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Derrick Nash. Women’s clothing but lack of any sign of one was odd. Add that with his behavior, and it really piqued her interest. Asking him was out of the question; she was far from being a detective. That left snooping around his home to find the answers. Although she really wanted to know, Casey wasn’t willing to go that far to obtain the answer. I won’t be here long enough to figure it out. Derrick Nash will have to remain a mystery.
    Making her way to the couch, she sat and lifted her leg onto the ottoman, keeping it elevated. While the others were around she attempted to put on a good front to show them she could make it around with no problem, but it was far from the truth. The swelling had reduced, but each time she put pressure on it, stabbing pain radiated up her thigh. Hopefully resting will do the trick. It’s probably just bruised badly. I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s anything more than that.
    She looked around the room, hoping to find whatever he had rubbed on her knee last night. Crazy at it sounded, the ointment for horses had worked very well. Not that I plan on telling him that. The last thing I need is to feed that man’s ego. He’s already arrogant enough.
    Was there any reason to concern herself with his issues? She’d been sent to Honeywell for business only, not to be worrying over a sexy stranger. Wait. What? Sexy? I must still be in shock from the accident. I’m stuck in his house with no clothing of my own, no money, and no laptop. Shit. What am I supposed to do now? Staying here alone with him has gone from bad to worse.
    The procedure manuals she had read had nothing regarding these circumstances. Maybe after this I can rewrite them. Right now, Casey, get your head back in the game. Her first and only priority was to assist the people of Honeywell to understand what they needed to do to gain assistance, if any, from FEMA. Since there didn’t seem to be any obvious damage to his ranch, the only thing she needed from him was a temporary roof over her head. And maybe a few more articles of clothing.
    From where she was sitting, she saw he had a landline phone. She remembered him saying the phones were out last night, but maybe they’d come back on overnight. Pulling herself from the comfort of the large leather couch, she made her way across the room, trying not to put too much pressure on her right leg. I’m not sure sitting was worth it. Now I’m stiff, and the pain is exacerbated by trying to move again. Holding herself steady, she lifted the receiver and was relieved to hear a dial tone.
    Thankfully she was able to call the IT department instead of her boss. JT would love hearing how she rolled her truck into a ditch, destroying her laptop, portable printer/scanner, and informational packets. At least now there was a slim chance it could stay private instead of being brought up at a staff meeting.
    Once they had all the details they assured her the replacement equipment and materials would be shipped overnight. Since she no longer had a room at the hotel, she did the next best thing and had it sent to the sheriff’s office. At least I know everything will be safe there until I can retrieve it. The sooner she could make contact with the members of the town, the faster the recovery process would be. For some, at least, others never recover.
    Casey had seen a lot of suffering and tragedy in her life. It didn’t matter if it was a natural disaster or an illness like her father being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS. Everyone deals with things differently. Some cry, others get angry. Me? I chose to run from what I can’t control and not think about it.
    Ever since the doctors confirmed his ALS diagnosis a few months ago she looked at life so differently. At first she was full of hope and refused to hear what they were telling her parents. To her, it seemed impossible. He’d always been so strong and on the go. Something like that couldn’t happen to him.