Chapter 311 – Rearranging Plans Again
Jack and Elizabeth talked about a few things on the way back to the ranch. They talked about the statement Thomas and Charlotte put out. Jack actually pulled up the statement on one of the websites. Reading the statement upset both Jack and Elizabeth. The lies that Thomas and Charlotte put out were ridiculous.
"Grandpa John is right." Jack said. "No reaction from us is the best. The more that we speak to the press, the more they can say whether it is confirmed or not."
"Jack is right." Father Mark said. "It is best to not speak to the press. Standing there talking about the show is one thing. Answering other questions is another matter. Jack and Grandpa shut it down really quickly when the reporters strayed from anything but the show."
"I understand that." Elizabeth said. "I just don't understand how Thomas and Charlotte can put out the lies about us."
"Grandpa John will deal with them." Jack said. "They have virtually nothing without him, so I am confused why they would continue to poke the bear, so to speak. He has already cut off everything except what was laid out in his father's will. He can actually take the house in Astoria and the law firm if they keep pushing, but I don't know if he actually would. I don't know how he is going to deal with them, but he said he would. If it was me, I would cut them out completely and go no contact."
"Haven't you sort of already done that?" Father Mark said.
"Mostly." Jack said. "The only thing I haven't done is buy out Dad and Tommy on Thornton Thoroughbreds. If they keep pushing, I am going to just so I don't have to deal with them."
"You are two weeks away from the wedding." Father Mark said. "Try not to worry about things out of your control. It is going to be a busy couple of weeks, but if you want they can also be fun and sort of relaxing."
"Father Mark is right." Elizabeth said. "With the show, it will be busy. Everything that can be done for the wedding is done. Gran and Trish have told me not to worry about things, they have it under control. My dress has arrived and is hanging in your grandparents room. Your guys clothes are in, the girls' dresses are at Abigail's. Everything is under control."
"Thank you." Jack said.
"Where will we be spending our wedding night?" Elizabeth said. "I know that you said you had stuff taken care of, but I was just wondering."
"We will have a suite at the Adelphi Hotel." Jack said. "We just need to figure out beyond that."
"Can we stay local?" Elizabeth asked.
"If you want to stay local." Jack said. "We can do that, but again we would be limited in where we can go and what we can do because of the press. I just really wanted to get away so we could go out if we wanted."
"Oh." Elizabeth said. "I didn't think about that."
Jack gave Elizabeth a quick kiss.
"The other thing is that there is a show in Schuylerville." Jack said. "We haven't signed up but if you wanted to stay local, we could go to the show. We have the hotel suite until Sunday so we could then leave on the nineteenth. We don't need to be back in the city until Sunday the twenty-sixth. Orientation starts the afternoon of the twenty-seventh. Which is why I want to be back the afternoon before."
"Do you want to jump in Schuylerville?" Elizabeth asked.
"It doesn't matter if I want to jump or not." Jack said. "What is important is what you want."
"John Parker." Elizabeth said. "I asked, do you want to jump?"
Jack ducked his head.
"Yes." Jack said. "Yes, I would like to jump. Nathan had won all four shows. Yes, we tied last week, but he has won the last four shows. I haven't outright won since the Classic."
"Then we can stay and you can jump in Schuylerville if you want." Elizabeth said. The reception was set to wrap up about nine, so there will be no rush and we can leave before that if we want. We could still leave on Sunday if we find some place to go."
"Let's see what the guys come up with." Jack said. "We can sit down with the guys and talk about the show and other things when we get back to the ranch."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will be happy with whatever you plan."
"That is sweet." Jack said. "But I want you to be happy."
"I will be happy as long as I am with you." Elizabeth said.
Jack and Elizabeth shared a quick kiss before Jack broke open an ice pace and put it on his shoulder.
"Your shoulder bothering you?" Elizabeth asked.
"A little." Jack said. "I expected it. Honestly it is not that bad. I thought it would be worse."
Elizabeth looked at Jack with a raised eyebrow.
"Honestly." Jack said. "It is not that bad. When I had previously injured my shoulder, I rode a few weeks later and ended up icing it for weeks as it was just sore. I can move it, but I can feel the soreness in it."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
"They sat back and held hands most of the rest of the way home. They were less than fifteen minutes from the ranch when Jack's phone rang.
"Hey Frank." Jack said. "I have you on speaker."
("Okay." Frank said. "I called my friend and he has a couple of options. He sent them the information and is holding both options for me tonight.")
"Okay." Jack said. "What are the options?"
("So the first option is a small two bedroom cabin." Frank said. "There is a second small two bedroom cabin, but it is not really close to the first cabin. The second option is a large four bedroom cabin. Nathan had me call Devin with the options. He is satisfied that it is remote enough that you would be secure either way. If you choose the large four bedroom, Devin suggested that Nathan and/or I go with you as you might be more comfortable then people you don't know staying in the same cabin.
No matter what you choose, Devin said he was sending two undercover teams to stay in Cook, which is a small town about fifteen minutes away. They will fly to Duluth and get two or three vehicles, depending on what you decide. If Nathan and/or I go we will drive you for any excursion off resort property, with the undercovers staying in the background per Devin.")
"I am looking at the information you sent." Jack said.
"This place looks amazing." Elizabeth said.
"Let Elizabeth and I talk about things." Jack said. "We are almost home and will talk more then."
("Sounds good." Frank said.)
Jack hung up the phone and looked at Elizabeth.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"All the cabins look amazing." Elizabeth said. "There also looks like a lot of stuff close enough to drive and check out.
"What are you looking at?" Jack asked.
"The Soudan Underground Mine State Park." Elizabeth said. "That is about forty minutes away near Tower. Then there is Ely, which is about an hour away. There is the International Wolf Center and the North American Bear Center."
"If you want to check those out." Jack said. "We can do that. It also looks like there is plenty to do at the resort itself. My question is what do you want to do about the cabins?"
"Well." Elizabeth said. "It would be nice for Frank to see his friend. We can take Nathan and Frank and still get the two separate cabins. Either way it looks like we are going to have to pack food as well as do some shopping. The cabins have full kitchens, as well as charcoal grills outside. We can still go out for some evenings or even lunch if we take a day trip. We can grill the other times and do something simple for breakfast. It looks like there is a bakery in the nearby town as well as a grocery store. I think it would be easier to pack some things and get the rest there. I am not sure what we all want, but we can look and make a quick meal plan."
"And you are okay changing plans like this?" Jack asked.
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "As much as I want to go back to Canada, especially Toronto, this place looks amazing. Spending a week there sounds amazing. It looks like there is plenty to do and at least two day trips we can do."
"So you are thinking of two separate cabins." Jack said. "I had initially thought not taking Nathan would be easier, less awkward. But with the change in plans, it might actually be easier. As long as they are comfortable going and things won't be awkward."
"Since we are back." Elizabeth said. "Let's sit down inside and talk. Then we can work out the details, including the flight plans and when we are leaving and returning, including to where."
"Sounds good." Jack said. "I want to wash up and change clothes. I am sure that Nathan and Doug will want to wash up as well. Once that happens, we can sit down."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
Once everyone had a chance to wash up and change clothes, they sat down at the table. The twins opted not to be part of the discussion and headed downstairs to work on a bit of homework before going to bed.
"So from the messages that I have gotten." Gran said. "We have several things to talk about."
"Yes." James said. "First congratulations to the boys. Well done. And Nathan, congratulations on four wins in a row."
"The first thing that I think we need to talk about." Gran said. "Is the statement that Thomas and Charlotte put out this morning, since it seems to affect everything else. Now, I have not personally read the statement, but have read enough."
"Coal Creek and Thornton Thoroughbreds officially have no comment." Jack said, his tone cold. "There will be no talking to the press."
Several people looked at Jack because of the tone he used.
"I have spoken to Grandpa John." Jack said. "He said he would deal with them. He did warn me that because of the statement, the security is going to be tight again. All gates must be locked, ids checked for all visitors and such. Andrew had already emailed security to notify them. He also asked that I limit my time off the ranch until the wedding. He knows that we have a show and there was talk of going to the track, but he asked me to at least rethink the trip to the track."
"But are you okay?" Gran asked.
"I am upset." Jack said. "But there is little that I can do. My parents have always done whatever they wanted, with little regard for my feelings. I didn't expect it to change. Continually being upset is a waste of energy. I have too much going on in the next two weeks to waste energy on them. They don't deserve another thought. They can say what they want, we know the truth and if they keep running their mouths, they will get what is coming to them, like others who continue to run their mouths."
"What did you do?" Gran asked.
"Something that I should have done from the start." Jack said. "I am putting an end to people smearing my name and that of Coal Creek and Thornton Thoroughbreds. What is done is done. It will be made public this week and that is all I am saying."
"Okay." Gran said, still eyeing Jack.
"What is next?" Trish asked, knowing that most people needed a moment to let things catch up.
"Next weekend." Jack said. "The show is going to be huge. It is at the large indoor sports arena. There will be press and lots of Grandpa John's business associates. While the hosts agreed to limit the number of press passes, they can't eliminate them all together. We will just have to be careful. I believe that there will be an area roped off for us or we might have one of the VIP boxes. If that is the case, remember the binoculars."
"We will treat it like any other show." James said.
"Yes, Sir." Jack, Nathan and Doug said.
"After the show next week." Jack said. "Grandpa John has booked a private room for us all at Barnsider. Not sure if we will have a limited preset menu or be ordering off the regular menu. Either way, we will be going. He suggested us jumpers bring jeans and polos to change into if we wanted. I am also hoping to invite Carson again."
"He seemed like a nice young man." James said. "I hope it works."
"Yes he is." Frank said. "Very smart as well. I am hoping to get to know him better. Never hurts to have a doctor as a friend, especially one that is an orthopedic surgeon."
"Moving on." Gran said. "Lee, what is the timeline for the show? Just so we have an idea of what we are looking at before making a decision."
Lee pulled it up on his laptop.
"Four jumping classes." Lee said. "Check in starts at eight. Modified class starts at eight forty-five. There are currently twenty-seven jumpers registered. Preliminary will start about eleven to eleven thirty. And they currently have thirty-two jumpers. Intermediate will start about two to two thirty. There are also currently thirty-two jumpers. And not that we are staying, but advanced will start about five thirty and have thirty-five jumpers."
"Thank you, Lee." James said. "Yes, we will not be staying for the advanced jumpers. In part because of the supper plans with John, but also because it is a long day."
"Before we move on to after next weekend." Gran said. "Who is all going to church in the morning?"
"Elizabeth and I will stay here." Jack said. "Father Mark already said he would do a private Mass for us."
"I will probably stay as well." Doug said.
"I will be going in and then heading to the track." James said.
"The girls and I will be going." Trish said.
"I will probably ride with you then." Gran said.
"If Jack and Elizabeth are staying." Nathan said. "I will stay."
"Frank and Lee if you want to stay as well." Gran said. "That is fine. I understand why JP doesn't want to leave."
"We will see in the morning." Frank said. "Trish, if I stay, feel free to take my SUV."
"Thank you." Trish said.
"Thank you." Gran said. "Now, there was talk/questions about the show the weekend of the wedding. What is that all about?"
"After the show." James said. "The guys were asked if they were going to jump at Schuylerville. They said they weren't sure as they needed to return to get ready to attend school. But I heard you guys talking about possibly going."
"We talked about it." Doug said. It really depends on Jack. Personally, I would like to jump and I know my sisters would also like to jump."
"What do we know about the show?" Gran asked. "We haven't jumped there in three or four years. Because the last year that Jack jumped, he went to the big show down near the city."
"Let me pull it up." Lee said. "I had looked at it before I knew when the wedding was. I was surprised that they expanded it to a three day show. I know that it used to be a two day show. So advanced is jumping Friday starting at four and they have forty jumpers registered. Modified, Preliminary and Intermediate will jump on Saturday starting at about nine with registration and jumping starting about nine forty-five. Looks like preliminary wills start about twelve thirty and intermediate about three thirty. The younger three classes will jump on Sunday."
"How many are registered?" James asked.
"For Saturday." Lee said. "It looks like thirty of the thirty-five slots in each class."
"JP?" James said. "What do you want to do? I know that you have had to change your honeymoon plans as well because of your parents and cousin. So I am leaving this up to you boys to decide. If you want to jump, we will go. If you choose to skip the show, it will be fine. I am not going to be mad. It is entirely up to you boys."
"As long as Elizabeth is fine with leaving on Sunday morning." Jack said. "I would like to jump. We still plan to stay at the hotel Friday and Saturday night."
"That is fine." Gran said. "So are we going to the Schuylerville show on Saturday after the wedding?"