Page 4 of Caleb’s Cause (Broken Wheel Ranch #12)

“Will I be getting paid for working on your employees?”

“Yes, I also would like you to work with the clients of Broken.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Clark,” Erin said, and nodded to the other man.

Caleb watched him set his coffee cup down, and walk over to a wall and lifted pages of a map.

As Erin talked, to describe what Riceman property was all about, Clark used a ruler Julie handed him to point it all out, and dropped a page with each new ranch.

At the end of the discussion Caleb didn’t react when Clark returned to his seat, but reached over and shut Caleb’s mouth.

It took a few seconds, but Caleb finally shook his head to clear it.

“Let me get this straight. I can have my own office space at Broken Two. I can see any outside patients I want, but I also have to work on any of your employees that need my services, as well as work with a client and their current doctor or physical therapist to help them while they are here in the rehabilitation program? Did I get it all?”

“Yes. Is that too hard?”

“Not at all, I just have one more question.”

“What’s that?”

“Which services are we talking about?”

“What do you mean by that?

“I’ll have to get the licensing for the state of Colorado, but in the State of Washington, I am a licensed physical therapist, a doctor of chiropractic services, and I had a certification and extensive training in prosthetics.

I was over in Fool’s Gold yesterday and delivered Jake Cogburn’s new leg.

” He turned and looked at Julie with a grin.

“One like yours. With all the bells and whistles.” He turned back to Erin, and laughed.

“The thought I had when I first met you was that I wondered if you had a prosthetic hand, if not, would you like one. I can work with people to get you one where the fingers would actually move.” He watched Erin’s expression, and looked at Clark in concern when she stared off into space and seemed to turn white.

“Rin? Are you okay?” Clark asked at the same time Caleb said,

“I didn’t mean any offense.”

“No, it’s just that it’s been so long since I had a hand, six years, that I got used to not having one.

See, after I woke in the hospital after the accident, I was basically told that I was disabled and couldn’t do anything with the rest of my life.

I was twenty-one at the time. I felt sorry for myself, until a man that has worked on this ranch with our parents came to me and threw a journal I had been reading at me, and yelled at me.

It took roughly six months to a year since the accident, but I was able to start Riceman Stallions.

I looked at the loss of my hand as a challenge, not a disability.

Once Riceman Stallions was established, I didn’t look back.

I started looking into horses that had been abused and thrown away when their owners didn’t want to deal with them any longer.

That’s how The Broken Wheel was started.

” She looked at Clark with a sappy smile.

“It’s thanks to Clark here that I was able to get the employees I have now.

The men are from his former unit. They were in the military together, and after Naomi, I hired women that had been in the service with the same challenges as me.

Oh, not the exact ones, because Julie has both hands, but missing a leg.

The others are missing a limb, has severe fears, or TBI, but working with the horses has gotten us all through it. ”

“Wow, I like that. I would love to see what the rest of the ranch is like.”

“Clark can give you the tour.” Erin and the others turned at the knock on the doorjamb, and Erin smiled at the man standing there. “Yes?”

“You rang?”

“No.”

“I was told you wanted to see me.”

“Wasn’t me,” Erin said, and turned to her brother.

“Not me,” Clark said, and watched as Caleb stood, turned to the man standing there and grinned.

“It was me.”

“Okay, but what do you need, and who are you?”

“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.