Page 39 of For the Love of the Broken Man

When Jase wiggled around and engulfed his aching cock, Dan was definitely a happy man. It was a great experience Danny knew he’d draw upon when his young lover was back in Dillwyn.

Dan had to stop thinking about the previous evening or he’d never be able to piss, so he started making a mental list of all the things that needed to happen before the boys’ party. They weren’t inviting as many of their school friends as they had the summer before, so that meant fewer kids to worry about being at the barn.

Matt had only asked Heath to bring over three horses to have available alongside Chester, Sam, Mabel, and the newest gelding Ethan was working with, Dillinger. Ryan had shot up over the school year and was now taller than Rocky. It was no surprise to anyone that Ryan was set to rival his father’s height.

After he flushed the toilet, Dan turned on the tap and grabbed the shaving mirror he used in the shower when he was trying to economize on time. He stepped inside and began washing his hair, allowing his beard to soften under the heat of the water. He was nearly finished shaving when he heard the bathroom door open. “Danny? Can I get in?”

He opened the curtain without letting water out and saw Jase with a sleepy smile and wild hair. “Come on. I’m almost done shavin’,” he explained as the younger man got in with him and closed the curtain.

Jase reached up and touched the shaving-cream-free side of his face. “Soft,” he commented quietly.

Danny leaned forward and kissed his cheek, sweeping his tongue over the stubble. “Rough,” he teased, happy to hear the giggle from Jase.

“I’ll be done in a minute then you can shave if you wanna. There are new razors in that little cabinet over the toilet. How’d you sleep?” Danny turned back to the mirror to resume his task.

“Okay, I guess. I got up about two and disturbed Kayley. My phone was chiming, and it woke me.”

Dan could tell his man was a little off his game, so after he finished shaving, he traded places with the brunet to place him under the shower spray. He reached up and moved the soft brown hair back so it was thoroughly soaked by the water before he picked up the shampoo.

“Step back and turn around.” Jase did as Dan asked, though with a little hesitation. Once he began shampooing Jase’s hair, Dan heard the taller man moan, and it made him smile.

“Who called?” Dan continued to massage Jase’s scalp like the lady at Hair and There did when she shampooed his hair before he got it cut. It felt good to him, and he hoped it felt good to Jase.

“My mom called.”

Danny was surprised. Jase had explained things about his parents during several of their e-mails since he’d moved to Dillwyn, but getting information from the younger man wasn’t always easy.

“What did she say? Surely if something happened with your dad Savannah Stanford would have called ya, right?” Dan was worried about why the mother had called him.

“Actually, my dad got reassigned, and they’re living in Oklahoma now. My dad’s being deployed, and my mom wants to see me after he goes.”

Before Danny thought it through, he said, “I’ll pay for a plane ticket if you wanna go see your daddy before he goes overseas. You shouldn’t leave things unsaid between ya, Jase. There were things I shoulda told my mom but I didn’t, and I regret it, now.”

What he regretted the most was his mother never got to meet Jase, the man who made Dan happy, nor would she see Kayley grow up to be the incredible young woman Danny expected she’d become. He didn’t want Jase to have similar regrets.

After Jase rinsed his hair, Danny reached out of the shower and into the cabinet, pulling out another safety razor for his younger companion. He could see something was on Jase’s mind, so he waited.

Finally, Jase leaned forward and kissed Danny. “Thank you for thinking about something like that, and you’re right, I don’t want to have regrets I can’t reconcile in the future, but my dad and I’ve said more than enough to each other over the years.

“He was never happy with my choices and made certain I understood it, trust me. He was even unhappy with the colleges where I applied. The bastard told me he’d never pay for college because I didn’t need it. I had the Army to educate me. It’s why I packed my shit and left in the middle of the night. He and I have nothing left to say, Dan.”

That was new information. Danny didn’t know Jase had applied to any colleges. “Colleges? You applied to colleges?”

Jase laughed as he took the razor and ducked down to see himself in the mirror. “Yeah. I applied to UC-Berkeley, UT-Austin, Georgia Tech, Michigan, and MIT, which was my reach school. I’m as much of a computer geek as Tim Moran. I got accepted at Berkeley, Austin, GT, and Michigan. I got some academic grants and a few scholarships, but nothing that would offer a full ride. My dad wasn’t even interested in allowing me to explore financing, so I got to a dead end and gave up.”

“Why would ya give up? Hell, I barely got out of high school and only tried to stay above a C because of football. I ended up enlisting instead of college because I wasn’t smart enough. Jase, honey, you need to go to college.” Danny stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself.

He hadn’t given a lot of thought to things concerning Jase and his education. Everything had happened so fast for them, but he knew one thing for sure—he wouldn’t stand in the young man’s way if college was Jase’s dream.

Dan didn’t want to break Jase’s heart, but he wanted the best for the kid. Ranch work wasn’t in Jase’s DNA like it was in Danny’s.

No, Jason Langston needed to go to college and live his life at his own pace without having to worry about an older boyfriend in rural Virginia with a daughter. How to let him down easy was the hardest part to figure out, but Danny would talk to Jon Wells and Tim Moran to figure it out.

“Why don’t you stay here and let Kayley sleep in. Hell, you can catch a catnap, and I’ll go help them set up for the party. I can call Shiloh to pick me up on his way and you can bring my farm truck and leave yours here. Kayley’s booster’s already in the back.” Danny noticed Jase’s blush, and he knew for sure what he had to do.

“You sure you don’t need help? I know how to do stuff at the ranch. I can help you,” the young man assured. In that moment, Dan saw Jase as a young man in need of a nudge.

“Naw. Y’all stay here and come over later. Trust me, it’ll be a long day. Better if Kayley sleeps in so she doesn’t get cranky later. I’ll call Shiloh.” Dan picked up his cell phone from the charger, surprised he’d remembered to put it on the damn thing in the first place.

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