Dallas, Texas

"Lucy, walk with me back to the house?" A little while later, after returning to the stables and regrouping with the rest of the family, Sue Ellen flagged Lucy down to give JR a moment to spend some time with Jock outside of the office and outside of being part of a larger group. She also wanted to speak to Lucy to see if she could get an answer as to why she'd spoken so rudely to JR the previous evening, though she suspected the answer was simply that Lucy had really meant it when she'd said she was joking, and that perhaps she and JR were more alike than they liked to think. JR had a sense of humour but it was dark and cynical, Lucy seemed to have a bit of that in her too, not quite to the point where she was sardonic, but her past had definitely shaped her, as JR's had him, though in two completely different ways. "Sure", hearing Lucy's response, she was pleasantly surprised to hear no reminder of her attitude the previous evening, she seemed like the happy young girl she enjoyed spending time with and that bode well for their short walk back up to the house and the rest of the afternoon.

A few yards away from Sue Ellen and Lucy, JR stood still, waiting, he had no interest in assisting the ranch hands with whatever it was they did with the horses after riding, but his father did and he wanted to speak to him before they all headed up to the house for lunch and more 'family bonding'. What he actually had to speak to his father about was still up in the air, there wasn't anything in particular he could pretend he really needed to get him alone to discuss, but he was sure he could come up with something when the situation called for it. Jack and Bobby had had far too much time with his father recently, Lucy wasn't so bad, he didn't envy the nature of the time she spent with his father, she was his granddaughter, not a competing male, but Jack and Bobby, they irritated him. All too often, if his father was seeking a personal conversation it was Bobby and recently Jack that were chosen, but for once, he'd like his father to seek him out, preferably with something other than business on his mind. They were still in the very early stages of forming any kind of 'normal' father-son relationship though so he didn't expect too much and he knew he had to make the first move sometimes. The person he did expect more from was his mother, and surprisingly, she did seem to be trying to meet his expectations, or at least she had the previous evening, today was a slightly different story, though with their opposing opinions on horses he understood why they hadn't spoken much yet.

"JR?" hearing his name spoke, JR turned suddenly toward the sound, breaking his absentminded surveillance of everyone as they moved around in front of him. "Jack", responding to his cousin in a polite but clipped tone, he waited for his cousin to announce why he had sought him out again, especially after the way their last conversation had ended. "Can we talk? In private", sensing Jack's slight unease, he almost felt sorry for the boy, all he wanted was for him to understand and respect the hierarchy in Dallas, he wasn't trying to frighten him completely, to the point where he was afraid to even say hello. He didn't necessarily want Jack around, but after considering Sue Ellen's point earlier, he could see the possibility of a future where he could accept Jack's presence if he really had to, as long as Jack really did understand where he stood in the family.

Heading outside, he spotted Sue Ellen and Lucy up ahead and was pleased for his wife as he studied the interaction between the two, they didn't appear to be arguing and he knew for Sue Ellen that was a relief. For the most part her interest in Lucy was a very positive thing, but in the moments where she had to be the serious, disciplinary adult who corrected bad behaviour, he knew she wondered whether she had done the right thing in taking on some of the 'parental' responsibility. He personally didn't think she had much to worry about though, her presence alone had done wonders for Lucy's personality and the challenges she presented would probably help Sue Ellen with John Ross one day, he wasn't quite sure how he imagined somehow they would. For him, dealing with everyone and everything at the office and now in the family too, he felt the challenges he faced were enough to build his confidence and competence to a relatively high level, so while parenting didn't necessarily come easily when it had to do with anything negative, he also didn't feel completely out of his depth. Of course, everything could change very quickly in life, it had when his mother had had Gary and he had become the eldest son, not the only son, but still, he was comfortable with how things were at present, for both him and Sue Ellen.

Stopping outside the stables, he watched Jack as he waited quietly and seemed to spend a lot of time considering what he wanted to say before he said anything. Eventually, after what was probably just a few moments but felt like longer, his cousin cleared his throat and began to speak, completely surprising him with his apparent change in attitude. "JR, look I think maybe we started off on the wrong foot with each other, I'd like to try again though. I'm new around here and I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes, honestly. I know you insist I interview for the job that's open at Ewing Oil and I respect that, it's clear you think very highly of the company and you just want what's best for Ewing Oil. I'd really like you to give me a chance though, before judging me and writing me off as useless because of whatever you believe I did wrong. Bobby filled me in on some of the finer points of the job; he mentioned too what you said earlier, that before he took over, it was your domain, as was Ewing Oil growing up. I suppose I misjudged you a bit, I know the history from what Jock's told me and what I've read, but I guess hearing it from Bobby put things in perspective, oil isn't just a job to you and money isn't just money, you're in it for the complete package, I can respect that".

Stunned by what almost sounded like an apology, even though it didn't quite go that far, JR stood speechless; Sue Ellen had been telling him to let some of his anger go, so he'd tried to do that in joining Jack for a private talk, but this was far beyond what he'd anticipated. Not anticipating something that then happened was new to him and he didn't like it, he liked being in control and this was almost the opposite, he was a guest, an observer, not the person in control, making decisions as to what happened in his life. The worst part about the current situation with Jack though was the fact that he had built up an image of his cousin in his mind that painted him as a terrible person, but now that he was here, seemingly taking the high road, though still standing his ground, his whole perception seemed off. Jack could very well be lying and could be exactly who he imagined him to be, but maybe, just maybe, he was being genuine and his attempts to smooth things over were sincere, and if that was the case, the situation was more complicated than just destroying an enemy.

Before he could really consider the situation as it now seemed to be though, Jack began to speak again, throwing more curveballs at him. "I was thinking it would be nice to spend time with both of my cousins tonight, so if you can spare the time and you're willing to try to accept what I'm telling you, I'd like it if you'd join me and Bobby tonight. Before you accuse me of being sneaky though, I'll also admit that I think you judged me harshly and I'd like to prove you wrong. I'm not trying to steal what's yours, but I'm also not going to give up everything that could help me just because it might offend you. I was thinking perhaps that if you saw for yourself that I'm not so different to Bobby, maybe you'd reconsider your opinion on my suitability for the position at Ewing Oil. I'm not here to take your job, hell, I'm not even here to take Bobby's job if it's not offered to me, but I'd like to have the opportunity to at least try to explore the options Dallas has to offer. So what I'm saying is I'd like to get to know you as my cousin, but if you're not interested in that, I'd still like you to come tonight, for practical job interview purposes".

Nodding to himself as Jack finally revealed that he did indeed have an ulterior motive for suddenly playing nice, he continued to stand silently, waiting and considering exactly what he wanted to say before saying it. On one hand, Jack was exactly who he had always believed he was, he was just presenting his agenda from a different angle now, but his goal was not forgotten. On the other hand, there did seem to be a genuine attempt to try to make things work and he could just imagine how disappointed Sue Ellen would be if he told her what had happened and then ended with the fact that he hadn't tried to work with Jack at all. Not to mention how long his circular conversation with Doctor Williams would go on for if he admitted to putting a stop to any kind of progress. He knew what he had to do, even if he wasn't sure he actually wanted to become closer with Jack for reasons of family and friendship. Bobby was clearly building some kind of relationship with Jack, as was his father, and before he knew it, he would be the odd man out even more than he already was. "Ok", responding in a flat tone, he made eye contact with Jack and then nodded, waiting a few seconds before saying something he just had to point out. "Just so you're aware though, social popularity is not the only thing required for the position and it's going to take a hell of a lot more than a night out to convince me you're suitable. For the social aspect of whatever this is between us though, I accept your invitation, but I have to ask, have you run this by Bobby? It's very rare for my dear brother to want to do anything with me outside of… this", waving in the general direction of the stables, he then laughed, he doubted Bobby would make a big fuss, but Jack didn't know that and it was always entertaining to play with whatever control he could get of a conversation.

To be continued…