Page 70 of Saving Veronica
Grady sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “I’m kind of scared to approach her actually.”
“Does she know you wanted the fundraiser for her?” Finn asked, as he frowned at the other man.
“No, I went to her while she still had her casts on and offered her a partnership. I was going to give her another week before I went out and talked to her.”
“Is there a rush?” Marc frowned at him.
“I didn’t think so, but yes. Yesterday when I was wrestling that calf and trying to stitch him up in places, I wrenched my shoulder again. My doctor was able to squeeze me in. Turns out, I’m going to need the surgery within the next two weeks. I won’t be able to wait until January like I had planned.”
“But, Veronica still has school. How could she work the practice with everything she has?”
“That’s why I want to bring her on as a partner. I have another vet lined up to take over the patients while Ronnie’s in school and I’m laid up. But with Ronnie being a partner, she would have control of the practice. This guy, Dr. Thompson, would be able to override her decisions if she was only an employee. Without her having her actual license yet, he would outrank her.”
“Ah, but with her being a partner, then she would outrank him.”
“As far as Applewood Pets are concerned, yes.”
“So let’s go talk with her.” Lorna grinned as she jumped to her feet. Everyone laughed, but she sat back down and they talked about how they would approach Ronnie with the news that the check was for her.
*****
Ronnie was exhausted as she entered her house and began talking care of the groceries she had left on the counter. She had done exactly what she had told Finn she was going to do that morning. She’d done the morning chores, run into town for some groceries, and ended up purchasing enough for at least two weeks, then she came home. After stuffing the perishables in the refrigerator or freezer, she’d rushed back out to work with Lieutenant. That was what she’d decided to name the buckskin stallion.
As she grabbed the paper products to put away, she grabbed a pen and wrote a note on the small whiteboard on her refrigerator to talk to Grady about some of the horses Sarge had brought home for her. Smiling, she took care of the items in her hands and grinned when Captain came flying into the kitchen and landed on the back of his favorite chair.
As she reached for the bag to fold it, there was a knock on the door, and thinking it was Finn, she called for the person to come in the same time Captain did.
“AWK! Come in! Awk!”
Laughing, Ronnie turned to the door and stared in shock at the man who entered.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. Before the man answered, he rushed forward and backhanded her.
“You worthless fucking bitch, how dare you embarrass me like you did!” Ronnie flew back into the refrigerator when he hit her again. This caused Captain to go wild and he squawked and flapped his wings in the man’s face. Ronnie saw stars and tried to shake it off before she was hit for the third time, and her world started to turn black around the edges.
Chapter 24
Finn pulled into Ronnie’s driveway, leading a caravan. He grinned when he saw Lorna, Marc, Grady, and his father and William pull in behind Grady. They all parked and looked over toward the barn when Maggie and Gerald came toward them, along with Hector.
“What are you guys doing here?” Maggie asked, as she frowned at everyone.
“We presented Grady with the check earlier, he’s here to talk to Ronnie about it.” Finn smiled.
“Why?”
“Oops,” Gerald said. “I forgot to tell you that Grady here asked Ronnie to buy into his practice, as a full partner.”
“Holy shit, really? What did she say?”
“I left her an information packet when I talked to her. She hasn’t gotten back to me yet. That’s why we’re here. I’m here to talk to her about the fundraiser and offer her the check for her buy-in.”
“Wow, can we join you?”
“Sure, I also need to talk to her about my surgery. Doctor wants me to go under the knife in two weeks. I want her on as a partner before I go. This way, she’s in charge while I’m out. I’ve got Dr. Thompson to come in and work, but Ronnie will be in charge.”
“Sounds good.” They all started walking toward the house when suddenly Major, who Eric had brought with him, growled and rushed forward.
“Stop,” Finn bit out, and when they frowned at him, he pointed to the dog. Major was studying the house intently, with his hackles raised. That’s when they heard it. Subtle grunts and breaking of furniture. They rushed forward and it was Lorna who stopped and demanded.
