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

14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

“It’s nice to meet you, Jason,” Allison Grainger Wells told Jase as he stood in the hallway of the barn, cleaning the bedding and manure out of the stalls on the third of July. She was a beautiful woman with striking features, and she had a warm smile.

When Mick told Jase that the Wells’ were coming out, Jase didn’t have the heart to mention anything about the celebration at the Circle C for Rocky’s and Ryan’s birthdays. He’d heard Jon tell Mickey they’d have to stay at Wonderland for the holiday because Ally and Ham were planning a party and clients would be in attendance, so Jon needed to be there to assist in the entertaining.

In support of the news, there had been a lot of activity around the farm with deliveries of picnic tables and tents, so Jase knew he couldn’t ask to leave. Besides the fact he didn’t have a ride to get to Dillwyn, he didn’t have any cash. He had a check for his wages, but he hadn’t been able to get to a bank to deposit anything, so he was as broke as broke could be.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Wells.” Jase wiped his hand on his jeans as he extended it to shake her outstretched one. He remembered what his mother told him. “ I f a lady extends her hand, it’s expected you gently shake it,” so he did.

“This place looks amazing. Mickey told me you were doing a wonderful job, Jason. He told me you updated the books, and I wanted to thank you. My son-in-law, whom I love more than anything, is horrible at recordkeeping. He’s great with these ladies, but he’s awful with numbers. I’m glad you’re on board with the operation.” Mrs. Wells released his hand with a bright smile before glancing over the mares in the barn.

“Hello.” A tall, Black man with a friendly smile walked into the hallway.

“Oh, Ham, this is Jason Langston. You remember me telling you how he came to live here?” The man extended his hand, so once again, Jase brushed his sweaty palm over his jeans and extended it.

“Sir, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Jon and Mickey.” Jase gave the man as much of a smile as he could offer in the heat of the day.

“Son, drop the sir ‘cause I’m not that old. It’s nice to meet you, but why are you still here?”

Jase was stymied. “I’m sorry, where should I be? Mickey told me you were having a party, and we were to clean up the place for company.”

Ally Wells walked over to Jase. “Yes, and Mickey told me you’ve been a sponge, learning everything you can about how we operate this place. I’m so happy to see new blood come into the operation.

“Of course, we know—don’t get mad at Mickey. We know you and Danny Johnson are good friends, and if you want to go to Holloway for the holiday, that’s fine.”

Jase wanted to take her up on the offer, but without any way to get there and not hearing from Danny since he’d sent the email, he wasn’t sure he was welcome anymore.

“I, uh, thank you very much, but they’ll have to miss me this time. I’ve committed to being here, and I am a man who keeps his word. Besides, I don’t have a car and haven’t had the chance to get to a bank yet, so I’m a bit short on cash. Anyway, I’ve told Dan I can’t make it and things are fine. Thank you for your concern.”

Jase started to return to Rosie’s stall when Mr. Wells stepped forward and touched his shoulder. Jase was taller than the man, but he didn’t have as commanding a presence at all. “Son, here’s a hundred, and you can use Ally’s farm truck. It’s not fancy, but it runs well. The keys are in the kitchen. There’s no reason for you not to go spend time with Danny and little Kayley. We feel awful we were away when Dan’s mother passed, so you tell him we send our condolences,” Ham Wells instructed.

Jase believed he was living in a dream. “Are you sure? You’ll take this outta my next paycheck, right? I mean, I’ll get a bank account, but I don’t… I haven’t been able to get to town to open a checking account, but I’ll do it… Oh! Keep your cash, Mr. Wells. I’ll stop at the bank on my way outta town. Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do!” Jase was talking so fast he wasn’t sure the man caught all the words he’d said.

When Ham and Ally Wells laughed, Jase calmed a little. “I’m sorry, but I’m a little excited. I need to stop at a store to get gifts for Rocky and Ryan, and maybe something for Little Bit. Oh, thank you,” Jase gushed.

He went back to work and hurried to finish the job of cleaning out the barn. Within a few hours, he’d be with Dan and Kayley. His whole body was happy.

After finishing in the barn, Jase ran up to the carriage house, climbing the stairs two at a time once he’d left his muck boots under the steps in case it rained while he was gone. When he got inside, he stopped dead in his tracks, surprised to see Mickey sitting at his little kitchen table.

“Um, everything okay?” Jase was surprised to see Mickey drinking a cola, so Jase got himself one from the fridge and sat down across from his boss.

Mickey slid an envelope across the table to him with Danny’s name on it. “Would you give that to Dan, please? Jon was gonna mail it, but it’s easier for you to take it with you.

“Now, why didn’t you remind me about the birthday party? I’m so damn caught up in our life here with our kids, I don’t think about things with the other kids in the family. Jonny and I can’t come, but I’da made sure you could get there Jase. From now on, you’ll get Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and Monday off. You have Ally’s truck to use, so you go to Holloway as much as you’d like.”

Jase couldn’t believe his ears, so he simply nodded.

“Now, let’s talk about something a little more serious.” Mickey placed a box of condoms—multi-sized—on the table and next to it, a bottle of lube. Jase felt his face catch fire.

“Oh, stop it. You’ve got virgin written all over you, and based on your upbringing, I’m gonna guess you have a lot of questions, so ask ‘em,” Mickey demanded.

Once again, Jase felt giddy at the prospect of having someone care about him. Tears sprung into his eyes and fell before he could stop them. “Shit, kiddo. We love ya here. You’re like a little brother to me, and Meggie and Terry think you’re the best thing since sliced bread. I hope you won’t leave, but I know how much love pulls us in directions we never suspected.

“So… Let’s t alk about sex.” Mickey began singing a song Jase had heard on a ‘90s radio station at Savannah’s house once. Jase cracked up. The guy was so damn great at breaking the tension, it made Jase wonder how he ever lucked into getting a job at Wonderland.

And talk about sex they did. For an hour, Mickey regaled him with details regarding blow jobs, frottage, sixty-nines, rimming, and anal intercourse. “ Make sure you use protection, Jase. Sex is incredible, but it’s not worth dying over. After you start having sex, I’ll give you the name of our doctor so you can start getting tested. Make sure Danny gets tested, too, and use condoms.”

That part of the discussion was something that shocked Jase a little, but he remembered sex ed in school and knew what Mickey wasn’t saying, explicitly. He was right. Better safe than sorry.

An hour later, Jase was standing at the French doors of the main house with his bag in hand. He looked down at his scruffy sneakers and knew he needed to make a few stops before he got to Danny.

He let himself into the house, seeing Miss Ally sitting at the center island with her cell phone. “Hang on, Clarice.”

Ally took the phone from her ear and smiled. “Can you take these for us? I should have mailed them, but I was so caught up with things here I forgot.” She handed him two cards.

“Yes ma’am.” Jase accepted the two envelopes she extended.

“When’s your birthday, Jason?” she asked with her sweet smile.

“It was in May, ma’am.”

“Taurus or Gemini?” she asked.

“Um, I think it’s almost both. May 20th is my birthday, and on some astrological calendars, I’m one or the other.”

Ally laughed and pulled him forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You have fun in Holloway, Jason. Say hello to everyone for Ham and me, will you?”

Jase could only nod because she reminded him so much of DeAnne Stanford, he felt his heart lurch. He was glad he’d brought the cell phone the girls had given him so he could call Savannah to extend his best wishes to her family. If he thought about it, he’d been blessed… he just hadn’t realized it until that moment.

As Jase drove US-460, he felt pretty good about all he’d accomplished that day, even if it meant he wouldn’t get to Danny’s house until about six o’clock that evening. He’d opened a checking account and been able to take out some money so he could buy gifts for Ryan and Rocky for their birthdays and get something for his Kayley.

He also wanted to take Danny and Kayley out for dinner, hopefully on Sunday night before he had to leave Monday morning to return to Dillwyn. The party was on Saturday, and he was excited about it. Mickey had told him it was a lot of fun.

When he turned off US-460 onto SR-131 leading into town, Jase thought about the discussion he’d had with Mickey that morning. “ You won’t be a pro at everything, but if you were, Danny would worry if you lied about not having experience, so just ask him what he likes. I had to do it with Jonny, and he gave me a road map to all his hot buttons. You can’t do anything wrong—well, don’t use teeth, but other than that, you’ll be fine .”

He knew Mickey was referring to giving a blow job when he mentioned not to use his teeth. As Jase thought about it, he could understand why. The pain of scraping teeth—not sexy at all.

When Jase pulled in front of Danny’s house, he saw nobody was home, not surprisingly. He hopped out of the truck to place his bag on the porch before he took a deep breath because he wasn’t exactly prepared to show up at the ranch.

He knew the Friday swim party was at Marty and Miss Jeri’s house because they had the pool, as Kayley had told him when they’d spoken on the phone a few weeks prior. He got back into the truck, backed out of the driveway, and drove to the ranch.

When he arrived at the Circle C, Jase drove down to the barn, sure he’d find someone there. He walked into the large building, seeing a hot guy in a baseball cap with the bill facing backward as he brushed down a dark brown horse. “Um, hi,” Jase greeted.

The guy turned to hm and smiled. “Hey. I’m Jeremy Brown, one of the summer hands here. Can I help ya?” The guy seemed to be about the same age as Jase.

“I’m looking for Danny Johnson. I’m Jase.”

Jeremy chuckled as he continued to brush the horse. “I just started working here, but I’ve heard about you from little Kayley. Are you Jase Langston?”

Jase couldn’t help the smile. His Kayley had been talking about him. “I am.”

“This is Dillinger, the new gelding Josh bought for Ethan to start training for Ryan. They still have Sam and Mabel, but from what I’ve been told, Ryan’s growing like a weed, so they’re planning ahead. You mind putting him in Charlie’s empty stall and pulling out that roan gelding while I run up to Josh’s?”

Jase had enough exposure to horses to know what the young man meant, so he did as he was told while the good-looking guy took off, leaving Jase in the barn with the horses.

As he was brushing down the gray horse named Sam, Jase felt strong arms around his waist and a kiss through his shirt between his shoulder blades. “You lied.” He turned to see Danny standing in front of him with a handsome smile on his face.

“Hey, I didn’t lie intentionally, okay? Mrs. Wells gave me time off to come. I have gifts for the boys from them.” Finally, he took a deep breath.

“I’ve missed you, Danny,” Jase whispered as he pulled Danny into his embrace. It wasn’t an untruth. Jase had missed Dan Johnson more than he’d have missed his own heartbeat.

After Danny kissed Jase so thoroughly that he thought he’d implode, they pulled away from each other. Danny smiled at him and hugged him again, tightly.

“That was Jeremy. His daddy works with Miss Jeri at the school, and he told her his son was lookin’ for a summer job while he’s visitin’ Holloway, so Matt and Tim hired him. He goes to boarding school somewhere in New Hampshire since his parents got a divorce. He’s seventeen, and he’ll graduate next summer. He’s a nice kid.” Danny captured his lips in another passionate kiss. Jase felt the spark all the way down to his new boots.

Jase had been told that Miss Jeri always had a picnic and swim party at her house the night before the birthday celebration, insisting everyone who’d worked at the ranches that day should stick around for dinner and a swim. “Just the family,” she’d insisted, giving Jase a sly wink.

He liked her and Miss Katie. There weren’t two nicer women on the planet—except for maybe DeAnne Stanford and his own mother. He was starting to believe Ally Wells fit into the camp as well.

“Aw, now, you’re a growin’ boy. You need more than that,” Miss Katie chastised as she put another hamburger and an extra scoop of beans on his plate as he went through the buffet line with Danny and Kayley, who was anxious to eat and get back into the pool.

Jase had got in with her at Danny’s request after he told Jase his leg was bothering him a little. They’d sorted calves earlier in the day and a couple of the young steers had been aggressive with him, ramming him into a metal gate.

“You’re gonna make me fat,” Jase teased Miss Katie before he moved on to the coolers, grabbing himself a Coke.

He heard a deep laugh behind him and felt a chill down his spine. “You can have a beer, Jase. We won’t call the cops,” Matt Collins stated.

It was the last place Jase wanted to be—standing in front of Matthew Collins, the man who seemed to want him dead. Hell, he’d nearly dropped his plate at the sound of the man’s voice.

“It…u-u-uh, it’s okay. I’m d-d-driving.” Jase’s skin flushed in embarrassment.

Suddenly, Kayley was by his side, pulling on Matt’s jeans. “We talked about this, Mr. Matt.” She held up a little fist toward the tall bull rider. He immediately put his plate on the table and covered his groin.

“Oh, Little Miss, I remember.” He reached down and picked her up, settling her on his hip.

“Jason, I’m sorry for my behavior in the past regarding my stupid jealousy. You’re a good-lookin’ young guy, and I let my stupidity get the best of me, makin’ an as—s horse’s behind of myself on more than one occasion. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Matt looked Jase in the eye the whole time he spoke. Jase noticed it was suddenly quiet around the pool deck, but he dared not look around.

Kayley leaned forward and whispered something into Matt’s ear which made him smile. “How about a hug? I doubt your Uncle Danny or Timmy would like it if I kissed him.”

Everyone around the pool area started laughing as Matt placed Kayley on the brick patio before he wrapped a long arm around Jase’s shoulders to give him a gentle hug.

When they pulled away, Matt had a grin on his face, “Friends?”

Jase felt relief flow through his body. “You bet.” Jase turned to see Danny with a beaming grin on his face.

It was a huge weight off Jase’s shoulders that he no longer had to dodge Tim Moran because he respected the man. Tim had always been cordial to Jase, and with the new truce between him and Matt, Jase hoped, especially for Danny’s sake, maybe the two couples could become friends.

All in all, it was a great day in Jase’s life. There were more of those lately than not. It was a new occurrence he welcomed with great gusto.

Jase was awakened by a ringing sound. When he opened his eyes, he was confused for a moment before he remembered he wasn’t at Wonderland Farm. He was at Danny’s house in Holloway.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Dan behind him as he burrowed into Jase’s back a little. It was amazing to feel Dan’s curly chest hair tickling his spine. The phone chimed again, rousing Jase enough to recall it was his ring tone. It had to be Savannah because very few people had his number.

He knew if Jon or Mick needed him, they’d call the landline, so he gently extricated himself from Danny’s vice grip to see what Savannah wanted. It was late, and he was worried there was something wrong, though it was an hour earlier where she lived.

Jase adjusted his boxer briefs because Dan had insisted that they put on something after they made love…incredible, simultaneous blow jobs where Jase nearly lost his mind at the tricks Danny had shown him on his dick, his balls, and his entrance. The man’s tongue was an amazing instrument, and Jase was making a list of questions to ask Mickey when he returned to Dillwyn.

The ringing finally stopped but Jase needed to empty his bladder, so he continued to move out of his lover’s grasp. Could he call Danny his lover? They hadn’t had intercourse, but Jase assumed the term applied to anything two people did when they loved each other.

After emptying his bladder, Jase went in search of his jeans across the bedroom chair in the corner. When they’d left the party, Kayley was asleep, so Dan carried her inside and put her to bed while Jase locked up the house. He’d been nervous when he went to Danny’s bedroom, but his worries had been quickly assuaged.

“Come on. Don’t be shy now,” Danny had coaxed with a sexy smile as he climbed into bed in his boxers. They had little rainbows and buckets of gold on them, and they made Jase giggle.

He hurried out of his clothes and left on his boxer briefs as he climbed in with Danny. When the man attacked, it was welcomed. “Goddamn, I’ve fuckin’ missed you, Jase.”

Danny kissed Jase’s neck before he moved up his jaw and over to his face, leaving his lips for last. It was an incredible feeling, so Jase returned the kisses with vigor.

Danny kissed down his stomach and dipped his tongue into Jase’s navel. The licks of his nipples had nearly set him off, but Danny seemed to know when to stop and move on.

“Danny... it tickles.” Jase couldn’t help the giggle in his voice.

“Okay, can we take these off? I’m pretty sure if I put my tongue somewhere else, you won’t laugh.” Danny began pulling down Jase’s boxer briefs.

Danny was right—there were no giggles.

As the soft, wet velvet of Danny’s hot tongue circled and teased Jase’s hole, he couldn’t hold himself back. He wiggled down the bed until Danny was over him, not hesitating to pull down the pot-of-gold boxers and sink Danny’s hard cock into his mouth. It took a little practice and experimentation, which didn’t take place until Jase shot off in Danny’s mouth, but the night had been fantastic.

Jase looked down to see he was hard again, having relived the incredible event in his thoughts, and he beamed. It had been one of the best experiences of his life, and he knew he’d never be happy with any other cock than Danny’s.

Jase tiptoed to the living room so as not to awaken Danny or Kayley. He hit the button on his phone to see it was a cell phone number he recognized too well but never expected to see on his small screen.

He sat down on the couch, holding his breath and looking at the phone as if it would attack him before he took a breath and queued up voicemail to listen to the one voice he thought he’d never hear again—his mother.

“Hi, Jason. I talked to Colonel Stanford, who talked to Savannah. She gave me your number so I could check on you, sweet boy. Dad and I are in Oklahoma…Ft. Sill. Dad’s going to be deployed for six months to Iraq for training purposes. I’d like to come see you after he’s gone. Please call me when you can. I love you. Bye.”

After listening to the message again, tears flowed down Jase’s cheeks. He sniffled, reaching up to wipe his nose with his hand.

Suddenly, there was a wad of toilet paper thrust into his face. He looked up to see Kayley next to him.

“What’s wrong? ”Her expression was tender as she patted Jase’s arm. He could see a lot of compassion in the little girl’s face. It was heartwarming.

“Uncle Danny still sleeping?” Jase took the wad from her and lifted it to dry his eyes and wipe his nose.

“You cry loud.” Kayley gently patted his shoulder.

Jase picked her up and put her on the couch next to him. “I’m sorry, Little Bit. I had a message from someone I haven’t heard from in a long time, and it caught me by surprise.” Jase didn’t want to worry the young impressionable girl.

“Who was it?” she asked with a child’s curiosity.

“My mom. I haven’t talked to her in a few months, and I miss her.” Jase wiped his eyes again, feeling an ache in his soul.

Much to his surprise, Kayley took his hand and held it. “I know. I miss my momma a lot, but Uncle Dan says she’s with Gramma Dottie in a better place. Is your momma in a better place?”

Jase took a deep breath and released it. “I hope so, sweetheart. Let’s get you back to bed.” He picked her up and carried her back to her room, tucking her in and kissing her forehead goodnight.

He felt protective of the child, and it reminded him of how he felt about Megan and Terry. Of course, they had two parents to love them. Jase knew Danny loved Kayley, but with the death of his mother and the job he had at the Circle C, Jase wondered how hard it was for the man to manage everything by himself.

It was something they needed to discuss, but how to bring it up? That was a puzzle.