Page 7 of For the Love of the Lawyer

Unfortunately, Lola May’s heart broke when Joey was arrested, and she became disillusioned with life after the man was incarcerated. She chose to turn to sex work because it paid better than her two shitty jobs. Mickey’s heart wasn’t the same after he figured it out.

Unfortunately, her choices became detrimental to his own well-being when Lola caught him kissing and jerking off an older neighbor boy. It was then she decided he needed to pay his own freight, so she tried to pimp him out to her johns who had other tastes, telling him he would bring a premium if he’d just give them what they want. “You’re already a fag so it shouldn’t matter, baby.” He later figured out the money was a necessity to support her own blossoming drug habit.

Mickey quickly made up his mind he wasn't going to be a hustler, nor was he going to allow his mother to sell him to the highest bidder. At the ripe old age of sixteen, he dropped out of high school and left Nashville far behind, vowing never to look back. Thus far, he had no idea what had happened to his parents, but more importantly, he didn't give a shit. They sure as fuck hadn’t cared about him, so it was easy to block them from his mind and his heart.

School had pretty much been hit or miss anyway. When he dropped out for good, he procured a fake driver's license, that had him at eighteen years of age so he didn't get caught up in the child welfare system as he went off on his merry way.

Mickey had wanderlust in his soul. He sat in a coffee shop at the Greyhound station on Fifth Avenue, South, in Nashville, which wasn’t nearly as prestigious as its namesake in Manhattan. He decided he'd always loved horses, finding them to be regal animals, so he chose to get a bus to Louisville, Kentucky, where they ran the Kentucky Derby every May.

Jobs were plentiful in the Louisville area, though they weren’t well paying. Finally, Mickey landed a position as a groom'sapprentice at Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, about an hour from Louisville.

The job mostly consisted of cleaning stalls or bathing horses, but Mickey was a quick study and learned his way around a horse barn, including what it took to care for and exercise the thoroughbred racing horses. He also learned everything that went into breeding and foaling racehorses. He listened eagerly to anything anyone was willing to teach him, hoping he could learn enough to be valuable to someone who needed a horse hand.

While he was working at Keeneland, he met Jerry Kessler and found the man to be a kind and fatherly sort of man. Mickey worked one weekend when Mr. Kessler brought his horse, Kessler’s Komet, to Keeneland for its first race, and Mickey had been assigned to help him care for the large dun gelding. The horse came in third place, which wasn’t bad for his first race, so Mickey made sure he got extra hay and oats that night before he went back to his home.

Much to his surprise, Jerry Kessler offered Mickey a job at the Bar K, his horse ranch in Louisville, citing he appreciated the way Mickey had attended to the thoroughbred as his reason for offering a total stranger a job and a place to live. Mickey wasn’t stupid enough to think opportunities of the sort came along every day, so he took Mr. Kessler up on his offer quickly because the tent he’d been sleeping in behind the barn had a hole in it and it had rained nearly every fucking night. He knew he was lucky to get the break, and he didn’t hesitate to show his gratitude by working hard.

The job started as shit work, literally, but he eventually worked his way up the ladder to a position of respect with Mr. Kessler over the few years he was in the man's employ. Mickey learned to ride, which was new to him, and he’d learned what went into training racehorses, along with hunters/jumpers.

Training horses for western riding and trail riding came after a time as well. He never shied away from any work he was directed to undertake, and it seemed Mr. Kessler recognized and rewarded that trait in Mickey. It was the first time in his life he'd ever been proud of himself for his accomplishments.

Mickey met Jackie Bardot on the first day Jackie worked at the Bar K, and he fell in love at first sight. Jackie was a beautiful young man with tanned skin and a white smile. He'd been hired at the ranch part-time as a barn hand while he was preparing to attend college.

Jackie was assigned tasks like cleaning saddles, cleaning stalls, and taking inventory of supplies because he was afraid of horses. Mr. Kessler, being the kind man he was, didn’t hold it against the kid and found other jobs for Jackie to do that had nothing to do with the care and feeding of the ranch horses.

Jackie had graduated from high school that summer and was set to go to college at the University of Kentucky in the fall before his father demanded he leave home, saying “no fucking queer is gonna live under my roof.” Jackie told Mickey the story one night while they sat on the back porch of the bunkhouse beside the large horse barn on the Bar K. Stupidly, Mickey continued to fall in love with the beautiful boy, and they made plans for a life together.

When Mr. Kessler had to sell the ranch due to a cancer diagnosis, Mickey promised Jackie he'd take care of him. Unfortunately, when the new owner took over, he fired the two of them because the other hands, who were trying to gain favor with the new owner, told him they were gay.

Mickey deemed himself a failure for not being able to keep the two of them in a job, so he decided he'd go elsewhere in search of a better opportunity for the two of them. He set up Jackie in a studio apartment in town where he could at least attend community college while working part-time at a caféin Louisville owned by a friend of Mr. Kessler’s. Mickey had vouched for Jackie with Miss Ginny at the café, and she'd hired the younger guy on Mickey’s word.

A promise was made to Jackie that Mickey would find a place for them near a college or university so Jackie could continue pursuing his degree, then with a passionate kiss, Mickey went off to follow a lead Mr. Kessler had given him—the lead that would take him to Katydid Farm.

He truly believed he'd found the sticking-kind of love with Jackie, but not long into his employment at Katydid, Mickey learned his boyfriend didn't have faith in him, having moved on to another relationship without a word to Mickey.

It was Mickey's first experience with romantic heartbreak, and it hurt like hell, nearly as bad as when he ran away from home after his mother decided to sell him to the first man who came along with the cash she needed. That pain would follow him around for the rest of his life, he was certain.

Mickey slowly ventured down the stairs to speak with Katie and Josh, his stomach tying itself in knots with every step. Admitting his stupidity with Ethan Sachs and the unsolicited kiss wasn't anything he wanted to do, but he owed it to them to be honest. They trusted him and took him into their home, after all.

He entered the kitchen, surprised to see Tim sitting at the table with Ryan, who hopped up when he saw Mickey. He bent down and hugged the boy, happy to see him. "How ya doin', dude?"

Ryan grinned at him. "We had a family meetin' last night so we’re here for negatoons.”

Mickey looked at Tim, seeing a sweet smile on his handsome face before he faced Ryan. "It’snegotiations, buddy. Will you run down to the barn to get your dad and Uncle Josh, please.”The boy nodded and took off like a shot, causing Tim, Aunt Katie, and Mickey to laugh at his quick escape.

"Can we help with dinner?" Tim walked to the stove where Aunt Katie was standing over a cast-iron skillet. The slamming of the back screen door got everyone’s attention.

"Sure, boys, though not sure what I'm makin' yet. I'm doin' up this bacon right now, but—just set the table and get drinks for us to start. Mickey, why didn't you talk to me, son? We could have worked all this out with Heath and Patsy before it went so far.” The motherly chastisement in Katie’s voice flooded him with guilt, though he knew it came from love.

"Aunt Katie!" Tim had a chastising tone of his own. Katie had spilled the beans on the discussion she and Tim were having before Mickey came down.

Mickey was sure he’d already fucked up enough people at the farm, so he decided to intercede before Tim and Aunt Katie had a falling out. "It's okay, Tim, really.” He then turned to Katie, feeling his cheeks heat.

It was too late to do anything except apologize for the tough spot he’d put Katie and Josh in. “I'm really sorry, ma'am. I know how bad I messed up, and I respect you too much to tell ya there was an excuse for my behavior ‘cause there ain't none. I'm prepared to pack my sh—stuff to leave so I don't cause a problem between y'all and Mr. and Mrs. Sachs. I hate I've disappointed ya.” Mickey hung his head, ashamed of his behavior for the first time in his life.

The slap to the back of his head was harsh. Mickey glanced up to see the beautiful, auburn-haired woman looking at him with an arched eyebrow. "You stop that right now, Michael. From what I hear tell, you weren't the first boy to kiss Ethan Sachs. Heath and Patsy are gonna need to wrap their minds and hearts around the fact their son might like handsome men instead of beautiful women. It certainly isn't the worst thing to happen in alife. At least they have a son who’s still alive. I hope Heath Sachs comes at me about this business because I'll remind him of the hell that Joshua and I have had to live with since we lost our Shane.”

He turned to see Tim give him a smile and a wink. "See?" Tim mouthed to him as Katie returned to her place at the stove. Mickey grinned in return because he'd never had people include him in a family as the Simmons' had done.

---