Page 1 of Caleb’s Cause (Broken Wheel Ranch #12)

Caleb Lassiter eased his vehicle into the parking lot his GPS had directed him to, and as he parked, he looked around like his head was on a swivel.

“Wow,” he whispered out loud. “A hell of a lot different than Seattle.” He sat there in stunned silence as he looked out at the terrain and saw the leaves beginning to change, but it was still a bright sunny and upper seventy-degree day.

With a shake of his head, he shut everything down and climbed out, stretched, then headed to what he thought was the front door of the Bed and Breakfast he had been told to go to.

He stepped inside, and liked the wild west theme, but deep in his heart, he didn’t think it was a theme to amuse the customers, it was the reflection of the owner’s way of life.

“May I help you?” an extremely gruff voice asked, and Caleb whipped around and thought the man had to be at least a hundred-years-old, but would later realize he was only in his late fifties to early sixties.

“Yes, please. I’m here to see a Jake Cogburn,” Caleb said after referring to the papers in his hand. He didn’t see the scowl on the older man’s face, but when he looked up, the man was walking away, but not before telling him to wait there.

Caleb waited for at least fifteen minutes before this tall handsome man entered behind the older man.

“I’m Jake Cogburn, I heard you were looking for me? What can I do for you?”

Caleb drew in a deep breath, held it, let it out slowly and actually leaned in several inches before he lowered his voice. “Could I talk to you privately?”

“About?”

“You, me.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll step into the kitchen,” the older man said. “Pru is due today with the eggs.”

“Okay, where’s RJ?”

“Finishing up chores in the barn.”

“Could you send her my way when she comes in?”

“Sure.”

“Now, who are you and what do you want?” Jake didn’t mince his words after the older man disappeared somewhere in the home.

“I’m Caleb Lassiter, and I worked with the people that worked on your new prosthetic.

Since I was headed in this direction anyway, I volunteered to bring it to you.

However, I can’t just hand it over. I have to make sure it fits properly, and you use it for at least thirty minutes before I leave.

” Caleb saw the shock on the other man’s face, and rushed on, “That’s the you part.

For the me part, I have an appointment tomorrow morning with Erin Riceman.

If all goes well, I’ll be the new physical therapist on her ranch.

My uncle works for her already, and I’m not only here for my interview with Ms. Riceman, I’m also here for Uncle Ry’s wedding. ”

“Uncle? Who did you say you were related to?”

“Ryan, Ryan Carter.”

“Oh, wow, okay. I forgot he was getting married this month. But what was that part about you?

“Uncle Ry said that even if everything went well with the interview, I wouldn’t get hired without a background check. He also said that you’re the one to do it.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, the papers are in my car, but I had one done.” He saw the look of shock, then what seemed like anger cross Jake’s face and held up his hands.

“It’s all legit, I swear.” He shook his head, then chuckled.

“I told my Dad about the background check, he said that was smart on Ms. Riceman’s part, then Dad called Uncle Ry, and they talked about it.

Dad didn’t do it, but he had some people he works with run the check on me. I have it in the car.”

“What makes your father think he can do a proper check on you?”

“He’s a homicide detective with the Seattle Police Department. His name is Kevin Lassiter.” Caleb saw Jake trying to connect the dots, and explained, “My mother and Uncle Ry are siblings.”

“Ah, got it, so this Kevin is Carter’s brother-in-law?”

“Yes.” Due to the expression on Jake’s face, Caleb drew in another deep breath, and let it out slowly.

He knew his father had always been a tough nut to crack, but this guy took the cake.

He felt like he was a little boy explaining why he had done something, even knowing he hadn’t done anything wrong, nor was he a little boy.

“I know you didn’t ask, but for now, I can tell you that there is absolutely no love lost between Karen and Ryan.

Yes, my mother’s name is Karen, and I know this is disrespectful, but she is a first-class entitled bitch.

I won’t get into the details with you, no offense, but I think Uncle Ry should know first, but trust me, she is exactly where she is supposed to be. ”

“May I at least ask where that is?”

“Washington State Penitentiary for Women. She was sentenced for eighteen to twenty-five and isn’t eligible for parole until after serving the first eighteen.”

“Damn. Like you said, it’s none of my business, but I would love to hear what she did.”

Caleb laughed. “I’ll give you the case number and you can look it up online. It’s all public information. I don’t know if it’s all there, but I can answer any questions you have, but not until after I speak with Uncle Ry first.”

“Understandable.” Jake nodded and walked behind the counter where the older man had stood when Caleb entered. “You said you had an interview with Erin tomorrow? Will you be wanting a room tonight?”

“If you have one. I’m sure I could stay with Uncle Ry, I will be after my interview, he already told me it would be okay, but I didn’t give him any timeline as to when I was coming.

I want to get business out of the way first before I relax for a few days.

If all goes well, by this time tomorrow I’ll be employed by Erin Riceman. ”

“Good luck, and what would you be doing?”

“I’m a licensed physical therapist, but I’m also a licensed chiropractor, and my special project is working with prosthetics.

I have extensive training in that, and I’m not tooting my own horn here, but I was the person that came up with, and designed the new leg for you.

I’m making it my cause to help as many people as I can.

It might be slow going, but I can at least design things during my downtime.

” He held up his hand and shook his head.

“I know it takes a lot of mental wrestling for someone to ask about a prosthetic, then it takes longer to design it, get it made, then to come up with the money to purchase it. I’ve seen some go for as much as a car or even more.

I don’t know from personal experience, all I can tell you is that I’ve seen the struggles people make. I want to ease that if I can.”

“Good for you,” Jake said, and looked up when someone entered, causing Caleb to suck in his breath at the transformation on the man’s face.

He looked over and saw a beautiful woman enter.

“RJ,” he said on a sigh, then turned to Caleb.

“My wife, she’ll get you a room. Could you give us a minute alone? I’ll tell her why you’re here.”

“I’ll just go get what I brought you.”

“Perfect.” Jake waited until the younger man left, and quickly turned to his wife.

“What’s wrong?” RJ asked in concern as soon as she saw his expression.

“Nothing, that is Caleb Lassiter, he’s here with my new leg. He needs to put it on me, and help with it. I had Gunny bring you in so you could bring him up to the bedroom.”

“Ah, got it. Is he spending the night?”

“Yes,” Jake chuckled. “I like the kid.” He looked over both his shoulders and leaned closer to his wife. “He says he’s Carter’s nephew, and he has an interview with Erin tomorrow about being a therapist?”

“I thought the therapist was a woman.”

“Physical therapist.”

“Ah, yes, I heard that was a man, and it’s this guy?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t want Carter to know he’s here until after his interview tomorrow. Says he wants to get the business out of the way first.”

“Smart man, wait, Pru is due any minute.”

“Just don’t tell Caleb that she’s about to become his aunt.” He laughed, kissed his wife quickly, then looked at her with a grin and raised brows. “I’m going up to the bedroom to strip down to my skivvies.”

RJ laughed and shoved him away. “You do that, I’ll bring Caleb up when he returns.

” She shook her head at his look. “Yeah, that sounded bad, but I couldn’t resist.” Jake laughed as he walked away, and RJ waited for the return of Caleb.

It seemed like a long time, but when he finally returned, he wore a gigantic grin, making him very handsome, but way too young for her.

“Wow,” he said with a shake of his head.

“What?”

“I saw a redhead out in the parking lot, and she’s absolutely stunning. Her beauty took my breath away so when she said hi, all I could do was nod, and I think I said hi, but it came out all garbled.”

RJ laughed, and waved her hand in front of her face. “Did she have a box with her?”

“Yes, do you know her?”

“Yes, she delivers eggs here once a week.”

“Cool,” Caleb said with excitement in his expression.

“She’s engaged.” RJ smirked when he deflated in defeat.

“Damn, that must be some lucky bastard she has.”

“He is.” RJ left it at that, and told Caleb to follow her, and she led him up to the bedroom where they found RJ sitting on the side of the bed.

As soon as he entered, Caleb got to work, and the only thing he asked was where he could wash his hands, and then he asked if he could remove the old prosthetic.

He was granted permission, then opened the hard case to reveal the new one.

“Holy shit,” RJ said in shock, then whipped around to glare at her husband. “You didn’t tell me I’d be sleeping with The Terminator.” Her statement caused everyone to laugh, and she looked at the two men with a shake of her head. “Is this what the current technology is capable of?”