Page 4 of Fighting for Family

“Yes,” Kassie informed him. “Samantha and I plan to attend Catherine’s doctor appointment with her. Then, I’m meeting with the evening shift. It seems I have two nurses flirting with one of the veterans and it’s getting out of hand.”

“My word,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “They need something else to keep them busy.”

Kassie shrugged. “I think the patient has gotten a kick out of it. It’s not professional, and if it’s not nipped in the bud, I’ll lose two nurses.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Chase said, frowning. “We’ve remained lucky with hiring a great staff.”

“Lizzy makes sure we keep competitive wages. It helps we offer room and board,” Kassie said. “Gabby said we’re doing better than some hospitals. Our numbers keep climbing, and we have a waiting list.”

“Have you given any thought to adding on to the hospital?” Joe asked.

Kassie shook her head. “We don’t have the space since we added the service and military dog spaces.”

Joe tapped his finger to his chin. “What about building up instead of out? You can keep the original structure and add additional floors. It’ll give you room for more veterans, hiring more staff, and offer more services.”

“I don’t know,” Kassie said, peering at Chase. “I used your design. The hospital grew from you and your father’s dream. What do you want to do?”

Chase picked up his plate, then Maddie and Joe’s, taking them to the dishwasher. “Our dreams have exceeded our expectations. Why don’t we have Gabby run the numbers and then we can consider it?”

“We can name the wing after Leo,” Kassie said thoughtfully. “Then, he’d live on forever.”

“He’ll always be in our hearts,” Maddie reminded her.

“What can we do for the team? Do they need anything? Can we send them over some food or something?” Kassie asked.

Chase rubbed the scruff along his jaw. “They’ll call tomorrow. Bear will tell us what time. You can ask them then.”

“I’ll check on Sophie and John. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss their nighttime feedings,” Kassie said. “It turned into our special time.”

“It’s time you held a meeting with all your friends and take turns with Catherine,” Chase suggested. “You’ve left every night after the kids go to bed since we got the news and stayed with Catherine. At some point, you need stop.”

“I can’t leave her alone,” Kassie murmured. “Maybe you’re right. If we put our heads together, we can figure out something. I’ll admit, I’m not operating with a clear head.”

“I’m afraid none of us are, sweetheart,” Maddie said solemnly. “Leo affected all of us on the mountain. I’m afraid no one else can take his place. Only time will heal our wounds and make the loss feel bearable.”

Nodding, Kassie agreed with the elder’s advice, but it didn’t make it any easier. Thinking of the pain they must feel over losing their leader, her heart sank. It appeared the gaping hole in her heart bled for all of them, especially her adopted big brother, Leo. She’d ensure Catherine and the kids wanted for nothing. After all, none of them would be here without Leo.

CHAPTER 3

Whiskey stared at the mounting pile of paperwork on Leo’s desk. It seemed his friend covered for him more than he let on. Stormy seemed to scramble to get purchasing orders handled by digging through the pile on Leo’s desk. She reminded him of appointments constantly and left in tears.

At first, Whiskey imagined it might be because of Leo’s death. When he went to close her office after she left in such a rush, he noticed the papers on the floor. Apparently, Stormy took Leo’s place and tried covering for him. The feeling didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t know how to fix it.

Locking up the empty facility and strapping in Hope, Whiskey got into his truck and drove home, perplexed about what to do. When he pulled into his garage, he sat inside his truck, mulling over Claire, Dr. Myer’s advice about living in a fog, and trying new medications. Reluctant to try anything except the medications for anxiety, Whiskey faced the fact he gave the bare minimum at work and at home. Even Samantha made excuses for him to keep him from feeling guilty. It hit him like a punch to the gut.

A tapping on his window got his attention. Whiskey smiled at his beautiful wife and opened the door.

“Hey, Sunshine,” he greeted her.

“Hi,” she said, gazing at him. “I heard you pull into the garage ten minutes ago. Did you and Hope have a bad day?” she asked, glancing at the service dog.

“I’m mulling over a problem,” he said, still uncertain.

“L.J. and Ari went to Lizzy and Michael’s to play for a while,” she explained. “Why don’t you come in and I’ll make us a cup of tea?”

“They did?” He asked, surprised. “Ari’s too young to play with Beth.”

“Believe it or not, kids don’t care about age. They’re hanging out there for a while,” she teased. “I’m done in the shop this evening. We have some time to ourselves.”