Jacob Finding His Way

Jacob Finding His Way 71

Written by J.P.G.

{Jacob Finding His Way is partly fictional. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without the author's expressed written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Love Scenes Written By: Daddy Rick

Edited By: Daddy Rick

Edited By: Ed

Chapter 71

Wiping away the tears, Jacob took a deep breath, turned around and looked at his family and friends. "Why don't Dewayne, my father and mother come with me to find out what, while you all wait here? Whoever is running the show down there will not let all of us in, plus I want answers and if all of go, we all are going to be talking at once."

No one objected to Jacob's suggestion. Andy Sr. Gloria and Dewayne followed Jacob down the street to the house. The police officers standing guard at the roadblock that was set up stopped them. Jacob quickly explained that it is his house and he wants to know what is going on. At first, the police officers did not believe him, but after seeing his driver's licenses, he let Jacob and the other three through.

They tried to get as close to the house as they could, but they were stopped once again, but this time by fire fighters. The fire fighters tried to push them back, but Jacob would not budge. They had no other choice than to call over their Captain who did not look too happy to be pulled away from what he was doing.

"How may I help you guys? As you can see I am pretty busy trying to contain this fire before it has a chance to spread to the nearby houses."

"I am sorry for pulling you away from your job, but I own that house that is burning to the ground. I would like to know what in the world is going on. How did this all start and why is it so hard for you guys to stop the fire?"

The fire Captain just looked at Jacob. He never has been talked in the tone that Jacob talked to him before by a young kid his age. Nor has he ever been asked as many questions that Jacob asked him and so many that he does not have the answers to because it is too early to know!

"Young man I cannot answer any of your questions right now. The job now is putting out the fire. Once that is done, another part of the department will come in here and investigate. When they finish their report, I will be able to let you know what they found out. None of that is going to happen tonight or in the next day or so. So why don't you let me put out this fire first and then we'll talk."

Not have any other choice, Jacob agreed and went with the firefighter that the Captain assigned to escort them to a safe zone. Once they were left alone, Andy Sr. was up in arms angry that they were brushed off. He does not like being brushed off, pushed to the side, and more so, when it comes to his family's safety and means to live.

Jacob figured if his father is anything like he is, there is nothing anyone can say to calm him down so just let him use up all his energy by shouting to the wind. He looked at Dewayne because he was surprised that he was not saying anything. Normally he is the first out of the group that would start finding the underlying cause of things.

Instead, Dewayne has a blank look on his face. Just as he was going to say something, he remembered his grandfather. Jacob got up and quickly pulled out his cell phone. He walked far enough away to hear himself think over his father's ranting. Slowly dialing his grandfather's number, he was putting together what he was going to say when his grandfather answered the phone. Part of him hoped he did not answer.

"Hello..." Jacob heard his grandfather voice. "What is going on Jacob? What is wrong that you are calling me so late?" Jacob had forgotten the time difference between him and his grandfather. He looked down at his watch and realized that he had called his grandfather just as he must have gone to bed.

"I am sorry to be calling you so late grandpa, I forgot about the time difference but I know you would want to hear this right now instead of later after what happened with the car dealerships. I never meant to keep anything from you dealing with that so that is..."

"Jacob you got the conversation we had earlier all wrong. I am not angry with you. You just have to learn that neither us knows how to run a company fully yet. I really do not think we will ever know how to, and that is why we need to surround ourselves with the right people to give us the guidance we need to make the right decisions in the areas we do not have experience and expertise. So please never be afraid to call me and tell me what is happening."

"Well grandpa this is something you will not believe. I took everyone over to help Joey and his family and friends move into the hotel today. They moved last week and had not un-packed yet. Anyways that isn't why I called you. When we got home here tonight, we found our house on fire."

"What? Did I hear you right Jacob, the house is on fire?" Al flipped on his light as he got out of bed tossing the blankets off.

"Yes Grandpa you heard me right. We just drove up maybe twenty minutes ago and found the fire department trying to put the fire out. They are having a hard time getting the fire out by the looks of it. I think they have given up trying to save our house because of what the fire Captain told me. Right now he is trying to make sure the fire does not reach the other homes around ours."

"No do not let them push you around Jacob. They will do everything they can to save our home. I do not want to hear the bullshit that they are trying to save the surrounding homes and screw ours. They do not know how much we have invested in that home that is going up in flames right now. No Jacob, you walk over there with me on the line so I can hear what they are telling you."

Jacob knew better than to argue with his grandfather. He walked back over to the fire Captain with the phone. The firefighter that took him to the safe zone tried to stop him, but Jacob pushed through. When he reached the Captain, he was not happy with Jacob for ignoring his staff.

"I already told you to stay in that safe zone until I have a chance to talk with you. Go back to that safe zone and stay there until I am ready to talk with you. The way you are being, it might not be at all this evening." Jacob heard Al yelling on the phone and he handed it to the Captain.

"You listen to me, you will treat that kid standing in front of you with respect, or I will have your job." Al yelled at the Captain. "I am that kid's grandfather, part owner of the home that you are trying to put the fire out at. He is under the belief you have pretty much given up on trying to save the house. Now you are just trying to make sure the fire does not reach the other houses. Please tell me my grandson misread you."

"No sir he did not misread me at all. I made that pretty clear to him I thought that at this point all we are trying to do is keep the fire from spreading to the near by homes. Your home is gone. It was gone the minute it went up in flames because of what started the fire. It was deliberately set and it looks like gas or something like that was used. Items like that is the only thing that could spread a fire this fast."

"How much of the house is gone Captain?"

"The fire looks like it was started on the right side of the main house and spread from there. The entire front part of this home is gone and the fire is still going. We have been able to keep it boxed in to just your home right now. Once we get the area where the fire was started out, the rest will be easy."

"How many fire trucks are in use?" Al cleared his throat. "The reason I am asking that is that I am pretty sure you are aware of the size of the home. It used to be four homes that are on two streets. Maybe if you put a couple fire trucks on the other street and do what ever you did to keep the fire from spreading to the other houses, you might be able to save at least half of the home."

"Sir we are aware of what we are dealing with here. There are four fire engines here working to put out the fire, but it is not as easy as you think. Since it is one home, the fire will spread faster through the home since there is nothing between them to stop it. There was space between your home and the others where we were able to get between and do what we needed to do to safe guard the other homes. That isn't the case with your home."

Seeing that the Captain is doing everything he could to get the fire under control, Al could not question him on anything. Before letting the Captain go he made it clear once again to treat Jacob with respect because he is the owner of the home. The Captain handed Jacob back his cell phone and apologized to him.

"Jacob it sounds like they are doing everything they can to get this fire out. For now hang up with and call from a landline when you have more information. You have my number here at the hotel, right?" Jacob confirmed he had the number to his grandfather's room. "Good call me here when you find out more. Then I will head back tomorrow to help you through this."

"Grandpa there is really nothing you can do here that you cannot do over the phone. The Governor really needs you right now and that is why you are there. If things get to the point that you do need to be here, then come up. For now, we can stay in communication through the phone. We both have cell phones to be reached in case something big happens."

Reluctantly Al agreed with Jacob but made it clear if anything else happens, he is on the next plane back. It did not matter how small or big it was he would be coming home. Jacob did not object to that. He let his grandfather go and headed back to his parents and Dewayne in the safe zone.

When he got there, he found Dewayne keeping up with his father on ranting about what was going on. The minute they saw Jacob walking up, they stopped their rants and asked Jacob is he had any more news for them.

Jacob started to explain what he found out with the help from Al. When he mentioned his grandfather's name, it grabbed Gloria's attention. She listened in as Jacob told them what he and Al were able to get out of the Captain. When he was done, everyone just stood there quiet, looking at Jacob.

"Look, if the house is gone, it is gone. That is why we have insurance and we will get the money, but we have lost what we hold dear to our hearts; pictures, gifts, memories like letters and other things that cannot be replaced by money. At the same time we have to look at it this way, nobody was home. Nobody has been hurt or killed and that is the most important thing when it is all said and done."

All at once, Dewayne and Jacob's parents agreed with him. Neither Dewayne nor Andy Sr. started up with their rants. Since being in the safe zone was not getting them any more information than being with the others at the truck, they decided to leave. Jacob informed the firefighter that was keeping watch on him and his family, where they can get ahold of him when there is news. The firefighter promised to pass on the information.

When they walked up to the others, they started asking questions. Jacob repeated what he told his parents and Dewayne. Once he told them, no one asked any questions, they sat back down and looked on as the firefighters struggled to put out the fire.

It was several hours before Jacob heard anything about the condition of his house. In fact, the fire department did not let him know what was happening; he just saw that the fire was pretty much put out. When all the fire trucks except one had left, Jacob made his way to his house to see if he can get a closer look of the damage.

Everything that the fire department had set up was already packed up and gone. The street was soaked with water that was coming from his house. When he finally got up to it, he only saw the skeleton of the house, with smoke rising from it. The fire had pretty much brunt down the entire house from one side to the other. Nothing salvageable was left.

The fire Captain walked up to Jacob when he saw him standing in front of his house. "I am sorry but we were unable to save your house. We did everything we possibly could to save it, but the fire got away from us." Jacob looked over at the Captain not understand how the fire got away from them.

"How did the fire get away from you? You had four fire trucks out here trying to put out the flames, how did it get away from you?"

"As I told your grandfather whoever started this fire used some kind of liquid that was flammable. That is just one of the few ways a fire can get away from us. The fluid they used blew up one portion of your home and there was no stopping it after that. We had no other choice but to let the fire burn itself out."

There was no sense talking about what they could have done, the fire is out and the house is gone Jacob thought. He turned and looked at what use to be his house. The fire Captain figured since Jacob did not come back with a question or a response that he did not have any more questions or comments to make. He wished Jacob good night as he left.

The roaring of the fire truck passing the truck, Dewayne popped up from his seat. He looked around for Jacob but did not see him anywhere. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he reached for the door handle and opened the door. As the door creaked open, it woke up the others in the truck and they yelled for being awaken.

By the time Dewayne started walking over to Jacob, the entire tribe was with him. When they got to the house, they saw him walking through what used to be the front door. Being careful what they stepped on, they walked into the house as well. Just as they entered, they heard several people yelling at them to stop where they were.

"You guys can not be in there. Not only is it not safe, but we have not looked over the scene. You could be destroying evidence that could tell us how the fire started, who might have started it, and where exactly it started. So please, all of you come over here where it is safe."

Dewayne and the others were the first back down to what used to be the driveway and Jacob joined them shortly afterwards. He saw who was yelling at him and his family to get out of what used to be their house. It was another officer of the fire department.

"My name is Jacob Hernandez, the owner of this home." Jacob extended his hand to the officer and he shook it. "We were not trying to destroy any evidence. Just like you, I want to know how this fire got started. Also if you could find out I would like to know who started this fire."

"Mr. Hernandez we are going to start going over the scene, but is going to take days, if not weeks before we are able to put together what happened here today. The best thing I can tell you is that you all need to go to a family member or friend's house that will put you all up. This house is unlivable and will be condemned"

"Is there anyway we can go in and at least try and see if there is anything that was not damaged by the fire? Everything we own was in that house. We need to see if there is anything we can take with us."

"Son, just look at that house", the officer turned to look at the house and Jacob did the same thing. "You tell me the answer to your own question. Is there anything at all that could have made it through the fire? The house is nothing but a skeleton of rubble. There is no way ANYTHING survived that fire!"

Just then, a little black ball came running at them barking. Jacob could not help but smile seeing Jeremy kneeling down clapping his hands as little Cupid went running up to him. Jeremy picked up the little black fur ball, kissing it all over. Turning around smiling at the fire investigator Jacob spoke.

"I can honestly answer that question if anything survived the fire, and the answer is yes, my brother's little dog did. We will get out of your way so you can do your job, but please make sure you go over every inch of that rubble. I do not care how long it takes; I want to know how this started and if anything could have been done differently to fight this fire."

Jacob started to walk away, but felt he did not get his point across. "I never have said this before in the way I am saying it now. Do not try to cover anything up for anyone. My family and I know the right people in this city and we know the right people in this state since my grandfather is one of the Governor's right hand men. Be honest with your report and there will be no problems coming from me. Be less than honest or try to cover anything up, there will be problems. I am going to hire my own investigators to check your work." Feeling he said what he needed to said, Jacob turned and left.

As he got in his truck, Jacob was trying to figure out where he can go with his family. Then it dawned on him, the hotel that they just gave to Joey! He leaned out his window and yelled to the other cars to follow him. They honked at him to signal they understood.

"Where are we going to sleep tonight Jacob? Really the question should be where are we going to live now that our house is gone?"

"I figure Joey will not have a problem giving us a floor at his hotel until I figure out with my grandfather what we are going to do. One thing is for sure, we are not going to be able to live in the old house. In fact, by the sounds of it, we are not going to be able to rebuild here for a while and that is going to be a big problem."

Jacob looked over to Dewayne to see if he had a problem with going to the hotel where his ex is living. Dewayne knows what his boyfriend is thinking by the facial expressions. The one he is showing now is telling him that he is concerned. Putting one and one together, he knew his boyfriend was concerned about this idea.

"Hey don't worry about me Jacob. There is nothing that can come between us, if we have to live in the same building that your ex lives in for a while, I fine with that. We are in love and there is nothing that can change that."

With that said, Jacob felt there was no need to respond. He grabbed Dewayne's hand, pulled it up to his lips, and kissed it several times before putting in his lap. The rest of the way to the hotel, no one said a word. They stayed in their own thoughts thinking about what they lost in the fire. Everyone was worried about how they were going to replace what they lost.

When they drove into the parking lot of the hotel, Jacob felt bad that he did not stop and call Joey and the before coming down. As far as he knows, they could be sound asleep already. He was proven wrong the moment they parked. The main door of the hotel swung open and Joey, Harold, Helen and several others walked out.

Getting down from the truck, Jacob walked over to Joey to explain to him why they were all here. "Before you say a word my friend, we have been watching it on the news. We all hoped that you guys would come and we are glad that you did!"

"Thank you Joey! As I drove up, I was feeling bad for not calling you before coming down. It just did not dawn on me until I was in the parking lot here." Jacob turned and waved his family over.

"You guys look beat and worried," Harold said as he looked at Jacob's family. "There is nothing for you guys to worry about. There is plenty of room here for everyone and then some. So come on in put your feet up as you make yourselves at home". Harold walked over to the door and held it open for everyone.

Joey quickly walked over to the safe and pulled out a master key card for Jacob. When he walked back, he handed the card to Jacob and told him to pick any floor he wanted. As he took the card from his ex, Jacob thanked him. He turned and handed the card to his father to start taking everyone up to a floor that is not in use.

While his father was getting the family settled, Jacob found a phone and called his grandfather. Al answered on the second ring, which surprised Jacob. He had thought that his grandfather would have gone back to bed by now, but was glad that he had not.

For the next hour and half, Jacob and Al talked about where to go from here. Al was happy that his grandson took the family to the hotel. At least by staying there, it would be one less expense but he knows that is going to be the only thing they are going to save on. They are going to have to buy everyone everything they lost in the fire. That is going to be a huge expense. They both hoped that the insurance would not balk too much paying the contents part of the claim.

By the time they finally called it a night they made plans to speak again at ten o'clock in the morning. Al wanted to be part of the conversation Jacob was going to have with everyone addressing concerns. He was not concerned that they are going to get angry with Jacob, but he wanted to let them know that he and his grandson are going to do their best to replace everything they lost in the fire.

After a restless few hours of sleep, Al walked into work. He went to catch up with Rich as he was making his way to the morning meeting. Seeing that there was a lot on Rich's mind, Al decided not bother him with his personal problems, for now at least. If he has to go back home, that will be a different story.

When the meeting started, Al kept looking at his watch. He hoped this meeting would stay on schedule and get out on schedule. That way he will not have to excuse himself from the meetings to be on the phone with Jacob and the family. When the Governor ended the meeting early, Al was surprised and relieved at the same time.

He got up to leave when the Governor called out for him to stay. "Al if you need anything from me, please do not hesitate to ask." Al could not believe that the Governor knows about what happened already. "Don't forget my family still lives in El Paso and they called me last night after seeing your home burning on the news. Do they know how the fire started, or is it still too early?"

"According to my grandson, the investigators showed up right when the fire fighters left to start looking into what caused the fire. As of now, the only thing we know is what we were told by the fire fighters that were at the scene. They believe it was started by some one and they used gas or something like that."

"Do not depend on the fire departments findings. Hire your own investigators to make sure the fire department does not over look something. They are over worked and underpaid for the kind of work they do. They know that so they rush through things. You cannot afford a rush job dealing with the cause of the fire. It can affect how your insurance is going to pay out."

"My grandson made it clear to the investigators last night that we plan to hire our own investigators. He wanted to put them on notice in hope they do not go through the scene too fast. Even if they do not, we still plan to hire our own investigators. That is one of the things we discussed last night and will talk again later this morning."

The Governor walked with Al to his office. "When you get past the first day or so of this, come speak with me. I have a suggestion for you about rebuilding your family home. However, I do not want you making any decisions just yet. Let the shock wear off and we will talk again."

Al wanted to know what the Governor's suggestion was, but let it go. He thanked the him for everything and promised that they will talk after things settle down. The Governor left Al at the entrance of his office as he left for his next meeting. Al walked in and saw those he had meeting with were already there. He asked his secretary to send in the first meeting and he did not want to be interrupted.

Once Jacob fell to sleep, he was dead to the world. He did not head to his room until an hour after he got off the phone with his grandfather. On his way, he checked on Jeremy and found him about to give Cupid a bath. Afraid that Jeremy might accidently drown Cupid, he decided to help Jeremy out giving the dog her bath.

The little fur ball was still scared, and refused to allow them to put her in the water, which is unusual. She normally loves baths. Whenever they give her a bath she plays in the water like a little baby, but this time they had to wrestle with her. Once she realized what was going on, she became more herself and played in the water.

After they got Cupid out of the bath and dried, Jacob got her and his brother to bed. Since all this was new to Jeremy, he was scared. He would not fall asleep unless Jacob stayed with him. Feeling for his brother, Jacob lay down beside his brother with Cupid in the middle. He was going to leave once Jeremy had fallen to sleep, but he could not keep his eyes open.

When he woke up the next morning, and realized what he had done. He felt bad that he did not sleep with Dewayne. His worries went away when Jacob turned over and found Dewayne had gotten into bed with him and Jeremy after he had fallen to sleep. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, pulled him in tight and went back to sleep.

Jacob did not wake up again for another couple hours when Cupid was licking his face. At first, he thought it was Dewayne, but he quickly came to senses. Dewayne has never licked his face like that before and why would he start now with his brother in the same bed? He opened his eyes and saw the little white fur ball looking down at him with her tongue hanging out.

"I see you have replaced me already." Dewayne laughed as he pulled Cupid off Jacob's chest. "Good morning I was just about to wake you up. Breakfast is almost ready and everyone is already downstairs. It seems a couple hours of sleep have renewed everyone's spirits. They are down there talking as if nothing happened."

Yawning and stretching as he pulled himself out of bed, Jacob tried to wake up. "I am glad they are in better spirits this morning. We have a long day ahead of us. It is going to start out with a family meeting that my grandfather is going to be part of. We need to get down there and let everyone know how the day is going to unfold."

Jacob walked into Jeremy's bathroom. After a pause to relieve his aching bladder, he splashed some water on his face and rinsed his mouth with water. He ran his fingers through his hair trying to comb it out, but he was making it worse, He finally gave up and went back into the room to put on his shoes. As Jacob was tying his laces, Dewayne pulled out his pocket comb and combed Jacob's hair.

After he finished, Jacob thanked Dewayne and kissed him on the lips. Just as their lips touched, they heard a knock on the door. Jacob turned to see Caleb standing there looking at them. Both Jacob and Dewayne got up and went over to see what Caleb needed. He simply announced that breakfast was ready so they went down together and joined the others.

When Jacob and Dewayne joined the others in the restaurant, nobody asked what is going to happen next. They continued with the conversation bringing Joey up to date with what has been going on at school. Although he is not going to El Paso High, he loved hearing about what his old friends have been up to since they last spoke.

Trying not to be noticeable, Jacob kept looking at his watch or the clock on the wall. He realized the clock on the wall was behind almost by thirty minutes. Debating to tell Joey about that, he decided not to. Simply put he did not want to bring attention to the fact that he is concerned about the time.

"Jacob I do not mean to be rude, but you seem to be distracted." The table got quiet all at once when Harold spoke. "I know what happened yesterday was bad, but you shouldn't let it bring you down or let someone this take your joy of life away."

"With all due respect sir I have no other choice but to think about what happened last night. I am not thinking about this to allow whoever did this to take away my zest for life, I am thinking about it because it seems like nobody else is. There is a lot that needs to be done, most of which will end up on me to do. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable trying to get all my ducks in a row!"

Jacob got up from the table and looked around. "All of you that live with me need to be in the lobby ten before ten. My grandfather is going to be waiting for a phone call from me so he can talk with all of us. You all know how he is about time, so let's not be late because I going to get him on the line no matter if you are there or not."

Everyone was stunned with how Jacob responded to Harold. They are all thinking about what lays before them in the days to come, but they refuse to let it beat them. They have chosen to take a different road, a road to talk about everything else, so they do not think about losing everything that they did last night.

As soon as Andy Sr. finished his breakfast, he went looking for Jacob. He found him in the lobby working on something. The closer he got to his son he realized the he was frustrated. At first, he did not see what Jacob was working on, but when he sat down in the chair next to him, he saw a whole bunch of numbers.

"Son you need to step away from whatever you are doing?" Jacob looked up at his dad, pushing his hand through his hair. "No good comes from you getting sick with worrying. Let your mother and me help you. You do not need to be alone on trying to get things done here. I am pretty sure if you ask Al, he will come..."

"No, absolutely no! There is no way we are going to ask him to come home." Jacob tossed his pen on the table. "If we do that, he will know I cannot run things in his absence. He will never trust me again. No, I am going to handle this with him able to stay in Austin to do his job helping the Governor."

"Look at you! You are being all twisted up that you are already snapping at people that are trying to help. Harold did not mean anything bad about what he said."

"You and Harold do not have to shell out all the money that this is going to cost. I am! Damn, none of you understands this is not just going to cost just a few hundreds or thousands of dollars. It is going to cost in the high tens of thousands of dollars to replace the personal property that everyone lost. Put aside the cost of rebuilding a house and buying the furniture and everything in it."

"The insurance on your house will cover it, will it not?"

"Yeah it will pay me someday, but not in the near future and when it does finally pay out, it will not give me the total cost that I will be spending to get everything back. Even then, some things I cannot replace. The guitar I bought for Dewayne cannot be replaced because it is one of a kind. The pictures and gifts and other things that really do not hold value to anyone else except the owner cannot be replaced. This fire took more than just a property. It took a lot more!"

Just then, David, Tom, Tony, and Chase walked into the lobby. Jacob sat up in his seat and put on a fake smile, which his dad saw through. Soon after they arrived, everyone else walked in. Once they were settled, Jacob picked up the receiver and dialed his grandfather's office. When it started to ring, he put it on speakerphone.

Al's secretary answered the phone and right away put Jacob right through. "Hello Jacob, right on time as I like it. I am sure you have everyone there, so good morning everyone. I hope you all got good sleep after everything that happened." All at once, they all said yes in one way or another. "Good I am not going to be running this, Jacob is. I will jump in if I feel something was not explained fully, so Jacob, it is all yours."

"Thank you grandpa, and good morning! I stayed up talking with my grandpa for almost two hours last night after we got here. We discussed many issues that this fire has brought up. That is why we decided to hold this family meeting this morning to let you all know what we talked about last night." Jacob grabbed his tablet from the table.

"Although we cannot replace things like pictures and gifts that someone has given you. We can replace other things like clothes, personal items and things like that. Therefore, after we finish this meeting, we are but going to jump into the cars and go on a shopping spree. That does not mean you all need to get everything you lost in one shot today. I am sure you will not remember what you had we can at least get you clothes, shampoo and things like that. Then when we go out..."

"I am sorry Jacob but let me clarify a little more on what you just said." Al jumped in feeling that Jacob was not being clear enough. "Today you guys should buy plenty of clothes, things for school, work, and stuff like that. Then in the days to come, make a list of things that you had, that you know we can buy again. Then once you all have your lists, we can go out and get you those things as well."

"I was getting there grandpa, you just did not give me a chance." Once again, everyone was stunned on how Jacob was talking. "If you want you can go ahead and take this over and I will just sit back and listen." Jacob looked down at the speaker on the phone.

"Sorry Jacob go ahead and run the show, I will stay quiet."

Jacob went through the laundry list of things that he and his grandfather discussed the night before. One by one everyone felt at ease on how they are going to go about replacing everything. Then Jacob moved into items that were lost by each individual, which grabbed everyone's attention.

"Your car Tom was in the driveway of the house and what I saw of it, there is nothing left of it. So in the next few days I will take you out to the dealerships we own so you can get a car." When Jacob said that, everyone straightened up. Jacob had forgotten that he had not told the family that he is now the owner of many car dealerships.

"I am sorry. I have not told you about the meeting I had on Wednesday with the attorney's of the JD Auto group. The owner of that company and I became friends over the past year. He changed his will and left his company to me, which totally surprised me when I found out. It has been a crazy week and I had not had a chance to tell any of you about that. Even my grandpa did not know until yesterday about the new part of our company."

"Trust me I was not to happy on being kept in the dark on that one, but there is no need to keep beating a dead horse. Jacob pretty much covered everything we discussed. If you guys feel that we did not touch on something that you feel we should have or just simply have a question, now is the time to get it on the table."

All at once, everyone started to talk. Jacob slapped his note pad on the table to quiet everyone down. Once the room was quiet again, Al asked them to speak one at a time or nothing will be done. The first to speak was Alex.

"Do you know yet about the house next door? What I mean is was it burnt down as well?" Al took the question. "I spoke with the fire marshal before getting on the line with you guys. No other houses were burnt, but the chemicals and other things that the fire fighters sprayed on the nearby houses might have done damage to them. Depending on the damage, the insurance companies will either pay to fix it or tear them down."

"Cost, is there a limit on what you guys are willing to pay out to replace what we had lost in the fire?" Jacob tried to hide his anger with the question that David asked, but was not too successful on doing so. "No there is not going to be a limit that we are going to put in place. Just keep in mind we are not going to spend hundreds of thousand dollars for each of you. There is no way you guys had items that was worth that amount."

"I know none of you are going to ask for something that you did not have. Keep in mind that we are replacing your stuff because what happened was not your fault. As much as it was not mine's or my grandfather's, we do not want any of you hurting. Again there are things you owned that we will not ever be able to replace."

For the next forty-five minutes, Jacob and Al answered every question that was asked. When it was done, everyone was satisfied. Al thanked them as they left, but asked Jacob to stay on the line. He also asked Jacob to take him off speakerphone.

Once everyone left, Jacob let his grandfather know that he was alone. "Let me start off by saying you are doing a great job there in my absence. The change I am about to tell you is not because you doing a bad job, or that I am angry with you. It is something I have been thinking about doing for a while.

With that said, after getting off the phone with you the other night, I decided to move on hiring a CEO for our company. I held several interviews on Saturday and offered the job to a very qualified individual. He will be in El Paso on Wednesday and I would like it if you can miss school and show him around."

Jacob was angry; no he was hurt on what his grandfather did. He stayed quiet trying to filter his thoughts before speaking. He cannot let his anger and hurt control what he tells his grandfather. If he does that, he knows they will not settle anything.

"Is not half of the company mine grandpa?" "Yes it is Jacob, you know that." "Then why was not I involved on choosing the CEO? You got upset with me for not informing you the minute I knew about becoming the owner of the dealerships, but yet you are over there hiring someone that is going to be running everything."

Al knew what Jacob is saying was right. "So where does this leave me, out in the cold? You are bringing this person in, whom I do not know, and once he knows everything about the company, I am out. That is not fair grandpa, is not fair at all. I have worked just as hard on the company as you have. Now you are going to kick me out of it."

"I am not doing that Jacob. Nothing is going to change except the pressure that is on you right now to run things."

"I have not complained once about the pressure, because there is not any, but anyway you have made your decision and hired the guy to come in and take over. I will do as you ask and take the day out from school. I will pick him up and show him the company. Just give me the information when he is going to come in and his name."

Al knew it was best not to try to talk about this with Jacob right now. He gave Jacob the name of the new CEO, and when his flight was due. He also told his grandson about the details of the contract, which did not make Jacob happy. They have not even owned the dealership for a week, and they have already given away two cars.

"One last thing I would like to go over with you before we hang up Jacob. I have contacted Mr. Jackson and told him to put together a guard detail for you and the other members of the family. Right now none of us knows who burnt down our house, but I am not going to take any chances." Jacob sighed and was about to say something, but Al did not let him.

"This is something else I have been putting off Jacob. I hired Mr. Jackson to deal with security, but have not asked him to do his job. Therefore, you are going to need to get used to him and a security detail in your life from now on. I will not lose my grandson or anyone in my family because some crazy person out there kidnaps you and holds you for ransom. I do not care about the money, but I care about my family. The majority of the time people that are kidnapped never get released or found alive."

By Al putting that way, Jacob did not object. "When is Mr. Jackson going to come?"

"He should be there sometime today. He is going to set up security at the hotel to make sure nothing like what happened last night happens again. In addition, he is going to sit down with you first and put your security detail together. Then he is going to move on to the other members of the family. You and I are going to have to a bigger detail, but the others are going to have at least a couple of agents guarding them at all times."

They talked a little longer about how the security is going to work. Jacob was concerned about all of his family and Dewayne most importantly. Al made it clear that Dewayne will have security as long as he and Jacob are together. If they ever break up, then the security will be pulled off him. Jacob had no problem with that.

Once they got that cleared up, Al tried to go back to the change in the company, but dropped it when he saw he was not getting anywhere. The only thing Jacob could see right now is that he is being forced out. Al understands why his grandson is thinking that way. He knows what is going on in ROTC and how they have been treating him. Now Al thinks that his grandson thinks that he is getting the same treatment here.

After getting off the phone with his grandfather, Jacob just sat there in the lobby thinking about how his world has changed so much in such a short period. First, he lost his house. Who knows who and why it was burnt down but it happened. Now his grandfather does not believe in him anymore so he has gone out and hired a CEO without telling him that he was even thinking about it.

Dewayne stayed in the hall, near the elevators, the whole time Jacob was on the phone with his grandfather. He heard the whole thing, and doesn't know what to say to make him feel better. In his mind there is really nothing he can say that will make him feel any better right now.

The elevator doors opening pulled Dewayne from his thoughts. He quickly gathered himself as he walked into the lobby. Jacob saw Dewayne walking towards him. Right behind him was Joey, Caleb and several of the guys that came from New Mexico. Putting on a happy face, Jacob got up and smiled at them all as they walked up.

"Jacob, Caleb, Helen, Harold, and I were disusing your sleeping arrangements. While you are here, why do not you take Caleb's and mine penthouse? We will stay in Harold's and Helen's for the mean time. Once you either buy a new house or rebuild, Caleb and I will move back into the penthouse."

Looking over at Dewayne first and then back over to Joey, Jacob started to shake his head. "No, thank you, but no thank you Joey. First, it would not be right to you and Caleb. Second, it would not be right to the rest of my family and friends that we stay in the penthouse and they stay in regular rooms. Finally, I want to be with my family. I know that may sound weird, but I do like being with my family."

Looking down at his watch, Jacob started to walk towards the elevator. "We need to head out to do the shopping. It is going to be crazy, so we need as much time as possible. Plus I need to be back soon." Jacob turned and looked at Joey. "Mr. Jackson, the head of our security department is going to come down this afternoon. If he gets here before I get back, could you guys please have him wait for me?"

"Sure thing Jacob, if he comes down we will get him whatever he needs." Jacob thanked him as the elevator door shut. All the way up to their floor, Jacob did not say a word to Dewayne. When they got off, Jacob walked over to his mother and father's room. He asked them to follow him to his room, and then he walked over to Andy Jr.'s room and asked the same thing.

Not wasting anytime Jacob informed them what Al told him about the security. They took it the same way that Jacob did when his grandfather told him. When everyone finished moaning, he made it clear to them all what his grandfather made clear to him. They have no choice in the mater anymore.

"There is no way the military is going to allow it." Andy Jr. popped up from the bed. "So it does not matter what grandpa wants, it will not happen with me. If he has a problem with that, he needs to call the military to get clearance. Trust me there is no way he, or even the Governor has that kind of pull."

Not meaning to, Jacob chuckled. "You are forgetting something big bro, the Governor is still in the military. That means he is still is a four star general. They will do what they are ordered to do. So yes the Governor does have that kind pull." Andy Jr. sat back down on the bed defeated. He thought he was going to get out of this one.

"Look guys there is no use fighting it. Mr. Jackson is going to be here tonight and will be setting everything up. Until then let's go out and do some shopping." Jacob walked over to the dresser and pulled out his wallet from the drawer. "Oh by the way, grandpa hired a CEO to run the company. He is going to be here on Wednesday and after that he will be calling the shots as far as the company is concerned."

Jacob walked out of the room as he said that, leaving everyone's mouths hanging open. Once they got over the shock, they ran after him to see if they heard him right. He re-confirmed what he said and asked them to keep it to themselves for now. Not under standing this move, they agreed with Jacob to keep it hush, hush for now.

Back in Austin, Al did not feel good at all, with how the phone call ended with his grandson. He really did not mean the conversation to go where it did. At no point has he ever felt that Jacob was not up for the task on running the business in his absence. He is only making this move so Jacob could have a regular teen life like his friends.

His secretary's voice came over the intercom of his phone brought Al out of his thoughts. He picked up the receiver to see what she needed. All his scheduled appoints are done, so he knows it cannot be that. Moreover, he asked her not to disturb him until he gives her the all clear, which he has not, so whatever it is must be important.

"I know you did not want to be disturbed sir, but a detective from El Paso keeps calling. I told him that you are in meetings, but this time he demanded to speak with you. What do you want to do? I can tell him you are in a meeting still and call back later."

"No do not do that. Go ahead and put him through, thank you." As he waited for the call to be put through, he tried to figure out why a detective is calling him. He heard the detective's voice come across. "Yes, let me first say when my secretary tells you or anyone I am in a meeting that means I am in a meeting. You do not demand to speak with me. What you do is keep calling back or wait for me to return your call."

"Sorry sir, I thought I was getting the run around. I have called several times today and each time you were in a meeting like now."

"I was in a meeting each time you called, like now. It just ended and that is why I am able to take your call." Al could not believe he was explaining himself to this detective. "Wait I do not need to justify anything to you. What is it I can help you with this afternoon detective. Make it quick since I have another meeting to get to."

"Well sir I was assigned to look into the circumstances surrounding the fire. The fire marshal has already marked it arson and that is why I am now involved. It was an easy finding for him to make with how the house went up in flames. In addition, some of the neighbors I have already interviewed told me that they heard a car stop, glass break and then the car sped off. Moments after that, your house was on fire."

"Wow it looks like you are moving pretty quick on this. I am happy you are so we can get our insurance company to pay for the house."

"We are not even close to the point we can tell your insurance company that they can pay out your policy. Before we can get there, we need to make sure it was not anyone in the family, friends, or someone they hired to do this. I have several questions for you and questions for your grandson. I understand he actually owns the house. How did that come about? He is what, only sixteen years old?"

"He is seventeen years old, not sixteen. The reason he owns the house is that he bought the houses and paid them to be joined together to make one. If you have any questions for him, I will give you the address where he is staying, but before you speak with him, I need to make this clear to you. He is still a minor so you will need to have either his mother or father present during your interview."

"Mr. Serna I am sorry but you are wrong there. Your grandson is a minor yes, but in the eyes of the law, he has been an adult ever since the court made him one. That means I can talk with him without an adult present. He can have an attorney, but why should he? After all he was not the one that started the fire, was he?"

"I do not like your attitude sir! Let me warn you if you choose to go about this investigation in this manner, I will make sure you will be taken off the case. There is no way my grandson had anything to do with setting the fire, by his hands or hiring someone to do it, he was not involved. So you better look elsewhere."

"I have to look at everyone, including you sir. Your position there in Austin or your net worth will not get me removed from heading this investigation, so those are empty threats. Let's move on and find out what actually happened last night, shall we?"

"No sir we will not move on. You had better not go near my grandson or anyone in my family. As soon as I get off the phone with you, I will be talking with your superiors to inform them how you are going about this case. I understand you have to look at everyone, but not automatically assume it was my grandson."

Not giving the detective a chance to respond, Al hung up the phone. As he was going through his rolodex, he called his secretary. When she answered, he informed her not to put him through again. If he continues to call, report him to security. Not questioning her boss, she promised not to put his calls through anymore.

When they hung up, Al picked up the receiver and dialed the Chief-of-Police's home number. A few rings later, a young male's voice answered. Al asked the young man for his father, and then he was put on hold. A few minutes later, the Chief-of-Police's voice came over the line. Al cleared his throat and explained why he called.

"Mr. Serna our detectives have the right to question anyone that is a person of interest in a case. Even if you do not like it, they have the right to do so. Let the detective talk with your grandson, the sooner the better. That way he is cleared and the detective can move on to other people."

"Fine I understand his job, but not the way he is going about it. Without any proof at all, he has already made up his mind that Jacob is the one that did it. That is where I have a problem, not that he wants to talk with him. That is not right on any kind of investigation, into any kind of crime."

"Al you must have misheard the detective. If it is the detective I think you are talking about, he does not talk the way you are saying you were spoken to. That is why he was assigned the case. I want this solved, but with tact."

"You know what I am not going to play this game of he said, she said. He did speak the way I said he did. If you do not believe me, fine but not forget you are about to start your election campaign for your job again, good luck on that. I will use ever bit of influence I have to make sure you are not reelected. Even if that includes asking the Governor to endorse whoever is running against you. He is already unhappy with your job performance as it is."

"Wait a minute Mr. Serna; we can settle this without going there. Give me a couple of hours and I will have that detective call you back and apologize to you. Plus I will make sure he does not talk to you or your family in the manner he spoke with you earlier."

"Oh now you believe that he spoke to me the way I said after I said what I said to take you out of the running. No sir I do not want an apology from that detective. In fact, I do not want him calling this office again. If he calls here one more time, I will have the security here deal with him. He had also better not talk with my grandson. I have no problem another detective talking to Jacob, but not him."

Al took a deep breath before going on. "You and I have had problems working together from the beginning. It is time for a change. It is time to put a person in that seat that will be willing to work with those that voted for him or her. So many voters in El Paso feel you are unapproachable and want you out. So my job is going to be easy."

"Mr. Serna we do not need to go there over something that is fixable. As I said give me a couple of hours and I will have this all straightened out. I promise you I will have a detective on the case that will treat you and your family with respect as they rule each of you out as suspects."

Al was too angry to talk or listen to the Chief-of-Police. Right now, the best thing Al feels he could do is let the call go, as there is nothing the Chief can say that will settle him down now. So he let him go and hung up the phone Al leaned back in his seat wishing that he could get off of the rollercoaster ride that he was put on late last night.

Knowing where they buy their clothes, Jacob took everyone to the mall. He sat outside the store while they were trying on jeans and shirts. Once they got what they wanted from the store, Jacob went to the cashier and paid for everything. This went on for the next two hours as they went from store to store in the mall.

When they finally got everything they wanted from the mall, they went to Wal-Mart to get underwear, socks, and personal hygiene items. Unlike the others, Jacob was okay with the clothes from Wal-Mart. He has never believed in name brand items. In his mind, people really do not know what the other person is wearing as far as brands. If they do and will not be friends with him because of what he wears, he was fine with that.

They spent the next hour getting what they needed from Wal-Mart. When everything was paid for, Jacob looked down at his watch and realized that they have been shopping for over four hours already. He looked up at everyone and saw everyone looked hungry. They loaded everything into either the truck or car, and then headed to McDonald's to eat.

To everyone Jacob looked happy, but underneath he was still angry at the news his grandfather told him. He could not stop thinking about it. Every time someone asked him a question, they would have to repeat several times before he answered it. It got to the point that no one asked him any more questions.

They included Jacob in the conversation, but knew he really was not in it. Dewayne tried to get Jacob to stop thinking about earlier, but he was not successful either. At one point Jacob actually pushed Dewayne away when he tried to get him to stop thinking so much about things he cannot change. When he did that, Dewayne stopped trying.

All the way back to the hotel, Dewayne could see in Jacob's face that he was getting angrier by the second. He really wanted to help him, but he will not let him in. After being pushed away at McDonalds, Dewayne is even afraid to try to take Jacob's hand. He does not want him to take out his anger on him since it was not he that got Jacob upset in the first place.

It did not take them long to unload the truck and other cars with the help from Joey and his clan. Once they got their stuff in the doors, each person took what was theirs up to their room. Dewayne and Jacob were heading up to their room when Mr. Jackson and several other young guys that looked like teenagers, walked in.

Jacob put his bags down by the elevator and walked over to Mr. Jackson. "Mr. Jackson it is good to see you." Jacob shook his hand. "It has been awhile. I think the last time I saw you was when my grandfather introduced us after he hired you."

"I believe you're right Jacob. Our schedules are different since I mostly work in the morning and you come in right after I leave for the day. That is going to change though. I believe you grandfather has already spoken with you about what is going on and what he has asked me to do for you and the rest of the family."

"Yes he told me everything this morning when I talked with him. I understand that you are going to set up security here at the hotel and details for me and my family as well as security for us when we get a new home." Jacob could not keep his eyes off the young guys that were with Mr. Jackson; they are hot!

"You're right on every thing you just said, but let's take one thing at a time. First, we need to set up security here at the hotel. This security is going to be in place while you and your family are staying here. Once you guys move into your home, the security that was set up here will follow you there. If those that own the hotel want security here after you leave, I will be more than happy to help them out.

While the security is being set up here, I will go through new protocols dealing with security with you first and then your family as a whole. Before we go there, I would like you to meet your security detail Jacob. These young men were put together for you a while back, but until now your grandfather did not see a need for them to be activated."

Mr. Jackson introduced each of the men (hot studs) to Jacob. He wished he had a pen and paper with him so he could write down the names because he knows he is not going to remember them. Mr. Jackson put Jacob's mind at rest when he told him that he would be dealing with only one of them on day-to-day basis. He is the head of his security, Riley Palmer.

"Why is it that I am only going to deal with Mr. Palmer on daily basis? Aren't these other guys going to be around as well Mr. Jackson?"

"Yes they are going to be around, but they are going to be in the background." Jacob was confused more with Mr. Jackson's answer. "Let me put it this way Jacob. Mr. Palmer and one other man will be around you at all times. The others will be there, but will not interfere unless needed. Hopefully you will never see them through your day-to-day activities." Jackson nodded to the men and they headed different directions in the hotel.

Jackson and Jacob talked a little longer about the new procedures that are being put into place. Jacob did not see a problem with any of the changes. By the looks of it, nothing is really going to change as far as his free will to come and go as he pleases. That was his main concern after seeing and hearing what the Governor's sons have gone through.

After they finished their talk, Jacob called everyone down, including Joey's clan. He wanted to have them involved in the meeting because their lives are going to be affected in the short term while he and his family are staying with them.

As soon as Alex walked in, Mr. Jackson greeted him and Matt with a smile. "It is good to see you boys. I hear you two are no longer on probation or have the ankle monitors. Congratulations on that. You boys and the others that got out with you deserve another chance to make something of your lives."

"Thank you Officer Jackson, we will prove to everyone that we deserved the pardons."

"Please I am a private citizen. There is no need to say `officer' anymore. As far as proving to people you deserve what you got, you have done that already. If you had not you would not have gotten the pardon. I have gotten to know to Al really well in the last couple of months, and he would not have stuck his neck out for you boys if you did not already show that you have learned from your mistakes."

So Mr. Jackson did not keep everyone longer than he had, he let Alex go and walked over to Jacob. "I know the last twenty four hours have been crazy and it hasn't let up. There are still things happening that are going to keep us on our toes. Mr. Jackson here is head of security for my grandfather and my company. He has been asked by my grandfather to set up security here after what has happened. I am going to hand over the floor to him and he will explain how things are going to go from this point on."

Before Mr. Jackson could say a word, several uniformed officers and a couple of detectives walked in. Mr. Jackson told everyone to go back to whatever they were doing and he will call for everyone when they are done with them. As they headed back up to their rooms, Jacob and Mr. Jackson went over to the officers to see what they needed.

"Mr. Jacob Hernandez we need you to come with us to the police station to answer a few questions. I hope you will come with us without any problem, but if you refuse I will order these officers to take you into custody." Jacob could not believe what was unfolding before his eyes. All that was going through his mind is why are they treating him this way?

TO BE CONTINUED...

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

WRITER'S CORNER:

{What a chapter, what a chapter, man what a chapter! Welcome back everyone to another filled chapter of "Jacob Finding His Way". I really hope this got you all up in arms as it did me as I wrote it out. I know where I am going with each plot, but it still gets me angry how certain things unfolded in this chapter.

First at the beginning, Jacob was being treated like a kid. No one treated him with respect when he tried to find out what had happened with his house. I know this is not the first time this has happened to Jacob and he should be used to it, but come on man. There are plenty of real people like Jacob, his age, doing things he is doing in the world today. I wonder if those poor people are going through it like Jacob.

A reader wrote a week or so ago that he was glad to see cell phones make an appearance in this story. Remember everyone what time this story is taking place. It started in 1989 and right now it is1992. Cell phones were not common like they are today. Beepers yes, but not cell phones.

With that said, I am glad that Jacob did have a cell phone so he was able to get Al on the line. I loved it when Al took the fire fighter's head off. I know they have a job to do when they are called out to a fire, but show some respect. After the talk Al had with the Captain, he did finally show Jacob due respect.

It was good to see the investigators on the scene as quickly as they were. They got Jacob and everyone else out of the house before they destroyed any evidence. I know they did not go into the rubble to do that, but they should have known better.

Poor Jacob, the world seems to be falling apart. First, his house burns down. Then he was told by Al that he made a major hire. He hired a CEO to run the business. I can see why Jacob took the news the way he did. After what has been going on in ROTC, he cannot trust anything at face value. Al is not in the wrong for what he did. He just chose the wrong time to tell Jacob. Finally, Jacob now has to have security.

Before I go into the security, what is up with that detective? There is a right way and a wrong way to deal with people. This detective is way to gung ho wanting to find out he was responsible on burning the house down. The way the chapter ended, it does not look like the Police-Chief did what he promised.

You may think it was weird seeing Jacob worry about money since after all he has a lot of it. Do not forget that Jacob did not like the money at first. He refused to spend any of the money his grandfather won for him in the lawsuit. When Jacob did finally start spending money, it was not the lawsuit money; it was the money that he made from his investments, so I can see why Jacob is worried about spending. He does not want to spend money he has worked so hard to get.

However, at the same time he understands what he has to do. He forked out the money to start replacing the items his family and friends lost in the fire. That will not stop until everything he can replace is replaced. I just wish they had showed Jacob a little more respect when it came down to where they shopped. I really do not want to see the receipts showing what he actually spent in those four hours.

Now back to the security plot. Many of you have been asking me where Officer Jackson is, well here is your answer, and he is back. You will be seeing a lot more of him in the chapters to come. There is going to be differences though between this story and "Shadow of My Father" when it comes down to talking about security. After Jackson's talks with the family about how the security is going to be run, it will fall in the background. In other words, I will not go into detail as I have in "Shadow of My Father".

I know you all do not like cliffhangers and I put in another in this chapter. This cliffhanger is a dozy; I just could not find a breaking point for this chapter. I promise this will be the last cliffhanger for a while but I know many of you, if not all of you, will be able to figure out what is going to happen in the next chapter.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. So many plots can take a turn at anytime. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Do not miss anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

I know Al is completely well intentioned but he has lost touch with Jacob. He is on top of his, Jacob's business, and the business of the state and totally out of touch with his grandson. It is not that his decisions aren't right, but his handling of everything that touches or affects Jacob is wrong. I know he does not intend to be thoughtless or to appear uncaring, but that is exactly how he is coming across. I recall that Al was upset to the max with Jacob when Jacob failed to inform him about the auto dealerships immediately. Now, Al is guilty of doing the same thing, but it is really worse in that this totally undermines Jacob's rightful position in everyone's eyes. Al does not know it yet, but he has a huge mess on his hands.

One thing Al has lost sight of is that he is equally as accountable to Jacob as Jacob is to him. This is by the agreements AL himself created. I will be interested to see how that fact is brought back into focus for Al. (Do you get the idea I am a bit bothered by this?)

The fire that destroyed the homes appears to be arson. I wonder who it could be that harbors that much hate. Now the question is, whom is this hate focused at? It could be Jacob or Al. Could it be something to do with Alex.

I'm glad Joey and his group welcomed Jacob's household into the hotel with open arms after the fire. I would have been shocked had they reacted any other way, but it was so warm and genuine. I am sure that Jacob's household members will find a way to make the hotel a cozy home for the interim.

I am glad Jacob really had no problem with the new security measures and personnel. He realized quickly that his protection would not be nearly as restrictive as the protection for the Governor's offspring. I can see where he would have had concerns but Mr. Jackson seemed to put his mind at ease.

What is the deal with the investigation of the fire? What could possibly have cast doubt on Jacob? The logic escapes me. I beginning to feel that there is political muscle flexing going on and Jacob is a pawn in the game. I guess, like you, I will have to wait and see what unfolds. Remember, I edit the chapters as I read them, just as you do. I have very little insider information. I just do some plotline consultation here and there, but I am usually as surprised at JPG's twists and turns as you all are.

Until next time,

"Daddy" Rick