Dallas, Texas

Turning at the sound of voices and hooves beating the ground, JR's mood rose and then dropped as his sense of sight and sound formed a picture in front of him. He was pleased to see Sue Ellen so happy, it was really the only reason he had agreed to come riding, however, Jack's commentary to go with the scene was unappreciated. "Finally, someone sounds like they're actually having fun", staring blankly at Jack as he spoke, he decided then and there that he was sick of playing nice with him, the boy was rude and inconsiderate and it was pointless to continue spending 'quality time' with him, Jack clearly didn't like him and didn't want to like him. If he was going to spend quality time with anyone he'd rather it be those he actually cared about, namely Sue Ellen and John Ross, but also his mother and father if they were able to set aside their previous behaviour and actually treat him nicely, if not though, he had no interest in spending his free time with them. Bobby and Lucy too, if they wanted to be nice to him then he would tolerate them, but if they were going to treat him like an unwanted, disliked member of the family then he saw no reason to willingly spend time with them.

"Great, now you run along and play cowboy with my little brother", responding to Jack's comment, he didn't bother waiting for a response before riding over to greet his wife. "Hello darlin', Bob", tipping his hat, he looked down and then back up, eyeing Sue Ellen, making it clear he wasn't interested in a long chat with Bobby. "Bob, there's a problem over there that needs attending to", nodding his head at Jack, he dismissed his brother and then turned his attention back to Sue Ellen. "Let's get out of here", speaking very few words, his facial expression and tone of voice said everything he meant, he was nearing the end of his tether for family bonding time and if all was to continue to run 'smoothly', leaving was a good idea. "Absolutely", hearing her response and then seeing her change position, getting ready to take off again, he grinned, making eye contact with her for a brief moment before doing exactly as she had suggested, taking off beside her, racing toward the opposite end of the pasture.

A little while later, after leaving Bobby and Jack in the dust, they slowed as they spotted the rest of the group about half a mile ahead; JR wasn't sure if he had slowed them or if it had been Sue Ellen's doing, either way though, he was pleased, he wasn't ready to start watching his behaviour again just yet. "So, why are you so tense? What happened back there? Please don't deny that anything happened, it's clear something did, I know you say if you're going to ride you'd prefer to get some thrill out of it, but the past few miles were far more than just thrill-seeking. What's going on?" as if reading his mind, Sue Ellen spoke, approaching the subject head-on; he was sick of wasting brain cells thinking about his family problems, because he seemed to have a lot of them, but he at least owed her an answer, because she did do everything she could to support him.

"The boy has no manners or self-awareness, he accused me of hating him, then he dismissed all of my responses as the rantings of an old man. I'm sick of dealing with him and I'm sick of the rest of this family falling for his young-rural-do-gooder act. I'm sure I don't have to explain it to you again, but dammit it bothers me that he's here for an unremarkable five minutes and is treated better than I am even after being around for three decades. It's not fair, and I know, life's not fair, and I know too 'my feelings are valid', but does that make me any less angry? I don't think so". Summing up his feelings in a few grumbled sentences, it was only when he studied Sue Ellen's facial expression that he gained a little bit of self-awareness of his own. His wife was young and beautiful and during her years of experience with Patricia as her superior she had mastered the art of smiling through pain and misery, however, there was one part of her that was difficult to control, her eyes. Sue Ellen's eyes told him everything he secretly feared, and the words that spilled from her mouth a few moments later confirmed his thoughts.

"JR, I don't mean to sound dismissive, but have you tried just letting it go? I know it's easier said than done, believe me, I know, but what are you achieving spending your time and energy griping? I'm not saying don't do anything about it, I know that's not you, not at all, you're a thinker and a schemer, but you don't have to be a talker and a fighter too. You've told your mama how you feel, and your daddy knows how important it is for him to make you feel like more than just a business partner, and I thought things were improving, but if you still feel this way then clearly they're not. Short of arranging Jack's imminent departure, you're stuck tolerating him until everyone else either sees what you see or Jack himself grows bored of playing nice. In the meantime, why stress yourself out about it? Why let it bother you? I know I'm a hypocrite, I let my mother bother me for far too long before finally getting out of that vicious cycle, but now that I am, I do have to say I am happier, I'd love for you to be too. Try it, say what you feel and walk away, let Jack and everyone else come to you when they see the light".

"As for Jack dismissing your feelings as the rantings of an old man, I don't even know what to say, you're not old, but he is young, in all honesty you probably do seem old to him, I really don't think that's something to take seriously though. You've been doing what he seems to want to do and you've done it for far longer than he's probably been considering it, that's enough to put a lot of things into perspective". Listening to her pep talk, he remained in a sulky mood, not yet convinced that letting everything go and just getting on with his own life was the best way forward. It was difficult, he hated to lose and to him just giving up and not fighting sounded like losing; the rules were confusing too because his father had always taught him to fight for what he wanted and what was best for Ewing Oil, but now that they disagreed, that wasn't the directive anymore. He knew he was being childish sulking and griping about the lack of positive attention he was receiving, especially in comparison to Jack, but he couldn't help it, he'd turned the emotional switch on in therapy with Doctor Williams and just turning it off at will was not as simple as Sue Ellen made it sound.

"You're not convinced… How about this for perspective then, you once told me I would've hated you if we'd met in college, I assume you meant because at that time in your life you were exactly the kind of man I was trying to avoid and you hadn't yet realised 'the marrying type' was your type, so it just wouldn't have worked. I love you now though, and I loved you when I was a college girl too; I'm not the same now as I was then though and neither are you. My point is, people change, naturally, not always in a forced manner; compatibility also changes; with age you and I have built something amazing, something that is the result of hard work but is also the result of luck and good timing. Jack is still young; he has a long way to go before he is who he'll end up being. The difference in your ages doesn't help your relationship, you see him as young and inexperienced, where Bobby being of similar age might just see a peer; your daddy likely sees him exactly as he is to him in relation to the family, as Jason's son, his nephew".

"It's not fair for everyone to treat Jack better than you when he's a more distant relative and hasn't worked as hard as you for the opportunities he's being give, but I also have to say it, I don't think he's the threat you're making him in your mind. You two aren't compatible, that's fine, you don't have to like him, you can be indifferent, you can even throw something together in the background to get him to show his true colours, but to focus everything on that and to let it affect your time with me and John Ross is taking things too far. You have Ewing Oil, nobody can ever take that away from you, not even Jock, not now, so you can relax when it comes to maintaining business control; even if Jack is hired, you can always make him redundant the minute you take office after your daddy retires. I think you would be best relaxing on the personal front too, why bother spending your time agitated when you could be doing something more enjoyable. Your mama and daddy know how you feel about Jack, it's up to them to do something now and I think they'll be more inclined to see your side if they see that you have a point but you're not dwelling on it at the expense of everything else".

"What I'm trying to say is, I love you and I will always support you, but supporting you doesn't always mean being passive and quiet. If you want to fight Jack then I'll be by your side, but before you decide to do that, please consider everything else. You're in a better position than you think you are, you just need to take a step back to see it". Only cracking a smile when she reminded him of his comment to her years before about how incompatible they would have been if they'd met at a different time in their lives, he mostly continued to frown to himself as she spoke, though this time for different reasons than before. Sue Ellen had a point, one that might actually make some sense, but accepting that it did wasn't so easy; being easy-going and accepting wasn't his natural state and actually dropping his pessimistic attitude was far harder than just verbalising the intention. Sighing, he remained silent as he considered exactly what his wife had just told him and asked him, and how he should and wanted to respond.

To be continued…