Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!
"She seems like a nice girl," Jack said of Julie, as they were walking out of the diner.
"Yes, she does seem like a nice girl," Lisa replied, "and she is talented. I was watching her when she was just a little girl, and she did a back flip. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I could see the talent just bursting from inside her. She never wanted to ride horses, or anything. She spent hours every day, training for the Olympics. And that was when she was only eight. Cassie said that she has even sleeped in the gym before a meet."
"'Slept', not 'sleeped'," Jack corrected.
"Whatever. My English can't always be perfect." Lisa opened the door to the truck. "And FYI: I just misspoke. I do know the different between 'sleeped' and 'slept'."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Jack chuckled as he started the truck.
"Be glad I am at least speaking English. What would you do if I didn't know any English and I only spoke French?"
"Might try to learn French," Jack commented as he eased the truck on to the road.
Lisa laughed, not unkindly. "You and French! Je voudrais voir cela arriver."
Jack glared at her. "What does that mean?"
Lisa smiled. "Point proven. You don't correct my English and I won't speech French," she said, using the wrong word on purpose.
"Speak."
"Je vous avais demandé de ne pas me corriger," Lisa said, glaring at him.
Jack only smiled and nodded his head.
Lisa lay in Jack's arms that night thinking of her daughter's strong words to her that day at the diner. It was getting hard to keep this secret; she felt she was going crazy. So many thoughts ran through Lisa's head that she was dizzy.
She should tell him. She was so tempted to simply blurt it out that she had even practiced in the shower that night, just coming right out and saying it. Saying: 'Jack, Julie is my daughter', but it never quite sounded right. It may have sounded okay in her head, but when she said it out loud, it seemed to echo even though the water was pelting the floor of the shower.
Jack noticed Lisa's silence, and realised she was obviously deep in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.
"A penny? Really? That's all my thoughts are worth? Not even a nickel?"
"Okay, one thousand pennies for your thoughts," Jack smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
"Ten dollars; that is better," Lisa smiled slightly, "but I was not the only one lost in thought. You were quiet, too."
"I'll tell you if you tell me."
Lisa hesitated. It was a good opportunity to tell him if she could work up the nerve. "Okay, but you first."
With a sigh, Jack went ahead. "I just have noticed that things have been out of place around the house, and sometimes this car follows me into town. I have seen it follow Amy, and you and Lou. And I just have a bad feeling."
Lisa thought she heard everything Jack said, but it had yet to sink in. She was preparing to tell him about her daughter, the one she had lied about, even after her earlier "no more secrets" promise she had made.
"Grandpa!" Amy's sudden shriek came from the porch interrupted Lisa's thoughts.
Jack and Lisa jumped out of bed. Lisa slipped into a robe and slippers while Jack, on instinct, grabbed his rifle from out of the closet.
"Amy what's wrong?" he called out, as the couple dashed into the kitchen.
Lisa opened the door and gasped. A car she did not recognize sat in the driveway. All that she could see was a gun pointing at Amy.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa saw Jack emerge and point his own rifle at the car. In response to the new threat, the unseen hand behind the other gun moved to target Jack.
Lisa shifted silently to Amy while she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She pressed a button and set it on the ledge of the window.
"Slip off the porch quietly and go around to the back door," she instructed Amy. "As soon as you're inside, call the cops. Go now."
Amy complied quietly, slipping off the porch. Lisa sighed to herself in relief, knowing Amy was out of harm's way. Lisa took a step back, and as fast as she could blink, the gun that was pointed at Jack shifted to her. Four shots rang out through the night, along with the sound of skidding of tires.
/\\\/
Revew to find out whats next.