Chapter 215 – New Vet Tech
Jack and Nathan walked over to where the vet tech was with Wex. Jack couldn't see her, but thought he would try to talk to her, since she was with his horses.
"Hello." Jack said.
"Hi." She said. "Can I help you?"
"These are my horses." Jack said.
The tech came over to stand closer to the gate. As she came over, Jack could see that the girl had dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Jack also noticed that she had a darker complexion to match her hair. He was struck when she turned and he saw bright green eyes.
"So that must make you, John Thornton II." The girl said. "I am one of the new vet techs over at Dr Matthews' office. I am Winifred Kingbird, but you can call me Winnie."
"Nice to meet you." Jack said. "You can call me JP or Jack, as I only use my given name for legal purposes."
"As you wish, Jack." Winnie said. "From what I can tell you have some great horses here. They could use a little more muscle, but otherwise everything else checks out. Let me take this blood back and run it. I can call with the results later, but if everything looks good, you can take them out of isolation later today. The other guys were telling me that they are jumpers."
"Yes." Jack said. "At least the other two will be jumpers. I am glad they will be out of isolation as I am hoping that Doug's little sisters can jump them in two weeks. Wex, here we are not sure about him yet. He might be a jumper, but I have time."
"Very good." Winnie said. "I would still watch them as I said they can use some more muscle. I can let you know about some supplements that would be good for them to help them with weight and if they are going to be jumping."
"Thank you." Jack said. "We have a botanist on staff, but if she wants, I can have her give you a call."
"That would be great." Winnie said. "I will be with Dr Matthews all summer then I am hoping to be starting vet school in the fall."
"You don't know yet?" Nathan asked.
"No." Winnie said. "I have been wait listed or turned down everywhere I have applied. I have been a vet tech for over two years and done all the courses I need to, but since my grades weren't that great, it was a long shot. It isn't that I am not smart, but I have little to no interest in small animals. I want to work with large animals, mainly horses since that is what I grew up with."
"Where did you grow up?" Nathan asked.
"Outside of Austinburg, Pennsylvania." Winnie said. "My family has cutting horses. They have won several championships. I was hoping to get my vet degree and then go home to help my people."
"Wait, Kingbird." Nathan said. "Are you related to Walter Kingbird?"
"That would be my father." Winnie said. "You know him?"
"Sort of." Nathan said. "I saw him ride about ten or twelve years ago at a rodeo near Burlington. I was just a young teenager, but he took the time to sit and talk to me about horses. I was probably a pest that day, but he was patient with me. I was there with several friends who were competing and they knew your father."
Winnie looked at Nathan, tilted her head and looked at him some more.
"You had a girl with you." Winnie said. "She had double braids. I vaguely remember you. I do remember my father talking on the way home that he hoped you were able to achieve your dream of riding horses for a living."
"Yes, that was my sister Colleen." Nathan said. "And I guess I sort of did."
"So what brings you up this way?" Jack asked.
"I was working at the polo grounds." Winnie said. "But there was a problem with one of the riders and I needed a change. I was grateful that Dr Matthews was willing to hire me for as long as I needed before school."
"Where would you like to go to vet school?" Jack asked.
"I would love to go to Cornell." Winnie said. "But there is no way that I will ever be able to afford that. I do however like their approach to things and I could specialize in equine health."
Jack nodded his head.
"I better go." Winnie said. "I have four other ranches to stop at."
"Do you have a card?" Jack asked.
Winnie handed each of the guys a card.
"You can call me anytime." Winnie said with a wink at Doug. "Just so you know I have been assigned your ranch so if there is anything that you need that is not an emergency, please call me. Dr Matthews figured that we might be a better fit."
"Thank you." Jack said. "If you are serious about Cornell, please let me know. We have a program to pay for school for our employees, but then you will owe us four or five years of service afterwards. I could even probably arrange for you to work during school, my great uncle has a huge horse farm over by Ithaca. Draft horses, not thoroughbreds, but still horses."
"What do you mean?" Winnie asked.
"Call me when you have time to sit down and talk." Jack said. "One of the long term plans for this ranch is to have our own vet and vet techs. I was thinking it would be further down the road, but you never know."
"My email is on there." Winnie said. "Send me some information. I will seriously consider it."
"Thank you." Jack said. "I will. Since you will be handling our ranch, I assume you will be here for the show in two weeks."
"Yes." Winnie said. "Dr Matthews mentioned something about that."
"Good." Jack said. "We will find time to sit down then. I will send you the information later today."
"Sounds like a plan." Winnie said.
She turned to leave, but gave one last wink at Doug. Nathan and Jack were kind enough to wait until they saw her truck drive toward the gate before they started teasing Doug.
… … … …
Margaret, Trish and Abigail were talking about different things that they could make for the Fourth that would work for everyone. Besides the fruit, veggies, meat and cheese trays. They decided to make puppy chow, ranch oyster crackers, BBQ grape jelly meatballs, candied bacon crackers and spiced candied pecans.
"Do you have multiple crock-pots or should I bring mine?" Abigail said.
"I have two of those ones that have three separate crock-pots in one." Gran said. "I also have two of those three in one buffet servers with the warming tray."
"In that case." Trish said. "Maybe we should do three different hot foods. That way the food will be a little more filling."
"Was there something you were thinking?" Gran asked.
"Bill and Peter love those little smokies." Abigail said.
"Doug and the girls like those as well." Trish said.
"Then we will do those." Gran said. "What is the third one?"
"What if we did a simple pulled pork." Trish said. "We can either pick up some buns or make a batch. I think that would go over well."
"I like that." Gran said. "So let's figure out what we need and then someone can head into town."
"I need to head into town." Frank said, walking back.
As Frank and Lee came into the kitchen, John and Peter walked in.
"Hello." Gran said. "How did the press conference go?"
"About as well as expected." John said. "I will talk about it later. Frank, do you have a moment to talk?"
"Sure." Frank said. "We were just talking about the fact that I need to go into town and they were figuring out what they needed at the store."
"Very well." John said. "I only need a few minutes."
"We will get a list together." Gran said. "When you are done, come talk to us."
"I will do that." Frank said. "Don't forget you were going to call Primal and let them know that I was going to pick up the order. You also said something about coolers."
"I will do that before you get back." Gran said.
"Here." Trish said. "I can take those and help Lee."
Frank handed over the cases he was carrying and followed John and Peter to the office.
… … … …
"Someone has a crush on you." Jack teased in a sing-song voice.
"She was totally crushing on you." Nathan said.
"Doesn't matter." Doug said. "It won't go anywhere. I am not being a snob, but there is no way that my grandmother would allow it."
Nathan looked at Doug with a confused look.
"Winnie is Native American, correct?" Doug asked.
"Yes." Nathan said. "I believe that they are part of the Onondaga Nation."
"That is what I thought." Doug said. "I wouldn't care if I had feelings for her, but as long as my grandmother is alive, it would never happen. Before you get upset and think that my grandmother is racist or something, she is not. It is a matter of faith. She has been raised in a strong Catholic family and for generations, no one in my grandmother's family has married outside of the faith. She made me promise I would marry a nice Catholic girl. So as long as she is alive, I have to hold to that."
"Seriously?" Nathan said.
"You need to understand how my grandmother was raised." Doug said. "And in what time and culture she was raised. She was raised during a time that Catholics were looked down upon, even with all the wealth that they had. She came from generational wealth and members of the upper class of society. They achieved that by hiding their faith for years and practicing in secret. When they were finally able to worship without fear of retribution, they were proud of their faith. When my grandmother was a small child, maybe about the time of her First Communion, she swore she would never allow her family to hide their faith again."
"I guess I can see that." Nathan said. "But what if you fell in love with someone who wasn't Catholic?"
"I don't think I could give my heart to someone who didn't share my faith." Doug said. "I am sorry, Jack. I mean no disrespect."
"I know that you didn't." Jack said. "You and I both know that there is still hate for the Catholic Church, especially in light of things that have happened or come to light in our lifetime."
"You are right." Nathan said. "I didn't mean disrespect. I can see that your grandmother lived through a different time that we can't understand since we didn't live during that time. I also know how your parents and grandparents can influence your life."
"Can we talk about something else?" Doug said. "We have other things to do and I don't want to get into any more of this."
Jack and Nathan nodded.
"Are we going to ride Bubbles and Squeak?" Doug asked.
"I would like to try and see them over fences." Jack said. "Maybe you two can ride and I can watch this time."
… … … …
After Frank and Lee left, Elizabeth sat on the couch with Rosemary. There was a part of her that didn't want to open the books that she ordered in front of Rosemary. She already had an attitude and figured seeing books about learning the Catholic faith would make it worse. Elizabeth hadn't made a decision yet if she was going to be Catholic, but she knew that she at least wanted to look into things some.
"Aren't you going to open those?" Rosemary asked, pointing at the two packages.
"No." Elizabeth said. "I know what they are. I will deal with them later."
"I want to do something." Rosemary said, with a hint of a whine in her voice. "Let's go shopping or out for lunch in town. Isn't it boring being stuck here all the time."
"We can talk to security and see about maybe going shopping in town." Elizabeth said. "I don't mind being on the ranch. There are several thousand acres for us to ride. There is plenty of food here and I would rather eat with the family."
"You are no fun." Rosemary said. "You already sound like an old married woman. I thought we could have some fun. Just ask for a car and we can go into town."
"I am NOT leaving this property without security." Elizabeth said. "I thought I made that clear. Jack and his family have gone to great lengths to make sure that I am safe and I will not break the rules they have put there for my protection."
Rosemary stuck out her tongue at Elizabeth.
"If you have an appropriate swimsuit." Elizabeth said. "Maybe we can play in the pool this afternoon. We can go for a ride, there are plenty of horses. But honestly, I don't trust going into town with you right now. You are a little too eager to go into town without security."
"Seriously?" Rosemary huffed. "You know that I wouldn't hurt you."
"No, I don't know that." Elizabeth said. "I asked you to not tell anyone where I was and you had no problem doing that, so I am not going to risk my safety with you. If the guys want to go into town this evening, maybe we could go for ice cream."
"Why can't I wear my bikini?" Rosemary whined.
"Because there are children and teenagers around." Elizabeth said. "I know what your bikinis look like and they are even less than mine and I was asked to not wear them."
"You are no fun." Rosemary said. "How am I supposed to get some sun when I am all covered up?"
"If you want." Elizabeth said. "I can arrange for you to go home. I told you what the rules are if you want to be here you need to follow them. You also need to prove that you can be trusted."
"You would really send me away?" Rosemary asked.
"Very much so." Elizabeth said. "I have a new life and if you want to be a part of it, you need to get on board."
Elizabeth picked up the packages of her books, walked out of the library and headed downstairs. Rosemary was left there sputtering for a moment before following Elizabeth downstairs.
… … … …
Author's Note: Here are the recipes that the ladies were talking about
Candied Bacon Crackers
Ingredients
12 butter crackers (1 sleeve) like Townhouse or Club crackers, either rectangular or oval in shape
8 slices bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Place crackers on a wire rack set into a lined baking sheet. (Leave a little space in between the crackers for the bacon, as it will hang over the edges of the crackers.)
Slice the bacon into thirds or fourths (depending on the length and shape of your crackers). Place a piece of cut bacon lengthwise on each cracker.
Mix brown sugar and peppers in a small bowl.
Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar mixture on top of the bacon-topped crackers (about 1 heaping teaspoon per cracker).
Bake 15-20 minutes or until brown sugar begins to melt and bacon becomes crisp. Allow crackers to cool on wire rack before eating.
BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs
Ingredients
2 lb. frozen meatballs
2 c. bbq sauce
1 (12-oz.) jar grape jelly
1/4 c. sriracha
Directions
Step 1
Place meatballs in bowl of a slow cooker and pour bbq sauce, grape jelly, and sriracha over. Stir to coat meatballs.
Step 2
Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Stir meatballs before serving.
Spiced Candied Pecans
Ingredients
2 c. toasted halved pecans
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
Zest of 1/2 orange
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3 tbsp. orange juice or water
Kosher salt
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350° and spread pecans in an even layer on a medium baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until nuts are fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 2
Combine spices and orange zest in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 3
Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, combine brown sugar and orange juice or water and bring up to a rolling boil. Boil, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
Step 4
Add pecans to skillet and fold into sugar mixture to coat completely. Cook, stirring frequently, until no sugar mixture pools in the bottom of the pan when nuts are stirred, 3 to 4 minutes. Working quickly, remove pan from heat and stir in spice and zest mix until nuts are fully coated.
Step 5
Transfer nuts to prepared baking sheet and season with salt. Let cool completely before serving
Ranch oyster crackers
Ingredients
1 packet ranch seasoning 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons dried dill
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup canola oil
16 ounce box small oyster crackers
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250°F/120°C.
In a large bowl, combine the seasonings with oil. Add the oyster crackers, and toss to coat.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and spread the crackers evenly in a single layer.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden, stirring every 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool. Serve in a bowl.
Puppy Chow Recipe
ingredients
9 cups Chex cereal Rice Chex™ or Corn Chex™, or a combination
1 cup chocolate chips semi sweet (or milk)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
instructions
Add cereal to a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla, and microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Microwave in 15-30 second increments, stirring each time, until the mixture is smooth. Do not overheat (or chocolate may seize).
Pour chocolate over the cereal and toss to coat.
Add powdered sugar and toss to evenly coat.
Spread the cereal on a parchment lined baking tray. Allow it to rest for about 30 minutes before
Crockpot Little Smokies
INGREDIENTS
4 packages little smokies 12-14 ounce size
3 cups barbecue sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the little smokies into a crockpot.
Place the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined.
Pour the sauce over the little smokies. Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours, then serve.
NOTES
You can use your favorite store bought barbecue sauce for this recipe, or make your own. Either way works great!
I recommend cooking the sausages for at least 2 hours so that they're warmed all the way through, but you can cook them for longer if needed. You can also cook on low for 2 hours, then keep the crockpot on the warm setting so that the little smokies stay hot throughout the whole party.
The sauce for this recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance.