Micah's Ordeal, page 13
“You’re still on barter?” Dolly asked with surprise.
“Mostly.”
“Interesting.”
Jake wasn’t sure how he should respond to that. “It’s different here,” he said hoping that covered a broader range of things.
“So I’m seeing,” Dolly said.
And again, he wasn’t sure how to read her. “Um. Are you set for now?”
She cocked her head. “How do I get paid? Do I sign in? What hours should I work?”
“Oh,” Jake said. “Um. Well, I’ll let Willow know you’re working here. She does our pay packets. The hospital is open twenty-four hours a day, so you can choose your own hours.”
Dolly shook her head. “You’re awfully trusting.”
“You said Vet Services sent you,” Jake said defensively. “I assumed they picked you because they knew what we needed here, and that you could get the work done.”
Dolly looked startled at his tone, and he immediately regretted getting angry with her. But then Garden called him for an emergency, and he had to leave. The case was a bad one, a horse gored by a goat. He wondered if it was the same aggressive goat that had given him the concussion. He cleaned the wound searching for any intestinal tears.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Sasha asked. She was on the large animal shift and was eager to help.
“As long as we keep this clean,” Jake said slowly as he inspected the wound. “Looks like we got lucky. This is ugly but mostly superficial.”
“His owner wasn’t as lucky. He’s over the other side.”
“I hate to hear that.”
“Nasty goat,” Sasha grumbled. “They ought to cut him up into steaks.”
Jake shook his head. It was a possibility for any farm animal, but that goat was probably too old and ornery to eat.
Chapter 33
Jane couldn’t wait to get home and relax. Even though her apartment was only a couple of floors above the hospital, she tried to shed the stress of the day in the elevator. Dapple looked up and made a little whining yip.
“I’m okay,” she said reassuring him with a pat.
It helped that Mitch was waiting for her. Going home to an empty silent apartment would have been hard. She’d had to deal with several cases after the showdown with Sissy’s parents, and she was worn thin.
Mitch greeted her with a hug, and she leaned into him glad for the moment. He didn’t let go until she pulled away. “Better?” he asked.
“Yes. Thanks.”
“You shouldn’t worry about the death. It’s obvious it wasn’t your fault.”
Jane rubbed her face. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Of course.” Mitch steered her over to the couch. “Izzy’s or Nan’s for dinner?” Dapple tried to get between them and had to settle for putting his head in her lap.
She smiled. It was an excellent segue. “Nan’s, I guess.”
“Is everything working out the way it should?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked with a sudden chill. She hoped that he was as happy as she was in the relationship. The separation had been a strain, but not excessive. Or at least that’s what she thought.
“The hospital is growing daily. You have more students, more patients and all kinds of emergencies. I saw the kind of facilities that High Meadow had. You need more people.”
“Yes,” Jane said heartily agreeing and glad that she’d misunderstood. His arm was warm around her shoulders, and she relaxed into the moment. “Where am I going to get them?”
“Nobody’s interested in moving out to the frontier?” he asked.
She hesitated. That wasn’t an enticement she’d ever considered. “I’ve always put my requests through Medical Services. Maybe I should run an ad in the newspapers. I can always spend some time training people. A few of my students are ready to go up a level. It would be really good to bring some new folks in on the lower level.”
“I think that’s a good idea. High Meadow is getting crowded. I heard some strange complaints about how busy the town is. Maybe some of those people would be willing to move out here.”
Jane nodded, wondering how she was going to be able to manage all of that.
“Is there someone who could handle that for you?” Mitch asked as if reading her mind.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Probably not. I’ll have to put aside some time.”
“I don’t have much to do between requests for judges. Can I help?”
She sat forward and turned to stare at him. “You really want to?”
“I think I’m a pretty good judge of character and after listening to you, I know what you need. I’d be happy to do some interviewing for you.”
“That would be amazing,” Jane said feeling overwhelmed. Her eyes burned, and her throat tightened. Maybe this was normal in a relationship, but she wasn’t used to this kind of support. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll have to fit it in around any cases that come up, but now that I’m not studying all day long, I do have some time on my hands. And to be honest, I’m not used to that. A farmer doesn’t get much free time.”
Jane took a deep breath feeling as though she’d come up from the bottom of a dark pool. “I guess I’ve been overloaded so long that I didn’t expect to see any let up.”
“You can’t function flat out all the time. It’ll kill you.”
“I know that” she said with another long breath. “I have been trying to delegate, but it’s hard when I’m the most experienced person there. I don’t think Willow realized how fast the hospital would take off. When we had the clinic, we went days without seeing a single soul.”
“That was months ago,” Mitch said. “People have come to trust you, and word of mouth runs fast. Look at Jake. As soon as the farmers realized they could get livestock, they did. And that livestock needed care. Jake is very dedicated and trustworthy. I think every farm from here to the wilds knows about him. And probably you, too.”
She nodded. “Can you put the ads in tomorrow?”
“I’d be happy to.”
“You don’t know what a burden you’ve lifted,” she mumbled feeling stunned.
“I can see it,” Mitch said with a warm smile. “You looked like you were getting to the breaking point.”
“I might still be close,” she admitted quietly. “But I feel better.”
“Ready for dinner?”
Jane stood up and stretched. “Let’s go to Izzy’s. I can’t remember the last time I left the building.”
“That is something we need to change, too.” Mitch said.
Even thought the air was cold, and it was already dark, Jane wanted to walk. She wanted to feel the air on her face and smell the fall scent of the crushed leaves as they crunched through them. Dapple trotted round them sniffing and investigating. She had a radio with her in case of emergency, but she hoped it would stay silent. She needed a quiet night with her man.
Izzy’s was busy, but with the new room open there were plenty of tables. Jane went to the far corner where a couple of private spaces had been created with careful placement of screens and potted plants. She chose a small table with just two chairs. Dapple squeezed under the table between them.
“This is new,” Mitch said as he sat down.
“I’d heard he was doing it. And we treated a couple of small injuries when they were breaking through. But I haven’t been here since it was finished.”
A waiter brought them menus and left them to look them over. “More than one meal?” Mitch commented.
Jane saw that there were a lot more offerings than there had been before. “I guess he isn’t having trouble hiring on workers.”
Mitch gave her a careful look but then smiled. “We’ll get people for you.”
She nodded. “Eventually.”
He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “Soon.”
The waiter came back, and they placed their orders including a doggy bowl which seemed to be a new thing on the menu. Jane looked around the room seeing a lot of people who were strangers. Some days she felt like she’d seen the entire population of the town filing in and out of her office, but seeing so many new faces reminded her how large and growing the town was.
“It’s taken awhile for word of the change to spread,” Mitch said softly. “No one willingly came here when the Washburns were in charge. They had to be dying or terrified to seek help here. Willow has made this town into something new. It’s a safe place now. Word is spreading out to the wilds.”
“And they are all coming into my office,” Jane joked. She tried to relax but kept waiting for her radio to go off. Every few minutes, she had to remind herself to release the tension in her muscles. It was hard to believe that she could go a whole evening without an emergency.
After the meal, she indulged in a sweet and gooey dessert. Then they walked home in the crisp night air. Dapple stayed close by. She felt herself letting go of one worry after another. Things would work out. It would take time, but she had the support she needed.
Chapter 34
Micah was glad to be home. Digger and Dawdle seemed to agree. They ran up onto the porch and stood at the door eagerly. Having Annalisa with him made it all new and strange, and he didn’t have to notice how empty the house was. Navigating the crutches was getting easier. After a quick tour of the ground floor, he limped up the stairs and showed her the spare room and the nursery. The dogs followed but didn’t get underfoot. He pointed out the linen closet and asked her if she would go buy whatever else they might need. Then they sat down at the kitchen table and worked out a schedule.
Annalisa offered to get lunch from Izzy’s since there wasn’t much in the kitchen. Micah gave her some money, relieved by her energy and initiative. She was young and eager. While he waited, he fed the dogs and let them out into the fenced yard.
He walked around the house trying to see how things would change. He couldn’t wait for Bear and April to get here. The nursery had been ready for weeks. They had a stack of baby clothes and diapers just waiting to be used. But the rooms were too quiet. Just as he was starting to get emotional, Annalisa arrived with Mason and Everett to distract him.
“Congratulations,” Everett said shaking his hand. “Looking forward to seeing the child.”
“April,” Micah said proudly.
Annalisa had gotten enough for all of them, so they sat around the table in the kitchen for a meal.
“Does she have a second name?” Mason asked as he helped sort out the food.
“Sawyer,” Micah said feeling another twinge of amazement. “Bear doesn’t have a second name.”
“Yet,” Everett said.
“We’ve thought about getting married,” Micah admitted. But talking about that was too personal. After an awkward moment, he changed the subject. “Anything new in town?”
Mason had some gossip, and Everett told him about Jake finding cattle in the river and that the farm had been destroyed.
“Is Bernard going to reassign it?”
“Ernst wants to take a look at all the other structures first. We might need to put it on hold until the buildings are made safer.”
Micah felt better talking about work. He asked about the problems that he’d been working on, and who was doing what. “Anybody go out after that cat?”
“Not yet,” Mason admitted. “I’d like a big team, and Jake’s dogs.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Micah agreed.
“When are you coming back?” Mason asked.
“Jane said I was okay for a little light duty. I can’t get around much, so I’m stuck with desk work.”
“We can have someone come pick you up in a car every morning,” Mason offered.
That made Micah think he was feeling hard pressed. As Sheriff, he’d mostly worked on problems that involved the whole town while Mason had the Watch working on security and safety. As the town was growing, so were its needs. “That sounds good.” He wasn’t sure if he was ready to go back to work yet.
“Not first thing,” Annalisa warned. “Everything takes a little longer with the cast on. And when Bear and April arrive, he’s going to have some extra responsibilities.”
“How is Bear doing?” Mason asked.
“She’s healing, but it’s going to take awhile.”
Micah didn’t know what to add. “What do you need me to work on first?” he asked hoping to steer the conversation away from the things that worried him.
“Staff,” Mason grumbled. “We need a bunch more. And setting up the new quarters has kind of stalled. And dogs. Peter said we could get a few, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to him.”
Micah started lining up priorities in his head. It felt good to think about something other than all his woes for a bit. “Can someone bring my stuff over to the new offices?”
“All done,” Mason said. “Not very tidy, but it’s all there.”
Micah thought about it. He would be going back to visit Bear and April anyway, so he might as well check in at the office. “How about a quick visit now?”
He left Annalisa to settle in and watch the dogs. Then he got into the Watch van that Mason had driven over. Everett said his goodbyes and walked back to his office in Town Hall. Micah hadn’t been over to the new Watch offices at the arena since they’d been claimed. Willow had insisted that he move over there because it made sense for him to be close to the Watch.
Mason drove to a different entrance. Micha hadn’t realized how many ways into the building there were. And luckily, there were plenty of elevators, too.
“We’ve been trying to figure out the best layout for the rooms,” Mason said as he led the way. “We’re thinking this big one should be the situation room. Fire Chief is there, I’m here and you would be over there.”
“Makes sense,” Micah said as he looked around. The space was huge. Willow was right. This made a lot of sense to have all of them in one place. “Where’s the bus company?”
“Huh. You think they should be here?” Mason asked.
“Willow said Jake was in charge of the sleighs during the blizzard, and that he couldn’t do that again. Seems like an emergency service that ought to be in there when it’s needed.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the situation room.
“Okay, what else?”
“Probably Ernst and his team. Is there a weather room yet?” Micah asked.
“I think Raymond’s working on that. You think we should have that out here, too?”
“We need accurate forecasting whenever a storm’s coming in. If we had known about the blizzard, we could have given better warning to the farmers.”
“And you wouldn’t have been out in it,” Mason grumbled.
“Well, that, too,” Micah agreed.
“I’ll see how it’s going,” Mason said before sprinting off.
Micah went into his new office. It was bigger and had huge windows looking out over the river. It was a gray and damp day, but the view was still inspiring. His desk looked small in the big space. More furniture was lined up against the wall. There were two more desks, a round table and some comfortable-looking chairs. He wasn’t up to shifting anything while on crutches. But seeing the extra desks reminded him that he’d been meaning to hire an assistant to help him stay organized.
He heard his name called from the corridor and gave a shout. Rowan came in with a happy grin. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Hey Rowan,” Micah said in surprise. “What brings you up here?”
“Looking around. Trying to make some guesses.”
Micah wasn’t too sure about what that meant. Rowan’s first flash of the future had saved a life by taking a life. It had put a heavy burden on him for the rest of the circuit. He’d shot the prisoner because he’d seen the lethal attack seconds before it happened. But it took him a good long while to come to grips with it all. Micah was surprised to see him looking so happy. “It’s good to see you.”
Rowan frowned at the room. “I didn’t realize. Did you just move in?”
“In the process,” Micah said. “But I can’t push anything around yet.”
“Oh, let me!” Rowan jumped into action moving the furniture. The first thing he did was pull out one of the armchairs and set it in the doorway facing in. “You sit here.”
Micah was happy to get off the crutches. Using them required muscles that he’d never used like that before, and he was sore. He slumped into the chair and relaxed while Rowan tackled the rest of it. He figured once things were placed, he could always move them around if he didn’t like the set up. But Rowan seemed to be channeling something because he arranged each item carefully. Micah thought he might have already seen the completed office in one of his visions.
“And of course, you need the phone lines,” Rowan said as he tweaked the last chair into place.
“Right.” Micah looked at how things had been positioned into three groupings. One right by the door. The largest in the corner by the window and the other, smaller area in the other corner. It already looked like three people worked in this room.
“And your...receptionist can sit right there,” Rowan said pointing. “And you assistant is there.”
Micah went over to the largest area. He had a view upstream from his desk. The round table was to one side where he could meet with a few people or spread things out to work. “Well done.”
“Oh, I just...” Rowan made a vague hand gesture. “It suits you.”
Micah had to agree.
A young man knocked on the door. Micah gestured him in.
“Oh!” Rowan looked surprised. “This is good.” He looked around the room with a puzzled frown. “I have to go now.” and dashed out the door.
“How can I help?” Micah asked the stranger.
“I’m looking for a job.”
Micah looked him over. He was thin and pale as if not in the best of health. But a lot of the residents looked that way until they started eating fresh food. His clothes were ragged, and his shoes were falling apart. “What are you good at?”
