Chapter 293 – Time on the Ranch

Frank waited until he knew that Jack had gone downstairs, then turned to the other two.

"I love his plans." Frank said. "But I honestly believe that he is trying to take on too much. We are going to have to be on him about handing things off and trusting the people in place to do their jobs."

"I know." Father Mark said. "I have had this conversation with my grandfather. He agrees and I think he spoke to John and that is why he is pushing Jack to find or at least agree to him picking an assistant to be with him by the end of the school year. Could the person eventually change? Yes, but the point would be to have someone that keeps on top of paperwork and schedules. He has even said within two years he would like to see Elizabeth also have an assistant of some sort."

"I agree." Frank said. "I also see why there was an increase in my salary from the initial offer to the final paperwork. I have a feeling that John sees how much Jack is asking me to take on, which I am more than willing to do."

"I think that it is going to take all of being in Jack's ear to get him to realize that these things that John has suggested are needed." Nathan said.

"I agree." Father Mark said. "But for Jack, he is eighteen and doesn't see it quite yet. He thinks that he can handle everything because he has been juggling things for a long time. But we all know that college is different from high school."

"I might not have attended college." Frank said. "But I was in the Army so I understand taking on too much and needing to trust people who are in place to do their job."

"Good." Father Mark said. "At least we all agree that we need to take as much off Jack's plate as possible and where we can."

Frank and Nathan nodded. Frank was thinking about all that he could do to help. He even had someone in mind to help with the orchard. He knew that they were several months away from hiring people, but he was making a list of positions that he felt they would need.

"Let's head down." Father Mark said. "It is getting late. We can pray and then head to bed. I know that there is no show, but given everything that has been going on. I think we could all use the extra sleep."

"Okay." Frank said. "I am used to not getting much sleep, so this has been nice. But you are right it has been very busy and even without a show, I have a feeling we will be busy."

The three made sure that everything was picked up in the library and then headed downstairs. Father Mark was the last as he saw his grandparents sitting at the kitchen table so he went to speak to them for a moment. He knew that they were usually in bed by that time as it was almost ten.

"Everything okay?" Father Mark asked.

His grandfather looked at him.

"No." James said. "We just got word from your dad that Emily took about fifteen hundred dollars in cash and took off. We don't know where she went."

"What are you going to do?" Father Mark asked.

"I don't know." James said. "We were hoping that your dad had an idea where she was headed."

"I would bet that she might be headed to Aunt Charlotte's." Father Mark said. "Given what she has said and that she was always Charlotte's favorite, that would be my bet."

"I will let Devin know." James said. "We were debating if we should just let John call Marcus and let them deal with her."

"I know that is not what you want." Father Mark said. "But she needs to have some sort of consequences. As much as I love Mom and Dad, they have always turned a blind eye to the things that Emily has done. I will pray for the situation, but she needs to learn she is not five anymore and she just can't take anything that she wants when she wants it."

Gran just looked at her grandson.

"Emily had always had sticky fingers." Father Mark said. "All of us other kids knew it and that is why we never left anything where Emily could find it. I learned that by the time she was four. I would estimate that she has taken several thousand dollars from us siblings over the years. Birthday and Christmas money. If we didn't lock it up, she would take it."

"Oh." James said. "We never knew."

"Why do you think I asked you to start a savings account for me and put the money right into it." Father Mark said.

"I just thought you were thinking about the future." James said.

"I mean I was." Father Mark said. "But it was because I couldn't trust my own sister. We complained to Mom and Dad over the years and they would dismiss it for one reason or another. They would say that we probably just lost it or spent it and were trying to get Emily in trouble."

"I am sorry." James said. "I guess there was a lot that we didn't know that happened over the years."

"Don't blame yourself." Father Mark said. "We were all kids and thought that Mom and Dad would take care of things."

"I still feel bad." James said.

"That is because you have a kind heart." Father Mark said.

Father Mark dropped a kiss on his grandfather's head.

"Go get some sleep." Father Mark said. "Let Devin deal with her. Maybe finally having some serious consequences will straighten her out."

"Thank you." James said.

Father Mark gave his grandmother a kiss on the cheek and wished them a goodnight before heading downstairs.

When Father Mark got downstairs, he found the group watching sportscenter, but Doug immediately turned the TV off and they got ready to pray. The group spent a little more time praying then they had in the past because several felt the call to specifically pray from Nathan. He was overwhelmed when Frank, Jack, Doug and Father Mark all prayed out loud for him. The group also prayed for the safety of those at the races and to keep everyone riding safe as well. Once they had prayed, Jack walked Elizabeth to her room and gave her a kiss before heading to his own room. He was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. Father Mark, Nathan and Frank did night prayer and then they all went to bed as well.

… … … …

Thursday ended up quite busy on the ranch. Not only was there the normal working with the horses, but since Manny and his grandfathers were over at the track with Conrad, Connie had called Jack to come help her deal with a load of twenty thoroughbreds that had arrived just before lunch. Doug, Nathan, Frank and Father Mark went to help, telling everyone else to have lunch and they would grab a bite when they got back.

So two hours after they had arrived, the guys had all the thoroughbreds settled and were heading back to the main house. They guys were talking about the different thoroughbreds that had arrived as they came in the door. Gran looked at them.

"What is going on?" Gran asked.

"Just talking about some of the various horses that arrived for the racing season." Jack said. "It looks like it is going to be a good season."

"Okay." Gran said. "Do you want lunch?"

"We can make some sandwiches." Jack said. "We will clean up the kitchen."

"Good." Gran said. "I have some work to do in the office. Trish is resting and the others are downstairs."

"Thank you." Jack said.

Gran headed to the office and the guys made their lunch and then sat while discussing more about the horses. Once they had eaten, they cleaned up and then headed downstairs. It ended up being a nice relaxing afternoon and they were able to watch the rest of the races from the track. Elizabeth asked questions and the guys explained things. Sometimes it was Jack, sometimes it was Doug or Frank or even Father Mark. Elizabeth had been keeping notes of the names of horses and Jack happened to see.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, quietly leaning into Elizabeth.

"Making notes of the names that I like." Elizabeth said.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Because." Elizabeth said. "Lee had been explaining to me that every horse needs a name and while they all need to be unique, I thought that the list might give me ideas for names that we can use. Your grandfather was talking the other day of getting a list of pregnant mares and who the sire to the foal was so we can start working on potential names so they can get them all registered on time next year."

"Thank you." Jack said. "I will make sure that you get that list. But remember, we won't know if they are boys or girls in most cases until the foal arrives so they either need to work for either or you need to pick two and we can always save the one we don't use for another horses."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "Your grandfather explained it to me."

"Good." Jack said.

They went back to watching the races, but Jack smiled every time Elizabeth wrote a name down. It was a nice afternoon and they were excited to talk to James and John by the time they got back to the ranch for supper. The meal ended up being a lively event as they talked about the races, the different horses and some of the other owners and trainers. After supper, the girls worked on homework and the other went to have a relaxing evening. They watched some races from California and Jack and Elizabeth did another marriage prep lesson. They group tuned early because Frank, Nathan, Doug and Lee had decided that they wanted to go to the races on Friday and see how things were. They talked to James and John and were told if they wanted to go, it was up to them, but they all needed to stay together and have their phones on them.

… … … …

Friday turned into quite the warm day so after working with the horses in the morning, they were brushed and left in the stalls. Jack checked the forecast and saw that it was going to be hot for a few days so the decision was made to turn out the horses in the evenings for the next few days. After the group left for the track, Jack, Elizabeth and Father Mark had lunch with Gran, Trish and the twins. It was actually a fairly quiet lunch as the girls were tired from being out in the sun. Gran and Trish talked about heading into town that afternoon to pick up a few things. They were done canning for the time being and while they had plenty of baking, they knew that if they were going to continue to bake, they would need some things. Jack and Elizabeth agreed that if Gran and Trish wanted to head into town, they were going relax.

After lunch, Father Mark headed into town to do the wedding that evening and said he would be back later. He promised to keep his eyes open and phone handy. Jack didn't want him to leave, but he understood why he needed to. He had committed to doing the wedding and while Father Tom had offered to take it over, Father Mark said he was fine doing the wedding. They ended up doing it together with Father Mark doing the majority of the wedding Mass. Father Mark ended up having a nice evening at the reception, but returned to the ranch at an early hour.

Jack and Elizabeth had a nice afternoon. They were able to talk about some things as they watched the races. While it wasn't deep conversations they had between races, it was important. They more about their time growing up and things that they had done. If anyone other than the twins had been home, they would have heard the laughter coming from the downstairs sitting room. The twins even came out of their room when they heard Jack whooping over something.

"What is going on?" Maddie asked.

"Sorry." Jack said. "One of our horses just places second in a race and it was a photo finish. So it is promising that he will do well next time."

"Which horses?" Missy asked.

"One my four year olds named Mason's Song." Jack said.

"Congratulations." Maddie said.

"Yeah congratulations." Missy said.

"Sorry I got so excited." Jack said.

"No it is okay." Maddie said. "Just wanted to see what was going on."

The twins went back to their room. Jack sat back down and texted his friends as well as his grandparents. He congratulated his grandfathers and also his Uncle Conrad. Jack and Elizabeth watched the end of the races while sharing more stories of growing up. While they didn't have the deep conversations that they knew that they still needed to have, they learned a lot about the other that afternoon. So it was a good afternoon. They were looking forward to the next month. While they knew that the next month wasn't going to be easy, they were committed to working through things and trying not to push the other.

… … … …

Friday night at the ranch had a bit of a celebratory feel after their five horse had done well. With the second place finish as well as two thirds and a fourth, they group was excited for the race season. As much as Jack didn't want to go to the track because of the press, he realized that if the horses continued to do well, he was going to have to try and make an appearance on a Thursday or even a Sunday after a show. He made the decision that he wasn't going to try a Friday so he could focus on the shows he had committed to jumping.

As they talked about who was going to the track and when, Elizabeth expressed her desire that while she wanted to go to the track she wondered if it wasn't better to not do it this season and maybe just wait. Everyone assured her if that was what she wanted, they would honor it. There was more talk about why Elizabeth didn't want to go to the track and she shared that she just didn't want to deal with the press before the wedding. Everyone understood and were going to respect what she was asking.

After supper when they were talking about the plans for the weekend, John had been able to share that Emily had been picked up by the NYPD and was being held on several counts of theft. While no one had wanted to see Emily behind bars, they all understood that she had given them no other choice. Several members around the table had been watching Nathan as the news had been announced. He tried to assure everyone that he was fine and was dealing with things. He also reminded people that he still didn't want to talk about things and everyone accepted it.

After supper was cleaning up, the young adults retired downstairs with the twins. The twins were still working on homework as they wanted to be able to get ahead and not worry since they had shows coming up. Trish was fine giving them their assignments for the next couple of weeks so they would work ahead. It was a nice evening and everyone was able to relax. The group ended the night with prayers with Father Mark who had about an hour after supper. No one asked about the wedding and Father Mark didn't offer anything other then he had a nice time. Based on what Jack had said before, they knew that there was more to the story and no one wanted to put Father Mark in an awkward spot.

… … … …