Page 27 of For the Love of the Broken Man

“I’ve been workin’ with Miss Katie, Momma, but it’s not easy for a me with these big fingers.” He held up his short, thickly calloused fingers. The braids Miss Katie showed him required slender, agile fingers, which he didn’t have.

His mother laughed. “I’m sorry to criticize. You do so well with her, Danny. I know your sister would be so proud of how you are raisin’ her daughter. So, tell me all the news from the Circle C.”

Danny had told her all the things happening at the ranch, leaving out one important development in his life. He was in love with a man. Well, almost a man, he supposed. He believed there would be more time to get into it.

“Momma, I guess you know the truth now,” he whispered to no one in the empty kitchen. He hoped she forgave him for not being honest with her. He prayed she was at peace and out of pain.

Dan turned on the radio attached under one of the cabinets in the kitchen to temper the silence in the house which was nearly deafening. He continued thinking about events from his childhood when his mother had been strong and supportive.

“Oh, baby, why? Danny, honey, why would you enlist?”His mother had tears pouring down her face.

When his father had arrived home from work that night, his mother was still crying. They’d been sad to see him go, but in the end, they were so proud of what he was doing. He hated the idea both of his parents would know what had happened to him that caused the Army to send him back home, but he hoped they were proud of him for putting his life back together after all that bullshit.

Danny poured himself another cup of coffee and glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly five thirty. He looked out the back window of the little house to see the sky turning a pale purple as the sun began to rise. Dan took his coffee outside and sat on the back steps, watching the horizon dawn on the first day he knew he was truly alone to raise Kayley.

Zach was too caught up in his own life to care about the girl, and with his mother gone, Dan was sure his Aunt Rae would make another run at him regarding Kayley. He made a mental note to call Jon Wells.

An hour later found him making phone calls to the minister at the church his mother attended, the funeral home, his brother—who didn’t answer, so he left a message—and finally his bosses at Circle C. He explained things to Tim, and as Dan listened to the words coming out of his mouth, he finally broke down.

“Dan, I’ll be over as soon as I get Rocky and Ryan dropped off at summer camp, okay? Matt’s gotta be here for when Frazier, that new bucking bull, gets picked up today, but I know when he’s finished, he’ll want to come over. Just let me get breakfast for my crew, and I’ll be there. You need anything from the store?” Tim was thoughtful in that way.

“No,” he responded between sniffles.

No, he didn’t need anything from the goddamn store. He needed someone to hold him and remind him things would be alright, but that wasn’t going to happen—not if he didn’t ask for it.

“Can you call Mickey and Jon? I need to see Jon anyway.” Little feet were running down the hallway in his direction.

“Sure. Anybody else?”

“Just the family, okay? I don’t have it in me to make the calls, Tim. Kayley’s up, so I need to go. I gotta explain this to her.” Dan’s heart filled with dread.

“Yeah. I’ll be over in a little while, okay?”

Dan agreed and hung up the phone. He turned toward his niece—his soon-to-be daughter—as she settled into a kitchen chair with her wild hair a hot mess all over her face. She was still in her Little Mermaid gown, and she had an adorable, sleepy smile on her face.

“Cereal?” She pushed her hair out of the way.

“Or, how about eggs and toast?” Dan could make pancakes, which were a pain in the ass, but the girl seemed to like his eggs, toast, and jelly, so it was what he offered.

“Mmmm. That sounds good.” Her eyes were closed as her head lolled against the kitchen chair. The thought of breaking her little heart pained his, so he decided to wait until after breakfast to tell her what had happened to her grandmother.

“Okay, well, I need my helper. Get the ladder.” Dan grinned at her attempt to wake up by rubbing her fists in her eyes as she always did. It reminded him of his sister, Denise, who he guessed was now with their mother. It gave him a sense of peace.

Kayley scurried off the chair and found the little step stool with the handles Dan had purchased for her so she could help with dishes. She hurriedly climbed up and reached for the upper cabinet to pull down plates for them.

Dan had her break the eggs in a bowl and put the toast in the toaster. “Get the butter and jelly.”

He set the table for the two of them. After the eggs were finished cooking and the toast had been slathered in butter, the two of them sat down at the table and bowed their heads.

Kayley cleared her throat. “God is good, God is great. Let us… No, that’s wrong. God is great, God is good, let us thank him for this food. Amen.” It was something she’d learned at Vacation Bible School, which had been Miss Jeri’s suggestion, and when Kayley asked to say the blessing, Dan obliged.

“Amen,” he added, silently thinking, Momma, please help me break this gently.

They were talking about what she was going to do at camp that day as Danny contemplated whether to postpone the bad news. Just as they finished up, the phone rang. He checked the caller ID to see it was his brother, so he looked at Kayley. “I’ll clean up dishes. Why don’t you go get dressed and bring your laundry from your hamper, please?” She nodded as she took off, leaving him to answer the phone.

“Hey, Zach,” he greeted.

“Why the fuck did you call me at six this morning?” Immediately, Zach pissed him off, yet again.

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