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

22. Epilogue

Jase was standing by the casket at the Curtis Funeral Home in town, looking around at the crowd. It was surprising, really, because he was an only child, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a family.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his best friend from his teen years, Savannah Stanford and her wife standing next to him. “How are ya, Jase?” Vanna asked.

How was he?

Jase and Danny got married at Katydid Farm in Miss Katie’s backyard. It was a special place to them, and Miss Katie was thrilled to throw them a wedding with Jeri Collins’ help. Of course, Tim and Mickey were involved, along with Kayley, Meggie, and Felipe. Pastor Stu had performed the ceremony, and it was beautiful, as were all the guests who came in support.

Jase was pretty sure there wasn’t another gay wedding in the county that had two flower girls and six groomsmen. Mickey was his best man along with Ethan Sachs and Terry Wells, who’d changed his name when the adoption was granted. Megan had elected to take the Warren name so it was “even,” as she told everyone. Jon and Mick still hadn’t taken the walk, but they were very happy, nonetheless.

Danny had his brother, Zach, as his best man, along with Ryan and Rocky Collins-Moran as his other groomsmen because his dear friend and AA sponsor, Pastor Stuart Manning, was performing the ceremony.

It was cowboy boots, blue jeans, and western shirts, along with hay bales for seating, but it was what Jase and Dan wanted. The flowers were beautiful, and Tim, Katie, and Jeri cooked all the food, which was delicious.

Some of Dan’s friends from his AA group, including his sponsor from Provo Canyon in Utah, Curtis Armstrong, came to celebrate with them, thus a dry reception, but nobody complained. It seemed everyone was excited to celebrate a good start to a wonderful life with the newlyweds.

A month after the ceremony, Jase got a call from General Robert Stanford. It was a surprise, but it was welcome.

“Jason, it’s Rob Stanford. How are you, son? I’m sorry we couldn’t make it to your wedding, but you and Savannah seem to be on the same time clock. I know we missed you at her and Andy’s wedding, but we’ll all plan to get together at Christmas. Vanna told me you got laid off, and it’s perfect timing because I have a friend who’s looking for someone to head up his cyber-surveillance department. He’s a defense contractor and does a lot of work for the Pentagon, but don’t hold that against him. Anyway, he asked me to feel you out to see if you’re interested in interviewing, so maybe give him a call?” the General suggested.

“Sir, I’m so happy to hear that. I’d appreciate it if you’d give me his name and information. I’m having a hard time finding work that doesn’t require me to travel or move. We have an eight-year-old, and we don’t want to take her out of school,” Jase said.

“Oh, I remember Kayley. The guy’s name is Darryl Jeffers, but he goes by DB. He helped Matt and Tim find Ryan when he was…” the man began explaining the connection. After they hung up, Jase called Mr. Jeffers, and they had a two-hour discussion.

At the end of it, Jase had a job offer, which was contingent on his ability to obtain a security clearance and pass a drug test. The drug test was a cinch, but he worried if anything his father had said about him was in a file somewhere that would come back to haunt him. He’d been upfront with Mr. Jeffers that he was married to a man, but the other man didn’t make a fuss about it.

Two weeks later, Jase found himself sitting in a conference room at the Pentagon listening to some very high officials in various branches of the military explain security breaches they’d experienced regarding sensitive data.

Jase assessed the situation, hacked into their mainframe, and showed them where the system was weak and how to fix it. His boss, DB—as Jase was told to call him—gave him a fat bonus for his quick work.

Jase and Danny planned the honeymoon they’d put off after the wedding, using the proceeds from the bonus to take Kayley to Disney World. Meggie had gone a few years before and couldn’t stop talking about it so Kayley just had to have the experience. They had a wonderful time, just the three of them. It was a great way to kick off their new lives together.

“I’m doing okay, Vanna,” he told her, reaching down to touch her growing stomach. They’d asked him to be a sperm donor for them, but he had to decline out of deference to his family. He never wanted Kayley to feel like she was fighting someone for his affection. She was his chosen daughter, plain and simple.

Savannah and Andy had decided to go to a sperm bank and use an anonymous donor because they didn’t want to put anyone else on the spot after Jase explained it, and they were thrilled about the upcoming birth of their new baby. They’d chosen to make the sex a surprise, and Jase was happy for them.

“Your mom was here in town and stayed with you after your father died, right?” Andrea asked. His other best friend had been amazing to him over the years as well. He truly loved them both.

Jase’s father’s death hadn’t been at the hands of enemy combatants, but rather at his own. The scars of war had done a number on James Langston, and the fact he had a queer son who had desecrated the sanctity of marriage sent Jase’s father into a downward spiral.

The Master Sergeant had put his service revolver in his mouth and blown out his brains. His mother was at work at the commissary on base at Ft. Hood where they’d been transferred after Jase’s father’s latest deployment. She’d been the one to come home to find him dead in his old leather chair in their living room. Jase always hated it for her, but it firmed his resolve that his father was a heartless son of a bitch.

Jase didn’t try to contact his mother while his father was at home, but he’d sent her a wedding invitation after he’d found their address by less than legal means in the Pentagon’s database. She’d sent him a gift card to Crate “friendship,” he looked at the many hands from the various properties who had become friends over time and after misunderstandings were forgiven, especially Tim, Matt, Mickey, Jon, and Ethan; “and love,” he stated as he looked down at Kayley and then out at Danny.

“There were ups and downs in Ginny Langston’s life, but I can tell you she loved each and every one of you that she had the privilege of meeting. She found peace and happiness here with us, and she’d want us to all think about the good times we’ve had as a family. The Christmas celebrations, the birthdays, the barbecues. All of those were as special to Mom as they are to me, so let’s not be sad.

“She’s still in our hearts, just as we are in each other’s. Love only expands. It doesn’t constrict. Let’s go to the house and celebrate the love we have in this remarkable family. I’m pretty sure Miss Ginny would have wanted it that way.” Jase leaned forward to kiss Kayley on the forehead before he dried her tears.

“Come on, Little Bit. Let’s go to the Katydid and remember the good times with Grandma Ginny.” He picked her up, which was something she didn’t like, but she let him. They all gave Ginny a final goodbye before they drove to the farm where Miss Katie had insisted that they have a meal after the funeral.

Later that night, Jase and Dan put Kayley to bed with hugs and kisses. She fell asleep quickly because it had been a long day, and Jase feel asleep knowing there was nothing he wouldn’t do For the Love of the Broken Man.

Mickey and Jon put Meggie to bed in a guest room at the Circle C after a serious discussion regarding the loss of people in the family. They’d had to assure her several times her grandparents weren’t going anywhere, anytime soon, but finally, she fell asleep. Mickey reminded himself he’d do anything For the Love of the Lawyer.

Tim and Matt sat at the kitchen table with their two grown sons and talked about how their lives were at their respective schools. They heard about girls each boy had dated, wanted to date, or had bagged, which brought forth another discussion regarding being gentlemen and using protection. Tim was proud of his husband for the frank advice Matt had given the boys, which reminded him how grateful he was For the Love of the Bull Rider.

After everyone was settled into their respective beds in Holloway, Virginia, they knew they were loved. There was a lot to living life centered around love, but the reward was more amazing than they’d ever imagined.

Cowboys were thought to be hard-working, hard-hearted, hard-partying men, and many were. They were also susceptible to finding love for the rest of their lives. Love & Cowboys went hand in hand.

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