Page 15 of Serious Cowboy
It’d been lovely to hear. Her weekend was complete after the wonderful time spent with the kids she loved as her own. The party had been extravagant, but she didn’t care. Tim and Amanda appreciated what she did and that made her even more happy to continue to shower them with love.
Her week didn’t start off as she’d hoped, however. Her brother could be completely oblivious to some things that came naturally to others. As pacifying and empathetic as he could be with his young patients, it was like he had a potato for a head when around his medical personnel.
Erika had stood there in front of Tim with a printout asking directly for his initials only to have him stride on by as if she hadn’t spoken. And Julie, more used to this behavior apparently, had shaken her head and glanced at Erika consolingly. Then, when one of the patient rooms hadn’t been ready on time for an appointment, he’d quickly gone up to Erika’s station.
“I need you to have these rooms ready on time,” he had hissed at her, despite not doing anything she’d asked him for all day long.
Erika had stormed off, mumbling something to me about needing a coffee break even though we only had a half hour of the workday left.
So, Callie had to be the one to address it with her brother.Again. And frankly, enough was enough.
She waited until the last patient had left before asking him all politely to join her in the administrative office. Then, she wound up like a Major League Baseball pitcher and let him have it.
“Tim, you’ve done it again. You’ve upset your staff by being rude to them. All day long you talked to them like they’re not important.”
He blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Wow… Just wow.” She explained what she’d witnessed that day point by point. “Erika left in a huff for a coffee break about thirty minutes before we closed. She couldn’t take any more of youtoday. You’re going to lose her if you’re not careful. I don’t think she’ll put up with things in longsuffering silence like Julie will. And trust me, you don’t want to lose either of them.”
“Longsuffering silence is a bit much, don’t you think?”
Callie crossed her arms over her chest. “They probably don’t want to cross their boss for fear of losing their jobs. But you treated Erika especially deplorably today. And you’ve done similar stuff before. You’ve got to reserve some of that kindly doctor behavior for your staff, too. Or it’s just gonna be you and me in here.”
The heat drained out of his face. “Am I really that bad?”
“I’m sure you don’t mean to be. But you pay me to run this place and those two people need someone to speak up for them. Actually, you need me to speak up for them.”
“I guess I should apologize,” he said, dragging a hand down the back of his neck.
“Yes.” Also, she’d bring some treats in the morning. Maybe a dozen black forest brownies from Sweet Everything. She’d been dying to try those ever since she’d heard about them shortly after she’d moved here. She suddenly wondered why she hadn’t tried them, but brought her mind back to the situation at hand. Sugar might not be good for the body, but it could be good for the soul. And for frayed nerves.
Tomorrow, she’d be going out on another excursion with Zeke, one he’d hinted would finish up their tour. So she needed to come up with a plan to keep these outings with him going, as well. The tiny bit she’d discovered about him only whetted her appetite to know more. A light bulb went off over her head, and she began to research something on her phone.
This might just be the key to her cracking past that tough outer shell of his.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Zeke tookCallie on what he imagined to be their last outing together, he had mixed feelings about no longer spending time with her. Going their separate ways was the smart thing to do. There was no denying that. All along, that had been his plan, and Zeke excelled at sticking to plans any time he made them.
But he might miss her company, too.
There was just something about the woman who—he didn’t know how to put it—somehow, she made him feel lighter. Less likely to expect the worst of all possible scenarios to occur. He’d been a jaded cynic for a long, long time, and he knew he always would be. But having Callie around caused him to wait a few seconds before anticipating the rain to wash whatever brief optimism up the river like a storm damaged limb.
That was why the topic she’d chosen for conversation blindsided him so thoroughly.
“It’s my understanding that quality assurance experts are the single most crucial element in the grocery food chain,” she said, and he blinked out the windshield at hearing all this as theydrove along Main. “If that component is missing between the food being brought from farm to table or from the farm to a store, it all falls apart, doesn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, actually.” Despite himself, Zeke felt flattered. No one seemed to appreciate or even comprehend what he did for a living half the time, so it was nice to have someone immediately grasp it. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve been doing some research.” She shook her phone from side to side. “You never talk about the specifics of what you do on the Duncan Ranch much, and I was curious.”
He jutted out his bottom lip. “Didn’t think you’d find it all that interesting.”
No one else ever had.
“I do, though. I mean, it’s all connected, you know. Safe and healthy feed makes for healthy cattle, which makes for healthy byproducts like milk and butter. Which makes for healthy beef. Do you feel like you make a difference day to day?”
He nodded. He supposed he did now that he thought about it.