“Are you firing me?”
“No.” Her answer was quick, and he sighed in relief. “I’m going to get right to the point here, Shay.”
“Maybe I should leave,” Faith said.
“No, this involves you too,” Erin said, and nodded when Faith settled back in her chair. She looked between the two of them. “Shay, you’ve only been here two weeks, you haven’t really established a work pattern yet.”
“Are you sure you’re not firing me?”
“I’m sure. I have a suggestion for you, it’s only a suggestion. According to what I read, you basically can’t do anything around here for three weeks, correct?”
“Correct, and I have to wear the brace for six.”
“Okay, you know that I don’t let the grass grow under my feet, even if there’s six feet of snow on the ground.”
They all shared a chuckle, and Shay began to relax. “As I mentioned a few moments ago, the three of us have been talking. I might own the land New Double sits on, and the buildings housing the horses and equipment, but I don’t own them. Naomi does, and Cole is her ranch manager.”
“I know this.”
“Okay, then we have a proposition for you.”
“Which is?” Shay asked as he sipped his coffee, then froze when she spoke next.
“What if you went back to Kentucky with Faith, help with what you can of getting her packed up, and back here.” She shook her head and lifted a hand when they went to speak. “If someone set a pile of dishes in front of you, handed you newspapers, and an empty box, could you wrap and pack them?”
“Of course, my hands aren’t broken, I just can’t put a lot of extra weight on my leg.”
“Can you drive?”
“No.”
Erin turned to Faith. “Do you have a lot of packing to do?”
“Not a whole lot. If I had help, it would go faster. The faster I clean up my life in Kentucky, the faster I can return here.”
“Exactly our thoughts. Would you be opposed to Shay going back to Kentucky with you to help him?”
Faith looked at Shay, really looked at him, and then back at Naomi, Cole, and Erin, then back at Shay. She finally shrugged and sipped her coffee. “I would have no problem with that. However, there would be one stipulation.”
“What?” Erin demanded.
“We take my truck. That’s why I have the smaller truck. I can operate it, and I have a trailer at home that I can load up. I know how to drive my truck with the trailer attached. I know he might be more comfortable in his larger truck, but I feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle it as well as my own.”
“I didn’t have a problem in your truck,” Shay admitted. “Even with the brace on, I was still able to stretch my legs out.” He looked at Erin. “I would have no problem riding with her.”
“Good, then you can leave tomorrow.” Erin nodded, finished her coffee and started to stand, but Shay asked her to sit down.
“I have a weird question for you.”
“What?”
“Dr. Johnson asked me if you were hiring medical doctors. She said she wants to branch out on her own. I gave her your business card, and told her she would have to go through an extensive background check.”
“That’s correct.” Erin agreed, but didn’t say anything else, but she did cock her head to the side and frowned. “Do you know exactly what type of doctor she is?”
Faith had gotten up to grab his papers from his appointment and brought them back to the table. She pointed to the top. “It says here that she’s an orthopedic doctor.” When Erin began to smile, Naomi hung her head.
“Shit.”
