Page 37 of Protecting Silver
“Nope, I trust my man.”
“Good.”
“Okay,” Deb said as she stood. “Could the three of you come to my office at nine Monday morning? I’ll have her exit papers ready, and any policy she signed that she violated. I’ll also have a stack of potential replacements. If you like, I can set up interviews for that day.”
“Please,” both Lorna and Silver said.
“Let’s hire two,” Finn spoke then. “I don’t know if it was Anna herself, or if the job was too confusing working for the both of you, but we don’t need our vendors calling us to try to clarify things at every turn.” They ironed out the details, and Deb left shortly after. As Silver and Patch went to leave, Silver turned to her boss.
“I’m so sorry I jumped to conclusions. I knew you’d never cheat on your wife, but I had to let you know as soon as possible, and I thought an in-person visit would be better than a phone call.”
“Thank you for looking out for me. You did the right thing.” Finn placed his hands on her shoulders. “It was thoughtful to bring it to my attention away from the office. Now that we know what’s going on, we can deal with it.”
“Thanks, Finn.” Silver nodded, then turned to Ronnie. “Sorry to bother you on your day off.”
“No bother, we were just mucking out the stalls.” Ronnie laughed at Silver’s wrinkled nose.
“That’s the only part I don’t miss about horses.”
“You ride?”
“I did, I haven’t been on a horse in about seven years.”
“You’ll have to come by sometime, and exercise mine. I don’t always get to go riding with my busy schedule. Bring Patch with you, he can take Lou or Sarge out.”
“But, I thought Sarge was your horse.”
“He is, but if he thinks he’s going up to the meadow, he’ll let you ride him.”
“I’d love to camp up there for a weekend,” Patch said. “Unfortunately, I won’t have another weekend off for two months. As it is, when I go back to work on Monday, I’ll have to work for nine days straight before my next day off.”
“Wow, and I thought my schedule was busy.” Ronnie looked at him in surprise. “Just come by anytime. I’ll let Hector know.”
“Thanks, Ronnie,” Patch said, and kissed her forehead before he left, then shook Finn’s hand. Once they were back in his truck, he looked over at Silver, and asked, “Where to?”
“Grocery store?” She grinned at him. He nodded and put the truck in gear. As they left Finn and Ronnie’s farm, Silver looked at him and gave a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry I jumped the gun and rushed out here.”
“Don’t be. As much as Finn played it down, or blew it off, he was pissed. I spent years with him, not only growing up, but also in the military. What you saw just now was his stage before he goes postal. I don’t know if you were looking at him, I meanreallylooking at him, but his hands were clenched so tightly, his knuckles were white, the corners of his mouth was pinched, his nostrils were flared, and his pupils dilated. I’m sure Ronnie will talk him down off his ledge, then once he talks it over with her, he’ll be fine.”
Patch nodded as he reached over and took her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze, before he continued, “Don’t be surprised if Finn’s at that meeting Monday. He might not say anything, but he will be there to lend his support to you and Lorna. Oh, and in case you missed all his cues I told you about, did you notice that Major came in from the other room, and laid his head on Finn’s thigh? That’s the first indication that he was upset.”
“That information is good to know. I don’t always get along with Major.” Silver shook her head and chuckled. “Let’s just call our relationship a work in progress. I know he’s nothing like the dog that Eddie had tried to intimidate me with. The only similarities I’m noticing are in the coloring.”
Patch grinned over at her, then let her hand go as they pulled into the grocery store. After he parked, he looked at her, and asked, “You have a list?”
“No, but I’m pretty much out of everything. I know I need the essentials, but I also need to buy things for dinner tonight.”
“Let me get the steaks, and if I purchase some items, can we do something this afternoon, and possibly tomorrow?”
Silver frowned at him, and hesitantly asked, “And that is?”
“What if I buy some things and we cook them up, so I can pack them for lunches next week. I hate the food in the cafeteria, and I refuse to eat from the vending machines. In the past, before we hooked up, if I had the time, I’d do this at my place.”
Silver moved her head to the side to study him, then nodded. “I could get my head around that. Only because I hate ordering sandwiches every day at work for lunch. What were you thinking?”
“As much as I love pasta, and it’s quick and easy to make and heat up, there’s no way I can eat it every day. I don’t know what I’ll make, but I’m sure I can be inspired as we walk down the aisle.” They spent the next three hours in the grocery store, and by the time they left, they had enough food to feed a family of six for weeks. Laughing as they carried it all into her apartment, throwing ideas at each other as to what to cook for their lunches for the upcoming week. Patch spent the rest of the weekend with Silver doing things normal couples did.
Chapter 19
