Page 24 of For the Love of the Broken Man

“I, uh, I’ve been learning a lot, and my phone doesn’t work in the garage apartment. I don’t want you to think I’m some clingy kid who’s gonna bug you all the time. I miss you and Kayley,” Jase responded.

“Kayley misses you, too. I better let ya go.”

All Jase got out was, “Bye,” before the line went dead.

Aside from the signal situation, living at the farm was better than Jase could have imagined. He had learned so much from Mickey in a short time, and Jon was a great guy who was becoming a good friend as well. Terry and Meggie were busy, but on weekends, they all hung out to swim and ride together. It helped Jase not miss Kayley so much.

He’d called Savannah to check in when he rode one of the four-wheelers up to a ridge at the farm where he got a decent cell signal, and he was happy to hear she and Andy were still together and getting excited about going off to college. The Stanford family was still at Ft. Bliss since the Colonel had been named Brigadier General and put in charge. Jase also learned his father had been transferred, and he felt a huge stab of guilt because he’d never called his mother to check on her as he’d promised.

“What do you mean you don’t know where they went?” Jase had snapped at Savannah after she told him his mother and father had moved off-post because his father had been transferred.

“Don’t get pissy with me, Jason Langston. I can’t ask Daddy where your dad was transferred because all that shit is confidential. I only know they moved because Cass saw them packing a U-Haul, okay? I went to the Post Office and asked about your mother. They told me she’d resigned her job, but they wouldn’t give me any more details,” Savannah told him.

It had broken Jase’s heart to learn she was gone, because he hadn’t given his mother any way to get in touch with him, and he hadn’t called her at work as she’d suggested. He’d have to suck it up for the time being.

Jase was an adult, after all, and he’d have to hope things were going well for them, or at least for his mother, because he hated his father. He didn’t wish him dead, but Jase had determined he didn’t care what happened to Master Sergeant Langston. He only cared the woman who had married him, and he hoped someday they’d be able to see each other again.

Jase shucked off the memory of the phone call and opened his private email to see the messages from Dan, which made him smile. It had taken Danny a few weeks to set himself up with an account, and the wait had been excruciating for Jase. When he reread the first email, he smiled wider.

From:Johnson, DanielTo:Langston, JasonDate:10 June (10:00 AM, EDT)Subject:Checking in

Jase-

I finally got myself together enough to get an email account. I bought a computer and had Tim set it up for me so I could get online. Other than sending this to you, I’m not sure why I should be online, but Kayley has shown me a few games that are pretty fun to play.

So, how are the horses? I asked Jon to look out for ya, so are they being good to you? I miss seeing your smile.

I hope you’ll answer me soon. I sure miss you, and I’m sorry the phone call was so short. I’m not much of a talker.

Dan

Jase smiled and read the email he’d sent in return, having decided not to be an ass about taking time to respond because he knew how much it had to take out of Danny to send the message in the first place.

From:Langston, JasonTo:Johnson, DanielDate:10 June (03:12 PM, EDT)Subject: Re(2):Checking in

Hi, Danny-

I was happy to hear from you on the phone, and I’m glad to get this email. I was afraid I’d been dreaming about the conversation and the kiss that happened between us before you and Kayley left here. How is she? Tell her I miss her.

I’m learning a lot here at the farm. Jon and Mickey are super great at showing me anything I want to learn, and they already treat me like a member of the family. Miss Ursula sneaks food over to my apartment so I have stuff if I want a snack in the middle of the night. Mickey makes sure I understand what it takes to run a horse farm like Wonderland, and I’ve learned how to exercise the horses.

I hope you and Kayley are both fine. Can you come visit anytime soon?

I miss you, too,

Jase

Before he could open the next of Danny’s emails to reread, the phone rang, bringing him out of his lovesick trance. He looked at the caller ID, seeing it wasn’t a number he recognized so he answered, “Wonderland Farm, Jase speaking.”

“Hi, Jase, it’s Tim Moran.” The sound of his former boss’s voice made Jase more nervous than anything. He hadn’t spoken to anyone at the Circle C but Danny since he’d left, though he’d called Miss Katie a couple of times because she’d asked him to stay in touch. As far as he was concerned, they didn’t want him at the Circle C, and he didn’t want them either. Was the man calling to fuck things up for him with Mickey and Jon at Wonderland out of some sort of vendetta for Jase making Mr. Collins jealous?

“Hi, Mr. Moran. What can I do for you?” Jase held his breath.

“Is Mickey around? I need to talk to him.”

Jasewanted to ask why, but he’d been taught by his mother not to nose into someone else’s business. “He and Meggie are in the arena so she can ride Josie while Mick works with Blossom. Can I have him call you back?”

Tim exhaled loudly.“Yes, please. Ask him to call me as soon as possible. It’s about Danny.”

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