Chapter 257 – Thursday and Friday
Thursday turned into a blur for everyone at the ranch. Despite the late night, people were up early to deal with horses. Besides the horses, sheriff's deputies had arrived to speak to the group as they had more questions about what happened the day before. They were still talking to Frank, Jack and Father Mark when the Chief left. He hugged his girls and promised to be back in just over a week.
It was a quiet lunch as people were starting to feel the effects of the day before. After lunch, the two counselors arrived. Elizabeth and her counselor were going to meet in the library while Jack and his headed up to the music room. Father Mark, Jack and Elizabeth all appreciated that the two counselors could make the trip to the farm. They understood given the security concerns. Both meetings lasted for just over an hour and appointments were made to meet again on Wednesday in the late afternoon where they would come back to the ranch.
The rest of the afternoon for everyone was making sure they had everything they could do for the show next week completed. Everyone knew that by the following Thursday, the ranch was going to be a madhouse. Between James, John and Marcus L. (property manager for the arena area who did the schedules and coordinated things with employees) the plan was to have enough staff that the place would have a full crew starting Thursday night until Sunday after the show. They still had only been having minimal security plus one extra overnight.
Everyone decided to call it an early night and most people had gone to their rooms by nine o'clock. The two exceptions were Frank and Nathan. They were both sitting downstairs. Frank had taken it easy all day, including sleeping in and a short nap in the afternoon. Nathan was frustrated and trying to work things out. He had spent a lot of time on the phone and back and forth on the computer that day.
Finally, worry won out for Frank. He left the TV on to cover their voices, but he moved over and sat down closer to Nathan.
"What is going on?" Frank asked. "You have had a pretty worried look on your face today?"
"Sorry." Nathan said. "I was trying to not let it show."
"Okay." Frank said. "But talk to me. Maybe I can help. If not I can at least listen. From the little bit that you have shared, you had a rough childhood and you are worried about your sister because she married someone like your father."
"About sums it up." Nathan said.
"Well." Frank said. "You can't fix everything for her, no matter how much you want to. You need to let her live her life and just keep letting her know that you are there for her."
"But it is so hard." Nathan said. "If it was just Colleen, it wouldn't be so bad, but Allie. If anything happened to her, I would never forgive myself."
"I understand that." Frank said. "But she is an adult, right?"
"Yes." Nathan said. "She is my twin."
"Another reason you feel extra protective of her." Frank said. "But you need to trust that she will reach out if needed. Where is she?"
"She is in Brooklyn." Nathan said. "She wasn't happy, but Gran and Trish had Devin send someone to keep an eye on things."
"Then trust them to do their job." Frank said. "I am not saying not to worry, because that will happen anyway. But we need you with your head in the game here. Not only the show but to keep Jack and Elizabeth safe."
"You are right." Nathan said. "I am just not used to having others to rely on. For the longest time it was just Colleen and I. I just want her to be safe."
"She will be." Frank said. "You said she kicked him out."
"Served him with divorce papers." Nathan said. "But he is a drunk and can be violent."
"And she has someone watching over her." Frank said. "Keep checking in and offering your support. It is all you can do."
Nathan nodded.
"Now, let's get some sleep." Frank said.
Frank reached over and shut the TV off while Nathan closed out of his laptop. Then they walked to their room and headed to bed.
… … … …
Friday started out much like Thursday. Frank slept in while everyone else went to deal with the horses. When he finally came upstairs, Elizabeth was sitting at the table on her laptop and Gran was working in the kitchen.
"Morning Frank." Gran said. "How are you feeling today?"
"Better." Frank said. "Just frustrated that I feel so useless."
"Come have a seat." Gran said.
Frank sat down and Gran put a cup of coffee in front of him. She then took a seat next to him.
"I understand." Gran said. "But you also need to take care of yourself. Now what do you want for breakfast?"
"I can make some waffles." Frank said. "It will be fine."
"I got it." Gran said.
She quickly got up and put two waffles in the toaster. She also put four slices of bacon in the microwave and dished up a small bowl of fruit. When it was all ready, she set it in front of Frank and once again took a seat. Frank bowed his head and said a quick prayer.
"Thank you." Frank said.
"Now if you are up to it." Gran said. "I was wondering if you can help me? I know I did a lot of baking but with so many people coming next week, I want to get some more done. I need to make snickerdoodles and more sugar cookies as well as peanut butter. Is there something that you like that I can make?"
"I can help in the kitchen and I am not picky." Frank said. "I have liked everything that you have put out. I honestly don't have a favorite type of cookie, as I like them all."
Gran nodded and left Frank to eat. Once he was done and cleared his dishes he washed up, grabbed an apron and went to help Gran. Elizabeth finished up the stuff she needed on the computer and also went to help.
Over the course of the morning, the trio made one double batch of sugar cookies, a single batch of peanut butter cookies and got snickerdoodles started. It was no surprise when Katie showed up with stuff from the farmers market and additional baking supplies. Gran had texted her earlier. Katie insisted on dropping them off and heading back to work on the plan for the weekend.
Lunch was set out and Gran and Frank continued to finish the cookies they had going instead of eating with the group. John and James looked at the group eating and Trish as well as Lee nodded they understood. So did the girls.
"What are the plans for the afternoon?" James asked.
"We are going to finish baking." Gran said. "I will take help if anyone wants."
"We will." Maddie said, motioning to her and Missy.
"I will as well." Trish said. "Thank you for giving me the morning to work on a few things."
"Kids?" James said.
"I was hoping to sit down and work on marriage prep with Elizabeth." Jack said.
Elizabeth nodded.
"We can help in the kitchen." Doug said.
Lee and Nathan nodded.
"I was hoping to run into town." Father Mark said. "I have to take care of something and grab a few things from the house."
"Do what you need." James said.
"If we need anything else, I will send you a message." Gran said. "Katie already dropped a few things off."
"Sure." Father Mark said. "It will be a couple hours."
Lunch broke up and people went about the things they needed to do. Father Mark left to head into town. He promised to be careful and said he had his phone. Jack and Elizabeth headed downstairs to grab what they needed and then were headed to the music room or the deck upstairs. Everyone else went about working in the kitchen. The girls, Doug and Trish even took turns playing the piano as Trish had asked the girls to practice and then asked Doug to play a bit. It was a nice time and they got plenty done before Trish and Gran started supper.
… … … …
Jack and Elizabeth settled upstairs on the balcony. They did two lessons for the marriage prep. During that, Elizabeth was reminded of one of the videos she had seen on YouTube from the links that Caitlin had sent. She told Jack and they ended up watching a few of the videos and talked about different things regarding the videos and lessons they had just covered.
After a few minutes, Elizabeth turned to Jack.
"How are you doing?" Elizabeth asked. "It has been a hard week."
Jack shrugged and looked away. Elizabeth scooted her chair closer and made Jack look at her.
"Unacceptable." Elizabeth said. "You need to talk to me. I love you, but I can't keep doing this. You have to let me in, even just a little. You don't have to tell me everything, though I hope you will. I just want us to be able to talk about things. I know that you are not used to really talking about your feelings, but you need to start.
I am not going to ask exactly what you talked to the counselor about, but in general how did the meeting go, you never said. I am not trying to pick a fight or make things harder, but at the same time we need to start somewhere. I also know that you have a show tomorrow, but if we put things off until after a show or project, we might never talk about things."
Jack sighed.
"I am still frustrated." Jack said. "The run on Midnight went good today, but Irish Charm still is acting up. He stomped and snorted when I just stood outside his stall."
"You can't connect with every horse." Elizabeth said. "I know that you don't want to hear that, but it is reality. Let Manny do his job and you do yours. What else?"
"I guess the meeting went okay." Jack said. "I did agree to another. It was weird talking to someone I didn't know about my life, but the questions he asked did make me think about things. I don't know if I will continue meeting with him. I we don't exactly click. If I need someone to talk to in the future, I would probably seek out someone else."
"Good." Elizabeth said. "You understand why Father Mark asked us to meet with the counselors, right?"
"Sort of." Jack said. "I know he is worried about everything that has happened with our parents, Tommy and us meeting has taken a toll on us. I do understand why he wanted someone outside the situation to evaluate things. I also know that he is trying to remain neutral on family things. I also know that he was wanting someone with specific training to talk to us."
"That is part of it." Elizabeth said. "Cindy, my counselor, said that she sees a lot of young people who struggle after graduation for one reason or another. She also agreed that we have been through a lot more than most our age. I also understand that you have been making adult decisions for years, but it is still a lot. I know that stepping in to help me, has brought up a lot of things you never dealt with."
"I guess you are right." Jack said. "But it is hard to talk about things, especially my feelings, especially after being told for years to suck it up, stop crying and be a man. I don't want you to think I am weak because I cry."
Elizabeth put her hand on Jack's cheek.
"I would never think that." Elizabeth said. "I hope you could come to me and let me hold you while you cry as you have done for me. Maybe talk to me about why you are crying. I might not be able to do much other than listen, but even that is important."
"I will try." Jack said.
"That is all I am asking." Elizabeth said. "I just remembered what I was going to ask you. Would you be okay with just Doug and Lee standing up with you? I have asked Caitlin and Katie to stand with me. I thought we could have Frank and Nathan do the readings. The girls and Trish said they would do the music and altar servers. Bill is going to walk with me. Cody could bring up the rings. Becky and Peter could bring up the gifts when it is time during the Mass."
"That sounds good." Jack said. "Grandpa John has an idea about the reception. We have a five o'clock ceremony and a seven thirty supper. But we don't tell people it is a wedding reception, but a gathering to celebrate our relationship. That way we only need to tell who we want at the Church and still be able to invite my extended family. He also thought that it would be better if either of our parents heard about the celebration."
"That might work." Elizabeth said. "So those closest to us would know it was a wedding, but everyone else would be expecting a formal dinner to celebrate our relationship."
"Exactly." Jack said. "We could make the announcement before dinner and let people know that we wanted them included but didn't know any other way without keeping the press at bay, so we are sorry if anyone is upset."
"That is good." Elizabeth said. "What about people who still want to get us gifts and such."
"We graciously accept them." Jack said. "But try to encourage people to either make a donation to a few preselected charities or to just get us something small."
"I really like that." Elizabeth said.
"Just so you know." Jack said. "Grandpa John has already warned me that the no gifts don't apply to grandparents. Especially since there are things already set aside and have been for years for my marriage.
"I am afraid to ask." Elizabeth said.
"I know that there is jewelry from Gran." Jack said. "Not sure on the details. I believe there are a few heirlooms from Grandpa and from Grandpa John there will be jewelry and property. I just don't know the details."
Elizabeth let out a harsh breath.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked.
"I am trying." Elizabeth said. "This is still a lot to take in."
"I love you and that is all that matters." Jack said, before leaning in and kissing Elizabeth.
Elizabeth pulled back before the kiss got too intense, but Jack pulled her back and intensified the kiss. After a couple of moments, Elizabeth pushed Jack away, got up and walked to the railing.
"Jack." Elizabeth said, her voice full of emotion. "We can't."
Jack let out a frustrated groan, then got up and started pacing.
"I know." Jack said, his voice low and husky.
When Father Mark returned, he saw the kitchen crew had made more sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies as well as molasses cookies and ginger snaps. He also noticed several nine by thirteen pans on the table.
"What did you all make besides the cookies?" Father Mark asked.
"Coconut bars." Trish said.
"Brownies and Blondies." Missy and Maddie added.
"We also made rice Krispy bars." Gran added. "We made three pans, one with peanut butter and two without. I also made a pan of treasure bars. With people coming for the show and Nathan's friends coming, I wanted to have plenty. Especially if Nathan wants to have his friends over."
"Thank you for the offer Margaret." Nathan said. "But I wasn't sure. That is a lot of people and work."
"And they offered to help." Gran said. "The least we can do is make sure they have snacks and you are able to sit and visit with them."
What Father Mark didn't see was the additional puppy chow and candied pecans that had also been made. He knew his grandmother always wanted to make sure everyone was fed, which was why he wasn't surprised when he had received a text to pick up more baking supplies. He had taken the time to get what they needed plus a little more. He knew that they would probably be baking after supper as well on Sunday if that was what Gran wanted.
"Nathan." Father Mark said. "You might as well give in and just invite them, because Gran will win in the end."
Nathan just smiled and shook his head.
"Jack and Elizabeth still upstairs?" Father Mark asked.
"Yes." Gran said. "If you are going up there, please ask them to come down soon."
"I will." Father Mark said.
Father Mark set his stuff down on the end of the table and headed upstairs.
… … … …
Author's Note: As promised here are more of the recipes that i have used in the story and in real life. I love some of the bars and make them all the time
SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, just softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream together butter (barely softened) and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. In a small bowl, combine remaining cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out dough, roll into a ball and then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture- twice. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Let sit on the cookie sheet for a few additional minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
GINGERSNAP COOKIES
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 300g
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar packed
3/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup molasses dark
1 egg large
2 tsp vanilla extract
For Rolling
1/4 cup sugar Sanding or granulated
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and cloves into a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar and molasses in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using an electric mixer). Beat until lighter in color and fluffy. Add the egg while mixing on low, then add the vanilla. Scrape the bowl down and mix again until ingredients are completely distributed. Add the flour mixture in then mix on low to medium-low until just combined. Scrape bowl down one last time and use a spatula to fold in any remaining flour. Use a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon to potion out 1.5-2 inch balls. Roll each into a ball in your clean palms then roll in sanding or granulated sugar. Place balls about two inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes. The cookies' edges will be set but the centers will continue to bake/set after they're removed from the oven.
Coconut bars
Ingredients
cup butter melted
1 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
teaspoon salt
1 cups shredded coconut toasted, sweetened
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1" overhang. Start by toasting the coconut: add the shredded coconut to a large skillet and heat it over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the coconut is slightly golden, being careful not to burn it. Transfer the coconut to a bowl and allow it to cool. Next, whisk the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine. To that same bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt and use a rubber spatula to stir everything together. Last, fold in the toasted coconut. Spray your rubber spatula with a little nonstick spray. Scoop the batter into your prepared baking pan, then smooth the batter out with the rubber spatula (the nonstick spray will prevent the batter from sticking to the spatula). Bake the bars for 27-32 minutes, or until the edges have set. It's ok if the middle isn't fully baked through - the bars will firm up once they've cooled. Remove the bars from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before pulling on the parchment paper to remove them. Slice and enjoy!
Blondies
Ingredients
1 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
1 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
teaspoon baking powder
1 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups (281 grams) mix-ins of your choice, such as chocolate chips or nuts, divided
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 by 8-inch metal pan with foil or parchment paper. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter in 30-second increments until melted. Add the sugar to the hot butter and whisk to combine. Let cool until just warm. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk vigorously until smooth. Stir in the salt, baking powder, and flour with a rubber spatula. Gently stir in 1 cups (255 grams) mix-ins. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top evenly with remaining mix-ins. For an ooey-gooey center, bake until the edges are lightly golden but the center still jiggles slightly, about 25 minutes. For a firmer center, bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is lightly golden and set, 30-35 minutes. Set pan on wire rack and allow to cool before cutting. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving.
Treasure Bars
Ingredients
2 cups (225g) graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (115g / 1 stick) melted unsalted butter
14 ounces (396g / 1 can) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (185g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (185g) butterscotch chips
1 cup (115g) chopped pecans
1 cup (105g) shredded sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon), optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F:
Spra 13-inch baking pan with cooking oil then line it with parchment paper.
Make the graham cracker crust:
Place the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter in a bowl. Toss with a fork until the crumbs are moist and hold together when squeezed with your hand. Dump the crumbs in the middle of the pan and then press them into an even layer with your fingers or the back of a flat-bottomed cup. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust: Spread to edges of the pan with a spatula.
Layer on the rest of the toppings: In this order, sprinkle the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans, and then sweetened coconut over the top of the condensed milk. Gently press the ingredients down with your palm so they stick to the condensed milk. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes:
Bake until the edges of the bars turn golden-brown and start to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the sea salt (if using). Cool completely before lifting the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper: Stick them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight if needed to help firm up.) Cut into 24 pieces and store in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between layers. The flavor of the bars is even better the day after baking. Bars stored at room temperature will be fairly soft and are best eaten within 3 to 5 days. For firm and chewy bars, store in the fridge for up to a week.