Page 37 of Saving Veronica
“Larson?” Ronnie asked, and Patch could have sworn she stiffened.
“Yeah, Finnegan William Eric Larson to be exact.”
“Any relation to William and Eric Larson?”
“William is his father and Eric his grandfather, why? You know them?”
“Sort of.Shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s just say I won’t be pursuing my hostage slash rescuer anytime in the near future.”
“Why not?” He frowned at her. “He’s a great guy.”
“Yeah, and he’s richer than god, and my grandmother’s boss. No, I won’t be tapping that, as you men like to say. I won’t jeopardize my grandmother’s career. Thank god I don’t work for them anymore. Means I won’t have to run into him.”
“Are you sure, because I can tell you that after we graduated, I went to med school, he went into the Marines, then a few years later I went into the Marines and we were assigned to the same unit. Matter of fact, it was Finn who gave me the name Patch.”
“Were you the one that threw a patch on Major and sent him away when he was shot?”
“Yes, we don’t have vets in the fire zone, thought he’d get better care from one of them than me.” He studied Ronnie and had to ask. “When you get home, if you happen to run into Finn and he asked you out, you wouldn’t go out with him?”
“No,” Ronnie said firmly. “I can’t for several reasons. I’m so close to finishing college, I can’t start a relationship, and I’d never start one with someone like Finn.”
“What’s wrong with Finn?” Patch demanded, and felt protective of his best friend.
“How would he ever know I was interested in him for him? I think his money would be a problem with us. I don’t give a rat’s ass that he has it, but I don’t want anything to do with anyone that rich. I’m sorry if it sounds cold and bitchy, but it’s how I feel. And I made a vow years ago to never ever date a man who wore a suit every day to work.”
“I understand. But, before you make a final decision, know this about Finn. We’re both thirty years old, I’ve known him for eighteen years, along with William and Eric. I even knew Finn’s mother and grandmother before they passed. Not once in all that time did they lord it over the poor foster kid that they had money. To look at their house and the way they live, it’s just like you and me. They are as real as anyone could get.”
“Thank you for that insight, but nothing will happen between us. He’s taking over his family’s multi-million dollar foundation, and I live on a farm. I’m going to be a vet. Two different worlds.”
“Damn, Ronnie, I never figured you for a snob,” Patch said, as he cleaned up his dinner mess. Before he could say anything else, his pager went off and he looked at her, and said, “Gotta go. I’ll see you in the morning after my shift and sign your discharge papers.” He quickly left and their conversation was heavy in his mind, knowing he should call Finn about his conversation with Ronnie, but as soon as he entered the ER the thought disappeared.
*****
At nine the next morning, Patch walked into Veronica Parker’s room, and saw her grandparents there. He was professional with her as he went over her discharge papers, and didn’t linger when she asked to talk with him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t talk to her, it was that he wouldn’t. His night in the ER had been hell. Several victims of DV came in, and out of the fifteen patients that rolled through the door, he’d lost five of them. He was too emotionally raw to discuss Ronnie’s hang-ups about rich people.
Ronnie had wanted to talk to Patch before they left, but was unable to, she felt like she’d just lost her best friend, even though she’d only known him for a few days. She watched as a nurse came in and talked to her grandmother about her care after she arrived home. She and her grandmother had talked about getting a home health aide, and Maggie agreed to allow Ronnie to go back to her home, as long as she followed the directions of the doctor to the letter.
“So, let’s get you into the wheelchair,” the nurse said.
Ronnie had to tell her grandfather to step back. “I got this, I’ve been practicing.” It took a lot of confidence, inner strength, and determination, to get from the bed to the wheelchair, using only her left arm and leg. “Got it.” Ronnie grinned when she was finally settled into the chair.
“I see,” Gerald said, and it took everything in him not to burst into tears, but he drew on his inner strength and pushed the wheelchair out the door. “Somehow I don’t think you’ll be able to get into the truck, so I think you’ll have to rely on some help there.”
“Shit, never thought of that,” Ronnie said, and grinned at his frown. Maggie stayed with Ronnie as Gerald went for the truck and he picked her up and placed her in the back seat with her right side to the back. She scooted herself so her legs were stretched out. In fifteen minutes they were on the road to head home.
“Why are we stopping here?” Maggie asked almost two hours later. Ronnie looked up and saw they were at a motorcycle shop.
Gerald turned off the truck and turned to his wife and granddaughter. “The day you called me, I was on the way to the hospital and I came up behind some bikers. I watched them and actually followed them into a restaurant to introduce myself. After talking with them, I asked if they could take a scooter and put the controls on the left side.”
“Because the throttle is normally on the right.” Ronnie grinned.
“Correct. But I told them that you needed something smaller than a golf cart, but not a motorcycle, because you wouldn’t be able to balance it. The only other condition was that it had to fit in the back of a truck, and be able to zip around campus and fit inside the classroom.”
“That’s why I asked the doctor for a prescription for a scooter. I’ve seen some kids at school on them and they fit in the doors. I won’t need it for a long time, maybe a couple of months, depending on my rehab. So is it ready?”
