Page 25 of Caleb's Cause
“Wednesday.”
“Holy shit, I’ve been sleeping for the last day and a half?”
“Yes, we all figured that you were exhausted from your ordeal, and though I’m a chiropractor as well as a physical therapist, both Tom and Lorissa have been over to check on you several times.” He sipped his coffee again and gave her a smirk from over the rim. “They are both animal doctors.” Her response to that had him sputtering his coffee, then he busted out laughing.
“Well, as long as they didn’t stick a thermometer up my ass, I guess there’s nothing I could do about it.” She picked up her mug and started to slowly sip it as she looked across the table at him. “Did you take my pants and bra off?”
“No, you fell asleep in my car on the way here. Do you remember talking to a bunch of men, then eating lunch?”
“Yes, I remember all that. I just don’t remember how I got here, and how I lost my jeans and bra.”
“Like I said, I was bringing you here, you fell asleep, and when you wouldn’t wake, I carried you in and laid you on the bed. Marcia, Adele, and Opal arrived shortly after and they were the ones that got you into bed. I had laid you on top of the covers.”
She nodded and looked at him with a wrinkled nose, which he found extremely cute. “Which ones were they again? I saw so many people that day, I don’t know if I will ever be able to keep them straight.”
“It took me a few days to get them straight. I know this probably isn’t politically correct, but I used my profession to sort them out in my mind.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Being a physical therapist, I look at the bodies, not in a sexual way, but to see how they move.”
“Ah, in case they have a problem that you might need to fix.”
“Correct, along with the other two things I do, I have also taken training in prosthetics.”
“What’s that?”
“Fake limbs. Adele has a prosthetic on her lower right leg. Opal is missing her left arm above the elbow, and she will probably shoot me if she knew this, but Marcia walks cautiously.”
“What does that even mean?”
Caleb shook his head and got up to refill their coffee cups, when he returned, he settled back in his chair. “Everyone here has a story to tell. Just like you told all of us about what happened to you, and why you’re on the run, they all have stories. It is my understanding that the only people that have not been in the military, besides myself, are Naomi, Clem, Cole, and Erin.” He shook his head at her when she opened her mouth to speak. “No, I can’t tell you their stories, because I don’t know them. I know a little about Ryan Carter’s, but not the extent of it.”
“Why him? Why not the others?”
“Because he’s my uncle by blood. He and my mother are siblings.” Again he shook his head. “I’ve never been in the military myself, and I don’t have a story. If I did have one, I guess you could say that I grew up with a bitch of a mother, and had to deal with her shit my entire life.”
“That sounds like there’s a story there.”
“There is, but we can table that for later. Right now, we have guests coming for breakfast. He smiled as he rose and opened the door before anyone even knocked on it, then went to the kitchen and started cooking.
CHAPTER 10
“I remember you,”Laurie said to the man who entered behind a woman, and stood to greet them. “I don’t remember your name, but I remember you, but I’m sorry, I don’t know if I’ve met you yet.”
“I’m Duane, and this is my girlfriend, Laurie, no, you hadn’t met her yet.” He took the cup from Caleb and they stood there as Laurie helped with the food, and once it was on the table they all settled down. No one really said anything until they were done, and the table cleared, only then did Duane speak.
“The day you arrived, and after you told your story and went into the main house for lunch, I called my former boss.”
“FBI, correct?”
“Correct, before I go any further, did you call that number on the cell phone?”
“I did, just this morning. All I said was, and I quote, “I’m safe.” I hung up, turned it off, and removed the battery. Lyle told me the phone was untraceable, but I wanted to be sure. I know this doesn’t mean anything, but at one point on my journey here from Denver, it had rained, and I was able to purchase the bags my clothes were in. I didn’t want to carry a wet pack. I was even able to get a garbage bag to put the pack in. The only thing thatgot wet was the bottom of my jeans, and my shoes and socks.” She looked at them with a grin. “I used a second garbage bag for a rain poncho.”
“Very smart. Now I can tell you what I did.” He didn’t wait for anyone to say anything as he got right to it. “When you were in the house eating lunch, I called my former boss at the FBI. When I was employed there, I was undercover for narcotics, or vice. I didn’t mention your name to him, the only names I gave were Babcock’s and Mason’s. I then gave him the file number you gave me. Let me back this up by saying that I never reached out to him until afterIread the information you gave me. Everything you said was there.”
“Proving I was right?”
