Chapter 36
To say Catherine was anxious for her father's return would be a gross understatement. He wasn't in the best of moods when he left to go speak with Jack and that only added to her worry. Would they fight? Would Philip decide to turn Jack in after all? There were too many things that were laden with uncertainty. Catherine longed for just a shred of knowing, even if it was something as simple as her father and Jack being understanding of one another. Chewing at a fingernail, she kept her eyes trained at the front door. Philip hadn't been gone for long, but she was nervous all the same. After what seemed like an eternity, her father finally walked through the door.
"Grab me the whiskey would you, sweetheart?" His voice was soft as he closed the door behind him. Catherine nodded and made her way to the liquor cabinet as Philip hung his coat and hat up. She grabbed the bottle of whiskey and a glass then turned to see her father dragging his feet over to his chair in the living room. She followed him without a word. Throwing himself in the chair, he lay his head against it and heaved a sigh. Catherine studied her father while she poured him some of the liquor. He'd lifted his head up only to rest it in his hand, scratching at his beard. He took a deep breath before taking the glass of whiskey offered to him. "Sit down, Catherine." He told her before taking a long swig out of the glass. Catherine did as she was told and sat down on the sofa across from his chair. Philip polished off the rest of the drink and poured another glassful before he looked at his daughter. "Talked with that Jack boy."
"Did he answer your questions?" Catherine hoped the talk went well. It would make everything go much more smoothly. When her father gave a hollow laugh, her hopes plummeted.
"You know," He took another drink. "from the way you described him, sure expected someone a different. Didn't see nothing 'sweet' about that boy, Catherine."
Catherine frowned. "Jack's been through a lot, Father." She knew Jack was a different person, but she believed his old traits were still there.
"Yeah, I expect killing someone does change a man." Philip snapped. "Sure is a disrespectful shit, that Jack Marston. I'm not sure what it is you see in him, honestly." He shook his head and took another drink. "I don't know if I want you to be with him, Catherine. How am I supposed to know you're safe with that boy?"
"Jack would never hurt me, Father. I know that I'm safe with him."
Philip sighed. "Yeah, he claimed you knew that." He paused, staring into the glass in his hand. He gave it a spin, swirling the liquid around. "He knew about…" He exhaled. "about what Edgar did?"
"Yes. The Marston's were my safe spot for a very long time, Father. They were good people."
Philip was silent for a long time after she spoke. He kept his eyes focused on the whiskey, still swirling it about. Finally, he took a final swig of the drink and set the glass down. "I don't like him. I think he's a rude, crass, and reckless little boy in a man's body." He stated. "Sure as hell don't trust him either." Philip looked at his daughter, holding her gaze. "But I trust you. You're a smart girl, Catherine. I will trust that you know what you're doing."
The weight that had been resting on Catherine's chest suddenly lifted. "Thank you, Father."
"As your father, it's my job to protect you. If I have to protect him to protect you, I will always choose to protect my child." His tone grew strict. "But understand that I will not condone any illegal activity from that boy. If he wants to be a criminal, that's his choice but I will not let my daughter be around that."
"I understand, Father."
"I expect you to tell me every time you plan to see him. If I'm home, I expect you to be as well. When this all blows over, I expect him to act like a man and come have dinner with us so I can meet him properly. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, I understand you." Catherine couldn't believe that her father was going to allow the relationship. Even so, she had to ask about Archer's investigation. "Father, what about Archer? He seemed… determined." She knew from experience what a determined Archer Fordham was like and what he could do.
Philip chuckled again. "Don't worry about Archer, Catherine. Jack Marston picked an appropriate time to do what he did. There's a lot of distrust in the government right now and he clearly still loves you. It would be no trouble to convince folks that he fabricated it all due to jealousy. I'm going to take care of it, dear. Just make sure you know that I'm doing it for you, not Jack Marston." Philip stood from the chair and gathered up the glass and bottle. "On that note, I'm headed to bed." He walked over to his daughter and kissed her hair. "I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."
It was early morning, after her father left for work, when Catherine found herself at Beecher's Hope. Philip hadn't been happy to know she was going to see Jack, but he seemed appeased that she'd told him she was going. It felt good to not have to have secrets with her father. She was relieved that it seemed like they could relax. She couldn't wait to tell Jack. As she hitched her father's horse, she looked around for him. It took her no time at all to see him sitting on the porch steps with a rifle in his lap, cleaning the weapon. With a smile, she made her way to him.
"Hey kitty Cat." Jack greeted her as she took a seat next to him on the steps. He finished what he was doing and set the rifle down beside him.
"Did the talk with my father go okay?" Catherine asked. She'd heard her father's end of it but she wanted Jack's as well.
He rolled his eyes. "As okay as it coulda went." Jack gave her a look. "Thanks for that surprise, by the way."
"I'm sorry, he was very insistent. I didn't want to tell your secrets." She hoped Jack wasn't upset about it. She really had no choice in the matter.
"S'all right. He gonna run and tell Fordham now? He clearly don't like me."
Catherine shook her head. "No, he's going to take care of it." She frowned when Jack scoffed. He didn't have a reason to trust her father, but she still wanted him to, at least with this. "Jack, do you remember when we were kids and that boy kept pushing me into a tree?"
Jack quirked a brow. "Yeah, I threw a rock at his stupid face. What's that got to do with anything?"
"You've always been brave, Jack. Even when we were young. Always have been around to save me and comfort me." She put a hand on her chest. "I'm not brave like you, or strong like you. I wouldn't be able to save you in the same ways you could with me. My father might not like you, but he trusts me and I've asked him to help. Let me get us past this whole thing so we can move on with our lives. My father is taking care of it, I promise you. All I need you to do is not start fights with him."
"Alright." Jack agreed with a sigh. "He, uh, didn't seem too happy about the idea of us being together."
Catherine gave a small laugh and lay her head on his shoulder. "He isn't. He isn't stopping us, though."
Jack rested his head atop Catherine's and took her hand in his. She smiled and interlaced their fingers together. The pair was quiet for a while until Jack spoke again. "How long you plannin' to stay?"
"I have some things to do for my father, but those could wait until later in the day. Did you have something you wanted to do?"
"Wanna go on an adventure? I got someplace that I wanna show you."
Catherine lifted her head up to find Jack smiling. God, she loved it when he smiled. She'd do anything to keep a smile on his face. "Sure, let's go on an adventure."
The world is a scary place right now, friends. In light of that, I felt I needed to get a chapter out as quickly as I could so maybe some of you could have something to brighten your day. As it stands, I've stayed awake all night to write this out so if anything sounds strange I apologize. The next chapter will be a break from all the heavy stuff going on and it's going to be completely fanservice. It's going to be the most lighthearted chapter in the whole story so far, probably. I've had lots of requests for Cat and Jack to adventure together and I'm going to deliver. If there's anything you want added, shoot me a PM and I'll gladly add it if I can. Stay safe and healthy everyone!
