“Eventually no.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Until you get established, I’d like you to go home at a reasonable hour. Between five and six at night. If you get clients, or are working on a prosthetic,maybe longer, but not like you did back in Seattle. I don’t need you to get sick like you did back then.”
“Yeah, I agree with that. I was telling Erin that I need a keeper. I know you looked out for me, and I don’t want your girlfriend to get pissed off and break up with you if you are looking out for me, or reminding me to do the simplest things in life, like eat, or sleep.”
“I explained the situation to her, and she understands. She was the one that came up with the idea of you eating lunch with us, and setting the time limit of leaving the office at a certain time. I hope you come to like her.” He grinned, then laughed. “I know I do. Let’s get going.”
He waited until she climbed into her van, then told her to follow him.
CHAPTER 3
Staci’s headwas on a swivel as she followed Caleb as they passed two buildings, then drove into the trees, she started paying better attention. The truck ahead of her stepped on the brakes, and when Caleb leaned out of his open window, she rolled hers down and looked out.
“Park in front of the second cabin!” he yelled, and went to the left and parked his truck before a cabin, but it was next to a car. Caleb hopped out of his truck to point. Staci looked over then gave him the thumbs up sign that she understood. She went over there and by the time she turned her vehicle off, he was there with a beautiful woman standing beside him. She hopped out and when they asked if she had any luggage, she went to the back to open the door.
“Holy shit,” Caleb said when he saw all the boxes and cases stored there.
“Just the pink suitcases,” she said hurriedly. “The others are parts for protypes. Work.”
“Ah, okay, Katherine Miller, this is Staci Hardt. Staci, this is Katherine.”
The two women exchanged handshakes, then Katherine led her to the cabin Staci had parked before. It shocked Staci that she opened the door and walked in without using any type of key or keypad.
“Do you always leave your doors unlocked?”
“Yes, there’s no one here. Out of the four cabins, Caleb and I share one, you’re in this one, the one the furthest away is occupied by my mother and Jason Black. The one between yours and theirs is empty.”
“How big is this?”
“Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, if you don’t want to use the spare room as a bedroom, you can set it up as an office.” Caleb admitted as he brought the three suitcases in. He placed them just inside the door. “Go ahead, walk around, and pick out what room you want. I’ll bring your cases to whichever room you pick.” They let Staci walk at her leisure, and when she returned she wore a grin, and Caleb followed her with the cases. Back in the kitchen, Staci said she’d unpack later, and at Caleb’s raised brow, she reassured him she would.
“Okay, Mom and Jason know you’re arriving today, Mom threw something in the crockpot this morning before she went to work.”
“Where does she work?”
“Over at Erin’s Way, she and Jason are lawyers and they have a case they’re working on for Erin. What I’m saying is that once they get home, then with what she has, I’ll add something to it, and we’ll have a meal together. I’m not saying this will happen every night, but it’s a welcome of sorts. The official welcome will be in a couple of weeks. Everyone who works for Erin has a BBQ, and you’ll meet everyone there. We’re waiting for one new person to arrive later this week, and we’ll have the welcome BBQ when he’s here and all settled in.”
Staci turned to Caleb, and scowled when he grinned. “Tomorrow. I’ll show you the office tomorrow. I’m not telling you what to do either, but I sort of know you, you won’t unpack until you can’t find anything to wear. There are washers and dryers, so you won’t have to lug everything into town, like you did in Seattle. We’ll leave you to get settled. If you need anything, we’re just next door at the cabin I parked in front of. My phone number is still the same, so you can text me if you need us for something.”
“Okay, and the guy named Duane is supposed to give me a tour of the property tomorrow.”
“Then when you get back, tell him to drop you off at our office. We will be sharing one of the buildings we drove past.”
“Okay, come get me when supper’s ready,” she laughed at his expression and as soon as they left, sheturned on her heel and went to the bedroom she’d picked. She liked that Caleb had placed all the suitcases on the bed. She unzipped all three and started unpacking. An hour later, she put was putting the empty cases beneath her bed when there was a knock at the door. She hurried out and opened it to see Caleb, Katherine, and an older couple standing there, all holding dishes. She stepped back and invited them in.
They came in and made themselves at home and Katherine made the introductions of the older couple as they worked. As they quickly got the meal of roast beef, vegetables, salad, and biscuits on the table, Staci and Caleb set the table. As they began to eat, Staci looked at Caleb with a grin.
“I unpacked. I even threw the clothes I used on my trip here in the washer.”
“Good,” he said with a nod, then turned to Ilsa and Jason. “I’ve known Staci for several years. Don’t let her fool you, she’s smart with an IQ off the charts. However, she sometimes forgets to eat, or sleep, or sometimes, even shower when she’s lost in her work.”
“We’ll help keep an eye on you,” Jason said with a grin. “What line of work are you in?”
“I have a PhD in bio engineering, and orthotics. I have a government grant to work with twenty-five veterans to get them state of the art prosthetics, free of charge.”
“Oh my god,you’reDr. Staci Hardt?” Jason asked in shock.
