Page 30 of For the Love of the Broken Man

Danny nodded and walked up the stairs to Kayley’s room where she and Jase were playing a board game with cherries that Zach had given her for her birthday when he did a drive-by visit. “Who’s winning?” Dan asked with a smile.

“Me,” Kayley announced. She was lying on her stomach on the bed while Jase was sitting on the floor. Dan sat on the corner of the bed near Jase, and took a breath, praying it would come out right.

He turned to Kayley, seeing the braid over her shoulder she seemed to be so fond of. “Sweet Pea, I got somethin’ to tell ya, and it’s not a happy thing.” Dan closed his eyes, trying to fight the tears.

“Gramma Dottie went to heaven to be with Mommy, didn’t she?” Kayley glanced up from the game, offering her bright smile.

Dan felt like the breath had been pushed out of him. “Who told you?” There was anger evident in his voice.

She stood on the bed and walked over to him, sitting on his lap and hugging his neck. “Gramma told me yesterday. She asked me if I wanted her to tell Mommy anything, and I said to tell her I loved her and I wished I knew her.” The little girl began petting Dan’s hair, seemingly trying to sooth him.

Danny broke down, unable to hold the tears. He felt an arm around his neck, pulling him into a warm, muscular chest. He couldn’t speak.

“Why he’s cryin’? Gramma said we should be happy she’s not sick anymore,” the child reasoned. Dan couldn’t even acknowledge her.

“Aw, Little Bit, I know, but sometimes, it’s hard for us adults to let go. It’s your Gramma, but it’s Uncle Danny’s mom. He’ll really miss her. She didn’t tell him like she told you she was ready to go be with your mommy, so it was a surprise for him,” Jase tried to explain.

“Oh! That’s sad. What can we do?” Kayley wiped the tears as they fell. Dan was still frozen in place, but he felt the love surrounding him.

“Well, Jon and Mickey are downstairs and Meggie’s here, but I think she’s taking a nap. Why don’t you go check on them while I look after Danny?”

“Will he be okay?” Kayley quietly slipped off Dan’s lap.

Danny sniffed and wiped his eyes. “I will be, Sweet Pea. Go make sure everything’s okay for dinner, and after I get cleaned up, Jase and I will be down, okay? I love ya, Kayley.”

She scrambled up onto his lap again and hugged him hard around his neck. “I love you, too, Uncle Danny. It’ll be okay.” Kayley’s assurance caused his tears to flow even faster.

The three of them, Kayley, Jase, and Danny sat on the bed until Danny was able to get himself together. Jase took Kayley to get washed up before she went downstairs to check on the Warren-Wells family. Danny heard the squeal when Meggie found Kayley.

“Babe, what can I do?” Jase asked when he returned to where Dan was still sitting.

Danny took a deep breath and turned to look at the handsome young man. “Just be with me, okay? I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but if you can stand next to me until I get through this, I might make it out the other side.”

“You got it.” Jase took Danny’s hand and pulled him into a hug. The pressure of the long arms around him was enough to calm Dan. He hugged Jase back, grateful to feel the warmth of him through his clothes. It was definitely soothing to Dan’s aching soul.

“You hungry? Miss Katie makes a great lasagna.” Jase kissed Dan on the forehead and released him from his grasp.

“Not really, but I guess I should eat,” Danny answered.

Jase urged him down the stairs with a strong arm around his shoulders in support, and at that moment, Danny felt he’d found the ying to his yang. In his heart, he prayed it would work out between them somehow.

It might take time, but Dan was willing to wait. He was sure he’d found his home base, his grounding rod, and while the fact he came in an eighteen-year-old package was a bit worrisome, Dan knew he was making more out of it than many others would. Love happened when one least expected, and it was pretty damn spectacular when it did.

Chapter Twelve

“Thank ya for bein’ here for Kayley and me. I don’t know what we’da done without ya.”

Danny and Jase sat on the back porch of Danny’s home after the funeral on Friday. There’d been a reception that afternoon as a thank you for attending, and after most of the guests had left, Jon and Mickey helped them clean up the mess before they returned to the Katydid where they were staying.

Kayley had seemed to find comfort in having Meggie around. When the girls fell asleep on the couch in the living room, Jon and Mickey took Megan with them and left Jase and Dan to put Kayley to bed. The night before Jase had slept on the couch out of respect for the situation, but he prayed Danny wouldn’t make him stay there another night.

Jase opened two beers from the little bucket Mickey had prepared for them before he and the family left to go back to the farm. They’d been a lot of help since they’d all arrived in Holloway, and Jase knew once Danny got over his state of shock, he’d want to thank people for their kind acts.

Jase and Miss Katie had kept a list of the dishes dropped off, while Miss Jeri had made certain to label dishes to be returned to their rightful owners. She’d cooked enough food for Danny and Kayley to fill the freezer, so they’d be fine for a while.

“How about we talk a little bit?” Jase asked.

Dan looked at him and smiled. “Sure. About what?”

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