Chapter 303 – Gran Ends the Growing Tension
After supper, Gran looked around the table. Those that knew her well could see that something was bothering her. Several people sitting around the table wondered who or what had happened to upset Gran now.
"I don't know what has been going on this past week." Gran said. "But whatever it is needs to get worked out. I don't want tension to build again to the point that there is discord again. I understand that it hasn't been the easiest week with JP being injured, but I sense that there is more than that going on. Everyone around this table has been through a lot of changes in the last couple of months and there are more changes ahead as JP and his friends head back to the city in a few weeks and start school, not to mention JP and Elizabeth getting married. I was hoping for a peaceful time until the wedding."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make things more difficult for everyone." Jack said.
"I am sorry as well if I have seemed off this week and it has added to the tension around here." Frank said. "I was thinking about a friend that I lost when I was in Afghanistan. I was trying not to show it, but I guess others picked up on my sour mood."
"I guess I am sorry as well." Nathan said. "I have been worried about my sister and niece as well as those here. I guess I haven't been very good at hiding my feelings either. I have also still been dealing with memories that surfaced because of Emily. And before anyone asks, I am not ready to talk about it as a group. I will do better about dealing with my feelings and emotions."
"Thank you." Gran said. "All three of you. Like I said, you have all been through significant changes in the last couple of months. I just wanted to mention something before things got worse, so whatever was going on could be dealt with."
People around the table nodded in agreement.
"Good." Gran said. "Then I want it talked out and dealt with as much as possible. I know that it is going to take time to deal with things. But I want things dealt with as much as possible tonight. If you need to talk to someone else please reach out and take care of it. I want the next two weeks to go the best they can because I have a feeling that if word about the wedding gets out we are going to have to deal with both sets of parents as well as the media. I doubt that the media attention is going to lessen much with rumors out there of a wedding, but at the same time we will do everything we can to protect JP and Elizabeth from the media attention."
"Thank you." Jack said.
"So what is the plan?" James asked. "The kitchen is almost cleaned up from supper. Do you guys want to sit around the table and talk or break up into smaller groups."
"I think it is time to sit and we all share so we are on the same page and can help one another." Jack said.
Nathan opened his mouth to object, but Jack held up his hand.
"I know you said you don't want to share." Jack said. "And I am not asking you to share specifics, but that your dealing with memories is enough. Same with Frank thinking about his friend that he lost. We can help and support each other without knowing the details. There are some things that I haven't shared and I think I need to because they are affecting me more than I had thought that they were."
"You don't have to share if you are not ready." Doug said. "Whatever you have been dealing with is extremely personal."
"I think I have to at this time." Jack said. "When Devin came up here a few weeks ago, he shared something that I had pushed for. I knew that there was information that my parents were hiding from me and they were lying to me about something. So I pushed Devin to find the truth. Well the truth is that he found something that I wasn't prepared to hear and it has really thrown me for a loop."
Elizabeth started to rub Jack's back as she heard his voice crack as he was speaking.
"Devin learned that I was a twin." Jack said. "When she was born, there were some problems and she was transferred to another hospital where my parents abandoned her. Devin has been working to figure out what happened to her, but it has taken some time. Today I learned that they have uncovered additional information and that there were only five babies admitted to the NICU that day in that hospital so now he is working on getting those records and matching them up with what we already know. We still don't know what happened to my sister after she was taken to the other hospital. We have no idea if she is alive or dead. If she is alive, I have been struggling with whether I have the right to intrude on her life and bring the circus that is my life."
"Wow." Doug said.
"I am sorry." Lee said. "I hope the best for you."
"Whatever you choose to do." Doug said. "You know that we will support you."
"I know." Jack said. "Which is why I feel so bad about not sharing this with you sooner. I just needed to process things a bit more before sharing."
"We understand." Doug said.
"Thank you." Jack said. "I know that you have my back."
"Always brother." Lee said.
"I will always stand behind you as well." Frank said. "Meeting you and being offered a job has given my life new meaning. As I shared before when I left the Army, I felt like my life had no direction and that is why I had been struggling. Meeting you and now working on the new properties has given me a new purpose in my life. Not only that, you have given me a new family."
"Well, a few of these guys needed a big brother." James said. "So you are more than welcome. If it hadn't been made clear before, you are more than welcome to stay here as long as you need."
"Thank you." Frank said. "Like I shared with some around this table, because of the age difference and other factors, I am not overly close with my brother. My sisters didn't understand my need/desire to serve so I am not all that close to them, so having a group of unruly little brothers is fine by me."
"Who you calling unruly?" Doug teased.
"If the shoe fits." Frank said.
Jack and Doug both stuck out their tongues at Frank which brought laughter from others around the table.
"Father Mark." James said. "How are you doing? You have had a lot going as well. I know that you try to take care of everyone else, but I want to make sure that you are taking care of yourself as well, especially with taking a longer sabbatical than you had originally planned."
"I am doing okay." Father Mark said. "I have been writing in my journal, praying and meditating. If I need something more, I know where to reach out."
"As long as you know that you can speak to anyone here." James said.
"I know." Father Mark said. "But like I have said before, taking care of others is my way of dealing with some things."
"As long as you know that you need help as well." Gran said.
"I know." Father Mark said. "But the help I need is found in prayer. Going through what I have and now having accusations made against me has shaken my faith. There is nothing any of you can do to help me other than to continue to pray for me."
"We always do that." Gran said.
"Then keep doing that." Father Mark said. "After Jack and his friends head back to the city, I will be heading to the Vatican. Maybe being there will help with my crisis of faith."
"We will pray for you." Frank said. "But don't be afraid to reach out. You aren't the only one that has struggled with faith over the years. And on a personal note, I will miss you this fall and will look forward to when you return."
"I will be back by Thanksgiving." Father Mark said. "Just because I am on the other side of the world, doesn't mean that we can't talk. Jack has promised to pay for an international plan for my phone."
"It is no problem." Jack said. "It is actually selfish on my part, so I can talk to you as normal as well."
"Well, either way." James said. "Thank you for that."
The group sat there and talked about a variety of things for the next hour. They also talked about the rough plan for the weekend and the next two weeks. By the time that people started to head to bed, everyone was feeling a little better and everyone had a bit of a better understanding of what each person was dealing with so they could be more supportive and understanding. Frank, Father Mark, Jack and the rest headed downstairs where they had a prayer circle. They not only prayed for the upcoming show, but they prayed for each other in a more supportive way than they had before. They were able to lift each other up in a different way that night as they prayed. After they had prayed as a larger group, most of the group went to bed. Frank, Nathan and Father Mark stayed to talk and pray some more.
As much as Nathan knew that he needed to head back to the city to protect Jack and Elizabeth, there was a part of him that wanted to stay with Frank in Saratoga or even head to the Vatican to protect Father Mark. There was something telling Nathan that Father Mark needed protecting. He was going to mention something to Devin and maybe he could figure something out for Father Mark while he is gone. It was the first time in a long time that Nathan felt torn about who he was supposed to protect. He wasn't sure why he felt that Father Mark was in danger, but they all realized that Kensington, Pennybaker and the rest of them were not above going after other people to try and hurt Jack. They all knew that the accusation against Father Mark was bogus and were grateful that the Bishop saw that as well and was going to keep it quiet while it was investigated just in case.
Nathan just didn't trust those troublemakers to keep quiet, but Nathan suspected they had also been warned about talking. Nathan also knew that Jack was taking action, but had not asked for details. He felt that the less he knew at that point, the better, but he was still worried. He had done some of the research on Kensington and Pennybaker. What they were into were not good things. He didn't know how much Jack knew and therefore didn't say anything, but Nathan was worried that when Jack struck, that Kensington, Pennybaker or those around them would strike back. Nathan knew that it was going to be a long fall if that happened.
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Friday, Jack was up early with the rest of them. They went to care for the horses and Jack rode. He realized that he was much more sore than he thought he would be. He decided to forgo the workout and get a massage in hopes that he would feel better in the morning so he could ride at Cooperstown. He really wanted to ride.
The rest of the riders had a busy morning with practice and then a workout. While all that was going on, Frank took a ride with Father Mark over to check out the new property. Frank wanted to actually lay eyes on the property and take some pictures to make it easier to plan. They took the plat maps along with them as well as the utilities map that had arrived. Once Frank was physically able to put his eyes on the property, he realized that they were going to have to shift some of their plans and that there were better spots for things and would be easier to connect to existing utilities. He also thought that there was going to be a lot of building that would need to be done to achieve Jack's vision, but at least he had a better idea of what would actually need to be done and where things would be going.
Both Frank and Father Mark made some notes so they could sit back down with Jack and Elizabeth to make final plans. Both men didn't realize how much work the property was going to need. None of the buildings were in very good shape and they would be better off knocking them down and starting over. They made notes about where they best thought things would go after actually seeing the property. Frank knew that Jack needed a helipad put in and that it needed to be in an open area, but also one that could be lit up. The other thing that Father Mark pointed out, was that Jack was not going to want to be close to the road or where lots of visitors would be coming and going. Frank nodded and pointed out a spot that they could build and add some trees to give the house more privacy. Father Mark agreed, but they both knew that Jack and Elizabeth needed to make the final decisions.
After actually putting eyes on the property, Frank was excited to help Jack make his vision come to reality. He knew that it would take a lot of time and work, but he was ready to do what he had to make it happen. He also had his own ideas of how to make things better and bring in different income streams throughout the year. Frank knew that they would only be keeping personal trail horses at the property at most, but they still needed a stable and pasture for them. But as Frank thought about it, there was so much more that they could do. They had already talked about the juices and ciders as well as jellies and jams. But Frank loved the idea of the pumpkin patch and thought if they had the room, a corn maze would be fun. He also thought about adding some other things like potatoes and onions. Jack had focused on the fruits, but Frank knew that fresh veggies could also be a good thing. One thing that Frank shared with Father Mark was that if they did it right, they could market Nathan's bacon jam as well. It would mean finding a source for the bacon, but it could be something to draw people in. Father Mark loved the idea and suggested that Frank do some research about the ins and outs of it before bringing it to Jack. Frank agreed.
Because of everything that Jack had done for him, Frank wanted to do the best that he could to help Jack get what he was envisioning for the orchard property. It was also a much bigger job than Frank first realized. He also made some notes about additional people that would need to be hired, even if just seasonally this fall and then maybe full time later down the road. There were so many ideas and Frank knew that they couldn't tackle them all at once. That it was going to have to be in stages and the orchard property probably wouldn't be anywhere near ready to put out a product for three to five years.
Once Frank and Father Mark were back, everyone gathered for lunch. James was at the track so it was just Gran and Trish with the young people. As usual they had sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips and salads for lunch. While some people wouldn't like eating the same thing everyday, Jack and his friends didn't mind. It was easy and they honestly didn't mind. They had turkey, ham, roast beef, shredded chicken, salami and pepperoni, so there was plenty of variety. Gran and Trish also made different salads. Over the summer they had different macaroni salads, two different potato salads and coleslaw at different times and sometimes there were two different salads to choose from. The boys were also easy to please and Jack had said he could eat the same thing every day if he needed to. Doug and Lee seemed to change which meat they used, but Jack seemed to stick to ham and/or turkey. Frank and Nathan wondered if it was just easier for Jack to have the same thing everyday so he didn't have to think about making another decision.
After lunch everyone worked on various projects or homework while also watching the races. It was a mostly relaxing afternoon while getting things done and resting before the show the next day, knowing that it was going to be a long day. Everyone had a nice relaxing afternoon and were able to get various things done. Frank, Father Mark and Nathan also had a chance to sit down and talk as they worked on different projects in the garage. Nathan was working on a few more woodworking projects. James had brought up some more tools for the men as well as wood that he had in storage. Both Father Mark and Frank were working on different leather projects. James also had brought some of the leather tools when he brought the woodworking tools. The other thing that had been brought up was some additional leather. The men even went down to the workshop to see what was there. Father Mark had shown them both where the workshop was. Both Nathan and Frank were both impressed not only with the size of the shop, but also the various items that were in there.
Friday supper was nice. They ate after James had gotten back from the track. Once again, the meal was lively as everyone wanted to talk about what they had done that afternoon. James talked about the races and those that watched were also talking about the races. The ranch had done pretty well with seven horses running in the twelve races. They had two wins and a second place finish, so Jack and James were both very excited. They weren't huge purse races, but the point was they had won. Sometimes that number of wins was more important than the amount of money that was actually won. Frank, Father Mark and Nathan also shared about what they had been working on that afternoon and throughout the week.
Friday night was also relaxing. Doug and Lee found a baseball game to watch. Jack and Elizabeth also sat downstairs. They weren't exactly watching the baseball game, but sat back a little further and were just talking. Nothing really in depth, but just talking and sharing. It was just time together and that was what both needed. Jack still hadn't made a decision about riding, but was leaning toward taking the weekend off.
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