Page 10 of Jason's Justice
“They still make ashtrays for vehicles?” Ilsa asked.
“No, but they are in a cup in the cup holder. It’s an ash cup. Though no one smokes here, but it’s great to hold things.”
“I understand,” Jason said, and stared in shock when Lloyd and Denver opened the sliding doors to the barn. He whistled and shook his head. “Damn, pardon the language, but that’s a lot of golf carts. I don’t think I’ve seen that many at the country club. Not that I go that often, but still.”
“Yeah, well, because of the construction we’re doing, we find it’s better to get over the terrain with these than our trucks.Feel free to use whatever one you need. Just get with Duane to tell him, he has the sign out sheet.” They walked forward, and the men grabbed several carts and Ilsa rode with Caleb and Katherine, while Jason rode with Clark, and Kevin rode with Duane. At the top of a hill, or what Jason called a hill, but would later be informed as a knob, the carts paused.
“Wow,” he said in awe, not knowing what else to say.
“This is Broken Wheel Ranch,” Clark said. “Erin started this when some of our prize stallions rejected her when she was released from the hospital. With the sale of those stallions, I know you don’t know horses, and that’s okay, but the stallions on Erin’s Way are worth a lot of money, and when she sold the ones that refused to work with her, she was able to purchase the supplies to build this barn, and the cabins. Most of these horses were rescued from the slaughterhouse, or they were taken away from their owners by the SPCA and the police. Once their case was closed, Rin made a donation and was able to keep the horse. They are in great shape now, because the women have been working with them for a few years, but there are photos of their condition when they arrived.” Clark shook his head and looked at Jason. “Not a pretty sight.”
“Is this a ranch for rehabilitated horses?”
“No, once the horses were cleared and full on healthy, we now take clients that need to be rehabilitated. Former military, people hurt in accidents. Broken works with the clients and their doctors.” He leaned over and looked at Kevin. “Part of what your son does as a physical therapist is to work with these clients.”
“Is there a way to Broken from the road?”
“No, well not technically. You’ll see when we get over there.” He started down the hill and drove past the previous cabins, circled around the new ones, and stopped in front of the two larger cabins.
“I’m not telling you what to do,” Erin said as she got out of the passenger side of her cart. “However, I feel one of these cabins would be best for the three of you. There are four bedrooms, and each bedroom has an attached bath.” She went up the steps, and Reid stood at the bottom and started pointing.
“We,” he began, then laughed as he turned and pointed to the others. “Theylive in those cabins with their girlfriends. Ryan married last month. But all of Delta team from Operation Gold Rush live there.”
“What do you mean, from Gold Rush, are there more?”
“Yes, Manny and Scott were on Echo team at the time of that operation. After we slowly retired, and what happened with their Lieutenant, those guys were absorbed into Delta.” Reid looked at Jason and saw his nod, but the expressions on the others showed confusion. He sighed, and explained, “Sorry, it’s a military thing. I can’t get into anything else.”
“Why?” Katherine asked with a laugh. “Would you have to shoot us if you do?” When no one laughed with her, or corrected her, she swallowed audibly. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” All the former military men agreed.
“Anyway,” Erin said as she turned to the front door of the cabin and opened the door to walk in. “You guys are more than welcome to stay here. If you need anything, let Laurie know, you’ll meet her tomorrow. We’re going to have a BBQ to welcome you.”
“Who is Laurie?” Ilsa asked as she took Erin up on her offer to walk around the cabin. She nodded when she saw where the washer and dryer was housed, then gave a startled sound when she opened the pantry door. “What’s this?” She looked at Erin, and when the other woman came over she whipped around and glared at both Reid and Ryan.
“Really? Is this where you keep them hidden?”
“Yep,” Reid laughed, then went on to explain how their women hated green beans and peas. In order for him and Ryan to eat them, they stored them here. It made the others laugh, and shake their head. They stayed in the cabin for at least thirty minutes before Erin asked if they were ready to see the rest.
“The rest of what?”
“The area. We still need to show you Broken Two, New Double, and what we’re putting in across the road.”
“What’s that?”
“When everything is said and done, it will be a ranch where we will be not only raising rodeo stock, you know, the bulls, the broncos, and such, but there will be an arena slightly larger than the one you saw earlier. We’re hoping that rodeo people will want to board their animals here over the winter, but still come in either daily or weekly to train on their own horses or use ours to train.”
No one said anything, but Erin could tell they were either shocked or impressed, she couldn’t figure out which.
CHAPTER 5
“What’s this place?”Kevin asked when the golf carts went back to Broken, but instead of stopping, they continued around the barn, down a path and at one point they took the left fork. That’s where Erin stopped the carts again.
“We’re going over to Broken Two, which holds the bunktels for the clients and their families that are here for the rehabilitation horse services. Further down from there are the medical offices. Caleb has one, and in a couple of weeks, my therapist will be here to take over the next one. There is space for four different offices in each building.” She saw they understood, and continued, “However, we’re going this way first, because this is where Caleb and Katherine live. They live here because of the office, and it’s more secluded. Less chance of anyone finding them.”
“I like that idea,” Ilsa said. They continued forward, and when they arrived at the cabin, they didn’t get out, but Erin explained again.
“The other cabin is currently empty, I would offer it to you, and that’s your choice, however, there are only two bedrooms. I know I’m assuming here, but I thought if the three of you stayed in the larger cabin over on Broken, then Kevin could keepan eye on you when you are in for the night, and the guys are only a shout away. As much as I know Katherine is in danger, we haven’t had any problems. If push comes to shove, someone will come and stay in this cabin. I just thought that with Jason and Ilsa being the lawyers going after the FBI, it might be more beneficial if you were surrounded by former military.”
