Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!
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Lisa set Jack's cup of coffee on the night stand. It had been almost four weeks since the shooting that had changed everything.
"Here's your coffee."
Jack, who had been on house rest since being released from the hospital a week ago, looked at her.
"Thanks," he said.
Lisa sat down and curled up in a chair. "Mm-hmm."
"How's your neck?"
"Fine. Sometimes moving it still hurts, but otherwise, fine. It's going to leave a nasty scar, though." Lisa gestured to the stiches on her neck.
"I bet," Jack said with a smile.
"Yours probably hurts more than mine. After all, you have twenty-six stiches in your chest, and I have four in my neck." Lisa set her cup of coffee down and walked around to the edge of the bed.
Jack watched her and said: "Go. You're going to be late for work."
"I can finally drive again and I don't want to leave."
"Put it off another day then," Jack suggested.
"I wish I could, but that's not possible. I have horses to train. In two months, I get into the trainer's Hall of Fame, but it has been moths since I actually trained a horse."
"So go!" Jack exclaimed standing up slowly.
"But I don't want to leave you."
"Because today is your birthday?"
"No. Because I love you," Lisa said, smiling as she grabbed a silk scarf and looped it around her neck, "and because I haven't been out of the house or seen anyone besides your family in a week."
Jack slowly followed Lisa to the kitchen where Cassie was standing with Amy and Lou.
"Go," Jack pointed to the door.
Lisa glared at him. "Yes, dear," she mocked.
Jack chuckled, then kissed Lisa.
Lisa smiled happily and kissed Jack again. "That's my cue to go. 'Bye, everyone!" Lisa said, and walked out the door.
Jack turned to face Amy and Cassie as soon as Lisa walked outside.
Cassie pulled a 'Happy Birthday' banner out of her purse.
Amy met her grandfather's look. "You sit. We will decorate."
Lisa slid in to the driver's seat of Jacks pick-up truck. She took a breath and pushed away flashbacks of her car wreck. Her hands were shaking as she put the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. The clock read 6:30 in the morning. She would have normally been at work by now. Moving her thoughts to what needed done at the track, she pulled the truck out on the dirt drive.
In ten minutes, she pulled up in front of Maggie's with her hands still shaking and in desperate need of caffeine. She couldn't get out of the truck fast enough. When she opened the door the smell of fresh coffee hit her.
Maggie looked up. "Lisa! We heard you were going back to the track today."
Lisa looked at them in surprise. "What? How did you find out about that?"
"Um, 'Racehorse Weekly'; 'Racehorse Monthly'; 'Thoroughbred'; the 'Calgary Herald'; the 'Calgary Sun', the Hudson paper, not to mention several local news stations," Ashley cut in, holding up a stack of magazines and papers.
"Why on earth would they be reporting about my going back to work?"
Ashley gaped at her with a look of incredulity. "Are you serious? You made history when they announced that you were being inducted in to the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame after you won the Triple Crown. You became an icon… And the fact that you were the first woman to train a race horse that had such a good record. Everything you do is a big deal. You made history!"
Maggie nodded in agreement. "It's a big deal because you're the first, and you're being inducted in a little more than a month after this year's Triple Crown! It is countdown time."
Julie, who had heard the conversation from her seat at the counter, looked at Maggie and nodded. "Yes. Two months before is when the press starts and since you have been out of commission, they have time to make up for."
Lisa groaned. "Great. Just what I want."
Maggie smiled. "Look on the bright side!"
Lisa glared at her. "I don't see a 'bright side'."
Maggie looked around deviously. "It will drive Val Stanton nuts - you getting more publicity than she ever has."
"Forget Val. This will drive Dan Hartfield nuts! And I live for that," Lisa grinned. "This might be a fun day after all!" Lisa turned and walked out with her coffee while Maggie, Ashley and Julie tried to keep from laughing.
But upon arriving at the track, Lisa's story changed. There were several people with cameras outside her trailer, and others outside near the parking lot.
"Oh, yes. Fun!" she muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Hours later, Lisa had driven over to Fairfield and entered her study. She looked at the papers on a new horse then stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. Grabbing a folder, she put the papers back in.
Julie, who had walked through the unlocked door of the house, opened the door to the study. "This is really quite the house," she said.
Lisa jumped and spun around. "You scared me!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry. I knocked, but no one answered. The door was not locked, so I just came in," Julie said sheepishly.
"No, no it's fine. After all, it is your house as well."
Julie looked around the room. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. I want it to stay in the family," Lisa smiled at her daughter.
"Wow...Thanks... Now, you said earlier you would show me Heartland so-"
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we'd better get going; wouldn't want to be late to my own surprise party."
Julie looked horrified. "You know?"
"Yes. When Jack, Amy and Lou locked themselves in the spare room, I knew."
"Mom just told me I had to make sure I got you home… So, I really don't know my step-father, or the rest of your new family. Any chance I could meet them?"
"Oh, yes, of course! You want me to go back to Heartland," Lisa winked.
Twelve days later, Jack, Lisa and Cassie were in the kitchen at Heartland.
"So we plan on leaving tomorrow morning, early. It's a long drive back home," Cassie said.
"And pulling a trailer," Lisa added.
"With a horse cured by a Miracle Girl."
"I take it you liked what Amy did for Yogi?" Lisa asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I kinda want a clone. My own personal miracle girl," Cassie said.
Jack and Lisa chuckled. Lisa smiled happily; it was good to hear Jack laugh, even just a light chuckle. Jack carefully put his arm around her.
"You and everyone else," Jack said.
"I think sometimes she wants to clone herself too, she gets so busy with the horses," Lisa commented, leaning in to Jacks embrace.
Julie pulled up in a Mercedes Benz as Lisa finished her sentence. "Morning-afternoon-evening- whatever time it is."
Lisa turned to look at her. "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while."
"It's 'afternoon', by the way," Cassie commented.
"Thanks. I have not seen the light of day for a week!" Julie said, tossing her sports jacket in the car.
"Why?" Jack asked her.
"Um, my girls have a meet tomorrow, so I locked myself and the team that are going to worlds in the gym for a week. We now have complete beam, vault, floor, and bar routines," Julie announced proudly.
"Well, I am sure that your team will do a wonderful job," Lisa said with a smile.
"I just came to say goodbye. I have a bus leaving in an hour for a competition in Cali," Julie said.
"You mean California?" Lisa corrected not liking the slang.
"Yes, why?"
"She has to correct people when they use improper English," Jack teased Lisa
Cassie played along. "I know! It's like she can't understand us if we use slang." She smiled playfully at Lisa. "J/K. LYLAS."
Lisa looked around, confused. "What?"
"You sound like me," Jack cut in.
"You're all so mean to me. Even you," Lisa glared at Jack.
"LOL!" Julie laughed, and climbed back in her car. "TTYL! ILY"
Lisa stomped her foot, clearly confused at the acronyms being spouted. "Meanies!"
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