“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 sherushed 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 lockedon 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 comingsometime 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?”
