Chapter 8
“Shay?” Faith asked fifteen minutes into their journey.
“Yes?”
“Can we finish our conversation from last night, about pushing papers for the National Guard.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that.” He sighed and wiggled in his seat to get a better look at her as they drove.
“Being in the Army is like you said, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. You are always on duty. However, in the National Guard once you complete and pass Army boot camp, and the extensive training afterward, your duty to your country after that is one weekend a month, and one month a summer, unless the National Guard is called in for emergencies.”
“Like?”
“Helping evacuate people in fires, floods, clean up after a gigantic storm. We were deployed to airports after 9/11 happened, as security.”
“Ah, okay, so whenever I heard on the news that the National Guard was called in, it was based on where as to who would go?”
“Correct. Like I wouldn’t be sent to California if I was based out of Pennsylvania. The farthest I ever went was to New York City, right after 9/11 to be security in the airport.”
“Got it.”
“Anyway, because I made my way quickly through the ranks, I wasn’t like the other people in the National Guard.
For example, Tony and Marcia, she works at Broken Two, were in the same unit.
They did their one weekend a month, and one month a summer.
Sometimes, that month had to be done in the winter if the training called for it.
If they weren’t doing that, then they worked a regular job, and lived a normal life. ”
“Except for those times you mentioned.”
“Correct. Anyway, I was in charge of their unit, but they weren’t my only unit.
When their unit was off, another unit came in.
I had enough units under my command that someone was at the facility every single weekend of the year.
It was a total of five units, and though I said they had to do one month a summer.
It didn’t always have to be in the summer.
When they needed cold weather training, we did the month in the middle of the winter.
The conditions were about like they are here now. ”
“This allows them to be ready to do their job in any condition Mother Nature has to throw at them.”
“Correct. So, that’s why I was always busy, I was in charge of five units. When they weren’t there, I had the paperwork to do, and I myself took advanced training whenever I could, not only to further my career, but to make me a better leader, and a better soldier.”
“I won’t ask if you ever saw war, because you probably can’t tell me. However, I am going to ask what Tony meant by hitting the side of a mountain.”
“Fuck, pardon my language, but that incident was a whole clusterfuck that went on for months. That’s just the legalities. The actual healing took years.”
“Now I’m intrigued.”
For the rest of the drive, Shay explained what had happened the second Caleb Burrows, Jr. stepped off the bus at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, up to the point of when they carried him off the field in a body bag.
By this time, the trip had been completed, and they sat in the parking lot for a good five minutes before she spoke. She looked at him with wide eyes.
“I don’t like to swear a lot, but holy fuck. That was intense.”
“Yeah, and it’s all true. I can’t tell you to look it up, because it’s classified as military data, but I watched as Tony and Marcia lived through it. At first, when I heard the injuries and saw them when they were brought in, I thought Tony was the lucky one.”
“Why?”
“He only had a shattered, ankle, hip, knee, and shoulder. However, they were opposite of one another. Meaning his ankle and hip on one side, and his knee and shoulder on the other.”
“Damn, that meant he couldn’t use crutches.”
“Correct, and because they were shattered, he had numerous operations. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe in total he endured eleven of them. His recovery was five freaking years.”
“And this Marcia person?”
“Broke every bone in her body, except her spine, and skull. However, each bone was broken in two or three places. I do remember that both her femurs were broken in three places. After extensive x-rays, she was taken into surgery to place pins in those bones, and some in her lower legs. Then they put her entire body in a cast, and put her in a drug-induced coma. We didn’t know at the time that she was already in a normal coma.
She might not have cracked her skull, but she hit her head pretty hard and passed out.
It was months before she came to. See, they took her off the meds keeping her in the drug-induced coma once her bones were healed and they removed the casts.
After that, a physical therapist come in every day to work with her. ”
“Unconscious?”
“Yes, they didn’t want her to lose muscle mass. Once she came to, she spent another two years in the hospital for rehabilitation, mostly learning to walk again, along with extensive intense physical therapy.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, she got better, moved here to Broken Wheel, met the love of her life, and thrived. I do see that these winters are hard on her bones, and joints, but she’s working with Caleb about that.
The same thing for Tony. This cold weather is hard on them, but working with a therapist that is aware, and at the top of his game is helping them both.
” He sighed heavily. “I’m hoping that’s all I’m going to need.
Thank god nothing is broken, but they don’t know whether there is any tissue or ligament damage. ”
“That’s why we’re here.”
“Correct.” He looked at the clock on the dash and shook his head. “Do you think being an hour early will help me get in to see Dr. Johnson earlier?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” she said as she shut the truck off, reached behind her for her coat, and hopped out.
As she came around the front of the truck, she put it on, but today the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been the day before.
She didn’t want to crowd him, so she held the door open for him, and when he was clear, she closed it, and used the key fob to lock the vehicle.
“Do you want me to go in and see if they have a wheelchair?”
“I think I can make it.”
“Don’t be a hero.” She looked at him and pointed.
The entrance was a long way away. At his expression, she nodded.
“I thought so.” She walked away rapidly, disappeared behind the doors, and was back outside in under two minutes.
She stood behind him as he settled in the chair and sighed in relief to be sitting down again.
By the time they received directions, navigated the hallways, and made it to the elevator, Shay looked at Faith. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For getting this wheelchair. I never would have made it past the front desk, let alone all the walking we did. Also, thank you for pushing me. We didn’t discuss this, but I’m six three and two hundred and ten pounds.”
She shrugged and gave him a grin. “That just means you’re paying for lunch.”
He grinned, “I can do that.” The doors opened, and she pushed him up to the front desk, he took the clipboard and she wheeled him back to a quiet corner.
She thumbed through a magazine while he filled out the medical form, and when he was done, she returned it to the front.
She had only just sat back down when a nurse called his name.
She pushed him back, and it surprised her when no one questioned why she was there. She didn’t say anything, because she was just nosy enough to want to know what was going on. They waited for five minutes before a woman, who looked a little older than the two of them walked in.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Amelia Johnson. I take it by the wheelchair and crutches, you’re Shay Hall?”
“I am. This is my girlfriend, Faith Webber.”
Faith gave a jerk, but didn’t contradict him.
“Good. Now, I got a brief note here.” She laughed. “It says, male, thirty-eight, kicked by horse on outside of right leg.” She shook her head as she looked at Shay with a raised brow. “That’s it.”
Shay shook his head and chuckled. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened.”
“What exactly happened?”
“I was helping our farrier.”
“What’s that?”
“The person that works on horses’ feet. They trim their hooves, put fresh shoes on them, and if they have any other problems with their feet or legs, they work with a vet to help them heal.”
“Got it. So, you were helping the farrier?”
“Yes, one of the horses had developed a limp. Lorissa came over to check on her, and while I held the horse’s head, she worked.
When she was done, I turned away from the horse, and out of nowhere, she turned and kicked.
Lorissa yelled, but the hoof struck before I heard her.
” He snapped his fingers twice. “It was that quick.”
“Okay, did you have x-rays?”
“Yes, Caleb Lassiter is a licensed physical therapist and chiropractor. He was able to take x-rays. There isn’t a medical doctor on the ranch, other than Caleb. Oh, and his business partner is Dr. Staci Hardt, but she’s a different type of doctor.”
“Different how?”
“She’s working to make prosthetics for veterans that need them.”
“From Seattle?”
“I believe so, why?”
“I know her, well, not personally, but I’ve followed her work. You don’t have a medical doctor there?”
“No, just Caleb and Staci, why?”
“I’m looking to branch out on my own.”
“Here,” Shay said as he opened his wallet and withdrew a card. “That’s Erin Riceman, she’s in charge of everything. Tell her what you want to do. She’ll probably hire you. Anyway, I do know that you’ll have to go through an extensive background check.”
“The question is, would she have room for me?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, okay, I’ll call her later. Now, do you have the physical x-rays with you?”
Shay handed her the envelope Faith had gotten from Caleb, and they watched as she put them up to the light source. She shook her head several times.