He'd attended a private school, along with Audrey Langley, and over the years he felt the two of them had become elitists. They'd determined early in their teens that the nice, simple people in Dillwyn were beneath them, as they'd continued to remind each other on random weekends when they'd been at the farm during their youth.
Jon hated thinking how much he'd changed over the years, but things got worse in college, and then even worse when he started practicing law. His family name meant something in Richmond because his parents were wealthy and well-respected. As he thought about it, he had definitely ridden their coattails. He didn't earn the respect his father had from people in the community; it was conveyed to him second-hand. The realization of the truth in that piece of information didn’t set well in his gut.
He parked his Mercedes under the carport behind the large manor and grabbed his overnight bag. He went in through the back door, seeing Ursula, the housekeeper and cook, at the stove, stirring. "Hello, my darling," he greeted her as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. She'd actually come with the house when his parents purchased it, and she'd been good to him as a kid growing up. He loved her like a grandmother.
"Hello, you rascal. It's been too long since you've put in an appearance. How about a cup of coffee and we catch up while my stock simmers?" she offered with a bright smile.
Ursula Pendergrass was in her mid-sixties, he was sure, but she loved her job with them. She only worked on the weekends when they were in Dillwyn, and if it was a huge party, his mother hired additional help, having Ursula supervise. He was quite happy to see her again.
"That sounds lovely, but why don't you take a seat and allow me to fetch the coffee. How are the boys?" he asked, remembering she had sons older than him, but not by much if he remembered correctly.
Ursula was proud of them, and when he was younger, she'd have them come around and tend the lawn and the flower beds in which Allison loved to tinker. He remembered they didn't like the work much, but they would tolerate Jon hanging around, and he thought they were cool. They cursed and smoked, and they talked about sex…with girls…and they didn't seem to care he was there to listen. It was likely the best sex education he ever received.
"Well, Frank was promoted to Senior Account Manager at the bank, and he and Brandy just enrolled Frankie in a prep school. His grades are very good, and he plays lacrosse, so they think he has the potential for a scholarship. They're supposed to come down over the summer for a visit. They live in Boston if you recall.
"Now, Vance is still working on his doctoral degree in archeology. He's actually on a dig at a ruins' site in…well, I can't exactly remember the place, but it's in South America. Something about an ancient burial ground of some tribe or something. I only understand about half of what he writes in his e-mail letters, mind you, but it's nice to hear from him. How about you, dear? Anything new going on in your life?" she asked as she sipped her coffee.
He was stunned to realize he knew very little about her family and she knew everything about his. He vaguely remembered Frank was in finance, and he damn well didn't recall Vance was still getting his Ph.D. Hell, he'd been at it for at least ten years if memory served. Jon actually felt ashamed of himself because he was becoming…or had become…a very self-centered person.
"Ursula, that's great. Now, how about you and Roy? You're both well?" he asked.
The look on her face made his stomach sink. "Oh, I suppose your mother or father didn't relay the fact I lost Roy a year ago. He had a stroke, and I had to put him in a home. He hated it so much, but his mind was so damaged, he didn't know anyone in the family when we went to visit. He caught pneumonia and passed a year ago in February. I still miss him every day. He was my great love," she told him as she reached up to dry a tear. He couldn't have felt worse if he'd kicked a newborn puppy.
"I'm sure Mom or Pop told me, but I just forgot, Ursula. I'm so sorry. I wish…well, I hate it for you. How's your health, dear?" he asked.
She smiled at him and finished drying her eyes. "I'm healthy as a horse. It'll be a while before I get to see Roy again, but he's looking out for me and the boys, I know. How about you, Jon? Anyone special?" she asked him.
I wish, he thought. "Not really. I just can't seem to find the right person, I guess. I've done a lot of looking, trust me, but I think I'm just too set in my ways," he explained as he sipped his coffee. He didn't know for sure because Ursula was far too kind to ever ask outright, but he was pretty sure she knew he was gay. As he thought about it, he wondered how his parents couldn't know.
Ursula laughed quietly and slapped the top of his hand resting on the kitchen table. "Now, you're not opening your heart to possibilities. If you recall, Jon, Frank, and Vance aren't my biological children. Roy's first wife passed when they were very young, and I worked for Roy as a cook and babysitter. I fell in love with Roy, even though in the beginning, I believed he wasn't the right type of man for me. Of course, in the end, I never regretted it for a minute.
"I'd just graduated culinary school in New York and was on my way to Miami to try out for a job when I got mugged in the Richmond bus station. Stole everything I had, they did. I lived in a rundown motel for a week until I answered an ad for an after-school babysitter. I needed money and Roy needed someone to cook and watch the boys for him. He was the prosecutor back then, and he was quite desperate for help.
“I figured if I worked for him for six months, I'd have enough money to get to Miami. I never left Richmond until Roy decided to quit working for the District Attorney and we moved here for him to open a small, private practice. That's how we met your family and how I came to work here," she reminded.
Of course, it was new information for Jon, and it reminded him what a selfish bastard he'd been his whole life, not just recently. As he thought about it, he realized he'd never really listened to people's stories. He was so fucking caught up in his own shit, he'd stopped engaging…down to the tricks he'd dragged home. There was never any emotion aside from the physiological need to achieve sexual gratification, but after he came, he forgot everything…including their names.
"Can I ask you something? How hard was it for you and Roy to carve out a romantic relationship? I mean you were an aspiring chef, and he was a lawyer. Did you have anything in common?" he asked.
Ursula smiled and toyed with the bone china cup in front of her for a minute before she spoke with a wisdom in her eyes that seemed to defy time and space. "At first glance, I suppose most people would have said Roy and I had nothing in common. He was fifteen years older than me and in a profession I didn't understand in the least, but if one listens to the things people say to them…and I mean really listens…there's always common ground.
We're all on the earth together in a certain space and time, and there are events that shape us all. ‘Where were you when the Twin Towers fell?’ will be the conversation you'll have many times in your life, I suspect. Mine is 'Do you remember when JFK was shot?' Your parents might be 'Do you remember the first Iraq war? Do you think we left too soon?'
"After those generation-defining questions are answered, we all find we have things in common. I think you're struggling with believing you have nothing to talk about with someone specific and let me tell you, Jonathon…if you ask enough questions, and you honestly listen to the answers they give you? You’ll find your sought-after shared interests," she offered by way of advice as the back, screen door slammed closed.
He heard his parents on the back porch laughing, and then when it was quiet, he looked at Ursula seeing a smile. "There are many ways to find something in common if you look hard enough, Jon. Always remember that." She then went back to her stock and he made certain he was heard walking out to the back porch, happy to find his parents laughing together.
"Well, Miss Allison, I'm here as ordered," he announced as he walked out to see his mother pulling off muck boots from his father's feet. His dad, always the pussy hound, was busy staring at her ass, and Jon couldn't hold the laugh.
; "Pop, you keep studying it, and you'll explode," he teased, seeing his father's head snapped up and a slow smile appeared on this face.
"Hey, if you find one like that, you'll never take your eyes off it until the day you die. Glad you came. Your mother had me in the barn hammering shit. I barely knew how to put together that IKEA crap you bought when you went to college. She's under the illusion I've developed any skills helpful on a farm," Ham teased. Jon did love his parents.
“Oh, Ham, it’s just so I can imagine you as a construction worker with the hammer in hand and a sexy leather belt around your waist, darling. It’s very sexy to see you nailing things at the barn,” Allison teased as she tickled Jon’s father’s stomach, making him flinch.
Jon laughed at their playfulness after so many years of marriage. "Well, apparently you were good at nailing something," he joked as he swept his mother into his arms, hearing her warm laugh. Allison Granger Wells was a stunning woman, and she'd be the only woman he loved unconditionally. He loved Audrey Langley like a sister, but the love he held for his mother was unquantifiable.
Ham Wells had a big laugh, and it was always contagious. Jon and Allison found themselves laughing hard as they watched Ham trying to toe off the other boot. Finally, Jon extracted himself from his mother's embrace and walked over to his father. "Tell me your feet aren't still growing. You wear a thirteen or some shit, right?" Jon asked as he pulled on the dirty boot, finally pulling it free from his father's foot.
"No, my feet aren't still growing, thankfully. Oh, I got hair comin' out of places I never imagined, but that's another story. I accidentally pulled on Clyde's boots.
"He was up here at the house after he cleaned out the barn for our new guest, and I suspect he took my clean boots and left these shitty ones for me. Anyway, thank you," his father responded as he stood from his seat and tossed the dirty boots onto the back patio.
"I'll clean 'em up later, and I'm gonna kick Clyde's ass when he comes back from town. What time are they supposed to be here?" Ham asked Allison as he kissed her temple.
"Three o'clock. You sure that stall is sound enough to keep him in?" Allison asked as the three of them turned to walk inside the house. Jon wasn't sure what they were discussing, but he was glad to be around the two of them again. They reminded him there was happiness in the world, after all.
Chapter Eleven
"I'm gonna watch a movie," Mickey heard as the fog began to lift. He heard the television turn on and the volume was quiet, but he couldn't mistake the sounds of Belle and the Beast. It was a favorite movie of his as a kid because it had just the right amount of kiddie-thriller for him, though he didn't tell anyone. He'd recently had the pleasure of watching it with Rocky and Ryan, who both made fun of him because he kept shushing them and he sang along with the songs.
He pried open his eyes to see he had no idea where he was, nor who the cute little blonde girl was sitting on a big pillow in front of a mid-sized, plasma screen, watching the 'Beauty and the Beast' cartoon.
He glanced down to see he was fully dressed except for his boots, and as he fought to sit up, his head started spinning again. He quickly laid back down in an attempt to quell nausea. He saw the home was modest, but it was inviting. The couch was some sort of fabric that itched a little, but apparently not enough for him not to pass out cold on the damn thing.
As he tried to recreate the events of the night in his head, all he really remembered was walking into Applebee's. As he concentrated, he started remembering seeing handsome Danny Johnson sitting at the bar alone, so he walked over and said 'hello', taking a seat next to him. Then, it all came flooding back.
"Hey, Danny. How you doin', man? I thought you were outta town," he'd greeted the ranch foreman. The sandy-haired, blue-gray eyed man had taken the day off, and Mickey figured it was to go somewhere with his family. Mickey was surprised to see him at the restaurant…at the bar…with a pint of draft and a shot in front of him.
Danny gave him a sideways glance and took down the shot. "Yeah, well, I helped someone move today. What brings you out? You never go anywhere," Danny observed, changing the subject.
Mickey laughed. "Matt and Tim wanted a date night, so I took the boys to Marty and Miss Jeri's, and I made myself scarce. According to Ryan, they like to watch scary movies, but Tim gets scared and screams at night. He wonders why they watch keep watchin' scary movies," Mickey told him with a smirk. Danny laughed as he finished his beer. He waved a finger at the bartender, who had a killer smile and short, spiky black hair and vivid, blue eyes. He had a tattoo on his neck Mickey couldn't make out, but those eyes were hypnotizing.
"Yeah, I bet. They definitely seem to have a great relationship. I've found all kinds of things around the barn I won't go into leadin’ me to believe they don't limit their activities to the bedroom. More power to 'em," Danny told him as he lifted his beer toward the bartender and held up two fingers, looking at Mickey. He saw spiky hair glancing his way, so Mickey nodded. That was the first round.
Mickey vaguely remembered the two of them continuing to drink and he thought they’d ordered chicken wings at a point. They were discussing work stuff, and it was the last thing he really wanted to talk about so he changed the subject. "You have a little girl, right? I think I heard somebody say that. She home with her momma?"
He watched Danny take a deep breath and look away for a full minute, based on the clock for the first quarter of the NBA game they were watching. Basketball wasn't Mickey's game, nor was soccer, which was the other game on the televisions over the bar. When Danny cleared his throat, Mickey was relieved.
"Sorry, man. Kayley's my little sister's girl. My sister, Denise, died from a stroke when Kayley was born. The daddy was never in the picture. My mom took care of her but she ain't able to anymore. Thankfully, Denise made sure to fill out papers if somethin' happened to our Momma, I was to be named the guardian for my niece. It's a lot easier than what Tim and Matt have gone through, or are gonna go through for Rocky. I don't envy 'em havin' to figure that shit out. What're you doin' here?"
After that discussion, Mickey remembered a lot of drinking and no more food. They'd actually called a cab which they'd taken to Danny's duplex where little Kayley was currently watching television. He wondered where she'd been the night before, but he could only concentrate on not throwing up…endlessly.
He heard a car on the driveway and tried to get up off the couch, but he knew he'd puke if he moved, so he stayed put. He heard the back door open and saw the girl hop up and run toward it. "Hello, sweet girl," he heard in a low voice.
"Did you bring donuts, Uncle Zach?" Kayley asked in the sweetest voice Mickey had ever heard.
"I promised I would last night, didn't I? Where's Uncle Danny?" the man asked.
"Upstairs, snorin'. He woked me. There's a man on the couch," she stated.
Mickey heard footsteps and closed his eyes, praying he didn't get the shit kicked out of him in his semi-comatose state. The laugh was actually quite appealing. "Looks like a cowboy. What are we gonna do about that?" the man whispered to the little girl.
"Wake him up and throw him out," she announced in a loud voice, and the smile on Mickey's face betrayed the fact he was awake.
He opened his eyes to see a very handsome man standing over him with the beautiful child in his arms, the two of them staring at him. "I'd get up, but I might barf on y'all. I'm Mickey Warren, and I work for Danny at the Circle C. Seems I decided to tie one on last night, and Dan was nice enough to let me crash here on this couch.
"Soon as I can get up without makin' a mess, I'll be outta y'alls way," Mickey offered to the two of them. The handsome guy laughed. He looked a lot like a younger version of Danny. Mickey sat up slowly, feeling the pounding in his head. He really wanted to die.
"I'm Zach Johnson, Danny's little brother, and this one's other uncle," he teased as he tickled Kayley. Her laughter made Mickey's head pound, but it was like bells, as he thought about it.
"Nice to meet ya. You live her
e?" Mickey asked as he tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat. It would be the last time he drank without eating.
"No. I'm in school in Richmond…VCU. I'm home for the weekend, so I made Dan go out last night because he spends too much time at home with Kayley. I guess it's too much to hope he picked you up and had his way with you?" the younger guy asked, making Mickey laugh.
"Naw. Strictly professional and friendly, but not that friendly. Dan's a great guy and he'd never take advantage of a drunk," Mickey joked.
Zach laughed. "Ah, well… Not my business, I guess. You hungry? I went to get donuts for Kayley, and then I was also gonna make some eggs. Danny oughta be down in a few minutes," the younger guy stated as they both recognized the sound of the shower upstairs.
Mickey felt himself until he found his phone to see it was just after eight on Saturday morning. He had a message from Matt.
I need a favor. Call me when you wake up. Hopefully before noon. MC
He wasn't sure what kind of favor his boss was requesting, but he'd do anything for Matt and Tim. They were family.
"Is there a bathroom nearby?" Mickey asked.
Zach and Kayley both pointed down the hall, and Mickey smiled before he ran. The results in the bathroom were as awful as he'd expected, but after a thorough rinse and then a shot of mouthwash, he was okay.
He walked back down the hall to see Danny sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hand. "He looks sad, Uncle Zach," Kayley whispered as Mickey walked into the room.
"He's kinda sad, sweetie, but he'll be okay with some water. Drink up, Daniel," Zach ordered with a laugh. Mickey laughed as well.
Danny looked up at him and snarled. "How the hell do you look so good? I feel like death warmed over. How'd you talk me into…"
Loving the Lawyer (The Cowboys of Katydid Farm Book 2) Page 12
