Page 31 of Heal Me
Chapter Nine
“You can’t drive.”
Ric scowled at Emily as they stood in the kitchen of the big farmhouse that evening. “Yes, I can. Your car is automatic, so I only need my right foot. And I haven’t taken any pain meds since Tylenol seems to be doing the trick. There’s no reason I can’t drive now. Please let me borrow your car.”
Worry creased Emily’s forehead. “What if something happens and you have an accident?”
Ric’s expression softened. “Em, nothing is going to happen. I’m a big boy. I can handle this. Please?”
Emily relented and took her car keys off one of the hooks by the door. “Okay, but be careful.”
Ric took them and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, sis. Don’t wait up.”
Emily smiled and shook her head as she opened the door for him. He swung his way out to her car and opened the door. Unbeknownst to Emily, Ric had already had Tyler deposit the beer in Emily’s car. Tyler still drove Ric’s Hummer, affectionately named The Beast, because Ric couldn’t get up in the vehicle at the moment. Therefore, Emily’s car was the only transportation Ric had.
Ric put his crutches over on the passenger seat, sat down, and swung his legs in. He had to move the seat back to accommodate his long legs, but otherwise it felt fine. After settling in, he turned the ignition and waved at Emily, who stood outside the kitchen door with a concerned expression. She gave him a little wave and he put the car in gear.
It felt good to drive again and Ric turned up the radio. Emily loved 80’s music and Bon Jovi sangLiving on a Prayeras he went down the road. Ric reflected on the weekend spent sorting through the mess that Chase’s lapse in judgment had caused. McKnight chewed their asses off but Ric worked his charm, calming him down and talking numbers that McKnight could not ignore.
However, to their horror, word of their cockup had started doing the rounds and confidence in the firm was dented. They had a few clients rumbling about leaving.
Tyler, the financial wiz of the three of them, had crunched numbers, going through every possible scenario to prepare them for the result of possible fallout. But the biggest problem was that the Villanova Group, another one of their biggest accounts, who was talking about severing ties with them, which would place them in jeopardy.
Chase had pissed Tyler off by sending a smart ass email that contained his complete itinerary for the next three months so that they were aware of his every move. Ric hadn’t let on to Tyler, for fear he’d blow a gasket, but the fact that Chase had put “take a shit” at 6:30 a.m. every day, had amused the hell out of him.
He wouldn’t answer their calls or emails, but the one he’d sent them said that he would attend the Denver office meeting on Monday morning at 8 a.m. Ric wasn’t happy with Chase for not responding to them, but Ric knew it was probably problems with Chase’s sister that sent him off the rails.
Tyler was giving Chase space, but he told Ric that if he didn’t get satisfaction at the board meeting on Monday, he was getting on a plane to L.A. to deal with Chase in person.
As he pulled up in front of Kate’s house, Ric let go of all that, though. He was mentally drained and keyed up at once. Spending time with Kate would be the perfect way to relax for a few hours. He carefully got out of the Subaru and grabbed his crutches. He hobbled to the rear seat and retrieved the six-pack of Bud.
Slowly, so he didn’t shake the beer up, he made his way to Kate’s door, admiring the two-story gray stone house with white shutters. There were a couple of big maple trees in the yard and the property was nicely landscaped. He rang the doorbell and heard dogs bark.
Kate opened the door and three pooches of various sizes swarmed around Ric.
“Hi,” she said. “Come on in.” She grabbed the beer from him, and made the dogs move back and stay down so that Ric could pass through the doorway. “I should’ve put them in their kennels. Sorry about that.”
Ric smiled as he looked at the Scottish terrier, chocolate Lab, and Great Dane. “That big one won’t eat me, will he?”
Kate laughed. “No. Daisy is afraid of her own shadow. I’m surprised that she hasn’t run and hidden by now.”
He pointed to the beer. “I kept my end of the bargain.”
Her luscious mouth curved upwards and Ric was hit by a longing to kiss her and never stop. “I’ll go start the popcorn. Come have a seat in the living room.”
Following her, Ric took notice of the warm earth tones of her furnishings. The décor didn’t follow any one theme, instead being a hodge-podge of various styles. The living room was done in a light green with white trim. A sand colored couch and matching recliners arranged around a large square oak wood coffee table created an inviting seating area.
A couple of pet beds and a cat condo were situated in a far corner next to the large bay window and several large prints depicting various foreign locales hung on the walls.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Kate said, motioning towards the couch.
Ric sat down and looked for a place to put his crutches.
Kate said, “Here, I’ll take those and your jacket.”
He shrugged out of it and handed it to her. “Thanks. Oh, I also held up my other end of the bargain.” He grinned at her as he held out a small box that he’d taken out of his jacket pocket.
She gave him a suspicious look. “What did you do?”
