Page 7 of Caleb's Cause
“It’s me, Uncle Ry, Caleb.”
“Holy shit, kid!” Ryan actually yelled as he hurried forward and hugged the younger man, and ended up twirling him in a circle. “What are you doing here?” He looked around in shock as he set him back down, and only took a step or two back leaving his hands on the younger man’s shoulders as he listened to him.
“One, I’m interviewing for the position of the physical therapist over at Broken Two. Two, I’m here for the wedding. I thought that if I could get hired, I could start applying for my licenses in this state, get set up, get the lay of the land, then open my doors after the wedding.” He looked at his uncle in shock, then whipped back around to stare at Erin. “Where will I live?”
Erin laughed and pointed between Ryan and Clark. “They’ll show you. I just need to clarify something.”
“What’s that?”
“You said you’re a doctor of chiropractic services? Like you’re a chiropractor, as well as a physical therapist?”
“I am.”
“Great.” She had a grin on her face and looked at her brother. “Show him the equipment that was used on Naomi and why,then give him Dr. Rob’s information. I don’t have that. I think we can put that equipment to good use. However, don’t move it over to the offices until Caleb has a chance to talk to Dr. Rob.”
“I understand.” Clark laughed as he stood. “So, is Caleb Lassiter a new hire?”
“He is. I just need to do a background check.”
Caleb laughed. “Talk with Jake Cogburn. Based on conversations between Dad and Uncle Ry, Dad had someone in his office do one for me. I gave the results to Jake, and he’s going to contact Duane.”
Ryan laughed as shook his head. He looked between Clark and Erin. “Larry, Caleb’s Dad, is a homicide detective with the Seattle Police.”
“Oh, wow, so it’s a good background check.”
“Yes. I’m not tooting my own horn, but it’s all good. At least, I think so, I’ve never been arrested, never been in trouble, never gotten any tickets.” He looked at Ryan with a smirk. “Unlike my mother, I’m a good person. I take after Dad.”
Ryan threw his head back and laughed heartily, and ended up with his hands on his knees trying to get his breath. When he was under control, he looked at Clark with a grin. “His mother is my sister.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.” He turned to Caleb. “How is she?”
“Let’s just say that she’s right where she belongs. Can I tell you later? When we can relax over a beer?”
“Only if you agree to let the guys hear it too. They were the ones that helped me settle after an encounter with her.”
“I can agree to that.”
“Welcome BBQ at the big cabins tonight!” Erin yelled, and looked at Julie, who grabbed her phone and started texting. “We’ll put you in the group chat later, but I’ve heard Reid and Ryan talk about his sister. I want to know the details.”
“Okay.” He nodded, and the three men left to go out and it ended up that both Clark and Ryan showed him everything before taking him to Broken Two and pointing out which office building would be his. After the hour’s long tour, he shook his head in wonder.
“Wow, I never expected anything like this.”
“Wait until you see this,” Clark said with a laugh and took him down a small, rough path, with a statement that it would be grated and fixed later, that it was on the list, but there were four cabins at the end of the lane. “Since you’re the first one here, you can have your pick. Each one is two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and sits on two acres. Yeah, for some reason, Erin thinks having two of everything is even.” He only shook his head as the others chuckled. It took over thirty minutes for Caleb to pick out the one he wanted. After that, they went back to where his car was parked, and Ryan had him follow him in his truck so he’d know how to get to his place from the outside road, not just from within the ranch.
Caleb spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking, and going over to check out his work area. As he sat in a chair at an empty desk, he pulled his phone and sent the text to his father that stated he had been hired and everything that he would be doing. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why he had the thought and feeling that he had finally come home.
CHAPTER 3
Around six-thirty that night,Caleb made his way over to The Broken Wheel, going through the ranch itself. He didn’t feel the need to go out on the road, then back when he could travel over the terrain. He did note that he would talk to his father about the possibility of trading in his car for a truck. If he was going to be going over rough ground, he thought it would be better than his own car, making a mental note that he would want to go to the barn to witness any clients and how they interacted with people, the horses, and how or what their challenge was. He also smiled when he realized that he liked that Erin had referred to them as challenges rather than disabilities. He knew that his current mode of transportation was not suited for driving, especially when he was only going five miles an hour and felt like the entire undercarriage was being ripped apart. He sighed in relief when he finally made it to where he had been told to go.
“Back here!” Someone called out when he exited the vehicle, and saw an older man waiting for him. At his scowl he grinned.
“Ducky.”
“Ah, okay, sorry.”
