Page 28 of For the Love of the Broken Man

“Well, I’m sorry to disturb your beauty sleep, but I was under the impression you might wanna know Momma died. Forgive me.” Dan turned off the landline, reaching over and unplugging the unit before he started clearing the table.

After the dishes were in the dishwasher, he heard a vehicle on the driveway and through the front windows saw Katie Simmons roll up in Josh’s truck. She hopped out with a bag in her arms and walked up the front walk. He opened the door before she knocked. “Miss Katie, you didn’t have to rush over here.”

“Nonsense, Daniel. Have you told Kayley yet?” Her voice was a whisper as she stepped into the house and gave him a hug.

Disappointment settled into Danny’s soul at the fact he hadn’t been able to tell Kayley the news of her grandmother’s passing. The previous day and the happy smiles played on a reel in his head. He didn’t like the idea of having to break the little girl’s heart.

Katie barreled into the kitchen and put down the bags before she wheeled around to study Danny for a moment. “Why don’t you go get dressed? I talked to Timothy, and after he gets the boys squared away, he’s on his way. I’ll finish cleaning up the kitchen.”

Miss Katie turned on the hot water in the sink. She opened the dishwasher and restacked everything before she set it to run.

Danny determined his kitchen was in expert hands, so he went to his room and closed the door so he could shower and shave. After both, he started to comb his hair, determining he could use a trim, and it occurred to him he didn’t have a pair of dress slacks to wear to his mother’s funeral. He needed clothes, and Kayley needed clothes, and he needed to call the funeral home and the florist and the cemetery.

It was all so damn overwhelming; he sat down on the lid of the toilet with a towel around his waist. Exhaustion settled into his soul, but he knew he had to be strong. There was too much to do for him to break down. He had a daughter to put first who had lost a grandmother she dearly loved.

Dan stood from his seat on the ultimate throne, brushing his teeth before he opened the bathroom door, seeing his bed was already made. It made him laugh because Katie Simmons was like a one-woman cleaning machine, much like his own mother had been when she was healthy.

He quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a snap-front, cowboy shirt. He tucked it in and pulled on his good boots because he had things to do in town.

If Miss Katie would consent to watch Kayley for him, since he’d decided not to send her to camp that day. He’d get everything done a lot faster without her. He also knew she’d have more fun with Miss Katie, the woman was like an adopted grandmother, just like Miss Jeri. Kayley needed the female influences in her life, and Dan couldn’t think of two better than Jeri and Katie.

When he walked down the hallway, Danny saw Kayley standing on a chair as Miss Katie braided her hair and secured the bottom with a rubber band. “There you go, darling girl. Now, let’s go look in your closet to see what you have—” Miss Katie glanced up to see him standing there.

“Don’t bother. All we have are jeans and T-shirts and a few pairs of shorts. We don’t have anything we need, neither of us.”

“Okay. What size jeans do you wear, Daniel?”

“Thirty-two, thirty-four, ma’am.”

She nodded. “Shirt?”

“Fifteen with a thirty-two sleeve.” That was the size of the one dress shirt he owned, anyway.

“I’d guess you’re a thirty-eight-regular, off the rack?”

“When I was in the Army, that was my jacket size,” Dan replied.

She asked him a few more questions and smiled when she wrote down his answers. “Okay. Kayley and I are going on a girls’ day. We’re gonna shop and get lunch in Christiansburg. Are you gonna be okay to do the errands? You talk to Zach?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, which must have been a thing mothers knew how to do. His own used to do it to him and Zach as boys.

Dan felt his face turn red. “I got mad and hung up. I’ll call him back.”

Miss Katie nodded and took Kayley by the hand, leaving him alone in the house. He went about drying the breakfast pans to put away, along with the toaster before wiping down all the counters. He knew once Miss Katie heard they didn’t have the proper attire for a funeral, she’d take on the task of getting them straightened out.

It was then Dan wished he could talk to Jase, but he didn’t want to call Wonderland. He’d have to work up to it later, and he prayed Jase could see his way clear to get to Holloway. Danny would buy him a bus ticket if necessary. He needed the man he was sure could help hold him together.

“Okay, I cleaned out the fridge because I know Jeri’s gonna be cookin’ all day. She and Katie made a list of tasks and divided it,” Tim told Dan as they sat at the kitchen table with a beer later that day.

He’d been all over town to make the arrangements and stopped at the pizza place in town to set up food for the wake on Thursday night. The minister couldn’t do the funeral until Friday morning, so Danny had two days to stew and wonder what the hell to do. It was maddening.

“We don’t need a lotta food,” Dan responded as he took a sip from the bottle of Bud Light Tim had handed him.

Tim turned to him and cocked an eyebrow. “Dan, when your mother was in good health, what was the first thing she did when she heard someone in town had died?”

Like a scolded child, Dan lowered his eyes. “She’d make a pie or a casserole. God, what will I do with all that food? I stopped by Ike’s and put in an order to have food at the funeral home Thursday evening. What should I—” The house phone rang, interrupting the beginning of his rant.

Dan picked up the handset and saw the number, feeling a sense of relief as he answered. “Hi, Jase.”

“I heard about your mom, Danny. How are you? I mean, are you okay?”

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