Chapter 36 – Family Ties (long)

Gran and Elizabeth settled back into the lounge chairs to talk.

"So." Gran said. "You want to know about my family."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Obviously, I know that Jack has a brother. He has talked a little about Laura and he told me about Father Mark this morning. But I would really like to know more about his family. It sounds like he had cousins around growing up. I think I absolutely missed out on something."

"You probably did." Gran said. "Not saying it was wrong, but cousins and large families are wonderful. They may be work and you may not always get along, but there is something about having people there who will always be on your side."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment.

"Sorry." Gran said. "I didn't realize what I said."

"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "I know that my family has their faults, but I think that they still love me in their own way. It may not be what I wanted or needed, but they tried."

Gran put her hand on Elizabeth's arm and gave it a squeeze

"Let's back up." Gran said. "First I am one of nine children. I have four brothers and four sisters. Their families are spread all across the country. I have one brother up near Whitehall, which is up by the border with Vermont. I have another brother who lives over by Ithaca and a sister who lives down on Long Island. The rest of my siblings are in Texas or Arizona. Between the nine of us, there are forty children and almost seventy grandchildren. James is one of four. He has two older sisters and a younger brother. Between the four of them, there are seven children and seventeen grandchildren. None of them live close by anymore. I think that the closest is Pennsylvania."

"Wow." Elizabeth said. "Big family. Now Jack said Father Mark and Laura are siblings. Who is their father?"

"That would be my son, Christopher." Gran said. "I have three children, eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren."

Elizabeth just looked at her, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"You don't look old enough to have great grandchildren." Elizabeth said.

"Thank you." Gran said. "I am not quite seventy. My oldest Christopher was born when I was sixteen. Christopher and Molly got married when they were nineteen and pregnant with the twins."

"Wow." Elizabeth said. "So you and James were married young."

Gran took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Sorry." Elizabeth said. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Gran said. "Yes, Christopher has the same last name as my other children, but he is not biologically James' child. James and I met when Christopher was just over a year old. We were married a year later. He adopted Christopher. Charlotte was born a little over a year after we were married. Conrad came along five years after that. Between Charlotte and Conrad, I got my teaching certificate. I taught for over twenty-five years."

"Wow." Elizabeth said. "You have not had an easy life."

"No I haven't." Gran said. "But despite the sorrow and hardships, I have had many, many more wonderful times. I wouldn't trade Christopher or his family for anything. He may not have come under the best circumstances, but he was loved and that was what counts."

"So I assume Christopher has several children." Elizabeth said.

"Yes." Gran said. "Chris and Molly have seven. The twins, David and Dawn are their oldest. Then it is Father Mark. Rose and Michael, who are just over ten months apart. Then Emily and Laura. David and his wife have two little boys and Dawn and her husband have a little girl."

"Where do they all live?" Elizabeth asked.

"Chris and Molly live north of here." Gran said. "But they spend most of their time with David who is in Montana. Dawn is in Virginia. Rose, Michael and Emily are all in California. My son Conrad and his wife Heidi live here in Saratoga, but travel a lot with the horses. Conrad has taken a lot of the training over from James, so he goes to California and Florida. Right now, they are in the city because it is racing at Belmont and Aqueduct. So he is back and forth between those tracks. He will be back up here when racing starts. Then he will be traveling between the three tracks as well as California and Kentucky."

"And they have children?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Gran said. "Timothy and Melissa. Tim is twenty and in college in Colorado. Melissa is eighteen and just finished her first year of college in Texas. She is staying down there for the summer taking more classes and working. She has taken a liking to one of the rodeo students down there, so there is that."

"So Tommy is your youngest grandchild." Elizabeth said.

"Yes." Gran said.

"Now you said, Conrad had taken a lot of the training." Elizabeth said. "Are there other families that are involved with horses?"

"Tim is going to school and getting an equine degree." Gran said. "He will probably come back here and work with his father or maybe with his great uncle near Ithaca. I know that he wants to come back to New York. He misses it. He only went to Colorado because they had the best equine program in North America. Melissa is working on a vet program. She could come back here and work or not. They have not made that clear. I am sure that it will have a lot to do with how things go with her young beau. I am just glad that they have both kept up with their riding. I am sure that Conrad would love to have both close by eventually. David has a huge cattle ranch out in Montana. The three out in California all work various jobs for a production studio. I can't keep up."

"Well." Elizabeth said. "That sounds exciting as well. I am sure that you would like to have the grandchildren closer."

"Yes." Gran said. "But I also know I need to let them live their own lives. I just miss watching them all riding together."

James was back with a bucket and a shovel. They were able to capture the snake and put him in the bucket while they waited for the Conservation officer. Charlotte wasn't happy she had to help her father with the snake or that there was a snake in the first place, but it was what it was. James was really upset, more so because people didn't do what they were supposed to and it endangered others. As soon as they removed the snake to hold in a safe location, James and Charlotte went about moving all the jumps using the side by side with a small trailer. Once he had that done, he personally saw to the placement of the solar stakes. While he was doing that, Charlotte took the small lawn tractor and spread the snake mace in the ring, making sure to harrow and ready the ring for the boys to jump the next day. Just as they were both finishing, James saw the Conservation officer's truck pull into the yard. He had been instructed to pull back toward the stable.

"James." The man said. "So what brings me out today. The office just called and said to get here as soon as possible."

"Bill." James said. "So good to see you. Sorry to bother you on a Sunday. Apparently one of my employees can't do their job and we ended up with a timber rattler in the jumping ring. It spooked my grandson and his friend's horses."

Bill's eyes got huge. Charlotte had walked over by that time.

"Charlotte." Bill said. "The boys okay?"

"JP and Nathan are both fine." Charlotte said. "Nathan was actually the one that spotted the rattler after Bandit started acting up. It was only after JP had walked Honey over and she started acting up that he knew something was wrong. Both boys and horses were removed from the ring before anything happened."

"Good." Bill said. "So JP back to competing?"

"Not really." James said. "He agreed to do the charity event and one other show, since we had to fire my other rider for …. well being an ass and almost injuring a horse."

"I may have to go see him jump." Bill said. "Where is he now?"

"They took the horses over to the arena." Charlotte said. "They still needed to get some practice in today."

"So where is the little guy you caught?" Bill asked.

"He is not so little." James asked. "He is over there."

James pointed to the bucket under the tree.

"We have replaced the solar stakes and put snake mace down." James said. "I am also going to be double checking the rest of the property, so I don't anticipate any further problems."

"Well." Bill said. "You did the right thing. The rattler didn't pose an immediate threat, but if he had, you would have been justified in killing it even if it is a protected species. Gotta protect your horses, I know that they are how you make your living."

"Thank you." James said.

"We will have to have you and Abigail over for supper." Charlotte said. "Thomas will be here by Wednesday night. At least one more of JP's friends is coming with him, but I know that you don't mind."

"As long as you don't mind Abigail and I bringing our three." Bill said.

"The more the merrier." Charlotte said. "Have Abigail call Mom and figure out a day that works for everyone."

"I will do that." Bill said. "I will take this guy. I think I will drive him up to Adirondack park before releasing him."

"Good." Charlotte said. "The further the better."

"Oh." Bill said. "I forgot you don't like these guys."

Charlotte shot him a look and Bill just shook his head with a chuckle.

"Later." Bill said as he headed to his truck.

James and Charlotte watched him pull around and leave.

"You both may be happily married." James said. "But he still likes you."

"I don't believe that." Charlotte said. "He just likes to push my buttons."

"Like I said." James said with a smile.

"Don't start." Charlotte said.

James just gave her a look.

"I need to deal with an employee." James said. "Can you please make sure that the rest of the stakes are set and mace has been spread."

"Of course." Charlotte said. "So much for a relaxing afternoon."

"Comes with the territory." James said before he turned to walk back to the stable.

While James went to deal with his employees. Charlotte set about checking the rest of the property for the stakes and making sure snake mace had been spread.

Nathan and Jack got to the arena and set the jumps that were along the wall. Nathan could tell that Jack was upset and he wasn't sure what he could say to make things better, but he knew that jumping while not thinking straight was not good either.

"Jack." Nathan said.

Jack stopped and looked at him.

"Are you okay to jump?" Nathan asked.

Jack let out a harsh breath.

"I don't know." Jack said. "I just hate it when people don't do the job they are paid to do."

"I understand that." Nathan said. "But you need to clear your head so you can focus on jumping. Your grandfather and mother are dealing with things."

"You're right." Jack said. "Why don't you take the first circuit? I will clear my head."

"Good." Nathan said.

Nathan mounted Honey and brought her up to a canter before lining up for the first jump. While Nathan was riding, Jack secured Bandit near the sidewall. He then stepped outside and tried to clear his head. By the time that Jack came back in, Nathan was just finishing going around for the second time. He stopped when he saw Jack. When Nathan saw Jack's face, he looked much calmer and more focused. Nathan finished and rode over to Jack.

"Your turn." Nathan said.

"How did it go?" Jack asked.

"She is amazing to ride." Nathan said. "I don't know what that kid's problem was. She easily cleared all the jumps and even though I didn't push it, I think we had a pretty good time."

"Good." Jack said. "We will time each other for at least one or two runs starting tomorrow."

"Good." Nathan said. "Now show me how you really can do it."

Jack circled the arena and brought Bandit up to a canter and quickly sailed through the jumps, not touching a single rail. Nathan was rightly impressed at Jack's run. He had no doubt that Jack could have gone on to do great things with his riding if he had wanted to. He also understood why Jack had walked away from riding. Nathan wondered if Jack would change his mind and start competing again. Just because he competed again didn't mean he had to ride Grand Prix level, but Nathan totally thought he could if he wanted to.

As Jack cleared the last jump, he looked over at Nathan who looked lost in his own thoughts. Jack smiled, because he saw the huge smile on Nathan's face. Jack stopped and thought how good Nathan looked on Honey. He wondered if he would be willing to compete in a few more shows if Jack decided to do the same. Jack shook his head. He couldn't believe he was thinking of competing again, but as he rode with Nathan, he realized how much he missed it. He also realized how much fun it was to ride with someone else who pushed him. Jack realized that Nathan pushed him to ride better like Laura had. He also realized that Nathan and Laura would have liked each other. He knew that he would have to talk to Nathan before they made any decisions, but jumping again sounded like fun.

Marco wandered into the arena to see both Jack and Nathan lost in thought sitting on their mounts. He had to shake his head for a moment, because it reminded him so much of how Jack and Laura could be. He clapped his hands loudly, bringing both boys out of their respective thoughts.

"So you boys are just going to sit there?" Marco asked. "Or are you going to show me what you have?"

Both looked at Marco. Jack also looked past Marco and saw a few hands out reversing the order of the oxers so that they would be ready. Jack also knew what was coming when he saw the hand moving the oxers.

"It is Nathan's turn." Jack said.

"Good." Marco said. "Reverse the order you did the first time and give it everything that you have."

Marco pulled out a stopwatch and moved over to what would be the first jump. He gave a nod to Nathan who brought Honey around. As Nathan went by, Marco started the stopwatch. He then moved to the center to see Nathan and Honey better. Nathan pushed Honey and the more he went that faster she wanted to go. Nathan had to rein her in a couple times before clearing the last jump.

"Sixty-seven, plus four faults." Marco announced as Nathan finished.

"Four faults?" Nathan asked. "Where?"

"You clipped the water tray." Marco said. "Otherwise you did excellent. You would have made the jumpoff at last week's show. I know that normally isn't a fault in lower levels, but I expect clean runs. If you clip a tray and don't care, you are more likely to clip or drop a rail from getting sloppy."

"Really." Nathan said, his eyes shining. "That is a great time."

"Completely." Marco said. "Your time would have been enough to win outright."

Nathan's smile got larger.

"Well." Nathan said. "Go ahead, Jack top that."

"You're on." Jack said with a grin.

Marco moved to where he could see the first jump better. Jack brought Bandit up to a full canter and sailed over the first jump. He continued to push Bandit and Marco had a huge smile across his face as he followed Jack around the arena. Nathan watched closely as Jack ran the course. Jack rubbed a couple of rails, but they didn't fall. Jack also came really close to the water tray, but from where Nathan was he couldn't see if he touched it or not. Jack sailed across the last jump and when he landed, Marco stopped the time. Jack looked over to Marco and then to Nathan. Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"Well." Jack said coming over to Marco.

Nathan rode over as well. He wanted to know how Jack did as well.

"Sixty-five, four faults." Marco said. "Again the water tray."

"Jumpoff." Jack said.

"Fine." Marco said. "I will reset the course, grab some water for both you and the horses. Fifteen minutes."

"Perfect." Nathan said.

Both boys dismounted and led the horses over to the large holding area. A couple of hands were there with water buckets. Jack walked over to the fridge and pulled two water bottles and tossed one to Nathan.

"Come on." Jack said. "Let's sit. They have the horses."

Nathan followed Jack over to a sitting/view area that was air conditioned. They sat and drank their water. It was a few minutes before either spoke.

"You're really good." Jack said. "Why didn't you continue to compete?"

"Money or lack thereof." Nathan said. "You? Why don't you compete? You are easily as good if not better than what people say."

"You know why." Jack said.

"Laura?" Nathan said.

"Yes." Jack said.

"But …." Nathan said.

Nathan took a deep breath and looked at Jack with a very serious expression.

"Do it for yourself." Nathan said. "Do it for her. Do you think that she would be happy if she knew that you quit?"

"I guess not." Jack said. "I will think about it."

"That is all I ask." Nathan said.

They sat there for a few more minutes before there was a knock on the doorway.

"Marco is ready." The hand said.

"Let's go." Nathan said. "Beat me if you can."

"You are going down." Jack said with a dimpled grin.

Jack and Nathan walked out to the arena, collecting their horses from the hands that were holding them. They walked over to Marco.

"You will have forty-five seconds to complete this course." Marco said. "Clean round and fastest time wins."

Marco explained the course and walked it with the boys. Again they did rock, paper, scissors to see who went first. Again Jack lost. Jack walked over to Bandit, took a deep breath and blew it out. Nathan watched as he spoke softly to the horse before mounting and moving into a canter. Before lining up for the first jump, Jack reached down and petted Bandit's mane one last time. He then launched over the first oxer with room to spare. Jack cut some sharp corners and made it look like Bandit could fly. By this time, several people had gathered along the one side to watch what was going on. Jack sailed over the last jump and slid to a stop. He looked over to Marco.

"Forty-one, zero faults." Marco announced.

Nathan knew he had his work cut out for him. He rubbed Honey's muzzle for a moment. He spoke to her and she nickered in response. Nathan mounted up and Honey was eager to get moving. Nathan brought her up to a fast canter and lined up. He also sailed over the first oxer with room to spare. Nathan had figured where he could cut a corner after he watched Jack run. He knew that he was going to need every second that he could get. Honey was a slightly leaner horse then Bandit, so she was able to take corners a little tighter. Again several of the people gathered were in awe watching the man jump. They had thought that Jack was good, but this other guy was just as good. Some wondered who he was, because they had never seen him before. Others who knew who he was were even more amazed. Nathan finished in what felt like no time. He rode over to Marco who had a big smile on his face.

"So." Nathan asked.

"Forty point five, zero faults." Marco said. "JP, you have work to do. I think we have found someone who will finally give you a run for your money."

Jack stood there slack-jawed for a moment. It had been a long time since he had been beat. Nathan walked by Jack and patted his head.

"Maybe next time." Nathan said with a chuckle.

Nathan moved out of the arena. Several hands were there offering him congratulations. A couple offered to take care of Honey. Jack looked as Nathan exited the arena. Marco walked over to him.

"Go care for your horse." Marco said.

"He actually beat me." Jack muttered.

"Guess you are going to have to work at it." Marco said. "Don't feel bad, he didn't beat you by much. But at least you can see where there is room for improvement."

Jack didn't say anything else, but went to care for Bandit. As they were brushing the horses, Andy let Jack and Nathan know to stall the horses there and they would be moved to the house stable later.

"Thank you." Jack said. "We need to head over there anyway. But will leave the horses to be moved later. They have had plenty of a work out. Don't forget their tack."

"I know that drill." Andy said.

"Of course you do." Jack said.

"There is a side by side outside." Marco said walking up. "Take that back to the other stable please. Nathan, here are the keys."

Jack was going to protest.

"Reward for winning." Marco said with a grin. "See you tomorrow. I will be at the outdoor ring at ten am to watch practice."

"Yes, Sir." Nathan said

Jack just nodded. Nathan couldn't hide the large grin that was covering his face, but to his credit, he didn't say anything. They finished brushing the horses and stalled them with some oats and a treat. They then headed back to the other stable to shower before heading to the house.