“These are the medical records of Sergeant Jacobs. He was the one with Marcia. I know he left Pennsylvania this morning, and he reassured me he’s healed, he’s taking his time driving out here. He said something about three days, but I told him to take five if he has to. I know you’re not a medical doctor, but now that you’re here permanently, one of the requirements of the new hires is to come to you to see if they are physically fit. Not medically, physically, and you can get them physically fit enough to work here. Marcia and Lloyd both told him what he would be doing here, and they recommended that he send his medical records ahead of time.”
“Oh, wow, okay, I’ll take these and go over them so I can be ready when he arrives. I imagine you won’t be putting him to work right away?”
“No, I won’t, not until you give him a once over. Based on your findings, then we can probably introduce him to work gradually. I won’t expect him to clean out thirty horse stalls all by himself on his first day here. Hell, I wouldn’t expect that of anyone. LikeI said, he will be introduced to physical work gradually. I’m hoping that if he works with you, he can continue to heal and be able to do the work over time.”
“Can you tell me a short version of what he went through?”
“Shattered, not broken, but shattered, right shoulder, left hip, right knee, and left ankle.”
“Shit, so he couldn’t have used crutches if he wanted to. Not with those injuries opposite of one another.”
“Correct, and it’s my understanding that he went through several operations and he has several pins and plates during these operations. I’m not being cold or unfeeling, but I know nothing medically about the human body, that’s why I’m passing these records off to you.”
“Thank you,” Caleb said as he came forward and took the box from the corner of her desk. “Is there anything else?”
“Not at this time, I’ll reach out when Dr. Hardt arrives, and after I talk with her, I’ll hand her over to you to show her where she’s going to stay and work.”
“Thanks, Erin,” Caleb said with a salute, then with the box in his hands, he left the office. Back at his office, he looked at Katherine, and used his head to indicate for her to follow him back to his office. As soon as he was behind his desk, he looked at her, and used his hands to make the mind-blowing gesture.
“What?” Katherine asked in surprise.
“First, Staci is in Denver. She’s going to get something to eat, then when she arrives, after talking with Erin, I’m to go over to Erin’s Way to get her and bring her here to show her where she is going to live and work.”
“Okay, but couldn’t that have been said over the phone?”
“Yes, I asked the same thing. But, Erin gave me this.” He lifted the box from the corner of the desk, and set it in the middle on top of the papers he’d been going over before he had been interrupted.
“What’s all that?”
“Do you know Marcia Ramos’ story?”
“I do.”
“Okay, the guy she was in the accident with is on his way here to work at New Double. He left Pennsylvania this morning. These are his medical records that he sent ahead. Erin wants me to go over them, and before he starts work, she wants me to give him a physical assessment to see if he would need my services. I’m sure she’s going to want to make sure that he’s fit to work, and if he isn’t, then maybe I can work with him to get him in shape to do so.”
“Oh, wow. That’s a good thing, right?” she asked as she pointed to the box of medical records Caleb had just opened.
“Yes, this way I’ll know what to look for once he’s here. I know you probably know this, but nine timesout of ten not all patients tell the doctors everything. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think this Jacobs person might be the same way.” He laid his hand on the box with a nod. “With these, I’ll know if he’s bullshitting me or not.”
“Good,” Katherine said with a nod. “I’m not getting off subject, but do you want to eat now, then I’ll let you know when your next patient arrives. That’s the only one you have for the rest of the day. You’ll have time to help Staci, and read those records.”
“Yes,” he said with a grin as his stomach grumbled and they both left his office and went to the end of the hall where the small break room was set up. An hour later, Caleb worked with his patient, and after doing the paperwork for them, he settled in with a fresh cup of coffee, and opened the box Erin had given him.
Staci Hardt satat her table and ate her lunch, looking around at the nearly empty restaurant. She wondered if she was crazy for doing what she was. She had packed up her entire life and moved from Seattle, Washington, and now she was heading to some small Podunk town called Fool’s Gold in the state of Colorado. It was three hours south of where she was in Denver.
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 thatherdesigns 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 knewCaleb 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 astartled 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?”
