(So, first of all - sorry that this chapter comes sooooo late. I have to say that next to work, I don't get much done concerning writing or other creative tasks. Now it's christmas break but again it took me so much time to get my foot back into this story and writing itself. Means that the fist part of this chapter is like sh** but I have the feeling that it's gotten a bit better in the second part of the chapter. I really didn't want to waste more time in optimizing because I don't want to let you wait any longer. So please excuse this chapter. Hope to get better next time!

Please also before you read, take some time to reread a bit of the last chapter so the gap of understanding things isn't too big.)

Chapter 29

When Jack stepped from his bedroom into the living-room, Lisa was starting to set the table. Lou was still in the kitchen, working on a side salad to go with the lasagna. It was still quiet in the house, so Jack figured that Amy and Georgie hadn't returned from Briar Ridge yet. Lou's way of cutting the vegetables indicated that she was getting a bit nervous about their absence. Jack knew better than to add to her worries and helped Lisa with the table instead. They didn't talk. She didn't look at him. They were moving around each other easily. He still wished she would say something, but after that conversation in their bedroom, he strongly doubted that she would start to say something at all.
When Jack took the basked of bread from the kitchen table, someone knocked on the door outside.
"I'll get it.", Jack said.
He could see the source of the unexpected knock already through the screens of the door.
"Val!", it escaped him surprised when he opened her.
"Hi Jack. I thought I would join your granddaughters on the way home. I hope you don't mind. I brought us a bottle of wine. Maybe after dinner, huh?", she grinned and held the bottle up to show him. Jack swallowed, suddenly feeling a bit sick to the stomach. It was time to say no to her. With Lisa in the house and the already unstable situation between them, having Val for dinner wasn't a good idea at all. Besides, Jack finally needed to find some time to talk to his wife. The earlier, the better.
"Val, I don't think it's a good-"
"Oh don't be ridiculous.", she slapped him playfully on the chest, pushed past him and gave herself the permission to enter the house and join dinner.
Jack closed his eyes for a moment, already imagining the second encounter between the two women inside. He considered to leave. Leave the house and avoiding the trouble tonight. But the same time he opened his eyes again, Amy and Georgie were making their way from the barn to the main building. The snow was falling stronger now than it did when he came in from work. The clouds hung very low, indicating much more snow for the night.
When the girls took the steps up onto the porch, Jack confronted them immediately.
"Amy!", he hissed and pointed back into the house, referring to the uninvited guest. Amy raised her hands in defence.
"Sorry, I couldn't say no. After all she let's Georgie ride at Briar Ridge and she refuses to take on my payment."
"She follows us like a vulture, Jack.", Georgie said with much annoyance.
Of course she doesn't want their money, Jack thought, this gave her a reason to come over. As if the Heartland family would owe her something. The dinners were some kind of payment for her. He felt very uncomfortable with the thought that Lisa and Val were inside.
Apparently Amy figured from his facial expression that today was the most inappropriate time to let Val come into the house. A frown displayed on the even lines of her young face.
"What's wrong?"
"I brought Lisa home this morning. She's inside and so far I haven't talked to her much yet."
"Oh Grandpa! I didn't know."
"It's not your fault.", he sighed.
"You really should tell Val to go home."
"It might be too late for that now."
"Then you better don't let them wait any longer, grandpa.", Amy encouraged him and slipped into the house as well. Georgie followed her. Jack however still took a moment before shutting the door with a sigh and making his way back inside, bracing himself for whatever might happening this evening.
"Hi Lisa! Good to have you over for dinner.", Amy's light voice was heard and when Jack stepped around his granddaughter he saw the three women were sitting lined up at the table. Luckily, Lisa had occupied her usual spot, so Val had taken the chair in the middle and Lou sat on her left. The brunette woman's eyes held one of those expressions on her face that told him more than usual what a big mistake it was to have Val over yet another time. The conversation about saying no to Val's own invitations popped up in his head but it was too late now anyway.
"Yeah, your grandfather insisted.", Lisa responded with a particular emphasis and despite Jack's expectations, refused to meet his eyes. Val however did.
"Oh, did he?", she asked with a dubious pitch in her voice.
Luckily, Ty interrupted the moment as he came in with Lyndy on his arms. Amy was greeting the little girl enthusiastically who giggled under her mother's caresses before she was put into her high chair.
"Let's eat.", Lou called out and started to load lasagna on everybody's plate while the rest of the family took a seat around the table.
Despite the awkward circumstances, Jack had to admit to himself that it was nice to have the family back together. He was glad Tim wasn't there tough. This would spare him the snide looks and remarks. The evening would already going to be a disaster without him.
"How is Katie?", Amy started the conversation since the little girl had been gone for a couple days now.
"Oh, she is doing brilliant. No wonder, Archie and Grace are totally spoiling her.", Lou said and rolled her eyes slightly.
"I'm sure she enjoys that.", Georgie laughed and made everyone smile. Everyone but Lisa who was digging through the food in front of her without eating. It was obvious that she wasn't following the conversation.
"When is she coming back?"
"Uhm, Peter wants to take her to Vancouver after. This brings me to the next point."
Everyone listened up.
"As long as the dude ranch business is still shut down for the winter and with Katie at Peters, I get a bit time to get some Maggie's business done."
"You're going to New York again?", Jack asked who has never been a big fan of her travelling. He liked to have the family together.
"Yes. Nicole is doing pretty much everything on her own over there."
"When will you be leaving?", Georgie asked who as well didn't like her parents to be gone so often but got used to the situation over the time. Besides, she was a teenage girl that could handle things on her own pretty well and with Amy as a trainer, Georgie was in best hands anyway.
"I booked a flight for Friday."
"Must be exciting for you to travel that much.". Val joined the conversation.
"Yes, it is but it's all business travels so there is hardly time for anything else."
"How are things at Fairfield, Lisa?", Lou changed the topic and by the call of her name Lisa seemed to awake from her trance like state and looked up puzzled.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"I just wanted to know how you are doing and if everything is good at Fairfield."
"Oh yeah...yeah...I mean-"
"Jack here told me, Dan is still working with you?", Val interrupted which almost gave the impression that she had been waiting for this conversation all along. Lisa acted slightly surprised by the course the talk made.
"Well... he is in France currently."
"So he's not working for Fairfield anymore."
"No...I-"
"He is kind of. They are running a partnership. Dan is taking care of Fairfield's French business.", Jack quickly jumped in when he noticed his wife's hesitation to explain the weird circumstances which she herself wasn't too fond of. Jack knew about her skepticism and he didn't like the idea either but it was the only way to maintain the European business of Fairfield Stables.
Val right now seemed to have excepted anything else but what Jack just said.
"Is that so? Sounds as if everything works out well after what happened.", she let slip and Jack braced himself for whatever might come from Lisa's side. Everyone looked at her.
"Oh yeah, it does. It's fantastic. Never been better.", she responded this time with a fake smile on her lips. The sound in her voice was more than ironically and cut deeply through the thick air and through Jack's gut. Life had been anything but fantastic these days and he was dying to know the reason for all this heartache.
"Too bad your work cuts off the time you could spend with your family though.", Val went on, triggering this sensitive spot on purpose.
Lisa turned her head now and looked at the woman beside her with narrow eyes before she found some words to say.
"What are you getting at, Val?"
"Does anybody want wine?", Jack interrupted quickly and jumped up to rush into the kitchen.
"That's an excellent idea! Grab the bottle that I brought.", Val called after him and a moment later Jack stepped back at the table and opened the bottle. Form the corner of his eye, he dared a few looks at Lisa. He didn't like the way she sat there as if she wished to be anywhere else but here in this room and Jack came the thought that maybe it hadn't been a good idea to take her home. They should have stayed at her place. That way they would probably have already talked things out by now and Jack would have known the problems she was dealing with. But it wasn't like that. They were stuck here, with no privacy whatsoever. Jack started to feel sorry.
"I mean, I will probably head home after dinner anyway.", Val went on talking and ripped him from his thoughts while he was filling the glasses and suddenly felt some kind of relief running through his body.
"The weather didn't look too good earlier.", she added.
"Right, seems like the storm is coming in after all.", he confirmed and sat back down.
"I hope it doesn't get as bad as the last one.", Georgie moaned.
"So do I. I better don't get stuck with the car again and call you to pull me out.", Val laughed lightly by the memory of the incident. "Although I really enjoyed your company for the two days you kindly let me stay here. I have never slept on a more comfortable bed.", she added, winked at Jack and raised her glass of wine towards him.
The same time those words left Val's lips, Lisa started to choke. She quickly rose a hand to cover her mouth and swallow the next coughs.
"Are you okay?", Val chuckled surprised and with amusement which however wasn't shared by the rest of the family. Worried and uncomfortable looks were exchanged across the table that seemed to explode the dense atmosphere.
Instead of responding to anything Val had said, Lisa shot Jack a sharp look from the side before forcefully pushing her chair back and got up. Hit by his wife's ice cold eyes, he was trying to find some words to say but she already rushed out the room and into the kitchen where the spot that was hidden behind the wall swallowed her like a black hole.
It became quiet for a moment. The awkwardness in the room was strangling him now and rose the desperate urge to escape.
"Excuse me.", Jack only said, got up and didn't only follow his need to leave the room but also his wife into the kitchen. Right now he couldn't care less about the gazes that were hanging on the back of his body.
Jack saw Lisa standing at the sink, her back to him and her hands clinging to the edge of the counter as if it was the only thing that was holding her up. With that dropped head and the avoidance that was radiating form her body, Jack was set into a feeling that maybe leaving her alone was the better idea, but he couldn't. He simply couldn't leave her alone with this. With whatever was going on between them. So although it hurt him to push her even more, Jack stepped next to the kitchen table and watched her worriedly from there.
"Lisa?", he started softly, "What is going on?"
She didn't turn. Didn't manage to look at him and after a long moment of silence, Jack was just starting to speak up again when finally a weak and cracked response came from her side of the room.
"I can't."
"I can't go on like this."
The sentences were spoken by a voice that sounded so exhausted, so devastated. It convulsed his heart and made his body cringe from the pain that was caused by it. Before he was able to say something, Lisa turned around. The lines on her face looked so sunken and hollow in the shadows of the dim kitchen light and in her eyes shone a dark glimmer that had taken in the light blue husky shade he loved so much. It kind of startled him a bit as watching her standing there, broken in her optimism and happiness. What had he done wrong to let her being ended up there?
"I no longer can deal with-", she broke off in mid-sentence when suddenly Val walked into the kitchen. As soon as she set foot into the room, Lisa turned away again, avoiding any contact with the other woman whatsoever. Jack could almost feel the discomfort that was covering his wife's body like a blanket.
"I, uhm, I'd better be going. Thanks for the dinner Jack.", Val let slip and fortunately had the decency to leave it at that.
Jack just put on a forced smile and nodded but didn't offer to accompany her outside. Val left on her own after giving the couple another last glance.
As soon as the door closed behind her and her steps were heard on the porch and stairs outside, Lisa turned back around. Jack immediately went for it, not wasting anymore time in trying to figure out what was going on. However, this time he met an angry face that stared at him without understanding.
"Could you please tell me what is going on?", despite the impatience that was boiling like hot water in his gut he tried to keep his voice down. After all they still weren't alone in the house. The lack of privacy was still an obstacle that stood between them and hampered the process of their argument.
"I can't believe you still don't get it."
"Get what?!"
"It feels as if you and me ... we don't share anything lately."
"This is true. Maybe it's because you keep avoiding me.", he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh now it's my fault?", her voice rose now which it didn't do very often and which was a clear sign of indignation. Jack quickly changed his tone. There was no need of shouting at each other. This wouldn't solve any problem.
"No. That's not-"
"How could you not tell me that Val had not only been here for dinner multiple times and you apparently chat about things concerning my private life but that she stayed here for two days in a row?", she came out bluntly.
Obviously, they were finally addressing the topic that had made her so upset in the first place. At least she started to let off some steam, but Jack kept his tone down to not push her more than she already pushed herself.
"She needed my help.", he explained, yet was getting a disappointed look from her side.
"Yeah? And I didn't?"
"Lis.", Jack started but stopped and couldn't have chosen a more appropriate moment since the rest of the family was just pushing through the kitchen.
"Sorry to interrupt. We just thought you two would need a moment for yourselves.", Lou excused and pointed towards the door, indicating that they were about to leave, maybe spending the rest of the evening in the little apartment over the barn.
After having been distracted again, Lisa turned back to Jack, awaiting some kind response, but he just couldn't think of one, especially now with everyone standing in the kitchen. Her last words hurt. Especially since he knew that she was right. It were exactly those kind of words that he had been trying to avoid, persuading himself in the belief that she was having everything under control at Fairfield, that it was okay with them living and working at different places. Apparently, this belief couldn't be more far off the truth.
His hesitation put a defeated expression on her face. She had been hoping that he would have admitted the mistake he made, that he understood her pain and her needs. Obviously, an answer wasn't to be expected soon, so Lisa decided to give herself a break and leave this painful moment.
"It's okay. We are done here anyway.", she replied dryly, "Excuse me, I need some fresh air."
In a rush and avoiding the hand that was reaching for her arm, she hurried towards the door, that fell back into its place after Lisa walked out the house.