“At eleven, then I have to come home and load everything. I have a military cot that I used in the tent when we went out on our monthly retreats, I’ll sleep on that so I can pack up my bedroom, because I want to get on the road the next day.”
“Okay, I’m just making sure you’re doing okay and that you’ll have everything you need before you leave.”
“I’m good, and thank you for looking out for me.”
The two men worked until ten that night, then Shay left to go to his own home. True to his word, Tony took his pain medication after his shower, and by the time he was ready for bed, they relaxed him enough to get a good night’s sleep. The next day, just before he headed out to go pick up the rental truck, Shay arrived with two other men.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going with you. Or rather, I am,” Shay said. “While we’re gone, tell these guys what needs to be packed, and they will break down your bed. When we return, we will pack your truck, and I have other guys coming over to help.” When it looked like Tony was going to argue, Shay shook his head. “Let me, these are men in my current unit. They know about your situation with Burrows. I know if you and Ramos ever found out I use your accident as training on what not to do, you’d kick my ass. I still feel guilty that I didn’t Article 92 Burrows’ ass sooner than Idid. That I didn’t take your word for it when you first brought it to my attention. If I had, then none of what the two of you went through would have happened.”
“Commander, no matter when you issued the Article 92, Burrows would have found a way to get to myself and Ramos. He was a vindictive entitled little shit that thought he could get away with anything because his father was a Senator. Look where they all are now.”
“Where?” one of the two guys asked.
“Caleb Burrows, Jr. is dead, when he messed with our parachutes he packed his like he always did and it never opened. We jumped from a plane, while Ramos was fast in repairing ours mid-flight, he did nothing to his, thinking he was always right. We slammed into the side of the mountain, he landed flat on the ground. They literally had to shovel the dirt around him to pack him in the body bag.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, he was an entitled little shit that is now dead because of that way of thinking. His father is in prison, and god only knows where his mother is. Thank God she got away when she could. I hope she’s happy now that she’s not married to that asshole any longer.” Tony looked at Shay with a raised brow.
“No clue, my priority was you and Ramos, I dealt with that, while the authorities dealt with Burrowsand the after effects.” They nodded and after Tony gave the two guys instructions on what to finish packing, and the bed to be dismantled, he and Shay went to get the rental truck. Later that afternoon, ten more men had arrived and that was when Tony realized the two men had called and had the others in their National Guard unit come over to help. Apparently, Tony and Marcia were some sort of legend that survived what they did, and the men wanted to get to meet him. Tony could only shake his head thinking that he was no hero, nor was he a legend. He was just a man that had done his job the correct way, and some entitled little shit came along and fucked it up for everyone. Now he had to deal with the consequences of that entitlement. His only hope was that once he arrived in Colorado, all his medical issues and challenges wouldn’t cost him a job before he even started it.
CHAPTER 2
Katherine pickedup the ringing phone in Caleb’s office, and after a brief conversation, she rose and went to find her boss. At least he was her boss now in the office, once outside of the office he was her boyfriend. She found him sitting at his desk in his office.
“Dr. Lassiter,” she said firmly to get his attention, and when he whipped up his head to look at her, she grinned. “Erin called, she wants you to run up to her office.” She held up her hand to stop him from interrupting. “Your next appointment is in two hours, you have time.”
“Great, want me to swing by and get us lunch?”
“No, I brought it with us this morning, remember?”
“That’s right, sorry.” He tossed his pen on the papers on his desk, stood, and when he reached her,he leaned in and kissed the side of her head, then gathered her in a hug. “I know we don’t normally show affection to each other here at work, but since it’s only the two of us, I wanted a hug.” He grinned as he hugged her again, then he hurried out the door. Katherine went back to her desk. Since Caleb’s work hadn’t taken off yet, the patients were trickling in, Katherine had been able to go through the applications from the website for Broken Wheel Rehabilitation and went back to working on those.
Caleb left his office at Broken Two, hopped into his truck, and instead of going through the property, he went out onto the road to go to Erin’s Way. Twenty minutes later, he pulled in, parked, and waved at Duane as he made his way to the back door. Knowing what was what, he immediately went to the coffee pot and smiled as it had just finished brewing. He waited until it stopped dripping, then grabbed the carafe and walked down the hall toward Erin’s office. He grinned when both Erin and Julie looked up and immediately grabbed their mugs and held them out. He filled them, returned the pot to the kitchen, and instead of getting a cup for himself, he opened the spare refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. Once he returned to the office, he stood in the doorway, and then asked, “What’s up?”
“Oh, when was the last time you spoke with Dr. Hardt?” Erin didn’t beat around the bush with herquestions with any pleasantries. He liked that about her.
Caleb moved his head to the side as he thought, then shook it. “I forget, it’s been several days, why?”
“She called about an hour ago. She made it to Denver and was stopping off for some lunch before she finishes her journey here. I know you said that she gets distracted sometimes, but I thought I’d let you know.”
“Thank you, but couldn’t you have given that message to Katherine? Did I really have to come here in order for you to tell me that?” Caleb realized how he sounded, and quickly shook his head and held up his hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snipe at you.”
“You didn’t, and you’re right, I could have told you that, however, I received this in this morning’s mail, and I think you need to go over it.” She reached out and laid her hand on a box, and Caleb scowled at the size of it.
“It’s heavy, I only opened it and read the letter on the top, then I called you.”
“What is it?” Caleb started forward and when Erin opened the flaps to the box, he paused, but took the envelope she handed him. Before he opened it to read it, she explained.
“Staci Hardt isn’t the only new person that will be arriving sometime this week. While Dr. Hardt will be working with you over at Broken Two, this guy,Sergeant Anthony Jacobs, will be working over at New Double. Do you know Marcia’s story?”
“I do, I’ve been slowly working with her. She told me what happened, and the results of her collision with the side of that mountain.”
“Good, then you know she wasn’t alone when she hit?”
“That is correct.”
