Chapter 320 – Jack's New Fear

Once Wynn left, Frank looked at Jack who still looked very uncomfortable about whatever he needed to talk about.

"Sitting there stewing is not going to make it easier." Frank said. "Just tell me what is going on and then we can figure out how to deal with it. I thought we had gotten to a point where we could be honest about things."

"I am trying." Jack said. "I just am not sure if I should be asking this or if I am making a big deal out of nothing."

"How about you just tell me." Frank said. "If I feel that there is someone else that would be better to help, you know that I am not afraid to tell you that you need to talk to that person."

Jack nodded.

"I am worried about what is going to happen when my mother arrives." Jack said. "When she was here this spring, she left on not so great terms. She was extremely unhappy about us taking in the girls and I have a feeling that with us having twins, her feelings will be even stronger."

"I remember that she wasn't happy." Frank said. "I had tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to listen to anyone. I also know that both Bill and Abigail tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to listen to them. Just know that we are here for you and I don't think that Elizabeth is going to let anyone treat her children wrongly. You would be surprised what a mother is capable of."

Jack nodded.

"I will be praying for you." Frank said. "I will do what I can to help. Maybe once your mother gets here and sees how well the girls are doing, she might change her mind. I have a feeling that Little Beth might just worm her way in your mother's heart before she can object."

"I hope that you are right." Jack said.

"Let me ask you this." Frank said. "If your mother continues to be stubborn and make life difficult for everyone, are you prepared to step in and let her know that her behavior is not welcome in your house and she needs to decide if she wants a relationship with all of her grandchildren or none of them."

"I have already told her that if she can't accept the girls, then she needs to rethink her visits." Jack said.

"But are you willing to back that up with action and kick her out?" Frank asked.

Jack just took a deep breath.

"I hope so." Jack said.

"Then I will continue to pray for you." Frank said. "Just know that you have more people that support you then not. Please try not to worry about things too much. I know that this is a trying time because you are functioning on a lack of sleep, so just take it one day at a time."

"Okay." Jack said. "I suspect that Ma will be here any day. I haven't heard anything since I sent the wire announcing the twins' birth and she wired back she was excited and on coming."

"Try not to worry about things that you can't control right now." Frank said. "There are plenty of things that you need to deal with right in front of you. I know that the twins are still fragile and that they take a lot of care."

"We are trying to find a routine." Jack said. "But it is not easy. Just when I think we have a bit of a routine, something changes."

"Change will happen." Frank said. "But remember that you have plenty of hands."

"Thank you." Jack said.

"Have you thought more about getting Andrew baptized?" Frank asked.

"Some." Jack said. "Carson still wants us to limit contact with them, so it will be awhile before we will be able to bring them to church."

"I can do a private baptism here." Frank said. "Then we can have a celebration at the church once they are big enough. It will be more of a welcome to the community and publicly naming godparents. If you want, I can do a private thing here to baptize Andrew and name the godparents for both of them or that part can wait until they are stronger. But if you want him baptized in case, please let me know."

"I will talk to Elizabeth and see what she wants." Jack said. "I understand why she wanted Amber baptized right away when there was a question of if she would survive because she was so little."

"I was more than glad to do that." Frank said. "Have you talked about godparents?"

"Yes and no." Jack said. "I honestly don't know if we have made a final selection. I know that we haven't asked the people we did talk about, but have plans to do so soon."

"Well let me know." Frank said.

"I will." Jack said. "Thank you. I feel better. I am still worried about Ma, but at least I feel a bit more supported."

"Anything else that you want or need to talk about?" Frank asked.

"No." Jack said. "Not right now. I do feel a bit disconnected from things in town, but I think that will get better. I haven't spoken to Elizabeth yet, but starting Monday or Tuesday, I want to spend a few hours in town at least every other day. I have paperwork to catch up on and I want to show people that I am still here. I also have promised that I would help Lee leading up to the wedding."

"Understandable." Frank said. "Again let me know if there is anything that you need from me."

"Thank you." Jack said. "I know that Dee wants to talk to you. How about we go out and see if he wants to talk in here or go for a bit of a walk around the grounds."

"Sounds good." Frank said. "I wouldn't mind having a peek at the twins as well."

"Sounds good." Jack said. "They have changed so much in the last week."

"Yeah." Frank said. "They have a tendency to do that. I honestly can't wait for our little one to arrive in February."

"Elizabeth is excited that the twins will have someone close in age to play with." Jack said. "Especially with how close she and Abigail are."

"I know that Abigail feels bad about not being able to spend more time helping Elizabeth."

"We all understand." Jack said. "She is working extremely hard and is expecting as well. Maybe we will just have to find some time to force them to sit down and relax together."

"I wouldn't mind that." Frank said. "I know that she is looking at hiring at least one if not two more people to help out at the cafe, especially as she gets further along."

"Dee's fiancée Annie is coming." Jack said. "She was a waitress back in Hamilton. I am sure that she would be willing to help as long as she is here. I know that it is not a permanent solution, but it might be a short term fix."

"I will keep that in mind." Frank said. "I am sure that any help would be better than nothing. Between you and I, I am worried about how much Abigail is working. I keep trying to get her to slow down, but she just says there is so much that needs to be done."

"I don't think Abigail knows how to slow down." Jack said. "My best advice is if you see something that you can do to help, dishes, laundry, or whatever, it would be easier to just do it or assign it to someone. Abigail won't slow down until she is forced to slow down, so doing what you can to take things off her plate is the best plan."

"Understood." Frank said. "I kind of gathered that she didn't have but one speed."

Jack nodded.

"But you have to give her credit for rallying people when needed." Jack said.

"True." Frank said.

The two men stood and shook hands before heading out to the living room and the others. Frank wouldn't mind talking in the library, but hoped that Dee would want to go outside.

… … … …

Wynn was still lost in thought standing by the library doors when his wife came over and took his hand. He looked at her, then followed her back to the large couch. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

"I love you." She whispered. "But you looked lost standing there."

"Just thinking about things." Wynn said. "Seeing the girls and twins, I just was thinking about my siblings and wished that we had been closer."

"You can't help that they are nine and twelve years younger than you." Elizabeth Rose said. "It happens with large age gaps."

"You were the one that taught me that family is what you make it." Elizabeth said.

"You are right." Wynn said. "I was just thinking."

"I know." Elizabeth Rose said. "I think about what it would have been like if I had been closer to my brothers and we didn't have a large age gap like you did."

"Things happen." Elizabeth said. "We all grow up and have different experiences that shape us. I love having you here, but if it is too hard, I understand."

"It's not." Wynn said. "Just sometimes you get a bit nostalgic at my age."

"You are not that old." Elizabeth said.

"Comparatively, I am nearer the end than the start of my journey." Wynn said. "I have almost reached the top of the chain of command and I don't know if I will reach the top before I am forced out. While there is no official retirement age, there is a bit of unwritten rule that we step out when we reach seventy-five. Connors is only a couple years older than me and will probably serve out his term as Commissioner when he takes over in the new year. I will be named senior Deputy Commissioner and would be his natural replacement, but if I only have a few years before it would expected for me to step down. I don't know what will happen."

"And there is talk of Connors only serving five years." Elizabeth Rose said. "He has said he wants to spend time with his grandchildren."

"We will see." Wynn said, patting his wife's leg.

"Either way." Elizabeth said. "You have left a great legacy within the force."

"Thank you." Wynn said.

The group talked a bit more about plans for the afternoon. As they were doing that, Jack and Frank came out of the library. Frank immediately went to Dee who was still holding Andrew.

"May I?" Frank asked, looking at Elizabeth.

"Please go wash your hands first." Elizabeth said.

"Of course." Frank said.

Frank went to wash his hands and then came back. Dee immediately handed Andrew over. Frank took the little boy and snuggled him up on his shoulder like Dee had been holding him.

"He is so little." Frank said. "I honestly don't think I have held a baby this tiny."

"Amber is even smaller." Jack said. "It just isn't as noticeable because of the water bottled tucked in with her."

"True." Frank said. "But I haven't held her. I can't imagine having one this tiny."

"I honestly doubt that yours will be that little." Elizabeth said. "Abigail told me that Peter was close to eight and half pounds when he was born. Andrew there is barely five pounds."

"Wow." Frank said. "I will definitely be getting some lessons in diaper changes and bottle feeding."

"Any time." Elizabeth said. "They eat every two hours and need to be changed about the same right now."

"Wow." Frank said. "No wonder you are all tired."

"But I love it." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"And I can't wait." Frank said, his smile equally as big.

Dee looked at Frank and then looked at his parents again. He wished they had gotten better news about the adoption, but he wondered if there wasn't another way. He knew different agencies had different rules. Maybe it was just a matter of finding the right agency to work with. He decided he was going to do some investigating and find an agency willing to work with his parents. He knew that any child would be a wonderful addition to their family. He knew how loving and dedicated his parents were, so he didn't understand the problem. He might agree they weren't as young as they once were, but they were both healthy and they had the financial resources to support a child.

Frank handed Andrew to Wynn and then looked at Dee.

"Want to talk in the library or go for a walk?" Frank asked.

"A walk sounds good." Dee said.

"Then let's go." Frank said. "To the rest of you, I will be in touch. Please don't hesitate to ask if there is something that you need."

"We won't." Jack said. "Thank you for coming out and talking with us."

Frank and Dee left, then Wynn looked at Jack.

"How are you doing?" Wynn asked.

"I am okay." Jack said. "Is Dee okay?"

"I think he is just missing Annie." Aunt Elizabeth said. "I think this is the most time apart they have spent since getting engaged. It sounded like she was boarding a train this afternoon to come here. She will take the train all the way to Buxton and then the stagecoach here to Hope Valley on Monday."

"I am glad she is coming." Elizabeth said. "I can't wait to sit down and get to know her."

"She is looking forward to getting to know all of you." Wynn said. "Dee talked about this place a lot and she was excited to see it."

"I am glad that she is coming." Jack said. "If she is important to Dee, she is important to us. She seemed really nice the little that I interacted with her when we were in Hamilton."

The twins started to fuss again, so Jack went to get their bottles ready. Aunt Elizabeth went to get clean diapers so they could be changed. Elizabeth and Wynn held the twins and tried to keep them as calm as possible.

… … … …