Chapter Thirty-Six
Mikayla
“You’ll get two thousand a year for continuing education credits and three weeks of vacation and the major federal holidays off when we’re closed.
But I’d like to do an on-call service where we swap week by week.
Of course, if you’re not able to address their issues over the phone and they have to be seen, you can contact me.
I’m hoping it will lessen the current burden on me,” Kyle says as he gives me the tour of the clinic.
The clinic is large, with three smaller patient rooms and two larger rooms for more complex medical issues. Since Kyle doesn’t do emergency surgeries, all patients who need more than stitches will have to go to the closest hospital.
Kyle has quite a bit of medical equipment. “Would you consider getting an X-ray tech certification?” he asks me out of the blue.
“Are you thinking of getting an outpatient X-ray machine?” I ask. I know he doesn’t have one; he just showed me around.
“I am. The class is usually a little over a year. But you can do it online. It’s an investment, but the surrounding towns have been coming here too, so I think it would be worth it,” he says. “I can pay for it.”
“Let’s see how things go work life balance wise. I also need to talk to Caine about it,” I say as we walk to the reception desk.
“You don’t need his permission,” Kyle says, his voice low, clearly irritated.
“I’m not asking permission, but he is my partner, so I’m gonna talk to him about major life changes. It’s not about him approving it. It’s about us and making sure we have time for each other.” Why am I explaining this to him?
A crease forms between Kyle’s brows while I talk. It’s like he doesn’t realize what I do here could impact my life at home.
“Kyle, Larry’s here for his physical,” Rabecca says.
“Showtime!” Kyle says with a smile.
The day goes by in the blink of an eye. We saw fifteen patients today. Three didn’t have appointments, and we had to fit them in. Sawyer was one of them. The poor kid fell off a bronco, and the horse fell on him. Caine made him come in.
I was pleased to hear that the horse was fine, but poor Sawyer has a massive bruise on his hip. Kyle didn’t think an X-ray was necessary, so Sawyer went home, told to rest and use an ice pack.
I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know how I’d be if Caine were still bronc riding. Even with something as small as this injury, hearing about it, things could have been so much worse. Sawyer is lucky.
“Pick you up at eight tomorrow?” Kyle asks as we pull up to the house.
“Sounds good,” I reply.
I tense the moment I walk into the house. Jack is sitting at the kitchen island while Caine is washing the vegetables for dinner. But that isn’t the problem. Caine can prep; he just can’t cook to save his life.
But Jack has a forlorn expression on his face, and Caine looks, well, pissed.
“What’s going on?” I ask after Caine gives me a hello kiss.
“Sit down,” he says, lifting his chin and jutting it in the direction of the stools.
With a lot of hesitation and trepidation, I walk to the stool beside my brother, looking over my shoulder at Caine as he briskly shakes out his hands and grabs a dish towel to dry them.
“I got a text message from Mom,” Jack says.
“I thought you blocked her,” I reply. I turn to him and sit up straighter, feeling betrayed.
“Hold up,” Jack says, raising his hand in front of him. “I did block her. It was from an unknown number.”
I deflate a little at his words. My face scrunches up at him, unsure where this is going.
“She’s selling the house. We have a week to collect our belongings otherwise she’s throwing everything away,” Jack explains.
“Jack and I talked, and we think we should fly over and rent a truck, and drive everything back here,” Caine says. He leans over the counter and takes my hand.
I have known for a while that I needed to get my things. I’m just not ready. I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to hear her voice or the cruel words.
I sit there, unmoving, in shock. “Selling the house?” I ask, still processing everything.
Jack merely nods his head.
“I can get us on a plane to Seattle leaving tomorrow,” Caine suggests.
“I just started my job.” I turn my attention to him.
“And Kyle will understand,” Caine says.
“But it will show favoritism.” You can’t just take time off when you start a new job.
Caine tilts his head and draws his brows together. “He has two employees. You don’t think he’d do the same for Rabecca?” he asks, his tone patient and calm. My heart settles when he brings his hand to my face and cradles my cheek. “What’s really on your mind?”
“My dad’s stuff—what is she going to do with Dad’s things?” I ask.
Dad was all over that house. Had she already tossed everything? Was there anything left of him there?
“Dad isn’t a shirt,” Jack says.
“Don’t be a dick,” Caine says, his voice stern and hard as his head jerks to my brother.
“Sorry, defense mechanism,” Jack replies.
“I don’t have…”
“If you’re about to say you don’t have money for a ticket, I’m gonna take you back to our room and spank you,” Caine interrupts. He grips my chin tightly, forcing my gaze to him.
“Ew,” Jack mutters, his upper lip curled.
Fuck, well, I guess we’re going to Seattle. But maybe I’ll fight it just a little bit longer…