Chapter 143 – Finally a Quiet Moment to Share (long)
"Then I suggest that we take a little time to relax." Gran said. "It is almost five thirty and we will leave when?"
"Any time after seven." John said.
"Then I want everyone up here and dress by seven fifteen." Gran said.
"Yes, ma'am." Chris said.
"Not a problem, Gran." Jack said.
"Kids." Gran said. "Please put the food away and then you are free to do what you want."
"On it." Doug said.
"I have a few things I need to deal with in the office." John said.
Gran nodded.
"What are the rest of you going to do?" Gran asked.
"We are going to go over plans in the library and then get ready." Chris said.
"You all are free to use the two additional guest rooms upstairs." Gran said. "Katie, if you want to go down and be with Elizabeth that is fine."
"Whatever you want." Elizabeth said.
"Thank you." Chris said. "We will figure it out."
Jack, Doug, Lee and Elizabeth got up and started clearing the table as well as putting the food away. Once they got the food back in the fridge and the dishwasher running, Elizabeth made sure that there was a fresh pot of coffee. Jack turned to Elizabeth and gave her a dimpled grin.
"I was wondering if we could sit and talk?" Jack asked.
"Sure." Elizabeth said. "Downstairs?"
Jack nodded. He took Elizabeth's hand and then led her downstairs. Doug and Lee weren't that far behind. Lee flipped the TV on and was looking for baseball scores. Doug went to grab his laptop. Jack and Elizabeth sat as far away from Lee as possible.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Elizabeth asked.
"I know I just asked you this morning." Jack said. "But have you thought about when you want to get married. I know we need to talk to Father Mark."
"Well." Elizabeth said. "Depending on what Father Mark says, would you be okay waiting until Christmas? I don't know how long it will take to get a dress or anything. I was also still hoping that my family would come around at least a little."
"I want you to have the wedding that you have dreamt of." Jack said. "Christmas is doable. Let's see what Father Mark has to say. Maybe you can talk to Katie about the dress. I am sure that she would be more than willing to help you."
Jack leaned forward and kissed Elizabeth.
"I was hoping for this summer." Jack whispered. "But I will wait for you as long as you need."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Tell me about the competition."
"What do you want to know?" Jack asked.
"What was it like competing again?" Elizabeth countered.
"It was strange." Jack said. "I like it and I had fun, but it felt strange. I really don't know how to explain it. It was the first time that I can remember that Ma wasn't there. I understand that she made her choice and I have made mine, but it was still strange."
"I can see that." Elizabeth said. "But at least you had fun. Do you think that you are going to want to continue competing?"
"Well." Jack said. "I am doing Sugar Creek and the show here. After that, I don't know. I mean I could move up to the A circuit, but that would mean a lot of travel and I don't know if I want to do that. I had wanted to relax this summer and then focus on school this fall. With me changing my focus to finance and business, it is a lot. Especially if I am going to be working with Grandpa John learning what I need as well. I was looking at it and to get my master of finance as well as an MBA it will be at least five years, probably closer to six."
"That is fine." Elizabeth said. "I have four years before I get my teaching certificate. I can always teach in the city for a year or two if you are still in school."
"Oh." Jack said. "You were looking at teaching somewhere outside the city?"
"I was hoping to teach up here if we are going to be living here." Elizabeth said.
"I guess I didn't think about that." Jack said. "I would like to live here full time after school is done, but I think that we are going to be in Albany for at least a year while I work closely with Grandpa John learning everything."
"That would be okay." Elizabeth said. "Where would we live there?"
"I hadn't thought that far ahead." Jack said. "But there is time. Maybe by the time that I am done with school, I can convince Grandpa John to have offices here in Saratoga. We will just have to see. I was also wondering where you wanted to live when we do come up here."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well." Jack said. "We can always stay here. We can talk to my Uncle Chris and see about staying at his place if they are going to be spending most of their time in Montana. We can also talk to Uncle Conrad about staying at his place, which is actually closer to town. There is also the property that I just bought. I know that that house will need major work. I think it might be better to actually knock it down and build something else. We can always rent out that place to vacationers and have it when friends and family visit."
"So you want to live here?" Elizabeth said.
"Eventually." Jack said. "I would never kick Grandpa and Gran out, but when they choose not to live here anymore, I thought that it would be easier to run Coal Creek from here. However if we build on the new property, then we might stay there and use this for family and friends. We will just have to see where we are when that time comes. I honestly believe that we have years before we will have to make the choice."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will go wherever you want me to."
"No." Jack said. "I want to know what you think."
Elizabeth closed her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Jack couldn't help himself and leaned forward to kiss Elizabeth. Because she was thinking it took her a moment to respond. Finally, she put her hands on Jack's chest and pushed back.
"What was that for?" Elizabeth asked in a low voice.
"You drive me nuts when you do that." Jack said. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
Elizabeth shook her head, but also tucked that information away for the future.
"So getting back to your question." Elizabeth said. "I don't know. I have never really had a say in what happened. My father always chose what we were going to do and where we were going to eat. Most of the time he also chose what we were going to eat when going out."
"I will always ask you for your opinion." Jack said. "From now on, we are in this together. I could make all the decisions, but that isn't right. We need to be equal partners in a marriage. Big decisions that affect the future of our lives and our family need to be talked about and we need to reach a decision together."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "I will think about what you have said and let you know. But right off the top of my head, I think redoing the Miller place or building new would be good. It will get used. We can stay here. I am not sure about staying at either of your uncle's places as I haven't seen them."
"Fair enough." Jack said. "Then we need to think about what we want in a house. I would rather build something that we want. I think it would be easier."
"I can do that." Elizabeth said.
Jack and Elizabeth sat back on the couch, side by side and were quiet for a few minutes.
"I know that you were upset earlier." Jack said. "Are you feeling better now? Do you feel comfortable going to the banquet tonight?"
"As long as you are there." Elizabeth said. "I will be okay. I trust you completely. I know that you will keep me safe."
"And you are okay leaving if they say we need to go?" Jack asked.
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I know that they will do what they need to keep everyone safe."
"Thank you." Jack said. "I am sorry that I didn't ask you before. If you would have wanted to stay here, I would have."
"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "Like I said, I feel safe with you and I know that part of you going is business. I understand that there will be things in the future that you need to do for business and I will be there to support you."
"Just as I will support you any way that I can with your teaching." Jack said.
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "I had a dream about teaching at the Catholic school here and our kids going to that school."
"Sounds nice." Jack said. "So how many kids do you want?"
"I don't know." Elizabeth said. "I guess I never really thought about it. I always thought I would have a few at least."
"Okay." Jack said. "I don't mean to embarrass you, but you do understand that the Catholic Church doesn't believe in artificial contraception."
"What does that mean exactly?" Elizabeth asked.
"No condoms." Jack said. "No chemical birth control. There are natural family planning classes that we can take. I haven't really studied what that means, but it basically means abstaining from sex at times. Even then we would need to be careful. There are lots of things to consider and I am sorry to say it, but a lot of it will fall to you."
Elizabeth blushed.
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "So does that mean even if I am not Catholic."
"I think so." Jack said.
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"I will never push you into anything." Jack said. "If this means that you want to wait longer to get married, then I understand. Just know that I will never stop you from doing what you want. If you want to go to school, then you can. If you want to work, then you can. I will not stop you, just because we are married or have kids."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "I want to teach, but I also want to be a wife and mother."
"You can do all of those things." Jack said. "I know that it will make things a little harder getting married and potentially getting pregnant while still in school. It won't be impossible, but it could be more difficult, especially for you. Just know that I will do everything that I can to help you achieve your dreams of being a teacher. I think that having dreams is important. I have dreams and we will have dreams together. I also understand that some of my dreams may change since we are together."
"I understand that as well." Elizabeth said. "Gran and I talked about that a little."
"So are you still thinking about a Christmas wedding?" Jack asked.
"I think so." Elizabeth said. "Let's talk to Father Mark. I just don't think that we will be able to get everything done to get married before school starts."
"If we can." Jack asked. "Will you get married at the end of August? We could have a weekend at a hotel in the city and then go somewhere else over Thanksgiving or Christmas break."
"Let me think about it." Elizabeth said. "Let's talk to Father Mark and let me talk to Katie about a dress."
"Okay." Jack said.
They sat back on the couch and were each consumed with their own thoughts. Elizabeth was thinking about a wedding and all that needed to be done. There was a part of her that wanted to get married before school started, but there was also a part of her that wanted to wait. She knew that she needed to talk about things. Jack was thinking about everything that he needed to do to make Elizabeth happy and also keep her safe. He was thinking about the trip to Toronto. He wanted to take her out and just go on a normal date. Jack knew that he had to be careful, even when they were in Canada. Jack knew that it would be hard to take Elizabeth out without security when they were back in the city. Jack also realized that it would be hard to take Elizabeth on a date at the moment.
After a while of both of them sitting there hand in hand, Jack's phone went off and they both jumped. Jack grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at the notification and then let out a harsh breath.
"Everything okay?" Elizabeth asked.
"Not really." Jack said.
"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.
"Gossip sites." Jack said. "Devin sent me an alert that there are several posts of me up there from this afternoon. Including one that described my ring. There is one that I cheated to win and bought my win this afternoon and there are several that my wife, Elizabeth Thornton, was there to watch me win."
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"I am sorry." Jack said.
"Like you said." Elizabeth said. "People are going to talk and say what they want. As long as those around us know the truth."
"I know." Jack said. "I just hoped that I wouldn't make things worse."
"I should probably send a message to Rosie." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth pulled out her phone and hesitated for a moment. After collecting her thoughts, Elizabeth typed a message to her best friend. She begged Rosemary not to tell her family where she was, but she had left the city for the time being and was with some new friends. She promised that the things in the media weren't true. She told Rosie that she wasn't married and wouldn't sneak off to do that without telling her. Elizabeth also told her that she was safe and that when she had more time that she would talk.
While Elizabeth was texting her best friend, Jack was also on his phone. He knew that he needed to talk to Doug and Gran, but he wanted to see if he could arrange to have Doug's sisters come up this weekend. Jack was also thinking that if they were coming that Elizabeth could invite Rosie for the weekend so that she could see that Elizabeth was safe. Jack knew he had time to make plans, but he gave Devin a heads up to what he was thinking. He also made sure that Devin had Frank's contact information so that he could get him the stuff he needed to bring up when he brought Katie and Opal.
After Elizabeth sent the message to Rosie, they sat there in silence for a little longer before Elizabeth turned to Jack.
"I am so glad that you were okay while riding today." Elizabeth said. "My nightmare that first night was about you getting hurt riding. I am sorry that I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to worry."
"Thank you for telling me now." Jack said. "I can't promise I will never get hurt riding, but I will promise that I will always do my best to be safe."
"If something happens." Elizabeth said. "Just don't hide it from me. In my nightmare, you got hurt riding and I couldn't get to you and by the time I did you were gone."
Jack turned to face Elizabeth.
"I am very sorry that you were scared like that." Jack said. "Like I said, I can't promise that I will never get hurt riding, but I can promise that I will never hide it from you. You know that you can talk to me about your fears. No matter what, I will always worry about you."
Elizabeth smiled.
"Did you hear what happened to the rider that fell today?" Elizabeth asked. "What about the horse?"
"I am still waiting to hear about the horse." Jack said. "His name is Jellybean and he was born here. I am sure that Grandpa John already let the owners know that if they can't care for the horse we will step in. I also have left a message for the vet, but haven't heard back. From what Nathan and I were able to tell, there was an injury to one of his front legs. The rider was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but should be fine. I am going to assume that he will be under concussion protocol for a few days. From what I could see, he didn't have any major injury. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't at the banquet tonight."
"Good news about the rider." Elizabeth said. "I hope the horse is okay. It was amazing to watch you with him today."
"I was just glad that I was able to get to him." Jack said. "I know that the officials were not happy with me when I ordered them to pull their people off the field. I could see that Jellybean was scared and that he would probably remember me so it was a risk that I was willing to take."
"You ordered the officials to pull their people?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes." Jack said. "There is some authority with being a Thornton and the major donor to the charity. I knew that by them chasing the horse and all those people it wouldn't end well for the horse or the people out on the field. The last thing I wanted was for Jellybean to be injured more because they insisted on chasing him across the field. I don't use my family name that often, but when I do, it is to help someone else."
"Either way." Elizabeth said. "I am glad that you were able to help. I am also glad that you don't act like a spoiled or entitled brat like I have seen from so many before."
"I told you before that I don't like spoiled brats." Jack said. "I work hard for what I have and do a lot to help other people."
"I know." Elizabeth said. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I am sorry." Jack said. "I didn't mean to get upset, but I am tired of being called spoiled and after everything that happened today, it was just a little bit of a touchy subject."
"So what happened?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean I saw that you had words with another rider before the competition and then the inquiry."
Jack let out a harsh breath, closed his eyes and counted to ten. Elizabeth watched Jack and knew that he was calming himself down. She had seen it a few times and realized that it was his way to gain some control of his emotions.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Elizabeth said. "I mean I know enough from what was explained to me at the competition and what was said around the table, but I just wanted to hear your side."
"No it is okay." Jack said. "Some hotshot new rider on the circuit who didn't know who I was thought that he could push me around by throwing his name around. He started it, but I put an end to it and if he wants to try and push me around again, I will end him."
"I understand that." Elizabeth said. "But be a bigger man and walk away. That would be better."
"Like I said before." Jack said. "I will not start a fight, but I will end it. I will defend myself. If this kid thinks that he can come at me, then he can try. I showed him on the jumping field and if I have to show him other ways, I will."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth put her hand on Jack's arm and leaned into him. She could tell that he was getting worked up again and didn't want him to get upset.
"Just breathe." Elizabeth said. "We still have time before we have to get ready. So let's just enjoy this time and not talk about that spoiled brat."
Jack nodded. Jack and Elizabeth sat there cuddling and talking to each other until Katie came downstairs carrying a dress bag and another small bag. She came over to Elizabeth and Jack.
"We should start to get ready." Katie said. "The guys are using a room upstairs. Is it alright if I use your room?"
"That is fine." Elizabeth said. "I should probably come and start as well."
Jack looked at his phone.
"Yeah." Jack said. "I should start to get ready as well. I also want to check my emails before I leave."