Author's note: STEAM ALERT the section is marked
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Chapter 369 – John's Announcement
Frank woke up at quarter to six. He found Nathan's note on his way to the bathroom and once he had finished, he started coffee and went to get dressed for the day. At five minutes after six, Frank took his travel mug full of coffee and went to sit on the deck while he waited for Nathan to come back. Frank saw Nathan down on the dock and debated going down to him, but figured that the young man needed some time alone, so stayed on the deck sipping his coffee. It was a beautiful morning and it looked like it was going to be a great day. There was just a smattering of clouds in the sky and it looked like it was going to stay that way.
Frank was enjoying his time in Minnesota, despite the problems. While he had liked to see his Army buddy, he realized that he was no longer that same guy that he was when he was in the Army. Frank felt he had grown up and was at a different stage in his life. While his friend was the one married with children, Frank felt he was still that young kid who partied on leave and bragged about it. Frank felt that finding his faith again had changed his priorities and he was glad to have more friends like Jack then Brian. Frank finished his coffee just as he saw Nathan stand up to come up to the cabin. As Frank stood up to go back inside, he saw the ladies next door watching Nathan walk back to the cabin. He shook his head because he knew that Nathan was completely unaware of the effect he had on women.
… … … …
Jack was also up early. He slipped from the bed and headed to the bathroom. He took a nice long shower and was standing at the sink brushing his teeth wearing just a towel when Elizabeth came in behind him. She immediately wrapped her arms around Jack's waist.
"Morning husband." Elizabeth said, kissing Jack's shoulder.
Jack rinsed his mouth before he turned in Elizabeth's arms and kissed her.
"Morning wife." Jack said with a slight smirk.
As Jack pulled back, Elizabeth reached up and ran her fingers through Jack's wet hair, trying to tame his wild locks. Jack shuddered as Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair and drummed her other fingers on his hip.
"How did you sleep?" Elizabeth asked as she continued with her teasing of Jack.
Jack shuddered again as he smiled at Elizabeth.
"I slept great." Jack said. "How about you?"
"Me too." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth continued to drum her fingers on Jack's hip and twirl his hair at the nape of his neck. She looked at Jack with a coy smile.
"We have time, don't we?" Elizabeth asked.
… … … …Steam Alert… … … …
… … … …Steam Alert… … … …
Elizabeth continued to drum her fingers and twirl his hair, causing Jack to shudder a few more times. Jack leaned in and kissed her, spinning them around, so Elizabeth was against the sink. Jack lifted her up a bit so she rested on the counter.
"Yes." Jack said, as he leaned in for another kiss.
"Good." Elizabeth said. "Because you standing there in just a towel has me all hot an bothered."
"Like you standing there naked doesn't do that to me." Jack teased.
"Oh really." Elizabeth said.
"Really." Jack said.
Elizabeth released Jack's towel as he stole another kiss. As the towel fell, Elizabeth saw that Jack's manhood was at full attention. She brushed her hand down and barely brushed it, causing Jack to hold on to her as his knees buckled as he shuddered. As Jack recovered just a bit, he pressed his body to Elizabeth.
"I need you now." Jack gasped.
Elizabeth helped Jack as he entered her. It only took a moment and Elizabeth arched her back and wrapped her legs around Jack's waist. They came twice right there in the bathroom before Jack lifted Elizabeth off the sink and sank to the floor. Elizabeth followed him to the floor. Jack sat against the tub trying to regain control of his breathing, while Elizabeth sat against the counter doing the same.
… … … …End of Steam… … … …
"That was amazing." Jack said.
"You are amazing." Elizabeth said.
"So are you." Jack said.
As Jack recovered, he stood up and helped Elizabeth to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close.
"Why don't you shower while I go make some coffee." Jack said.
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "But I would rather have more of my husband."
"Later, I promise." Jack said, with a smirk.
Jack walked to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of lounge pants to go make some coffee As he left the bedroom, he heard the shower turn on. Jack started the coffee and then picked up their clothes from the night before. He took their stuff to the bedroom. Once he had picked up their stuff, he checked his phone and saw he had messages from Devin and Father Mark. He sat down and sent a response to both of them. Devin reminded them to be careful and Father Mark was letting him know that he would be in Saratoga until Monday when he would fly to the city and then to Rome.
Once Jack had responded to the messages, he went and poured some coffee that had finished brewing. He also decided to make himself some cinnamon toast as he needed a bit to eat and wasn't sure what Elizabeth wanted for breakfast. He enjoyed his coffee and toast as he scrolled through his phone checking things.
Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth came out dressed for the day, but her hair was still wrapped in a towel. She went straight for the coffee and also made herself some toast, only she had peanut butter. She also grabbed the last of the fresh fruit. As she sat down at the table and looked at Jack without a shirt, she licked her lips and gave him a coy smile.
"What do you want to do for lunch?" Jack asked.
"I don't know." Elizabeth said. "There only appears to be a couple of bar and grill type places to choose from. I am definitely bringing some snacks along. I looked at both menus and nothing jumped out at me. Once appeared to be more burgers than anything and the other was like pizza and fried foods."
"Okay." Jack said. "We will figure it out. We can always eat when we get back. We have stuff for tacos and there is plenty of other food."
"Maybe we can stop in Cook on the way home and grab some more fruit." Elizabeth said. "I know that we will probably take some of it back to New York and that is fine."
"We can do that." Jack said. "What else do we have?"
"In the fridge, other than the taco stuff." Elizabeth said. "The hamburger that is cooked and the bread. There are a few veggies left. Then there is the cider and juice that was sent. Otherwise it is all non-perishable food that can be taken back."
"Okay." Jack said. "Just checking."
As Elizabeth enjoyed her coffee and toast, Jack went to rinse off and get dressed. When he came out again, he was dressed in jeans and a polo. He also had a light jacket, ball cap and sunglasses.
"Do we have time for you to braid my hair?" Elizabeth asked, with a coy smile.
"I will always make time to braid your hair." Jack said.
Elizabeth went to get her brush and stuff. She came back out with her stuff and sat down. Jack picked up the brush and started brushing out Elizabeth's hair. Once it was fully brushed out, he took a deep breath before he separated her hair to start braiding. Once he was done and wrapped the rubber band around the end, he tucked the tail up and pinned it. He smoothed the flyaways back and kissed the top of Elizabeth's head.
"Thank you." Elizabeth said.
Once they were ready, Jack sent a a message to Frank and Nathan to come over when they were ready. While they waited for the guys, both Jack and Elizabeth sat on their computers. Frank knocked on the door about fifteen minutes later.
"Morning." Frank said, as Jack waived them in.
"Morning." Jack said.
"You ready to go?" Nathan asked.
"Just let us close the laptops down and put them away." Jack said.
Jack and Elizabeth both shut down their laptops and Jack locked them up while they were gone to keep them safe.
At twenty minutes after eight, the group headed out for the nearly forty minute drive to the state park. They were picked up by the other security as they turned at Cook. They had chose to just relax and listen to the Christian radio on the drive.
They had a nice drive and Jack paid for everyone to get into the park. They were informed that a tour was set to start in about fifteen minutes and were free to look around and join the tour when it started. They started looking around and Elizabeth took a a bunch of pictures as they waited for the official tour started. Jack and crew joined the tour when it started. They were all interested in the tour and the history of the mine and mining in Minnesota, especially given the announcement that John would be making later in the morning. They all learned a lot and loved going down into the actual man.
… … … …
As Jack and the group were finishing up the tour, John stood on a crowded stage in front of a large media core and several members of the general public. The entire ballroom was filled to hear what John had to say. With John were members of the Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority, a representative from the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, members of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Grand Rapids mayor and a deputy commissioner from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. There were also several member of the Mesabi Metallics Company. There was also the former owner and general manager of Timber Lake Lodge. It was Mike the head of the Development Authority who stepped forward.
"Thank you everyone for coming out this morning." Mike said.
Mike then went through who was all on the stage.
"We are gathered here this morning to make two exciting announcements." Mike said. "So without further ado, please welcome John P Thornton, Sr. head of Thornton, Inc out of New York."
John stepped forward and shook hands with Mike.
"Thank you Mike." John said. "For those that don't know me, I am former New York State Senator, turned businessman. While I live primarily in New York, I have businesses all over the country. I am here because I was presented with an opportunity that I found intriguing and something that Thornton, Inc has not yet been a part of it. So I am happy to announcement a partnership with Mesabi Metallics Company to continue the amazing work they do. I am looking forward to growing what they are doing and bring more jobs to the region."
John paused for the applause.
"As part of this partnership." John continued. "I am committing twenty-five percent of the profits I would normally receive for the next five to a project to reclaim land that has been damaged by mining and turn it usable green space for the public. After five years, the percent will go down to fifteen percent of the profits. I will also create an endowment to care for the green spaces for years to come. My grandson who is set to take over in time is also committed to this project. We are hoping to invest in the people of Minnesota and their commitment to working hard and providing a needed resource for the country. Now, I will turn it back over to Mike."
"Thank you, John." Mike said. "The second announcement is that John and the owners of the Timber Lake Lodge have come to an agreement for John to purchase the property as well as much of the surrounding property. He wants to continue the great work that has been started here and continue to make Grand Rapids a year round destination for visitors. Now, I am going to open it up for questions, but it will be done in an orderly fashion."
Several reporters started shouting questions, but Mike held up is hands and pointed to one in the front.
"Mandy." Mike said.
"Yes, thank you." Mandy said. "I have a question for Mr Thornton. Any comment on the video that surfaced of your grandson and who the girl in the video is?"
John stepped forward.
"I have said it many times." John said. "I have no comment on the personal life of my grandson. Since you might not be aware, I will not tolerate him to be harassed because of his association with me. I will have people arrested. I have done it in the past and have no problem doing it again. He is a young man enjoying his last few days before he starts college with his friends and that is all am going to say about him. His personal life is off limits and that hasn't changed."
Mike pointed to another reporter.
"Mr Thornton." She asked. "Why invest in Minnesota now? Does this have anything to do with your grandson possibly moving here?"
"I partnered with Mesabi Metallics because it was a great opportunity for the future of my growing company." John said. "I am always looking for ways to expand my businesses and diversify my holdings. I have timber companies, I have companies in oil and gas and various other industries. I have other mines, mainly coal mines. This is my first iron ore mine. As far as why, because it was available and I had the money to invest. As far as your other question, while my family is looking forward to visiting Minnesota, as far as I know, my grandson has no plans to move here. He is committed to going to school in New York and with him taking over not only my company, but his other grandfather's horse ranch, I don't see him leaving New York permanently."
John continued to answer questions and there were several more about Jack, but he side stepped those. There were also questions of the manager of the lodge and the people from Mesabi. Overall, they answered questions for almost an hour. The reporters were not happy that John avoided all questions about Jack and who they were assuming was Elizabeth. Finally, sensing John's growing frustration and the increased aggression from the media about Jack, Mike stepped in and shut the questions down.
"John has give his statement." Mike said. "There will be a copy of his statement for members of the media. We at the Development Authority are looking forward to working with John and his family as he grows these businesses. Thank you."
With that, the group left the stage with reporters still shouting questions. When they got in the hallway, Mike turned to John.
"Sorry about that." John said. "I tried to warn you."
"You were right." Mike said. "I didn't think it would be that bad. I have never seen that many members of the press for announcement before."
"Sorry about that." John said. "My name and the interest in my grandson tends to draw a bit of a crowd."
"Why the interest in your grandson?" Mike asked.
"He is young, wealthy and good looking." John said. "He also has been showing jumping. He got a girlfriend this summer and it became a bigger deal because she had been being pursued by another another young wealthy man. She had no interest in him and didn't take the rejection well, causing problems."
"Oh." Mike said. "Jealous ex."
"Sort of." John said. "They never dated, but this other fellow was favored by her father. It is a mess. The fact that JP had refused to talk about his relationship to the media has made it worse."
"I don't blame him." Mike said. "I have a seventeen year old and he wouldn't want his relationship splashed all over the tabloids."
"Thank you." John said. "I look forward to working with you in the future."
"Same here." Mike said.
John and the rest of the group went to another meeting room to have a nice lunch provided by the Timber Lake Lodge. It was a time for the people to mingle and get to know John and his people a little better. Just before they sat down, Devin walked over to John and handed him a phone.
"This is John." He said.
("Hey Grandpa." Jack said. "We had a great time at the mine. We are on our way back. We decided to stop and get some coffee and snacks. We will eat back at the resort.")
"Okay." John said. "Thank you for calling."
("No problem." Jack said. "Did you get my request?")
"Yes, I did." John said. "If that is what you want to do, I am fine with it."
("Okay." Jack said. "Thank you. I will go ahead and make the arrangements this afternoon then.")
"Let me know if you need anything else." John said. "Also please let Nathan know that if he needs to leave or really needs anything, he just needs to ask."
("I have told him several times." Jack said. "But we are just taking it one day at a time.")
"They don't know about the change." John said.
("No they don't." Jack said.)
"Okay." John said. "I will trust you on how you want to handle things. Just keep me updated. I won't be back to New York until middle of next week. From here I am going to Montana and Wyoming. I should be back Thursday."
("Okay." Jack said. "We have stuff for you that we picked up.")
"I will get it when we get back." John said. "I will be in the city the weekend I return, so maybe we can meet."
("I would like that." Jack said.)
"I will let you go." John said. "We were just sitting down to an early lunch."
("Talk later." Jack said.)
John hung up the phone and looked Devin with smile.
