December 18th 2021

Chapter 352
Our Support For Growth

They had only been back in Austin since Saturday evening, and they'd stayed home on Sunday, so now here they were, on Monday, headed back to work… and they had a new guest. Could they have left Charles Hart at the house by himself? Yes, absolutely. It wasn't about trusting him or not, like he might rob them, no. The only reason they wouldn't want to leave him on his own was that they didn't want him to be all alone, left to sit in his granddaughter's house with little to nothing to do except think about his lost wife, or whether his daughter would agree to speak with him or not. Maya couldn't well take him to school with her, not without it feeling too obvious what she was trying to do. But Lucas was going to the ranch today, and he'd be bringing Marianne and Tori along with him, so it would be a lot easier for him to turn to his wife's grandfather and offer to bring him as well. It was all Lucas' idea, and Charles gladly accepted.

He could have decided to just stay at the house anyway, but both Lucas and Maya had a feeling that what convinced him to go had everything to do with how excited Marianne looked at the prospect of showing her Pawpaw around. She'd barely known the man for three days, but it was clear she already cared for him very much, and that bond echoed back onto the man, warmed his heart. Maya knew how he'd said that she reminded him of Luna, so maybe that played into it, too. It felt like a second chance to get it right… not that he'd dismissed this same notion with regards to his actual daughter. Already, today, Luna would be flying for New York with the casket carrying Elizabeth Hart to her final rest. Charles could have gone, too, might have wanted to be there, and the fact that he'd decided not to do it said a lot. It showed a desire to put in the work, to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, letting her decide, letting her set the pace. To Maya, it brought back a lot of memories, of herself and her father going through the steps of a very similar dance. If Charles and Luna could have what she and Kermit had had, and hold on to it longer than they did…

She'd shared this notion with Lucas, at the same time airing the fear that came with it, this sneaky idea like maybe this change in him could have been brought on by the same thing that helped Kermit and her. Charles was much older than his son had been at the time, and what if he was on borrowed time? This had led to a slightly awkward conversation the previous evening, where Maya had tried to casually dig out whether or not her grandfather might have had any medical issues they should know about. He'd assured them that he didn't, and they had no reason to distrust this, so unless this changed later on, they wouldn't worry themselves over it.

The only actual issue they had to wonder about now was about what having the man here with them would mean, for them, for Marianne, for Sam and Cara, and for Katy. Maya's mother was the only one of these who actually had to be told about their unplanned house guest, and of all of them she'd be the one who would have the most different set of stakes in the matter, wouldn't she? She had known him the longest, she had actually met him before three days ago, even if it had been just a few times over three decades ago. He had left enough of an impression on her and on her life that the quantity mattered little. Then again, this was a much different situation than when Elizabeth had come back into their lives, right? It had been years, and since then the woman had become an integral part of their family. But Charles was Charles, he was a shadow that loomed over her memories of being eighteen and pregnant, in a city where she had so few people to turn to, and maybe she'd been reassured at the belief that at least they'd have Kermit's family to back them up, until…

Maya had told her that Charles was here. She'd called her mother to let her know that they were back the previous morning and, along with catching her up on their return trip – as they'd been talking every day before, while they were dealing with everything else – she informed her of how they'd come upon Kermit's father, and talked with him, and Luna, and then brought him home for an indeterminate period of time. On the whole, she'd taken it well. Maybe she'd risen above over the years, maybe she only came to conclude that this was the kind of person her daughter was, and she would trust her judgment… She was aware now, and that was that.

Except today Lucas would be headed to Sullivan Stables, and he'd be bringing Charles with him, and there was a very strong chance that Katy would be out there, filming for her series. They might run into each other. And what would that be like?

"Pawpaw, look, look! We're here!" Marianne pointed out the window as they approached the arch.

When they had parked, they got out of the car. Lucas carried Tori in one arm, while Charles led Marianne by the hand. It only took a very brief look around to confirm that the film crew was here today, working away, though Lucas had already confirmed Katy's presence at the least. Her car was in the lot. So, she was around here, somewhere. He didn't draw attention to this fact, not just yet.

Marianne wanted to give her great grandfather the big tour, to introduce him to all the horses especially… Maybe she really wanted to see them herself. She asked him if he had ever been on a horse before.

"Not for many years," Charles informed her. "And only a couple of times. I wasn't very good at it, and I nearly broke my neck once, falling off of one. Well, needless to say, I didn't feel like doing it again after that." Marianne was fascinated.

"That's okay, Pawpaw, you don't have to." Lucas and Charles both smiled.

"Yes, best keep my feet on the ground with you, huh?" Charles asked, and she nodded.

It was to be expected that they would end up running into people as they moved further into the property. When they met Juliet, she didn't even have time to ask Lucas about his time in Arizona. She spotted the man and, maybe for having known three of his grandchildren for some years now, she realized who he was before they even got the chance to tell her. It wasn't as though she knew the entire story of their family, but she did know some beats, enough that she could have reacted badly to his being here, but there was none of that, only courtesy. She offered herself to continue taking Charles and the girls around, leaving Lucas free to attend to his morning tasks, catching up on a week's absence.

Lucas started on his way to the small clinic building, near the stables, though he had to admit his eyes were on a swivel, looking for a familiar blonde as he went. And when he did spot her, talking with another of the actresses, he didn't even stop and hesitate for a second. He altered his course and walked to meet them. Next to Katy, and Stevie who played her daughter, one of the other big roles played by 'local talent' was that of Katy's sister-in-law, played by this woman here. Lucas had been amused to meet her, because he'd already known her, years ago. He'd lost track of Tilly Mackenzie, but they had worked at the bookstore together, at the mall. He had been happy to hear that she had since gotten married and become a mother. She had a son, nearly seven already, and a daughter who'd recently turned three. Lucas had suggested she bring them around sometime, so they could get the big tour, too. They were working out some kind of play date for the kids. Tilly had already met Marianne and Tori, with the former taking a quick shine to her, as she was prone to do.

"So, I wasn't sure if I needed to give you a heads up or anything, but I brought Mr. Hart with us. Juliet is taking him and the girls around right now," Lucas told his mother-in-law after Tilly was called away to prepare for a scene. The way Katy looked at him, it felt as though she might have suspected as much before he even said a thing.

"Thank you for letting me know," she nodded to him.

"Sure," Lucas tipped his head to her. Silence pressed on.

"Do you just look like you're holding your breath or are you actually doing it?" Katy wondered, which made him chuckle. "I'm fine, alright? Am I saying that I'm going to become best friends with the man? Probably not. But I'm not going to hold on to decades-old feelings and, the way Maya's talked about him…" she shook her head, searching for words. "Anyway, you don't need to tiptoe around me, got it?"

"Got it," Lucas confirmed. "Do you want to come and say hello, or…"

"I can't just now," she gestured around, reminding him why she was here today, all dressed and made up as her character.

"Right, of course."

"I'll come and find you when I can, yeah?"

So, Lucas moved back on to his original path, rejoining his team and catching up on the events of the past week before starting on his usual rounds through the stables. He was still about halfway through this by the time Juliet's tour rolled around. He heard them coming before ever seeing them. Juliet had gone and grabbed one of their small strollers, made specifically for the ranch and looking almost like rocking horses, and Tori was sitting in it while Marianne took great pleasure in pushing her along, at her great grandfather's side. As Lucas would be told, they had seen the dance studio, which would mean a lengthy chat once Donna Devereaux got her hands on the newcomer, and then they had stopped by the archive, which Charles had found particularly compelling. He wouldn't mind going back there some other time, and Lucas suggested he might go back that afternoon, while the girls were being treated to their latest session with their dance teacher.

"Nana!" Marianne shot off the moment she saw Katy walking toward them. There was really nothing like seeing that little girl come full tilt toward you, eyes bright with excitement over seeing you, and after a whole week of not seeing one another, it would be even more so. Katy was all smiles as she scooped up her grandbaby girl and kissed her profusely. Tori was very excited, too, enough so that she tried to get herself out of the stroller and started to fuss when she couldn't do it. Lucas made quick work of assisting her, and once she was on her feet, she forgot any and all troubles because she could walk off and go see 'Nana,' too.

Lucas could see how Charles observed Katy there with the little girls. Here was his son's former wife, the mother of his first grandchild. Very early on as they'd encountered the old man it had been clear that he carried heavy regrets in him. His wife and children had been a big part of that, Maya, and her Hart siblings as well, but also this woman here. The look in his eyes said how much he knew now, of the role he'd played in her life, and even if things were very good now, it did not erase the very difficult times he'd put her through.

"Nana, it's Pawpaw," Marianne told Katy, pointing back to Charles.

"Yes, we've met," Katy informed her, looking back to the man. Whatever she'd needed to sort through in her mind, she looked at him now as someone separate from that Charles, focusing on the now rather than the then. "It's been a very long time. We kind of have to start from zero again, don't we?" she turned to Charles. He took a breath.

"I would like that very much."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners