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“Rogen taught me this. Every day when you come to work, you make a job that you need to get done and stick it to the screen. There are different colors for different jobs.” He asked about the blue ones. “Those are things that have to be done, but there is no deadline. The pink ones are for things I need to do for home. As you can see, there aren’t that many of them. Not because my home is perfect, but because I just gave up in trying to get it done. The green ones are for things that can’t wait and that I need to work on now.”
“It’s a nice sense of accomplishment when you get a note done. She’ll remove it from the screen then tear it up. And she won’t be able to add anything other than a green sticky until the next day. I loved leaving the office with only one or two notes to deal with.” Rogen walked to him and he wrapped her into his arms as she continued. “You don’t want to see my closet, however. It’s a total mess of me just tossing shoes to the floor and never hanging things up that need to be. Thankfully, Mrs. B keeps me in clean clothing, as well as a nice neat closet.”
After being shown around, they headed home. Lisha laid her head on the window and fell asleep, but Rogen was working on something with her small computer. Thatcher asked her a couple of questions, both of which he only got grunts to. Then he just gave up. Whatever she was working on, it was taking all her attention.
“Who are your board members? The ones that make the daily decisions?” After telling her the names, Thatcher asked her why. “The money is there—a great deal of it—but it’s not being used for supplies or anything else that it’s been earmarked for. In fact, I’d say that someone was intentionally not paying for thing
s in order to have a nice fat account. But I don’t know who it’s for. Or what, for that matter.”
“You’re telling me that the money is there to pay the nurses that have been let go, as well as new doctors coming into the hospital? Why would anyone do that?” For some reason Thatcher thought she knew but wasn’t sure enough to share it yet. “And you have an idea that the board members are keeping it for some reason?”
“Yes, but I don’t know why. It’s not been tampered with. It’s all there, all accounted for. Even the money that the children raised for their school is there. And that would be the first amount that I’d think would be missing. It’s small and has no earmarks on it, such as a corporation donation.” She moved the curser around again. “I’m going to have to do this at home. It’s too much for this little thing. So, I was going to ask you, if the hospital does close down, what will you do? I mean, you’re a fantastic doctor, and I’m sure that there are people out there that would want you to come work for them.”
“Are you trying to butter me up for something? If you are, I need details before I answer that.” He knew she was going to ask him to stop working, and that broke his heart. He loved what he did and wanted to do it forever. “What did you have in mind?”
“The agency that I work for is forever trying to find good qualified doctors that can and will work under cover. Say one of us were to get hurt, or someone that we’re after. It happens sometimes, that we don’t mean to have them killed but they are. I really do know what they do at my job, I’m not stupid. I just don’t like to think about it.” He asked her if she was kidding. “Absolutely not. Donaldson asked me to talk to you because his boss asked him to do it. And that would be another person that you’d have to help out if needed.”
“You mean someone like the president?” Thatcher was joking, but Rogen wasn’t. “I can’t work for the president of the United States. That’s just.... Well, I don’t know what that is.”
“I work for him. Indirectly of course, but he signs my paychecks, along with a few other people’s that aren’t military. Winnie isn’t, but Donaldson is, believe it or not.” She pulled out an envelope and told him some of the perks he’d enjoy. “When he goes on vacation, you do. It’s always someplace nice. And when he leaves office you have the say so if you stay with the incoming president or not. The money is great. You’d make more than me.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. You put me on all your accounts. What does that mean?” Rogen cocked a brow at him. “I know what putting me on your accounts means. But what accounts are you talking about?”
“I have some nice property in two other countries. I have big investments that you share with me. Also, I have a nice 401k that will keep us in money. And since I’m forever on the computer, I know when and where to move my money. Our money.” He asked her how much, ball park. “Just over one billion. Could be more because I’ve not had time to check it since we got married.”
He drove the rest of the way just answering her questions. Thatcher was having a hard time wrapping his mind around how much money she had. Not that he was a snob or anything. But she had a great deal more than he did. Then he let it go. Money doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have someone that you love. Sappy, he thought, but it was about right.
“This job that you’re talking about. Will I have insurance? Like malpractice insurance? That’s pretty high for me now. I can’t imagine that I’d be able to pay that if something happened to the president.” She laughed. “You were kidding me, weren’t you?”
“Not at all. I was thinking that only a doctor would worry about something like that.” He didn’t understand and she laughed harder. “You’ll have a car and a jet at your disposal. Every new thingamajig that you need or even want. You won’t have to wear a uniform or whatever you call that baggy stuff you wear. Which is very unsexy if you ask me.” She laid her head on the seat and looked at him as she continued. “The most important thing you’ll have, which makes me feel better, is round the clock security, as will your parents and brothers. That’s in the event someone gets it in their head that they can kill him off—the president, I mean—by holding your family hostage.”
“Where did the money come from that you set up for the pack?” She frowned at him. “My head is making the circuit around things I wanted to talk to you about while trying hard not to think of this job offer. Where did it come from? You?”
“Yes. And you, if you want to be technical. There is no point in letting the pack fail when it was easy enough for me to put the money in there to help out.” He asked her why she didn’t tell Shane. “What would you do if you found out that he had put money in your account so that you could keep afloat?”
“Good point. All right. Next question. Why did you save the Conrad family? Yes, you were in the right place at the right time, but I think it was more than that. What was it, if you don’t mind me asking?” She looked out the front window; they were nearly home now. “You don’t have to tell me, Rogen.”
“The little boy, Levi. Every morning when there was school, he’d wave at me. Like it was something that he’d been practicing for days. And he always had a smile on his face. A couple of times, he had one of the babies wave at me too. It touched something deep inside of me that hadn’t been touched for a while. Tenderness.” He told her that he loved her. “And I love you. Would you like to have a baby or two with me?”
“Yes. Very much so. I’d love to have as many as you want. One or two dozen, I don’t care.” She told him she’d work up to twenty-four children. “Good. I love you very much, Rogen. I don’t think I tell you that nearly enough.”
Chapter 10
There were hundreds of people at the funeral. Lisha looked around twice to make sure that Jimmy’s was the only service being held today. And so many people came up to her, wishing her well and giving her condolences. She didn’t know any of them. Not one person except Thatcher’s family and her son and daughter.
When there was a lull in the line of people, she went in search of Rogen. She was beautiful in her long black skirt and blood red blouse. Lisha had thought it would be tacky to wear to a funeral, but her daughter was not only able to pull it off, but Thatcher had a tie on of the exact same color. They looked like a wedding cake topper.
“Mom, are you all right?” She looked at her son. Jamie was as good looking as Thatcher was handsome. She shook her head when he asked again. “Do you need me to get you a drink of water?”
“No. I’m just overwhelmed, I guess.” He took her hand, the first time since she’d been living in the house with them that he’d shown any sort of affection toward her. “I don’t know these people. Why are they here?”
“Some of them are people that I’ve worked with. But I think most of them are friends of Thatcher’s. He’s a good man, don’t you think?” She said that she liked him. “I do too.”
Jamie had taken her out to his barn just this morning. He’d not wanted to, she could tell, and was reluctant to go with him. But Thatcher said it was a good thing he was doing, showing his mom his job, and Jamie changed his attitude just like that. Oh, to have had that kind of effect on either of them, she thought. A friendly conversation that didn’t end in her crying all the time.
The barn was filled with equipment that she’d never heard of before. But Jamie had not only shown her around the big cavernous place, but he also showed her how some of the equipment worked. There were two pieces that he’d not been able to run for her, as Thatcher told him he need more practice. Then he showed her his art.
“I never knew you were so talented. My goodness, Jamie, these are amazing.” He was embarrassed by her praise, but she didn’t think he’d be mad. “Where did you learn to do this? It must take you hours to get just one of them done.”
