Jack was sat on the sofa, reading the paper. Tim had gone over to the loft to talk to the girls about everything that had been going on, and he wasn't sure whether he should have gone over there or not. He looked at his watch and realised that Lisa should be home any time soon, so went through to the kitchen and put the kettle on.
As he walked into the kitchen he saw Lisa's car pull up in the drive, so he clicked the kettle on and began preparing the mugs. As Lisa walked in, he turned around and walked over to her, "It's so good to see you!" He exclaimed, giving her a hug, "I have missed you so much!"
"I have missed you too! I am so sorry I couldn't get back in time for the memorial ride. I'd have loved to have been there for you," She replied.
"Don't worry about it, Lis… I know you were upset that you couldn't make it. Besides, Tim did throw it on us kind of last minute, and it's much easier for Lou to get a flight from New York, than you from France. I completely understand, please don't beat yourself up about it," He reassured her, "Now, why don't you go and sit down on the sofa and I will bring you through a cup of tea. It must have been a very long journey."
Lisa smiled and kissed his cheek, "Yeah, it really was. Thank you, I love you."
"I love you too, now go and sit down," He replied and ushered her through to the living room.
Once the tea was made, Jack went and joined Lisa on the sofa.
"So… I bumped into Tim on the way here and he told me all about everything that has been going on. Is that why you have been avoiding any conversation about Tim? I knew there was something up, but you just brushed it off… You should have told me, Jack. I know, I know, he told you not to tell me, but I hate to think that you have been suffering in silence. I can't begin to imagine how hard it was for you to keep it from the girls," Lisa said.
Jack sighed, "I know, I really wanted to tell you too. But it was not my secret to tell. It was his. Besides, I didn't want to tell anyone until he had told the girls, because I could not imagine how bad it would have been if someone walked in while I was talking to you, and found out second hand, rather than from Tim himself," He told her, and took a sip of his tea.
"No, I know, I completely understand that. So…" She asked.
"So, what?" He replied, putting his mug down on the table in front of him.
"How are you feeling about it all?" She asked sincerely.
He sighed and placed his arm around her, "Well, it has not been easy, I mean, keeping it from the girls and not being able to talk about it. Tim was being his stubborn old self about everything so that really did not help matters in the slightest. I just hope that the girls are okay, do you reckon I should go and talk to them? I mean, it is pretty big and I want them to be okay and not struggle…"
"No, Jack. I asked how you were doing. Not the girls. Not you worrying about anyone else. Just you. As much as you and Tim don't see eye to eye, it's not nice to see someone go through this. So, I will ask again, how are you feeling?" Lisa said in a stern manner, as she didn't want Jack to suffer in silence.
Jack smiled at her, "I love you. Thank you. I can always count on you to make me see sense," He sighed, "I am doing okay, I have had a couple of weeks to come to terms with it. Although, it is hard to think of the possibility of him being seriously ill. He is still quite young, and I find it heart breaking to think that the girls could possibly lose another parent. I know, I know, you want to know how I feel but I am struggling to come to terms with it. I do not want to have to watch the girls bury another parent. Now, I am aware that this could be nothing, and there be nothing wrong with him. However, I just feel that we need to be realistic about the future and what is going on. As much as we don't always get on, I still think of him as family – although he is an Ex- son in law – I don't want anything to happen to him. I do want to ensure that we are going to be there for him though. I can't help but think back to the time that he found me after my heart attack. If he hadn't have found me then I seriously don't think that I would be here…"
"Oh Jack, don't keep thinking like that. I know that that time of your life was extremely hard, and I too, am glad that Tim found you. I don't know what I would do without you," She replied, and took his hand in hers, "I'm not going to say that it's going to be easy but we will all get through it together, I know we will. I know it is going to be hard for you, and the girls but we can't let ourselves think negatively about it all the time. Tim did seem pretty positive when I was talking to him before."
"No, I know. I am glad he has told them though, because the secret has been killing me. I am glad he has Casey to go home to. It took him a while to tell her though, he didn't want her to stick around because of what happened with her brother and Hank. So, it has been tough for him," Jack explained.
"Yeah, I understand that. So, what do you want to do tonight to help take your mind off it? Fancy maybe going out to get some dinner?" Lisa asked.
Jack smiled, "Yeah, that sounds good. What about Maggie's?"
"I think that's a great idea. I just need to unpack some things from my suitcase before we go, but we can set off soon, is that okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's fine. Now before you go off sorting all your clothes out, drink your tea. It will be getting cold!" He said reaching for her tea and passing it to her, and then taking his.
"Thanks, Jack." She said, as she sipped on her tea.
Lou was walking over to the house and saw that Lisa had come home, she had left Amy in the barn office, she had thrown herself into doing paperwork, so Lou decided she would go and take Venus back to the Dude Ranch and run back. She needed to clear her head. As she entered the house, she heard Jack and Lisa talking.
"Hey guys, I am just getting changed. I am going to go over to the dude ranch and take Venus back," She said as she walked through the living room.
"Alright, do you want us to pick you up from there?" Lisa asked.
"No, it's alright, I am going to run back. It's still light at night so there's no issue of me being able to see. Plus, I have missed being able to go for nice runs around here," She explained.
"Alright, okay. Are you alright though?" Jack asked.
"Yes, I am fine grandpa. I just need to go out and clear my head," She replied.
"Okay, as long as you're okay. Do you want us to bring you back some dinner from Maggie's?" Lisa asked, "We are going out for some dinner in a bit."
"No, it's okay, I'll make something when I get back, I'm not overly hungry anyway. Thank you, though Lisa," She replied, "Oh and by the way, Georgie and Wyatt aren't at the dance, they decided to go out for a trail ride so they will probably be around later. I think they will be going out for some dinner also, so no need to worry about them."
"Alright, well, we will see you when we see you," Lisa replied.
"Yeah, see you," Lou said as she went through to her room to go and get changed.
When Lou had left, Lisa turned to Jack, "Right, I will go and quickly sort out my laundry and then shall we go?" She asked.
"Yes, that sound's good. I will go and wash up," He said taking her mug as she stood up to walk into their room, "Lisa?"
"Yes Jack?" She replied.
"Thank you," He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"No problem, now come on, let's hurry up because I am starving and I can feel the jet lag setting in!" She laughed as she grabbed her case and walked into their bedroom.
