For the Love of the Broken Man (Love & Cowboys #3)

5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“How was your day, Uncle Danny?” Kayley asked as he plopped her in the booster in his truck. That was a very good question. His favorite moment was when Matt Collins stomped into the barn after he’d taken Jason out in a Gator to show him around the ranch.

“Well, no need to run a background check.” Matt had made the announcement when he walked into the barn office where Dan and Tim stood, looking out the window.

“The kid don’t wanna stay. We can get him a ticket to wherever he wants to go, Timmy. I’ll call the Colonel and explain this kinda work just ain’t for the boy.”

When the Gator had pulled up outside the barn, Dan and Tim walked to the side door off Charlie’s stall and watched as the two of them drove up to the barn. The boy was crying, and it tugged at his heart. He could easily see Matt Collins was eaten up with jealousy over the younger man, and he knew it was unnecessary.

Dan was about ready to go out and punch his friend in the head for his stupidity because he knew there was no one on the planet who could ever take Tim’s attention away from his husband, even though the kid bore a remarkable resemblance to the Matt Collins from when they played football in high school. He wasn’t as muscular, but Jason looked enough like Matt that Dan was sure Marty Collins would look at Jeri with a cocked eyebrow, or vice versa.

“Matthew Ryan, what did you say to that young man?” Tim had demanded, hands in fists on his hips.

Matt had feigned his best innocent face and actually held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t say nothin’. He decided this might not be for him.”

Based on Matt’s expression, Dan could see it for the bold-faced lie it was, and when he glanced at Tim, he knew the man saw it as well. When the shouting began, Dan had hurried out of the barn and found the young man shedding tears. It broke his heart, but Danny knew a sure way to fix all ills—take Jase to the Katydid.

When Jase had stated Dan was more his type than Tim, Dan was stunned but aware enough to realize that he needed to get far away from the younger man. He quickly hotfooted it out of that bedroom, holding his breath. He told himself the kid made the statement because he was pissed off, not because he was attracted to Danny.

“It was okay. How was your day, Sweet Pea?” Dan asked as they turned down the street toward the little house Dan rented that he and Kayley called home.

“I thought we was goin’ for pizza and games,” she reminded him of his morning promise.

“How about we take a ride out to the Katydid. You wanna meet Jason? He’s a nice guy, and he’s a little worried ‘bout stayin’ in a new place. You think you’d be okay with explainin’ to him how nice Miss Katie and Mr. Josh are? I tried to tell him, but he’d believe it more from you.”

Katie had given Danny and Kayley an open invitation for supper, after all. Plus, earlier in the week, one of Josh’s mares had foaled a colt from Charlie, Matt’s prize stud horse. Danny hadn’t told Kayley when it happened, but he was sure she’d want to see it—that was what he was telling himself anyway.

Kayley finally agreed when he told her there was a surprise aside from meeting Jase. After they got out of the Circle C truck, Danny looked around. Just as he’d assumed, the farm hands were gone, and Josh had Jason down at the barn where Lady was nursing her little foal. “Hey, Josh,” Dan greeted as he walked into the barn with Kayley.

Josh held his arms open for the girl. She didn’t hesitate to run into them and allow him to whisk her up onto his hip. “How are ya, pretty girl? I ain’t seen ya since your birthday a few weeks ago.”

Danny was sorry he hadn’t taken her out to the farm since that celebration, and he was feeling guilty he’d let so much time go by, especially since Miss Katie had thrown the party for her. When it came to Kayley, he had to remember her needs first.

When Jase walked over where Josh stood, Dan was surprised to see him stick out his hand and smile. “Hello, little lady. My name is Jase. What’s yours?”

“I’m Kayley Johnson. I wanted to come pick ya up with Uncle Dan this mornin’, but he made me go to daycare. Ain’t he pretty?” she told Jase as she pointed to the little colt suckling at his mother’s teat.

Josh laughed. “He’s awful purdy, Kayley girl. How ‘bout you name him?”

Dan saw her look at him with awe in her eyes. “Really? I can name him?” Dan felt his heart beat a little quicker in gratitude.

“Yep, but make it a good one. His sire is Ebony Prince Charles, and his dam is Lady Madeline White.” Dan didn’t know the mare had a pedigree, but apparently, she did. That colt was gonna be damn fine.

“Oh, I’d like to call him Whitey. He has a white face. Her comment caught Dan off guard. How the hell did I inherit a horse lover?

There was a squawk over the barn intercom. “ Supper! ”

Josh grinned. “Let’s get to the house before we get in trouble. Jase, son, you’ll learn not to be late for supper or you gotta do dishes.”

They all laughed and made their way to the house with Kayley holding Jase’s hand. Dan smiled, seeing the two of them talking. The demon inside him watched the kid’s ass move in those jeans, but he kept telling himself to lock it in the spank bank, not that he ever turned the combination to open it.

Usually, by the time he got Kayley in bed and cleaned up dishes after washing and folding laundry or dusting the place in an attempt at housekeeping, he was too fucking exhausted to jerk off. It was sad for a twenty-seven-year-old to be too tired to jerk it, but it was that way most nights.

Danny had somehow become the personal chauffeur for Jason Langston since the boy arrived in Holloway. Every fucking day when he picked him up at the Katydid, he fought his desire to pull off to the side of the road and have his way with the young man.

He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since the boy walked out of the bus station, and Dan had become a miserable prick, as Zach had told him on the phone Sunday night.

“I’m not sure why you don’t give a flyin’ fuck anymore about Momma or Kayley. You run off to the big city, and you get all caught up in some pussy, forgettin’ about your family and their needs. Well, you enjoy yourself. I guess I got this.” Danny hung up. It had been a shitty way to end a message.

When Zach called back, he wasn’t happy. “ What the fuck is wrong with you? That message on my answering machine was pretty shitty, Dan.”

Danny knew Zach had skipped meeting with their mother’s doctors that Saturday morning because he was too hungover to drive to the nursing facility. Zach had promised to be there to help care for their mother and their niece, right along with Danny. Apparently, Zach’s word was bullshit.

Dan honked the horn at six in the morning, pissed the kid wasn’t sitting on the steps like he’d been every day that he was working at the Circle C. Josh walked out of the house, looking none too happy, so Dan shut off the truck and hopped out.

“What’s wrong?”

“He called and asked Tim if he could work from here. I’m not sure what’s goin’ on, but he doesn’t wanna go over to the Circle C. You notice anything over there I should worry ‘bout?” Josh gave Danny a hard stare.

Dan shook his head. “He’s new, so maybe it’s just takin’ a little time for him to get used to everybody. I thought he did okay with meetin’ all ‘em—maybe not Paulie. He was a prick when he met Jason.”

“Who the fuck is this? Why do we have another hand?” Paulie had not been happy with the situation.

“You don’t need to worry about him, you just gotta do the jobs you’re told to do. He’s a coworker. You get back to work.” Dan had explained the situation without any pretense of being nice to the guy. He hated Paulie, and when Mickey left and Paulie came back to the Circle C, Dan wasn’t thrilled.

“Well, let’s let him work from here for a few days. He seems to have the computer stuff down, and that’s what I need right now. I’ve got enough to keep him busy for a few days while y’all figure out your bullshit over at the ranch. I’ll call Tim about it.” Josh’s tone left no room for argument.

Dan hated the fact he wouldn’t see Jason that morning and have his company on the ride to the Circle C. He hoped it wasn’t so bad the boy would leave because he knew the others had been hard on Jase when he worked over at the ranch.

Danny, himself, loved talking to the guy at lunch, and he knew he’d miss giving him a ride back to the Katydid at the end of a long day. Some of the discussions gave him things to think about beyond the regular shit circling his brain and causing him distress and indigestion on many occasions.

Jase had joked after a day where he’d assisted Ethan Sachs in gathering semen from Charlie at the Circle C.

“Did you know a mare can foal until she’s about twelve, but a stallion can continue to breed mares until he’s about ready to die? Hell, it sounds like people.” Danny wasn’t clued in on that part of the ranch, but it seemed Jason was eager to learn everything he could about the operation.

“Well, let’s hope we’re that lucky.” Dan’s comment had made Jase laugh.

“Yeah, I guess we’d be lucky. Thank for the ride home, Dan.” Jase hopped out of the truck and gave him a quick wave.

Dan smiled as he drove to Mrs. Philips’ house to pick up Kayley. For the rest of the evening, he thought about how eager Jase was to talk to him about horses, and he felt bad for dismissing the young man. He hoped to be more cordial to him the next time they were together.

The eventual compromise reached between the Circle C and the Katydid was that Jase would continue to work part-time at the Circle C, but he’d use the office in the house instead of the one at the barn. Dan hoped it meant he’d still get to pick up the guy and see him at lunchtime. Jase Langston was starting to grow on him.

“What do ya mean he’s leavin’?” Dan stood inside the farmhouse at the Katydid. He’d stopped by to pick up Jase for work at the Circle C on a Friday morning. When Miss Katie met him at the door with a hard look on her face, he was worried.

“I mean, Josh is takin’ him to Dillwyn to work at Wonderland for Jon and Mick. Y’all are so goddamn harsh over there, it occurred to me you don’t know how to nurture a young man who’s tryin’ to figure out his life, so I called Mickey. He can encourage the boy better than any of you. Hell, Tim and Matt won’t let the boy stay at the ranch because of Rocky and Ryan. I’m ashamed of them for that behavior.”

“I think it was more because of the adopt—” Dan tried to defend Tim and Matt’s behavior, but Miss Katie was having none of it.

“That boy came here lookin’ for anybody to give a fiddler’s damn about him and maybe give him a shot at makin’ somethin’ of himself, and all y’all acted like damn fools. I don’t wanna see or talk to any of ya for a while so I’m goin’ to Florida to see my cousin, Freda.

“I feel for poor Kayley with the likes of you bein’ her parent. Don’t mess up that little girl, Daniel.” She walked down the hallway without a goodbye, leaving him to stand alone in the kitchen feeling as if he’d been kicked in the gut.

Dan knew everyone at the Circle C had been in a tizzy since the kid had shown up, but he didn’t think it had been as bad as Katie made it sound. Of course, he didn’t know the boy’s story before he’d arrived in Holloway. If Jase had come out to his parents and they hadn’t taken it well, Dan could see how it could have gone south and led to the kid leaving home.

Hell, Dan hadn’t had the guts to come out to his own mother, but Zach knew it well enough. Of course, there was nothing going on in Dan’s life worth mentioning to his mother, which was likely why Zach felt like it was okay to leave their mother in Dan’s care. He had the time because he had nothing else to do.

Danny stood there pondering why he’d been so shitty to the younger guy, and he knew why before the question registered in his mind. He was attracted to Jason Langston. The boy had him tied up in knots, and the fact there was nine years between them only made Dan feel guiltier.

When Josh walked into the house with a frown on his face, Dan was immediately on alert. “Where’s—”

“What the fuck do you people—? Never mind. I’m takin’ the boy to Mickey and Jon’s, so you let those yahoos over at the Circle C know y’all won’t have to deal with him anymore. Mick is excited to have him there to help with Terry and Meggie, along with the business. We’ve lost a good hand with a lot of promise, but you jackasses at the Circle C oughta be happy again, I s’pose.” Josh poured himself a cup of coffee without looking at Dan.

Heath Sachs walked into the house in stocking feet before Dan could respond. “Hey, boss. You gonna bring back the hinny?” They were referring to the little foal Josie the jenny had delivered after she’d been bred to Chief, one of Josh’s stallions.

Josh sipped his coffee. “Nope. I’m leavin’ her for Mick to train for Meggie when she gets older. Blossom has gaited horse in her, thanks to Chief, so she should do well for that little girl. Mick told me Meggie won’t get too tall, so that little hinny should be perfect for her for a long time.”

Heath laughed. “I’ll break the news gently to Ethan because he was lookin’ forward to seein’ her. He still wishes he hadn’t grown out of ridin’ Josie.”

Dan knew the history behind their discussion, and he wished Mickey and Jon lived closer because he counted Mickey Warren as one of his best friends, and he needed guidance. His heart felt heavy at the idea of Jason Langston leaving Holloway. He’d fallen asleep every night for a month to the smile on the young man’s face as it appeared behind his eyelids. The thought of not seeing it every day made his chest tighten.

“Yeah, well, they’re family, and Meggie loves Josie. Mick talked about a bad hoof, and if I was willin’ to talk to my son-in-law, I’d send him to Dillwyn to take a look because she can’t wear a shoe. Since I ain’t talkin’ to ‘em, I’m gonna call Bart Grant and ask him to call a vet in the area to go take a look at my expense.”

“Why ain’t you talkin’ to Tim and Matt?” Dan was surprised.

Josh frowned. “The boy won’t work over there because he’s afraid of Matthew, and there has to be a reason, though Jase won’t tell me why. Obviously, this hasn’t been a good situation for him, so goin’ to Dillwyn seems like the best answer.”

“Let me take Jase to Dillwyn. I’ll take Kayley because she’s been complainin’ about not seein’ Terry and Meggie. I’ll get a referral from Doc Grant, though I’m pretty damn sure Mick knows a good vet. Ally Wells runs high-priced stock, Josh.”

Josh chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. I’d bet she could buy us with her pen money. Anyway, if Josie’s not doin’ well, bring her home. It’s comin’ on summer, and I know Megan would like to have a mount, but if Josie’s not seriously lame, it won’t take long for her to heal up. If she’s in bad shape, bring her home. She was Ryan’s first mount and—just bring her home. Take my small trailer, just in case.”

Dan nodded and turned to the stairs when he heard Jason walk down. He was holding that green duffel with his last name on the outside. “Oh, um, Dan. I guess this is goodbye.”

Danny chuckled. “Now, you’re not gettin’ away from me so quick. I’m takin’ ya to Dillwyn. I’ll be back in two hours to pick ya up, and we’ll get on the road. I gotta get Kayley and pack some bags, but I’ll be back.” He saw the boy was surprised, but Danny hoped to hell that he could clear some shit up between them on the ride. He’d sort it in his head as he drove home and pray it wouldn’t be a disaster.