Page 12
CHAPTER 12
Three days later, Lorissa entered her back door and burst out laughing when she saw both Rose and Baby sitting there waiting for her. She had decided to let them out of their cages the day after her shopping spree, and after moving their babies to an area in the living room, she realized that every single time Rose wanted to go out to go to the bathroom, Baby wanted to go with her. She had also realized that since allowing them the run of the house, there were no bombs left in the litter box. She stepped back, opened the door and they ran out, and Lorissa stepped out to watch them. Ten minutes later they ran inside, and she made sure they had plenty of food and water. After they munched for a little bit, they literally ran back to their children and settled in to attend to them. As she figured out what she wanted for dinner, she ended up fixing a salad with plenty of raw veggies, and cut up the last of the chicken from a couple of days ago. Armed with the salad and her laptop, she settled in and looked to see how much it would cost to order a ‘doggie’ door to install for Rose and Baby to go in and out by themselves.
She was distracted by eating, and surfing the web when her phone rang, so she didn’t look at the number when it rang.
“Hello?”
“Lorissa?” Came a deep, sexy, gravelly voice over the phone that caused her to close her eyes and do a shimmy in her seat.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Oh, sorry, it’s Tom.”
“Oh, hey. How are you?”
“Good, how about you?”
“I’m good.”
“That’s good. I’ll get right to the point then. I contacted Sheriff Jim and told him what I wanted to do, he put me in touch with the people at the hospital up in Denver.”
“Okay, what did they have to say?”
“That we can come up, there’s no guarantee we can come in and see her, but they feel if she heard a voice from home, it might help her. Because of the burns, they really can’t move her around as much as they’d like.”
“Move her around, how?”
“CT Scan of her head, MRI of her brain. They don’t know whether she has brain activity or not. She’s on a ventilator and they have to debris her skin daily.”
“Crap, I forgot about that, and they don’t want to remove her from the sterile environment of the burns unit.”
“Correct. If you agree, I’d like to pick you up the day after tomorrow around four o’clock in the afternoon. We can stop in to see Mrs. Bickers and then go out to dinner.”
“I’m good with that. But that would put us at the hospital around five, shouldn’t we be there earlier to catch the doctors?”
“I suppose. So, noon sound good? I forgot it’s three hours to Denver. I keep thinking Colorado Springs that’s only an hour away.”
“Excellent, I have to warn you.”
“About?”
“I took Rose and Baby out of their cages. They have their own little nests set up in my living room. Did you know that Baby goes outside to use the bathroom right along with Rose?”
“I did not know that. Maybe that’s how they both ended up pregnant.” He chuckled and they shared the laugh. He didn’t keep her on the phone for long, and after they hung up, Lorissa stared into space for a long time before she finished her meal. She went upstairs to go through her new clothes to see what would be appropriate to wear to the hospital and then to go out on a date with. She didn’t want to be overdressed, but then again, she didn’t want to be underdressed. She settled on a little black dress with some strappy heels, and made sure she had the black shawl to carry with her. She never carried a purse, but she put what she thought she’d need into a small clutch her mother told her she needed, and only had to wait for two days to put everything on. She went back downstairs and settled in to read a book and smiled when both Rose and Baby climbed up on the couch and settled in near her. Baby on her lap, Rose at her feet on the couch. She smiled when she realized she would be warm when winter came if these two were going to give snuggles.
Two days later, Lorissa was ready by eleven-forty-five and was standing there watching the kittens climbing all over their mother, and the same with the puppies. She wondered what it would be like to put them together in the same enclosure when there was a knock on the back door. Not thinking anything of it, she yelled for them to come in, and looked up when she saw Tom standing beside her.
“Hi,” she breathed out breathlessly. “You look good.”
“Thanks, so do you. What were you studying so intently? ”
“I was wondering what it would be like if I let the babies interact with one another.”
“It would be good for their socialization.”
“I was thinking the same thing, and maybe getting used to the other species.”
“There is that,” he said with a nod, then turned to her. “You ready to go?”
“Yes, Nana and Mom will stop in later to check on them and let them out.” She turned to him completely and smiled. “Damn, you do really clean up good.”
“Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” He looked at her with a grin as he walked around her completely and shook his head when he came back to face her. “I’m not saying this to be sexist.”
“Then don’t say it.”
“But you look a hell of a lot better than the first time I saw you when you were making that shoe for Misty.”
Lorissa started to giggle, and it quickly turned into a full belly laugh. “Yeah, that was an extremely hot day. Are you ready?”
“I am.” He actually waited for her to precede him and he placed his hand on the small of her back. They only paused long enough for her to grab her clutch purse, shawl, and turn on the light above the kitchen sink. Since it was still daylight out, she figured they’d be back right around dark or shortly after and she didn’t want to walk into a completely dark house. Just before exiting the back door, she flipped on the back porch light. In the driveway, she paused and looked at him as he opened the passenger door to an unfamiliar vehicle. She liked the fact that as soon as the door opened, a step automatically appeared.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, this is my personal truck. I didn’t think you’d want to go out to dinner in my work truck.”
She settled in and didn’t respond until he climbed in behind the wheel. “I wouldn’t have minded, because my truck looks the same way. However, I’m glad I don’t have to fight with tools and equipment in this dress.”
Tom started the truck, then looked at her sheepishly before he put it in gear. “I don’t know if I should admit this, but I had to go out and purchase some clothes for tonight.” He looked at her in shock when she started laughing.
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at what you said. I had to do the same thing. After we planned tonight, I went to my closet to pick out what to wear.” She giggled as they got underway, then laughed. “What would you say if I told you that before two days ago, I didn’t own a dress, skirt, or blouse. My mother informed me that my flannel shirts don’t count as blouses.”
“I would call you a liar, but I don’t think you’re the type that would lie, so I’ll believe you. May I ask why you didn’t have dressy clothes? ”
Lorissa shrugged and settled into the long drive. She felt comfortable enough with him to explain how she’d lived back east.
“The job I had had an exclusivity clause.”
“Meaning you were exclusive to them. In what capacity? Veterinarian or farrier?”
“Yes, and both. The people I worked for were an extremely wealthy couple, however, they were very, very tight fisted with their money.”
“Can you give an example?”
“They loved horses, and instead of purchasing their own, they had three different stables built for others to board their horses. As much as they loved them, they didn’t want the hassle of paying for the boarding, the vet bills, the feed. They devised the plan of building three of the most state-of-the-art, over-the-top stables you can imagine.” She looked at him and saw his frown.
“Okay, picture this. Each barn could house fifty horses comfortably in their own stall. The loft overhead held the hay.”
“Okay, that’s a typical horse barn. What made these over the top?”
Lorissa shook her head and sighed, but then chuckled. “Heated floors in the entire barn. Each stall had its own water cut off. Picture this, the hands only had to open the door and turn on the faucet to fill the water bucket.”
“For each stall? ”
“Yes, and the stalls had those rubber mats in them that are usually used in the kitchen in a restaurant, or factories where people stand in one place all day.”
“For the horses?”
“Yes, they were of the mindset that if they went all out to pamper the horses, then the owners of said animals wouldn’t question the boarding prices. Because with all of that, the owners also offered free exercise for the horses. If they didn’t ride the horses every day, they had one of the hands do it, and they refused to pay the workers, yet the owners were paid extra to exercise the horses. Right at the beginning, I had issues with them, and I almost didn’t take the job.”
“May I ask why?”
“They tried to say that the vet and farrier fees were written into the boarding costs. When I pointed out that was fine and dandy, but that didn’t pay my salary, they couldn’t understand why I was upset.”
“Wait, let me get this straight. The owners included vet and farrier fees to the owners of the horses, and they would collect the fees, yet not pay you for the work you did?”
“Yes, what I failed to also mention that while they were both wealthy, and tight-fisted with their money, they were also clueless as to how the real world worked. Both husband and wife were spoiled golden children growing up and whatever they wanted, they got. How they held the jobs they did, I have no idea. Their parents were the ones that built the stables to the couple’s specifications. Even being the spoiled golden children, they still worked. They were some high-up executives, and they always wanted a request from me in the form of a written report. It was frustrating at times, until I went over their heads and would contact the horse owners directly via a phone call. I only did that when there was a concern for their horse, and I needed a quick decision made on their part. You know whether to do the treatment or not.”
“How did you get your pay resolved. Not that it’s any of my business, but I’m kind of curious now.”
“After I looked over the contract they offered me, I politely declined, and left. I was actively looking for employment when I got a call from her father. Apparently, she didn’t like being told no, so she went to Daddy to have him get what she wanted. She wanted me. I not only got a letter in the mail, but I also received a phone call to go to his office. I arrived and saw the couple, along with what looked like two powerful businessmen waiting for me.” She turned her head to look at him with a grin. “I tried not to let that intimidate me, since I wore my best jeans, cowboy boots, my normal white tee beneath a flannel shirt. It was late September, not that that matters, but that was my normal attire. I wasn’t going to kowtow to these people. I did nothing wrong.”
“Wow, how did the meeting go? ”
“It started out with her father asking me why I refused to work for his daughter, and the other guy asked the same thing, but he referred to the couple as his son.”
“I only asked them one question, and sat back and watched the fireworks for the next hour.” She laughed, “I enjoyed a pastry and about two cups of coffee while I watched the display.”
“Oh, god, I don’t know if I want to ask this or not, but what question did you ask?”
“I asked, and I quote, ‘How will I get paid for my services?’ End quote. I then took the contract the couple insisted I take with me and looked it over and I laid that on the desk before her father, and I had highlighted the part where it stated for pay, it was already included in the boarding fees.” She shook her head as she remembered that meeting. “After that hour, the older men were frustrated and asked if I was working anywhere else at the time. I was honest and told them that no, I was still actively looking. They asked me if I would stop looking for a couple of days so they could sort everything out. I agreed. Before I left, I gave them my current resumé that had my credentials on it, both my PhD in veterinarian medicine, and my AFA certification.”
“That’s from The American Farrier Association?”
“Yes, after I graduated and received my PhD, I went to Oklahoma to their school. I don’t know if you know this, but that program takes about two years to complete. Oh, and when I gave the fathers the contract, I had also highlighted that they would allow me to stay in a cabin, but I had to pay for the rent and utilities. I couldn’t stress it enough that I couldn’t pay to live there if they couldn’t pay me for my services. See, they wanted me to be close at hand in case something happened to one of the horses. They didn’t want to have to wait for me to drive there in an emergency.”
“Okay, I knew the school was out here somewhere, but not exactly.” He concentrated on his driving, then smiled. “What happened next?”
“It took a week, but I was called back into their office. It turned out the businessmen I told you about?” She looked at him with a raised brow.
“Yes, what about them?”
“There were best friends since being in diapers and went into business together before their children were born. The couple that wanted to hire me grew up together and apparently fell in love and married.”
“Ah, so they knew how their children were, entitled.”
“Correct. When I got to the meeting, the couple wasn’t there. It was just their fathers, then another man entered. He happened to be the lawyer for the couple.”
“Oh god, what happened?”
“They sat me down and we discussed the original contract line for line. They were open and honest with me and asked me what I liked or didn’t like about what they were offering. When it came to the section about pay, I again asked them how I would get paid. I told them that the way the contract currently read, then the owners of the horses would pay the couple for vet and farrier services. When I did the service, then how was I supposed to be paid for the work I did? If they collected the fees, and I did the work…” she said as she left the sentence hanging. “It was the lawyer that understood what I was trying to say. He took fifteen minutes to explain it, and when they finally realized what I was getting at, things started rolling.” She chuckled and grinned. “All in my favor. Oh, I don’t know whether I told you this or not, but because of the exclusivity clause, they wanted me to live in a foreman’s cabin on the property of one of the stables, then travel to the other two to do upkeep and maintenance on the horses. I was responsible for everything, they even wanted me to pay rent as well as my own utilities.”
“On top of not paying you for your services?”
“Correct.”
“Jesus, no wonder you walked away. I would have. But if you worked there, then you didn’t walk away, did you? Did you hire your own lawyer?”
“Not at first, negotiations went back and forth for the next couple of weeks. When we got to the results that I wanted and agreed to, I told them I would talk with my lawyer while they talked to their children. They were not in the contract talks. My lawyer was there when we all signed on the dotted line. I was given a cabin to live in, however, the couple wouldn’t budge on it being rent free or free utilities. We agreed upon an amount, and technically, though it was a low amount, I paid my own rent and utilities. I told them I couldn’t work for free because I had student loans to pay, and becoming a doctor wasn’t cheap.”
“You’re right there. I know it’s none of my business, but what happened with the vet and farrier fees?”
“First, I had to purchase my own furniture for the cabin, appliances, bedding, and groceries. When I moved, I went to them with receipts and told them if they wanted the appliances to stay, then they had to purchase them from me. For the price I paid for, I wouldn’t allow them to pay less because of depreciation.”
“Smart move, did they?”
“Yes, but the furniture I took since they looked down their noses when they saw what I had purchased. They politely informed me that they wouldn’t pay for anything that cheap looking.” She giggled and shook her head. “That cheap looking furniture is currently in my living room in the house where I am now. As for the fees, we came up with the agreement that they would not include them in the boarding costs, that if services were needed, I would bill the owner of the horse directly. That was written into the contract they signed with the owners. I was also given a salary by the owners because they wanted me to be exclusive to them, and I would be solely responsible for up to one hundred and fifty horses if the stables were completely full. I got out when the going was good, because we re-negotiated the contract every year. The time of the current contract was approaching fast when everything with Mom selling her business went down. In the weeks leading up to the new contract deals, I met Duane, who introduced me to Erin, and after meeting her, I couldn’t pass up what she had to offer me. I love that I’m not exclusive to anyone anymore. I know it might sound funny, but I feel freer.” She smiled and shook her head. “I had had a lifelong dream of one day moving to the wild west to live and work on a ranch. I feel like that dream has come true.”
“I can totally understand that,” Tom said as he reached over and took her hand in his. He held it like that, rubbing his thumb on the back of that for the rest of the drive to the hospital. Each of them were lost in their own thoughts.