Page 53 of Caleb's Cause
“Would I be able to do this?” Erin asked as she held up her left hand and made a fist, then opened it. “With the new hand?”
“Yes.”
“Would I be able to have an arm where the elbow moves and isn’t stiff like a mannequin?” Opal asked.
“Yes.”
“Could you make my current prosthetic not rub my stump raw?” Reid asked.
“Yes.”
“What’s Staci’s name? How will she be able to afford all this?”
“Her name is Dr. Staci Hardt, she’s a doctor of bio engineering. Meaning she can do the mechanics of making theprosthetics. She broke off from the group I was in three weeks ago, after they kicked her out.”
“Why?” Pru asked. “Why was she kicked out?”
“Because the other members were men, and after I left to come here, they didn’t think a female was smart enough to do what they could.”
“Bastards,” most of the women said then.
“Yes, but I’ve been on the phone with her last night and this morning. She hired a lawyer, and though she didn’t fight the termination, she made sure thatherideas,herprototypes, andhernotes came with away with her.”
“Smart move,” Erin said with a nod. “Did she get them?”
“Yes, and they also signed some paperwork that they couldn’t use what she had designed, and all her stuff had to be wiped from their computers.” He looked at Katherine with a grin. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you that part.”
“No problem, that’s why you were confident about them not coming after her if she got a grant?”
“Yes.” Caleb looked at the other and nodded. “Staci told me that she’s applying for grants to make the prosthetics, she’s trying to help former military people. If she gets these, then she told me she didn’t know how to approach people with her abilities. Staci is shy at times, especially when meeting new people. It took us six months before we ever got past the hi stage.” He held up his hand. “I never dated her, she’s like a little sister to me, and she scares me.”
“How?”
“She’s smart. I entered college at the age of seventeen, did two majors, and graduated at twenty-four. Staci was twenty-one when she graduated with her doctorate in bio engineering. When I met her, I was still in college, and she had been out for a few years. We are the same age, but as I said, I see nothing romantic in her. She’s like a sister that I needed to protect. Oh,and if I hadn’t mentioned it before, those men that kicked her out of the group and tried to steal her work were in their forties.”
“Do you have room in your building for her to work?” Erin asked.
“Yes.”
“Get all her contact information to Duane.” She looked at the other man. “You’ll reach out to her?”
“Yes, and I’ll give her information to Jake.”
“Okay, and have Jake give it to Hank. Not that I don’t trust you or Jake, but it will be better if we can have all our ducks in a row.” She turned back to Caleb. “It won’t be done in a day.”
“I understand, and I told Staci that too. Thank you.”
“Not a problem.” She started to turn away, then blurted out. “Hey, I have a thought.”
“Oh, shit,” Clark said, but looked at his sister with a grin to soften his statement. “What?”
“What if we keep this barn like this, but instead of renting the table and chairs from the fire department, why don’t we go to flea markets or garage sales for tables and chairs. Instead of meeting at Duane’s office, this seems to be a big enough space for everyone, there’s even heat and air. We can probably have holiday parties in here too. What do you think?”
“Who’s going to go to the garage sales?” Clark asked with his arms crossed around his chest.
“Me,” Laurie spoke up then. “Erin hired me to purchase things that need to be purchased, and when I’m out doing that, I can stop in at any sale I see.”
“Okay, I’m not saying this to be a bastard, but I don’t have time on my plate. Broken Two is almost done, by next weekend, it should be completely graded and open for business. We’ll just have to have the final walk through from the inspectors. They’ll be here at 11 a.m. Friday. Then I’ll be over at the new ranch. Do we have a name for that yet?”
