Dallas, Texas

Brushing Storm's mane, something she rather enjoyed despite the fact that it fell under grooming and that wasn't her idea of fun, Jenna stopped and turned her head slowly at the sound of a voice in the next stall over.

Listening for a moment, she didn't have to wait long to figure out who was there, Jock's voice, the sound of the stall door opening and hooves clip clopping against the stable floor all familiar to her.

Stopping as he noticed her through the metal bars on the stall door, Jock tipped his hat and nodded, "Jenna."

"Jock."

Surprised to find him at the stables early on a Thursday afternoon, she didn't say so, not until he made comment about her presence first.

"I thought you'd be out with Bobby."

"I thought you'd be at the office."

Shaking his head, Jock looked away as he answered, "there's not much for me to do there, JR seems to have everything covered."

Sounding lethargic, she couldn't quite understand his tone; she'd known Jock Ewing her entire life and had never heard him speak as he was now, not even after Miss Ellie had died.

"We're in the same position then, Bobby is capable and I think much prefers running things all by himself."

Chuckling, seeming to cheer up as he heard something he liked, he met her eye again, "he's a Ewing."

"And I'm a Ewing wife."

Proud of her title, it wasn't her pride that was speaking but her understanding that as far as the Ewing family was concerned everyone had a place and his place was at the head of the family, something he should remember.

"That's right. You're exactly where you should be."

"And you?"

"I don't know anymore."

Shocking her with his honesty, for a moment she was speechless. Jock Ewing had never shown himself as having doubts before, at least not to her, but now, now he truly looked and sounded lost and that was unsettling.

"I like JR more than the average person does and I think he does a brilliant job where Ewing Oil is concerned, but Ewing Oil is your company, you don't have to question where you stand and if you are then that's not right."

"That's correct, I don't. It just doesn't mean the same thing now."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

Wanting to understand, she simply didn't. He was vague in a different way to Bobby and she couldn't even begin to gather what he was referring to.

"I don't think you could."

"Try me."

Quiet for a long time, it wasn't clear whether he was thinking of how to answer her question or whether to answer it at all.

"You make Bobby happy."

Changing the subject slightly to one she would always enjoy, she had to assume his comment would eventually lead back to where they'd been earlier.

"Bobby makes me happy."

"That's how it should be. Family is everything, mine is slipping away."

Initially happy, her heart sank as she comprehended what he was telling her.

"Jock, we're still here."

Stepping away from Storm closer to the stall door, she reached her hand through the metal bars and touched her father-in-law's arm encouragingly. He'd never been so vulnerable in all the years she'd known him and it truly concerned her to hear him so upset.

"Things are different now."

"Because of Miss Ellie and Jason?"

Well aware of the loss the family had experienced over the last year and most recently last month, she knew it had to be difficult for him, but just how difficult she hadn't realised until now.

"Jenna, you're young, make the most of that."

"I try to."

Confused by his further change of subject, she agreed with his comment in principle but had little understanding of what it had to do with their conversation. She didn't think she struck anyone as the sort of person who didn't make the most of life. When she wanted something she pursued it and usually got it, most recently she'd done that with Bobby and now called him her husband, much to her delight.

"You don't know when it's all going to disappear."

"No, you don't. Jock, you remember when my mama died and then my daddy; I was young then and I'm still young now, but I'm not naïve to the ways of the world."

Reminding him of the hardships she'd faced very early in life, she wanted him to understand that she was his ally, she understood where he was coming from in grief and if he'd just be a little clearer she'd be happy to listen to anything he wanted to say.

"No, I suppose not."

Squeezing her hand with his, he looked as if he was about to say something else but stayed quiet, eventually breaking contact.

"I won't keep you any longer."

Announcing his intention to leave, he didn't wait for her approval before waving slightly and then leading his horse out into the open, leaving her completely confused and more worried than she had been in a long time.

Hours later, as she finally got a moment alone after family drinks, dinner, helping Charlie with the spelling words she'd brought home and then playing a couple of games of cards with her before bed, she walked into the Southfork office, shut the door behind her, grabbed a bookmark and closed the folder her husband had open on the desk.

"I'm sorry, I know you're working but we have something important to discuss."

Standing beside him, they locked eyes and he reached his hand out to pull her to him.

Settling on his lap, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her hands on his shoulder, leaning her forehead on his for a few seconds before pulling back and speaking.

"I know Southworth Stables is your business and you gave your daddy an opportunity to be involved, one which he declined because he didn't want to be a silent partner, and I know you don't really want his input because he can be overbearing, but is there any chance you'd reconsider and ask him to come along and be involved? Not in an official capacity but a personal one, as your father, as a man with experience and will to work."

Listening to her, Bobby didn't speak until she was finished, and even then waited a few moments to digest what she'd said, eventually asking, "where's this coming from?"

"I was in the stables today and so was he, in the middle of the day. We had a strange conversation and it's been weighing on my mind ever since."

"Strange how?"

Tilting his head, he appeared concerned and confused, which she understood considering she'd felt the same way and she actually had the information he was seeking.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know how to explain it, it's not the words he said as such but the feeling I got from listening to him."

"And what feeling was that?"

"The feeling that he was saying goodbye; goodbye to his life as it was, goodbye to the world..."

Closing his eyes, Bobby sighed. There was something very sad about the entire situation, she understood that and Jock was only her father-in-law, so she could only imagine how deeply Bobby felt hearing about his father's pain.

"He seems so lonely now that Miss Ellie and Jason are gone and I don't think it helps that the family he still has here all have their own lives."

Nodding as she spoke, Bobby didn't need any further convincing.

"I'll see what I can do."

"I knew you'd understand."

Leaning her head down to rest on his again, she squeezed her arms against him in a hug, thanking him and supporting him. It wasn't pleasant but he understood, not just because he'd also lost a wife and mother but because he was a kind, loving man.

To be continued…