Chapter 6
“Who the hell was that in my house?” Shay asked as they drove away from the cabin and headed toward Broken Two.
“Faith Webber, just like she said. She’s also the resident jockey.”
“What does that actually man?”
“You know we raise racehorses, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, we have a dozen of them ready to start running the track when the snow melts and the track is worked. By worked, I’m talking running the equipment over it to get it ready for the horses.
She will be riding all the horses. We have buyers for some, but until we can get their stats, they aren’t interested. ”
“I’m assuming by stats you mean how fast they run?”
“Among other things, but yes.”
“She’s going to be riding all of them?”
“Not at the same time.” Cole looked at him with a grin, and laughed at Shay’s expression. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Naomi and I’ve been talking, and we want to keep Champ for the ranch. We don’t want to sell him.”
“I thought someone wanted to buy him.”
“Just because someone wants to buy him, it doesn’t mean we have to sell him.
Naomi, Clem, and I believe that Champ will be good for the ranch.
I know we’re short staffed as it is, but eventually, we will have enough people to operate like Erin’s Way, and Broken Wheel are.
Just like Erin, we, Naomi and I, do not want to hire just anyone, we want quality people to work for us. ”
“Is that what I am? Quality?”
“Yes, you don’t have any challenges, but with your military experience, you have discipline, stamina, and integrity.”
“What if Caleb says I can’t work until this bruise heals? Then what will I do?”
“Don’t worry, I have a job for you.”
“Can you tell me?”
“It might take three weeks, but I think you should help Faith by being her assistant.”
“Excuse me?” Shay asked in shock. “No offense, Cole, but I’m not really jockey size. You do realize that I’m six-foot-three, and weigh at least two ten, right?”
Cole waved that off as he pulled out onto the highway.
“I’m not asking you to ride a horse, but I’m asking you to assist with the stats.
You’ll have a clipboard with a check list, a stopwatch to time Faith as she runs the track with each horse.
You’ll also observe and tell her things you see.
If you don’t know the correct terminology, you can either learn it, or tell her what you see, and she can correct or enhance it. ”
“Ah, I understand, and what about mucking out the stalls? What about helping Ann and Tony?”
“I’m not being harsh, but you can’t muck out stalls with crutches, and if you want to get better, then I suggest you get to know the horses better.
Faith is only here for one night, she’s leaving tomorrow to head back home to finish what she has to do in order to move here permanently.
She said she will be back in three weeks.
In the meantime, between Clem, Naomi, and I, we have plenty of information for you to read and view to get a feel for what we want you to do.
” Cole looked at him with a solid nod as he slowed down to pull into Broken Two.
“Trust me, if I didn’t think you could do this job, then I wouldn’t have suggested it to Noomie.”
“I thought her name was Naomi.” Shay scowled at the other name.
“It is, but you might not know this. I was at her ranch over in Wyoming before she was even born. She would zoom around that ranch on the back of a pony, dirt bike, and eventually she’d zoom around an arena when she barrel raced.
Clem and I started calling her Noomie when she zoomed around. You know, Noomie doing zoomies.”
Shay grinned when he pictured what he said, and sighed when they stopped before Caleb’s office. He had never been there before, but he had heard about it from Tony. Before the truck was even shut off, his door opened and Tony was right there to help him from it.
Using the door, and the crutches, then Tony’s support, he finally made it into the office and sighed in relief when he sat in the waiting wheelchair.
“This is a funny looking chair.”
“It was Naomi’s, she was in it for six years. She didn’t want to throw it away, so she gave it for Caleb to use here.”
They went down the hallway, and Caleb came out of a room. “Come on back.” He stepped aside and he and Tony got Shay situated on the table. Fifteen minutes later, he looked up from his computer.
“Well?”
“Nothing’s broken,” Caleb said with relief in his face. “No fractures, no broken bones. However, I would recommend an MRI.”
“Why?”
“X-rays won’t show whether there’s a torn ligament or anything deeper.
They won’t show if your ACL is messed up.
I can only look for broken bones. I know of two doctors that are taking new patients.
However, one is in Fool’s Gold, and one is in Colorado Springs.
Each place is roughly an hour from here. That’s the good news.”
“What’s the bad?”
“No driving.” He held up his hand and shook his head. “Shay, you messed up the outside of your right knee, your accelerator leg.” At Shay’s look, he shook his head. “How did you get from the barn to your cabin?”
“I drove.”
“How did that feel?”
“Like my knee was about to explode.”
“There you go. I can’t tell you not to work, but I’m going to recommend it until you see the doctor.” He looked up when Katherine knocked on the door, and came in at his bidding to hand him a piece of paper. Caleb nodded when he read it.
“The doctor in Colorado Springs can see you tomorrow at eleven. It’s Dr. Amelia Johnson.” Caleb handed him the paper, and Shay only looked at it.
“We’ll figure something out,” Cole said. “If need be, Lois or Laurie can drive you.”
“I don’t want to put anyone out.”
“Stop it,” Tony said firmly. When Shay looked at him, he shook his head. “What you’re feeling right now? Helpless, not wanting to rely on others? That’s exactly how I felt after my operations, and you were the one to drive me home and to my appointments. Let someone do something for you now.”
“Fine,” Shay said, defeated. He took the papers, but when Caleb refused to let go, he looked at the younger man with a raised brow.
“I can’t prescribe pain medication, Dr. Johnson can though. Stop by on your way through tomorrow and I’ll have a file worked up for you. I’ll also include the x-rays. I can also send those ahead of time through the computer, and you can have the physical copies to take with you.”
“Thanks, Caleb,” Shay took the papers, shook his hand, and rose gingerly to use the crutches to leave the office. It was a silent ride back to New Double. Cole helped him out of the truck before his cabin, and Shay signed in relief when he was able to use the ramp to get to his front porch.
“Tell me again why all the cabins have a handicap ramp?”
“Naomi was in a wheelchair for six years. Others over at Broken have certain disabilities, though Erin calls them challenges. Reid has a prosthetic leg, so does Adele. Marcia has joint problems in this cold weather, and so does Tony. Erin felt it was better to have the ramp and not need it, then to not install one and need it. You have to admit it’s better than going up the stairs with the crutches, right? ”
“Absolutely,” Shay nodded and opened the door.
The smell of something wonderful hit him full in the face.
He grinned as Cole smelt it too, but he backed away and headed to his truck to go to his own home.
Because he didn’t know what else to say to let Faith know he was home, he called out with a laugh, “Honey, I’m home!
” Then, he struggled to finish entering the house.
He didn’t know whether he jerked, or bumped into her, but he reached out to grab her and ended up with his arms around the woman and his crutches crashed to the floor.
“Hi,” he said with a grin. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to manhandle you. I don’t know if either one of us were going to fall.”
“That’s fine, I was a little too close when you turned around, and kicked your crutch.”
Shay nodded, and looked down at her upturned face. “I have to ask, how tall are you?”
Faith grinned. “Five foot.”
“What? Five foot what?”
“Nothing, just five foot.”
“Ah,” he said with a nod, then smiled. “I’m Shay, Shay Hall.”
“Hi, Shay, I’m Faith, Faith Webber.” They stood there with their arms wrapped around each other, and it was several minutes before they broke apart. She stepped back, bent down for the crutches, and waited until he had them beneath his arms, and went to the kitchen.
“I hope you’re hungry.”
“Staving, what smells so good?”
“Nothing special, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, and I whipped up some homemade biscuits.” She shrugged when he lifted his brows in shock.
“I had the supplies for all this?”
“You did, come, sit down.”
“I want to wash my hands first.” He nodded and went down the hall to use the bathroom in his bedroom.
He washed his hands and face, then combed his hair and threw on some deodorant.
He didn’t have to change when he arrived home from work, so he cleaned up as best he could without showering.
In his bedroom, he removed his work shirt, and donned a clean tee.
He struggled out of his jeans, and put on a pair of shorts.
It was snowing outside, but it was comfortable in his home, and he had no plans on going anywhere until the next day.
Surprised it had only taken five minutes, he went back out to the kitchen, and nodded when he saw the food on the table, and grinned when he saw two place settings.
“I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to join you.”
“Not at all, you cooked it, you should also enjoy it.” He tried to hold her chair out for her, but she gave him a look, and he grinned. “Sorry.”
“No, that’s okay, it was a nice gesture, but with you using the crutches, it’s not very practical.”
“I know,” he said as he settled in his chair. He waited for her to begin loading her plate, then added a healthy serving of everything to his. His first bite of the meatloaf had him closing his eyes in bliss. “This is good.”
“Thank you. I’m not complaining, but I didn’t know when you would return, so I mixed it up and let it sit for a few minutes before I put it in the oven. You know, to let it marinate.”
“It’s delicious.” They ate in silence, and after she finished, and he was on his second helping of everything, she studied him. He was a very handsome man, and she wondered if she was correct on his age. He looked around her age. Unable to wait, she blurted out,
“How old are you?”
Shay looked at her in surprise, then grinned as he wiped his mouth with the paper towel she’d put on the table, because she hadn’t been able to find any napkins.
“Forty. Or I will be on my next birthday. I know you didn’t ask any of these questions, but I’m single, no exes of any type.
” He explained when he saw confusion on her face.
“No ex-wife, ex-fiancée. There are a couple of ex-girlfriends, but they are so far in my past they don’t count.
” He smiled. “High school, and one in my twenties. I thought we were serious, but when I was gone for work, she cheated on me. As soon as I found out, I dumped her.”
“Oh. What was your work?”
“Military. I joined the Army at the age of eighteen. I don’t know if it was because I was good during boot camp, or what, but my drill instructor and CO, which means commanding officer, talked to me after graduation.”
“About?”
“They wanted me to train to become a unit leader in the National Guard.”
“Is there a difference between the two? Army and National Guard?”
“Yes and no. Yes, they are two different entities. No, because the National Guard is like a spin-off of the Army. You have to go through Army boot camp to be in the National Guard.” He saw her frown and finished the last couple of bites on his plate before he pushed it away.
“Have you ever heard of the Navy SEALs?”
“Of course, everyone has.”
“Okay, but not anyone that joins the Navy can be a SEAL.”
“Ah, I get it, being a SEAL is a spin-off of the Navy.”
“Correct. Anyway, I liked the freedom I would have with the Guard, so I took them up on their offer.”
“What freedom, I thought being in the military was working twenty-four seven.”
“It is, however, once my schooling and training were done and I started working my way up the chain of command, it took five years to be in my position, and that took a lot of hard work, guts, determination, and grit. Anyway, once I was fully in the National Guard, I worked every day, but it was mainly pushing papers.” He sighed, and held up his hand when she looked like she wanted to say something.
“Can we clean up this mess, then go into the living room before the fire and I’ll explain everything? I’m not shutting you out, it’s just that my leg is killing me, and I want to prop it up with some ice on it.”
“Oh, sorry,” she said in a rush, and jumped to her feet. She sent him into the living room while she cleaned up the kitchen, and when she joined him thirty minutes later, she paused to ask if he wanted something to drink.
“I’d love a beer.”
“Are you on any pain meds?”
“No, Caleb can’t prescribe them. I have to wait until I go to the doctor tomorrow.” He shook his head sadly. “I still don’t know how I’ll get there.”
“I’ll take you.” She walked away after that statement.