“Okay, so you’re doing what you can, but you’re thinking about what more you could do,” Lake made an educated guess.
“Right. River and I have talked about it quite a bit, and while eventually I would love to foster, I can’t right now for obvious reasons.”
“And I told him about Ruth’s plans and how we can’t really make it happen here at least not for underage kids.”
Theo looked embarrassed for a while, but Lake nudged his shoulder with his own and the embarrassment faded quickly. I was glad. Everyone made mistakes, and while Theo’s wasn’t bad, it could cause problems in very specific situations if we were trying to get permits for establishing a human shelter type of arrangement.
“But River also told me that you’re planning on having a couple of studio apartments over the new stable.” Toby glanced over at the foundations. “So I’m assuming those spots could be for older teens, too?”
“If you’re asking if you could send us someone that’s eighteen or older and needs a place to stay, then I think it’s safe to say that yes, we’re open to that,” Lake spoke, turning to Theo and Sierra. “What do you say, business partners?”
They both smiled.
“Yes, I think that’s acceptable,” Sierra said primly, her eyes twinkling with humor.
“How about this,” Theo started, looking thoughtful. “What if we change the plan a little? What if we have a kitchenette and two bathrooms, but make the bedrooms smaller? Maybe like…two singles, but then maybe another one with two beds or hell, even bunk beds?”
Lake’s eyes shined with excitement. “So instead of having room for two, we’d have room for at least three to what, six?”
“I’ll check with the architect and we’ll figure it out. Sharing the kitchenette and a small living room might be doable.”
“Should we ask Cook if he’d want to be part of this? If we take in strays, there will be more cooking,” Lake said. “I mean, if we get kids that don’t know how to cook or if they want to learn how.”
Theo frowned in thought. “You know, I’ll talk to him. Ask if he’d be able to work for us more at some point. In case the yacht jobs dry up or if he wants to stay here on a more permanent basis.”
“We could pay him to cook for us anyway, but if there’s more people…” Lake trailed off.
“We already pay him now, but we could give him a raise and all that,” Sierra mused.
“Well, let’s think about that once we get going with all this,” Theo said, looking at my side of the table. “And you two, you’re moving into the cabin, right?”
Ben beamed. “Yes. We’re going to go get my stuff as soon as we can fit our schedules together. Either stay one night in Pittsburgh or drive there in the morning and drive back at night.”
“River can get a day off whenever you guys need, but maybe before or after a day off, so that you can combine those? Just in case we get night patients.” Toby smiled at us. “I’m happy for you guys.”
I smiled back. “Thank you.”
“And when it comes to our workload, we’re at a spot where Lake can do rewrites by himself, so we’re good whenever.” Ben raised his brows at Lake. “Right?”
“Absolutely. The quicker we get you here permanently, the happier River will be.” He beamed at us.
I grinned. “You might be right there.”
* * * *
It took us a few days before we could leave, but we took the good truck, which made Lake say we needed another good truck so Theo better get to picking one, and the trailer. Cook and Rey supplied us with a cooler of food and drinks, and off we went.
We reserved nine hours for the drive, although it might take longer, too. We weren’t in a rush—we’d decided that since I didn’t have to work the next day, we could see how we felt once all Ben’s stuff was packed. If we didn’t feel like making the drive back, then we could stay at his old place or go to a hotel.
“I’m glad the trailer isn’t one for animals,” Ben said once I’d gotten us on our way.
“Yeah, I mean you could still clean them, but having your armchair in a horse smelling trailer for hours might not be a good idea.” I squeezed his hand and smiled.
“Or my books.”
“Or your books.” I wasn’t going to tell Ben, but Theo had told me they’d be building some bookshelves for us while we were gone. Apparently, Seb was good with building stuff and would help Theo out. There was limited space, so I appreciated their effort.
“So,” Ben said, his tone a bit shy. “Last night, I made a playlist for us for this drive.”
