“You can pack today. Kassie’s already ordered your discharge paperwork,” Doc said, grinning.
“Congratulations, Liam,” Kassie said, shaking his hand. “Good luck. You’ll need it with Leo,” she teased. “Seriously, you won’t meet a better set of men.”
“Thank you for your exceptional care,” Liam said. “When I arrived here, I didn’t hold out much hope of doing what I loved. You’ve made it possible for me to have a second chance.”
Kassie smiled and glanced at her husband. “You did all the hard work, but we’re happy to have helped.”
“I’d better get packed. You probably have another sucker ready for my room,” he joked.
“You bet, now get your ass over to the facility,” Doc said, putting his arm around his wife and shaking his hand. “Good luck.”
Liam left the office, anticipating his move. Packing would take no more than ten minutes. Then, he planned to check on Addy.
When he returned to his room, he stuffed everything in his bag, got rid of his garbage, and waited impatiently for the nurse to bring him his freedom papers.
“Hi, Liam. Congratulations,” the nurse, Harriet, said as she handed him the paperwork. “Try to behave yourself. Those security men can be troublesome rascals sometimes. Leo manages to get hurt every time he turns around with some ridiculous stunt. Last time his wife delivered their son, he fell and hit his head on the desk. Scared the poor woman to death. But we love him around here and you won’t find a better bunch.”
“Thanks, Harriet,” he said, jumping off the bed and heading to Addy’s room.
He knocked on the door and peeked his head around the corner. Addy bit her nail as she concentrated on her computer.
“Hey, there,” he greeted.
She glanced up and smiled. “Did you feed my baby?”
“Excuse me while I retrieve the doctor and tell him you’re hallucinating. Madame, you lied. You don’t have a dog. It’s a horse.”
“Oh,” she giggled. “I tend to forget. He didn’t give you any trouble, did he? He’s a big baby at heart.”
“There’s the magic words, ‘at heart.’”
“I’m sorry,” she said, appearing contrite. “Did he scare you?”
“You wound me, Addy. I’m a Navy SEAL. Do you think a mere dog can make me run? Taco, however, might have peed his pants when he cornered him against the wall. I didn’t realize the word ‘dinner’ made him listen until a little later. We played ball in the backyard, and he got a homemade treat. Did you make them? They smell incredible.”
“Yes. When I’m not working, Zeus and I like to meal prep and make treats,” she said, blushing. “I know it’s silly, but I don’t know many people here, and we’re homebodies.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he assured her. “Speaking of home, I got kicked out of this place. I’m heading to the facility to start my new job.”
“Congratulations,” she said. “I hope Doc will let me take a couple of days off when I get out of here. I’ll have to use a car service and go shopping for a new one. I hate going. Salesmen seem to think women lack common sense and try to talk over our heads. I admit, I don’t know much about cars, but I know what I like and how many horses I want.”
Liam chuckled. “You mean how much horsepower?”
“Yeah, that’s it. I tried to read up on what to search for in a vehicle. Unfortunately, it bores me.”
“Did you like the car you drove before?” he asked.
Addyson flinched in pain before saying, “It’s Samuel’s old car. I couldn’t bear to part with it.”
“How about I go with you to Seattle and help you car search? Leo says I have some time off to get situated,” he said, seeing she made a list of different car parts and their definitions.
“Do you mind?” she asked. “I’ll take you to lunch as compensation.”
“I’ll take you for lunch. You’ve ensured I’ve gotten the best care during my stay. Consider it two friends out for the day, car shopping,” he insisted.
“It’s my job to care for you. It feels wrong to have you spend money on me,” she explained.
“I’m joining the K-9 team. If you’ll make me a batch of those treats for my K-9, Apollo, I’ll call it even,” he bargained.
