Chapter 248 – Chief Burke Arrives

Father Mark got upstairs and Gran looked right at him.

"He will be up in a moment." Father Mark said. "He was still in workout clothes."

Gran nodded. Father Mark went to greet Chief Burke. People settled around the table since supper was over an hour away. Trish took the luggage up to their room. The girls sat on either side of their dad. They had missed him. They were very much daddy's girls and it showed when they hadn't seen him in a few days. Gran put some coffee and a plate of cookies on the table.

"Supper is still at least an hour and half away." Gran said. "So if you are hungry, I can grab something for you."

"I am fine." Chief said. "I had a late lunch. So I could get out of the office. I am just glad that the weather cleared enough for me to come up here. I love that you have allowed Trish and the girls to be up here, I do miss them. The house is pretty empty with them gone."

"I understand." Gran said.

"I am sure you do." Chief said.

Even John and Peter had come out when Chief Burke arrived. John had sent Peter back to the hotel after making sure he didn't want to stay for supper. Although, John had insisted that they all come over the next day to enjoy the holiday. Peter was reluctant, but John just glared at him with a raised eyebrow. Peter nodded and assured his boss that they would be over mid-morning. John nodded and wished Peter a good night. As Peter was saying goodnight to the Chief, he handed him two large envelopes

"I think you might find these interesting." Chief said. "I also sent a copy to Devin this afternoon before I left. But if anyone finds out, you didn't get them from me."

"Understood, Sir." Peter said.

"Good." Chief said. "Then I will see you tomorrow, but we won't be working if we can help it."

"Understood." Peter said.

Peter nodded to the others and then left for the evening.

"Was that what I think it was?" John asked.

"Yes." Chief said. "Everything I could pull on the names you gave me. Whatever you are doing, I don't want to know. There were some pretty powerful names on that list."

"I know." John said. "Thank you for the help, I know asking put you in an awkward spot. I just didn't know who else to turn to, to get the information quickly."

"I understand." Chief said. "But the less I know the better."

"I understand." John said. "I won't tell you then, unless you ask direct questions."

"Thank you." Chief said. "Now I am here to relax for a day or so."

"Then no more work talk." Trish said coming down. "Your weapon is secured in the safe in our room, but with all the security, I doubt that you will need it."

"Then secured is fine." Chief said. "I meant to ask how the security was going. I had only a few moments to speak to Devin when I stopped by his office before I left this afternoon."

"It has been tense." Frank said.

"I am sorry." Chief said. "You are again."

"Captain Frank Hogan, US Army, Retired." Frank said. "I was a small group leader at the retreat that the boys went on at Maryknoll this past spring break. Jack invited me up here when he needed someone to make a run to Pennsylvania to pick up someone. He then asked me to stay and I will be the property manager when they take over the new land."

"Yes, I remember now." Chief said. "I just hadn't connected the name to your face yet. Douglas was talking about it. You went up to Canada with them, as well."

"Yes, Sir." Frank said.

"Thank you for helping protect my family then." Chief said.

"Of course." Frank said.

Everyone settled around the table. The only ones missing were Jack and Elizabeth. Jack was still downstairs and Elizabeth was reading in the library. Everyone understood that she needed some time to sort through whatever had happened that afternoon.

… … … …

Jack walked into his room and straight to his closet. He grabbed a pair of worn jeans and a henley. He quickly changed, then he grabbed some socks and put them on. He looked at himself in the mirror. He tried to tame his wild hair and then let out a sigh. It was family, they would understand. Jack knew that the Chief was there, but he considered him family so he wasn't going to dress up. Maybe the next day he would dress nice. As it was, Jack looked like he was dressed to do barn chores. His clothes were clean, so he deemed it acceptable.

Jack headed upstairs, even though he was still not in the mood to be around people and to be social. He knew that his grandparents expected him to be at the table for supper and to be social since they had guests. More specifically the guests were the parents of one of his friends. Jack knew what was expected of him. He had gotten good over the years, being able to put a smile on his face and act like a good host. Jack got to the top of the steps and took another deep breath before slowly blowing it out. He stepped on to the main level of the house and saw that Elizabeth was still in the library and so headed there first. Jack stepped into the library and Elizabeth looked up, but then quickly looked away. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had seen the hurt in Elizabeth's eyes when she glanced at him.

"Elizabeth." Jack said. "I am sorry. I am sorry I pushed boundaries and then walked away."

"Technically." Elizabeth said. "I walked away first."

"You know what I meant." Jack said.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I am also sorry that I pushed the boundaries and pushed you. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"I know." Jack said. "But you understand why we need to be careful and I have asked the guys to not leave us alone for very long."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Again, I am sorry."

"I am too." Jack said. "We need to sit down and have an open conversation about things, but right now, Chief Burke has arrived and we need to greet him."

"I was waiting for you." Elizabeth said. "I felt bad, so I didn't want to face anyone."

"I understand that." Jack said.

Jack held out his hand to Elizabeth. She closed her book, stood up and went to Jack. He gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. Hand in hand, they walked out to the dining room area. Jack stopped to give his grandmother a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you okay?" Gran whispered.

"Getting there." Jack replied. "Extra prayers might be needed, especially the next few days."

"Always, my boy." Gran said, patting Jack on the cheek.

Gran then took Elizabeth's hand not interwoven with Jack's and looked her in the eye.

"That goes for you too my dear." Gran said, squeezing Elizabeth's hand.

"Thank you." Jack and Elizabeth both said.

After greeting Gran, the pair walked over to the chief.

"I hear congratulations are in order." Chief said. "So to both of you, my heartiest congratulations. May you have a marriage filled with much love. May you be as happy as Trish and I have been. I know marrying young is not easy, but you can do it as long as you are both committed."

"Thank you, Sir." Jack said.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Thank you very much."

"Elizabeth." Chief said. "There were a few things dropped off for you at the station in my name. I had Devin take it all to the apartment."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said.

"Do you know what was there?" Jack asked.

"A couple of photo albums." Chief said. "A box of books and a duffle bag of clothes."

Jack looked at Elizabeth and she shrugged.

"So no documents or a camera system?" Jack asked.

"No." Chief said. "I know that was on the list, sorry. Devin said he would handle it."

"Then I will touch base with him." Jack said.

"Thank you for trying." Elizabeth said. "I guess I can replace the camera and Devin was working on getting my copies of my other things."

Jack looked at his grandfather quickly. John caught the look in Jack's eye and nodded he understood. John knew Jack was still concerned about them trying to impersonate Elizabeth, either to try and damage her reputation or for fraudulent purposes. John decided it was a good thing they had full-time security in case something criminal happened.

After glancing at his grandfather and getting a nod in understanding Jack led Elizabeth to sit at the table. Elizabeth poured herself some juice that had been set out and settled in next to Jack. Neither of them really wanted to be social, but pushed that aside and they would excuse themselves after supper.

As they sat to visit for a bit before supper, Gran and Trish excused themselves to get supper in the oven. They had made the mini meatloaves earlier and they were in the fridge, just needed to be put in the oven to cook. They also planned on making roasted new potatoes with steamed summer vegetables. The rest of the meal would be rounded out with the raw veggies and fruit trays. There was also pasta salad and potato salad if people wanted. Gran was also going to have Trish whip out a couple more batches of the biscuits that they had made for lunch as they felt that they would go well with the meal.

"Jack." Chief said. "Congratulations on the win at the Classic. From what I hear it was like you never quit riding. I look forward to seeing you all ride next weekend."

"Are you sure that you can't stay for the show this weekend?" Missy asked.

"Yes, little miss." Chief said. "I made arrangements to be up here for the show here. I also am trying to get off to come up here and stay for a couple weeks in August."

"The wedding?" John asked.

"Yes." Chief said. "I am trying to get it so I can come up here the weekend before the wedding and then head home with everyone after the wedding."

"I still can't believe that you are getting married, Uncle Jack." Maddie said.

"It isn't like I still won't be around." Jack said. "It just might be a little less frequent. However, we are hoping that the show we are putting on will be an annual thing the weekend before the races start. So if you are still riding, I will see you."

"But Doug won't be living at home anymore, so we won't get to see you as much." Missy said.

"Well." Jack said. "I haven't specifically asked your parents if Elizabeth and I are still invited to Sunday suppers, but …."

"Of course you are." Chief said. "We also understand if there are times you need to do schoolwork or other commitments. But given what happened with both your sets of parents. Trish and I agree that you both will have a standing invitation to Sunday supper as long as you don't mind Trish's mother there and occasionally other people."

Jack looked at Elizabeth and instead of nodding in agreement, she turned to speak to the Chief.

"Thank you for that." Elizabeth said. "We would love to come as our schedules allow. However, I think it might be more than just Jack and I since it sounds like we will have security at least for a while."

"And Jack knows that doesn't make a difference." Chief said. "Sunday supper is for everyone. If I have bodyguards or a driver because I am on call, they are included. Our cook always makes plenty of food and the formal dining room can set up to forty people."

"Formal?" Elizabeth asked.

"We have two dining rooms in the house." Maddie said.

"My wife's parents gave us a huge house on Long Island." Chief explained. "It has a very large formal dining room that also has a small dance floor and a place for a small group of musicians. The other dining room is more of a family type room with a smaller table in it. We only use the formal dining room for Sunday suppers, holidays and if we are hosting an event. It takes up one entire side of the house on the main level. The other side of the house is the family room, library and the kitchen is along the back of the house. Upstairs are all the bedrooms. There is also Trish's studio and my office in the backyard. They are a separate building. We have a few full-time staff that take care of things. It is at the insistence of my mother-in-law and since she is paying, it is the way it is. Just because we use the formal dining room, doesn't mean you have to dress up."

"Sorry." Elizabeth said. "Still getting used to all this money. I mean we didn't have a small house growing up, as each of us girls had our own good size rooms, but nothing compared to what you all have."

"And when Trish and I were first married." Chief said. "We lived in a small two bedroom apartment in Queens. As I was promoted, Caroline, my mother-in-law insisted that we have larger places. We had a smaller house on Staten Island, but when we found out that Trish was pregnant with the twins, she insisted we take a family property on Long Island. It is a wonderful place, but without Trish's family's support, we would never be able to afford it, even on my salary. We are only considered rich because of Trish's family."

"Oh." Elizabeth said.

"It is okay." Chief said. "You are still learning. What I will tell you is that money or not, it is the person's character that makes the difference to us. We have met people who have next to nothing who are wonderful people that we enjoy spending time with and there are people who have a ton of money who we absolutely can't stand because they think they are better than everyone else. We are raising our children to judge a person by their character and not the size of their bank account. My oldest has a hard time with that, no matter how much we tried. He tends to look down on people because his grandparents have given him everything he has ever wanted. He is an adult and I can't stop them, but he also knows that we don't put up with his behavior in our house anymore."

"I see what you are saying." Elizabeth said. "That is one thing that I have been worried about when I think of children with Jack. How do we raise them to appreciate what they have and not expect everything."

"That is easy." Trish said, coming over. "Two words – chores and responsibilities."

Elizabeth looked at her confused.

"One second and I will explain." Trish said. "Doug, please go downstairs to the cellar and grab a couple bottles of Adirondack Winery Red Barn. Margaret said there are at least three bottles down there. It will pair well with supper and any leftovers will work fine with what we are eating tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am." Doug said. "Anything else at this time."

"Yes." Gran said, looking in the wine fridge. "Please grab a white from Adirondack as well. Also grab at least a couple different ciders for tomorrow. Might as well have them up here since you are going down."

"Baskets still down there?" Doug asked.

"Stacked along the wall." Trish said.

Doug got up and headed to go get what his mother asked of him.