Page 28 of For the Love of the Lawyer

Mickey felt around 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 entered 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…"

"Whoa! I didn't talk you into nothin'. You were happy to go shot for shot. I woke up on your couch, Dan. Anyway, thank ya for lettin' me sleep here. Matt texted me and he needs a favor, so I best get back to the ranch. I guess I'll see ya Monday." Mickey headed toward the front door to leave.

Mickey walked to Pete's to get Tim's truck, happy it hadn't been towed. He hit the McDonald's drive through for some coffee and a biscuit sandwich before heading to the ranch, not sure what his boss needed him to do. He prayed it didn’t involve working in the hot sun.

"For fuck's sakes, why me?" Mickey sat at the kitchen table eating an omelet Tim had made for him. It was just him, Matt, and Tim in the kitchen, so he felt free to voice his opinion, especially since he believed they weren’t being exactly up front about the details.

"We can't go because the boys got shit goin' on. We trust you to be there while Charlie does his job, and she'll have a check. What's the problem?" Matt asked him.

"Danny would be better suited for it, likely," Mickey suggested, fingers crossed under the table.

Tim laughed, which threw him off a bit. "Danny hates horses, Mick. You love riding Charlie, and I'd bet Ms. Granger wants to see him ridden before he breeds her mare. I've already made you a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express, and they have a stall for him at their barn. All we're asking is for you to take him andmake sure he doesn't get hurt, nor does he hurt the mares. It's only a few hours away.” Tim’s voice left no room to bargain.

Mickey took a deep breath. He loved working at the ranch as much as he’d loved working at the Katydid, and he knew he'd have to learn to adapt to situations that would come along because his bosses had kids. Hauling that huge stallion for a booty call hadn’t figured into the things Mickey believed Tim and Matt would ask him to do. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t do it, but he hadn’t considered it might be one of his responsibilities. "Okay, where am I goin'?"

"Give me your phone. I'll program your GPS. You can take Matt's truck and the short trailer. Use the motel, Mick. Don't sleep in the damn truck. Ms. Granger's very interested in Charlie, and the stud fee is pretty hefty. You'll be fine.” Tim got up and left the room.

Mickey chuckled. "Am I goin' to the gallows?"

With a huge grin, Matt reached into his pocket and handed Mickey the keys. "Look, we love you like family, and as family, we won't think twice about askin’ for favors. It's not meant to—" Tim returned and took Matt's hand.

"What Matty meant is, thank you for doing this for us. You handle Charlie as well as Matt, and we've got to pick up the boys and get going with errands. If she says she doesn't want to breed her mares to him, just thank her, load him up, and bring him home. There are plenty of other mares waiting for his magic touch and special sauce." Tim smirked and winked.

Mickey and Matt laughed, and without further questions, Mickey went down to his room to shower and pack a bag. He hooked up the big truck to the smaller trailer and after he loaded the crown jewel of the Circle C, he made certain he had the directions on his phone where he could access them easily. After he had the saddle, tack, and some of the premium feed they used loaded in the trailer, he went up to the house to geta coffee to-go, grateful he was feeling better. As disgusting as it was, throwing up at Dan's house was probably the best thing that could have happened to him that morning.

"Okay, fellas. We're gettin' on the road. I'll take care of him, don’t you worry," Mickey told the two of them while they were cleaning up the kitchen.

Tim walked over to him and smiled. "Mick, make sure you stick around until you put him to bed tonight. Our insurance doesn't cover him unless someone from the ranch is there to supervise. I think the lady has a breeding manager, but please watch Charlie. We truly appreciate you doing this for us.” Tim handed him a credit card with the ranch's name embossed on it with his name beneath.

Mickey was a bit confused because for some reason it seemed as if the two of them were acting like he was going off to college or something. He tried to chalk it up to their concern about the stallion and the hefty stud fee he'd bring, and he'd do everything he could to protect the animal. They needn't worry so much.

After deciding to take state roads instead of the interstates, Mickey settled in for a nice drive, although it would take a few hours. He decided he'd stop halfway to check on the stallion and take a bathroom break for himself.

Having a plan, he turned on the radio to listen to a baseball game. The game was DC versus Atlanta, and while he wasn't exactly a baseball fan, it was better than any of the other shit he was getting on the radio since he didn't know how to use the satellite stations. His old Chevy only had an AM radio, and it hadquit working years ago—before Mickey had even bought it from Mr. Kessler.

Driving along, taking in the sunny, late spring day, Mickey's thoughts wandered to events of the previous night. Danny, who he didn't know well before he sat down next to the man at the bar, was a really nice guy raising his sister's kid.

Danny had mentioned taking the day off to help someone move, but he didn't say anything more about it. His brother, Zach, seemed like a nice guy from the few minutes they’d talked, and he had joked about Mickey and Danny hooking up, which made Mick wonder if Danny was gay. He'd have never guessed it, but his gaydar wasn't exactly stellar.

Like with Jon Wells. He'd originally assessed the man as straight, but after the weekend he spent at the ranch, Mickey had reasoned he was likely bi and definitely searching for someone who was nothing like Mickey.

He'd had many dreams of Jon and him together, but that would be all they were—dreams. He needed to set his sights beyond the fantasy he seemed to have running on a loop in his subconscious. It wasn't doing him any good to continue to stew on something never to be.

Mickey needed to give himself a major pep talk and get the fuck over it. There were probably a lot of guys out there who would be happy to date him, and after living at the Circle C, he'd seen how a gay couple could be as happy as any straight couple. They could also raise a family with lots of love and kindness, just as Matt and Tim were doing with Ryan and Rocky.

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