Chapter 72 – Fears
Doug, Nathan, Lee and Elizabeth hadn't gotten far when Lee pulled up next to Elizabeth again.
"Are you alright?" Lee asked.
"I think so." Elizabeth said. "I mean as far as riding I am fine, I am just worried about Jack."
"Jack will be fine." Lee said.
"I don't know." Elizabeth said. "He was upset about something. I think I might have upset him."
"No." Doug said dropping back to Elizabeth's other side. "Jack is not mad at you. I am sure about it. I have an idea what he is mad about, but I am not going to say more. If and when he wants to talk about it, he will."
"Father Mark will talk things through with him." Lee said.
"Exactly." Doug said. "Despite their age difference, they have always been close. He has always been Jack's go to to talk. If there is anything wrong, Father Mark will help him work it out."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I just thought things would be different."
"Sometimes." Lee said. "Jack just needs to talk things through with someone else. Nine times out of ten he will talk things through with Father Mark and whatever is going on, after talking Jack will have more clarity. He also likes to talk to his other grandfather. As his best friends we get it. Just give him some space. Let him know that you are willing to listen. He will come to you when he gets out of his own head. Father Mark is great at pulling him out of that.
"I understand that you thought things would be different." Doug said. "But you also understand that Jack didn't plan any of what has happened. I know that when he said he was coming up here that he hadn't planned on jumping or putting a show together."
"I know." Elizabeth said. "But I thought we would have time together."
Doug pulled Elizabeth's horse to a stop and Lee stopped as well. They both stayed beside Elizabeth. Nathan stopped just behind them, but close enough that he could hear what they were talking about. Nathan also said a quick prayer that Doug and Lee could calm Elizabeth's fears.
"Elizabeth." Doug said. "I have never seen Jack as happy as he has he is when he is near you. He sees you and his entire face lights up. You will have time together, but you also need to understand that Jack is working when he is here and there are a lot of changes that are happening all at once. Jack needs to work through things and once things that slow down, you will have time together."
"What about Charlotte?" Elizabeth said. "She wasn't happy last night when Jack told me he loved him."
"That is her problem." Lee said.
"I agree with Lee." Doug said. "Charlotte, has always had her own ideas about Jack's life and she is just going to have to learn that Jack has his own mind and will do what he wants no matter how she feels about it."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
Doug and Lee exchanged looks, that didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth. They both wondered how much Jack had told her about his background and would he be mad if they shared something that he hadn't.
"Are you talking about that girl Sarah?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes." Doug said. "Sarah's mom and Charlotte are friends and they have been pushing for years for the two to get married."
"But Jack doesn't love her." Lee said. "He loves you."
"Jack never talked about a future when he was with Sarah." Doug said. "Actually, until Jack meet you, never talked about a future period. Yeah, he would talk about school and stuff in a general sort of manner, but he never wanted to talk about specifics."
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"Elizabeth." Doug said. "Part of the reason that Jack is so upset about all this stuff with Tommy is because for how laxidasical Charlotte was with him was how strict she was with Jack. She was always pushing him into the spot light. She always wanted to parade Jack out to show off to her friends. She even tried to push him to model at a couple of points when he was younger. She was always trying to use Jack to one up her rich friends. Jack hated it and he knew exactly what she was doing and refused to be a part of her little game which only made Charlotte push more."
"I would bet." Lee said. "That if Charlotte hadn't kept pushing Jack, he might have never walked away from riding."
"Charlotte." Doug said. "Well …."
"She demanded perfection from Jack and let Tommy run wild." Lee said. "It was like nothing Jack did was good enough and everything that Tommy did was fine. If one of her friends kids did something, she pushed Jack to do it even better or to do more. She tried to control everything Jack did and he started pushing back. At first, Charlotte blamed us, as the push back really started after the three of us got together. We didn't care. All we did, was point out to Jack that he was his own person and no one could force him to do anything that he didn't want. We could see that Jack could do no right while Tommy could do no wrong in Charlotte's eyes. We just pointed it out to Jack that he had a voice and he should use it."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"One of Charlotte's friends." Doug said. "Her son got a modeling contract. Nothing major, just a local thing for a department store. The next week, Charlotte was pushing Jack to accept one of the modeling contracts from anyone of a number of horse magazines. She booked one without telling Jack. When he found out, he called and canceled it on his own. When Charlotte found out she was furious. She yelled at him that he was making her look like a fool to her friends.
She would buy Jack the latest clothes and get mad when he wanted to wear his old Wrangler jeans. To Jack, he wanted what was comfortable, not the newest clothes. The more Charlotte demanded, the more Jack pushed back. It was like we gave Jack the strength to find his voice with his mother."
"The thing that Charlotte had never learned." Lee said. "Is that Jack doesn't care about the spotlight. He has never wanted to be the center of attention, he just wants to live a regular life. Don't get me wrong, he likes certain comforts, but he doesn't care about high fashion or what the latest things are. Jack had straight As all through school, but missed out on being Valedictorian by one thousandth of a point. Jack didn't care, but Charlotte went nuts says that if he would have just tired a little harder he would have been the best. It didn't matter that Jack had perfect grades, had gotten early acceptance to Columbia, was a varsity letter winner, and one of the most popular kids in class."
Elizabeth looked between Doug and Lee. Nathan was impressed with the list of accomplishments that they had listed. He knew that Jack had down well, but he didn't have specifics.
"Don't you see." Doug said. "Because he wasn't the best of the best, to Charlotte none of his other accomplishments mattered. It didn't matter how many ribbons or awards Jack brought home. If Charlotte heard someone did something better, she would ask why Jack didn't get x, y or z award."
"If he didn't like to be the center of attention." Elizabeth said. "Why did he show jump?"
"Because he was good at it." Doug said. "Also, nine times out of ten, it is more about the horse then the rider, so he really didn't care."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "Thank you for talking to me."
"So are we going to sit here and talk." Nathan said. "Or are we going to ride."
"Ride." Doug said.
Doug moved back into the lead and got the group moving again. They went a little further and the trail came to a fork. Doug stopped and looked back at the group.
Jack continued to pace the office like a caged animal.
"Jack!" Father Mark said. "Stop, you are making me dizzy."
"Sorry." Jack said. "Just talking about things I got worked up again. I have had to shelve things so I could jump today. I think doing that only made me more angry."
"I understand that you are angry." Father Mark said.
Jack sat back down and finished his water bottle.
"Jack." Father Mark said. "I want to ask you a few things. You can think about things if you need to, so don't feel like you need to answer right away."
"Okay." Jack said.
"First." Father Mark said. "Are you going to be okay walking away from your family?"
Jack looked at him for a moment and then took a deep breath. Before answering, Jack got up and grabbed an energy drink out of the small fridge.
"I don't think I am going to have to walk away from the family." Jack said.
"Explain." Father Mark said.
"Okay." Jack said. "I don't think that others will be mad. I doubt that Dad will turn his back on me because of the horse business. And I also know that Gran and Grandpa will not turn their back on me. I think that the only ones that Ma may convince are Uncle Conrad and Aunt Heidi, but if that happens it is going to put them in a bind. I can't really say more right now, but it will be clear later. Even if Dad turns his back on me, … well … he will regret pushing me."
"Good point." Father Mark said. "I also understand that there are certain things that you can't tell me, but you also know that I won't say anything."
"I know." Jack said. "But what I can't tell you is business, but also a family matter."
Father Mark looked at Jack for a moment and understanding dawned across his face. He remembered something that his grandfather had shared with him in private. He knew what Jack was talking about and he also knew that he wouldn't break any confidence to let Jack know that he knew. He just hoped that Jack trusted him enough to talk to him about it.
"Second." Father Mark said. "Will you be okay if your mother tries to follow through with her threats and what will you do about it?"
Jack stopped for a moment and drank some of his energy drink while he thought about things.
"Like I said before." Jack said. "I don't think that she will have much support if she tries to cut me off. As far as what I will do about it. Well, I will be fine living in the apartment in the city. For now, Elizabeth will be in the same building and it is close to school. I doubt that Gran and Grandpa will stop me from coming up here, especially with other things in place. So really the only place that I wouldn't be welcome is the house in Astoria. If that is her choice, I will be okay with it.
As far as money, I will be fine. I told you that Dad gave me control of my portfolio. That includes the building where my apartment for school is as well as a couple other rental properties and some commercial spaces. It also includes everything I own as far as the horses and there are investments, stocks, bonds in there. Dad also gave me other things like art and jewelry. Most of the jewelry is in my safe deposit box at the bank. The art is currently hanging in either Dad's office or the three apartments I have access to – mine, Elizabeth's and the client use one. Also the last time that I checked, I have more personal wealth then either of my parents. They don't realize that the investments that I have made and the money that I have amassed. I have been working with a financial advisor for years and all the money that I have earned has gone into a separate accounts. Some of which Dad and Ma know nothing about.
Also there are other things in the works, so I am not worried about it. I can't say much, but it will be Ma that will lose if she continues to push things. I have been working with Grandpa James and Grandpa John. What I can say is we have changed the contract with between Coal Creek and Thornton Thoroughbreds. It is actually a much better contract and if Uncle Conrad sides with Ma, he might have to rethink things about his life. I told you this much because I know that you won't say anything. I can't give you more details as everything is tied up with lawyers and accountants right now. The only thing I can say, is that you will always have access to the ranch if you want. I will also say that Grandpa John and I have changed the way that things are structured as far as Thornton Thoroughbreds. Again, if Dad pushes, he will be the one that loses."
"Okay." Father Mark said. "Does your parents know about that?"
"I don't think so." Jack said. "From what she was saying last night, I don't think she realizes how much control Dad has given me and that he has been extremely hands off with things since my seventeenth birthday and even more since my eighteenth. Don't get wrong, he is there if I have questions and I am using his accountant and another financial advisor, so he could know if he wants, but as far as I know he hasn't bothered to look."
"So you mother is not listed on you accounts?" Father Mark asked.
"Nothing financial." Jack said. "Everything is either Dad, Grandpa or Grandpa John. The only thing that Ma is listed on is medical and school as far as I know."
"Okay." Father Mark said. "That would be easy to change. So who would you list if you remove your mother?"
"Well." Jack said. "As long as he supports me, I will leave Dad on those things. I was thinking of adding Elizabeth if she was okay with that, otherwise I was thinking of talking to Doug's dad. If Dad pushes things and sides with Ma, then he is going to be the one to lose as well. Grandpa John agrees with me on the future of certain businesses."
"I think listing both of those would be a good thing." Father Mark said. "As long as they are agreeable to it."
They sat in silence for a few moments before Father Mark looked at Jack. He looked better then when he had first arrived. He knew that there was still a lot of things that needed to be worked through, but he knew that Jack was in a better place.
"Was there anything else that you wanted to talk about?" Father Mark asked.
"I don't think so." Jack said.
"Good." Father Mark said. "Then let's pray and go for a ride."
Jack scooted closer to Father Mark and they joined hands.
"Heavenly Father." Father Mark said. "We come before You and ask that You heal Jack's heart. Please give him wisdom and clarity moving forward. We ask that You work in the heart of Charlotte and help her to see that Jack and Elizabeth are meant for one another. I believe that You brought these two young people together for a reason, but if for some reason it isn't Your will that they spend a lifetime together, please help each to see that and to heal them so that they can move forward. However if it is Your will that they spend their lives together, please help others to see what You meant for good. Please continue to keep Jack and his friends safe as they ride – whether it be on a trail or in a show. Please help Jack to be humble if he wins and a good sport if he doesn't. In Your name we pray. Amen."
"Amen." Jack said.
They stood up and headed across the office.
"Thank you." Jack said. "I am feeling a lot better."
"Your welcome." Father Mark said. "So who did they leave for us to ride."
"Lemon Drop and Diamond." Jack said.
"Care which one I ride?" Father Mark asked.
"Nope." Jack said. "I am good with either."
Lee pulled up next to where Doug had stopped. Lee knew what Doug was thinking but he wasn't sure.
"I think we should head to the stud farm." Lee said. "That way if Jack comes looking for us, he will know where we are."
"Good point." Doug said. "There is just something down the other trail that I thought Nathan and Elizabeth would like to see."
Nathan rode up to see what the plan was and he heard his name mentioned.
"What were you saying?" Nathan asked.
"I think we should head to the stud farm." Lee said. "That way if Jack comes he knows were to find us. Doug wants to take the left trail. He says there is something that he wants to show you."
"No problem." Nathan said. "We can go to the left and Jack will know."
"How." Lee asked.
Nathan pulled a bright red hankerchief out of his pocket and moved over to tie it to the post at the head of the trail.
"There." Nathan said. "Jack will know that is the way that we went."
"Good plan." Doug said. "Lets go. It is not far, but well worth the ride."
"Elizabeth." Nathan said. "You still doing okay?"
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I think I might be sore later, but I am okay."
"Well." Nathan said. "Get some of that muscle rub from Gran, it is great. It really helped me."
"I think I might do that." Elizabeth said.
"If you are okay with it." Nathan said. "I am sure she would help you put it on, if needed."
"Thanks." Elizabeth said.
The group started again and as Lee dropped back next to Elizabeth, she looked over to him.
"So where are we going?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am not going to spoil the surprise." Lee said. "You will see."
Elizabeth shook her head at him and Lee just smiled. He knew exactly where they were going, but again didn't want to spoil the surprise.