Chapter 6

Chase knew that Daniel was pissed off, but so was he. Since the man was already at the hospital and working, why did he think that he should come in? He had plans today as well and it didn't involve the hospital where stinky people were and nurses making demands on him. He didn't even know why he'd answered the phone. But seeing Daniel's smiling face made him think that it was a social call and not him being called into work.

"You're on call, Chase, and I'm not. The very fact that they tried to reach you and you didn't bother answering makes me think that this job might not be for you." He rolled his eyes, telling Daniel that he liked the money it paid. "You're not going to be paid at all if you don't do your job and come to work. You do know that I can have your pay docked for this. And I'm going to make sure that you're docked for all the other times that you didn't show up for work. Have you even worked a weekend when you were on call?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that I've been remiss in working when I'm supposed to, but I have to have some downtime, Daniel. But as for today? I have plans with my family. You see, I have this big assed boat that I just got, and I'm going to go out with my family. Plus, my wife and I are having a bit of trouble around here. You understand that, don't you, buddy?" Daniel said that he didn't and had plans as well and that he wasn't his buddy. "But you're already at the hospital. It would be silly if I were to come in now, don't you think? I mean, you're already dressed for the job and everything."

Linda, his wife, pointed at her wrist and started tapping her foot. He'd never understood why people still did that, pretending like they were showing you a watch when people hadn't worn watches in a decade or more. He certainly didn't. Chase remembered someone had commented on that, too, that he needed to have a watch on because he wasn't to have his phone out all the time. Stupid rules if you asked him.

"Look, you get your ass in here right now, and I won't have to bring you up before the board. This is the fourth time that you've blown off being on call, and the other doctors are getting sick of covering for you. You have thirty minutes, or you'll be regretting your decision to stay at home." No he wouldn't and told Daniel that. "I'll have you fired, Chase. I'm not kidding right now."

"You can't fire me, Daniel, and we both know that. We're short-staffed as it is. I only came on board with this hospital because of the bonus I'm to get in a few days." He counted it up and smiled. "Three days, Daniel. I'll have that five-grand bonus in just three days. You can hang on until then. It's not going to be all that busy. I can feel it in my bones."

Chase realized that he was talking to a dead receiver when the sound came through. Calling him an asshole for just hanging up on him, he looked at his pissed-off wife. Standing up, he was thrilled beyond words that he wasn't going to have to go to work. Delivering babies was something that he never wanted to do, but it came with the job. Christ, he hated holding onto a wiggly squiggly baby and all the nasty shit that came with one.

They were nearly packed up to be gone. Spending the day on the boat they'd just gotten was better any day than staying in a smelly hospital when he pulled out of the garage to load up the beer and coolers that they'd gotten yesterday when the boat arrived. But he couldn't leave because he'd been blocked in by the police, of all things.

"Officer? What is it I can do for you?" His wife asked him what he'd done now, and after telling her that he'd not done anything that he could be arrested for, she went into the house. Good, he thought, he could tell her anything that he wanted when they left. "Is there something going on that—"

"We're here to take you to work, Doctor Slate." He asked if he was joking. "No, sir. Daniel called and said that you were having trouble coming into work, and we told him that we'd help you out. So if you'd like to just get whatever you need to have—"

"You have got to be kidding me. He actually called the police on me because I didn't come to work today? Like I tried to explain to him, I have plans. He's already there. It would be stupid if we both had to ruin our days off to—"

"Are you on call or not, Doctor Slate?" He said that he was. Thinking he could get out of this right now, he reached for one of the many beer cans that he'd yet to put into his truck. "You touch that, and I'm going to have to arrest you. Daniel is a good man and has plans, too. He wasn't even on call today. You are. Now, I'm going to ask you again to step back from the beer that you have there and get into the cruiser with me. I don't want to have to arrest you. And I'm sure that is nothing you want either."

"What are you arresting me for? I mean, he doesn't have that much pull that he can have the police here to take me in. Does he know that if you take me in, I'm still not going to be working today anyway? I bet he never thought that far ahead, has he?" Chase reached for the beer, not thinking about the threat that had just been told to him.

Getting the tab pulled on the can, he had it to his lips, ready for his second swallow, when he was suddenly on his stomach lying across the hood of his truck. No easy feat either since the sucker was a good three feet from the ground. When his arms were jerked behind him, he asked what the fuck was going on. It wasn't until he heard the racking of a rifle that he turned to look at his wife.

"Now honey, there is no need for you to be pointing that thing at the nice officer." She told him to shut the fuck up. "It's just a small misunderstanding right now, and I'm going to have it all cleared up in no time."

"You fucking bastard. You told me that today was our day and that you were off. Fuck, Chase, do you ever tell the truth anymore? Oh, and your fuck buddy or whatever you call your girlfriend, she's is on the phone." He didn't think that this day could get any worse than it was right now. "I want him out of here, officer. If it helps, he's been drinking since seven-thirty this morning and hasn't stopped. I believe it's against the law to be drinking on the job."

"Yes, ma'am, it is." After being read his rights, Chase asked if he went to work could he just call this a misunderstanding. "You're drinking. I doubt that you're drunk, being how you have been drinking all your life, but I'm going to test you. It's against the law for you to be drinking on your job. I'm betting that you lose your doctoring license for this. Yes, I do."

No amount of begging got him out of the situation that he was in. Chase even begged to talk to Daniel, telling them that it was just a misunderstanding and that he'd make sure that Daniel understood that. As he was tossed, Christ, they didn't even try to keep him from banging his head on the car frame. He was told to shut up and enjoy the ride. Like that was going to happen.

When he was processed and put into a cell, he decided that he needed to talk to Daniel. The man was a sap, sure, but he'd see that it was just a misunderstanding and have him drop the charges. He didn't know how that was going to work, but it was worth it. He decided to use his one call to contact the man and see what he could do for him. It was worth a shot, and he was willing to bet that the dumbass would fall for it. He had gone to work when he wasn't on call.

He didn't answer. Christ, the man was really starting to piss him off. Trying to get him to the phone was proving to be more difficult than it had been to convince the salesman at the boat dealership that he made two hundred grand a year. Chase wondered if there was going to be an end to this fuckery that was plaguing him right now.

Leaving a message seemed beneath him, but he had to try. "Hey, Daniel, buddy. I'm in a bit of trouble here and was wondering if you'd come down here and talk to these officers about how you and I had a deal or something? I'll leave the details up to you, you're a smart guy and all." He nearly gagged, thinking about how much he was buttering the guy up right then. "Anyway, I need your help with this. I don't want to be in jail. Hey. You can use my boat anytime you want to. You know, so long as I'm not using it. And never on weekends. Also, you'll have to put your own g—"

Being cut off pissed him off more, and he slammed the phone down. He was so pissed right now that he wanted to break something. Before he could get the chance to toss the phone across the room, he thought that if Daniel didn't come through, he should call himself a lawyer. Just as he was looking up one on his phone, it was jerked out of his hand and put into a bag.

"What the fuck are you doing? I have to find me a lawyer." The man, a guy with a flak vest on, told him that he'd made his call. "No. No, you have that all wrong. He didn't answer. I left a message, so that doesn't count as a call."

"Did you say you left a message?" Chase told him that he had, as Daniel must have been busy or something. "Counts as a call. Come on, Mr. Slate. It's time for you to go to processing. You need to empty your pockets. I'll have your phone but with the rest of your things."

"It's Doctor, not Mister. I'd appreciate it if you would address me as such. I worked hard for that title, and I want you to use it."

He'd not worked all that hard for anything in his life and being a doctor had been easy when he'd cheated on everything that the school had tossed at him. Even going so far as to hire someone to take his boards. Life was just too easy for him at times, and damned Daniel was fucking things up for him.

Taken back to his cell, he was pissed off again when they told him that he'd missed breakfast and that he'd have to wait for lunch. Since it was almost nine in the morning and the fact that he'd skipped breakfast in favor of having a couple of beers, he knew that he was going to be starving if he didn't get something soon. What he wouldn't have given for just a couple of beers right now.

~*~

"Let me guess, dumbass, Slate didn't show up for work again." Daniel laughed even though his temper was on edge. He'd called one of the other doctors to see if they could come in. "Or was he drunk on the job? I wouldn't put either one past him at this point."

"Both, I guess. He didn't show up and actually told the service that he'd traded with me and that I was the one on call. Also, I sent the police to pick him up to bring him in, and the fucker had already been drinking since he'd gotten up." Something occurred to Daniel just then. "Has he been drunk showing up to work?"

"I don't know that I'd call him drunk. I think that his tolerance is a bit more than mine would be after a couple of drinks, but yeah, he'd been drinking when on the job. I think he has a real problem, that boy. You had him arrested, did you?" He told Doctor Lance what had happened. "That's great. Oh, how I wish I'd seen that. I bet the little pecker was trying his best to get a deal made too. The shits that are coming out of college nowadays… Well, it makes me want to rattle their brains a bit. What did you need? I'll come in for you if that's what you want. Having Chase arrested has made my whole day, hell, maybe my whole week."

"My wife and family and I had a plan to go up to Amish country this morning. Eat some dinner there, too. If you'd not mind, you'd save me a lot of heartache. We're taking Luke Branch and his sisters up with us, too." David told him that his wife had been wanting to go up there, too, before the holidays. "I can pick anything up for you if you need it. It'll be my pleasure for covering for me today."

"Nah, but I thank you. I think she wants to go for the shopping. Cheese is just something that she wants me to think that's all she wants. My wife. I love her to bits, but I think she has it in her head that I'm not so bright." They both laughed, and Daniel thanked him again. "No problem, Daniel. I'll be in by nine…I was going to say nine-thirty, but it's about that now. I will be in before ten. I think my wife wants me out from under her feet anyway. This will be good for us."

"Thanks so much, David. I'll make it up to you. I promise." He told him that he'd already done that by having the dumbass arrested. "That was the easy part. He did that all on his own."

True to his word, David was coming through the doors at five until ten. Shaking his hand, he told him that he'd seen his wife in the parking lot and for him to get going. Telling the man thanks again, Daniel briefed him on the woman who had come in that wasn't in labor. Daniel had set her up in one of the rooms to rest, and he was out the door and on his way to having fun before David could change his mind. Kissing his wife, they were on the road to having fun.

The day was perfect for an outing. Daniel was able to take Luke to watch as the cheese was being made, making the youngster's day with it. They did buy their weight in cheese, he thought and had a wonderful time tasting the things that they were buying.

Pleading exhaustion from having to get up so early for Chase, he sat down on one of the benches to take a little nap. However, when Sen sat down next to him, he could tell that she wanted to talk to him about something. Smiling at her, he asked her what was going on.

"You always seem to know. I mean, when one of us comes to you— Never mind. I know you wanted to take a nap here, but this is important. It's about the house." He asked her if she needed repairs or something. "No, nothing like that. It's about the rooms that we have. I'd like to…I'm going to college with Luke this fall. It's going to be a lot for him, but having the house and seemingly unlimited foods brought by the rest of the family, we were wondering if you'd allow us to give someone else a chance that you've given us. Giving them a room while in college."

"Do you have someone in mind?" She told him that she didn't but she had seen a lot of people struggling that may well drop out. "You'll have to have them looked into. I'm sorry to say this, but there are people out there who would take advantage of your offer and never leave. I've read about squatters a great deal in the paper."

"So has Luke." She laughed. "He is the one that brought this up. But he was nervous about coming to you about it because you think of him as a kid. I know that he is, and so does he, but he has the soul of an old man. I don't know if you've noticed that about him or not."

"I have, as a matter of fact." He thought about it and decided that he'd have to start treating them all like adults. Not so much Luke, he was extremely smart, but he was still only ten years old. "I think that it's an excellent idea, but you should run it by Caleb. It's not up to him, but with him having big bucks, I'd say that he might well have run into this sort of situation before. Giving people a hand up. He'll know the things that you guys would have to look out for more than I would. I'm sorry that I don't have an answer for you."

"You did. And I appreciate you not just shutting me down. I think that others might well have. I'll talk to Caleb and tell him that you're on board with it if he is. I also wanted to talk to him about some investments that my mom had." Nodding, she kissed him on the cheek. Daniel asked her what that was for, not that he didn't like it. "For everything that you've done for us. Also the million and one things that you've done that we don't even know about. Thank you seems too small in comparison, but I want you to know that we appreciate you and Cassie a great deal."

When she left him there, sitting in the shade on one of the most comfortable chairs that he'd sat on in the outdoors, he decided that he could always sleep. Spending time with his family and extended family on limited time. Also, he was going to buy several of these chairs to put on the deck. He could see him and Cassie taking naps in them when they were old and gray.

Finding Cassie wasn't that difficult. She and the other women were sitting on the same chairs kind of chairs that he'd been in, eating raw vegetables. Thinking that was a very woman thing to do, he didn't mention it. He might be silly at times, but he wasn't stupid. Women could be and would be just as mean as any man he'd ever encountered.

Taking a couple of pieces of celery, he asked them what they were going to be up to now. It was Luke who answered, telling him that they were headed to the all-year Christmas shop down the road. After telling Cassie what he'd done, she kissed him on the cheek as well. Daniel thought that he could get used to this, hanging out with a group of women.

"Can I stick with you from now on? I love my sisters, but I'm running out of patience with them." He nearly laughed but just caught himself. Daniel asked the little man what they'd been doing. "It's still five months until my birthday, and they're looking at things that I'd like to have in my room. I don't want anything in my room, Daniel. If there is a lot of stuff in there, it's going to distract me from studying. I don't mind a picture of all of us, but I don't think I'd like to have my room decked out like I'm some kind of cowboy."

Again, the urge to laugh nearly had him coughing but he looked away and wiped at the tears that were forming because he didn't fall into the humor that was strangling him. He spotted a couple of places that he thought Luke would enjoy and decided that he'd guide him there. Who didn't like to be in a candy shop with someone willing to foot the bill?

Daniel thought that he'd ended up very well upon leaving the candy store. He was also sure that he'd spent more on himself and Cassie than Luke did on him and his sisters. They were both carrying large bags and filled to the brim with tasting what they didn't know when they met up with the others.

"We have one more shop to hit." He asked her how many times they'd been to the car, only joking because he was thinking of taking their purchase there. When Cassie told him, with a beautiful blush on her face, he couldn't be mad at her even if he tried. "We'll be all right. I might have to take a loan out to cover it all, but I think the girls are enjoying this very much."

"And you are as well. Yes, we'll be just fine, honey. You go ahead and spend as much as you want." He hoped that she didn't take that as a challenge when they headed off to the row of stores where the candy shop was. "Well, Luke. What's it going to be now? Do you want to go and see what kind of trouble we can get into down the road? There are several drink places that I'd like to go into. I'm in the mood for a smoothie."

Luke was more than glad to get himself a drink, too, and sit at one of the tables to drink his drink. They also, because why not, decided to open a couple of the candy bars that they'd gotten and have a quick snack.

"Sen told me that I need to eat more vegetables. I told her that I would if she did. Now she's on this kick that all of us have to eat more of them. I don't mind a salad, but if that's just the meal, I'm gonna die. I'm a growing boy and need to have meat so I can grow big and strong." This time, Daniel didn't hold back but laughed. "Sen is dating this guy who I think is not good enough for her. I mean, I know she's an adult and all but this guy seems more like he enjoys showing off his muscles and not using the one on his head. Before you tell me, I know that the brain isn't a muscle, but he doesn't use it at all. Sen said that I would never think a man is good enough for his sister. She is kinda right on that, but she doesn't have to date the first dummy head that asks her out."

He supposed things like this would come up for the kid, and since he was surrounded by females most of the time, he'd need to voice his concerns with someone, too, who wasn't related to him. Thinking of the right things to say to him, Daniel took his time sipping his drink.

"Does he hurt her? I mean, you said that he is proud of his muscles. I would hate to think that he'd hurt her to, I don't know, prove he's stronger than her?" Luke said he'd not thought of that, then stared at him. Daniel knew that he was thinking about it. The boy wouldn't say anything until he was sure. However, he did tell him that he didn't want him to think of it if the guy was nice. "You know, she's been wearing a lot of makeup. Even around the house. Also, and I just thought of this, when we're having family time, she's been wearing her long-sleeved sweaters."

"Luke, it could be nothing at all." He nodded, but he could tell that he was worried about it. "I'm sorry if I upset you, buddy. When Sen spoke to me earlier, she didn't mention it. And I have no idea why, but I think she would have if it was bad, don't you think?"

"Why? My momma didn't." He had a point. "I had to take these classes once when it talked about how sometimes women will go for the same person their daddy was. Like if their dad, like ours, was beating her all the time, then that's the sort of person that she'd find. Like it's all right or something. It's not. But she might think that way. Don't you think?"

"I don't know Sen that well yet. But I would hope that she'd ask for help if she needed it." Daniel tried to think if Sen had been wincing at all. If she had a habit of covering something up on her body. Not once did he remember her doing anything like that. "What are you going to do, Luke? You're going to have to handle this delicately."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to straight up ask her." He pulled out his new cell phone and dialed her. "You might want to prepare yourself, Daniel. I'm thinking that if I'm wrong, then she's going to be hell-bent for leather, as my mom used to say."

Daniel finished his drink. Looking around for a place where Luke could talk to his sister privately, he heard him talking. Apparently, she wasn't all that upset with him, and no, Lester wasn't beating up on her.

"You'd leave him if he did, right? You don't have to go in the same footsteps as Mom did, are you?" She must have assured him that he was right because he leaned his head on the table, and he could hear him sniffling. "Sen, I don't have all that much in the world, but you, my sisters, are the best. You'd tell me, wouldn't you? Or someone? Right?"

A few minutes later, Luke closed the connection, but he didn't move off the table. Daniel asked him if he was all right. Luke, instead of telling him that everything was fine, he told him that he didn't believe Sen.

"All right. You know her better than most people. What makes you think that she's lying to you? You have to have a better answer than just staying that you think she is." He said that he didn't know. "Has she lied to you before? I mean, on something important?" Luke sat up, and Daniel could see his tears.

"I don't know, but I'm worried. If she will lie to me about this. Do you think that I'm wrong?" Daniel again said that he didn't know, but he could ask Cassie to look into things for them. "I'd like that. But she'd have to be careful. Sen really does like Cassie, and I would hate to ruin their friendship because I'm being a dope."

"I'll talk to Cassie as soon as we meet up again. She's been with her a lot and might be able to point out things that you wouldn't see." He asked because he was so close to his sister. "Yes, that's part of it. The rest is that you've known her all your life, and she might be perfectly fine, and so is this Lester person. If it…no, we don't want to go down that road."

"You mean asking one of the others to look into his background? Yeah, I thought of that too. That would really have Sen blowing a gasket. And that sucker would rain down on me. Nah, not going to go down that road like you said." The two of them got up to do some more walking. He didn't want to tie up the seats anymore than he had already. As they were entering the next shop on his list, a big building that said that it had something for everyone, it seemed that Luke wasn't thinking about it. At least not as hard as he'd been earlier. Daniel was going to have to watch what he said to Luke. He was a very protective brother and it didn't matter how old or big he was either.

By the time they made it to the restaurant, he really did need a nap. Everyone else looked like they did as well. However, when the rest of the clan showed up, it was a while before they were seated. Lucky for them, Tabby had called ahead and told them that they needed a lot of tables and they even gave them a room of their own to enjoy.

"I'm going to have fried chicken until I cluck." Everyone laughed at Luke, and it embarrassed the kid a little. "That's all we heard about when we were walking around. Like how good the fried chicken is and the mashed potatoes. I hope they don't run out."

"I'm going to have some of that silk pie they were giving away samples of in one of the shops." Cassie winked at him. "And I'm going to have it before I get too full to enjoy it. Anyone game for having dessert first?"

As much as he wanted to have his dessert first, Daniel knew that he couldn't eat one more bite of sweet treats. He thought right then that he had made a huge error in having gone into the place before dinner. But, he also told himself he was going to be clucking too if it came to what he was going to have. Caleb told him that he'd not eaten lunch to save up room for this meal.

He didn't have the heart to tell him that it didn't work that way. Instead, when the staff came by to take their drink order, he ordered unsweet tea for both him and Cassie. He was going to cut calories everywhere that he could. At least where the drinks were concerned.

It took him ten minutes of simply walking around the buffet table to figure out what he wanted to start on. Watching his brothers, he could see that they were going for the chicken. There was plenty of that in the bin so he wanted to try something that he'd been wanting in some time. French fries and mac and cheese.

"Oh yeah, you're watching what you put in your mouth." He grinned at Martin and told him that at least his stuff wasn't fried. After that, it was like a challenge had been laid out. Just to see who could eat the most and not explode before going home. He didn't care if he won or not but thoroughly enjoyed the play between the lot of them.