Over the next few days, as Allyssa made trips from the ranch to the hospital while Fiona started to heal, she discovered the rancher had indeed wanted to keep the trucker’s name out of the insurance paperwork. He had also tried to keep it out of the sheriff’s report. Their lawyer was already on it, threatening a lawsuit based on loss of property, loss of income, and near loss of life. He was already relishing the grief he could cause the freight company. The sheriff from their area, Sheriff Bradley, went with Allyssa in an unofficial capacity as a friend to help her dig around and locate any supplies that had been spilled down the cliff and gathered at the bottom where the truck had landed. It took them many hours of searching and some things would never be recovered. A large tow truck came and lifted the wreck from the bottom, spilling more things as it loaded the wreck on a flatbed and tied it down. Allyssa and the sheriff gathered as much as they could find, putting it in the sheriff’s cruiser and Allyssa’s Jeep, stuffing in blankets, medical supplies, and everything they found. In the coming days, Allyssa would go to the lot where the truck was towed and go through all the lock boxes, emptying those as she scavenged and recovered as many of the supplies as she could find. Some were beyond saving but enough were recovered that she was happy. The truck and the camper were a total write-off. She didn’t need the insurance claims adjuster to tell her that. Using her new camera, she took plenty of pictures of the crash site, the truck at the bottom of the cliff, as well as pictures after it was towed.
The rancher apologized for the accident but didn’t explain the lack of information or why he had covered for the big rig driver. Allyssa was gracious and kind, but secretly, she was seething. As she looked up at the cliff face from below, she realized how lucky her wife had been. She could have been crushed, and she could have died a horrible and tragic death. Allyssa was further irked when she discovered the rancher had gathered some of their supplies and kept them until the sheriff pointed out these things were owned by the doctor and her wife and they weren’t there for scavenging. Allyssa suspected the rancher might not have given those things back if the sheriff hadn’t ordered him to give them up. He didn’t offer to help in any way, and still, Allyssa kept her thoughts to herself about this man, who had tried to cover up the cause of the accident by saying it was Fiona’s fault and she had simply driven off the road. She made sure to relay her thoughts and perceptions to the lawyer when she emailed him the pictures, including those showing the snow tracks where Fiona’s truck wheels were sideways as she was pushed off the cliff. They hadn’t thought to cover that up, and she was grateful for the oversight.
Allyssa went to the dollar store and stocked up on small fishing tackle boxes. They were cheap, inexpensive plastic boxes she could stock with Fiona’s various supplies. After all this time working around her wife and after working at the clinic in Denver, she understood where they kept things and why. She knew what had to go where and how Fiona could best use the set-up she was devising in the Jeep. Since they had no other vehicle for now, this was the best she could do. She cheerfully labeled the boxes using a label maker and the computer.
Getting Fiona home was the next step. She was grumpy and uncomfortable on the drive down from the hospital. “I don’t know why they had to keep me in the hospital those extra couple days. I’m fine. I just have a few bruises and–” she began complaining immediately.
“Because I asked them to care for you until I could. I had to get the insurance company rolling on our claim. Sheriff Bradley went with me to gather your stuff from the truck, and it’s a good thing he did.” She explained what the rancher had done, or tried to do, as well as all she had been doing while Fiona was still in the hospital.
“You didn’t have to do all that. We could have waited–”
“No, we couldn’t, and it kept me busy while I waited for you to heal a little. The snow and the rancher would have hidden everything.” She looked up the sky that was threatening more bad weather. “The doctor said you are not to do anything for at least a week, maybe two. I know you, Fey. You aren’t going to like sitting on the couch while I work. Promise me you’ll at least be quiet for a week or even ten days?” she pleaded.
Fey was startled. Allyssa had done so much, and here she was, complaining about it all. “I’ll try,” she promised, and she sounded sincere.
Allyssa knew it would be difficult since her wife was usually so active. They’d already received so many concerned phone calls she would frequently get complaints that their line was busy. And it wasn’t just the phone line. Emails were pouring in as word spread about the accident. Allyssa wasn’t talking about what had happened until the lawyer straightened out the insurance company, the trucking company, and the rancher. She worried that it would give Fey a bad reputation, but so far, everyone had been overwhelmingly supportive.
Fiona was relieved to be back home, and she was pleased as Allyssa explained about the various boxes she had organized. She hadn’t loaded the boxes in the Jeep yet since the doctor was unavailable for the next ten days. That Fiona hadn’t broken any bones was wonderous, but the bruises were deep, and the cuts and abrasions were just now healing. If they could keep her quiet for a few days, things should get better.
CHAPTER SIX
“Allyssa, there is a problem with the insurance company. They don’t want to pay. They say there has been too many claims with the houses and now the truck,” their attorney, Henry Lemoore told her the following week.
Allyssa, eyeing a very restless Fey laying on the couch pretending to doze as she gazed at the television, tried to turn away, so she wouldn’t disturb her wife. “We paid our premiums on time and kept everything in order. Isn’t the trucker taking responsibility? How about the rancher?”
“Those are different issues, and we are pursuing them. The rancher deliberately misled you and tried to quash the report, so you couldn’t do exactly what you are doing…suing him or the trucking company. If Fiona had died we’d be going after them for manslaughter and obstruction of–”
“Wait! So, the insurance company is saying,” she nearly whispered as she interrupted, so Fiona wouldn’t hear and wouldn’t get agitated, “that we aren’t insured?”
“It’s just a delay tactic, but I would suggest that you shop for another insurance agency in the meantime and be prepared to change all your policies over to the new company once the claim is settled. Do they have your health insurance too?”
Allyssa nodded, then realizing she was on the phone and he couldn’t see her, she said, “Yeah, they probably have all of Fiona’s hospital records too.”
“Plan on going with another company there too. Did you pay for the full year or are you paying monthly?”
They discussed the various plans, and he suggested some other companies for her to check out, but Allyssa was not happy. They needed another truck for Fiona’s vet practice, sooner rather than later. She could use the Jeep, of course, but it wasn’t big enough to hold all she needed and having the camper on the back had been ideal. It also looked like winter wasn’t letting up anytime soon as she gazed out at the falling snow, so they needed to replace the whole setup. Already, Allyssa had been looking online for used vehicles and campers. By the time she got off the phone, Fiona was glaring at her from across the cabin.
“I’m sorry. Did I disturb your nap?” she asked, sheepishly.
“You thinking to keep those things from me?”
“Well, no, not really,” she hedged, but she really wanted to.
“Are they going to pay for the truck or not?”
“Henry is looking into it, but it’s going to take a while.”
“Just like the house,” she said bitterly, cursing their bad luck.
“Don’t make me wash your mouth out with soap, young lady,” Allyssa teased, trying to get a smile out of her housebound wife.
“I’m ready to give up. Fate doesn’t want us here. Let’s take the insurance money and get out.”
“You don’t mean that!” she gasped.
; “Why not?” she gestured, her arms spread wide. “What do we have here that we couldn’t have elsewhere?”
“I love it here,” Allyssa said quietly, feeling as though Fey was ready to throw away everything she loved. It was the first time in her life she felt so necessary, so free to do what she wanted. She didn’t want to give it up.
Something about her wife’s tone had Fey trying to get off the couch, but Allyssa rushed around her desk to push her wife back down on the couch. “Now, you stay there, or I’ll tie you down!” she threatened.
Fey held on when Allyssa tried to get back up, forcing her to sit next to her on the couch. “Look, we’ve given it a good shot here. I bet someone would be thrilled to buy the ranch, and we would have all that money to start over elsewhere. We haven’t paid for the house in full, and the down payment is lost, but we won’t miss that….”
“I don’t want to leave,” she said sadly. but she knew if Fey was serious, she would have no choice. It had been Fey’s grandparents’ ranch after all. Even though Allyssa was a full partner, in her mind it would always be Fey’s.
“It doesn’t seem to be getting any easier,” she pointed out, noting the sad look on the blonde’s face.
“We can’t just give up. We’re finally getting someplace.”
“How so? We have one car between us, and who knows when the insurance company will pay…if ever.”
“Fey, I love it here,” Allyssa nearly pleaded as she took her wife’s hands in hers, looking deeply in her brown eyes. “You need me here. I need me here. I don’t want to live anywhere else…ever.”
Fey looked in her wife’s bright blue eyes and was struck once again by how much she loved this young woman. She had been so sure Allyssa would jump at the chance of selling out and moving on, maybe back to a bigger city. Then, she thought again and remembered how her wife had grown as a person this last year and knew she was right…she did love it here, and she did need her. “Are you sure?” she asked, giving her a last out if she wanted one. She just didn’t want to burden her and it could so easily have happened.
“‘Till death do us part, remember?” She smiled tremulously, ready to start crying if Fey continued in this vein.
Fey smiled slightly at the reminder. “Say, we missed our wedding anniversary!” she suddenly recalled.
“Yep, and both our birthdays, but we’ve been pretty busy around here,” she pointed out.
“We are going to have to make up for that at some point,” she answered, welcoming the change in subject as Allyssa lowered their hands to their laps and looked earnestly at her as they began to talk about what they would do when they could find time to celebrate.
Fiona was slow in recovering a good mood, but she enthusiastically helped Allyssa stock the Jeep with the things she would need on her rounds. Many clients had been understanding about delays in inoculations and checkups on their animals, but some would have already called another traveling vet, and she worried she would permanently lose business. Allyssa blogged out the message that Doctor Herriot was back on her rounds and plenty of people sent their warmest regards at the news.
Fiona never complained about how sore she really was, nor did she mention quitting again. She didn’t know if it was her imagination but roads and drives she had to traverse seemed to have been cleared extra well of the snow that hadn’t let up, as if trying to get in the last of the season. Many of the farmers and ranchers complained that this was the most snow they had seen in decades. There were places where snow had been thrown up into great, white walls over twenty feet high.
* * * * *
Allyssa was relieved when Fiona went back to work. Her mood seemed to improve, but Allyssa knew she relied on ibuprofen a lot. She had stronger medicines in her various boxes but would never self-diagnose or inject. Nearly every night, Allyssa had a hearty dinner waiting, ready to be reheated when she came in the cabin. Allyssa would massage away what aches she could and had a heating pad ready for those aches that went through to the bones. Fey was grateful for the bathtub in the addition, which saw a lot of use that winter, especially in late winter as Fiona continued to heal.
“That’s the third time we’ve gotten a fax about a certificate you wrote,” Allyssa exclaimed as she continued to read the paper that had come in.
“What do you mean?” Fiona asked as she came into the main area from the addition.
“Everyone in this area of the state seems to use this insurance company. I asked around and was told they were the best, but they are the ones that are holding up payment on the truck. Since they are also the company everyone else uses, they are questioning the legitimacy of the veterinarian certificates you have written.”
“What vet certificates?” she asked, putting down a box that looked suspiciously like a fishing lure box.
“The one you issued verifying the health of some sheep, another one for Radisson’s horses, and now, this one for those cows that Leroy Paskins sold. They aren’t accusing you of anything, but they are ‘requiring,’” she said, making quotation marks in the air as she continued, “documentation that they never required before.”
“Have you told Henry about this?” she asked, alarmed. If her judgement was being questioned, what other business might fall off.
“You think I should?”
“Hell, yeah. One bad word could cause my reputation irreparable harm. The fact that he is suing the rancher and the shipping company already has a few people upset. Fortunately, the rancher isn’t well-liked.”
“Harry Grimes?” Allyssa grinned. “What an unfortunate name.” She laughed. Fey joined in because it was expected, but she also agreed.
“No, poor Harry was never well-liked,” she laughed. “I think his reputation as a cheap skinflint preceded him, and now, he’s paying the price. I heard the state wants to know why he had no barriers up to prevent exactly what happened on that road.”
“Wouldn’t that be the county’s responsibility to put them up?”
“You would think, but it’s a private road, and he owns it.”
“Wow, that’s going to cost him,” she commented, thinking about what she would say to Henry when she called him, and making notes, so she wouldn’t forget.
Still, most of their clients had returned and welcomed Fiona back. She tried not to do anything too strenuous on her already bruised muscles, but by its very nature, her job was athletic. She was grateful for the hot baths, the ibuprofen, and the massages given by her wife. The massages often led to touches that turned sensual, and she was grateful for that too.
Henry was very interested to hear the gossip that Fiona passed on, using it against Harry’s lawyers as they tried to argue that he wasn’t responsible for the crash. Henry had three things going at once and relished the challenge. He knew he would win. It was clearly not Fiona’s fault, but the insurance company was going to be the hardest challenge as they were the biggest and the richest and could drag their feet. Already, he had drafted letters to the state insurance commission about their reluctance in paying claims on the house two times and now, on the car. Hearing about their demands regarding every certificate Fiona was writing and knowing they could be creating doubt about her work, which could eventually harm her reputation and affect her income, might be the tipping point, and he hoped to use it against them. He was already drafting additional letters in his head on her behalf.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Fiona found an old truck she hoped Allyssa would like for getting around the farm and into town. She should have consulted her wife first, but it was such a steal. She didn’t realize why it was so cheap until the time she had to tow it home behind the Jeep. It needed a lot of work and was very unreliable. She didn’t realize how unreliable it was until one night when Allyssa returned home without it. Sheriff Bradley gave her a ride home while the truck was towed to the nearest repair shop because it was beyond Allyssa’s own skills to repair it.
“I am so sorry I bought that,” Fiona said sincerely, upset that Allyssa had
been stuck along the highway for hours with the undependable truck.
“I didn’t mind,” Allyssa grinned. “It was like Uber…with handcuffs.” She laughed at her own joke, and Sheriff Bradley joined in.
“I’ll leave you two ladies now,” he grinned, still chuckling over the younger woman’s sally.
“Thank you again,” Allyssa called as he got into his SUV.
“Thank you!” Fiona called and then turned to her wife. “This can’t go on. You need your Jeep back and I,” she rubbed her neck, stiff from trying to sleep in the front seat of the smaller SUV, “need something else,” she finished lamely. There was no room to sleep anywhere else with all the supplies she carried in the back seat.
“I’m just waiting for Henry to come through, but maybe I should use the money from the house?” Allyssa hinted.
“No, I am not depriving you of a house for one moment longer than necessary,” she answered, pointing at the snow-filled hole in the ground across the yard from the cabin as they climbed the steps to go inside and get warm.
“Well, they can’t put it up for a while yet, and I thought–”
“I want a truck for the veterinary business too, but I don’t want to use that money if we can avoid it.” As it was, the taxes and food and other bills had nipped into those savings because Fiona had been laid up for weeks. She tried to make it up, but it wasn’t the same and sleeping in the Jeep simply wasn’t working. Even a sleeping bag on a hay pile in the farmer or rancher’s barn wasn’t like having the luxuries of a shower and her own bathroom in the camper. It was necessary to stay near her patients sometimes; coming home simply wasn’t always feasible.
They had several arguments, but what Fiona didn’t know was, Allyssa was searching diligently through the online want ads, Craigslist, and other sources to find what she wanted for her wife—not the same setup she had before, something much better. When the insurance check Henry had fought so hard for finally came in, there was a bonus. They received a second check because the rancher had settled, but it had all taken months. The rancher and the insurance agency were not thrilled they also had to pay for Henry’s services. Henry was still going after the trucking company because their driver had caused the accident, and that check should be the largest, when or if it came through.
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