Page 48 of For the Love of the Broken Man

“Fuck that,” Mickey snarled. “You’ve been an asshole when it comes to Jase because you think he’s a better-looking, younger, and more personable copy of you. You’ve always been jealous of him, Matthew, and we all know it. You made his life—”

Jase stood. “I’m actually here, you know? All this shoulda, woulda, coulda, bullshit isn’t answering my question. Where is Dan?”

Tim Moran scanned those at the table before he finally cleared his throat. “He’s with two of his friends, drying out. After you left—”

“Got kicked to the fuckin’ curb,” Mickey hissed at Tim.

Tim continued. “Dan crawled into a bottle. Matt and I didn’t think it would come to anything of the sort. We thought he was just trying to get through the initial hurt, so we let it go. He did his job around here, and we thought he’d stopped. We didn’t see him acting like a drunkard.”

Mickey stood from his chair and pounded his fist on the table. “It’s called a functioning alcoholic, Timothy. Trust me, I grew up with one. You two took Danny’s side when he told you he needed to cut Jase loose for the kid’s own good, and I’ll be goddamn if my own partner didn’t play a part. I’ve kept my mouth shut, but I’m done. I’m not gonna be quiet about it anymore because it all went to shit. We all own a piece of this mess.”

Mickey turned to Jase, who was totally confused. “Danny loves you, and he decided you needed to go to college and have a different kind of life than you’d have with him. He thought he was holding you back, so he came to the decision to cut you loose, instead of talking to you about your future, Jase.

“The two of you could have worked somethin’ out like Jonny and me, but Danny wouldn’t hear it. He decided to set you free, I guess, and these guys went along with it.” Mickey, a scowl on his face, pointed to Tim and Matt.

Jon pulled Mickey to sit next to him, though the lawyer said nothing. Finally, Matt Collins spoke up. “Look, we made a mistake, and we had no clue things would go off the rails like it did.”

Jason, however, was angry. For three fucking years, he thought Danny didn’t love him and wanted him out of his life. He’d loved the man so much his heart shattered at being sent away. Hell, he’d considered suicide at one point.

The fact they all knew the truth, and nobody cared enough about Jase to tell him the truth angered him more than anything—even his own father’s hatred for him. How could they disregard the connection Jase had with Danny? It wasn’t their decision to make.

Jase stood from his chair and smiled, hauling up his still-baggy jeans. He’d never fallen into the tight-jeans concept because his dick needed some breathing room.

“Well, this has definitely been enlightening. I’m not sure what you four want me to do. Seems you and Danny made a lot of decisions for my life to which I wasn’t privy, so it’s best if I’m on my way.”

Jase turned to Mickey and smiled. He couldn’t hate the guy.

Mickey Warren had been supportive of him when he’d arrived at Wonderland, but the fact he’d conspired with everyone to keep Jase in the dark about Danny made Mick untrustworthy. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions. My mother told me it says so in the Bible.”

Pushing in his chair, Jase headed toward the door. As he was about to open it, he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, turning to see Kayley with tears on her face.

“Please don’t leave. I heard Miss Jeri say they’ll take me away from him and send me away to Aunt Rae, but Daddy needs me. He told me you said that he needed to be my daddy, not my uncle, Jase. You’ve gotta help me get him home. I can take care of him, and I won’t bring him beers anymore.” That sweet little girl’s tears made Jase’s heart ache.

I’d like to beat the living shit out of Dan Johnson, but she needs him. Hell,Jase thought as he looked at the beautiful eight-year-old looking up at him with amber-green eyes that begged him for help.

He exhaled and knelt. “Do you know where he is?”

“Mr. Phil and Mr. Javie have him at their place. I heard Mr. Matt tell Uncle Jonny they’re dryin’ him out.” Kayley cupped her hand to whisper in Jase’s ear.

Jason smiled. “You wanna go to the Katydid and let Miss Katie take care of us for a couple of days so I can figure things out? We’ll get your daddy set on the straight and narrow, Little Bit. I promise.” Jase gave the girl a reassuring smile to solidify his commitment.

“Can I go say goodbye to Meggie and the boys?” Jase nodded as Kayley scrambled down the stairs.

Jase walked into the kitchen to face the four men at the table who thought they had some control over his and Daniel’s future. They were well-meaning and they loved Danny, Jase knew, but they’d made decisions they had no right to make. It was Danny and Jase’s lives, and only the two men had the right to decide how it would play out.

“I’m taking Kayley with me to the Katydid. I love all of you, I really do. When I didn’t have any family, you all stepped in and helped a green kid assimilate into a life he never thought possible. I hope you’ll give us some space and let us work through this in our own way and in our own time. You’ve made enough decisions for Danny and me.”

Kayley and Meggie came into the hallway, both with smiles. Meggie had a backpack and placed it on the floor before she took off her purple-framed glasses to look up at Jase. “You’ll still come see me, Jase?”

Jase knelt and kissed Meggie’s cheeks, drying her eyes as a few tears rolled down her round cheeks. “Oh, sweetie, of course, I will. You’re a part of my family. I’ve missed you too much not to come see you. I need to take care of Kayley right now, and we need to get Danny home. I love you, sweetness,” he told the little brunette with the big brown eyes and the wild curly hair.

After he had Kayley and her suitcase secured in his truck, he turned to the little blonde and smiled. “You, Dan, and me, we’re going to be okay.” Jase prayed it wasn’t a lie.

Jase and Kayley stood on the front porch of the Katydid and rang the bell. Jase could hear the crickets beginning to chirp as the sun was setting, and it gave him comfort. He remembered when he’d lived at the Katydid for a short amount of time and how wonderful Josh and Katie had been to him. He hoped their this-is-your-home invitation was sincere.

Instead of the door opening, they both heard, “Hey, look who it is. Jason, we’re out here on the patio, son.” Josh Simmons was standing at the corner of the house with a big grin on his face. Jase relaxed because the man appeared happy to see them.

Kayley ran down the front stairs and right into Josh, nearly knocking him over. “Hi, Mr. Josh. Look whose home!” She pointed her finger in Jase’s direction.

---