Page 5 of Caleb's Cause
They both gave a little jerk when a bell sounded, and Duane looked at his phone with a grin. “Erin said to bring you in. I’llcontact Ryan and say he’s needed here, but I won’t tell him why. When he gets here, I’ll just send him into Erin’s office.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, even though you’re going to be in an interview, she doesn’t allow anyone to wait for a response to why they are there. Sometimes it’s just a matter of answering a question, while others, it’s working out a major problem.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and gave Caleb a gigantic grin. “She likes to take input from others, but her word is final.”
Caleb only nodded and followed Duane to what he considered, and would later learn as the truth, then he was being led into the back door of the main ranch house. On the way through the kitchen, Duane paused when he heard someone yell, and turned to Caleb.
“Coffee?”
“No thank you, but I’d love a water.”
“You got it,” he said as he went to the refrigerator and withdrew a bottle, then picked up the coffee carafe and had Caleb follow him. “Once you get to know Erin, you’ll realize she doesn’t stand on ceremony.” He stopped, then turned to him with a grin as he leaned in to whisper. “Word of advice, if and when you ever come here, yell down the hall to see if she wants coffee. I’ve learned the hard way.”
“What’s that?”
“I had to go back out and bring the pot in to fill her cup before I could tell her why I was there.” They exchanged grins as they continued toward the office, and Duane told him that was where he should yell down in the future.
Caleb only nodded and concentrated on the center of Duane’s back as he walked down the hall. He didn’t think he’d be so nervous, but the closer to where he heard people talking, the more nervous he became.
“Coffee,” Duane announced as he entered, and immediately went to a desk and started filling cups. He looked up and nodded. “Caleb Lassiter, your nine o’clock.”
“Oh good,” the woman behind the desk said, and quickly stood. “Thanks, Duane.”
“Anything else?”
“No, could you make another pot on your way out?”
“Yep.” Duane started to leave, and when he was close to Caleb, he paused to whisper. “Breathe, she won’t bite.” He laughed and left.
“Welcome,” Erin said as she held out her left hand to shake his, and that’s when Caleb saw she was missing her right hand. As he shook, he wondered what happened to make her lose it, and if she had a prosthetic one, but didn’t like to use it. His mind was going in all different directions on how he could design one for her. They shook, and he gave his head a good shake to clear it, and pay attention to what she was saying.
“I’m sorry, I had a thought and didn’t hear what you said.”
“Tell me about that later, I love thoughts.” She laughed and pointed to the man sitting in one of the chairs before her desk, then the woman at a card table in the corner. “That’s Julie Truman, she’s my assistant.” Caleb walked over and shook her hand, and noted she wore a prosthetic leg.
“This is my brother, Clark Riceman. If you don’t mind, they will both be sitting in on the interview.”
Caleb shook Clark’s hand, and took the offered seat. “I don’t mind.”
“One thing you’ll learn, if you get hired here, is that we are all like one big family. The only blood relatives living on Riceman property are Clark and myself. Then across the street on the Old Atherton property, are Lois, Laurie, and Lorissa Gibson. They are mother, daughter, and granddaughter. They came to me when I hired Lorissa to be my farrier.”
“What’s that?” Caleb asked and shook his head. “I’ll be honest, I know nothing about horses or ranching. Hell, I’ve lived in Seattle my entire life, and don’t even know about living out in the country, but I am willing to learn.”
“Why are you being interviewed for here then?” Clark asked with a confused look on his face as he looked between his sister and Caleb.
“If this interview goes well, and he passes the background check, Caleb should be our new physical therapist.”
“Over at Broken Two?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, got it.” He settled back in his chair and nodded to Erin. “Go ahead.”
Erin took her coffee, settled back in her chair, and began to tell Caleb how the Riceman property became what it was today, and what else they were working on to improve on it. When she was done, Caleb shook his head.
“I would never, not in a million years think about things like that. How many people do you have working for you?”
“Roughly fifty at this time. However, we are in desperate need of hands over at New Double, then at the new ranch that should be up and running in about two years. If I hire you, there will be one condition, and I already have that written into the employment contract.”
