Chapter 22 – Meet Charlotte
Both men stood up and Elizabeth noticed that Nathan was several inches taller than Jack. She knew Jack to be about five foot ten or eleven as he wasn't that much taller than her. She figured that Nathan had to be about six two or three. She also noticed that Nathan had blue eyes like her, but they were a much more vibrant blue than hers. Nathan had dark wavy hair like Jack and both had a lock that would fall over their forehead. She thought Nathan was good looking, but she didn't feel an attraction to him like she did with Jack. She wondered about Nathan. When he was talking, she could see sadness in his eyes. She thought if she got a chance, she would ask him about it. She truly did want to be his friend, even if he was there to protect her and Jack. Elizabeth thought that it really looked like Nathan needed a friend.
Devin texted Chris and he came up to help them carry everything down to the car.
"Okay." Devin said. "Chris is on his way up. Nathan's luggage is already in the car. When we get down to the car, Elizabeth please sit in the middle back and the guys can sit on either side of you. When you are in Saratoga, Nathan will drive. I am going to have Chris drive this morning. Do we still need to stop for breakfast?"
"I am good." Nathan said.
"I am good." Jack said.
"So am I." Elizabeth said. "There are two bagel bites left."
"I will take them down to the office, they will get eaten." Devin said. "Anything in the fridge that needs to get eaten?"
"Let me check?" Jack said.
Jack walked over to the fridge and looked. He pulled out the last of the fruit and the bagels.
"Take these." Jack said. "The service will stock everything when we are on the way home. Everything else should be fine."
"Okay." Devin said.
Chris knocked on the door and Nathan opened it. The two of them grabbed the luggage and Devin grabbed the food. Jack grabbed his computer bag and Elizabeth grabbed hers. They walked down to the car, with Devin making a quick stop at the office to drop off the food. Once everyone was ready, they headed to the heliport. Traffic wasn't bad, but to be safe, Chris took the long way around. When they got to the West 30th Heliport, Chris pulled into the VIP section. There were two men to meet them and the car, they quickly unload the luggage. Nathan opened his door and got out as did Jack, when Jack was standing, he turned and offered his hand to Elizabeth. They were ushered into the building and into a room where they could wait. Nathan stayed with them while Devin made sure that everything was okay and they were checked in. After a few minutes Devin and another man came in.
"He needs to see your driver's licenses." Devin said.
All three pulled them out and handed them over. The man scanned them and then handed them back.
"And we are waiting for two more people?" The man asked.
"Yes." Jack said. "My mother and brother should be here shortly. They were coming from home, I was here in the city already with my friends."
"Very good, Mr Thornton." The man said. "I will let them know that you are here when they come. Feel free to wait here. There is coffee and some snacks. If you need anything, please let us know. We only have a couple of helicopters coming in before you are set to take off. I will make sure that your luggage is loaded. There is a lot of air traffic, so I have routed the helicopter slightly differently. You will be going inland away from the city before turning north. It will only add about ten minutes to the trip."
"Very good." Jack said. "Saratoga airport knows to call my grandfather when the pilot radios in since we are landing at the ranch."
"Yes." The man said. "It looks like your father requested a pilot you all are familiar with."
"Thank you." Jack said.
"My computer bag was with my luggage." Nathan said. "I was wondering if I could have that."
"Yes, Sir." The man said. "I will bring that right to you. Anything else that you need?"
Nathan looked at Jack and Elizabeth, who both shook their heads.
"We should be good." Nathan said.
"Very well." The man said.
He and Devin left and the man was back a few minutes later with Nathan's computer bag. The three only had to wait about twenty minutes before Jack's mother and brother arrived. Charlotte walked over to Jack and looked at him for a moment.
"Morning, Ma." Jack said.
"I thought you would have come home last night." Charlotte said.
"Elizabeth asked me to stay." Jack said.
Just then Elizabeth returned from the bathroom.
"Ma." Jack said. "I would like you to meet Elizabeth Thatcher. Elizabeth, this is my mother, Charlotte Sims-Thornton."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Elizabeth said. "Thank you for everything. Jack has been wonderful and I am grateful that he was there for me."
Charlotte looked Elizabeth up and down, before nodding. She then turned to Nathan and looked at him.
"Morning, Mrs Thornton." Nathan said.
"Morning, Nathan." Charlotte said. "Tommy, come meet JP's friends."
Nathan looked at Tommy and wondered how much trouble he would be. He knew that he would have to talk to the young man, but he just hoped that he behaved. Tommy came over and was introduced to Nathan and Elizabeth. He seemed less than impressed that Jack got to have two friends go with him to their grandparents.
"Why does he get to bring friends?" Tommy complained.
"Because." Charlotte said. "Miss Thatcher needs some time out of the city and Nathan here is coming along to help on the farm. Do your friends want to help with the horses?"
"Tommy doesn't even want to help with the horses." Jack said. "I highly doubt any of his friends know what the word work is."
Tommy just glared at Jack.
"Why do I have to go again?" Tommy asked.
"Because I said so." Charlotte said. "I don't trust you home by yourself. At least if you are with your grandparents, there isn't much trouble that you can cause. Besides, you should spend time with them. They won't be around forever."
Tommy just rolled his eyes and went back to playing on his phone. Charlotte then turned to Elizabeth.
"You were able to get everything that you needed?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes, thank you." Elizabeth said. "Katie was very helpful."
"Molly sent a bag for you, JP." Charlotte said. "I hope it has everything that you need."
"I am sure that it does." Jack said. "I only asked for a few extra things. It is not like we are going to the middle of nowhere. If I forgot something, then I will just have to get it in town. They have a Target and Walmart. There are also other shops."
Charlotte just shook her head.
"Besides." Jack said. "I need to get a new pair of boots. Elizabeth also wants some boots, so we will head to town this afternoon or tomorrow after church."
Before Charlotte could say anything, an employee came in to let them know that they could board their helicopter. The group grabbed their carry-on bags and headed out the door. Nathan looked around as they walked to the helicopter. The workers helped Charlotte up. Nathan then directed Tommy to follow. Jack and Elizabeth climbed in after Tommy and finally Nathan climbed in, pulling the door shut behind him. They were only on the tarmac a few minutes before the pilot climbed in.
"Everyone buckled in and ready?" The pilot asked.
"Yes, Mike." Jack said.
"Very good." Mike said. "We are just waiting for clearance. I am going to get the blades going, so we are ready."
When the blades started up it was a bit noisy. Elizabeth reached over and grabbed Jack's hand.
"It is okay." Jack said. "They are just starting the engine. No different than flying on a plane. Instead of a gradual incline, we go pretty much straight up. I actually like it more than a regular plane."
"Well." Elizabeth said. "I have never been a huge fan of flying."
Nathan looked over and watched Jack calm Elizabeth down by talking to her. Before she knew they were airborne and on their way north.
"See no problem." Jack said when they were over the city.
Elizabeth just leaned into Jack and closed her eyes. Jack and Nathan talked during the flight. Tommy played on his phone and Charlotte was working on something on her Ipad. It made the flight go so much faster. Jack was glad that Elizabeth was able to close her eyes and relax a little bit. He knew that she had been stressed about meeting everyone and this was after the overly emotional few days that she had had. Jack was worried about Elizabeth, but he also knew that he had done everything that he could to protect her and make sure that she felt safe.
"We are about ten minutes out." Mike said. "Please make sure everyone is buckled up and everything is stowed away."
"No problem, Mike." Jack said.
Jack woke up Elizabeth and let her know that they were almost there. Everyone else put their stuff away. Jack encouraged Elizabeth to look out over the farm and see the horses. Elizabeth could see what Jack meant about the different areas. What looked like the main site, did appear to be a lot more secluded. She was glad that they were almost there, but she was also concerned about how they would view her.
"They aren't scared of the noise?" Elizabeth asked, pointing to the horses.
"We are still high enough that it is fine." Jack said. "Any that are close by, will be put in the stable before we land. It will be fine. Now, when we land, Mike won't shut the blades down, so we will have to make sure we are aware as we exit. I will help you. There will be hands there to take our luggage, so the best thing that we can do is just move away from the helicopter. The biggest thing will be to keep your head down until we are well clear of the helicopter."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will follow your lead."
The helicopter landed and Jack grabbed both his and Elizabeth's computer bags. Nathan opened the door when he got the signal. He helped Jack and Elizabeth down. Jack led Elizabeth far enough away from the helicopter to be safe. Nathan stayed to help Tommy and Charlotte down before joining Jack and Elizabeth. As Jack had said, there were a couple of ranch hands there to unload the luggage and take it to the house. As soon as the luggage was unloaded and everyone was clear, the helicopter took off and headed into Saratoga. When the helicopter was gone, Jack turned and introduced Elizabeth to his grandparents. But he stopped as he watched Elizabeth take in his grandparents home. They had landed in the front yard, just off to the side of the house. You could see the stables and the horses down there.
Elizabeth had known that the home was large, she had seen it from the air, but to actually be staring at it was another thing. They were still standing near the helipad and the house looked impressive. It was done in stone. There was a large sloping staircase in the front and a very nice fountain. As Elizabeth stood there, she wanted to explore the place. She wondered if she would be able to find her way around. As she stood there, she also wondered which was Jack's room.
"Wondering which is my room?" Jack whispered.
"Actually." Elizabeth said. "Yes."
"You can't see it from this side." Jack said. "My room and Laura's rooms are in the basement on the back side of the house. Tommy's room is also in the basement. Ma and Dad's room is upstairs, as well as the guest rooms. My grandparents' room is on the main level above us."
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"It is okay." Jack said. "There will be plenty of time to explore and see things. I am sure that Gran won't mind. But we should really make introductions and head inside."
"Yeah." Elizabeth said. "I was just surprised to actually see the size of the house."
"I understand." Jack said. "I will have to show you the stables later, they are pretty impressive as well. But wait until you see the view from the back. I know that you saw it from the air as we came over the house, but to see it standing there is something else."
Elizabeth just smiled at Jack and shook head. She wondered if he spent more time in the stables than the house sometimes. Jack finally led Elizabeth over to his grandparents and introduced them. Jack could tell that Elizabeth was nervous. He gave her hand a squeeze to reassure her and hoped that she would relax. He knew that money could be intimidating to some people, but his grandparents were honestly good people who happen to have money.
"Come dear." Margaret said. "I am sure you want to freshen up before we eat."
"Thank you, ma'am." Elizabeth said.
"Oh, please call me Margaret." She said, "Or if you want, you can call me Gran like JP does."
"I will try to remember that." Elizabeth said. "Thank you for allowing me to come up here."
"Oh, our pleasure." Margaret said. "JP's friends are always welcome here. I have you in Laura's room. I hope that is okay."
"Fine." Elizabeth said. "Jack said something about that. He also told me about Laura. I am sorry."
"No need to be sorry." Margaret said. "You didn't do anything. Please let me know if there is anything that you need. There are some of Laura's clothes still there, feel free to use them if you want or need. Nathan will be in the big room with JP."
"That is fine Gran." Jack said. "Don't forget that Doug and/or Lee will be here later in the week."
"I didn't forget." Gran said. "They can be in there as well or they can take a guest room. There are six beds in your room. I think you four will be fine."
"Yes, Gran." Jack said.
"Six beds?" Elizabeth asked.
"We took two rooms and made one large room." Margaret said. "It has bunk beds. The top ones are a little larger than twin size and the bottom ones are full size. JP has always had friends over. Tommy will be down in that part of the house as well. James and I, along with JP's parents, will be elsewhere in the house."
Elizabeth nodded. She was led to her room and her luggage was already there. She saw that she had an attached bathroom to herself. Elizabeth was not really surprised that the room was decorated with a horse theme. She noticed that there were a number of ribbons along the top of one wall. She wondered if those were all Laura's. There was a silhouette of a rider and horse against a pink background over the bed. There was also a desk and saddle next to it. Elizabeth thought that with the white furniture and the double barn door that lead to the closet that it was perfect. If she had been into horses growing up, she was sure that this was similar to what her room would look like. She wondered what Jack's room looked like. She wondered if it too was done in a horse theme.
