Page 49 of For the Love of the Broken Man

Josh leaned over and hugged the girl. “It’s great to have the two of you drop by. Come on back. Katie will be beside herself.” Josh led Kayley around the side porch to the back patio, Jase in tow.

When they rounded the corner, Jase saw Katie Simmons with the ever-present smile on her face. She hadn’t changed in the three years Jase hadn’t seen her. Her red hair still shined, though there was a little gray at the roots. He wouldn’t dare point it out.

“Oh, my goodness! Look who it is!” Katie rushed Jase and hugged him tightly. It felt good to know he was welcomed.

When she pulled away, she slapped his chest, a move she’d used on her husband on more than one occasion. “You didn’t stay in touch, Jason. You told me you would.” Her chastisement made Jase blush.

Josh laughed. “Katie-girl, maybe we get the boy a drink and get Kayley some ice cream. I think you said you made peach?”

Jason saw the wordless exchange between the two of them, which was something people who had been in love a long time could do. Katie smiled at her husband before she ushered Kayley inside. Jase took a deep breath and turned to Josh.

Josh Simmons was a man who had the respect of everyone who ever met him, and Jase knew him to be honorable. He knew the man would tell him the truth. “Sir, do you know where I can find Danny?”

“You two gonna stay tonight?” Josh asked. Jase nodded.

Josh reached into a cooler and hauled out two Bud Lights, opening one to hand to Jase, who accepted it. He drank and smoked and did other things in college he’d have to leave behind, but a beer with Josh Simmons was an acknowledgment he’d grown up, and he took it.

“First, congratulations on your graduation, Jase. We didn’t know much about what happened when you and Danny broke up… well, until Mick called and filled Katie’s ear. Hell, that woman was fit to be tied, and Matt and Tim have heard hell about their part of it.

“I’m not sure why they went along with that whole buncha bullshit, but as my old momma used to say, ‘you can’t change the past because it’s never comin’ round again’,” Josh told him.

“Yes sir,” Jase responded, waiting for the man to continue.

“So, from what I know, those two guys who own the flower shop became good friends of Danny’s after all that mess. Matt, Tim, Phil, and Javier organized an intervention, which Mickey and Jon didn’t agree to participate in because they thought Dan should have been sent to rehab right off. It’s been a clusterfuck, son,” Josh admitted as they drank their beers.

“Why didn’t anyone call me? I mean, you all had my address and cell number because you sent me cards on my birthday and Christmas, and I got texts on occasion. Hell, Josh, I spent my Christmases with Mickey and Jon, and they never said a goddamn word.” Jase was fighting to keep his anger under control.

Josh took another draw on his beer before he set it on the patio table. “From what I understand, Jon couldn’t say anything because Danny’s his client, and he swore Mick to silence. Was it wrong? Only heaven knows, but I think you have the power to make it right… if you want to. If it’s too much, then leave Kayley with us and go off to your new life, Jase. After all this bullshit, nobody would blame you, I swear.”

Jason sat on the patio considering his options, and he quickly reached an undisputable conclusion. He still loved Danny Johnson and his daughter, and he wasn’t going to allow Danny to scare him off a second time.

The first time around, Jase was young and naïve, and he didn’t know how to stand up for himself with Danny. Over the years, he’d matured, and he’d learned how to fight his own battles. If anyone was going to deal with Danny, it was going to be Jason, the man who still loved him despite all the bullshit Dan had put Jase through.

Before he could respond, Katie and Kayley walked out of the house, both seeming to be giddy. “She made cake and ice cream,” Kayley told him as she set a plate in front of him, frowning at the half-filled bottle of beer.

Jase rose from the table and dumped it into the grass at the side of the patio before he sat back down. He saw Kayley’s approving nod before he took his seat again. “Looks great,” he told the girl, seeing her smile as he dug in.

Jason had a lot of things to consider regarding his future, one of which was his job situation, but he had two weeks to figure out what he wanted.

Later that night, he and Kayley settled into the bedrooms Kathleen Simmons seemed to keep ready for any stray who came along. As Jase sunk into the bed he’d first slept in when he’d shown up at Katydid Farm, a kid with nowhere to go, he said a little prayer of thanks. His future might be a little cloudy, but it was a lot better than it had been when he’d first left Texas. There was a lot of promise in the road ahead if Jase just took it by the horns.

With Kayley in the loving care of Miss Katie, Jase took the opportunity to follow the directions Josh had given him to go to the home of Felipe and Javier where they lived above the flower shop, Flowers by Felipe.

Jase saw the flower shop was open, so he hopped out of his truck and walked inside, seeing a good-looking guy with salt-and-pepper hair and dark eyes. He was working on a computer with glasses perched on the end of his nose. When the man looked up, he smiled at Jase. Jase was certain he could take the man if things turned physical about getting to see Danny, but something about the man told Jase it wouldn’t be necessary.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to Flowers by Felipe. How can I help you?” the large, handsome man asked.

Jase assessed the situation for a moment before he spoke. “I’m guessing you’re Javier?” He stood to his full height, grateful he was taller than the other man, though the Hispanic man presented a striking figure.

Javier sized him up and smiled. “I am. Do I know you?”

Jase grinned in return because he didn’t want to come across as threatening. They were Danny’s friends, and he hoped they’d be his friends as well if things worked his way. “I’m Jason Langston. I understand you and Felipe put Danny under lock and key. Can I see him, please?”

Jase reached into his pocket and pulled out a note Kayley had written when he’d told her he was going to talk to her dad. He’d read it, and it made him cry. He hoped it struck a chord with Javier, so he handed it over.

“Oh, for crap’s sakes. Jase, he’s upstairs. His sponsor is up with him right now, but can you hang around for about twenty minutes so I can get Phil to come down, and we can talk to you? He’s not embracing his sobriety at all. We know he’s just biding his time until he thinks we believe he’s okay, but he seems to think he’s fooling us.”

The older man laughed a little as he continued. “Dan seems to be under the impression he’s the first guy who’s ever gone through this shit, though we try to tell him he’s not. Now, while we wait, can I get you a cup of coffee or a glass of sweet tea?”

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