Mr. Wells, we regret to inform you Miss Whipple expired thirty minutes ago. Please come to the hospital to identify and claim the body. We're very sorry for your loss.
The staff of Lewis Gale Hospital
He read the message twice and wondered how a hospital could be so fucking cold as to notify a family they'd lost a loved one by text message, but he had a client he was representing, so he would shrug off the sadness and do his job.
He walked into the house to find Matt Collins in the kitchen with his mother and his partner, Tim. "I just received notification from the hospital, Cindy passed. One of us needs to go identify and claim the body. I have paperwork ready to be filed this afternoon, so I'll go take care of it. I'll notify her lawyer to file a copy of her Will.
"I'm not going to tell that boy his mother died. That's not my style at all, so by all means, bear the bad news," Jon told them as he headed out the front door. He had a lot to do, and he couldn't be sentimental about any of it.
As he headed to Blacksburg and the hospital, he called Audrey Langley. "Hey, playa. Where the fuck are you?" she asked. Always so ladylike, he thought with a small smile. He wouldn’t deviate from his mission, so he soldiered on.
"Hell, I'm still in the country at Matt Collins' place. I caught another case while I was here, and I need your help, Audie. Do you have a friendly at DCFS in Montgomery County? I need you to take on a new client because his mother just died and I can’t handle it right now. You'll need a caseworker down here who won't take the boy away from familiar surroundings. He's a great kid, and I know you'll love him," he explained, hoping she'd take the bait. He needed to get away as quickly as possible for the sake of his own fucking sanity.
He heard silence on the line, which he believed was good news because it meant Audrey Langley was thinking. Finally, she spoke. "Why can't you handle it yourself, Jonathon?" He detected a hint of irritation in her voice, which wasn’t a good sign.
He mentally put on his salesman’s cap because he knew getting her on board with his plan wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to head out on the limb of a lame explanation and pray she followed him without too much hesitation. "The boy's not really used to dealing with men. You see, his father isn't in his life, and his mother just died. He'd feel more at ease with a woman, Audrey. I know you'll hit it off with him, and really, the case will be pretty simple for you. All the paperwork is in order, so it’s just a matter of walking it through the system to ensure it all goes off without a hitch," he half-lied.
When she exhaled loudly, he knew she was on board. "Background information, you selfish bastard. I'm not yet convinced."
Without missing a beat, he began reciting the information she'd need. "The boy's name is Rocky Whipple, and he's a beautiful, biracial little boy. His dad didn't stick around, but Mom did, and she had MS. She had an episode earlier the day before yesterday and collapsed, hitting her head on the stove. She went into a coma, and she passed without regaining consciousness. He didn’t get to say goodbye to her.
"There's a scared little boy here who's found comfort with a family he's used to spending time with, Audrey. You really want somebody to take him to a home that's unfamiliar and isolate him from people who truly care about him?" he challenged, knowing it would solidify her commitment. It wasn’t without conviction and compassion for the boy because he believed Audrey would be the best person to handle the case.
There were a lot of reasons for Jon not to stay involved with Rocky’s situation, and the biggest one was a handsome cowboy with burnished-copper hair and a grin which nearly put Jon on his knees. It was time to get back to Richmond, he knew for certain.
After a few more moments of silence, he heard his best friend sigh. "You're going to be my best man, and you're going to throw me a hell of a bachelorette party," she told him.
Jon laughed. "You got it, Audie. Give me some ideas about what you want, and I'll make it happen. I'll send you the GPS to get to us without getting lost. If I thought I had time to handle it on my own, you know I would, but I think you're better equipped to put the boy at ease." He felt bad for stretching the truth, but it was for the best…he was sure.
"I'll be there in the morning, Jon. Love you," she told him as the line went dead. He wasn't sure what the best course of action was for Rocky Whipple, but with Audrey, the boy had an ally…a better ally than Jon could ever be. After she showed up and took over, there'd be no need to show his face at the Circle C for a very long time, thus Mickey Warren would quietly fade into the background. As Jon had determined, it was for the best.
Jon was standing in the kitchen watching Mickey at the stove making food. He'd been trying to set the table, but watching Mickey's ass in those jeans had definitely impeded his progress with the task. The man had a bubble butt Jon seemed to have a hard time ignoring. He could only imagine feeling those cheeks riding his cock. It would be heaven, he was sure.
The ringing doorbell brought him out of his daze. "I'll get it," he offered as Mickey continued at the stove.
He strolled down the hallway, surprised to see Audrey and Lyla. "We're here. We checked into the Holiday Inn. Point me to my new client," Audrey insisted.
He kissed her cheek and swept the smaller woman into his arms, just to piss her off. "Just wait until you meet Ryan Collins and Rocky Whipple, Lyla. They're so damn sweet, you're not going to want to go home. Be nice and maybe they'll like you," he told the petite woman before he placed her on the porch as she’d been kicking her feet and pushing him away, much to his delight.
Lyla was about five-one, and she likely didn't weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet, but Audrey loved her. That meant Jon had to try to find any redeeming qualities in the woman, and saying it was a tough task was an extreme understatement. Part of his strategy to cope with her bitchy attitude was to annoy her as much as possible so she'd leave him the hell alone. It hadn't failed him to date.
"Thank you for coming. Come on in," he invited them as if it was his home.
He led the two of them through the house, praying Lyla didn't make snide comments about the décor. She'd decorated and labeled the townhouse she shared with Audrey as 'eclectic', which to Jon meant it was a mix of shit he'd never have in his place for all the tea in China. Audrey, however, loved it because she went along with Lyla's every whim. He prayed, just this once, Lyla would bite her tongue…hopefully, off.
He led them into the kitchen where Mickey was still busy at the stove, fixing breakfast. "Michael, this is my best friend and colleague, Audrey Langley, and her girlfriend, Lyla. Ladies, this is Michael Warren, head cook and horse aficionado at the Circle C," he introduced with a genuine smile he couldn’t hide for anything.
Of course, Mickey turned on the cowboy charm and didn’t disappoint. "Welcome, ladies. Can I get y'all somethin' to drink?" he asked with a broad grin and a wink at them. Jon wanted to hug him for it, but he needed to get on the road, ASAP.
Jon turned to see the look on Audrey's face, and he waved off whatever smartass comment had popped into her beautiful head regarding the cowboy. He knew she'd give him hell when they were alone, but at that moment, it wasn't the time, nor the place.
Yes, they needed to talk about the disaster he’d just dumped into her lap, but he didn't want to talk about things in front of Lyla. The tiny woman was a marble stone without a heart, in his opinion. Lyla didn't care about anyone other than herself, and the fact she'd come along had set him on edge. She'd just make everyone uncomfortable and criticize everything, he was sure.
Jon stepped up to answer Mickey’s offer of drinks so he could shorten the time it took to get into his car. "They're fine, Michael. Where's Rocky and Ryan?" Jon asked as he moved Mickey away from the two women and into the mud room off the kitchen.
Mickey looked at him with apprehension, and Jon felt guilty with regard to what he was about to do, but he could only deal with one thing at a time. "They're walkin' Corky. Is there somethin' wrong?" the cowboy asked quietly.
"NO! No things are f
ine. Audrey's a family friend, and her girlfriend, Lyla came with her. Lyla can be a bit off-putting to a lot of people, but she's harmless, really.
“Audrey needs to talk with Rocky because she's going to be his new lawyer. I don't have the time to handle his case right now and do it justice, but Audrey will make time for Rocky and she'll be the perfect advocate for him. She's going to need to talk to all of you and get the paperwork from Matt with regard to the next steps with regard to Rocky’s guardianship, so if you could call him to come to the house to speak with her, that would be great," Jon explained in a harsh whisper as he stood between the handsome cowboy and the women.
He saw Mickey take a breath and exhale, a smirk quickly forming on his handsome face. "Sure, Jon, I get it. You might want this back," Mickey told him as he reached into his wallet and handed back the business card Jon had given him.
"Don't forget your fancy boots on the porch," Mickey reminded as he walked out of the kitchen and down the stairs to his room. When the bedroom door slammed, Jon knew he'd made his point to the cowboy. He walked back into the kitchen to see Lyla at the stove emptying a frying pan into the trash with a harsh look on her face.
Before she opened her mouth, Audrey walked over to him and smacked him in the head. "You're an asshole, Jon. You might as well leave. You…hell, I'm glad I like girls. You're just awful, and if men are like you, good riddance," she snapped at him.
He exhaled before he looked at her. "I am an asshole; you're right about that. I just can't do the relationship thing. Please, I'm begging, take care of them. I just don't have it in me to make the commitment, Audie," he told her.
Without waiting for confirmation from her, he ran downstairs and collected his things, beating feet out of there like his ass was on fire. It wasn't his finest moment, but it was honestly the best thing he could do for the family…for Michael Warren.
Jon wasn't going to make empty promises to someone he believed to be a great guy, but not a great guy for Jon. Besides, he had no promises inside him to give. For reasons he hadn't yet begun to understand, he was incapable of having deep feelings for anyone. It was definitely troubling, but it was the truth. He'd never lied, and therefore, he never had to admit guilt. It wasn't as great as he thought it would be, but it was a way out without really hurting anyone…or so he believed.
Chapter Nine
"Nope," Rocky stated with absolute certainty as he gave Mickey a defiant look. The cowboy had offered to attempt to cut the boy's hair, but Rocky wasn't at all keen on the idea. His hair was long and it was driving the boy to distraction, and it was nearly the end of the school year. Ryan and Rocky were in the grade school choir, and the end-of-year concert and art show was fast approaching. The Christmas concert, where Ryan performed a solo, had been enjoyed by all of the family and friends, so everyone was looking forward to seeing the boys performing together again.
Mickey had taken them to the barber shop in Holloway earlier in the day, and after the barber cut Ryan's hair, he staunchly refused to cut Rocky's hair because he didn't cater to "those kinds of people." Thankfully, Ryan had grabbed Mickey's hand to drag him out of the barber shop before the bigoted old fuck ended up on his ass and Mickey ended up in jail.
"Okay, so what do you want to do with your hair? I've got clippers, but if you don't like the idea…maybe I can get Matt and Tim to take you to Richmond tomorrow? They can call Miss Audrey and ask her to find a place for your haircut?" Mickey offered.
"Can't we call Mr. Jon and ask him? He has the same kind of hair as Rocky. We wanna look our best for the concert. We getta sing solo parts, Mick. Mr. Jon prolly knows a good place for Rocky to get his haircut," Ryan reasoned emphatically.
Thinking about calling the man reminded Mickey of the last time he'd seen Jon Wells. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone trying to leave the scene so quickly in his life. The bastard hadn't even said a word to him on his way out. The look of guilt was evident, even to someone as ignorant of relationships as Mickey believed himself to be. 'Ah, you dodged a bullet, you sentimental fool,' he told himself at the time. The pain in his heart was likely heartburn anyway.
When Tim came into the house, he was all smiles until he saw Rocky's hair. "I thought you guys were getting haircuts," he stated.
Before Mickey could get his blonde friend's attention, Ryan walked over to Tim and pulled his hand to look down. "The barber was mean and wouldn't cut Rocky's hair after he cut mine, so we didn't stay 'cause Mickey looked like he was gonna slug him. Can we call Mr. Jon and ask him if there's a place in Richmond to get a good haircut for Rocky? We got the concert, then we gotta see the lady who's gonna decide if he can stay here with us, so we wanna look our best," the boy explained with the most earnest look on his face Mickey had ever seen.
He saw Tim swallow and look around the room, seeing the pair of horse clippers on the table, which made him giggle. "Tell me you weren't going to try to cut his hair with those?"
Mickey shrugged. "They're clippers, and I figured if I put a long enough guard on 'em, I'd be able to clean him up a little. It ain't easy roachin' up Josie, ya know. I figure of all of us, I got the best chance of…"
Before he could finish, Corky ran in through the dog door with a mouse…still alive…in his mouth and dropped it at Tim's feet, which set off a chain of events none of them could have predicted. Tim and Mickey both screamed and climbed atop the center island in the kitchen while Ryan and Rocky began trying to catch it once it was finished being stunned by the galloping of the dog that brought it inside.
They were all screaming, as Tim and Mickey kept pointing to where the mouse was darting around the room in a futile attempt to escape. The damn dog, who'd started the whole mess, was barking and jumping around instead of trying to get the stupid mouse.
Josh and Matt walked in through the back door to the sight of two grown men kneeling on the countertop while two boys and a dog chased something around the kitchen, and they held onto each other to keep from falling to the floor in laughter. It was a sight to be caught on camera.
Mickey had missed the point when Josh pulled out his smartphone to take video as Matt was bent over, laughing until he finally collapsed on the floor. When the mouse ran over his hands, he screamed loudly before two boys and a dog tripped over him and ended up in a pile on the floor. Thankfully, Josh caught sight of the mouse and opened the deck door, able to usher the rodent out without any more casualties.
Mickey and Tim hopped down from the counter as Matt and the boys rose from the floor. Corky continued to bark and jump, and Josh continued to take video on his phone, turning from one person to the other. He narrowed in on their faces, but the phone stopped moving when he captured Mickey wiping tears from his eyes.
When Mickey saw Josh drop the phone, he knew he'd been caught, and the fact he was crying and not from laughing brought that ache back to his chest. He couldn't swallow around the lump in his throat, so he grabbed the clippers from the table and hurried back to the barn to try to collect himself.
Needing some time to get himself together, he climbed the ladder to the hayloft, seeing a blanket on a shelf up there which didn't make any damn sense. When he pulled it down, a bottle of lube and four condoms fell out, bringing a little chuckle from Mickey. It was no wonder Tim and Matt spent so much time at the barn. He couldn't blame them…if he had anyone to spend time with in the hayloft, he damn sure would.
He spread the blanket over the hay and lie down, trying not to think about how much action it had likely seen. The rebuff he'd received from Jon Wells had hurt more than he was willing to admit to anyone, even more than Jackie's lack of faith and fidelity. The fact he'd started crying...which he never did…after the calamitous scene in the kitchen served to remind him why he didn't let people in. The pain when they left was far too much to bear. It was better to seal all of those feelings inside and look out for number one. It was time to let go of his dreams of finding true love. It just wasn't in the cards for him.
"Michael, I'm so sorry I was
such a horrible shit to you. I've missed you so very much," Jon Wells told him as he embraced him on the blanket in the hayloft.
"I'm sorry, too, Jonny. I've missed you, too, baby," Mickey responded as clothes started flying while they undressed each other. They were naked and performing a sixty-nine on each other, and Mickey knew he'd never seen as large a cock as Jon's. By some miracle, he was able to swallow the whole thing down without gagging, and feeling Jon's hand on his own hard member was like heaven. He longed for the feeling of skin-on-skin, but it was nothing like he remembered from his times with Jackie. He reached down to feel his jeans, and he was confused for a moment.
"THAT'S IT!" Matt Collins' yelled, startling Mickey awake from his place on the blanket atop a mound of hay. Jon was nowhere to be seen…Mickey's hand was resting on the front of his jeans where his hard cock was leaking enough to leave a wet spot he'd have a hard time explaining to anyone who saw it. It had all been a dream, and Mickey was bereft. What Matt was yelling about he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to make himself known. He quickly rose from the hay and folded the blanket, replacing it and the other things he'd found before he moved behind a few bales of hay so he couldn't be seen from the barn hallway.
"Matty, honey, please? We know some people are bigots around here. We both get dirty looks when we go to town because of our relationship. We know how Cindy and Rocky were treated in this town. Nobody would help them until Ryan opened our eyes to what was going on. It shouldn't surprise you Mr. Bishop, the ass, wouldn't cut Rocky's hair. Hell, Matty, he probably doesn't have the slightest idea of how to do it in the first place. Black hair is tricky, or so I've read," Tim explained.
Matt laughed, which made Mickey smile. He loved his bosses. They were so happy…leaving him so envious.
Loving the Lawyer (The Cowboys of Katydid Farm Book 2) Page 10
