A/N Ok, so I have been a little MIA. Sorry for the long delay. Personal things. Here is the next installment. I have gotten the mojo back I think. I hope you like and oh, I don't own SOA.
Chapter 21
It had been 4 days since the tea party and things were moving along quite nicely. Sandy had called on Saturday afternoon and asked if MJ wanted to go to brunch with her on Sunday. She assured him it was not to the Country Club and he had agreed to join her. It was going to take them time to heal the wounds, but this was a good first step.
Angie had taken off on Saturday afternoon and had ridden up into the high country of the ranch. When she had been gone for 5 hours, Jax had started to get worried. Taggert assured him she knew what she was doing. Jax had sat and waited for her in the barn till almost 9 pm. Angie had come riding in just then and while Jax was upset she had taken off, he understood she needed to handle this in her own way. The night before he had made sure she knew he loved her and was there for her, and now it was up to her to let him know what she needed. That didn't mean he wasn't keeping a watchful eye on her.
Polly had contacted Randall Fahey and made sure he was invited to the Hoedown. He had resisted at first, but Polly was convincing in her naive way that this would give him an opportunity to hear stories about Bill and the boys from someone other than her. She had carefully not included the Parkers' names when he asked who would be there, and Polly had assured him the party was going to be so big if he wanted to avoid Angie he could. In the end, he seemed to be excited for the opportunity to meet some more people who knew the Maroneys and said he would be there.
Carolyn simply contacted David and asked if he had received an invitation. Of course he said he had and Carolyn suggested they attend together. David was reluctant, and eventually said it he was going to have to arrive late. Carolyn told him she would meet him there and he decided that would be good. He however, was very adamant they appear friendly, but not involved. Carolyn agreed, as it seemed important to getting him to agree to come.
Angie needed Peter at MT Technologies to get Douglas Parker to the party. Juice and Peter had finally dug up some information on Douglas Parker that might be useful. He had been in business for many years in quartz mining. While this was something Maroney Mining had not worked in before, it started a chain of clues that had led Juice and Peter to something they thought would work as a carrot to get him to come. Seems old Mr. Parker had a thing for vintage cars. He had bought several rare cars over the last 5 years. Included in the purchases had been a 1970 Barracuda. Someone with that taste in cars might be willing to loan his out for a private car show, one raising money for a charity. Steve at Maroney Mining had called David Parker and asked about his Dad's car being in the show.
Angie contacted the event planner and had her arrange for several other vintage cars to be on display at the hoedown. Rare, classic cars from private collections, and Angie had to cash in a few favors to get them all there. With this new 'attraction' and Douglas Parker participating in the show, the stage was set for the hoedown.
Tuesday afternoon found Happy and Jax talking quietly. They were waiting for MJ to get back from school so they could talk to him. They hadn't really gotten a chance to let him know what had been going on regarding the explosion. Happy had told Jax about thinking MJ had heard them talking outside the birthing barn, but so many things had come up that Jax hadn't been able to get some time to talk to MJ. Jax and Happy had decided they needed to take care of this now, before things got too chaotic before the hoedown.
MJ pulled up to the house in the pickup he had driven to school. Being out at the ranch meant MJ could drive to school even though he only had a learner's permit. When he pulled up and parked in the drive he saw Jax and Happy's Harleys sitting there. MJ hopped out of the truck and headed into the house to change. He didn't know what his chores would be today, but he was sure someone had left him a list.
When MJ walked in the back door he found Jax and Happy at the table. "Hey," MJ said as he made his way through the kitchen. He picked up a cookie from the cooling racks Pricilla had put them on and was headed toward his room. "Pricilla, do you have my chore list?" MJ asked before he went to change.
"No, I do not. Talk to those two," Pricilla said. MJ turned and looked at Jax and Happy. "So what is on my chore list?" MJ asked as he dropped his books on the table and sat down next to Jax.
"No chores today," Jax said. "But you do have some stuff to do. Go get changed and meet us out by the truck."
"Where are we going?" MJ asked as he gathered his things.
"Nowhere you need to get all fancied up for. Regular work clothes are fine." Jax said.
"Ok, I will be back down in a few." MJ said and with that he bolted out of the kitchen and up to his room.
"You sure about this Jax?" Happy asked.
"Look, I am as sure as I can be. But let's not tell Angel till we get back," Jax said.
"Agreed. And I was just along for the ride if she asks." Happy said as he got up from the table and headed out to the truck.
The three of them had driven for a little while up into the mountains of the ranch. Jax knew where he was going, but he didn't know if MJ knew where they were. He assumed so, but it had been a while and he wasn't sure how secretive Angie had kept her Mom's cabin.
"Hey, we are heading up to Grandma's," MJ said. "You know I haven't been up there since I was real little. Dad always said that was Aunt Angie's special place and we weren't to go there unless we were with her."
"Yeah, well I sort of have an in with her. Kind of gives me permission. Besides we aren't going in the cabin, just up to an area around the cabin." Jax said.
"Jax, have you been up here before?" MJ asked.
"I have. I came out and stayed with your Aunt several years ago. Needed some time to think about things, put them into perspective. I stayed at the cabin, and Angel would come up and visit when she could. I am not sure, but I think Taggert was the only one who knew I was here. She kept if from even her Dad." Jax said as he thought back on the time he had spent there.
"Wow, I didn't think Aunt Angie kept anything from Grandpa," MJ said, impressed by how important Jax must have always been to his Aunt. "So what are we going to do up here?" MJ asked.
"Well, don't tell your aunt or your mother, but we are going to shoot some things." Jax said. He looked over at Happy and Happy was all smiles from ear to ear.
"Yeah, figured it was time to let out a little aggression, and wondered what kind of shot you might be." Happy added.
"Well, not as good as I used to be. I bet Grandpa and me shot at least 3 times a week. Sometimes we hunted, sometimes we just shot targets. But as you can guess, not in Mom's approved list of activities for me." MJ said.
"Well I am not planning to tell, are you?" Jax said as he looked at MJ in the rear view mirror and gave him a wink.
"She won't hear it from me," MJ said. "But what are we going to shoot at? And what are we going to shoot with?" MJ said, looking around the vehicle for a hunting rifle or shotgun. "Wait, can I shoot your Beretta?" MJ asked, his eyes as big as saucers.
"Trust me MJ we have plenty to shoot with, and yes you can shoot the Beretta." Jax said.
Jax pulled up to the cabin and the three of them got out of the pickup. Going to the back of the truck, Happy dropped the tailgate of the truck and slid the gun case to the end. Opening it he revealed the weaponry they had brought. Inside were 3 12 gage shotguns. MJ looked down at one of them in particular and slowly ran his hand up it. It was a Savage 311 side by side, and MJ knew whose gun it was. "Where did you get these?" MJ asked.
"From the study," Jax said. "Recognize them do you?"
"Yeah, this one is Grandpa's. And this one," MJ said, as he moved his hand to the Browning, "This one is Uncle Mason's."
"I think this other Savage is Angie's. She used to talk about it all the time." Jax commented.
"She doesn't know you took them?" MJ asked.
"No, but she will be fine with it. Come on; let's see what kind of shot you are." Jax said.
Each of them picked up a gun and Jax directed them behind the house. He took them to the clearing where he and Angie had shot all those years ago. They lined up some hedge apples and some other natural targets and then each of them took turns shooting. After several rounds with the shotguns Happy and Jax took out their handguns and took several more rounds of practice. Jax let MJ shoot his Beretta and then Happy even let MJ shoot his Glock.
When they had shot all the ammunition they had brought except a full clip for each handgun they began to make their way back to the truck. Jax decided this was probably a good time to start the conversation. "So, how was your evening the other night on bottle duty?"
"Not too eventful," MJ said.
"Didn't have anything unexpected happen?" Happy asked.
"No not really, just some bawling calves." MJ said.
"Didn't hear anything unusual?" Jax asked.
"Not really," MJ said. He didn't look at either of the two, but down at the dirt as they walked toward the truck.
"So you didn't hear Jax and me talking outside the birthing barn?" Happy said as he put his hand on MJ's shoulder, stopping his forward motion.
"Well, I didn't hear all of it," MJ said. He stopped and turned and faced the two of them.
"Thought we had a deal," Jax said. "You were going to stay out of it and trust me to keep you informed."
"Yeah well, I have been waiting to be informed. My Mom and my Aunts show up out at the ranch and you don't tell me shit." MJ spat. He was calm, but forceful.
"Hey, we have been a little busy, what do you think this little shooting adventure was for? We came up here to fill you in. But if you can't be trusted," Jax said.
"Hey I can be trusted. I haven't done shit about what I overheard. I even saw that little pipsqueak Fahey in town today and didn't do shit. And man did I want to." MJ said.
"Wait, you saw him?" Jax asked.
"Yeah, on Main Street, coming out of the Sheriff's office," MJ said.
"And were you going to tell us that," Happy said.
"Well yeah, when you decided to tell me anything," MJ said.
"Ok, fair enough." Jax said. "How about we compare notes? How much did you hear Friday night?"
"Most of it, but I don't understand it. Why is Aunt Angie so upset about Fahey? How is he tied to Dad's death?" MJ asked.
"Well, it is kind of a long story," Jax said. "Here sit down, I will tell you." The three of them walked over to the porch of the cabin and sat down. Jax began to tell MJ the story of Fahey's mom and his Grandpa, how Randall Fahey was most likely his uncle, about the Parkers and how they suspected they were responsible for killing the Maroney men. Happy observed MJ as Jax talked, he could see the anger boiling in the young man, a slow, rising anger. When Jax had finished telling him about the situation the two men waited for MJ to react.
"So, do Aunt Polly, Aunt Carolyn and my Mom know about all of this?" MJ asked.
"Not everything. We haven't told them the relationship between Parker and Fahey. If Aunt Carolyn is part of it, we don't want her tipping our hand about what we know." Happy said.
"You know Aunt Polly can't be part of this, she is too naïve. I don't believe Mom is part of it either. None of these men have even been on the radar at our place as far as I know and I have been keeping pretty good tabs on Mom's activities, even though she doesn't know that. But Aunt Carolyn, man I don't know. I knew there was a man she was seeing. I can't believe she would betray Uncle Mark though." MJ said.
"Did you know Uncle Mark wanted a divorce?" Jax asked.
"I knew they weren't happy. Hadn't been since the whole baby thing," MJ said.
"What baby thing?" Jax asked.
"They were looking for a surrogate to carry a baby for them, but they couldn't find one. In the end they just gave up. I think Uncle Mark wanted a baby way more than Aunt Carolyn ever did. No that is probably not right. I think Aunt Carolyn just couldn't go through any more disappointment." MJ said.
"How did you know all this MJ?" Happy asked.
"Grandpa. He would tell me things. He never treated me like a kid. He talked to me like an adult. He said it was important that I be aware of things in the family, even if I were not involved in the conversations." MJ said.
"Did your Aunt Angie know about the surrogacy?" Jax asked.
"I don't know." MJ said.
"Well for now, let's keep that to ourselves. I will talk to Angel. So here is the plan, MJ. All the players are coming to the Hoedown. We are hoping if we put them all in one place, someone will show their hand." Jax said.
"And you think it is this Douglas Parker guy who is behind it all?" MJ inquired.
"We do, but we don't know for sure, and we don't know if he is in it alone. I am only telling you all this because I told you I would keep you informed. Now you have to keep your end of the bargain." Jax said.
"I know, I know. I don't go off half cocked." MJ said. "But if I can help?"
"We will ask." Happy said.
"Alright, we had better get back. It is starting to get dark, and Angel is going to wonder where we all got off to." Jax said. "Besides, you still have chores to do."
"What chores?" MJ asked in disbelief.
"Somebody has to clean the guns." Happy said.