’s not from around here. Next time he hits up a liquor store, we’ll get him.” At least Adam hoped they would.

  “Well, darn. There’s nothing that matches him in the database, I suppose.”

  “No. He might never have been caught before so he wouldn’t be in the database. Or he just started his life of crime. Oh, and by the way, the redheaded guy you sketched the day before you left on vacation? We got several leads on him. Hopefully, we’ll get him soon.”

  “I sure hope so. Anyone who commits armed robbery shouldn’t be running free. Oh, what about the rental car theft?”

  Adam smiled. “Now that worked out great. A second rental car had been stolen just before I arrived, and I took off after it. With a couple of police cars also in pursuit, we nabbed the car thief and learned about the chop shop where they were dismantling the cars and selling the parts.”

  “That’s great!”

  “Yeah, it was. We’ve missed you. Everyone has,” Adam quickly said. He hadn’t realized until she wasn’t there how much so, just seeing her smiling face when she was coming into the office to do a witness sketch or frowning in concentration as she was drawing the eyewitness’s account. Or thrilled when he brought her the special coffee. “I think Willy Blanchard’s getting tired of being our only other sketch artist. He’s crabby, short-tempered half the time.”

  “As long as he doesn’t retire.”

  “Right, like Josh did.” But Adam was thinking that was where this was headed with Willy, and he hoped Sierra would consider taking his place and working full-time.

  “But at least you have a great partner to replace Josh.”

  “I do.”

  “Maybe Willy just needs a vacation. Mine wasn’t what I had planned for, but it turned out great. It recharged my batteries.” She took another sip of her wine.

  “You could always go full-time and take over Willy’s position if he decides to really retire.” There, he mentioned it, hoping she would consider the idea favorably.

  “Thanks, but no thanks. Willy and I have a great arrangement. He does all the dead body sketches; I do the witness sketches. Now that I’m back early, I can relieve him of some of the load I’m sure he has been feeling. Maybe that will help.”

  Adam didn’t have the heart to tell her that Willy had been telling him over and over again that he was going to retire. Adam suspected it was going to be sooner rather than later. After Willy had snapped at a witness for making him change a sketch several times, Adam knew it was past time for him to retire. He was a great guy, but this work could take a toll on anyone.

  Suddenly there was a noise like a transformer had been fixed and the lights came on, shut off, came on again, and stayed on. He’d forgotten Sierra had turned the living room light on. He was glad the electricity was back on. The washer turned back on too. And her food wouldn’t spoil.

  “Great. Maybe my electricity is back on too.” Adam checked with his electric company on his phone. “No, it’s still out.”

  “Well, you can just stay here. You have to anyway, until I can wash and dry your clothes.”

  “Thanks.”

  Adam glanced at the picture of a family of red wolves and one of two young wolves sitting together on the mantel of her fireplace. “Your family? Is the other of your brother and you when you were little?”

  He had never met her parents. When they had visited Brad from San Antonio, Adam had been busy working. He wondered if they would move here, now that both Sierra and her brother lived here.

  “Yeah. I need to get a photo of Brad and his mate now too.”

  Adam looked around at the oil paintings on the wall of landscapes, birds, boats, seascapes, wolves, and flowers. “All yours?”

  “Yeah, as you can see, I ran out of room. My parents’ home is filled with them. And I’m working on Brad’s new home. He wouldn’t take any until he retired and settled down, not wanting any of my paintings to be ruined in shipment. I want to do one of Mount Hood when I have time, since I live here now, and it’s just part of being in Portland. I’ve started selling some of my floral oils in Brooke’s shop, which has been really cool.”

  “That’s great and they’re beautiful.”

  The rain was still pouring outside, but the lightning was moving off and the thunder rumbled farther in the distance, not as loud. Adam was glad the storm was dying down so when he left, he would get home easier after all the damage was done. Though he was enjoying the time with Sierra and wasn’t eager to leave just yet. About half an hour had passed and the wash was still going, though he figured it wouldn’t be long now before it was done. He’d still have to wait for his clothes to dry. Maybe he and Sierra could watch a movie or something after they finished eating while they waited for his clothes to be finished.

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. His first thought was that someone needed help because of the storm. Hopefully Sierra wasn’t a target for Dover Manning’s continued harassment.

  “Expecting someone?” Adam asked, ready to protect her. He was off his barstool in a hurry.

  “No, I’m not expecting anyone.” She went to the door and looked out the peephole. “Ohmigod, it’s Richard.” And she didn’t say it in a good way.

  “Oh,” Adam said and returned to his seat.

  She sounded shocked and not happy about it in the least. What in the world was Richard doing here? But would she finally break it off with him?

  Chapter 7

  Sierra couldn’t believe her boyfriend, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wentworth, or the ex—because that was just what he was about to be—had shown up unexpectedly on her front porch all the way from Fort Hood, Texas, without letting her know. Was he crazy? What if she’d been out of town or not home? And she wouldn’t have been here if she hadn’t gotten bored being by herself on South Padre Island.

  Or—she glanced back at a very underdressed Adam—had been entertaining a bachelor male wolf, no matter how innocent the situation was.

  “The boyfriend,” she whispered to Adam, not having opened the door yet to let Richard in. “Uh, ex, as soon as I tell him the news.”

  “Good.” Adam continued to eat his steak as if the news that her boyfriend was standing on her front porch didn’t alarm him. Wolves could be territorial and confrontational over something like that. And she suspected if she had any trouble with Richard, Adam would take him to task, if she didn’t.

  Sierra sighed. She wasn’t sure how Richard was going to take this, not that she should care how he felt after what he’d put her through. She was calling it quits with him. No backing down on it.

  She opened the door and gave Richard an annoyed look. She couldn’t muster a smile for him for anything. His blond hair was cut military short, his blue eyes all-assessing as he smelled the air and she knew he smelled Adam’s scent in the house. Richard was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, a rain jacket, and loafers. He looked relaxed as if he had nothing to worry about as far as their relationship went.

  “Why in the world are you here? You never even answered my texts or called back after all the phone messages I left.” She just couldn’t believe it. Unless he thought the only way he could salvage their relationship was to come here. He sure didn’t look like he was glad to see her or even itching to kiss her or do anything with her that would show he really, really wanted to prove she shouldn’t want to dump his butt.

  Richard looked over her shoulder and saw Adam raise a glass of wine to him, his chest and lower legs and feet bare, candles lighting the bar, setting the stage for a perfectly intimate evening.

  “It looks like I’m a little late to the party.” Richard didn’t sound like he had anything to be concerned about.

  Maybe he figured she wouldn’t do that to him unless she’d called it quits first, and she hadn’t, not in any emails or texts or phone messages.

  He came inside and dropped his black bag on the floor like he planned on staying a while, despite it looking like she already had a new boyfriend and Richard was on the outs. Richard took off his rain jacket and handed it to her, then closed the door behind him.

  Okay, so they needed to talk before she sent him packing anyway. No matter what, he wasn’t staying the night with her, and he would have to get his own transportation to a hotel and then to the airport whenever he could get a flight out. She wasn’t going to do anything for him, just like he hadn’t taken the time to pick her up from the airport when she’d visited either.

  She’d told herself his actions had been a passive-aggressive reaction on his part, annoyed that she’d retired from the military and had moved out of state and wasn’t still available to date just any old time he wanted to get together with her.

  She hung his wet jacket on a coatrack. “Richard, this is Police Detective Adam Holmes with the Portland Police Bureau. Adam, this is Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wentworth, infantry officer at Fort Hood, Texas.”

  “Her boyfriend,” Richard added, in case Adam needed to know that.

  So her ex-boyfriend was annoyed at seeing Adam sitting there with barely any clothes on, eating a steak dinner and having wine with her after all, not to mention the candles all lit on the counter, making it look like more than just a dinner together. Richard didn’t even kiss her like he normally would have when they met up with each other. Of course she would have kissed and hugged him, if she wasn’t planning to call it quits with him.

  “We had storm trouble, if you didn’t notice as you were on your way here to Sierra’s home. We had a tornado touch down in Portland, if you didn’t hear,” Adam said. “And the electricity was out.”

  “Yeah, I heard about the tornado on the airplane. I noticed the lights suddenly came on in the houses and the streetlamps as I was riding in the taxi through the dark residential areas.”

  “I’m going to check on the wash for you, Adam,” Sierra said, then walked quickly down the hall, trying not to appear to be in a rush. How long did the darn wash have to go? Not that she wanted Adam to leave right away. Richard was the one she planned to get rid of quickly.

  She didn’t want to leave the two men alone together for too long. She should have just told Richard it was over between them and goodbye, but she was more tenderhearted than he was. She was feeling guilty that he had flown all the way out here to see her, maybe thinking he needed to resurrect their relationship, but as far as she was concerned, it was too late for that. And why should she feel guilty about it?