Page 7 of For the Love of the Broken Man

Matt’s laugh was a surprise. “You can use this unless you know how to ride a horse. You gotta go slow so you don’t scare the animals. One guy used to drive flat out through the fields and run the cattle for no reason. It takes the weight of ‘em and costs me money. I fired him.”

Jase swallowed. The man clearly meant business.

“Ryan and Rocky ride their horses, Mabel and Sam, to check the fences. This time of the year, the cattle are out on good pasture so mostly, you’ll check to be sure none are down or sick. It ain’t calvin’ time, so you don’t gotta worry about anything like that, and you’ll only be workin’ here three days a week.

“The other three, you’ll be at Katydid, and then you’ll get Sunday’s off. Part of your pay is room and board at the Katydid. Dan can take ya over to meet Katie and Josh before he goes home. They’re good people, and they’re lookin’ forward to havin’ ya stay with ‘em.” The bull rider sounded sincere.

Savannah said Matt had mentioned that Jase would be splitting his time between two sister operations, but it was finally hitting him he’d be living with strangers. He felt concerned, but when he thought about the Colonel and how fondly he’d spoken of the Collins and Moran families from the Stanford’s visit to the Circle C. It made Jase wonder how many of the hands lived there because Tim had said they had no room for him.

“Okay, Mr. Collins. Anything else?” The bull snorted in the pen, confirming for Jase that he would stay as far away from that thing as possible.

“You’ll learn how to fix fence, along with the computer stuff Tim needs ya to help with, so you’ll need to make sure ya use plenty of sunscreen when you’re outside. We’ve got caps and leather work gloves in the barn office, so we’ll make sure you get what you need to do your job.”

Jase nodded again, not sure what to say to the bull rider. He didn’t want to piss off the man, but Jase wasn’t getting friendly vibes.

“On another note, I’ll caution you on one thing. My husband is off limits. I saw ya givin’ him the eye, and if I catch wind of ya tryin’ anything, you’ll regret ever comin’ here.” Yes, Matt was threatening him. It was more than a little shocking to Jase.

Jase glanced at the older man and felt the blood chill in his veins. “Oh! No, sir, Mr. Collins. I’d never, ever do anything that would… I know you and Mr. Moran are happily married, sir. Maybe it’s best if I just move on.”

It was a knee-jerk reaction to the man’s accusation, trying to hold in the tears welling in his soul. Jase had such high hopes for his time in Southern Virginia. He didn’t have any idea where he’d go next, but he damn well wouldn’t cause trouble in Holloway, Virginia.

Matt didn’t follow-up as he turned the Gator around and headed back to the barn. By the time they’d reached the pasture nearest the large building where a few horses were grazing, Jase was unable to stop the flow of embarrassing tears.

What could he have possibly done in the short time he’d been there? How had he given Matt Collins the impression he was interested in his husband? Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat…He knows.The man knows I’m gay, and he thinks I’ll try something with his husband!

Jase didn’t look at Matt as he wiped his eyes. “Look, Mr. Collins, I’m sorry if I gave you any reason at all to think I’m interested in your husband. He’s a handsome man, to be sure, but I know he’s taken. I’m not stupid, sir. Maybe it’s better if you get somebody to take me back to the bus station. I’ve got friends in South Carolina, so I can go there for a while.” Jase knew exactly no one in South Carolina.

“Well, if you think that’s best.” Matt gunned the motor toward the large barn. When they skidded to a stop, Jase watched as Matt hopped out and went inside, leaving him alone in the four-wheeler.

Get yourself together. You knew it was a risk coming here to strangers, so you shouldn’t be surprised it didn’t work out. Hell, things rarely work out on the first try, so learn from the mistakes—well, figure out the mistakes and learn from them. You’ll be fine. Jase hoped that if he kept repeating it, he’d come to believe it.

Climbing out of the vehicle, Jase looked behind him, taking in the beautiful fields. There were cows and horses lazily grazing, and Jase was sure the sunsets were stunning at top of the hill.

It was a pity he’d never see them in person. When a small tan horse with a blond mane and tail walked up to where Jase stood next to the four-wheeler, the horse nuzzled into Jase’s arm as it made a soft sound.

He opened his hand, as he would with a stray dog, and let the horse smell him before he reached up and stroked its nose. “How you doing? Clearly better than me. I wish I had time to get to know you, but it seems this isn’t the right fit for me. You’ve got a nice home. You’re… sniff… lucky.”

A side door opened, and Dan Johnson came out of it, laughing hysterically. He walked over to where Jase was standing with the small horse, petting it.

“Geez, Pinky, go away. Damn, I guess you’ll be able to mesmerize all the animals here at the Circle C. Well, let’s get you outta the line of fire because World War III is about to commence.” Jase was completely confused.

“What about this?” Jase pointed to the ATV.

“They’ll move it. Come on, kid. Miss Katie puts out a helluva spread for lunch,” Dan told him.

Jase followed him, stepping into the mud on the way around the barn, and hoping it wasn’t cow or horseshit. His Adidas would never be the same, and he had the feeling he wouldn’t either.

When the truck turned into the driveway of another ranch, Jase looked around, seeing it was only horses. There were no cattle to be seen, and there had been a sign at the edge of the property that read Katydid Farm. Jase wasn’t sure if the situation was going to be any better, but he held out hope.

“This is a horse farm. Josh and Katie Simmons are good people, and they’re excited to meet you. They know the Colonel, and he vouched for ya personally, so you’ve got a good in. Hell, you’re probably like Ethan when it comes to horses. That stupid Shetland seemed to love ya, and he don’t like nobody but Kayley and Megan, when they come to visit.”

Jase had no idea who any of those people were. He prayed he’d be able to make a better impression with the Simmons family than he had with Matthew Collins.

Danny continued. “Kid, these people will take good care of ya, and don’t worry ‘bout that mess over at Circle C. I’m pretty sure Tim will line out Matt in short order. Let’s go in so I can introduce ya all proper and everything.”

Jase nodded and picked up his duffel from the back of the truck where it had remained while he got his quick tour of the Circle C. He wasn’t sure what to expect from the second part of the job, but he hoped to hell things could be normal at the Katydid. It was a nice place, and all the flowers were pretty. He could tell a lot of pride went into its care.

He followed Dan to a back porch where they toed off shoes and boots before they knocked on the door. “Come in.” Dan Johnson turned to him and flashed a beautiful smile.

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