Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Eric
Pain and anger mixed and swirled in my mind.
A big part of me wanted to simply hang up and never speak to Jacqui again, but an even bigger part wanted to know what rumors she’d heard so that I could correct the misinformation before it spread further and potentially damaged all that Derek and his friends and family had worked so hard to build here.
Not bothering to even try to soften my tone as the woman deserved it, I answered her question. Even though both of us knew I’d already told her before what happened here. We’d discussed it at length before I’d taken the job and moved to Montana.
“As you are well aware, the entirety of Rawhide Ranch is built on the premise of offering safety to those who need it. The research center is no different. It’s the newest addition to the Ranch, and while it’s still in its infancy and growing, it already has a solid reputation for delivering results.
At this stage, we’re spending a lot of our time looking into existing research, then expanding on it or taking it in different directions.
Everything we do is about finding ways to help neurodiverse people live their best lives.
Nothing we do causes any harm to a patient.
There are no physical restraints, or pharmaceutical ones.
Everything we do is with the full consent of all involved.
I would never injure anyone, especially not an innocent.
I can’t believe you would accuse me of such a thing.
That I’m having to defend myself to you of all people. What the hell, Jacqui?”
After a few moments, with sadness lacing her words, she responded, “I’m sorry, Eric.
I really am, I didn’t mean to question your integrity.
Deep down I know you wouldn’t ever do anything harmful to another person.
You’re a good doctor, I know that. It’s just, well, I had to be sure.
I should have spent more time working through this before I called, but I wasn’t sure I had time.
Even so, I know better. I really am sorry. ”
Her voice cracked as she finished. This didn’t make any sense at all.
The woman I’d come to know knew the importance of not rushing into any situation without thought.
I was well aware that just because she was a shrink didn’t make her perfect, didn’t stop her from being as human as her patients, but still, it was very unlike her to speak like she had.
Needing to move, I got back out of 004 and began pacing between my car and the forest at the edge of the small rest stop.
“What the hell is going on that has you calling me like this? It’s not like you, and you damn well know me better than to even think I’d do what you’ve just implied I have.”
“You’re right. And I really am sorry. It’s about a former patient. Eric, promise me you’ll hold what I tell you in confidence. I don’t like breaking rules, and I never would if I didn’t believe it was necessary. However, I believe this young woman is in grave danger.”
Shock had me stilling, staring down the winding road as I processed what she was telling me.
“If she’s at Rawhide, then she’s about as safe as she can be.
The main gate is the only way in or out, and it’s manned twenty-four/seven.
Derek is damn serious about security and keeping all those in his care safe. ”
Derek Hawkins not only owned Rawhide Ranch, but he also lived on the grounds with his wife, Sadie.
She was a Little and he was her Daddy. Derek was a Dominant and a serious man when he needed to be, but his huge heart always led his decisions.
He made it clear every day that he considered every charge under his care precious and took his job of keeping them safe seriously.
“She’s not there yet, at least I don’t believe she is.”
Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose. This talking in circles garbage was not like Jacqui either. Whatever was going on with this former patient had her spooked in a big way.
“Jacqui, you’re breaking the rules. Deal with it.
We all know there are times when it’s needed.
Now, please for the love of all that is holy, will you tell me who this girl is?
And why you think she’s in danger? Also if you know when she’ll be arriving, that’d be great.
I’m not onsite at the moment, but the second we finish talking, I’ll be heading straight back to find Derek to form a plan for her protection. ”
“Yeah, I know.” She blew out a breath. “Her name is Calla Lewis. I’m not sure if you remember her.
She came in a few months before you moved up to Montana.
A little thing, only five-foot tall, long light brown hair, hazel eyes.
She’s very shy and likes to stay out of the way so you may not have seen her. ”
Closing my eyes, I thought back to any women I’d seen when I’d gone into Pieces to Peace for my sessions. While her name rang a bell, I couldn’t picture anyone like Jacqui had described.
“Sorry, not that I recall. Name’s familiar though.”
“You may have heard about her on the news while you were in the hospital or rehab after your initial surgery. The news spread far and globally when she was found locked away in the attic of her father’s house in rural Louisiana.
When the police went to arrest him on an assault charge, they’d discovered he’d hidden.
They searched the place for him and finally found him and a daughter no one had known about.
Poor girl has the most tragic story, but that’s not important right now.
Calla is AuDHD, leaning more to the autistic side of the spectrum.
When she first came in, she was completely non-verbal and scared of everything.
By the time she left, she’d improved a lot.
She was speaking a little bit with me and had started venturing out into the gardens.
She’d finally felt safe enough to start exploring the world. ”
Her voice cracked again, letting me know this girl had wrapped herself around Jacqui’s heart more than most patients. So why had she let her leave?
“Why the hell isn’t she still with you? Sounds like she was doing well at Pieces to Peace.”
“She was really starting to bloom, and I would have given anything to have been able to keep her here with me. Calla was barely eighteen years old when she was found. They took her to the local hospital for assessment, but since she had no physical injuries, she was quickly released into her mother, Ruth Bosman’s, care.
“Calla went from living in a small home in a quiet, secluded, bayou in Louisiana, where she rarely even left the attic let alone the house, to a busy and bright hospital. Then she was handed over to her mother and stepfather. While they were technically family, she’d never met them before.
Can you imagine how scared she would have been?
Especially when they fly her up to Denver to a massive mansion in the downtown area.
Calla’s not ever going to be able to settle in a city, not with her auditory sensitivities. ”
Of course she wouldn’t. That poor girl.
“From the moment she left the attic, she would have struggled to process everything. A loud city, on top of the sudden changes, would have had her living in a continual state of overwhelm, in a constant cycle of shutdowns and meltdowns. Please tell me her mother and stepfather were kind and gentle with her, that they at least tried to help her adjust to her new life?”
The bitter sounding scoff that came over the line had my heart clenching.
“Councilman Jack Bosman is a horrible man. He treats everyone like servants and demands to have full control over every aspect of his life, that includes anyone he considers his. Ruth won’t ever go against anything he says.
Calla had only been in Denver for a few weeks before she came to Pieces to Peace.
Thankfully, an old colleague of mine works at the clinic Jack and Ruth took her to and she recommended Pieces to Peace to them.
Jack dropped her off telling me he couldn’t handle having a retard in his home for another moment. ”
My free hand clenched into a tight fist as fury swept through me.
“What an asshole.”
I started walking again, doing laps around the rest area, trying to burn off some of my rage over the unnecessary suffering Calla had been forced to endure after surviving a traumatic childhood.
I vaguely remembered hearing about her on the news, but I’d have to look her up when I got back to the Ranch to make sure I had all the facts I could find.
Since Jacqui was sure she was heading my way, I needed to start planning accommodations that would help ease her into life at Rawhide.
Once she was here, and Derek had permission forms signed, Jacqui would be able to send me her case notes.
Those would be priceless in coming up with what Calla would require to thrive long term.
I’d be doing everything within my power to make sure that happened, that she’d have a life she was happy with.
Like so many other young women before her, Rawhide Ranch would become her sanctuary and home.
A shield from the outside world that would always be too overwhelming for her to survive in for long.
I mentally made a note to talk to Jared, the Ranch’s lawyer, about how to make sure her useless mother and piece of shit stepfather couldn’t ever get near her again.
“Yeah, he’s a real piece of work, that’s for sure.
He clearly wanted nothing to do with Calla when he dropped her off, and neither he nor Ruth made any effort to contact her for three years.
Then in May last year they suddenly want her to live with them in Denver again.
Of course I fought them on it, but Ruth was her only remaining biological family.
The law was on her side. Especially since Jack is politically connected. ”