11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"I'm gonna watch a movie." The television came on, but the volume was low. Even so, Mickey couldn't mistake the sounds of Belle and the Beast. It was a favorite movie of his as a kid because it had just the right amount of kiddie-thriller for him, though he didn't tell anyone about his obsession back then. He'd recently had the pleasure of watching it with Rocky and Ryan, who both made fun of him because he kept shushing them, and he sang along with the songs.

Mickey pried open his eyes to see he had no idea where he was, nor who the cute little blonde girl was sitting on a big pillow in front of a midsized, plasma screen, watching the Beauty and the Beast cartoon.

He glanced down to see he was fully dressed except for his boots, and as he fought to sit up, his head spun. He quickly lay back down to quell the nausea. He saw the home was modest, but it was inviting. The couch fabric itched, but apparently not enough for Mickey not to pass out cold on the damn thing.

As he tried to recreate the events of the night in his head, all he really remembered was walking into Applebee's. As he concentrated, he started remembering seeing handsome Danny Johnson sitting at the bar alone, so he walked over and said hello, taking a seat next to him. Then, it all came flooding back.

"Hey, Danny. How you doin', man? I thought you were outta town," Mick had greeted the ranch foreman. The sandy-haired, blue-grey eyed man had taken the day off, and Mickey figured it was to go somewhere with his family. Mickey was surprised to see him at the restaurant, sitting at the bar with a pint of draft and a shot in front of him.

Danny gave him a sideways glance and took the shot. "Yeah, well, I helped someone move today. What brings you out? You never go anywhere." Danny expertly changed the subject.

Mickey laughed. "Matt and Tim wanted a date night, so I took the boys to Marty and Miss Jeri's and made myself scarce. According to Ryan, they like to watch scary movies, but Tim gets scared and screams at night. He wonders why they keep watchin' scary movies." Mickey smirked, which brought a laugh from Danny before he finished his beer.

Danny waved a finger at the bartender, who had a killer smile, short, spiky black hair, and vivid, blue eyes. He had a tattoo on his neck Mickey couldn't make out, but those eyes were hypnotizing.

"Yeah, I bet. They definitely seem to have a great relationship. I've found all kinds of things around the barn I won't go into, leadin' me to believe they don't limit their activities to the bedroom. More power to ‘em." Danny lifted his beer toward the bartender and held up two fingers, glancing at Mickey. Spiky Hair looked his way, so Mickey nodded. That was the first round.

Mickey vaguely remembered the two of them continuing to drink and he thought they'd ordered chicken wings at a point. They were discussing work stuff, and it was the last thing he really wanted to talk about, so he changed the subject. "You have a little girl, right? I think I heard somebody say that. She home with her momma?"

Danny took a deep breath and looked away for a full minute, based on the clock for the first quarter of the NBA game they were watching. Basketball wasn't Mickey's game, nor was soccer, which was the other game on the televisions over the bar. When Danny cleared his throat, Mickey was relieved.

"Sorry, man. Kayley's my little sister's girl. My sister, Denise, died from a stroke when Kayley was born. The daddy was never in the picture. My mom took care of her but she ain't able to anymore. Thankfully, Denise made sure to fill out papers if somethin' happened to our Momma, I was to be named guardian for my niece. It's a lot easier than what Tim and Matt have gone through or are gonna go through for Rocky. I don't envy ‘em havin' to figure that shit out. What're you doin' here?"

After that discussion, Mickey remembered a lot of drinking and no more food. They'd actually called a cab which they'd taken to Danny's duplex where little Kayley was currently watching television. He wondered where she'd been the night before, but he could only concentrate on not throwing up… endlessly.

A car on the driveway had Mickey trying to get up off the couch, but he knew he'd puke if he moved, so he stayed put. He heard the back door open and saw the girl hop up and run toward it. "Hello, sweet girl." The voice was deep.

"Did you bring donuts, Uncle Zach?" Kayley asked in the sweetest voice Mickey had ever heard.

"I promised I would last night, didn't I? Where's Uncle Danny?"

"Upstairs, snorin'. He woked me. There's a man on the couch." She pointed to Mickey's prone body.

Mickey heard footsteps and closed his eyes, praying he didn't get the shit kicked out of him in his semicomatose state. The laugh was quite appealing. "Looks like a cowboy. What are we gonna do about that?" the man whispered to the little girl.

"Wake him up and throw him out," she announced in a loud voice, and the smile on Mickey's face betrayed the fact he was awake.

He opened his eyes to see a very handsome man standing over him with the beautiful child in his arms as the two of them stared at him. "I'd get up, but I might barf on y'all. I'm Mickey Warren, and I work for Danny at the Circle C. Seems I decided to tie one on last night, and Dan was nice enough to let me crash here on this couch.

"Soon as I can get up without makin' a mess, I'll be outta y'alls way," Mickey offered to the two of them. The handsome guy laughed. He looked like a younger version of Danny. Mickey sat up slowly, feeling the pounding in his head. He really wanted to die.

"I'm Zach Johnson, Danny's younger brother, and this one's other uncle," he teased as he tickled Kayley. Her laughter made Mickey's head pound, but it was like tinkling bells.

"Nice to meet ya. You live here?" Mickey tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat. It would be the last time he drank without eating.

"No. I'm in school in Richmond…VCU. I'm home for the weekend, so I made Dan go out last night because he spends too much time at home with Kayley. I guess it's too much to hope he picked you up and had his way with you?" Zach's comment made Mickey laugh.

"Naw. Strictly professional and friendly, but not that friendly. Dan's a great guy and he'd never take advantage of a drunk."

Zach laughed. "Ah, well… Not my business, I guess. You hungry? I went to get donuts for Kayley, and then I was also gonna make some eggs. Danny oughta be down in a few minutes," Zach said the sound of the shower could be heard from upstairs.

Mickey felt around until he found his phone to see it was just after eight on Saturday morning. He had a message from Matt.

I need a favor. Call me when you wake up. Hopefully before noon. MC

He wasn't sure what kind of favor his boss was requesting, but he'd do anything for Matt and Tim. They were family.

"Is there a bathroom nearby?" Mickey asked.

Zach and Kayley both pointed down the hall, and Mickey smiled before he ran. The results in the bathroom were as awful as he'd expected, but after a thorough rinse and then a shot of mouthwash, he was okay.

He walked back down the hall to see Danny sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hand. "He looks sad, Uncle Zach," Kayley whispered as Mickey entered the room.

"He's kinda sad, sweetie, but he'll be okay with some water. Drink up, Daniel," Zach ordered with a laugh. Mickey laughed as well.

Danny looked up at him and snarled. "How the hell do you look so good? I feel like death warmed over. How'd you talk me into…"

"Whoa! I didn't talk you into nothin'. You were happy to go shot for shot. I woke up on your couch, Dan. Anyway, thank ya for lettin' me sleep here. Matt texted me and he needs a favor, so I best get back to the ranch. I guess I'll see ya Monday." Mickey headed toward the front door to leave.

Mickey walked to Pete's to get Tim's truck, happy it hadn't been towed. He hit the McDonald's drive through for some coffee and a biscuit sandwich before heading to the ranch, not sure what his boss needed him to do. He prayed it didn't involve working in the hot sun.

"For fuck's sakes, why me?" Mickey sat at the kitchen table eating an omelet Tim had made for him. It was just him, Matt, and Tim in the kitchen, so he felt free to voice his opinion, especially since he believed they weren't being exactly up front about the details.

"We can't go because the boys got shit goin' on. We trust you to be there while Charlie does his job, and she'll have a check. What's the problem?" Matt asked him.

"Danny would be better suited for it, likely," Mickey suggested, fingers crossed under the table.

Tim laughed, which threw him off a bit. "Danny hates horses, Mick. You love riding Charlie, and I'd bet Ms. Granger wants to see him ridden before he breeds her mare. I've already made you a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express, and they have a stall for him at their barn. All we're asking is for you to take him and make sure he doesn't get hurt, nor does he hurt the mares. It's only a few hours away." Tim's voice left no room to bargain.

Mickey took a deep breath. He loved working at the ranch as much as he'd loved working at the Katydid, and he knew he'd have to learn to adapt to situations that would come along because his bosses had kids. Hauling that huge stallion for a booty call hadn't figured into the things Mickey believed Tim and Matt would ask him to do. It wasn't that he wouldn't do it, but he hadn't considered it might be one of his responsibilities. "Okay, where am I goin'?"

"Give me your phone. I'll program your GPS. You can take Matt's truck and the short trailer. Use the motel, Mick. Don't sleep in the damn truck. Ms. Granger's very interested in Charlie, and the stud fee is pretty hefty. You'll be fine." Tim got up and left the room.

Mickey chuckled. "Am I goin' to the gallows?"

With a huge grin, Matt reached into his pocket and handed Mickey the keys. "Look, we love you like family, and as family, we won't think twice about askin' for favors. It's not meant to—" Tim returned and took Matt's hand.

"What Matty meant is, thank you for doing this for us. You handle Charlie as well as Matt, and we've got to pick up the boys and get going with errands. If she says she doesn't want to breed her mares to him, just thank her, load him up, and bring him home. There are plenty of other mares waiting for his magic touch and special sauce." Tim smirked and winked.

Mickey and Matt laughed, and without further questions, Mickey went down to his room to shower and pack a bag. He hooked up the big truck to the smaller trailer and after he loaded the crown jewel of the Circle C, he made certain he had the directions on his phone where he could access them easily. After he had the saddle, tack, and some of the premium feed they used loaded in the trailer, he went up to the house to get a coffee to-go, grateful he was feeling better. As disgusting as it was, throwing up at Dan's house was probably the best thing that could have happened to him that morning.

"Okay, fellas. We're gettin' on the road. I'll take care of him, don't you worry," Mickey told the two of them while they were cleaning up the kitchen.

Tim walked over to him and smiled. "Mick, make sure you stick around until you put him to bed tonight. Our insurance doesn't cover him unless someone from the ranch is there to supervise. I think the lady has a breeding manager, but please watch Charlie. We truly appreciate you doing this for us." Tim handed him a credit card with the ranch's name embossed on it with his name beneath.

Mickey was a bit confused because for some reason it seemed as if the two of them were acting like he was going off to college or something. He tried to chalk it up to their concern about the stallion and the hefty stud fee he'd bring, and he'd do everything he could to protect the animal. They needn't worry so much.

After deciding to take state roads instead of the interstates, Mickey settled in for a nice drive, although it would take a few hours. He decided he'd stop halfway to check on the stallion and take a bathroom break for himself.

Having a plan, he turned on the radio to listen to a baseball game. The game was DC versus Atlanta, and while he wasn't exactly a baseball fan, it was better than any of the other shit he was getting on the radio since he didn't know how to use the satellite stations. His old Chevy only had an AM radio, and it had quit working years ago—before Mickey had even bought it from Mr. Kessler.

Driving along, taking in the sunny, late spring day, Mickey's thoughts wandered to events of the previous night. Danny, who he didn't know well before he sat down next to the man at the bar, was a really nice guy raising his sister's kid.

Danny had mentioned taking the day off to help someone move, but he didn't say anything more about it. His brother, Zach, seemed like a nice guy from the few minutes they'd talked, and he had joked about Mickey and Danny hooking up, which made Mick wonder if Danny was gay. He'd have never guessed it, but his gaydar wasn't exactly stellar.

Like with Jon Wells. He'd originally assessed the man as straight, but after the weekend he spent at the ranch, Mickey had reasoned he was likely bi and definitely searching for someone who was nothing like Mickey.

He'd had many dreams of Jon and him together, but that would be all they were—dreams. He needed to set his sights beyond the fantasy he seemed to have running on a loop in his subconscious. It wasn't doing him any good to continue to stew on something never to be.

Mickey needed to give himself a major pep talk and get the fuck over it. There were probably a lot of guys out there who would be happy to date him, and after living at the Circle C, he'd seen how a gay couple could be as happy as any straight couple. They could also raise a family with lots of love and kindness, just as Matt and Tim were doing with Ryan and Rocky.

It was time to reassess his life's ambitions and make some plans for the future. He could move forward if he set goals for himself, and he had some things he'd been considering of late as possibilities to pursue. Mickey thought about getting his GED and maybe taking some night classes or something. He'd seen stuff on TV touting the benefits of bettering oneself, and he'd pretty much squandered the last few years of his life without giving much consideration to what he wanted versus what he needed to do to get by. It was time to start planning a life and not just reacting to what came at him. He was an adult, after all.