"I'm never gonna be straight, Felipe," Danny teased, hoping to get home soon enough.
Javier laughed which surprised him because Dan didn’t know the man was in the room. "That's a good one, Dan. Deflection is a great tool for an alcoholic," he stated before he sipped his coffee.
Danny felt the jolt to his soul. "Deflection? Alcoholic? Y'all are looney. I need to get home, so…" he began his protest.
"Actually, Matt Collins said you can't come back to work until you get sober and agree to go to AA. You've got a problem, Dan, and we care too much about you to let you mess up your life. You're only thirty-one and you've got a beautiful daughter. You have a whole fucking lot to lose, mi amigo. Before you say no, let me tell you a story," Felipe insisted.
Danny knew protesting would be futile, so he decided to endure whatever the man had to say, agreeing to the sentence they'd predetermined he'd serve before he could leave. He'd gather Kayley and their things, and then they'd move somewhere else. He could control his drinking. He'd forget Jason Langston and move on with his life, but he'd humor them and let them vent their bullshit at him. He could play the game. He'd done it in the Army, after all.
"Sure," he encouraged after he took a sip of some damn good coffee.
"I was assigned to a duty station outside Fallujah. I was out on patrol with my unit when we came up to a market. There were a lot of people there…it was a Saturday. We were laughing about how cool it was, watching the people carry on business, and we had a guy in our unit who understood the language, so he was translating the arguments we saw between the people selling the goods and the people buying them. It was entertaining to watch.
"A little boy of about seven stumbled upon us, and based on the way he was walking, I could tell he was blind. One of my buddies, Beau, picked him up before he fell. He said, 'Hey, little man, where's your momma?' Next thing I knew I woke up in a hospital in Landstuhl.
"I was missing a leg and had burns over forty percent of my body. My buddy, Beau, was pink mist, as was the little boy he'd picked up because some sick bastard had put a bomb on that child and proceeded to blow up him and the American soldiers who thought they were helping a little boy who got separated from his mother at a busy market. It still makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.
"While I was in the hospital, I made a plan to kill myself because here I was a big ole' queer who was never gonna have a family. It was a travesty of justice I was still alive, while Beauregard LaCroix had a pregnant girlfriend back home about to have his little boy. Fortunately for me, I was under so many doctors' care, I couldn't get a minute to myself to carry out my plans, so I bided my time. Once I was sent back stateside, I did as they told me for as long as it took me to get out of rehab.
"I got myself an apartment near Walter Reed, and I started making plans again. Then, after the government fitted me with a new titanium leg, it felt like I owed 'em, even though it was bullshit, really. I determined killing myself, outright, felt like I betrayed the good taxpayers of the United States who paid for my new leg, so I couched the idea of killing myself quickly. I decided to take the slow train out, so I sat and drank in my apartment as much as I could handle every day.
"Of course, I had to be sober enough to go to therapy and stop at the store on my way home because nobody would go get me liquor, but one day, when I was walking to the ABC store down the street, this very handsome man came rushing out of a flower shop and knocked me down. He was carrying a small ficus tree, so I didn't blame him because he couldn't see over it. He was so goddamn good looking, I forgot to be mad as he helped me up." Danny saw Felipe look at Javie and smile as he took his hand and kissed it.
Javier looked at Dan and laughed. "After I knocked that chip off his shoulder, got him sobered up, and showed him how beautiful the world could be, he took to it, and here we are. Together for nine years with a flourishing business. He has a knack for arrangements, and he's not too hard on the eyes so I kept him around," the older man gushed, bringing a soft kiss from Felipe to Javie's cheek.
Danny was confused. "How'd you know anything about a drunk?" he asked Javier.
"Oh, I grew up in…well, it's too damn depressing to even tell the story, Daniel. Let's just say I was a hardcore drug addict until I met a nice drag queen who took me in off the streets and got me clean. Roz set me on my path and helped me go to college where I studied botany. I've always loved flowers. My motto is 'take time to stop and smell the flowers'," Javier told him with a smile as he sipped his coffee.
Danny smiled at them, happy for their joy. "Glad for both of ya. Where are my pants?"
"You ain't goin' anywhere," Felipe told him with a very serious look on his face, and Danny could see the man meant it. One leg or not, he was a big bastard, and Danny wasn't inclined to want to tangle with him.
"Okay, where's Kayley?" he asked.
"She's fine. Actually, she's with people who love her very much, so don't worry about her at all. Now, we're all going to a meeting this afternoon. You don't have to speak, okay? You just have to listen," his friend ordered.
What could Danny do? He nodded in agreement and later that afternoon when he sat in that church basement listening to all of the sad stories the people had to tell, he nodded and agreed they needed to make some changes.
Of course, he didn't need to make changes because he didn't have a problem, but none of them seemed to understand it so he complied with their wishes. He wasn't sure how long he'd have to do it, but he knew not playing along wouldn't get him home.
Danny Johnson resolved he’d become the model of a recovering alcoholic as his friends all expected. He had to play the game with them, and after they went back to meddling in someone else's life, he'd be on his way out of Virginia and the Circle C. Yes, he'd learned to play the game a long time ago, and he could find a job anywhere there were cattle. He had things under control.
Chapter Eighteen
Jason Langston was beyond uncomfortable as he sat in the living room at the Circle C with Mickey next to him as Matt and Tim seemed to hem-haw about his question. It wasn't physics. It was simple. "WHERE. IS. DANNY?"
After the graduation ceremony, Jon and Mickey had helped him load his things into his truck and their truck, with Terry's help. Jase had marveled at how tall the boy had grown. Jase was six-three but the kid towered over him. As Jase had come to learn, Terry was the star of his basketball team at Dillwyn High. Jase actually laughed at the news because he knew the younger man had a bright future because the kid was damn smart, and it would be fun to watch his life's accomplishments.
They'd all stopped for dinner on the way back to Virginia, and when Jon and Mickey directed their truck to Holloway, Jase pulled up the road of the Circle C with dread circling his gut. He hadn't intended to revisit the ranch, but he supposed he owed it to Tim and Matt because they had actually helped him in the beginning.
When Kayley came flying out of the house with tears flowing down her cheeks, he picked her up and hugged her tightly. He'd missed the little girl more than anything, and seeing how beautiful she'd become, he wasn't surprised. She had a bit of Danny in her, which must have come from her mother. Jase could only smile.
"Hello, Little Bit," he greeted as he kissed her cheek.
"Why'd you leave?" she asked between her sobs. He wasn't surprised she'd been told it was he who'd left. He wasn't about to shed a bad light on her uncle, so he smiled and explained to her he’d earned a scholarship to attend college, and he and Dan had decided it was for the best for him to go. He took responsibility for the decision, not wanting to make Danny out to be the villain.
"You coulda called me, Jase," she scolded as she dried her eyes with the tissue Meggie handed her.
"He had a lot to do at school, Kayley. He was really busy," Megan defended. He saw Kayley look at her and smile. "Okay, Meggie. Let's go downstairs and make the boys let us play a game," Kayley determined.
Jase kissed both of them on their foreheads before they scampered down to the boys'
domain. They all laughed when they heard the protests, but the girls didn't return to the kitchen where the adults were sitting.
He saw Mickey elbow Jon. "I can't say a word, Mick. Dan's my client."
Tim took a deep breath and stood. "He's a drunk, Jon. I understand attorney/client privilege, but this goes beyond that. Danny's a member of our family, and we did an awful…" Tim began.
Mickey stood and looked at Tim with anger evident on his face, or so Jase noted. "NO! You're not gonna blame this on us. I told Danny not to do it, Timothy. Jonny and me, we refused to go along with it, but you two, you and Matt went along with it like it was the right thing to do. I wanna know why?" Mickey demanded.
Matt actually put up his hand to stop the discussion. "I understood Danny's position. He wanted the best for…" he began.
"Fuck that," Mickey snarled, "You've been an asshole when it comes to Jase because you think he's a better-looking, younger, and more personable copy of you. You've always been jealous of him, Matthew, and we all know it. You made his life…" Mickey argued.
Jase stood up and cleared his throat. "I'm actually here, you know? All this shoulda, woulda, coulda, bullshit isn't answering my question. Where is Dan?"
He saw Tim Moran look at everyone at the table before he finally cleared his throat. "He's with two of his friends, drying out. After you left…"
"Got kicked to the fuckin' curb," Mickey hissed at Tim.
Tim continued. "Dan crawled into a bottle. Matt and I didn't think it would come to anything of the sort. We thought he was just trying to get through the initial hurt, so we let it go. He did his job around here, and we thought he'd stopped because we didn't see him acting like a drunk," Tim explained.
Mickey stood from his chair and pounded his fist on the table. "It's called a functioning alcoholic, Timothy. Trust me, I grew up with one. You two took Danny's side when he told you he thought he needed to cut Jase loose for the kid's own good, and I'll be goddamn if my own partner didn't play a part, so I've kept my mouth shut. Well, I'm not gonna be quiet about it anymore because it all went to shit. We all own a piece of this mess."
Mickey turned to Jase, who was totally confused. "Danny loves you, and he decided you needed to go to college and have a different kind of life than you'd have with him. He decided he was holding you back, so he came to the decision to cut you loose instead of talking to you about your future, Jase.
“The two of you could likely have worked somethin' out like Jonny and me, but Danny wouldn't hear it. He decided to set you free, I guess, and these guys went along with it," Mickey explained as he pointed to Tim and Matt.
Jon pulled him down, Jase noticed, but he said nothing. "Look, we made a mistake, and we had no idea it would go off the rails like it did," Matt Collins stated.
Jason Langston, however, was totally pissed. For three fucking years, he thought Danny didn't love him and wanted him out of his life. He'd loved the man so much his heart shattered at being sent away. Hell, he'd considered suicide at a point.
The fact they all knew the truth and nobody cared enough about him to tell him the truth angered him more than anything had ever pissed him off in his life, even his own father's behavior.
He stood from his chair and smiled, hauling up his still-baggy jeans. He never fell into the tight-jeans concept because his cock needed some breathing room which he was happy to accommodate. "Well, this has definitely been enlightening. I'm not sure what you four want me to do. Seems you all and Danny made a lot of decisions for my life to which I wasn't privy, so I think it's just best if I’m on my way."
Jase turned to Mickey and smiled. He couldn't hate the guy. Mickey Warren had been supportive of him when he'd arrived at Wonderland but the fact he'd conspired with everyone to keep Jase in the dark made him untrustworthy. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions. My mother told me it says so in the Bible."
He then pushed in the chair in which he'd sat and headed toward the door. As he was about to open it, he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, turning to see Kayley with tears on her face.
"Please don't leave. I heard Miss Jeri say they'll take me away from him and send me away to Aunt Rae, but Daddy needs me. He told me you told him he needed to be my daddy, not my uncle, Jase. You've gotta help me get him home. I can take care of him, and I won't bring him beers anymore," she vowed as tears fell from her pretty eyes, making his heart ache.
Fuck me. I'd like to beat the living shit out of Dan Johnson, but she needs him. Hell, he thought as he looked at the beautiful eight-year-old looking up at him with amber-green eyes that begged him for help.
He exhaled and knelt down. "Do you know where he is?"
"Mr. Phil and Mr. Javie have him at their place. I heard Mr. Matt tell Uncle Jonny they're dryin' him out," she whispered.
Jason smiled. "You wanna go to the Katydid and let Miss Katie take care of us for a couple of days so I can figure things out? We'll get your daddy set on the straight and narrow, Little Bit, I promise," he told her with a reassuring smile.
"Can I go say good-bye to Meggie and the boys?" Kayley whispered in response. Jase nodded as she scrambled down the stairs.
He rose from the floor and walked into the kitchen to face the four men at the table who thought they had some control over his and Daniel's future. They were well-meaning and they loved Danny, he knew, but they'd made decisions they had no right to make. It was Danny and Jase's lives, and only the two men had the right to decide how it would play out.
"I'm taking Kayley with me to the Katydid. I love all of you, I really do. When I didn't have any family, you all stepped in and helped a green kid assimilate into a life he never thought possible, in a sense. I hope you'll give us some space and let us work through this in our own way and in our own time. You've made enough decisions for Danny and me," he told them as he walked back to the hallway.
Kayley and Meggie came into the hallway, both with smiles. Meggie had a backpack she placed on the floor before she took off her pink-framed glasses to look up at Jase. "You'll still come see me, Jase?"
He knelt down to her and kissed her cheeks, drying her eyes as a few tears rolled down her round cheeks. "Oh, sweetie, of course, I will. You're a part of my family. I've missed you too much not to come see you. I just need to take care of Kayley right now, and we need to get Danny home. I love you, sweetness," he told the little brunette with the big brown eyes and the wild hair.
After he had Kayley and her suitcase secured in his truck, he turned to the little blonde and smiled. "You, Dan, and me, we're going to be okay," he assured. He prayed it wasn't a lie.
Jase and Kayley stood on the front porch of the Katydid and rang the bell. He could hear the crickets beginning to chirp as the sun was setting, and it gave him comfort. He remembered when he'd lived at the Katydid for the short amount of time and how wonderful Josh and Katie had been to him. He hoped their invitation of "this is your home now," was sincere.
Instead of the door opening, they both heard, "Hey, look who it is. Jason, we're out here on the patio, Son," Josh announced with a big smile on his face. Jase relaxed. Seemed the man was happy to see them.
Kayley ran down the front stairs and right into Josh Simmons, nearly knocking him over. "Hi, Mr. Josh. Look whose home," she stated as she turned to look at Jase.
Josh leaned over and hugged the girl. "It's great to have the two of you drop by. Come on back. Katie will be beside herself," he offered as he led Kayley around the side porch to the back patio, Jase in tow.
When they rounded the corner, Jase saw Katie Simmons with the ever-present smile on her face. She hadn't changed in the three years Jase hadn't seen her. Her red hair still shined, though there was a little gray at the roots. He wouldn't dare point it out.
"Oh, my goodness! Look who it is," she gushed as she rushed him and hugged him tightly. It felt good to know he was welcomed.
When she pulled away, she slapped his chest, as he'd seen her do to her husband on more than one occasion. "You didn't stay
in touch, Jason. You told me you would," she chastised.
Josh laughed. "Katie-girl, maybe we get the boy a drink and get Kayley some ice cream. I think you said you made peach?"
Jason saw the wordless exchange between the two of them, which was something people who had been in love a long time could do. Katie smiled at her husband before she ushered Kayley inside. Jase took a deep breath and turned to Josh.
Josh Simmons was a man who had the respect of everyone who ever met him, and Jase knew him to be honorable. He knew the man would tell him the truth. "Sir, do you know where I can find Danny?" he asked.
"You two gonna stay tonight?" Josh asked. Jase nodded.
Josh reached into a cooler and hauled out two Bud Lights, opening one to hand to Jase, who accepted it. He drank and smoked and did other things in college he'd have to leave behind, but a beer with Josh Simmons was an acknowledgment he'd grown up, and he took it.
"First, congratulations on your graduation, Jase. We didn't really know much about what happened when you and Danny broke up…well, until Mick called and filled Katie's ear. Hell, that woman was fit to be tied, and Matt and Tim have heard hell about their part of it.
"I'm not sure why they went along with that whole buncha bullshit, but as my old momma used to say, 'you can't change the past because it's never comin' round again'," Josh told him.
Maybe Celine paraphrased Josh's mom? Jase thought, trying to hold the laugh.
"Yes sir," he responded, waiting for the man to continue.
"So, from what I know, those two guys who own the flower shop became good friends of Danny's after all that mess. Matt, Tim, Phil, and Javier organized an intervention, which Mickey and Jon didn't agree to participate in because they thought Dan should have been sent to rehab right off. It's been a clusterfuck, son," Josh admitted as they drank their beers.
Loving the Broken Man (The Cowboys of Katydid Farm Book 3) Page 18
