Page 26 of For the Love of the Broken Man

“Stay with me and Kayley, please? I appreciate everybody comin’ to support me, but can you stay at the house?”

“You bet I can. I’ll get Mick and Jon to drop me off as soon as we get to town. You need anything?” Jase was so pleased he’d thought to ask.

Dan sniffed. “Just you.”

His voice was quiet, so Jase knew he needed to get to Danny as soon as possible. He was in pain, and Jase was prepared to help him through it as best he could.

At six o’clock that evening, they pulled into the driveway of Danny Johnson’s modest home, seeing a few cars parked on the street. “That’s Josh’s truck and Tim’s truck. Let’s go inside,” Mickey said.

Jase released Meg from her booster, holding her in his arms as he hopped out of the back seat of Jon’s new Escalade. Terry was going to stay at camp for the week, and that weekend, Ham and Ally were going to pick him up and stay at the farm with him so Ally could supervise Pete and Todd.

Jase felt uneasy. He had no idea what to say or do if Matt was there.

Mickey shook his head. “Come on. I’m right here. Nothing will happen, I promise. Hell, I don’t think Matt’s even here, Jase. Just concentrate on Dan and Kayley.”

Jon walked around to the back of the SUV and opened the tailgate, grabbing Jase’s Army duffel before he closed the vehicle. “You’re staying here, right?”

“Yeah, I am. He asked me to stay, and I wanna help him with whatever he needs right now,” Jase answered.

“As I suspected. Come on.” Jon shouldered the duffel as Mickey put his hand on Jase’s shoulder. Meggie’s arm wrapped around Jase’s neck, giving him the courage to walk into that house and be there to support the man he loved. Jase was prepared to do whatever Dan needed.

Chapter Eleven

A ringing phone at two o’clock in the morning was no one’s friend. “’Lo?”

“Dan, it’s Peggy Moss at Sunrise. Dorothy… We went to check on your mom because she wasn’t feeling well at dinner time. When the aid went into the room, Dorothy was already gone. I’m so sorry we didn’t call you when she said she didn’t feel well, but after you and Kayley left this afternoon, she was in great spirits. We had no idea…” The nurse’s voice broke, and Dan could hear her crying.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Moss. We had a great visit today, and I’d rather remember Momma with a smile on her face. Do I need to do anything?” Dan wasn’t sure what the hell to do next.

“We’ll call Curtis Funeral Home. I’m assuming that’s where you’ll want her sent, is that right, Dan?” Peggy was a nice lady, and she’d been good to his mother. If anyone had to break such bad news, he was relieved for it to be Peggy. She was a kind soul.

“Yessum. That’s where Momma woulda wanted to go. I’ll call ‘em in the mornin’ to set up a time to come about the arrangements. I need to call Zach and get him home. I guess… Her stuff there at the nursing home? There are pictures and stuff I’d like to have.” Dan was even more lost than when he’d left the Army.

He was ill-prepared to lose his mother. She’d been the rock in his life, and with her gone, he was pretty much alone—well, except for the little blonde girl asleep in the other bedroom. How the hell would he explain it to Kayley?

After he finished the phone call, he went to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table with a pad and pen to make a list of the things he needed to do. He vaguely remembered when his father had passed and all the arrangements his mother had to make in a short time.

He knew she didn’t have a will because—as she’d told him, “I don’t have a plug nickel to leave to anyone. All I got are the things in this house.” She had a bank account with fifteen-thousand-dollars left from his father’s life insurance policy the hospitals and nursing home hadn’t touched yet. It was the money she’d earmarked for her funeral and the headstone for her and his father’s graves, and it made his stomach turn when he thought about having to go to the bank to get the money.

Danny knew sleep was futile, so he made a pot of coffee. He’d started for the phone but changed his mind and determined he’d wait a few hours to call his brother. He still needed to process the news himself.

It was hard enough when Denise had died, and his mother had to hold the family together by herself. Without her, Dan didn’t know what he’d do. He thought about the visit he and Kayley had with her that day, and he smiled at the memory he’d cherish for as long as he lived.

“Flowers, Uncle Danny.” Kayley had pointed to the flower shop as they drove through town. Flowers by Felipe was on the right side of the road, so Dan pulled into the parking lot, looking forward to seeing Phil and his partner, Javier.

They’d moved from Arizona to Virginia to be closer to Javier’s family in North Carolina, but not too close, as Danny had learned when he’d run into the couple at the diner one day. They sat down together because the place was full, and they had a friendly conversation.

“Yeah, we can stop to see Phil and Javier. Remember, don’t ask for things, Sweet Pea. They’ll spoil you enough without askin’.” Danny was joking, but Kayley had the habit of walking out of the flower shop with an armload of flowers if Dan didn’t rein her in. Javier would open the case and let her pick what she wanted to take home until Dan shut her down.

They’d stumbled into each other around Holloway a few times, and they’d become friends. Dan stopped by the flower shop on occasion to pick up a bouquet for Miss Katie and Miss Jeri because they’d spend time with Kayley. He liked the florists, and he was glad they were his friends off the ranch.

They’d entered the shop and Kayley picked out a small bouquet of gerbera daisies because Dorothy had told her the multicolor flowers were her favorites one time, and after a brief conversation with his friends, Danny and Kayley left to go to the nursing home.

Dottie, as she liked to be called, was in a wheelchair sitting out on the back porch of the place under the awning because she wanted fresh air. When Dan and Kayley found her, Dan noticed it appeared she had more color on her cheeks, and she was smiling.

“Oh, my darlin’ girl, lemme see ya,” she greeted Kayley as the girl walked over to where her grandmother was sitting. She handed Dottie the flowers and climbed up on the bench next to the wheelchair, adjusting her shirt and ever-present, crooked ponytail.

Dottie laughed as she looked at Danny. “You’ve gotta find someone to teach you how to fix this child’s hair, Daniel. She’s goin’ to school in the fall.”

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