Chapter 58 – Thomas Arrives (long)
The helicopter landed and shut the blades down. The pilot, Mike, got out and helped unload the luggage. There was a lot since there had been extra things sent for Jack, Nathan and Elizabeth. Jack was excited when four people got out of the helicopter. He immediately went to greet his father who gave him a handshake then let him go over to his friends. Doug and Lee were both excited to be there. Nathan had stood back and was waiting to see what he could do to help. Thomas looked over and gave him a smile and nod which Nathan returned.
"James." Thomas said. "This is Michael. He came up to help with security. I hear he is going to be staying with Adam up here."
"Nice to meet you." James said. "If you grab your stuff, I will run you over to the office, I know that Adam was there."
"Just point me in the right direction." Michael said. "I am sure that I can find my way. I assume that you will all be eating soon."
"Not a problem." James said. "We were waiting for the group to arrive to eat."
There was something about the way that Jack was staring at Michael that put James on alert and he didn't want this guy just wondering around the farm until he got to know him a little better. It wasn't that James didn't trust Devin, but there was something going on and James didn't know what it was, but he knew that his grandson wasn't happy to see Michael. James turned to Charlotte.
"Go head and start without me." James said. "I will be back as soon as possible."
"I will let Mom know." Charlotte said.
James and Michael walked over to Jack. Jack shook hands with Michael, but wasn't happy. Jack also knew that he had to put a smile on his face since his father and grandfather were right there.
"Michael." Jack said. "So you come up to help, how lucky for you. I assume that you know Doug and Lee. This is Nathan Grant."
James just looked at Jack for a moment, but Jack ignored the look. He figured he would hear about it later, but he wasn't in the mood.
"Nice to meet you." Nathan said.
Michael shook hands with Nathan, but wondered why he was with the group and he got stuck with a different assignment. Michael looked around.
"Where is Miss Thatcher?" Michael asked. "Lose her already?"
Jack glared at Michael and then looked at James with a raised eyebrow. James got the hint.
"She is in the house helping Gran get the last minute things ready for supper." Nathan said.
Michael just glared at Nathan again. He didn't like that this Nathan had gotten so close to the Thornton family. Michael had been working for the Thorntons for years and he had never been invited to be on friendly terms with them, other then Jack. Nathan wasn't backing down from Michael and leveled an equally icy stare in return. Doug and Lee looked to Jack and then to James. Sensing the tension wasn't going to end, James stepped forward. He also made a mental note the he was going to talk to both Nathan and JP about what was going on.
"JP." James said. "I told your mother not to wait for me. I am going to run Michael here down to the security office and get him settled with Adam. I will join you when I get back."
"Yes, Sir." Jack said.
"Lets go." James said.
Michael grabbed his bag and followed James. The four guys walked over to Jack's parents.
"Nice to see you boys again." Charlotte said.
Each Doug and Lee stepped forward to give her a quick hug.
"Let's get everything inside." Thomas said.
"Tommy." Charlotte said. "Grab your father's bags and take them to our room."
Tommy rolled his eyes, thinking his mother couldn't see him. Thomas raised his eyebrows and Charlotte turned to look at Tommy.
"If you have a problem." Charlotte said. "I am sure that it could be arranged for you to sleep in the barn tonight. Now do as you are told without attitude."
Tommy didn't say anything, but just huffed and walked over to where Mike had set the bags.
"Mike." Charlotte said. "I am sure that there is plenty of food, do you and the co-pilot want to join us for supper?"
"No thank you." Mike said. "We are going to be heading over to the airport and staying in town tonight."
"Let us know if you need anything." Thomas said. "Thank you again for working in the earlier takeoff."
"Of course, Sir." Mike said. "If you guys have everything, make sure you are clear so we can take off."
"Boys." Thomas said. "Grab your bags and head in. We will be in in a moment. I want to see Mike off."
Nathan, Jack, Doug and Lee all grabbed bags and headed in. Tommy had already headed in with Thomas' things. Thomas and Charlotte watched them walk away before stepping to the edge of the helipad. Thomas gave the signal to Mike and he started the helicopter and prepared to take off again. As soon as the helicopter was airborne and they could talk, Thomas turned to his wife.
"Sorry that I wasn't here." Thomas said. "I told you that Tommy was out of control, but you wouldn't listen. Are you ready to make serious changes now?"
"Couldn't be helped." Charlotte said. "You are here now. Yes, I also realize that his behavior is in large part my fault. Pushing Mom to the point that she stepped in was the last straw. She took his phone and has no intention of giving it back."
Thomas nodded.
"So have things been that bad?" Thomas asked.
"Worse." Charlotte said.
"Tell me." Thomas said.
Charlotte and Thomas turned to walk around the back of the house as Charlotte filled him in on everything that had happened. Thomas shook his head as he listened to his wife. He knew that he was going to have to talk to Nathan and Jack as well as his in-laws, but he couldn't believe how bad things had gotten. Well, actually he could. He knew that he needed to be spending more time helping with Tommy, but it never seemed to work and it was like no matter what he did, Charlotte wasn't willing to see how bad things had gotten. Thomas was so glad that Charlotte was on board with the punishment right now. He knew that he needed to support her and that she needed to be the one that followed through with things. Thomas also hoped that it wasn't too late to get through to Tommy.
The boys grabbed all the luggage and took it to their room. Jack made sure that introductions were done and then looked at everything that they had. He knew that there had been a hat sent for him, as well as one for Elizabeth and clothes for Nathan, but he looked at Doug.
"So what is with the extra suit bags?" Jack asked.
"Riding clothes and dress clothes for Saturday." Doug said. "There are dress clothes for the four of us as well as riding clothes for all but Lee. Then there is the hats that you ordered the extra bag that I was told to bring for Nathan over there."
"Thank you for that." Nathan said. "I didn't plan properly when I first packed."
"Well." Jack said. "We are staying longer then we originally told you as well. I wasn't expecting dress clothes. I had everything I thought other then a shirt that needed to altered. So what is going on."
"True." Nathan said. "Thank you for bringing my things."
"As far as the dress clothes." Doug said. "Take it up with your father. When he picked me up and we stopped at the shop to get his dress shirts, there were bags there for all of us. Something about matching/coordinating outfits for the banquet. There was a suit bag with each of our names on it. I wasn't going to argue with your dad."
"We will have to take a look later." Nathan said. "I wasn't expecting dress clothes either."
"Did Dad tell you?" Jack asked looking at Doug and Lee.
"Yes." Lee said. "Nathan is security, but we are to treat him like a friend."
"Yes." Jack said. "Nathan is a great guy and an amazing rider. I was also glad that he was here to help deal with Ghost."
"Thank you for dealing with him." Doug said. "Sorry about that. Did you figure out what happened?"
"Not really." Nathan said. "But he is fine. I have to go down and clean his cut again tonight, but it has already scabbed over and he is doing fine. I think we might even be able to ride him by the weekend."
"So glad that you were here." Doug said. "He is a handful, but he is a great ride. So glad that you were able to take care of him without giving him bute. Knowing Ghost he might have seen or smelled a mare and was trying to get through the fencing. He has tried to do that before."
"No problem." Nathan said. "Just glad that I was here. That is not something that I even considered. Makes sense now that you say it."
"I agree." Jack said. "I didn't even consider the fencing. The mesh fencing would look like a metal cut, especially if he rubbed the coating off the wire."
Nathan nodded.
"Let's unpack later." Lee said. "I am hungry."
"Where aren't you hungry?" Jack teased.
"Good point." Doug said. "I take it Elizabeth is up with Gran."
"Yes." Jack said. "She is staying in Laura's room."
The boys headed upstairs to join everyone else in the kitchen area. Gran handed things to go on the grill to Jack and Nathan. They headed outside. Doug and Lee greeted Gran and were introduced to Elizabeth. They then set about taking everything else that wasn't cold stuff outside to the table. When they got outside, they saw Tommy sitting on a chair pouting. It wasn't long and Charlotte and Thomas joined the group.
"Everything is almost ready." Nathan said. "I think we can grab the rest of the stuff."
Jack, Doug, Lee and Elizabeth all stood up to go inside to grab things.
"Go help." Charlotte said giving Tommy a small push on the shoulder.
Tommy stomped into the house to help carry things out. The adults all exchanged looks. Once everything was ready and the table set, they all sat down. Gran asked Nathan to lead prayers since James hadn't rejoined the group. Thomas and Charlotte exchanged a look that was missed by most other then Doug and Jack. Nathan lead a prayer and then they started passing the food around. They had barely started eating when James rejoined the group and took his place at the head of the table. It was a nice conversation around the dinner table. They talked about what they had done that day. Jack and Nathan updated everyone how the jumping was going. Doug and Lee talked about things in the city.
"We will have to do burger again." Nathan said. "But next time, I will have to make you a bacon jam to put on the burgers."
"Bacon jam?" Thomas asked.
"Yes." Nathan said. "When I was little, our neighbor taught me how. It is amazing on burgers, pork chops and even with steak. It is mainly bacon and sautéed onions with some spices and brown sugar. I have done with maple syrup as well as bourbon. Both those are amazing as well. The basic recipe is great, but playing with the flavors is fun."
"Let me know what you need." Gran said. "Then you can show me. It sounds really good. If we have everything, do you think that you could make some for Sunday?"
"Sure." Nathan said. "I will look, but I am pretty sure that you have everything."
"Yes." James said. "That sounds good. I think we are going to to keep you around, Nathan. Normally, I am not that adventurous when comes to food, but that bbq pizza that you made looked good and bacon jam sounds amazing."
Charlotte looked at his father, and couldn't believe what she was hearing. They all went back to eating and the conversation continued as they boys caught up. About half way through the meal, Gran looked at Doug and Jack.
"I had lunch with Ann Green today." Gran said.
"That must have been nice." James said. "How is she and the girls?"
"They are doing good." Gran said. "She was excited when I told her that you boys were here. She told me that all the girls are home for the summer and they were all looking forward to seeing friends again. Ann is loving having everyone home for the summer. I told her we should find time get together."
"No." Jack said. "Whatever you are thinking, the answer is no."
"I agree the answer is no." Doug said.
"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked.
Jack and Doug looked at each other and shook their heads. Nathan looked at Gran.
"Ann's girls are preforming Saturday night." Gran said. "She extended the offer to have Doug and JP join them."
"And what did you say?" Thomas asked.
"I told her that I would tell them." Gran said. "I didn't promise anything other then to tell you."
"The answer is still no." Jack said. "It is enough that I am jumping. I am not preforming, besides it had been forever. I don't think I would have time to get ready. Besides, the last thing that I want to do is spend time with those girls."
"Um." Doug said. "I agree with Jack. There is a reason that the youngest went away to school when we were sixteen."
"Probably the same reason that she quit jumping mid-season." Lee added in a low tone.
"What are you talking about?" Thomas added.
"Ann Green's youngest daughter, Jami." Doug said.
"Was she the one that was with what's his face?" Lee asked. "And they got caught …."
"Yes." Jack said cutting Lee off.
Jack gave Lee a look and he understood.
"What about her?" James asked. "She is a nice girl, she was a good jumper. She should have kept it up."
"Yeah." Jack said. "There was a really good reason that she quit riding."
"Okay." James said. "I am obviously missing something, so why don't you tell us all why you don't want to spend time with Ann's daughters."
Jack, Doug and Lee all looked at each other. Doug and Lee quickly took a large bite of food so they couldn't talk.
"Fine." Jack said. "The reason that she quit jumping mid-season was that she was pregnant. When her parents found out, they sent her overseas to keep it quite. Think about it. Both the younger girls finished school overseas and neither took their horses with them."
James looked at his grandson and then his wife, who just shrugged her shoulders as it was the first that she had heard about it.
"JP." Gran said. "You know how I feel about gossip."
"It isn't gossip when it is true." Doug said.
"Fine." Gran said. "But I doubt that is the whole story. They have always been close and it broke Ann's heart when the girls went overseas to school. Besides, they are a good family."
Jack just looked at Doug and shook his head again.
"Regardless." Jack said. "I have plenty to keep me busy and I never really liked Jami and her sisters anyway."
"Then you don't have to hang out with them." Thomas said. "But I expect you not to repeat anything that was said at this table. The girls are back and I expect you to be nice to them if we see them."
"Yes, Sir." Jack said.
Thomas looked to Tommy, Doug and Lee.
"Yes, Sir." Doug and Lee said.
"Fine." Tommy said. "Even I knew why she had left, but I won't say anything."
"Good." Thomas said. "We will not talk about it again."
Everyone went back to eating and didn't say anything more for a few minutes. When Doug was done he looked at Jack and motioned something. Jack nodded his head and then looked at Lee who also agreed with them. Elizabeth was watching them and was amazed that they could have an entire conversation without speaking. Then again, she realized that her and Rosie did the same thing. She realized that it must come with time and knowing someone. She had had a few of those moments with Jack, but was always surprised when she saw it with others.
"Dad." Jack said. "Do you think Doug, Lee and I could go into town for a bit. Elizabeth you are more then welcome to join us."
"Nathan." Thomas said.
"I wouldn't mind going into town for a bit." Nathan said. "What were you thinking?"
"Ice cream." Doug and Lee both said in unison.
Thomas looked at the other adults around the table and there were no objections.
"Fine by me." Thomas said.
"Don't forget that you still need to take care of Ghost tonight." James said.
"Not a problem, Sir." Doug said. "I hadn't planned on being gone long. There will be plenty of time to take care of the horses tonight."
"Okay." James said. "You still have chores in the morning, jumping and a workout."
"Not a problem." Lee said. "I will even help with chores so that they can get to jumping."
"Sounds good." James said.
"Elizabeth?" Jack said.
"Yes, I think I would like to go with you." Elizabeth said.
"Can I go?" Tommy asked.
"No." Charlotte said. "You haven't earned it. Besides, you need to sit down and have a conversation with your father and me."
Tommy just rolled his eyes.
"For that." Charlotte said. "You can do the dishes tonight. Boys, Elizabeth please take your dishes inside. Once the food is put away, you may go."