Chapter 2 #2
She was going to Fool’s Gold on the promise that she could do what she loved.
Being a bio engineer and with a PhD in orthotics, she was interested in helping American Veterans with prosthetics.
With the government grant in her back pocket, not literally, but she had the grant to help twenty-five veterans in the next five years.
Her friend and former colleague reassured her that she would have a quiet place to work.
She had to trust him, because he was the only one that had helped her when their other team members tried to take credit for her work.
Thankfully, when it came to her work she was meticulous in her note taking, and when the others tried to steal her work, she had the documentation to prove that it was her brain child and not theirs.
It had been proven in a court of law that her designs and ideas had been formed years before her former colleagues said they had come up with the ideas they were trying to steal.
She would always continue to do her note taking and documentation, and because of her record keeping, she had been the one issued the government grant, and the others were told to go back to the drawing board because they weren’t going to get any grants if they used Staci’s hard work.
She sat back when her meal was delivered, and dug into it with gusto.
When she had accepted Caleb and Erin Riceman’s invitation to come work for Erin, she had made a vow to do better in her personal life.
She needed to remember to eat and sleep.
She knew Caleb would be there for her, but the last time she talked to him he had mentioned that he was seeing someone.
There was nothing romantic between her and Caleb, and she hoped his girlfriend would know that if Caleb stepped in and reminded her to eat, sleep, or even shower that it was out of brotherly concern, and not anything romantic.
She just didn’t feel that way about Caleb.
She snorted a laugh and grinned at the half of loaded hamburger in her hand.
“Maybe I’ll meet someone that will be my keeper.
” She grinned as she took a bite, closed her eyes, and savored the burst of flavors.
She took her time as she ate her burger, fries, and milk shake.
Because she could, she decided to purchase dessert, however, she was unable to decide between a piece of pie or cake, so she opted for one of each of her favorites and had it boxed up to take with her.
After using the facilities, she went out to her van, checked her GPS, and sent a text message to Erin that she was leaving Denver.
After receiving the message back that they were waiting for her, she settled behind the wheel of her travel van and got on the road.
Four hours later, Staci sighed in relief when she parked her van and laid her head on the steering wheel.
A few miles outside of Fool’s Gold, the skies had opened up and it had started snowing.
She was used to the rain in Seattle, and it snowed on occasion, but not like this.
She opened the door, and gave a startled cry when a man stood there with his hand out.
“Staci Hardt?”
“Yes, who are you?”
“Duane Manchester, I’m Erin’s head of security. I see you made it. How were the roads?”
“Okay, I only hit the snow on the other side of Fool’s Gold. The roads are wet, nothing’s sticking yet. The hardest part so far is the visibility. I’m sure if it keeps snowing like this, we’ll have some accumulation by morning.”
“Good. Let me take you into Erin.” He had already dropped her hand, and told her to follow him. Staci looked around with her head on a swivel and felt like she couldn’t take it all in.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see it all the more you stay here.”
“Will I be living here?”
“No, we have a place set up for you over at Broken Two. I’ll take you into Erin, then I’ll call Caleb so he can come get you.” At her look of confusion, he grinned. “Trust me.”
“Whatever,” she said as she went into the back door, kicked off her shoes, and followed Duane through a kitchen, down a hall, and she saw a woman sitting behind the desk look up at seeing them.
Staci immediately noticed the other woman had a stub where her right hand was supposed to be, and she rushed forward, took Erin’s arm, and started examining it.
Erin laughed, “Dr. Hardt, I presume?”
“Oh, sorry,” Staci said and felt her cheeks heat. “I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
“You weren’t, Caleb told me you might do that.
” She pointed to a woman sitting at a table on the other side of the room, and that’s when she noticed she had a prosthetic leg.
Erin continued talking, “I know you have a grant to help the military. There are a lot of former military people working for me. I, myself, am not military, however, Julie there is.”
“Wow, okay, I guess I’ll hold off and wait until I meet everyone.” She froze, then looked at Erin with wide eyes. “I will meet everyone, right?”
“Yes, right now we’re waiting for Caleb to arrive so he can direct you over to where you’ll be staying and working.
There is no pressure to begin. You can set your own pace.
Where you’re going, it is what everyone refers to as Broken Two.
Probably not today, but maybe in the next couple of days, Caleb, or Katherine can give you the tour. ”
“I can always do it.” Duane volunteered.
“Okay, the two of you can get together and go from there. I’d give it to you, but I’m shoulder deep in organizing end of year taxes for four ranches, so I’m buried in paperwork.”
“I understand, I really do. I know when I get locked on a project I lose track of time. In the past, Caleb had to tell me when to eat and sleep.” She laughed at herself.
“As I was eating lunch up in Denver, I told myself that I needed a keeper.” They all shared a laugh, talking about what Erin expected of her, and what was available.
They talked as they waited, and looked up when Caleb arrived.
Erin liked that when they greeted one another, they only gave a side hug.
“You made it,” Caleb said.
“I did. It’s good seeing you, Lassiter.”
“You too, Hardt,” Caleb said, and looked at Erin. “Is she free to go?”
“Yes, are you taking her through the ranch?”
“No, I figured we’ll wait until the snow stops before I do that, I’m taking her over the road.”
“Sounds good,” Erin said, and watched as they left.
Outside in the parking area, Caleb looked at the van with Washington plates on it. “You still got this?”
“Yeah, it saved my bacon when I lost my last apartment.” She grinned when he hung his head. “Speaking of living arrangements, what am I walking into?”
“There is a cabin, the rent is free, you have to pay the utilities and buy your own food. It’s furnished already.”
“Oh, wow, for the first time since you contacted me, I’m getting excited.”
“Then follow me, Katherine, my girlfriend is waiting for us. Because we knew you were coming sometime this week, when we went grocery shopping, we bought you the essentials. However, I need to warn you about something.”
“What’s that?”
“There is no, I repeat, absolutely no, food deliveries this far out. No Door Dash, no Grub Hub, no Insta Cart. If you want something, you’ll have to cook it yourself from the food you purchase at the grocery store.
That store, and everything else is an hour away back in Fool’s Gold.
Or you can go into Colorado Springs, but that too is an hour or more away in the opposite direction. ”
“Oh wow, that means I better start being a responsible adult then, right?”
“Yep,” he agreed and matched her grin. “Katherine Miller, my girlfriend, is an extremely organized person. In the mornings she works for Naomi over at The Broken Wheel, we have lunch together, she said she will pack a lunch for you, and we can all eat together. I’m not being mean or harsh, but you’ll be on your own when it comes to breakfast and dinner. ”
“I can handle that. Are there restrictions to me working?”
“Eventually no.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Until you get established, I’d like you to go home at a reasonable hour. Between five and six at night. If you get clients, or are working on a prosthetic, maybe longer, but not like you did back in Seattle. I don’t need you to get sick like you did back then.”
“Yeah, I agree with that. I was telling Erin that I need a keeper. I know you looked out for me, and I don’t want your girlfriend to get pissed off and break up with you if you are looking out for me, or reminding me to do the simplest things in life, like eat, or sleep.”
“I explained the situation to her, and she understands. She was the one that came up with the idea of you eating lunch with us, and setting the time limit of leaving the office at a certain time. I hope you come to like her.” He grinned, then laughed. “I know I do. Let’s get going.”
He waited until she climbed into her van, then told her to follow him.