Page 40 of For the Love of the Broken Man

After a phone call to Shiloh, one of the older hands who worked for Danny at the Circle C, he walked back into the living room to see Jase asleep on the couch with a small smile. He pulled out his phone and took a picture, preparing for the heartache that was to come.

When the horn sounded from the driveway, Dan hurried out of the house and into Shiloh’s old El Camino. The guy preferred restoring the stupid thing more than companionship, and while Danny liked him, he had no idea what to expect out of Shiloh from one day to the next. The man was a good employee, but he was a little squirrely from time to time.

“Heard your kin was in town. Long visit?” Shiloh quizzed.

Danny’s orientation wasn’t a secret, but it seemed Shiloh either didn’t understand it, accept it, or maybe he didn’t really give a shit. Danny didn’t care about the man’s approval, so he simply nodded. They didn’t talk about personal things—only work. Dan preferred it that way.

Shiloh spoke without Dan answering him. “Don’t like it when family drops in without announcin’. I got no room for anyone, and I ain’t that happy with mosta my people anyway. You think we’ll have to work late today? I’m in a dart league at Pete’s, and if I can’t make it tonight, I need to call somebody,”

“We don’t deal with the horses, so you ain’t gotta stay late. Just your usual workday till two. The party ain’t startin’ till three, so no worries.” That was as much conversation as Dan had had with Shiloh in a while.

“You and your girl gonna go?” Shiloh asked.

“She’s—” Dan started to correct the man but remembered the papers he’d asked Jon to file. That might actually be what he needed to put his new plan in place. He needed everyone to go along with him.

“Yeah, we are. Kayley’s buddies with Ryan and Rocky, and we were invited. You were invited too, you know. You can hang around and eat.” Danny wasn’t sure why he reminded the man of the invitation posted in the barn, addressed to all the ranch hands.

“That’s nice. I got the boys some gift cards at Walmart, but I’m better off avoidin’ shit like that. Don’t like big parties. Makes me anxious.” Shiloh made the right onto the road that led to the ranch.

“Yeah, I get it.” Dan remembered how nice and quiet his life had been before Kayley moved in. On second thought, it had been lonely because he’d refused to get close to anyone. Since Kayley, and now Jase, had come into his life, things had changed.

When they pulled up to the carport where the hands parked their vehicles, Danny got out and turned to Shiloh Brown who was standing outside the entrance to the barn doors which were still closed. “You already started in the barn?”

“Uh, well, I started to go inside, but…”

The three heard loud groans from inside the building, and there was no mistaking them. Danny wondered how long Matt and Tim had been in the hayloftmaking up.

“Shit. Okay, let’s start with—. Shiloh, ride with Jeremy to open gates. Take the grain truck and go down to fields three and four. I’ll take care of one and two. Just make sure the west gate is closed so none of the cows get into five or six where the hay is growin’. Carl Billings is set to come give it a second cuttin’ next week.” Dan barked out the orders quickly and loudly, hoping to alert his bosses that they were keeping the hands from their chores.

Both men nodded and went about their business as Danny did the same. He laughed about the fact Tim and Matt got down in the barn. Dan hoped… then he stopped himself in his tracks.

Nope. That’s not gonna happen for me. I won’t be in the hayloft of the barn with anyone... ever.

Dan remembered Mick and Jon getting the hell kicked out of them in the barn hallway by two of the hands who were later fired. It was a damn shame he’d never get to carve his name into the hayloft wall like Mickey said he’d done beneath Tim and Matt’s names.

After the cattle were tended to, Danny returned with the flatbed and trailer to find Adam’s motorcycle and Wayne’s old Camry parked in the field. He went to the machine shed to find one of the Gator’s gone, so he sent Wayne and Adam out with the other one to check the new bull down in the pasture not far from the little creek.

Once everyone was busy, Danny went to the house because he needed to talk to Matt and Tim. He knocked on the back door after he toed off his boots. “Open!”

Dan went into the house to find Rocky and Ryan in the kitchen with Tim, all busy at work. “Where’s Matt?” Dan asked out of habit.

Tim glanced at the boys and smiled. “Running an errand. Where are Kayley and Jase?”

“Uh, I left ‘em to sleep in for a little while. Sweet Pea gets crabby if she don’t get enough sleep, and Jase and I… Well, it’s his day off so he should relax. Can I talk ya out of a cup of coffee?” Danny was mindful of Ryan and Rocky being in the kitchen, so he didn’t bring up the issues on his mind.

Tim looked at him with a discerning eye and nodded. He turned to the two young men standing in the kitchen. “Will you guys go up to Gramma’s and see if she needs help setting up tables and stuff? Dad and I will be up as soon as he gets back from town. Now, go!” Tim gave each one a kiss on the forehead and a hug.

Both boys groaned, but Danny noticed neither pulled away. They both ran upstairs without any argument, and after Tim gave him a cup of coffee and invited him to sit down on a stool at the counter, they heard the boys run down the stairs and out the front door.

When it caught, Tim turned to Dan with a smile. “Out with it.”

Danny took a deep breath. “You know enough about me to know ain’t nobody ever gonna ask me to speak on anything intellectual.’ Dan was trying to figure out how to lead up to the subject at hand.

Tim sighed, heavily. “Okay, now you sound like Matty. What’s wrong, Dan?”

“What did Savannah Stanford tell y’all about Jase and his schoolin’?”

Tim went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large container filled with what appeared to be steaks in some sort of liquid. He lifted the lid and dumped the contents into a strainer inside a large bowl.

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