3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

After his earlier heart-to-heart with Tim, Mickey decided he needed to have a conversation with Josh and Miss Katie regarding his indiscretion with Ethan Sachs. They'd been good to him during the time he'd worked at the ranch, and he hated the idea he might disappoint them.

They were the first people who took an interest in him as a person, not just another ranch hand. His own family had been a fucking disaster, so he wasn't exactly accustomed to people who cared, but the Simmons' family had shown him there were good people in the world.

Mickey's father, Joey, was a musician who moved Mickey and his mother to Nashville from Gainesville, Florida, in hopes of getting some studio work. All Joey got was a heroin addiction and a possession charge, sending him to prison due to the drugs he was caught with when they stopped him. They charged him with intent to distribute, which was something Mickey never told anyone, though he was sure it was his father's intention. Of course, he had no idea what happened to the man after he went to prison, nor did he care to ever try to find out.

Mickey's mother, Lola May, on the other hand, had worked several jobs before Joey went to jail. He was playing small gigs in dive bars in Nashville, and she was trying to support his career so she worked to try to take the pressure off Joey so he could allow his creativity to flow and write songs. That was what Lola always told Mickey when he asked after his father.

Mickey knew Joey wasn't writing songs while Lola was working two jobs to support the family. He kept his mouth shut because if she believed his father's bullshit, who was he to tell her the man was passed out drunk when he got home from school.

Lola worked hard to care for the family, and to make up for his father's lack of appreciation, so Mickey tried to be a good boy and give her nothing to worry about in hopes of making her life a bit easier. He even tried to make food for her so she could have something to eat when she got home from the dry-cleaning job she worked at night after she got off from her housekeeping job at Nashville General Hospital during the day.

Unfortunately, Lola May's heart broke when Joey was arrested, and she became disillusioned with life after the man was incarcerated. She chose to turn to sex work because it paid better than her two shitty jobs. Mickey's heart wasn't the same after he figured it out.

Unfortunately, her choices became detrimental to his own well-being when Lola caught him kissing and jerking off an older neighbor boy. It was then she decided he needed to pay his own freight, so she tried to pimp him out to her johns who had other tastes, telling him he would bring a premium if he'd just give them what they want. "You're already a fag so it shouldn't matter, baby." He later figured out the money was a necessity to support her own blossoming drug habit.

Mickey quickly made up his mind he wasn't going to be a hustler, nor was he going to allow his mother to sell him to the highest bidder. At the ripe old age of sixteen, he dropped out of high school and left Nashville far behind, vowing never to look back. Thus far, he had no idea what had happened to his parents, but more importantly, he didn't give a shit. They sure as fuck hadn't cared about him, so it was easy to block them from his mind and his heart.

School had pretty much been hit or miss anyway. When he dropped out for good, he procured a fake driver's license, that had him at eighteen years of age so he didn't get caught up in the child welfare system as he went off on his merry way.

Mickey had wanderlust in his soul. He sat in a coffee shop at the Greyhound station on Fifth Avenue, South, in Nashville, which wasn't nearly as prestigious as its namesake in Manhattan. He decided he'd always loved horses, finding them to be regal animals, so he chose to get a bus to Louisville, Kentucky, where they ran the Kentucky Derby every May.

Jobs were plentiful in the Louisville area, though they weren't well paying. Finally, Mickey landed a position as a groom's apprentice at Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, about an hour from Louisville.

The job mostly consisted of cleaning stalls or bathing horses, but Mickey was a quick study and learned his way around a horse barn, including what it took to care for and exercise the thoroughbred racing horses. He also learned everything that went into breeding and foaling racehorses. He listened eagerly to anything anyone was willing to teach him, hoping he could learn enough to be valuable to someone who needed a horse hand.

While he was working at Keeneland, he met Jerry Kessler and found the man to be a kind and fatherly sort of man. Mickey worked one weekend when Mr. Kessler brought his horse, Kessler's Komet, to Keeneland for its first race, and Mickey had been assigned to help him care for the large dun gelding. The horse came in third place, which wasn't bad for his first race, so Mickey made sure he got extra hay and oats that night before he went back to his home.

Much to his surprise, Jerry Kessler offered Mickey a job at the Bar K, his horse ranch in Louisville, citing he appreciated the way Mickey had attended to the thoroughbred as his reason for offering a total stranger a job and a place to live. Mickey wasn't stupid enough to think opportunities of the sort came along every day, so he took Mr. Kessler up on his offer quickly because the tent he'd been sleeping in behind the barn had a hole in it and it had rained nearly every fucking night. He knew he was lucky to get the break, and he didn't hesitate to show his gratitude by working hard.

The job started as shit work, literally, but he eventually worked his way up the ladder to a position of respect with Mr. Kessler over the few years he was in the man's employ. Mickey learned to ride, which was new to him, and he'd learned what went into training racehorses, along with hunters/jumpers.

Training horses for western riding and trail riding came after a time as well. He never shied away from any work he was directed to undertake, and it seemed Mr. Kessler recognized and rewarded that trait in Mickey. It was the first time in his life he'd ever been proud of himself for his accomplishments.

Mickey met Jackie Bardot on the first day Jackie worked at the Bar K, and he fell in love at first sight. Jackie was a beautiful young man with tanned skin and a white smile. He'd been hired at the ranch part-time as a barn hand while he was preparing to attend college.

Jackie was assigned tasks like cleaning saddles, cleaning stalls, and taking inventory of supplies because he was afraid of horses. Mr. Kessler, being the kind man he was, didn't hold it against the kid and found other jobs for Jackie to do that had nothing to do with the care and feeding of the ranch horses.

Jackie had graduated from high school that summer and was set to go to college at the University of Kentucky in the fall before his father demanded he leave home, saying "no fucking queer is gonna live under my roof." Jackie told Mickey the story one night while they sat on the back porch of the bunkhouse beside the large horse barn on the Bar K. Stupidly, Mickey continued to fall in love with the beautiful boy, and they made plans for a life together.

When Mr. Kessler had to sell the ranch due to a cancer diagnosis, Mickey promised Jackie he'd take care of him. Unfortunately, when the new owner took over, he fired the two of them because the other hands, who were trying to gain favor with the new owner, told him they were gay.

Mickey deemed himself a failure for not being able to keep the two of them in a job, so he decided he'd go elsewhere in search of a better opportunity for the two of them. He set up Jackie in a studio apartment in town where he could at least attend community college while working part-time at a café in Louisville owned by a friend of Mr. Kessler's. Mickey had vouched for Jackie with Miss Ginny at the café, and she'd hired the younger guy on Mickey's word.

A promise was made to Jackie that Mickey would find a place for them near a college or university so Jackie could continue pursuing his degree, then with a passionate kiss, Mickey went off to follow a lead Mr. Kessler had given him—the lead that would take him to Katydid Farm.

He truly believed he'd found the sticking-kind of love with Jackie, but not long into his employment at Katydid, Mickey learned his boyfriend didn't have faith in him, having moved on to another relationship without a word to Mickey.

It was Mickey's first experience with romantic heartbreak, and it hurt like hell, nearly as bad as when he ran away from home after his mother decided to sell him to the first man who came along with the cash she needed. That pain would follow him around for the rest of his life, he was certain.

Mickey slowly ventured down the stairs to speak with Katie and Josh, his stomach tying itself in knots with every step. Admitting his stupidity with Ethan Sachs and the unsolicited kiss wasn't anything he wanted to do, but he owed it to them to be honest. They trusted him and took him into their home, after all.

He entered the kitchen, surprised to see Tim sitting at the table with Ryan, who hopped up when he saw Mickey. He bent down and hugged the boy, happy to see him. "How ya doin', dude?"

Ryan grinned at him. "We had a family meetin' last night so we're here for negatoons."

Mickey looked at Tim, seeing a sweet smile on his handsome face before he faced Ryan. "It's negotiations , buddy. Will you run down to the barn to get your dad and Uncle Josh, please." The boy nodded and took off like a shot, causing Tim, Aunt Katie, and Mickey to laugh at his quick escape.

"Can we help with dinner?" Tim walked to the stove where Aunt Katie was standing over a cast-iron skillet. The slamming of the back screen door got everyone's attention.

"Sure, boys, though not sure what I'm makin' yet. I'm doin' up this bacon right now, but—just set the table and get drinks for us to start. Mickey, why didn't you talk to me, son? We could have worked all this out with Heath and Patsy before it went so far." The motherly chastisement in Katie's voice flooded him with guilt, though he knew it came from love.

"Aunt Katie!" Tim had a chastising tone of his own. Katie had spilled the beans on the discussion she and Tim were having before Mickey came down.

Mickey was sure he'd already fucked up enough people at the farm, so he decided to intercede before Tim and Aunt Katie had a falling out. "It's okay, Tim, really." He then turned to Katie, feeling his cheeks heat.

It was too late to do anything except apologize for the tough spot he'd put Katie and Josh in. "I'm really sorry, ma'am. I know how bad I messed up, and I respect you too much to tell ya there was an excuse for my behavior ‘cause there ain't none. I'm prepared to pack my sh—stuff to leave so I don't cause a problem between y'all and Mr. and Mrs. Sachs. I hate I've disappointed ya." Mickey hung his head, ashamed of his behavior for the first time in his life.

The slap to the back of his head was harsh. Mickey glanced up to see the beautiful, auburn-haired woman looking at him with an arched eyebrow. "You stop that right now, Michael. From what I hear tell, you weren't the first boy to kiss Ethan Sachs. Heath and Patsy are gonna need to wrap their minds and hearts around the fact their son might like handsome men instead of beautiful women. It certainly isn't the worst thing to happen in a life. At least they have a son who's still alive. I hope Heath Sachs comes at me about this business because I'll remind him of the hell that Joshua and I have had to live with since we lost our Shane."

He turned to see Tim give him a smile and a wink. "See?" Tim mouthed to him as Katie returned to her place at the stove. Mickey grinned in return because he'd never had people include him in a family as the Simmons' had done.

When the back door opened, Matt, Ryan, and Josh came inside, all three laughing. "Woman, we're hungry. The boy wants pancakes." Josh tossed his cap onto the bench by the back door.

Katie turned around and smiled. "Which boy?"

All the men at the table laughed, putting Mickey at ease. "Well, Ryan and Matt wanted 'em…"

Ryan scooted over to Katie and took her hand. "No, Grampa, you said she'd make us pancakes if I made a sad face." Ryan then frowned in the most pathetic way, causing them to cackle.

Katie turned to the table where the men were sitting. "Okay, what kind? Do you want apples? Do you want canned peaches? Do you want bacon pancakes?"

Mickey was awash with good feelings at the look of love on her face as she glanced at her boys . In that moment, he knew Katie Simmons was the type of mother he'd have wanted if he'd had the choice. Unfortunately, Fate saw fit to give him Lola May Sumner Warren.

When Matt Collins stood behind him and placed his hands atop Mickey's shoulders, he froze. The bull rider had a tight grip, and while Mickey could take care of himself in most instances, Matt Collins could kick his ass in a hurry if he became so inclined. The man was really a beast, but when he looked at Tim, he seemed to melt, which gave Mickey a glimmer of hope that the man might have a heart in his broad chest.

"Aunt Katie, he's the guest. It's up to him." Matt leaned forward and left a kiss on the top of Mickey's head. He glanced at Tim to see surprise on his face. Yeah, Mickey was surprised as well, but he only offered a smile.

"Miss Katie, it's whatever's the easiest." Mickey hoped he was appeasing everyone at the table because no one wanted to piss her off.

"I want the ones with bacon if anybody cares." Ryan climbed into the chair in front of where Mickey stood, settling himself on a thick phone book. Mickey held the laugh because he knew the boy's height was a sticking point, or so Tim had told him. Looking at the bull rider, Mickey was pretty sure it wouldn't be an issue for long.

"Okay, any objections?" Katie glanced around the table.

Nobody said a word, so she went about making them breakfast for dinner. They had bacon pancakes with honey butter and hash brown cups with an over-easy egg cooked inside. They ate and laughed, which was something Mickey didn't do enough. After the table was cleared and the dishes were in the fancy new dishwasher Matt and Tim had given her for Christmas, Katie took Ryan into the living room to play dominoes, stating it helped him with his addition.

Matt, Tim, Josh, and Mickey sat at the table, and Mickey felt like he might be sick, suddenly fraught with the same nerves when he told Tim of his indiscretion. "So, you wanna take my best hand and give me Paulie shit-for-brains? He don't like horses, Timothy, and he's a lazy SOB," Josh pointed out, cluing Mickey into the fact some groundwork had been laid without his knowledge.

Matt laughed, surprising Mickey. "Let's look at this as an opportunity to keep us both from bein' sued for a hostile work environment. Tim's about to smack Paulie in the head with a shovel because the kid believes he knows the business of ranchin' better than Tim's computer. Paulie fucks around with the amounts of hay and grain we feed the cattle, which throws off Timmy's numbers, and I get to hear about it every damn night.

"We know Paulie's a young buck who thinks he knows everything, and he seems to believe takin' care of horses is beneath him. Hell, I think Danny likes dealin' with the horses more than Paulie, and Dan hates horses. Paulie is a good carpenter, though. Our barn's been fixed up, but yours might need some work, not that I'm criticizin', Josh. At the end of the day, I need a hand on the place who gives a shit about those horses besides me, Tim, and Ryan. Mickey's ideal for the job, and I believe after Heath cools off, we can figure out a better situation all around." Mickey glanced at Matt to see the bull rider wink at him.

Josh turned in Mickey's direction and grinned, nudging his knee under the table. "Well, if he's gonna be takin' care of prime stock, he oughta get a raise over the other hands who won't do it. We don't talk about wages here at Katydid, and I'm sure Mickey wouldn't open his mouth to the other boys about what ya pay him, but if he's not gonna live here anymore, he's gonna need to live somewhere."

"Uncle Josh, why wouldn't he live here?" Tim jumped in with a worried look on his face.

Josh crossed his arms over his chest and wore a cocky grin. "Well, Heath comes to the house for coffee every mornin' before we start the day so we can figure out who's gonna do what. If Mickey's here, and there's hard feelin's? I think it could get ugly."

As Mickey was about to protest and promise to get out of the house before Heath showed up in the morning, he felt a heel grind into the top of his boot. He turned to look at Josh, who had a serious look on his face along with a cocked eyebrow.

Tim looked at Matt and leaned forward, covering his mouth, the two exchanging whispered words before the bull rider said, "Gotcha."

Matt turned to Mickey and grinned. "The basement's done, so you can live downstairs until we finish remodeling that little barn to make it into a bunkhouse. After that's done, you can move out there and be the resident babysitter for any other hands who need a place to live. For now, you live in the basement as part of your wages, and since you'll be our horse man, we've agreed to pay you…" Matt pulled out a pen and grabbed a napkin, scribbling a number before he folded it and handed it to Mickey.

The cowboy opened the napkin, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. It was more than he needed, for sure.

"Before you get all starry-eyed about it, this comes with some strings. You agree to babysit Ryan a coupla nights a month so Timmy and I can go out for dates, and you do your share of chores around the house. You cook?"

Mickey laughed. "Actually, I can. I used to cook for my… Well, I learned, and Miss Katie's been teachin' me some things. She says I make a pretty good steak, and my chili's not bad, either. I can cook other stuff, too, so it's not a problem. As for Ryan, just call me the manny," he teased which brought a huge laugh from Tim. It broke the tension around the kitchen table.

Matt held up his hand and leaned forward. "One more thing, Mick. No one-night stands. We have an almost eight-year-old boy, and it's been difficult enough for him with two dads. You paradin' guys in and outta the house? That's not somethin' I'm gonna tolerate. Find somewhere else to fu—entertain."

Mickey knew there was no wiggle room on that issue, though it didn't matter. He hadn't had sex in quite a while. Based on the people he'd met in town at the diner, Southern States Coop, and the cowboy bar, Pete's Place, there wasn't anyone who would remotely fill the bill, so it was nothing for Tim or Matt to worry about.

"I'd never do that, Matt. I wouldn't ever disrespect your home, and besides, the only two people I'd ever consider spendin' time with are taken." Mickey gave the couple a grin, hoping they heard the sincerity in his voice because he meant it with all his heart.

Josh snickered. "Now that we've ironed it out, let's talk about my finder's fee."

The four men laughed, and Tim went upstairs with Mickey to help him pack his clothes to make the move. Once they were in Tim's old room, he turned to Mickey and offered a sympathetic smile. "Hard to leave, isn't it?"

Mickey stood frozen in front of the closet before he looked around the room. It was the first home he'd really ever had. Part of him wished he didn't have to leave it. Josh and Katie weren't his parents, but they were people of value. His own family, not so much.

"This is the first real home I ever had, ya know? I mean, I lived at the Bar K in the bunkhouse, and Mr. and Mrs. Kessler were real nice to us hands, but Josh and Katie made me feel like family." Mickey felt his eyes prickle before he turned his head to hide the tears he was sure would fall.

Tim chuckled as he pulled Mickey into his arms. "I know the feeling, my friend, but it's time to move on to bigger and better pastures. Besides, I could use somebody to play video games with me. Matt hates them."

Mickey nodded, brushing his hand over his wet eyes. "I've never played 'em, but I'll learn."

"Yes, my friend, you will. Your life is going to grow in ways you never imagined." Tim pulled away, and they both smiled. It was a new day for Michael Warren, and he welcomed it with open arms.