“I don’t want to put anyone out.”
Tony cocked his head to the side and glared at him. “You won’t, here.” He pulled out his phone opened his text messages and sent a quick question to Lloyd. He even made sure Shay saw it. It took less than three minutes to get a reply back.
“See, they need help, you just read that as long as you have a good work ethic, are willing to have a background check done on you, and will work hard, then you could get hired.” They paused as Tony’s phone pinged several times, and they read the messages together. When Shay looked up in shock, he only shook his head.
“Wow, that’s efficient. So, this Manchester person is former FBI?”
“Apparently. I’m sure you can send him yourinformation to get the ball rolling on your background check. I can talk to Ms. Riceman about you once I get there. When I talked to her, she told me I would be working at some place called The New Double.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t quote me on this, but I believe that’s the ranch they brought over from Wyoming. I won’t know more until I get there and physically see everything that Romas and Berry have been talking to me about.” They were both lost in their own thoughts as they finished packing up Tony’s small house. Several hours later, Tony frowned at the knock on his door and threw a worried look at Shay, who only grinned at him. Tony shook his head, headed to the door, and when he returned he held a box containing a large pizza and in the bag on top was a container of wings.
“You ordered this?”
“I did. I figured after packing up your entire kitchen, as well as the rest of your house, you wouldn’t have the means to cook anything. I don’t know if this is a normal thing for you, but I also noted your refrigerator was empty.”
Tony laughed as he found the stack of paper plates that hadn’t been packed yet. “No, that’s not normal. I knew when I was leaving, so I didn’t buy a ton of groceries to worry about using them up or going out and purchasing coolers in order to transfereverything to Colorado. I’ve been making do with what I have.”
They ate in silence and after devouring half of it, they sat back and sighed in contentment.
“When are you actually leaving?”
“In two days. I thought I’d pack up everything I can now, and tomorrow I’m going into town to pick up a small rental truck, with a tow dolly.”
“Why the tow dolly?”
“I wanted a trailer that I could pull behind my truck, but they didn’t have one big enough, so I opted for a mid-sized truck with the tow dolly. All my possessions will be in the rental, I’ll tow my truck behind.” He looked around then shook his head. “It hasn’t snowed here yet, but there’s no telling what type of weather I’ll be running into, so I want to make sure all my shit is under cover against the elements. I don’t have much, but what I do have, I don’t want it ruined.”
“Smart move.” Shay nodded then gathered their used plates to throw away, then he put the food in the nearly empty refrigerator. He secretly watched Tony as he had to use the table to rise up, and then steady himself. “You okay there?”
“Yeah, I stiffened up while I sat. I should be good.”
“How are you going to drive if you stiffen up?”
“It’s just driving, I won’t be lifting boxes and shifting like I have when I am packing. I’ll be calling Erin Riceman to tell her when I’m leaving, and that Iwill take three days to get there. She knows all about my medical challenges and is going to work with me.”
“What if someone doesn’t have a medical challenge? Can they still work at this place?”
“I’m sure you can, I already mentioned it to you, as long as you pass the background check, and are willing to do the work, then you should be fine.” Tony studied the older man and cocked his head to the side. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.”
“Shay? You may have been my commanding officer while I was in The Guard, and since the accident we’ve become friends, I see the wheels turning in your head, what are you thinking? Do you not want me to talk to Erin about you coming to Colorado after you retire?”
“No, it’s not that, I was thinking that with you gone, I won’t have anything to do in my free time. There is a horse ranch a few miles outside of town, what if I went to them and asked them to teach me about horses? This might be my ego talking, but I do not want to arrive at a horse ranch to work and not know the difference from one piece of equipment to another.” He looked at Tony and scowled. “What?”
“I’m sure that’s a good idea, but that’s how I’m going in.” His chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh as he explained. “I know the end with the teeth is where the food goes in, and the end with the tail iswhere it comes out. Other than that, I know nothing about horses. I was reassured by Ramos, Lloyd, and Erin that by the end of my first week there I would learn a lot. I’m actually looking forward to learning. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to ride a horse, but I will clean up after them the best of my ability.”
“Well, good luck, as for riding, I think I’m going to check out that horse ranch down the road and talk to them about it. If they don’t allow it, I’ll see if they know of anyone who can teach me. I’m sure Ramos can point you in the right direction to go to someone to help you. Maybe that physical therapist can help you. Speaking of, do you happen to have all your medical records?”
“I do, it cost me an arm and a leg, but I have a physical copy, and my doctor told me that whenever I get a new one, have them reach out and get an electronic copy. I’m good in that department. Oh, and per instructions from both Ramos and Berry, I sent a physical copy of all my records to Erin Riceman.”
“And your meds?”
“I’ve filled them a couple of days ago, but with the doctor’s help, I’ve been weaning myself off most of the pain meds. I only take them now if I can’t relax after going to bed. You know, if I cramp. It’s been about two weeks since my last dose. I’ll probably take a couple tonight when I go to bed with all the packing I’ve done today, but I’ll wait until I actually settle to see if I need them.”
“What time are you picking up the truck?”
