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

15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Danny’s eyes opened when he felt a tickling against his chest. He glanced down to see Jason’s dark head resting on his left pec. Every time Danny took a breath, Jase seemed to wiggle his head and his dark hair tickled Danny’s nipple.

Smoothing down Jase’s longer brown hair, he stroked down Jase’s back before glancing at the clock. Five thirty in the morning. The sky was turning lavender gray as the sun chased the horizon.

Unfortunately, Danny couldn’t enjoy it because his bladder was about to burst. He moved Jase off him as gently as possible, giving the sweet man a pillow to hug instead.

Dan hurried into the bathroom to empty his bladder, noticing a little purple mark in the crease between his hip and groin. He grinned like a fool at the amazing blow job Jase had given him the previous night, remembering how tentative he’d been when Danny started taking down his boxer briefs.

He’d kissed and tickled his way down Jase’s hot body until he reached his destination. He was surprised at how endowed the younger man was, but he was definitely interested in taming the beast. Once he had Jase in his mouth after he kissed him intimately in places aside from the guy’s soft lips, he let his imagination dictate his moves.

When Jase wiggled around and engulfed his aching cock, Dan was definitely a happy man. It was a great experience Danny knew he’d draw upon when his young lover was back in Dillwyn.

Dan had to stop thinking about the previous evening or he’d never be able to piss, so he started making a mental list of all the things that needed to happen before the boys’ party. They weren’t inviting as many of their school friends as they had the summer before, so that meant fewer kids to worry about being at the barn.

Matt had only asked Heath to bring over three horses to have available alongside Chester, Sam, Mabel, and the newest gelding Ethan was working with, Dillinger. Ryan had shot up over the school year and was now taller than Rocky. It was no surprise to anyone that Ryan was set to rival his father’s height.

After he flushed the toilet, Dan turned on the tap and grabbed the shaving mirror he used in the shower when he was trying to economize on time. He stepped inside and began washing his hair, allowing his beard to soften under the heat of the water. He was nearly finished shaving when he heard the bathroom door open. “Danny? Can I get in?”

He opened the curtain without letting water out and saw Jase with a sleepy smile and wild hair. “Come on. I’m almost done shavin’,” he explained as the younger man got in with him and closed the curtain.

Jase reached up and touched the shaving-cream-free side of his face. “Soft,” he commented quietly.

Danny leaned forward and kissed his cheek, sweeping his tongue over the stubble. “Rough,” he teased, happy to hear the giggle from Jase.

“I’ll be done in a minute then you can shave if you wanna. There are new razors in that little cabinet over the toilet. How’d you sleep?” Danny turned back to the mirror to resume his task.

“Okay, I guess. I got up about two and disturbed Kayley. My phone was chiming, and it woke me.”

Dan could tell his man was a little off his game, so after he finished shaving, he traded places with the brunet to place him under the shower spray. He reached up and moved the soft brown hair back so it was thoroughly soaked by the water before he picked up the shampoo.

“Step back and turn around.” Jase did as Dan asked, though with a little hesitation. Once he began shampooing Jase’s hair, Dan heard the taller man moan, and it made him smile.

“Who called?” Dan continued to massage Jase’s scalp like the lady at Hair and There did when she shampooed his hair before he got it cut. It felt good to him, and he hoped it felt good to Jase.

“My mom called.”

Danny was surprised. Jase had explained things about his parents during several of their e-mails since he’d moved to Dillwyn, but getting information from the younger man wasn’t always easy.

“What did she say? Surely if something happened with your dad Savannah Stanford would have called ya, right?” Dan was worried about why the mother had called him.

“Actually, my dad got reassigned, and they’re living in Oklahoma now. My dad’s being deployed, and my mom wants to see me after he goes.”

Before Danny thought it through, he said, “I’ll pay for a plane ticket if you wanna go see your daddy before he goes overseas. You shouldn’t leave things unsaid between ya, Jase. There were things I shoulda told my mom but I didn’t, and I regret it, now.”

What he regretted the most was his mother never got to meet Jase, the man who made Dan happy, nor would she see Kayley grow up to be the incredible young woman Danny expected she’d become. He didn’t want Jase to have similar regrets.

After Jase rinsed his hair, Danny reached out of the shower and into the cabinet, pulling out another safety razor for his younger companion. He could see something was on Jase’s mind, so he waited.

Finally, Jase leaned forward and kissed Danny. “Thank you for thinking about something like that, and you’re right, I don’t want to have regrets I can’t reconcile in the future, but my dad and I’ve said more than enough to each other over the years.

“He was never happy with my choices and made certain I understood it, trust me. He was even unhappy with the colleges where I applied. The bastard told me he’d never pay for college because I didn’t need it. I had the Army to educate me. It’s why I packed my shit and left in the middle of the night. He and I have nothing left to say, Dan.”

That was new information. Danny didn’t know Jase had applied to any colleges. “Colleges? You applied to colleges?”

Jase laughed as he took the razor and ducked down to see himself in the mirror. “Yeah. I applied to UC-Berkeley, UT-Austin, Georgia Tech, Michigan, and MIT, which was my reach school. I’m as much of a computer geek as Tim Moran. I got accepted at Berkeley, Austin, GT, and Michigan. I got some academic grants and a few scholarships, but nothing that would offer a full ride. My dad wasn’t even interested in allowing me to explore financing, so I got to a dead end and gave up.”

“Why would ya give up? Hell, I barely got out of high school and only tried to stay above a C because of football. I ended up enlisting instead of college because I wasn’t smart enough. Jase, honey, you need to go to college.” Danny stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself.

He hadn’t given a lot of thought to things concerning Jase and his education. Everything had happened so fast for them, but he knew one thing for sure—he wouldn’t stand in the young man’s way if college was Jase’s dream.

Dan didn’t want to break Jase’s heart, but he wanted the best for the kid. Ranch work wasn’t in Jase’s DNA like it was in Danny’s.

No, Jason Langston needed to go to college and live his life at his own pace without having to worry about an older boyfriend in rural Virginia with a daughter. How to let him down easy was the hardest part to figure out, but Danny would talk to Jon Wells and Tim Moran to figure it out.

“Why don’t you stay here and let Kayley sleep in. Hell, you can catch a catnap, and I’ll go help them set up for the party. I can call Shiloh to pick me up on his way and you can bring my farm truck and leave yours here. Kayley’s booster’s already in the back.” Danny noticed Jase’s blush, and he knew for sure what he had to do.

“You sure you don’t need help? I know how to do stuff at the ranch. I can help you,” the young man assured. In that moment, Dan saw Jase as a young man in need of a nudge.

“Naw. Y’all stay here and come over later. Trust me, it’ll be a long day. Better if Kayley sleeps in so she doesn’t get cranky later. I’ll call Shiloh.” Dan picked up his cell phone from the charger, surprised he’d remembered to put it on the damn thing in the first place.

After a phone call to Shiloh, one of the older hands who worked for Danny at the Circle C, he walked back into the living room to see Jase asleep on the couch with a small smile. He pulled out his phone and took a picture, preparing for the heartache that was to come.

When the horn sounded from the driveway, Dan hurried out of the house and into Shiloh’s old El Camino. The guy preferred restoring the stupid thing more than companionship, and while Danny liked him, he had no idea what to expect out of Shiloh from one day to the next. The man was a good employee, but he was a little squirrely from time to time.

“Heard your kin was in town. Long visit?” Shiloh quizzed.

Danny’s orientation wasn’t a secret, but it seemed Shiloh either didn’t understand it, accept it, or maybe he didn’t really give a shit. Danny didn’t care about the man’s approval, so he simply nodded. They didn’t talk about personal things—only work. Dan preferred it that way.

Shiloh spoke without Dan answering him. “Don’t like it when family drops in without announcin’. I got no room for anyone, and I ain’t that happy with mosta my people anyway. You think we’ll have to work late today? I’m in a dart league at Pete’s, and if I can’t make it tonight, I need to call somebody,”

“We don’t deal with the horses, so you ain’t gotta stay late. Just your usual workday till two. The party ain’t startin’ till three, so no worries.” That was as much conversation as Dan had had with Shiloh in a while.

“You and your girl gonna go?” Shiloh asked.

“She’s—” Dan started to correct the man but remembered the papers he’d asked Jon to file. That might actually be what he needed to put his new plan in place. He needed everyone to go along with him.

“Yeah, we are. Kayley’s buddies with Ryan and Rocky, and we were invited. You were invited too, you know. You can hang around and eat.” Danny wasn’t sure why he reminded the man of the invitation posted in the barn, addressed to all the ranch hands.

“That’s nice. I got the boys some gift cards at Walmart, but I’m better off avoidin’ shit like that. Don’t like big parties. Makes me anxious.” Shiloh made the right onto the road that led to the ranch.

“Yeah, I get it.” Dan remembered how nice and quiet his life had been before Kayley moved in. On second thought, it had been lonely because he’d refused to get close to anyone. Since Kayley, and now Jase, had come into his life, things had changed.

When they pulled up to the carport where the hands parked their vehicles, Danny got out and turned to Shiloh Brown who was standing outside the entrance to the barn doors which were still closed. “You already started in the barn?”

“Uh, well, I started to go inside, but…”

The three heard loud groans from inside the building, and there was no mistaking them. Danny wondered how long Matt and Tim had been in the hayloft making up .

“Shit. Okay, let’s start with—. Shiloh, ride with Jeremy to open gates. Take the grain truck and go down to fields three and four. I’ll take care of one and two. Just make sure the west gate is closed so none of the cows get into five or six where the hay is growin’. Carl Billings is set to come give it a second cuttin’ next week.” Dan barked out the orders quickly and loudly, hoping to alert his bosses that they were keeping the hands from their chores.

Both men nodded and went about their business as Danny did the same. He laughed about the fact Tim and Matt got down in the barn. Dan hoped… then he stopped himself in his tracks.

Nope. That’s not gonna happen for me. I won’t be in the hayloft of the barn with anyone... ever.

Dan remembered Mick and Jon getting the hell kicked out of them in the barn hallway by two of the hands who were later fired. It was a damn shame he’d never get to carve his name into the hayloft wall like Mickey said he’d done beneath Tim and Matt’s names.

After the cattle were tended to, Danny returned with the flatbed and trailer to find Adam’s motorcycle and Wayne’s old Camry parked in the field. He went to the machine shed to find one of the Gator’s gone, so he sent Wayne and Adam out with the other one to check the new bull down in the pasture not far from the little creek.

Once everyone was busy, Danny went to the house because he needed to talk to Matt and Tim. He knocked on the back door after he toed off his boots. “ Open !”

Dan went into the house to find Rocky and Ryan in the kitchen with Tim, all busy at work. “Where’s Matt?” Dan asked out of habit.

Tim glanced at the boys and smiled. “Running an errand. Where are Kayley and Jase?”

“Uh, I left ‘em to sleep in for a little while. Sweet Pea gets crabby if she don’t get enough sleep, and Jase and I… Well, it’s his day off so he should relax. Can I talk ya out of a cup of coffee?” Danny was mindful of Ryan and Rocky being in the kitchen, so he didn’t bring up the issues on his mind.

Tim looked at him with a discerning eye and nodded. He turned to the two young men standing in the kitchen. “Will you guys go up to Gramma’s and see if she needs help setting up tables and stuff? Dad and I will be up as soon as he gets back from town. Now, go!” Tim gave each one a kiss on the forehead and a hug.

Both boys groaned, but Danny noticed neither pulled away. They both ran upstairs without any argument, and after Tim gave him a cup of coffee and invited him to sit down on a stool at the counter, they heard the boys run down the stairs and out the front door.

When it caught, Tim turned to Dan with a smile. “Out with it.”

Danny took a deep breath. “You know enough about me to know ain’t nobody ever gonna ask me to speak on anything intellectual.’ Dan was trying to figure out how to lead up to the subject at hand.

Tim sighed, heavily. “Okay, now you sound like Matty. What’s wrong, Dan?”

“What did Savannah Stanford tell y’all about Jase and his schoolin’?”

Tim went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large container filled with what appeared to be steaks in some sort of liquid. He lifted the lid and dumped the contents into a strainer inside a large bowl.

Tim lifted the strainer and set it in the other sink before pouring the liquid into a saucepan and turning on the stove. Danny was very confused about what he was doing.

Tim turned back to him and took a sip of coffee. “What did Jase tell you about his schooling?”

It figured Tim would answer his question with a question. “He told me he applied to a whole bunch of really good colleges and got into a few but his parents wouldn’t help him with tuition because his father was set on him joinin’ the Army. He didn’t wanna and that’s why he left home.” Danny took a sip of his own coffee.

Tim nodded. “Vanna told us he had a solid four-point-oh in high school, and he’s extremely gifted when it comes to anything to do with computers. He hacked into their school’s mainframe to change his schedule his junior year and got into trouble. His father and mother were called to the school because of it, and after that, she said Jase was determined to leave after he graduated because his father was livid and had decided to make his life miserable.

“I’m not surprised he got accepted into those schools because he picked up on using the software I wrote for the Circle C and the Katydid, and he even wrote a patch for a glitch in my programs. What’s your real question, Dan?”

Danny tried to decide how to go about explaining the problem because it wasn’t about him at all. “I’m a broke-down cowhand with a pin in my leg, Tim. Jase needs to go to college and make somethin’ of himself. He has no more business workin’ at a ranch or a farm than I do performin’ brain surgery. I’m gonna tell him he can’t come around anymore because of Kayley’s adoption, and I need you to support me on it. He knows that’s why y’all put him at the Katydid, though you coulda explained it to him in the beginnin’. He needs to move on from me and Kayley. You see the logic, right?”

Dan’s heart broke at his own rationality, but it was the right thing to do. When Tim Moran nodded, Dan finished his coffee and left the kitchen, walking outside to put on his boots and head back to the fields. He needed to check on the bulls they’d just castrated to be sure all of them got their antibiotics and none of them had acquired an infection.

He stopped outside the barn and dialed his good friend, Mickey. “Hey, Danny. How’s it goin’? You callin’ to thank me?” Mickey had a laugh in his voice.

“What the hell would I thank you for?”

“Oh, I thought maybe last night you mighta got a little sexual healing.” Mickey was always singing, and it brought a laugh from Danny and some insight he hadn’t had prior. It only solidified his resolve to follow through with his plans.

“Ah, I guess I do have you to thank. Anyway, that’s kinda why I’m callin.” Dan explained things as he saw them and asked for Mickey’s help in his mission, sure his best friend would be on board.

“Oh. Fuck. No. I am not doing that to that boy. Do you have any idea how that will fuck him up? Fucking hell, Danny, that’s heartless.” Mickey was clearly not on board with Dan’s plan, but he pushed on.

“Mick, I love him, I do, but he’s a brain like Tim, okay? The kid had a four-point-oh in high school and got admitted to some top-notch colleges, okay? He didn’t think he’d get to go because of his daddy, who’s a stone-cold bastard. Now that his father’s not a problem, I won’t be the reason he doesn’t go to college. I pray Kayley is smart enough to have her choice of colleges like Jase.” Danny hoped he was getting his point across.

It suddenly dawned on Danny that it was a shitty thing to say because Meggie would be lucky if she could learn to live on her own with her condition. Danny loved the little girl, but he needed Mickey to back him up.

Mickey had a lot of influence over Jase, and Dan knew his best friend could talk the boy into going to college. Mickey had a way about him that he could talk a dog off a meat wagon.

“Nice try, but no. I won’t do it. I refuse to tell him he can’t work and live here, Dan. You have no idea how it feels to be homeless. I do. You go ahead and dump him and send him home. Jonny and I’ll take care of him. I’m damn glad Jon didn’t pull this shit with me.” Mickey then hung up.

“He’ll get over it.” Danny had to hold tight to that thought. He was doing it for Jase after all.

Dan went about the rest of the day continuing to tell himself that Jase would survive. It was going to be awful, but if he had his way, Jase would leave and never look back.

The kid had a future as bright as the sun and Danny was determined he had the stars in his future. After everything the young man had been through, he deserved to have good things happen, and Danny would hold him back like a millstone around his neck.