Chapter 380 – Last Night in Minnesota
As they were waiting for the food they talked about the week and things that they all liked. They continued to talk as the appetizers were brought out. They all loved the candied burnt ends and agreed that the steak bites were good as well. The homemade chips were good, but they all agreed that Gran's homemade salsa was better. They all agreed that if they came back to Minnesota, that they would love to eat there again as there were some other things that they wanted to try. They were almost finished with the appetizers when the waitress brought out their main dishes. Jack looked at her and smiled.
"Is there any way that you can bring us some of the pineapple mango salsa?" Jack asked. "I don't care if there is a charge, but the rest of us wanted to give it a taste because it is something different. We thought it sounded good."
"Yeah, I can do that." The waitress said. "Anything else? More drinks?"
"Drinks would be great." Frank said.
The waitress walked away. Jack looked at Frank and nodded.
"Heavenly Father." Frank said. "We thank you for the wonderful day that we had and ask to keep us safe as we continue our time here. Be with everyone and keep us all safe. We also ask that You bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."
Everyone else echoed Frank's amen. The waitress then stepped up to the table with their fresh drinks and the pineapple mango salsa.
"The chef was happy to hear that you thought the salsa sounded good." The waitress said. "It is one of his creations. He is originally from Hawaii, so he likes to try and bring that flavor into things when he can."
"Sounds good." Jack said. "Thank you."
Everyone tried the pineapple mango salsa and loved it.
"Do you think that we could make that at home?" Nathan asked.
"I think if we found a recipe, it wouldn't be hard." Jack said. "If you wanted to try, that is fine."
"I was just thinking it would be good with the bacon jam on steaks or even pork chops." Nathan said.
"Oh, that does sound good." Elizabeth said.
"If you want to try." Jack said. "Find a recipe and I will make sure that you have fresh ingredients for sure."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will look for one, because it is actually really good."
They were all enjoying their supper and were a few bites in when Jack looked at Frank and Nathan. The waitress had just checked on them to see if they needed anything and they were fine. So Jack thought it was a good time to let them know.
"There is something I need to tell both of you." Jack said.
Frank and Nathan both looked at Jack, both a bit worried.
"Elizabeth and I are in agreement on this." Jack said. "Because of everything that has happened, especially with Colleen, we are headed back to New York tomorrow morning."
"You didn't have to do that." Nathan said, shocked and a bit disappointed.
"I already made all the arrangements." Jack said. "Dakota and the plane will be on the tarmac by ten tomorrow morning. We fly to Teterboro, where someone will meet Nathan to help him get to Colleen. It will most likely be Chris and Katie. They will have my Jeep for you to drive. Elizabeth and I will continue to Albany with Frank and then head to the ranch. We will spend at least Friday night at the ranch before returning to the city sometime over the weekend. Just so you know, Frank.
Nathan, Doug and Lee are at the apartment or at least back and forth between their parents and there. Your thumbprint will open the doors. Chris will have additional information for you. Take the time to see your sister and niece and settle into the apartment over the weekend. You will have the ability to use my Jeep at least until we get back and until the truck arrives in New York for you."
"Thank you." Nathan said. "But you really didn't have to do that."
"You are welcome." Jack said. "Take tonight to do what you need. Figure we will leave around nine thirtyish in the morning. Time is not an issue as long as we are in the air by eleven."
"Thank you again." Nathan said.
"That was nice of you." Frank said. "How about we let you know what time in the morning?"
"Sounds good." Jack said.
They continued to eat and talk. They sat enjoying the view of the lake as the sunset with a myriad of pinks and purples. They had a great view as they were sitting watching the lake as they ate. They ended up sitting there for over two hours just enjoying the beautiful night. Since they had sat there for a long time and the table couldn't get 'turned over' Jack was extra generous on his tip. They thanked the waitress and headed back to the ranch. Once they were in the truck, Jack felt he needed to say something to Nathan.
"Nathan." Jack said. "I don't know what is going on with Kayla and you don't owe me an explanation. All I am going to say is try your best to work things out tonight or at least let her know that you are leaving in the morning and will talk to her when you get back."
"Thank you." Nathan said. "For everything."
"You are welcome." Jack said. "I was also going to let you know that I will do everything to make sure that you are there for Allie, even if that means moving you into the two bedroom on another floor of our building. I know that the one on the third floor is still open as it needed work after the people moved out back in June. I know that it was going to be listed to be available for September first, but as of this afternoon, no application has been accepted."
"Thank you." Nathan said. "Let me talk to Colleen and the doctors. As well as Doug and Lee. Before making plans. Where were you going to put Colleen and Allie?"
"They can have the two bedroom in our building." Jack said. "Or I have one closer to LaGuardia in the Elmhurst area."
"Let me talk to Colleen." Nathan said. "She may not like it, but I am leaning toward having her in the same building. That way we can all be there to help her, especially if she is going to have limited mobility. She currently has a cast on both her left arm and leg. I don't know how long they are going to be there."
"Then let's go ahead and put her in our building." Jack said. "It has an elevator and the other is a walk up."
"Thank you." Nathan said.
"Then I will text Katie tonight." Jack said. "So she can start working on furnishing it."
"Please don't go overboard." Nathan said. "Colleen would prefer simple."
"Okay." Jack said.
They got back to the resort and Jack and Elizabeth headed to their cabin. Frank headed to his cabin as well. Nathan took a moment before following Frank. He was going to just text Kayla to come over and talk. He thought it would be easier at his cabin. He was still worried that he was making a mistake, but she had stolen his heart.
… … … …
Jack and Elizabeth got to their cabin and once inside, Elizabeth stopped Jack.
"What?" Jack asked.
"You are amazing." Elizabeth said. "And I am so glad you are mine."
Jack grinned at Elizabeth.
"You are pretty amazing yourself." Jack said. "And I am also glad you are mine."
"What do you want to do?" Elizabeth asked. "I saw they had a bonfire going."
"I would rather stay here." Jack said. "I have some messages to send and we need to make sure everything is packed up. The food we can do in the morning. But everything else that we won't need tomorrow should get packed. Once that is done, I can think of a few things to do."
Jack wiggled his eyebrows at Elizabeth.
"I think I can handle that." Elizabeth said. "I will start in the other bedroom. You do what you need."
Jack got his laptop and started taking care of stuff. Elizabeth went to the second bedroom and started packing the totes. She was glad the plane had a large cargo hold and they had the pickup to haul everything to the airport. As Elizabeth packed the totes, she started making a list of everything that she needed to get or do once they were back in New York. Depending on how long they were staying in Saratoga, she figured she might be able to do some laundry there.
Jack assured her the service would have freshened up and stocked the apartment by the time they got there. She also knew that there was going to be a lot to unpack between the two of them. She also knew that they would have time to take care of things, even after school started. She still wanted to try and get as much done before school started as possible.
… … … …
Nathan got to the cabin, put his guns away and texted Kayla. He grabbed a cider and headed to their deck to wait and think. Frank wanted to say something, but he was unsure what he could say, so he just offered a prayer and went about packing things up so they could leave in the morning.
Nathan went to sit on the deck and wait for Kayla as she said she would be over shortly. Nathan was nervous, so he bowed his head to say a quick prayer before Kayla got there. While Nathan was grateful that Jack and Elizabeth were willing to cut their honeymoon short and head back early so he could get back to his sister and niece, he was now wishing they were staying. He really wanted to work things out with Kayla. Nathan's head was still bowed when Kayla walked up.
"Nathan." Kayla said.
"Yeah." Nathan said, looking up. "Come sit?"
Kayla came up the steps and on to the dock. She took a seat across from Nathan to give them each some space.
"Did you have a nice supper with your friends?" Kayla asked.
She really didn't want to do the whole small talk thing, but didn't know what else to say. What she really wanted was to beg Nathan to get married so they could start the life she dreamed of the prior night. She wanted to kiss him and love him enough to try and erase the pain she saw in Nathan's eyes.
"Yeah it was nice." Nathan said. "Except that Jack said we are leaving in the morning."
"Not because of me, I hope." Kayla said.
"No." Nathan said. "Because my sister is in the hospital. I need to get back and take care of things, especially my niece. She is currently with the parents of another friend and I need to get there. Not only to take care of my niece, but I need to see my sister. Remember she is my not just my sister, but my twin."
"Oh okay." Kayla said. "I am sorry about your sister. That was what you were talking about when you said before something worse happened. I totally understand why you need to leave."
"Thank you." Nathan said. "Yes, that was what I meant. She had been attacked by her soon to be ex-husband."
Nathan took a deep breath and looked right at Kayla. She could see the pain and conflict on his face.
"I want to try and make this work." Nathan said. "But I don't know how to see a way forward. You want a husband and a father for Cassie. And while I want to be those things, I am just not ready to jump into an engagement or marriage. I currently have a demanding/stressful job. I am starting college again next week. The program itself should be easy for me, but it is still going to require me to study and go to class. Add in everything else going on with my sister and dealing with other things, I just don't know."
"What are you saying?" Kayla asked.
"I am saying that while I want a future with you." Nathan said. "We need to slow down and give me some time to work through things and find a routine in this job and school."
"How much time are you talking about?" Kayla asked. "I mean seriously. While I love my place in Jersey, the lease is up in six months. So do I renew or do I need to start saving money so I can move back to the city? If we are going to have a future, I don't know if I want to be in Jersey and try to make things work."
"So your lease is up in February?" Nathan said.
"Yeah." Kayla said.
"Then can we try to make things work and give it until at least Thanksgiving before there is any more talk of marriage." Nathan said. "I am not promising to propose at that point, but at least we can get to know each other some more. I know it might not be easy with our schedules. But if it is meant to be, I believe things will work out."
Kayla sat there twisting the cuff of the sweatshirt she was wearing, thinking about what Nathan had said. She didn't want to walk away, but at the same time she knew what she wanted and wasn't willing to wait forever. Three months. That is what Kayla kept repeating to herself. She took a deep breath.
"So we give this a try." Kayla said. "And after Thanksgiving we have a serious conversation about the future, timeline for commitments and some kind of plan going forward, or we both walk away."
Nathan took a moment to think about what Kayla said. He wasn't sure he would be able to walk away. He loved her too much already, but he was also scared. And he was scared in part because of what had happened in his past and the other part was exactly because he already loved Kayla so deeply. He knew he wasn't ready at that moment to be married, but in six months to a year that would be a different story.
"Nathan." Kayla said.
Nathan looked up and it was his turn to see the pain on Kayla's face. Nathan stood up and started pacing back and forth on the small deck. He was feeling so many things at that moment and he needed to move to help him think straight. His mind was saying one thing. His heart was saying another and his body was saying something totally different.
… … … …
Jack had grabbed his laptop and sat at the table. He first sent a quick text to Katie and told her to look for an email that he would detail what he wanted. Then Jack opened his laptop and moved the apartment to unavailable, listing Colleen and Allie as the new tenants. He sent an email to the management company and explained that he needed the apartment until further notice.
He looked up a few things and sent the email to Katie about what he was looking for, but told her to talk to Nathan about what he saw for Colleen's apartment. He was going to try and give as much control to Nathan as he could. He didn't want to micromanage anything he didn't have to. He was learning to try and let go of control in things that he could. It wasn't always easy, but he knew that he had to try.
Jack was starting to realize that he needed more and more to let go of things. He needed to let people who were hired to do a job, to what they were hired for. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to let go of control, but he knew that he needed to because of everything that he was taking on. Jack hadn't had many people he could completely trust in the past, so he was putting a lot of faith in people that he chose to carry out his vision. He knew that the ranch itself was going to be in good hands as long as his grandfather was there, but he still needed to make the final decisions as earlier that afternoon showed.
That was the next thing that Jack took care of. He filled out the paperwork that he needed and emailed it back. He read the preliminary report that had been sent and was satisfied that it was a freak accident and that the rider wasn't at fault. He knew the rider and knew them to be quite experienced, so he trusted their account of things.
Once Jack was done with what he closed down his laptop and went to check on Elizabeth. He found her almost done with packing up the gifts in the spare bedroom.
"Almost done in here?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Elizabeth said. "Give me five more minutes."
Jack nodded and headed to their bedroom.
… … … …